The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I checked the car thermostat. It was sixty degrees deep blue sky without a cloud in sight. I was running to the store for a last minute errand and quickly realized the silk shirt I had on was too warm and I had to take it off. I was going to see my friend Chuck and it was going to be at least twenty degrees warmer in New Orleans. I immediately put a tee shirt on when I arrived back from my errand. I was excited. I had arranged to have a window seat on both legs of my journey today. Vacations are usually another “world”. For a short time you enter someone else’s reality. We can get so used to our own and not see what is directly in front of us any longer. Vacations in a strange place have a way of jarring you. And that is a good thing. Occasionally, anyway.
Tags: airplane, deep blue sky, God, gorgeous weather, my friend, New Orleans, someone else's reality, tee shirt, vacation, visiting an old friend, window seat
Posted in balance, beauty, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, relationships, sports, wisdom |
It took another week for a woodpecker to find the new suet cage I filled and placed outside our bathroom window. Our neighbor gave us two wrought iron plant hangers and I stuck one in the ground now visible from the window by looking down. The bathroom is on the second floor. Today she noticed a woodpecker was feeding on the suet. I now have two suet cages which were early Christmas presents. The other one has been up for months. When I realized one suet cake can last for months, I was not hesitant to put up another. It was the squirrels who were eating most of the suet. Now they can’t do that so easily.
Tags: arrival of first woodpecker, bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, Christmas presents, God, my new suet cage, squirrels, suet cages, woodpecker
Posted in animals, birds, knowledge&learning, local, time |
There were recent notable discoveries in our house. My wife has had a Christmas cactus over her back kitchen window for years. It had never bloomed but it did in the last week for the first time. She also placed some broken tentacles from a “monster” cactus I am now keeping in my office and today it bloomed. It has a pink flower almost five inches wide and five inches around. We have had the “monster” cactus bloom before but this is the first time it budded in our house.
Tags: "monster" cactus, Christmas cactus, Christmas cactus bloom, my wife, pink flower on tentacled cactus, plants
Posted in beauty, flowers, God, knowledge&learning, local, nature, time |
Some books you don’t even “see”. I had to move a big book case so some workers could remove the old thermostat and place a new one where I could reach it (the old one was hidden behind the bookcase). It was a job I was avoiding. I quickly removed dozens of books and threw them temporarily on the floor. I was amazed at the titles of some books. I either forgot I had them on the shelves or didn’t remember some titles. It was like getting some new books. Some had become “invisible”.
Tags: book case, book shelves, books, books becoming "invisible", books I had forgotten, like getting new books, moving the book case, thermostat
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, local, time |
My wife and I have a fierce Scrabble rivalry. I taught her all my tricks. Now she beats me more than I beat her–at least it seems that way usually by using all her tiles in one move: there is a fifty point bonus if you do that. Recently I had a game where I did that three times. I won that game.
Lately our games don’t last longer than an hour. She used to deliberate forever: I taught her how to focus logically on the words and premiums played. There was a time years ago she thought counting points was mercenary. I taught her how to maximize her points.
In the instructions of the game it says the total of the points scored in one game is usually between 500 and 700 hundred or more depending on the skill of the players. Yesterday we played our second highest score (890 points). In over ten years we have played hundreds of games between us. It is hard to lose a game when you score 419 points but I did: she had 471 points.
She has become a worthy opponent. That we have an activity we both enjoy so much and are so equally matched is only by the grace of God. And she is my wife. I still think she has become a better player than me. Only by a hair.
Tags: 890 total Scrabble score, a game of Scrabble takes an hour, fierce Scrabble rivalry, grace of God, maximizing your score in Scrabble, my rivalry with my wife, my wife, Only by grace we have an activity we like so much, taught her all my tricks in Scrabble, using all your letters in one move of scrabble
Posted in God, knowledge&learning, life, local, marriage, relationships, time |
What is creativity?! If you are a composer, it is putting together the notes in a fresh way. If you are a musician, it is not simply playing the notes by rote, it is putting your feelings in it. If you are a writer, your composition feels fresh: it has cohesion. These are only a few quick observations what someone else’s creativity feels like.
‘It is contagious’: Tolstoy’s definition. You should have no doubt what the piece was about: anger, sorrow, grief, joy, etc. These feeling are conveyed instantly upon hearing the piece, viewing a picture, reading the piece whatever vehicle the person chose. Of course, these observations are not exhaustive by any means. This is just a quick sampling.
Tags: art, artists, compose music, creativity, creativity in art, emotions in creativity, musician, Tolstoy, what is creativity?!, writer, writing, writing cohesively
Posted in art, beauty, knowledge&learning, life, music, your job/mission/profession |
Depression is isolation (and that is a terrible thing). By no means do I want the person who is experiencing depression to feel guilty but I want to explain the results of depression and why you need to break that terrible cycle.
A person’s natural reaction is to become terribly egocentric. You simply do not want to see anyone. I would tell my daughter to do anything, walk to the post office, buy a stamp, anything to get out of the house.
Depression makes you very selfish. You can not see beyond yourself. It is so important to break the cycle of depression. It is done in small degrees by grabbing the power you have.
Every person can gain more control of some aspect of their life. You do it in small steps and eventually the depression will lift.
By all means if a doctor or therapist will help use their services. You do not have to do it alone. You can break the sphere of isolation. It will not happen overnight.
Tags: breaking your spell of depression, cycle of depression, depression and isolation, do not have to do it alone, doctor, gain more control, get out of the house, getting help during depression, mental health, the small degrees of grabbing the power you have, therapist
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, relationships, wisdom |
Thank God for fatigue. It is your body telling you you have to rest. That is a good thing. “Speed” kills you for it overrides that message and given enough time you keep going and eventually your body deteriorates from within. Rest is a period your body recovers. If you consistently don’t sleep enough you don’t feel well for during sleep your body rejuvenates itself so observe the messages your body is telling you. Your body is an incredibly complex piece of machinery.
Tags: fatigue, God, listening to your body, rejuvenating quality of sleep, resting, sleep, speed kills, thank God, your body
Posted in balance, death, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, time |
If we are not our brother’s keeper continue to house most of the mentally ill in jails. After all, who cares if they get put in isolation wards when they misbehave there. So that is a form of torture. They usually are put on the cheapest medications not always the proper ones. Families are being destroyed not to say anything of the individuals there. I am sure the suicide rate is high.
I saw this coming decades ago when the states started closing down their state hospitals. The money did not follow into community services but just “evaporated”. Hospitalizations are very expensive. Partials are very cost effective. There is no way a person can be stabilized in a few days. At least in a partial you can be monitored over a long period of time. The therapeutic level of a psychotropic medication is often one to two weeks.
Are we our brother’s keeper? Yes! Yes! We are commanded to take care of the weak, the infirm, those in poverty and the mentally ill. We can not turn our heads to them. Each individual must do his/her part to alleviate their suffering. Our society has become so far away from that. So do your part no matter the role you take. It is never too late to start.
Tags: alleviate suffering, brother's keeper, closing state hospitals, community services, do your part, God, mental illness and jails, never too late to start, partials, psychotropic medication, society, take care of the infirm, take care of the mentally ill, take care of the weak, take care of those in poverty, therapeutic level of medications
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, relationships, wisdom |
I thirst. The drink I had with me for my picnic had spilled out. We ate and all I could think of was to drink some water. Usually when I become thirsty I immediately drink something but this time I did not have any thing to drink. The park did not have any drinking water. Minutes later we stopped at a store and bought a large container of water, which I consumed. I now knew what it meant to be thirsty. That was all I could think about: drinking something. Now I knew what it meant to be thirsty.
Tags: being thirsty, buying water, drinking water, picnic, the park, thirsting
Posted in balance, health, knowledge&learning, life, local, marriage, money, wisdom |
“I don’t want my doctor to think I am mental”. This is a fragment of an conversation I overheard. I wanted to shake the person, ask her why she thinks her doctor (or therapist) is perfect, does not make mistakes like her. Everyone has problems and why do you think you are less than human because you are exhibiting, maybe, some turmoil over some problem or conflict. The doctor is there to assist you, not judge you. And certainly don’t judge yourself because you are exhibiting what you consider to be some aberrant behavior. Everyone is in the same boat: each person sins, errs and is imperfect so don’t condemn any part of you and think someone is better than you because they have some diplomas on the wall.
Tags: do not judge, doctor, each person is imperfect, each person sins, everyone errs, everyone has problems, everyone in the same boat, I am mental, mental health, mental illlness, therapist
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, life, local, mental health, wisdom |
I have a history with you. It makes a difference. I have to work on it. Communicate with you periodically. It is those histories that form your roots. Form enough and your roots go deep. It is those invisible ties that make you feel attached to an area. And roots take time (and energy and effort). Ultimately that is the only thing that matters: the people you have reached out and loved. That is your true legacy. The memories you have created in loving others.
Tags: an history and communication, histories form your roots, invisible ties, love, loving others, memories, roots take time, roots you have created, The only thing that matters, your legacy
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, life, local, time, wisdom |
