We are still figuring out what untangling tools we think help us best when life is tangled. Even if I list the ten best steps, I do not think they have to be steps on the same ladder. At times, life looks different after a night’s sleep. Then sleep wa the tool you needed. There even are times when everything turns out for the best if we just are able to wait a little bit and not making the mess worse by pulling all the strings we see. Then nothing was the tool you needed.
Even if there was a ten step plan I do not think it would be the same for everyone. I do think most of us should have “call a friend” on our list, I also think we could evaluate when we do that. I respect my close friends too much to use them as scetching boards. I respect my own experience and the responsibility I have over my own life too much to not use it. Even so , calling a friend is not so much about solutions as it is about confirming the “we and us”. Most of us have friends that look at us as humans, while we ourselves tend to think we should be superhumans. Isn’t that often the case when life gets too much? We just are dissapointed in our selves for not being able to handle it all? For not having foresight to understand what would happen, for not being able to keep everybody happy? A friend will tell me both that I am OK and that I should put my act together as I have handled worse before. Most of all a friend stays with you, no matter what.
Alas, friends like that are hard to come by. To find a kindred spirit is a gift that we do not receive in every setting we are in.
That is the time for writing your best friend a letter, and then read it. You will be surprised how wise you are! Then it could be the time for writing a blog. Actually being your own best friend is not a second best, it is the only way of knowing how to be a friend to others.
In November I take part in the NaBloPoMo, in the BlogHer network. I post every day on “The Untangling Tens” what women do when life gets tangled. These are the ten tools that worked for those I have asked, what are yours?
All pictures in this blog are taken by me, Solveig Mjolsnes. This one has is taken at my dear friend Britt Arnhilds house, I”ll tell the story later! Have a look at her blog!
Indexyourlife 
So true. There is no “one size fits all” approach to life – well I suppose there are many such approaches out there, but none that really do fit everyone. I have always found myself resistant toward systems that lay out the right way to do or achieve something. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Solveig! Pat
Thank you Pat! And happy thanksgiving weekend (and Life) to you too. I have so appreciated all the quotes you have had on gratitude in november! Sorry for replying so late, as you see form today’s post I have been traveling and have not been abel to keep up! Love, Solveig
Ahh, Soveig. Please don’t apologize for not replying more quickly. I am all too aware how complex our lives are. We can’t be online every minute. And even if we have access while traveling, some things can wait. I set up my posts about a month in advance so that I can breathe in between times!!! I widh I could say that I was able to disconnect from everything from time to time. But that only seems to happen when I go on a retreat someplace where there is no internet. Take good care! Pat
You are sweet Pat! There is always the danger of getting too digital… I post ahead on my Bible blog, but I am a slow thinker so I have not been able to write many posts ahead on my other blogs, It is a great tool though.Enjoy your day! Solveig
Your blog is thoughtful and has provided me with much to think about the past month or two since I discovered it. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Today I was shocked and delighted to see your photo which including a postcard I made for a carving swap this Autumn. Lovely arrangement.
Dear Daena, thank you for saying that!I am glad if my thoughts inspire others to reflect!
I do not think the answer I sent form the airport yesterday went through, so I’ll tell you the story of the card once more! When back in Norway I was having breakfast club with my best friend. There had been a big storm and she went out to help her husband with two trees that had fallen.She was to be the lookout so that no body got hurt. While she did that I was clearing away the breakfast things and enjoying all the beautiful decorations she always has around the house. Your card was one, and the perfect illustration to my post. Isn’t being in your life also about seeing the precious people you are surrounded with! AS I have been blogging form my iPad while traveling I have had trouble adding and editing so the credit did not go on the post. I’ll fix that now!
What is your story? Did you give the card to Britt Arnhild or did somebody else?I’d love to hear that story!
love, Solveig
Dear Solveig, This gets more and more amazing! Britt-Arnhild’s blog is the blog I check every day and have been doing that for several years. It’s so lovely to see her photos and to read the parts of her life she shares. She enjoys mail and as a way to give back a little something for the pleasure her blog brings I occasionally send a postcard – sometimes one I buy and sometimes one I’ve made for a carving swap. Somewhere on your blog I read you were living in California for the year so I thought you may have seen the card from one of the swap participants who lives in California. I’m delighted again (and amazed) that the one you found was Britt-Arnhild’s in Norway. Thank you for displaying it in such a lovely way. You have an artistic eye for arrangements. Bright blessings, Daena
Thank you, but as I said this picture was taken while having breakfast in the house in the woods with Britt Arnhild, so I won’t take credit for that arrangement!Enjoy your day! I am preparing for advent here in our house at the ocean,love it!
Take a look at this blog post Solveig (and Daena)http://brittarnhildshouseinthewoods.typepad.com/brittarnhilds_house_in_th/2013/11/otherwise-you-will-miss-your-life.html
Have a look at my post now! Finally I am back to a computer that let’s me edit and add and write and have fun!