The Wingman’s Path

This is a post from Janet…

Many, many moons ago, I was a teacher and director at a small synagogue pre-school. It was a sweet little school, across the street from a small farm and up the road from a garden center that sold pumpkins and apples in the fall. Every morning at 8:30 am, forty little bodies would come bouncing in accompanied by their moms. And every afternoon at 3:00 pm, they would depart holding those same hands.

At lunch and playtime, I would hear stories and adventures and mishaps about their families and pets and lives. These little shining faces that I talked with and read to, cooked and sang with, and helped navigate through the frustrations of sharing, and the hurt of being excluded, they were all, in their own ways, so dear to me. And it occurred to me, that for all I knew about them, for the most part, I had barely met one dad. I wanted to.

And so, Breakfast with Dad was scheduled. The kids drew invitations, I announced it in the weekly newsletter, moms volunteered to bring fruit salads and dessert.

And one spring Sunday morning, forty little ones gripping large hands, came proudly in to show off their dads. The coffee was percolating in those big industrial pots, the smell wafting through the room, the bagels were sliced and ready to be spread. The chairs were arranged in a big semi circle around the large room. I took my place on the risers in the front of the room and welcomed everyone. There I was, surrounded by a roomful of dads: some newbie first timers, others more seasoned, third or fourth time around the blockers, whom had probably been to one too many of these events.

But, we had a little entertainment planned. First came a slide show of each child saying something special about their dad. I could see as each dad sat up in his chair, alert and waiting for the slide of their own little one and their sweet accompanying voice talking about him. Dads were pulling little bodies onto their laps and hugging them, smiling. Then, all the kids came up onto the risers and we sang.

“He’s so strong, he’s so tall, he walks among the trees.
He’s so wise, he’s so kind, sometimes I tag along behind.
At work or at home, inside or out, my dad really knows what it’s all about.
He’s so wise, he’s so kind, it really blows my mind, that this great dad is mine!”

I had written it a couple weeks before the breakfast and with the help of a friend strumming on the guitar, the kids had practiced it over and over, standing tall, hands at sides, singing loudly. Now, as I nodded for them to begin, they just belted it out, their little faces shining.

After the entertainment, as I was taking my first bite of bagel, one of the more seasoned dads came up to me with tears in in eyes. “Thank you so much”, he said, “that meant the world to me. But, you look too young to be a parent yourself. How did you know to do this?”
” I’m not a parent yet,” I replied, ” but I just thought about my own dad and wrote that song remembering how I felt about him when I was little and how I still feel about him now”. “He’s lucky”, the dad smiled. “No”, I smiled back, “I am”.

My dad’s been gone a year and a half now. Today, July 30th is his birthday. And still, when I walk through the woods, I feel him amongst the tall trees that surround me, in the breeze that blows past me, see him in the big birds that fly above me and know that he is still right beside me, so strong and tall, so wise and kind.

Janet

 
Postscript…

Not that you need a reminder, but today, take one minute and consciously think of someone you loved who has passed on, and feel their love.

Michael

The other day, I was listening to something from Deepak Chopra.
He mentioned focusing on seeing what is going right as you go about your day.

I thought it would make a wonderful one minute practice.

So I took a “wingman minute”, and repeated it to myself.

I’m even getting very high-tech with my practices as I videoed myself, and then tweeted it.

I thought it might help you to be able to practice right along with me.

Give it a try, and see if you can start creating such a strong positive vibration, that the universe starts sending you so much more to be positive about.

Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Btw… You can now follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/wingmanmichael.

To seeing what is going right,

Michael

Join Michael Gross, Wingman, and Janet Sokoloff, LCSW, on Talk-n-Angels radio show tonight at 7pm.
We will be discussing how to move through your fear, positively, successfully and fearlessly.

We all experience fear.  Tonight we will be exploring the best strategies and practices for working through the fears that hold you back from living the life you want to live.

To listen in, click here at 7pm tonight, http://www.talknangels.com.
Scroll down and click on “Listen live to the show”.

To call in to the show, dial (347) 857-3584.

To Living Fearlessly,

Michael

I’m expecting to have a fun day today. Jan and I are heading to Brimfield, Mass. for their annual Brimfield Flea market.. It’s been described as the ultimate antique treasure hunt and 3 ring circus.

It’s not even that we’re looking to purchase anything. It’s just that we love walking around these type of markets. And we’ve always wanted to make it to this one.

So I’m looking forward to it. And I woke up this morning excited for the day.

Which reminded me of my, “I’m having a great day practice”.

It’s a wonderful practice to do as you get ready for your day. And it isn’t just for those days you’re really looking forward to.

Actually, I’ve found it works best on my normal, “everyday” days. It’s a great practice to do any day because it raises my vibration and gets me looking for the best my day has to offer.

And becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Give it a try for yourself today. For one minute say, out loud or to yourself, “I’m having a great day”.

And while you do, think about what you’re doing today, and what might happen that could make it great.

And then go about having a great day,

Michael

Our community is hurting. How can it not be?

With so much violence and so many innocent victims…

In just the last month we’ve seen unimaginable violence in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Minnesota and Orlando.

And that’s just in America.
World wide, terrorism has claimed lives in Bangladesh, Iraq and Turkey.

Maybe it hasn’t hit someone from your immediate group of friends or family, but sooner or later it will. How can it not?

People protest that black lives matter, blue lives matter and gay lives matter, and we form more divisions, create more sadness, and see the cycle repeat itself.

Unfortunately, it seems the only color that stays constant is red.
Blood red.
And it’s staining the fabric of our world.

How can it not?

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely part of my “tribe”. And the idea of killing someone because of his or her religious beliefs, skin color, or sexual preference is as foreign to you as the idea of purchasing an AK47 assault rifle.

So how do we, you and I, hope to help our community, our nation, and our world, begin to heal when we don’t even know these people, or understand their hate?

More importantly, how do we stop this heartbreaking cycle before it hits closer to home.

Because the odds are, it will.

Maybe your son, cousin, or nephew goes out for a night of partying in a gay bar?
Or your daughter, sister or neice is at an airport leaving on a vacation?
Or your husband or wife is at their place of work?

And violence erupts.

Martin Luther King said,

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

But how do we feel love for people who seem so crazed with hate?

It seems impossible, yet in my own life I’ve seen “miracles”.

Certainly not as large a miracle as world peace would be.
But a miracle is a miracle so I’m doing the only thing I know how to do.

I’m practicing positivity.

How? By doing what I do when anything bad happens in my life.

I’m playing the “Find the Positive” game.

But there aren’t any positives to find.
So I decided to make one up.

I took a “wingman minute”, and thought of something positive that can come from this?

What does that look like?
It looks like me closing my eyes and picturing this last month being the fulcrum from which everyone, yes, everyone living on our planet, realizes the diversity of our world is what makes it so great?

And we start appreciating our differences.

And I practiced holding onto that thought for 60 seconds.

How about if you do that too?

And maybe by us practicing what that would look like, and feel like, we can start sending those vibrations out into the cosmos.

And by the universal laws of cause and effect, karma, and “you reap what you sow”, the universe will send us back world peace.

How about that? Now that’s an idea I can get behind.

Today’s practice:

For one minute close your eyes and Imagine seeing, feeling and believing the world is at peace.

With Much Appreciation,

Michael

Love this, howyadoin?

Thought you might also.

I’ve actually turned it into a practice.
When I wake up, I watch this and say, “It’s my life, I’m going to live it my way”.

You can too. It’s your life, live it your way.

You’ve got this.

Btw… Jan and I are house-sitting (and dog-sitting) up in Amherst, MA.
It’s beautiful up here, more on that later…

Have a great July 4th weekend,

Michael