Y not?

Judith of Vicarious Rising gave me the letter Y. When I think of this letter, there are a lot of words that come to mind. But symbolically, the letter itself is like a fork in the road or path that I need to choose. So here are my 10 Y things:

1. You--That's who I spent most of my life thinking about. Someone other than myself. I still find that you are an important part of my thoughts, just not the entire focus anymore. You has been replaced with more "I". That's part of my recovery.

2. Youth--Ah, youth. Who doesn't wish for that some days? I still feel young most of the time but without the angst of youth. Being young is a state of mind when you age. I don't have any desire to be the youth of my past, unless I could have the wisdom of today.

3. Yearning--This is a poignant one for me. I've yearned for something most of my life: acceptance and love primarily. Yearning for these things set me up for a lot of disappointments. And the things that I yearned for were right within my grasp, within myself. Yearning for the future was also futile when I know that I can just live in this day.

4. Yacht--this isn't a motor yacht but a sailing yacht. Specifically a Tayana, a Shannon, a Cabo Rico, or something like that. I love the lines of these traditional sailing vessels. There's something really appealing to me about a beautiful sailing yacht of the old school design.

5. Yogurt--I like mine with the plain vanilla flavor. It's one of my favorite snacks.

6. Yeti--I've always been fascinated by this hairy mythical beast. I remember seeing the blurry photograph of a yeti and thinking, "Wow, what if this is true?" It was probably a drunk guy in a gorilla suit but still the idea of an unknown species of man fascinates me.

7. Yellow--the color of brightness: sunflowers, yellow submarines, the sun, leaves in fall. And the ground breaking movie, I Am Curious--Yellow. I never saw a yellow streak down anyone's back, but I know that cowardice exists in other forms.

8. Yule--I'm not nordic but like the Yule traditions in Sweden. I have a couple of Julstackes that I bought and have up at Christmas. I have always burned a yule log at Christmas--it's really just a huge piece of oak that burns most of the day.

9. Yin Yang--I like this Chinese concept of opposites within a greater whole. I seem to be involved in love with the Yin to my Yang. I find the following fascinating (from Wikipedia):

"The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil. It is generally associated with the feminine, birth and generation, and with the night. Yang, by contrast, is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with masculinity and daytime."

I like the picture of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. And the symbol for yin-yang has always intrigued me.

10. Yield--This is something that I don't do well. I would think of a rebuttal, a "yes, but" response. I don't like being controlled and yielding smacks of that. I'm learning that boundaries are important in deciding when to yield or not.

There you have it. The Y words that came to mind for me. Let me know if you want a letter. I'll be glad to toss one your way.