Wow. It has been a whole month since I last posted here. Well, it has been a bumpy ride, with my father taking sick suddenly and then passing away unexpectedly. Eulogies and out-of-town family and the emotions that go with the whole business - we've all rested in the sadness of that experience. And then we move on.
If there is one thing that the death of a loved one reminds us, it is that we must treasure the people in our lives. I have become aware of how easy it is to take others for granted. When someone is in our life regularly (child, friend, sibling, significant other, etc.) we forget to notice them as we did when they were new to our lives. We become accustomed to the way they walk, the depth of their eyecolor, the funny way they laugh, the shine on their hair in the sun. We are distracted by all the other things in life and forget to appreciate that exact moment that we are in, right now, with them. I consciously stop myself at times to be still and notice, to reopen my eyes and see/be love right then and there.
I like Susan Sontag's words: "Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager."
The other reminder that death offers is that we must seize every opportunity to live life as fully as possible. I personally have been postponing some of my dreams, and I am now consciously moving forward to realize them. As Joseph Campbell said, "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls."
So, I've flown through the weather of this last month and am at cruise now with the clouds below my wings (less turbulent up here, you know!) And what am I doing to move forward? I've committed to spending a couple days per week promoting my book. I've committed to working on the sequel (thank you all who have inquired about it). I'm contacting bookstores and pilot shops to carry my book. I'm creating book club questions for SILENT SKY. I'm doing book signings three days next week at the Arlington Fly-In and Airshow (looking for someone to wear a catsuit to draw people in to my table - any takers??)
How about you? Is there a dream you have been waiting to realize? Dream realization requires action. Go. Act. Do. Is there someone in your life with whom you may have become too comfortable? Love realization requires attention. Notice. Appreciate. Cherish.
Fondly, Cate
And somehow, that has morphed into a new motto for me. Be Badass. What a great way to live. It is just another way of saying, Live life all the way to the edge. Whatever you're doing, whether it be making pie crust, or dressing up to go out to dinner, or buying an extra sandwich to give to the guy with the cardboard sign on the corner, do it with all the mindfulness and attention you have. 
