Colleen's Blog

I'm playing with the idea of posting a virtual "help wanted" sign on my blog.  This is not about seeking to add to my staff of one; rather a practice to bring out a side of me that as a rule is kept hidden. Since you asked, because I'm independent, liberated and oh so bery, bery stubborn.  I'm strong, physically and mentally.  Isn't asking for help a sign of weakness?  Well, I don't need to dig too deep into that question, because I know it's me vs. me.

So let it begin this social science experiment. 

The research question: What if I ask for help and receive it? The mission is to clearly express what I need help with, and then without attachment, allow the space to receive.

The hypothesis:  Here's where I would say what I expect from this.  I expect to have fun; feel creative energy and experience moments of struggle.   

The procedure:  Step by step proof what I did so I can implement the same procedure again if I need to repeat the experiment. Oh, this will be repeatable.

The results: Standard science reporting says this is where the numbers show up.   I'm going to post follow-ups and any quantum physics disturbances as well as leaps of faith.

The conclusion:  What did I learn by asking for help and without attachment, receive.

First Help Wanted post:

I'm interested in spending a month or two during the summer of 2013 volunteering for an organization either here in the US or elsewhere.  Can you suggest organizations or better yet, provide real contacts and stories of real experiences you've had with said organization?

What's in it for me? 

More giving and receiving.  Enrich my life by immersing myself with other fellow humans that could need a helping hand.  Live with them, by them, through them.  It's one thing to give money to an organization to help, Haiti or Japan, following their horrendous natural disasters.  I'm all about gathering experiences and not "stuff."  I have a few close friends who traveled to New Orleans to help in food kitchens after hurricane Katrina and they experienced deep satisfaction connecting with people who lost everything in the floods.

If you could ask for something, what would it be?

Can you list 10 things that delighted you last month?  Last year?  How 'bout yesterday?

As you begin the list, ask yourself, "why was this experience delightful?"  You'll probably have a viscereal connection to the memory of the experience...your face will smile, your energy will pick up, if only momentarily.  You're body connects with the delight.

Late December, husband and I took a tour of a specially designed, eco-friendly home.  It's a small home, and it took a few minutes to scan beyond the crowd and take in the new space, but my eye caught something so apparently crazy, I stopped still.  What's that?  Right there in the kitchen, a swing.  Two metal chain links connected to the ceiling with a red swing hanging below.  And it was empty. 

Not believing fully what I was seeing and wondering if there was a weight limit,  I quickly asked "can I swing?" The host replied, of course, and explained the scandinavian philosophy for healthy living  includes bringing the outdoors inside during those long cold winters.  I pushed others aside to get to the swing and proceeded to stretch out my legs and arch my back.  How incredibly wonderful. My entire body was smiling.  This body experience was delightful to me.

I want more delightful moments.  Daily delights.  Outrageous delights. Why not ask for more delightful moments this year?