The Countdown

by Cynthia M. Brown

I have been told several times by several people how many days until spring arrives. I have not been much of a countdown person in my life. Growing up, I loved school so I didn’t count the days to the weekend, holidays or summer break. I enjoyed summer and since I didn’t dread school, I didn’t reluctantly mark off the days until the first day of school as if marking off my final days of life before interment into prison.

Don’t misunderstand me; I do make a great deal of the approach of a birthday, anniversary or a long-planned vacation. I mark them with great anticipation and celebrate them with much fanfare. Somehow, those kinds of countdowns seem festive and as if they enhance the enjoyment of the now.

It just seems to me that we spend so much time waiting for the next thing, season or break to arrive that I often ask myself if we are so busy waiting for the future that we sacrifice the now. When my son was little, he used to complain a lot about all the rules he had to obey. Oh, he couldn’t wait to grow up so he could drive a car, not have a bed time, etc. He told me when he was grown he would be so free. I used to tell him he was wishing away his life and his childhood. I used to tell him he would never be as free as an adult as he was as a child. I told him he would have to earn a living, pay for his home, utilities, food… He would have a supervisor at work making a whole lot of rules about his time, dress, and behavior…. I begged him to enjoy his freedom and childhood and not spend so much time wishing it away.

Of course, now, at 22, he is wishing for all that time and freedom. Now he says he understands what I was trying to tell him. I tell him now not to waste his life and this moment wishing for a “do over.” I tell him to find happiness in this time and to savor his youth, his health and all the possibilities before him.

I remember when my mother turned forty. I remember saying to her, “God, mom, you are FORTY! Forty

years old!” I didn’t feel like my mother was old-forty just seemed like such a BIG number. I was born when my mother was twenty. As I expressed my feelings about her being 40, she just smiled and touched my cheek. With a twinkle in her eye, she said, ”That’s alright girlie. Time has a way of telescoping. When I am 70, you will be 50.” When my mother turned 70, yep, I did turn 50. And it’s so odd to think we had that conversation more than 30 years ago!

So, now, after an unusually warm and wet winter, everyone is counting down until spring. I am not. I really made myself slow down and savor the light snow that dusted the city a week ago. On a recent Sunday, I walked my dog in a park, appreciating the snowy hills, the red canes of service berry bushes, the green of the pines, that amazing and magical blue of a winter sky, the brilliant yet distant white of the January sun…. I made myself aware of the cold on my skin and the soothing warm blast of stepping indoors after a long walk. I know I will enjoy the beauty of spring when it arrives but for now, I want to really enjoy each day of this season, for all its gifts. I want to challenge myself to really be alive in this moment, living it fully, not holding my breath, peeling off another page of my desk calendar, hoping for some magical moment that will make life better. I want to really try to remember that each day, each moment is the best moment . None of us is promised more than now. Our lives and our relationships will be irrevocably changed in each instant and if we are counting down, if we are waiting for a better time, we will lose what we have.

When I was growing up, on days that my father woke us for school, he would come into our bedroom, switch on the light and bellow, “Rise and shine, rise and shine. The gift is given and the day is what you make it.” I learned when I was older that the Cherokee believe when you awaken each day, you have been gifted with another day of life. You have no right to ask or expect anymore and that it is up to you to honor the creator by living fully in balance with all of life each day. I like to think of a world in which we all honor the gift of another day of life by fully living not a world in which we are waiting for a something better. Are you counting your life away or are you making your life count?

About the Author: Cynthia M. Brown is a Writer, Culinary Genius, and Midwife of the Local Food Revolution.

She can be reached at 740-285-7136 or cmbrown203@ yahoo.com.

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*Some classes and events may be affected by Pandemic issues, please check with each individual business for current offerings.

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Divinity Spiritual services every 3rd Saturday of the month at 5:30 pm. All are welcomed. 4800 Holiday Dr. Fairfield 45014

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Cincinnati Healers’ Gathering offers you free opportunities to create a Community of Healers while learning about the latest developments in healing modalities. Occurring monthly, these gatherings enable healers to discover and experience new healing processes. Healers will network, too, and give healings to one another. Introducing Health Network Center – a Healers’ hub connecting healers to new clients and clients to healers. Gatherings occur Tuesdays from 7-9 PM brian. eastman@LIIFT.info to receive updates and location information. Cincinnati (2nd Tues) Indy (3rd Thurs) Dayton (4th Tues) WHERE TO FIND US - EACH CITY

CINCINNATI Where: LIIFT Offices at Revelation Spiritual Church Bldg. 4251 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati 45223 (Look for the BIG WHITE SIGN in front yard, directly across street from BIG GREEN & WHITE SIGN for a dentist.) Phone me if you need help finding the place: 513 853 6180.

INDIANAPOLIS Where: Progressive Spiritualist Church 2201 E 54th St. Indianapolis IN 46220 Trouble finding it? Call Jim Lasher - 317 777 4633

DAYTON Where: Anjali’s Ayurveda Natural Health Center 1342 N Fairfield Rd Dayton OH 45432 Note: park in the Strip Mall lot just north of the Shell Station. The biggest listing on the store sign is for Alpha and Omega Church. Follow the mall building where it goes behind the Shell station. Ayurveda store is the last entrance. Phone me if you need help finding the place. 513 703 8196.

Brian Eastman at LIIFT.info 513.541.1257 - brian.eastman@LIIFT.info

•Meditation & Drumming

Last Sunday Guided Meditation & Drumming, Resume date TBD. Drumming Circle Newly forming co-ed drumming circle. Donations welcome. Come and join the fun! No experience necessary. Don’t have a drum? Come anyway, one can be provided for you. Contact Patti Lightflower for more info. pattilightflower2@gmail. com

For more details email jphil@sednamarketing.net

•Parent’s Toolshop

Parents Tool Talk® Summer Webinar Series – 2nd Tuesday of each month at noon. June webinar will discuss “Phasing into a New Normal.” As you and your family venture out this month, you will need to regularly assess safety, set rules, and teach your children not just to blindly follow adult examples, but make wise decisions on their own! Join the webinar to discuss how, share your concerns, ideas, and give/get support from other parents. https://www.facebook.com/events/2608786589404827/

Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE is the award-winning author of The Parent’s Toolshop® and CEO of Relationship Toolshop® International Training Institute, LLC. Jody is offering free live support for parents, grandparents, foster-adoptive parents, and other caregivers during this stressful time. You can get more information at https:// www.facebook.com/parentstoolshop/

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Religious Recovery: Healing for those Hurt, Disappointed, or Abused by Religion. Religious Recovery is a free mutual-support, nonprofessional 13step program loosely based on the concept of traditional 12-step meetings. The meeting is open to all religions but is not affiliated with any church or religious organization. Atheists and agnostics are also welcome.

For meeting times and locations, or to contact an individual to speak about Religious Recovery, visit our web site: ReligiousRecovery.org.

For information contact Wayne: Wayne@ReligiousRecovery.org or call/text: (513) 205-1057.

We also have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/pages/Religious-Recovery/598915013454248.