Last summer I saw the movie,"Eat, Pray, Love", and was glad I accepted my mother's invitation to get out and enjoy! But, because my hearing is compromised, I knew I would have to buy the DVD when it became available so that I could set my TV for "closed caption" and read what I was not able to hear in the theater. This movie had quite an impact on me precisely because so much of what the author shared about her spiritual journey paralleled my own life to this point. As a result, I decided to purchase the book that the movie was based on because I wanted to read what Elizabeth Gilbert offered by way of her brilliant narration of her private thoughts .I finished the book last night and was not disappointed. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels the need to explore in more depth their own spiritual journey.
With that said, I this morning settled into my recliner, turned on the TV and began my online routine. The first "news" flashing across my screen was the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It was obvious from the number of onlookers that the citizens of London and England, as well as tourists, were enjoying the positive vibrations that overwhelmed the very eager crowd of loyal royal fans and well-wishers. While I do not count myself among this large crowd, I wish the newlyweds joy and the strength to fulfill some rather strict expectations inherent in the giving of William the title of Prince of Cambridge. May the love that radiated from their very being today only grow and have the chance to mellow in the years ahead.
The next news I viewed was the damage of yet another storm and resulting tornado that ripped through the deep south of our country leaving in it's wake a path of destruction and death to a portion of our country that has suffered so much devastation in the past decade. Unfortunately, as I predicted over a year ago, the Mississippi River and some of it's tributaries are overflowing their banks causing another kind of destruction. Along the east coast, flooding in the New England area has also left countless families homeless as well as destroying buildings which housed stores, restaurants, factories and a multitude of other wage-earning enterprises. And, a while the state of Texas recovers from a series wildfires the cost of gas and products continue to soar.
Because these cataclysmic disasters have barely let up world-wide, the only positive I can find is that as a result of this global destruction great construction in the weeks, months and probably years to come will be required providing jobs for tens of thousands of unemployed in our country Neighbors will be forced to work together to find the countess loose ends of their shattered lives.Time must be found to grieve, rebuild and re-establish what was lost, and citizens who were once strangers will find comfort in each other and eventually come to treasure the opportunity to bind together as they move on with life. Maybe this is what is meant by the words of visionaries who predicedt that this time in history will see the end of life in this country and planet as we knew it...geographically, politically and as a result, spiritually.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone
Today for me was absolutely out of the ordinary...no resemblance to the often irregularity of my normal days. But, it in the distractions of today I found great opportunities to learn about myself and others. However, in each case I also had the opportunity to pass or play...continue on my otherwise normal morning routine or accept the diversions placed in my path. Suffice it to say, I accepted the challenges and find now that I'm much the richer for doing so.
Basically, I have been the kind of person who craves structure in my life. I wanted everything to fit into nice neat little boxes of understanding. But, recently I have found myself yearning also for change adventure - new things to do, to see, and to learn. There are aspects of my life that bring me comfort and the opportunity for reflection, introspection, and growth, and one of those constants in my life is my habit of keeping a dream journal.
It has taken me many years of dreaming, journaling and learning to reach the point where I can find the messages my higher self is trying to relay to me through the dreamscapes of my sleeping consciousness. It has taken many years of misunderstanding the symbols or archetypes and their general meaning and many years of missed messages to arrive at the level of comfort I experience now. Another complicated challenge was to allow myself to open up to see where some of these symbols are personalized.In other words, taken from my own past experiences and how they affected my life and the people in my life. This took a great deal of honesty and acceptance of what was before I could arrive at the correct theme or purpose of the dream itself.
Faithfully keeping a dream journal and applying their messages on a daily basis have helped me untangle some of the knots that find their way into my life. I guess it's safe to say that keeping a dream journal is like the hair conditioner of life...makes the tangles easier to remove and adds a certain amount of body and strength to the life. And so, keeping this journal has become a very important part of my daily routine.
In allowing, and even embracing, the "distractions" that landed feet first in my path today I not only found messages for myself and my own future use, I was able to be a springboard for a couple of other people as they bounced their own struggles in my direction. In each case, I could only listen and comment appropriately, but in doing so, I provided the other person with a certain amount of love and acceptance while showering myself with the peace that comes from taking the road less traveled and ending up just a little bit further ahead on my own spiritual journey instead of stuck in the rut of my own daily comfort zone.
Sometimes thinking and acting outside the box, or out of the ordinary, can be just the adventure we wanted, and needed, all along. We just have to have the confidence to take a risk and just make the choice.
Basically, I have been the kind of person who craves structure in my life. I wanted everything to fit into nice neat little boxes of understanding. But, recently I have found myself yearning also for change adventure - new things to do, to see, and to learn. There are aspects of my life that bring me comfort and the opportunity for reflection, introspection, and growth, and one of those constants in my life is my habit of keeping a dream journal.
It has taken me many years of dreaming, journaling and learning to reach the point where I can find the messages my higher self is trying to relay to me through the dreamscapes of my sleeping consciousness. It has taken many years of misunderstanding the symbols or archetypes and their general meaning and many years of missed messages to arrive at the level of comfort I experience now. Another complicated challenge was to allow myself to open up to see where some of these symbols are personalized.In other words, taken from my own past experiences and how they affected my life and the people in my life. This took a great deal of honesty and acceptance of what was before I could arrive at the correct theme or purpose of the dream itself.
Faithfully keeping a dream journal and applying their messages on a daily basis have helped me untangle some of the knots that find their way into my life. I guess it's safe to say that keeping a dream journal is like the hair conditioner of life...makes the tangles easier to remove and adds a certain amount of body and strength to the life. And so, keeping this journal has become a very important part of my daily routine.
In allowing, and even embracing, the "distractions" that landed feet first in my path today I not only found messages for myself and my own future use, I was able to be a springboard for a couple of other people as they bounced their own struggles in my direction. In each case, I could only listen and comment appropriately, but in doing so, I provided the other person with a certain amount of love and acceptance while showering myself with the peace that comes from taking the road less traveled and ending up just a little bit further ahead on my own spiritual journey instead of stuck in the rut of my own daily comfort zone.
Sometimes thinking and acting outside the box, or out of the ordinary, can be just the adventure we wanted, and needed, all along. We just have to have the confidence to take a risk and just make the choice.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Taking Responsibility...It's Your Responsibility
This morning I woke up with the issue of responsibility on my mind. As I observe this particular aspect of life I know that there can be too much of one and not enough of the other creating a careless balance which can affect work/career, relationships and self-image. I grew up the oldest of four daughters, of the oldest daughter, of the oldest daughter of the oldest daughter, and my first child was...you guessed it, a beautiful daughter. I did not want to burden her with the same responsibility for her younger brothers, but as time and life went on, I found myself falling into the same unavoidable pitfall that my mother, and her mother before her, was born into. Yet, because of a smidgen of awareness, I also was able to make some corrections, hopefully in time to allow my daughter the right to step out of that "oldest child" role.
While I lived in a world with too much responsibility, some people also live in a world (sometimes of their own choosing) where many of the opportunities to exercise personal, and God-given responsibilities has been slowly taken away from them. Personally, I feel this is very sad because it is, in taking responsibility for decisions and actions, or the exercising of free will, that not only human beings but those inhabitants of the animal kingdom learn the valuable lessons in life necessary to wisdom.
Parents who try to make life easy for their offspring do them no favors in the long run. I'm not against being able to give children advantages that can enhance their life, make less dangerous, or open up a world of safe and valuable information sharing, such as the Internet. However, too much of a good thing can also be terribly detrimental, and at times extremely harmful to health, happiness or personal welfare.
In our country we have the Big Government/Big Daddy making more and more decisions for it's citizens, passing laws to keep us safe or hopefully prevent some of the other dangers in life from compromising our life and lifestyle. Yet, it has been proven time and again that you can't legislate stupidity. There will always be that handful (OK basketful) of people who will do what they want, whenever they want, and how they want regardless of any pre-existing laws, legal, moral, or otherwise.
Yes, they are indeed the bad apples that spoil it for the rest of the citizenry who would rather decide for themselves how much salt they want to ingest, whether or not to wear a seat belt, or whether or not they would be wise to purchase private health insurance. After all, isn't this the land of the free and home of the brave? It's not the government's responsibility to define our freedoms or save us from the consequences and/or disasters from misplaced or reckless bravery. Plain and simple, at least it is to me.
It has been written, quoted and pontificated that it is the wise person who will (or can) learn from the mistakes of others, and I agree with that 100%. Unfortunately, there are too many who, like myself, forget that pearl of wisdom and think that I'm the exception to the rules. And, when it comes down to the bottom line of whatever issue currently lands with both feet in the middle of my life, if I did not choose wisely, then I must accept responsibility for the good, the bad, or the ugliness of my own life and of my own making.
Don't you think it's time our own government let US, it's citizens, take their lumps and learn their life lessons? Some argue that doing so would cause chaos with everyone doing what they want. But I have news for the naive of our country...they're doing it anyway! so why not let them live with the consequences instead of passing more laws to prevent more chaos that are in actuality creating a society of zombies who can't make an educated decision about their life issues because Big Daddy Government has usurped our rights to make mistakes, learn from them and gain wisdom for future reference.
So, what does Government have against it's citizens gaining wisdom? Even the Bible grants us that right. Why does the government of the country which is, for the time being anyway, the greatest on this planet deny us that precious, unalienable right? This inquiring mind would like to know!
While I lived in a world with too much responsibility, some people also live in a world (sometimes of their own choosing) where many of the opportunities to exercise personal, and God-given responsibilities has been slowly taken away from them. Personally, I feel this is very sad because it is, in taking responsibility for decisions and actions, or the exercising of free will, that not only human beings but those inhabitants of the animal kingdom learn the valuable lessons in life necessary to wisdom.
Parents who try to make life easy for their offspring do them no favors in the long run. I'm not against being able to give children advantages that can enhance their life, make less dangerous, or open up a world of safe and valuable information sharing, such as the Internet. However, too much of a good thing can also be terribly detrimental, and at times extremely harmful to health, happiness or personal welfare.
In our country we have the Big Government/Big Daddy making more and more decisions for it's citizens, passing laws to keep us safe or hopefully prevent some of the other dangers in life from compromising our life and lifestyle. Yet, it has been proven time and again that you can't legislate stupidity. There will always be that handful (OK basketful) of people who will do what they want, whenever they want, and how they want regardless of any pre-existing laws, legal, moral, or otherwise.
Yes, they are indeed the bad apples that spoil it for the rest of the citizenry who would rather decide for themselves how much salt they want to ingest, whether or not to wear a seat belt, or whether or not they would be wise to purchase private health insurance. After all, isn't this the land of the free and home of the brave? It's not the government's responsibility to define our freedoms or save us from the consequences and/or disasters from misplaced or reckless bravery. Plain and simple, at least it is to me.
It has been written, quoted and pontificated that it is the wise person who will (or can) learn from the mistakes of others, and I agree with that 100%. Unfortunately, there are too many who, like myself, forget that pearl of wisdom and think that I'm the exception to the rules. And, when it comes down to the bottom line of whatever issue currently lands with both feet in the middle of my life, if I did not choose wisely, then I must accept responsibility for the good, the bad, or the ugliness of my own life and of my own making.
Don't you think it's time our own government let US, it's citizens, take their lumps and learn their life lessons? Some argue that doing so would cause chaos with everyone doing what they want. But I have news for the naive of our country...they're doing it anyway! so why not let them live with the consequences instead of passing more laws to prevent more chaos that are in actuality creating a society of zombies who can't make an educated decision about their life issues because Big Daddy Government has usurped our rights to make mistakes, learn from them and gain wisdom for future reference.
So, what does Government have against it's citizens gaining wisdom? Even the Bible grants us that right. Why does the government of the country which is, for the time being anyway, the greatest on this planet deny us that precious, unalienable right? This inquiring mind would like to know!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Why I Came Back
Several years ago I became a regular blogger on Yahoo 360. This was something I came to enjoy a great deal. Blogging was a way to put those thoughts that swirled around in my head into print for myself as well as others to read. I was encouraged when I developed a small group of followers who were, as myself, sad to see Yahoo 360 close down.
Many of us went to Facebook, but I didn't find that forum compatible with my own blogging needs. So, I let a very important and creative outlet slip through the pages of Facebook while the number of my friends (many relatives) continued to climb. I did not want to lose contact with people who have been an important part of my online life for many years.
One of my interests is recording and analyzing my dreams, and recently I've been directed to once again take up this valuable outlet of blogging. Recent encouragement from friends helped me take up the mantle and go with whatever comes to me to share with others.
I can't guarantee I won't ruffle some feathers, and I have no problem with readers expressing opposing views. In fact, I encourage it, for myself and for anyone else who takes the time to read my blogs. However, what I won't tolerate is verbal putdowns from close-minded people who can see only their own views or beliefs.
Possibly later today, I will write my first official blog. In the past I have chosen topics from books I have read or topic cards that share positive messages to begin the day. Sometimes I will awaken to what I call a Soul Song in my head. These I often share on Facebook, but I may share the messages in my blog. I can't say "anything goes", yet in the interest of sharing and learning, it might make it's way to just that. Much will depend on feedback.
I encourage any and all positive, as well opposing, views. Let's just, please, keep it civil and well-intentioned.
Many of us went to Facebook, but I didn't find that forum compatible with my own blogging needs. So, I let a very important and creative outlet slip through the pages of Facebook while the number of my friends (many relatives) continued to climb. I did not want to lose contact with people who have been an important part of my online life for many years.
One of my interests is recording and analyzing my dreams, and recently I've been directed to once again take up this valuable outlet of blogging. Recent encouragement from friends helped me take up the mantle and go with whatever comes to me to share with others.
I can't guarantee I won't ruffle some feathers, and I have no problem with readers expressing opposing views. In fact, I encourage it, for myself and for anyone else who takes the time to read my blogs. However, what I won't tolerate is verbal putdowns from close-minded people who can see only their own views or beliefs.
Possibly later today, I will write my first official blog. In the past I have chosen topics from books I have read or topic cards that share positive messages to begin the day. Sometimes I will awaken to what I call a Soul Song in my head. These I often share on Facebook, but I may share the messages in my blog. I can't say "anything goes", yet in the interest of sharing and learning, it might make it's way to just that. Much will depend on feedback.
I encourage any and all positive, as well opposing, views. Let's just, please, keep it civil and well-intentioned.
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