Category Archives: Reflections

Simple thoughts

Jun27

Thoughtful Thursdays #22

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Words – they can make you or break you. Words can uplift and destroy, create goodness and damnation, get you what you want or push it away.

Words are wonder and horror. Withholding words is depressing and dangerous and make you cry and cringe.

Words unexpressed, unsaid, untold, unwritten are a cancerous sore oozing to be placed where they belong.

Words look for a home. In a heart, in an ear, in the air, on paper, on a sidewalk, on the radio, on the TV, in a song, on a billboard, even T-shirts.

Where do your words belong? Are they good? Are they hurtful? Are your words generous with praise? Did you choose your words carefully to unearth a misunderstanding? Did your words help you grow? Did your words help someone else?

Words are as important as water because of the weight they carry. Without words we become dry and brittle and unable to communicate our needs and desires. Words create smoothness. Words create trust, insight, understanding, and clarity. The way a river moves quickly so words quickly move our lives.

Today choose your words carefully because they can change the course of your life forever.

Will your words be wonderful or wicked?

Jun6

Thoughtful Thursdays #19

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20 Reasons to smile about life:

1. Dogs, cats, birds, animals.
2. Breathing, you wouldn’t get very far without it.
3. You woke up, start something new.
4. Sun, moon, stars are free for us to enjoy.
5. Other people, even the good, bad and ugly.
6. Children, all of them even if they are not yours.
7. Walking in any form calms the mind.
8. Trees because they purify the air
9. Internet, the world at your fingertips.
10. Books, stories new worlds to explore.
11. Your mind, it can solve all problems.
12. Money makes life comfortable.
13. Food, chocolate, coffee, tea make the world go around.
14. Inventions are the result of progress.
15. Science unfolds previous mysteries.
16. Art is the expression of the universe.
17. Bodies, exercise, enjoy the physical world.
18. Flowers smell sweet and look breathtaking.
19. Clocks are tick tock-ing time away.
20. Colors are infinite.

OK there are a few more than 20 here because there are many more reasons to smile about life.

Like sewing, amusement parks, cars, sleeping, laughing, honey.

Leave a comment and add to the list.

Happy Smiling.

May30

Thoughtful Thursdays #18

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Decisions

Sometimes it’s easy to make decisions. Like what to wear or cook or movie to see. Sometimes it’s really difficult to decide especially when there is no guarantee in the outcome. For example, getting a new job or opening a business. Getting a new job is easier because it’s predictable, structured and basically secure. Opening a business is risky, unpredictable and not a sure thing.

Some decisions are unavoidable. Like going to the dentist because you have a toothache. You will go to to the dentist to get rid of the pain. Ah ha, Pain, maybe that’s why decisions become difficult because they cause pain/uncertainty. Decisions are easy to avoid when they are uncertain so we ignore decision making until there is so much pain that a decision has to be made.

What is the cure for easier decision making?

Make a decision in any direction because the process of going into a new direction will bring you to your desired destination.

And that’s a good thing.

May16

Do It Yourself World

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This is a very DIY (Do It Yourself)world. That’s kind of scary. What do I mean by that. Living and working used to fit into nice, comfy, predictable molds. All you had to do is find where you fit in. A company, a role, a field of interest. But all that has changed. Like it or not life and working has become a DIY project. For example: in today’s world the jobs that provided security are few and difficult to get and are their criteria is ever changing. Life styles are changing so fast that almost anything is acceptable as a new way of co-habitation. Which leads us to find alternate ways of living and working.

But what happens when Doing It Yourself is not clear. There are thousands of books to read and thousands of people who will try to help with their view of any given situation. It’s human nature to find a place to fit in. How about fitting in with a DIY culture. It’s a different and unclear way of finding your way until you have reached a destination just for you.

If you have expressed, in your world, that you want to be an artist, or baker or writer or a doctor or anthropologist or business owner and the reaction you get is negative.

STOP expressing those interests to those who are not willing to support you. FIND those who will support you. MOVE towards what you really want to do. DON’T waste precious time looking for approval from those who have no idea or interest in who you are. That includes family, teachers, bosses, friends or anyone who is clueless about you. Do It Yourself means to Be Yourself Always.

It won’t be easy until you Do Your Own Life. Decide to have your own life and wish well to those who are not on the same path as you. You will end up being an inspiration to the naysayers. You will finally respect yourself and others will respect your for having the courage to create your own life. You will end up making your own kind of security and life style extraordinaire. And be truly happy.

Happy Doing It Yourself and Being Yourself.

May16

Thoughtful Thursdays #16

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Once you decide, really, really decide on what you want synchronicity sets in. Doors will open, opportunities will appear and your decision to decide on what you really want will have become a reality.

Easy to say, easy to understand but so hard to decide. The culprit to deciding is distractions. It’s quite normal to have your attention on what you are doing at any given moment. For example, when driving. If you are not focused on your driving you may have an accident. But what about all those ideas in your head, the things you want to do and say and experience.

Here’s a very simple way of accomplishing those things you want to do and say and experience in three easy steps.

Step 1. Write a list of any and everything you want in any area of your interest. Nothing is off limits. Write everything down. Refer to it frequently.

Step 2. Pick one thing and do it. Just one thing. Do this one thing from start to finish. At this point it’s easy to get carried away categorizing. Resist the urge to do that. Just do one thing in the beginning. As you feel more able to do more then do it. The idea here is to not be overwhelmed by all the stuff you want to do.

Step 3. Give yourself credit for doing just one thing on your list. Check off what you have done and move to the next. At this point you can add more or delete what is not really that important.

Maybe there’s really big stuff you want to do. If it’s seems too much then break it down to steps.

Don’t give up. There will always be distractions and waves of winding paths. But that’s life and its constant changing occurrences. You are in this life to DO, to SAY, to EXPERIENCE.

So Just Do It.

Happy doing.

May6

Speaking the Truth

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Truth can mean different things to different people. In this writing I am referring to my observations of those who have uncertain, unspoken, hidden agendas. Most people do not tell the truth about how they feel or what their real motives are. It is not easy to put yourself out there and speak what you believe is the truth because it is uncomfortable. You may be criticized or rejected or laughed at and not taken seriously, perhaps make you unpopular. First of all you have nothing to prove to anyone. What you believe is the truth for you remains there. Then you can act accordingly. It is easy to slip back into denial or to what is comfortable but the truth will stay obvious until it is expressed. The good thing about truth is it will make any situation transparent. Once the truth is known a shift happens. Right, wrong or indifferent something will change and even though it will seem strange or uncomfortable the change will be for the better.

Truth is a very good quality to have. Trust by its very nature forces you to inquire and find answers. Telling the truth will create a peaceful mind and those that are lucky to know you as someone who speaks the truth will trust you.

I meet many people who I know their words and actions are not in sync. Their words say one thing yet their actions do not match what they say. They do not speak the truth so they cannot be trusted. Why be interested in someone who cannot be trusted.

The bottom line is if you tell the truth to yourself first, you will always be able to trust yourself with no hidden agendas.

Speak the truth.

Apr12

Thoughtful Thursdays #15

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Thoughtful Thursday #15

Among other bizarre things that are happening in my life my youngest pet cat Munchkin got sick. She was nine years old. She got sick suddenly. I noticed yesterday that she was lethargic and not eating and seemed to have lost so much weight. I thought she caught a stomach virus from drinking out of my dog’s water bowl. Then I worried she had something worse.

My daughters and I took her to the vet and the prognosis was grim. She apparently had heart disease and her body made clots, which traveled and clogged the blood flow to her legs. There we were in the exam room crying and watching her slowly pass away from lack of blood to her heart. The doctor said she was in pain and there were not too many options for her recovery. We opted to put her to sleep. She died peacefully.

How very sad to watch an animal you care so much about die. After she pass away we sat in the exam room for a long time crying, petting her, kissing her, carrying her and telling her how much we love her. We told her what a good girl she is. We held her and looked at her lifeless body. We told her we were sorry about her being so sick.

After a long while we had the nurse shave some hair from her neck. She put it in an opaque tan pill bottle. We chose the individual cremation so we can take her ashes home and still have her with us. Plus a paw print.

I just wanted to say to you Munchkin how much we all love you and will miss you tremendously. That loud meow. The running away from us when we tried to catch you. Watching you sit by the window in the sun. Sometimes you would sit for so long just looking at the activity outside. Or curl up on the cushion at the windowsill and sleep so contently. Catch flies and run after toys. Scratched the heck out of the windowsill sharpening your nails.

I hope we were a good family for you and hope you were happy with us. We certainly enjoyed every minute with you. In the spirit land of kitties we hope you are relieved of your pain and are sweetly happy. We will always love you Munchkin and remember you.

We are already preparing a place for Munchkins remains. We have pictures and candles ready for her return. With the raw emotions my daughters and I feel we need this ritual to help us through this mourning period. I look forward to her return even if its in a different form.

To our darling sweet Munchkin we love you forever.

Feb18

Love

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What a loaded subject. There are so many different definitions of love that no one knows for sure what it means. Love is defined as physical attraction, falling in love with the shoes in a department store window, a pet, a person, a lifestyle, an emotion, the list is endless.

I am now going to put an end to all false notions of what love is. Here goes:

Love is an attitude. It’s the choice to be kind hearted even when others are not.

Chew on that for a while.

Feb17

Family Albums

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I just read the blog post of “Write Change Grow” about holding on to family portraits and pictures. Here are some of my thoughts on whether one should or should not hold on to those pictures.

I have held on to many pictures. I have a special photo album with a silver metal cover that I keep hidden and inside holds pictures of my family and significant others at various times of my life. When I look at them I become sentimental and recall the good times. Not the bad times. It’s a chance to think fondly of these people who in some way influenced me in either a positive or negative way. The album makes me wish for a better time and not the constant drama of egos. The album is a chance to send good wishes and pure feelings to those who I can’t find the words to express how I feel or of those who are not willing to listen to how I feel. Keeping these pictures is a form of therapy. In my opinion it’s a form of grief therapy. Which is probably why I keep the album hidden. It’s the opportunity to go through the five stages of grief, namely, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It’s safe way of dropping denial and believing that it wasn’t that bad, yes, it was that bad. Being angry at a safe distance, bargaining with invisible ghosts of those I wish I could speak to or even an unavailable higher power called upon to help but never shows up. Getting depressed about what might have been and all the lost time spent trying and hoping things would work out. It’s a way of feeling better about the disappointments surrounding those relationships. And finally after a long time accepting what is. Not having any more unrealistic hopes and dreams about the present moment. And realizing that relationships turn out the way they are supposed to and if those relationships had continued perhaps it would have been worse. Ultimately the celebration that I am strong and so is everyone else who has such an album whether hidden or on the coffee table.

As crushing or seemingly supportive each relationship was it has taught me that change always happens and with each ending or beginning I grow.

Happy Growing and keep those pictures until you are ready to dump them.

Feb7

It occured to me

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That writing is like ice cream. Some you like. Some you don’t.