Free to Be Me

Shrek the Third and Sammy Davis Jr. both proclaimed a similar message decades apart: "I gotta be me!"

At the end of the Shrek movie Arty says to the crowd, "You're telling me you just want to be villans your whole lives?" Captain Hook replies, "But we ARE villans, it's the only thing we know." Arty responds, "Didn't you ever wish you could be something else?" An animated tree chimes in, "Well it's easy for you to say, you're not some evil enchanted tree." Another tree adds, "What Steve's trying to say is, it's hard to come by honest work when the whole world's against you." Arty, "Okay, fair enough. You're right....I'm not a talking tree but you know a good friend of mine once told me that just because people treat you like a villan or an ogar or just some loser, it doesn't mean you are one. The thing that matters most - is what you think of your self. If there's something you really want or some one you really want to be, then the only person standing in your way is you. ..... Each of you is standing in your way." The crowd responds, "Ohhhhhhh."
A moment of enlightment. .............
I've gotta be ME!
And the gift of each new day is that I get a chance to create a new me.

A Tree's Brilliance

I was driving down the road late this afternoon and caught the sun dancing across a variety of red, orange, yellow and brown leaves dangling from the tree branches. I thought, "what amazing fall colors we are experiencing this week - even amidst the drought." The colors were truly brilliant. And then it dawned on me...the trees are in a death stage. A stage when the leaves wither and die and are blown from the branches they covered for the past 8 months. Isn't it incredible that these once young green fleshy leaves can have such flaming vibrant pigments pronounced here at the end of their life?! I can only hope that I die with such enthusiasm and excitement when dust returns to dust.

Confession is Good for the Soul

Think about it. Don't just read the words and move on. Meditate on this statement. It is more than a statement...it is a promise...is it not?
Confession is good for the soul.
When we confess, we unburden ourselves of thoughts, words and deeds that have been detrimental in some way. Confession cleanses and renews the spirit.

Advocacy with Strings Attached

Advocacy for people with disabilities is a great thing...as long as you don't piss off the people who MAY be potential donors. WHAT???????
This is outrageous!
Money is truly the root of THIS evil. If money were not an issue than fists would be shook and feet would be stamped and voices would be raised. BUT money IS an issue so the word from on high is..."back off." What a disgrace!
So now I have to ask myself, "Where are my principles?" "Where is my integrity?" "Where is my right to advocate?" "How do I live with myself if I concede?" "Will the almighty buck stop ME?!"

Long Island Iced Tea

It was a heck of a day. It started on my way to work. I was about hit head on by a car driving in the wrong direction at about 45 mph. All I could do was lay on my horn and quickly calculate that I'd be dust if we crashed head on at our respective speeds with no where to get out of the way. At the very moment I was preparing for impact - the car amazingly swerved back into the correct lane and we missed hitting each other by the sheer grace of God. I felt as if the Red Sea had been parted and this car mysteriously and magically found a space to swerve in to to avoid colliding with me. WOW! All before 8:45am.
I won't bother to write about the rest of my day other than to quote a line from a poem I heard in high school: "Oh Lord forgive me when I whine, I have two feet the world is mine."
So...does Long Island Iced Tea have tea in it or is the dark color from coke? I thought it was tea.

Common Denominator

What do we all have in common?
Our humanity.
We are all living, breathing, eating, sleeping, - beings.

No matter what our color or race or ethnic background is; No matter if we're male or female or "straight" or gay; No matter if we're spiritual or religious or neither or both; No matter if we're healthy or sick, able or in need of assistance; No matter if we're wealthy or poor.....what it all comes down to is that we share the common denominator of our humanity. We are PEOPLE First!

Mother Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Desperate Times

I'm watching the end of Grey's Anatomy and one of the story lines this evening had to do with a young couple who got burned in a home meth lab explosion. One doctor said to another character, "You know you don't have to be a horrible person to do horrible things."
Funny.........I had just had a similar discussion not 15 minutes earlier with a former co-worker.
Her daughter got busted for shop lifting. Turns out she had gotten hooked up with a group of people who use illegal drugs and her "habit" took her down a bad path. I told my friend, "You know - people do desperate things during desperate times when they're despairing. It doesn't mean they're bad. They've just done a bad thing. But tomorrow is another day. And we get to start over again. We get another chance to do things right. That's all." I believe that.

A Hostage?

I watched a movie this weekend with some friends and as we were discussing different aspects of the film that spoke to each of us, one person said, "I thought it was interesting that Eleanor didn't hold him hostage for his mistake." This person's statement struck me in a profound manner. How often do we hold people hostage for mistakes they have made? We lock them away from us. We cut them off from social interaction and move on with our lives like they are no longer around. But they are around.....just hidden from the eye....not the mind's eye though.
Why is it so hard to accept people's imperfections? People's mistakes? The wrongs that are committed? Why can 1 wrong ruin days, weeks, months, years - of "rights"? Maybe it depends on the "wrong" that was done? The hurt that was experienced? The feeling of betrayal?
I'm not sure. I thought that love would conquer all things - forgive all things - believe in the possibilities of new beginnings and not hold me hostage - but I was wrong in one case. And the ironic thing is that the captor fights for freedom and liberty and justice for all...Fights against torture and evil and ills of mankind - yet I have become that person's prisoner of war.

Do Something

"Always hold firmly to the thought that EACH one of us CAN DO something to bring SOME portion of Misery to an End."

The Grasshopper

My little boy cat was so proud of himself this evening when he brought me a huge flying grasshopper. I praised him and raved over the prize he had brought home to share with us. I laughed and thought to myself, you're so much like my first kitty. He looked up at me with his big green eyes and beamed with joy. I wish I could bottle that feeling and save it for a "rainy" day.

A Complaint Free World

A friend of mine sent me a plastic purple bracelet that was engraved with the message, "A Complaint Free World.org" . What a novel concept... a complaint free world. Naturally I went to the website to learn more. It turned out to be a website affiliated with a Unity Church - an organization that embraces ALL people of ALL faiths....another novel concept, don't you think? There's a listing on one of their web pages with the names of lots of people and how many "complaint free days" they've lived. (Congratulations to them!) I try to be a positive person but some days it's just down right hard. I'm glad there's a tomorrow to try again.

Whatta Wednesday!

Wow! What a Wednesday! Thank God it's "hump day." Tomorrow can only be a little kinder and gentler. My phone rang off the hook starting this morning at 7:52 am. That's REALLY too early. I knew it was a sign of what the day would bring though...and indeed it was. All day long was about running from one crisis to the next....helping one person after another. I seriously don't take my wellness for granted. I'm fortunate to be of sound mind and body these days. And it's on days like to today that my past informs my present. I'm able to listen to people and hear their horror stories and/or contemplations of life and death and not freak out. I don't claim to know what it's like to walk in anybody else's shoes nor do I try to, but my own life journey has been quite rugged at times. I suppose I would compare it to climbing Hogpen Gap from the Southern terminus on the Appalachian Trail. (Holy Crap!)
Well, thank goodness it will be Thursday in just a few hours and this day will be one for the history books, the wall calendar and torn from my day-timer. I'm alive and glad to still be here and I know of 2 other people who are still with us this evening because we crossed paths today.

Another Anniversary

Tomorrow is 9/11. It is the 6th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers...and a reminder of the fragile world we live in. It is also a reminder of the resilient nature of humanity. Thousands of lives were shattered in the physical proximity of the man made disaster...and millions more were impacted by the ripple that pulverized out around the world that day. Yet I know folks who were there at Ground Zero who have been able to put their lives back together and move forward - living life of their terms. Hurrah for them! Let us take courage from their example. Let us be mindful of the evil around us but let us not be overcome by it. Let us be mindful of the kindness of strangers and neighbors and co-workers and friends and family - and be grateful for their presence in our lives.
Tomorrow is 9/11...2007.

Sunday Morning Snuggle

Weekends in the Fall are my favorite time of year. Saturdays and Sundays are all about spending time with friends and family, football games and play time with my animals. It's a great time to kick back and relax and put all the worries of the previous week behind me.
This morning I woke up around 10:30 am and moved from my bed to the floor in the living room where I snuggled with the dogs for about a half hour. All three of us just layed there. Not a care in the world. One dog's tummy rubbed, then the other. It was so peaceful. The sun beams shined through the plantation shutters welcoming us to a beautiful Sunday morning.
What a great day.

High School Football Game

Last night was Friday Night High School Football! What a perfect night for a ballgame. It was about 78 degrees. The sky was clear. There was a slight breeze. The stadium was full of parents and teens dressed in spirited school colors and marching bands that blasted boisterous fight songs. I had a great time reuniting with old friends and cheering with the crowd as touchdown passes were caught and rumbling with the "boos" and "come ons" as we disagreed with the referees calls. It was a great night!

It's been a long week....

It's been a long week...and there's still one more day 'til the weekend. I'm tired - but I'm glad to be home with the cats, the couch and the computer.
I woke up at 1:25 am this morning wrestling with my mind, my thoughts and lots of memories. I wished I had someone to talk with....someone who would listen to my middle-of-the-night madness so I could rest in peace. I thought, wouldn't it be great to have a front porch with a few rocking chairs where people could sit and talk about their day, their hopes and dreams, their troubles, their relationships and not have to a pay a therapist?! I figured if I had the idea somebody else probably did as well - so I decided to create this blog for us.
Welcome!