Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

My wife spotted the plant from the bathroom window. I had to go outside to inspect it more closely. She brought it to my attention. The plant lay below the window and had delicate purple bells almost like another flower we had in another part of the yard except the other one was white and these purple flowers shaped in a bell were longer although about the same width. Another surprise that day. Life is full of little surprises and all you have to do is pay attention. How that flower got there I will never know. Serendipity!

Tags: flowers, life, life is full of little surprises, little surprises, my wife, pay attention, plants, serendipity
Posted in beauty, flowers, God, knowledge&learning, local, nature, time | No Comments »

Life, sometimes, is composed of small surprises. I found a frozen bagel in the freezer I forgot I had and was glad to defrost it and eat it toasted dabbed with some butter. It was a real treat. A little surprise yesterday. Let us see what the next one will be.

Tags: bagel with butter, life, small surprises
Posted in God, life, local, time | No Comments »

Depression can easily become a pity party.  Our lives are always imperfect.  Things don’t always go our way.  We have expectations that fail.  It is so easy to slide into depression.  I just took a shower and reflected before I married my wife I only had a tub.  For fifteen years I had no shower.  It is all too easily to forget that and the many reasons I have to thank the Almighty for his many blessings.  And I have to reflect on that and count them.  The list is long.  Ingratitude is very easy to go to.  Our lives never go exactly as we we want them to.  Our lives are always a series of problems and only some get solved to our satisfaction.  That is life!  If we can go back and count our blessings and learn to do it routinely depression is less likely to set in.  God does not promise us anything beyond food and shelter and usually His blessings are abundant.  It is too easy to center on what we don’t have.  Our unmet expectations can easily turn into depression if you are not careful.  And then it becomes a pity party.  It is, though, hard to be positive when we don’t feel good.  Good health is a blessing.

Tags: count our blessings, depression, expectations, food and shelter, God, good health is a blessing, His blessings are abundant, ingratitude, life, many blessings, pity party, slide into depression, take a shower, thank the Almighty
Posted in balance, beauty, God, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Now every time I pass the meadow near our house I look for the two pheasants we spotted a few days ago.  Of course, they are not there.  Surprises are just that.  They come when you are not looking for them.  Serendipity is serendipity.  What if you saw everything you were looking for every day.  Wouldn’t life be boring?  Usually your attention is somewhere else.  And there it is–another surprise.  Thank God life is not always predictable.  What a world it would be if it was?!

Tags: bird-watching, birds, God, life, life not always predictable, meadow, pheasants, praise the Lord, serendipity, surprises, unexpected
Posted in animals, beauty, birds, God, local, nature, seasons, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Life is always about connections:  the relationships you make and maintain.  You should never neglect your mate but there is always a danger your relationship will become stale.  Sometimes a simple thing like leaving the house and doing a chore is good.  You find out others have problems and you are not alone.  People have a way of expressing their present concerns.  Sometimes it is a question of eavesdropping.  You are just there.  Like shopping in a food aisle.  Other times, you may want to reach out in some way.  Each person has a deep need to be listened to.  You just may be that person but you have to make yourself available.  No one lives in a vacuum.  Sometimes you have to take a chance–open up to someone.  There is no such thing as small talk.  Yes, it is true it may stay there but often it is an opening for you to take.

It is just not good to stay in the house all the time.  Our thoughts just revolve.  And we need to break the cycle.  Sometimes it means taking chances with perfect strangers.  You never know when you will meet an angel.  And furthermore how can you possibly make new friends if you do not take a chance by revealing something personal about you?  Each friend you have was once a stranger.  Never stop reaching out.  Life is about relationships.  In John Dunn’s words, ‘No man is an island’.  We don’t exist by ourselves.  We are all connected.  Each person has a deep need to love and be loved.

Tags: an angel, connections, doing a chore, eavesdropping, everyone has problems, friends, John Dunn, life, listen, make new friends, make yourself available, need to love and be loved, no man is an island, open up to someone, reach out, relationships, shopping, small talk, stay in the house, strangers, thoughts, we are all connected, you are not alone, your mate
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, love, marriage, mental health, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Every person has tragedy in their life.  If you would take the time to listen, you would find that out.  That is just the way it is.  And some people have more.  And life is not always fair.  You can rant and rail.  It does not do any good.  So what is the difference between one person or another?  It is how they meet their circumstances.  Is it with courage or dignity?

Or do they whine?  And complain.  Every person has some tragedy in their lives.  It is how they face them that makes all the difference.  Do others get inspired by their example?  We all know such people in our lives.  You can’t change your circumstances but you can change your attitude.  That you have more control of.

Tags: change your attitude, circumstances, complain, control, courage, dignity, inspired by their example, life, life is not always fair, rant and rail, take time to listen, tragedy, whine
Posted in balance, death, God, knowledge&learning, life, love, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I was speeding home and glanced at the mountain across the mile wide river.  The sun was resting on top of the mountain.  I looked again and it was gone.  It was a brief look at dusk–one point in time I almost missed.  How much of life is that momentary–here today, gone tomorrow?  All we can do is keep our eyes open for those special moments.  You never know when they come along.  This was one such moment.

Tags: "here today gone tomorrow", dusk, life, momentary, mountain, point in time, river, special moments, sun, time
Posted in beauty, life, local, nature, seasons, time, wisdom | 1 Comment »

Life is always a question of balance.  First it gets tipped one way.  Then the other direction.  You go back and forth.  The same thing happens internally in your body.  The term is homeostasis.  One example is your blood sugar.  The level in the blood stream goes up and down.  When it reaches a certain low point your appetite is activated.  You eat and your blood sugar goes up.  How quickly depends on what you eat for different types of food are metabolized at different rates.

A person has to have quiet moments to analyze the direction he/she is going in their life.  There is a reason one of the commandments is to observe the Sabbath.  God does not need to rest.  Humans do.  One day a week they need to get off their treadmill and rest and reevaluate their life.  Does the person have to do something different in their life–go  in another direction.  You can go faster and faster but get no where.  Life is always a question of balance.

Tags: appetite, balance, blood sugar, God, homeostasis, life, metabolism, observe the Sabbath, question of balance, quiet moments, ten commandments
Posted in balance, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Why you should never give up on anyone:  you never know when they will turn the corner.  Of course, when this person has failed over and over, you are tempted to but you have to resist this feeling.  Some drug addicts have gone through one rehab after another and still have gone back to using.  Some alcoholics repeatedly have gone off the wagon.  These are just two type of problems.  Nevertheless, you have to keep trying to help others.  You never know when they will turn the corner and it is true some never do but one never knows when they recover from their weaknesses and begin to lead more fruitful lives.  Never give up on anyone.  Never give up hope.

Tags: "off the wagon", alcoholic, drug addict, help others, hope, life, never give up on anyone, rehab, turn the corner
Posted in death, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, love, mental health, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Life ain’t fair.  There is no way to get around that.  Wealth is not distributed evenly.  Financial wealth is just one kind.  Gifts given to each individual are never equal and some people are more gifted than others.  That is why coveting is a sin and why each person is commanded to help those less fortunate and it is a sin to walk away and not help someone when it was in your power to do so.

Railing at your misfortune never accomplishes anything.  It makes it harder.  Instead of making the best of your situation.  It diffuses valuable energy that could be directed elsewhere more positively.  Life simply is not fair.  Some people suffer more than others.  And someone pointing out to you that you are better off than X or Y does not help much.  You do what you can and then rest.  And help those around you with whatever you got.  Give cheerfully and you will never be unhappy.

Tags: coveting, do what you can, financial, gifts, give cheerfully, God, help others, life, make the best of your situation, misfortune, sin, suffer, talents, wealth
Posted in balance, God, health, knowledge&learning, life, love, relationships, time, wisdom, your job/mission/profession | 1 Comment »

The bouquet of flowers was exquisite:  all kinds of sunflowers.  All shades of yellows and browns and small and big ones.  And I know they will not last, but today they are beautiful and I loved the sparkle in my wife’s eyes when she viewed them.  Beauty is so ephemeral–here today, gone tomorrow but today I will enjoy the flowers.  I can’t do more than that.  Life is always in a state of flux.  And we forget that.  The beautiful bouquet reminded me of that.  Life is to be enjoyed now.  Not later.  Or when you have become successful.  Years later.  Now.  Always now.

Tags: "here today gone tomorrow", always now, beauty, beauty is ephemeral, bouquet of flowers, enjoy life now, enjoy the flowers, flowers, life, my wife, sunflowers, today they are beautiful
Posted in beauty, God, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, nature, relationships, time, wisdom | 2 Comments »

I don’t know whether I will live that long:  the mattress we just bought is guaranteed for twenty years.  Frankly I don’t know if I will outlive the mattress.  In another twenty years I will be eighty-three.  I know my family is long-lived.  My Dad lived 91 years and my Mom was over 81 when she died.  Nevertheless I am not sure I will make it that long.  It gets me thinking, that is all.  I need to focus on the time allotted to me.  One never knows when one’s times runs out.

Tags: dad, death, family, life, living, mattress, Mom, my time, time runs out, twenty year guarantee
Posted in death, God, life, local, time, wisdom, your job/mission/profession | 2 Comments »