Although it’s a dark, rainy morning where I live, the weather hasn’t affected my mood. I woke up to a little trickle of dim light coming through the bedroom shades, but feeling like things were going pretty well anyway. Wishing a great day to my readers too!

Word-art that says "A great attitude becomes a great mood, which becomes a great day, which becomes a great year, which becomes a great life." -Zig Ziglar

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Last weekend I was a bit disappointed with myself because I didn’t row as well in my single race as I would have liked. It was scheduled soon after my husband and I finished our double race, and I didn’t have quite enough energy left for the single. My time was better than last year, but although I tried to put on more speed as I got near the finish line, it was not good enough to earn a medal.

Of course, there are many people who wouldn’t have the endurance to row two 5K races in the same day. Some won’t race a single at all because it takes more effort than rowing in a team boat. So, I shouldn’t have been disappointed. Just to try is pretty good in itself, and there will be other chances to do better.

Word-art that says "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I was watering my houseplants just now, and I started thinking about how much better the world would be if we all took care of ourselves just as regularly. Sometimes when we get busy and neglect ourselves, we don’t have enough awareness and concern regarding our own needs to know that we need more self-nurturing. Maybe we have some idea of how our friends feel, and how our plants look, but we lose track of ourselves. If we put a little more effort into making friends with ourselves, then we wouldn’t end up feeling “wilted” and wondering why we have so little energy left for others.

Word-art that says "It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others." -Dalai Lama

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

This time of year, it often feels as if the pace of life has speeded up and, sometimes, that there is just too much going on. In the modern world, we do indeed have a lot of assorted obligations and distractions, which can make it hard to keep track of all the details.

What’s good about it, though, is that we also have a lot of choices. We don’t have to stay in one place doing the same things forever. Instead, we can pick and choose among the many possibilities that are open to us, keeping the ones we most enjoy and letting the others go.

Word-art with many inspirational messages, beginning with "This is your life. Do what you love, and do it often."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Now that the fall season has started for rowing races, my husband and I have been going to regattas on the weekends. On Saturday we rowed in Toledo’s regatta on the Maumee River. It was a lovely day with calm water and excellent weather.

We’ve been there several times, and by now that river is starting to feel comfortable and familiar. It’s very different from just a few years ago, when the race course seemed like a big, scary, dangerous place. When we made the decision to start traveling to regattas as novice rowers, sometimes it felt overwhelming. But as time went by, it naturally got easier.

Word-art that says "The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity." -Amelia Earhart

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

What’s been on my mind this week is how to avoid stagnation while, at the same time, not getting burdened with too many projects and obligations. And what I keep circling back to is that I need to live authentically and be open to new experiences; all the rest will mostly take care of itself.

Word-art that says "Be strong... Be different... Be you..."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Earlier this week I had some old worries pop up. Apparently they needed to work themselves out from wherever they’d gotten lodged in my subconscious.

When I woke up today, I felt much better. It always helps to let those anxieties go, rather than holding onto them and being weighted down forever.

Word-art that says "Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths." -Charles H. Spurgeon

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Today I started feeling tired by midafternoon, which wasn’t surprising because I got less sleep than usual as a result of enjoying last night’s moonlight row with my husband, which I wrote about in my previous post.

I made a point of being kind to myself, enjoying my afternoon tea, and not pushing too hard to get everything done. After all, there will always be to-dos in our busy modern lives, but that doesn’t mean they need to leave us frazzled or displace the little things that make us happy.

Word-art that says "Make a list of things that make you happy. Make a list of things you do every day. Compare the lists. Adjust accordingly."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Some conversations at work over the past week left me with general feelings of being stuck in a rut and unsure how to get out of it. I often tend to make decisions intuitively, letting things settle into my subconscious mind for background processing until answers emerge. Usually something comes to me before much time has passed; but the what-comes-next question has been on my mind for several years, and it still hasn’t come clear.

So I have decided that from now on, I am not going to allow those cultural expectations about planning in detail for the future to rob me of self-confidence in the present. Rather, to get myself started on the right path, I’ll visualize my near-future self as having an abundance of positive energy, dancing joyfully through a world in which amazing new opportunities can be found everywhere.

Word-art that says "Your life should not be a game of follow the leader. Pave your own path and dance all over it!"

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

This afternoon I had a rather frustrating conversation with a person who was making so many assumptions, he couldn’t even begin to wrap his mind around the actual circumstances. Rather than letting it get to me, I went out after work and ran around the block in my neighborhood several times.

While I was still outside, my husband got home, and he immediately came out to run a few laps with me. It was very nice to have some company. Afterward we walked around for a little while to cool down. By the time we got back home, I was feeling pretty cheerful.

Word-art that says "Breathe in peace. Breathe out stress. Repeat as often as necessary." -Purple Buddha Project

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.