Now.

Our lives are simply a succession of nows.

(from PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press)

Cocoa calmly greeted me as I step out from the post office. Busy with errands, I had the next thing drawing me forward. Cocoa invited me into her dog medicine and nothing else seemed as important. Cocoa had nudges and soft kisses and profound reminders for me. There is no “next thing,” she affirmed. There’s just this thing. This now. Followed by the next now. So I visited with her and learned her two-legged companion got her when he only had five grandchildren and now he has eleven grandchildren. That gives Cocoa quite a succession of nows, doesn’t it? And my afternoon just got richer and chocolatier (choc-oh-lot-ee-er).

Lucky me.

PROMISES TO MYSELF ON LINE INTERVEW

Commitmentnow.com just posted their interview with me! Mary Anne Radmacher, on my latest book, "Promises to Myself."

Here is the link: http://www.commitmentnow.com/living-a-creative-life/your-personal-dream-coach/features/help-this-reader-make-her-dream-come-true

CHECK IT OUT.

PROMISES TO MYSELF #38

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #38 • HIGHEST GOOD • January 13, 2010 • I promise to act in my own best interest. • “Choose your own highest good in all ways.” • TODAY – Compassion toward yourself is the first measure; Breathe!; Service to others is built upon service to self; Acknowledge self-care is investment in the highest good.

“To transform the world we must begin with ourselves.” J. Krishnamurti

“I have always wanted to be somebody, but next time I’ll be more specific.” Lily Tomlin

Promises to Myself #36

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #36 • SMALL GRACES • January 11, 2010 • I promise to honor each small grace as part of my large vision. • “Every choice matters – no matter how insignificant it appears.” TODAY – Experience the satisfaction that is available in all your tasks; Each thing is valuable regardless of size; See the extraordinary in the ordinary.

“Of many small graces are grand endeavors built.” mary anne radmacher

“It is not meaning we need but sight.” Lawrence Durrell

“The most important thing for poets to do is to write as little as possible.” T.S. Eliot

PROMISES TO MYSELF #35

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #35 • ENVIRONMENT MATTERS • January 10, 2010 • I promise to be attentive to my physical environment. • “Look from the inside out and consider your immediate world a reflection in a mirror.” TODAY – As you consider your imminent move, surround yourself with meaningful objects; If you can SEE it – it should be important; Transition objects to places they will be happiest.

“The work environment is one aspect of the engine that drives designs.” Marc Hacker

“We’re too busy not to have order.” Martha Stewart

“Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs.” Malcolm S. Forbes

PROMISEES TO MYSELF #29

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #29 • INSPIRED LISTENING • January 4, 2010 • I promise to follow the divine whisper of possibility. “Still the sounds around you in order to hear what’s essential.” TODAY – Be open to all solutions; act on the impulses of your spirit; Pray; Consider silence an appropriate means of communication.

“When the solution is simple, God is answering.” Albert Einstein

“I became silent and began to listen. I discovered in the silence the voice of God.” Soren Kierkegaard

PROMSIES TO MYSELF #28

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #28 • PLEASE YOURSELF • I promise to validate my own creation. “mary anne, Do what you must.” TODAY – [say no] say YES to what is essential; give full attention, without apology, and savor the joy of your purpose in action.

“Never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl.” Benjamin Jowett

“I don’t know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby

promises to myself #27

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #27 • ENGAGE POSSIBILITY • I promise to stretch the realm of what appears possible. • “mary anne, Engage with the same wonder as a child.” TODAY - Everything is yes until it’s no; observe a large sea of possibility, not an overwhelming collection of event; engage with all you can handle and walk past the rest.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once [s/he] grows up.” Pablo Picasso

“To arrive at the simplest truth, as Newton knew and practiced, requires years of contemplation, not activity, not reasoning, not calculating, no busy behavior of any kind, not reading, not talking, not making an effort, not thinking. Simply bearing in mind what it is one needs to know.” George Spencer Brown

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” Henry Miller

“When we only believe what has been said before, what has been done before, we give our own power away. Possibility evaporates – it is from what we believe that our lives are created, not the other way around.” Shreve Stockton, THE DAILY COYOTE, page 44

PROMISES TO MYSELF #26

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #26 • IMAGINE FIERCELY • January 1, 2010 • I promise to let goodness soar in my soul. • “mary anne, let’s get this party started!” • TODAY – look and see bigger; allow all possibilities to be considered; imagine fiercely and then double it.

“It’s not unrealistic planning – it’s reality in training.” mary anne radmacher

“I can believe anything provided it is incredible.” Oscar Wilde

“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

PROMISES TO MYSELF #20

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #20 • PRACTICE PRACTICE • December 26, 2009 • Draw upon all of life, the whole practice, to create authentically. • “mary anne, be connected to the truth of your own practice.” • TODAY – practice practice!: utilize your own skill set to expand into unknown things, represent all aspects not just what appears or feels “successful,” listen hard, appreciate what you don’t know… honor knowing that you don’t know.

“Practice is nine-tenths.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson –

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” _ Daniel J. Boorstin -

PROMISES TO MYSELF #19

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #19 • BE GRATEFUL • December 25, 2009 • I promise to connect with gratitude at all points in the day. • “mary anne, a thankful heart is a circular gift.” • TODAY – be dazzled by everything, let all things be a gift, participate in wonder and surprise.

“[anyone] should have an atmosphere of awe, and walk wonderingly, as if s/he was amazed at being her/self.” – Walter Bagehot (modified by mar) –

“Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you’d think the mere fact of existing would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise.” – Lewis Thomas -

PROMISES TO MYSELF #18

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #18 • PLAY WELL • December 24, 2009 •

I promise to have some fun! • “mary anne, revel and roll around in each sweet aspect of your day like a Labrador in summer grass.” • TODAY – do what you love, wrap necessary tasks in love, be a little silly, seize the spirit of the holiday and hoist it to the joists of your soul.

“get lost. that’s the best way to find yourself.” mary anne radmacher

“Work and play are words used for the same thing under differing conditions.” – Mark Twain -

PROMISES TO MYSELF #16

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #16 • CREATE LEGACY • December 22, 2009 •

I promise to do things that matter. • “mary anne, invest yourself wholly in matters of consequence; do not become absorbed by the trivial.” • Today – Let go of the small actions. Write. Study. Dispense efficiently the perfunctory and move to the planned and purposeful: allow for alchemy.

“Recognize equal value in building and deconstructing.” m.a. radmacher

“There are trivial truths and the great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.” – Niels Bohr -

PROMISES TO MYSELF #15

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #15 • SEE WORDS • December 21, 2009 • I promise to look with clear sight at what I create. • “mary anne, be a servant to your craft today.” • TODAY – no clocks, no timers, no editing. Every idea will be welcomed. All things considered…

“Remember the difference between looking and seeing.” m.a. radmacher

“The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion all in one.” - John Ruskin -

Reflection at the end of yesterday…wearied from the second day of production craft at an art festival in a barn. I entered the day with an phrase assigned by one of my new phraseologists, Caren Albers. This is what I wrote before sleep,

amid the chaos, love calls my name.

love calls my name and I’ve learned well enough to answer right back. quickly and with ready identifiers, “I am here.”

chaos swirled readily all day from the stranger with food challenges with whom I split my carefully measured for the day food, to the painfully shy ten year old boy whom I engaged in creative chatter. chaos followed me as I worked toward completing the donations I’ll be sending to a hospital for Christmas remembrances for those who are hospitalized on Christmas and new year’s eve. after break down chaos chased me all the way home.

wearied. blurry eyed. protein deprived and peopled out, that extra long trailer hitch of my wagon pitched itself self with some degree of speed into david’s front bumper. while he was unloaded bins of stuff, he was not hurt in anyway. however, his bumper was. cracked. it’s amazing how far a license plate can stretch without breaking. who knew? amid that chaos, as i sat in the driver’s seat, recovering from the dreadful sounds of plastic shredding and metal pulling, i heard love call my name. the voice of love sounded just like my husband! the words love formed were, “it’s just a car, sweetheart. come inside and let me take care of you.” i’ve learned well enough to answer right back, “thank you. i’m so glad i’m here.”

mary anne radmacher -

PROMISES TO MYSELF #14

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise #14 • HONOR FRIENDSHIP • December 20, 2009 • I promise to appreciate my far-away friends. • “mary anne, demonstrate that each friend is a gift to you by using your skill set.” • TODAY – make something and mail it, write something and post it, name them and pray for their highest good, speak their names and tell stories about them.”

“When you have one friend, you hold the hand of the world.” mary anne radmacher

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

PROMISES TO MYSELF #10

PROMISES TO MYSELF • Promise # 10 • December 16, 2009 • KEEN FOCUS • I promise to listen and act upon my mission and passion. • “mary anne, connect, in practical, visible terms, to what you are called to be.” • Looking into the day this might mean – fresh eyes and tuned ears, recreate the way I teach, let go of the small in favor of the large (cards might turn into to new year’s greetings, dear friends.)

Perform an action with the expectation of creating different results. Therefore, the action must be different. -mary anne radmacher -

I like the fact that listen is an anagram of silent... - Alfred Brendel -

PROMISEs to Myself #6

PROMISES TO MYSELF • December 12, 2009 • Promise #6 • ENGAGE EXCELLENCE • I promise to focus on quality not quantity. • “mary anne, tend a few things well (not “too many” things, quickly). • Looking into the day this might mean – just one artful project at the festival, totally attentive to conversation, package cookies for friends with excellent details, not just efficiency.

Start making a PROMISE TO YOURSELF any day...what is yours?

Promises to Myself #5 and reflections on #4

PROMISES TO MYSELF • December 11, 2009 • Promise #5 • FUN PREVAILS. • I promise to allow fun to permeate the day. • “mary anne, you can have fun AND make significant contributions to the world.” • Looking into the day this might mean – “insert fun ______(here).” setting up my festival booth in a cold barn turns into a festivity, do things with friends, get the MUSIC on, dance through ordinary activities.

Reflections on Promise #4. Absent hurry, many aspects of a fully occupied day become an invitation for unexpected joy, gift and pleasure. • It’s easier to see when I’m not moving at warp speed. • Engaged observation is the gift of the even pace.

PROMISES TO MYSELF, Conari Press, 2010

available for pre-order on amazon.com

promises to Myself #4 and reflections on #3

PROMISES TO MYSELF • December 10, 2009 • Promise #4 • NO HURRY • I promise to not rush through the many requirements of my day. • “mary anne, pace yourself, enjoy the “list” and allow “good enough” to seem like perfection. • Looking into the day this might mean – not getting revved up, walking purposely, passing on non-essential actions, ha! not taking a shower.

REFLECTIONS on Promise #3 • Stepping aside from habit makes room for the fresh winds of power. • Compassion lives on the border of established structures.

PROMISES TO MYSELF Format & Promise Number One

Each day I will post:

- The promise # - i.e. Promise Number ONE...

- The Caption or Category.

- A brief statement supporting what I mean by the caption.

- A statement actually making the PROMISE TO MYSELF, framed in the same way I would say it as if I were speaking to someone else. It will appear in quotes.

- Looking ahead that means - bringing the promise, with practicality, into my day. Write a brief exploration of ways that I might keep that promise to myself throughout the day.

A day's end I may reflect on facebook (and some days I may not) how the PROMISE TO MYSELF unfolded in the course of the day. I want to be able to determine if following this format on a consistent basis actually changes my course of action and impacts my decisions. I'm confident it will - but we'll see.

This is supporting text for this exercise. I wrote it for my friend, Tonya Wells, a year ago and have adjusted it slightly for this process.

Judgment or broken promises come unexpectedly and can be unfair. Asking ourselves, "why?" or "do i deserve this?" is not really productive. People break promises. People judge others. Sometimes accurately, sometimes not. An individual's personal assessment has the greatest significance and impact. The appraisal of another only has the importance that is attributed to it. One can value the opinions and judgments of others with being determined or deterred by them. And one can be heartened by the intention of a promise extended without being disappointed when the promise is not fulfilled. Essentially - the most important promises are the ONES WE MAKE TO OURSELVES.

PROMISES TO MYSELF • December 7, 2009 PROMISE #1 • PHYSICAL WELLNESS • I promise to run all my decisions today through this filter, “Will this contribute to my physical well being?" I will support and nurture my health by taking aggressive actions toward my vitality and strength. • To myself I say, “mary anne, I will take good care of you.” • Looking forward into my day this might mean – paying attention to the remaining impact of that seasonal cold, dressing warm, drinking lots of water and herbal teas, taking supportive supplements, making great food choices.

What will YOU promise yourself today?