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

It was cold, wet and rainy today.  I watched the many birds come to our feeders:  titmouse, cardinals, goldfinch and others.  The weather did not dismay them.  There was a steady stream of them.  It was one of those days I wanted to go back to sleep.  Or if anything else see a movie.  I really did not want to go too far.  And thank God for the heat and shelter.  Maybe, I will read that book I set aside.  It certainly was a good day to bury oneself in a book.

Tags: bird feeder, bird-watching, birds, cardinal, go back to sleep, goldfinch, rain, rainy day, read a book, see a movie, shelter, thank God, titmouse, weather
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Today I will greet with a spirit of gratitude.  It is so easy to be ungrateful.  To look at your life and see many things that are lacking.  I will change the focus of it and thank the Almighty for all his gifts.  He has given me so much.  And I have to thank Him for so much:  Every breath I possess is His.  All the material wealth I possess is, also, His.  It is only mine temporarily.  It is only on loan.  As well as the people He puts in my life.  All on loan.  As well as my wife and direct relatives–my two sisters and cousins.  All on loan.  I have to thank God for all of it.  As well as my friends.  I will thank God for all of it and continue to greet this day with a spirit of gratitude.  It is all His.

Tags: Almighty, cousin, cousins, everything is His, friends, God, life, my wife, on loan, relatives, sisters, spirit of gratitude, thank God, thank the Almighty, ungrateful, wealth
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One must face life with a spirit of gratitude.  There is less and more in this world.  And troubles abound.  And it is so easy to point your finger at God and say, “Why!?”  There is no disputing the world is unfair but the only way to face it (???) with love and gratitude toward the Maker.

Thank Him for all your blessings.  God does not owe you anything.  Sometimes your basket is half empty and other times it is half full.  Everything in your life is by grace and the only way to face it is to have a spirit of gratitude.

It is too easy to rail at God for disappointing you.  The only solution is to thank God for all your blessings and trials.  Life is, indeed, precious so face it with courage and again gratitude.  That is, truly, the only way.

Tags: blessings, courage, everything-is-by-grace, God, gratitude, life is precious, love and gratitude, spirit of gratitude, thank God, thank Him for all your blessings, the Maker, trials
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Thank God for small favors.  I was operated on my arm and that healed up nicely.  It was my hand of the operated arm that was causing me problems:  the top of my left hand (right side) and its corresponding thumb–(the top of it and side) was numb and tingling and sensitive causing me pain. I thanked God the other side of my thumb was not numb.  It was the side I gripped my fingers together.  I thanked God for that.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: everything-is-by-grace, God, operation, thank God, thank God for small favors
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My world is interconnected.  There are so many people I owe thanks to.  And I am sure I will leave somebody out.  A thanks to my primary doctor who takes goood care of me.

A thank you to our retired electrician who did some work in our house this year.  My wife still loves that lamp you installed over the sink.  And we have three new electric radiators and two new thermostats.  There is nothing like heat in the winter.

Thanks, to Bob, who willingly answers my questions about “ailing” cars.  Thank God I have not needed you too much this year and our 2006 SUV is behaving well.

Thank God to all my listeners at the Open Mikes.  Their comments encouraged me and kept me writing.

A thanks to Mike whose comments in his letter to me I have picked up occasionally when my spirit dropped.  I am sorry your best friend died unexpectedly.

There is Sonya, our postmaster, who always asks how I am doing, everytime I drop by our post office.

A thanks to the team of doctors that takes care of me–my nephrologist, etc.  There are so many people I appreciate.

A thanks to the small church I go to–its pastor Pete and the many people I have become friendly with from there.

I know I have left out people.  My sisters who had an hand in making my trip to San Francisco by train a reality and who both support me and care about me.

Philhaven, a thanks to for helping get me past a rough patch.  You all know who you are.

And all my pets, particular my dogs:  Pax who always comes to me when he wants something.  And Tilla whose tail never refuses to wag when he see me.  And Coco is a real sweetheart.  And don’t let me forget Sweetie, who is just that a sweetie.

And that is just the dogs.  Thanks Cool Hand Luke, the last pet still alive from my Duncannon days, a black cat, who often keeps me company on the bed.

And most of all my wife who is always there and gives me a reason to get up each morning.

Tags: car repair man, cats, church, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, doctors, dogs, electrician, friends' letter, give thanks, God, my sisters, my wife, open mikes, outpatient, pastor, Pax, pets, poetry, postmaster, reading poetry aloud, Sweetie, thank God, Tilla, writing
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I had to remind myself of all my bounty.  I was taking a shower and reflected it was not that long ago I lived fifteen years in a house without a shower so I should appreciate this house more.  And not take it for granted.

It is so easy to slip and forget all we need to thank God for.  That was just one small example.  And there are many more.  We are able to pay our bills on time.

We could feed the birds and watch a steady parade of them come to our feeders.  We have hot water when we want it.  Much of the world do not have basics that we have like plumbing.

I have to remind myself again and again to thank God for all His gifts including my wife.  Good medical care, health insurance.  And the list goes on.

Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, bounty, God, hot water and plumbing, my wife, thank God, thank God for all His gifts
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The River and the mountains and sky are ever changing.  Every time I go to the river everything changes.  The light hits the water differently.  Shades of gray and blue are ever present.  I am awed every time.  And thank God I am able to view this beauty.

Sometimes I view the River from a passing car other times I am standing at its shore.  I never know what I will see exactly.  This week early in the morning I flushed a blue heron and watched it fly to the other side joining another one in flight there.

I feel blessed living so close to such a magnificent River and Mountains.  Every day I am reminded of that.  There are many people who do not live so close to a major River.  And a good part of my life I did not either.

Tags: awed, bird-watching, birds, blue heron, feel blessed, God, light hits the water, mountains, sky, thank God, The River, view this beauty
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Thank God for deep depression!  That may sound crazy but bear me out.  We all have seen the television ads:  there is no doubt depression hurts–yourself and every one around you but there is no magic pill to dispel it although the right medication might help temporarily.  And there is nothing wrong with that.

Just realize deep depression is often a profound indicator that at your core of your being there is something radically wrong.  You are not who you are supposed to be.  You know it and it is exhibited as depression because you can’t tolerate that knowledge and your mind and body is numbed as a result.

I am not trying to make you feel guilty nor do I have the temerity to tell you what you ought to be doing.  There is no magic bullet to lift the depression.  And you can not do it alone.  You need someone at your side–a trusted adviser, a facilitator.

It does not matter who you use.  Your mate is usually not a good choice.  You need someone who is not invested in your life.  The depression can lift given time but it will happen gradually and will require work on your part.

A body at rest stays at rest and will take extra energy to get going.  A basic law of physics but it can be applied to someone who is looking for answers and is starting to be the person they were meant to be.

It is very difficult at first:  your mind and body is literally depressed and as I said it will take extra energy in the beginning to get going.  There are no easy answers.  You have to explore what is at your core–what you really want to do with your life.

The word for vocation (which is not necessarily your job) comes from the Latin root vocare which means to call.  Your vocation is literally your calling, your reason to be–your driving force.

No one can tell you what your vocation ought to be:  you have to find out yourself.  Someone can guide you in that search but nevertheless yours is unique.

Depression often occurs because you have thwarted your most sacred calling.  I am convinced if you start doing more and more each day what your inner most calling is telling you to do your depression will gradually lift.

There are no easy answers.  And the world is full of people who are quick to tell you what you ought to be doing.  You have to find out yourself.  I like the title of the book, “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow”.

It is true the closer your life follows your inner most calling the more successful you will be with your life for you will be happier with your life.  I did not say necessarily rich but successful.  Life is not always fair.

Your deep depression is an indicator your life has strayed from what that little voice inside of you is telling you to do.  To that extent you ought to thank your depression.  It give you an opportunity to right your life.  You only have one life.

Tags: "Do What You Love The Money Will Follow", basic law of physics, body at rest stays at rest, can not do it alone, depression, extra energy to get going, facilitator, God, Latin root vocare, life not always fair, looking for answers, no easy answers, not who you are supposed to be, sacred calling, someone at your side, successful life, thank God, thank your depression, to call, trusted adviser, vocation, you only have one life, your calling
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Less than four weeks away–spring.  Already it has become slightly warmer.  Temperatures been averaging 30’s and 40’s.  I am anticipating spring and the end is near for the snow and the colder weather.

This is something I go through every year.  Winter appears endless.  I bundle up, even hide in my house and go out only when it is necessary to shop for food.  Thank God for heat.

I once had a speech teacher who could not understand all the literature regarding spring.  The reason was simple.  She was from Hawaii.

I really have no idea how it would be if I lived elsewhere.  I have always lived in a temperate climate where there are four distinct seasons.

I have considered moving to Florida but I wonder how I would feel without a winter season.  Then I would have to deal with hurricanes.  I guess you can’t win.

Tags: bundle up, Florida, four distinct seasons, hurricanes, snow, spring, temperate climate, thank God, winter, winter appears endless
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It was only a set of keys, including my car keys.  I could not remember where I put them down.  I was pretty sure they were in the house.  I looked high and low for several hours and could not find them.

I was sure I must have left them in a spot I normally do not keep them.  I probably had them in my hands and dropped them somewhere I normally wouldn’t.  I looked upstairs and downstairs, even outside.  No luck.

It was a small thing but it was driving me a little crazy.  The worst possible scenario was I would have to replace them.  My wife had duplicate keys.  I was sure I would come across them when I stopped looking for them.  I just could not understand how I could misplace them.

PS  I finally gave up.  My wife prayed and started to help me look.  She first looked in the car.  I had told her that I’d taken out the trash, so she checked there, and spotted them in the bottom of one garbage can.  Thank God:  the trash was being picked up tomorrow.  I was relieved.  It is funny how a small thing like misplacing your keys can throw for a loop and cause you to become disheveled and completely disturb your day.

Tags: disturb your day, garbage can, God, lost and found, lost my keys, misplace things, misplace your keys, my house, my wife, prayed, prayer, thank God, trash
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Thank God for my pets.  Somehow I believe it is no accident my second wife also loves animals.  I never had pets growing up.  I love all of my pets.  All eight cats and all four dogs.  It is a menagerie.  And it is true I can’t go on vacation so easily but that is a small price to pay.

There is Tilla one of the pups we kept of our golden retriever (we kept two) who is a paradox extremely aggressive but timid at the same time.  For example, if you throw four scraps to our four dogs, he usually will get three if you don’t stop him.

He actually let my daughter pet him the last time she was over (that was a first).  He still runs in the other direction when my son approaches him.  And he is good with pets.

Coco is the other pup of Sweetie and extremely affectionate although she can be pretty insistent when she wants to go out.  She will sit at our feet front legs crossed sometimes–a real lady.  She gets along with everyone.

My eight cats are all different (the one unfixed female, now fixed) had two litters–one and three.  Pumpkin the only surviving cat from the first litter is one quiet, laid back cat who seems to get along with all the other seven.

The other three from the second litter of Jasmine’s are Cheyenne, China, and other whose name temporarily escapes me.  Both Cheyenne and China are long haired.  The mother is shorted (???) haired, small and dainty but able to take well care of herself.

Cheyenne is one beautiful although somewhat wild cat.  He usually does not let me pet him.  If I get too close, he gives me the eye as if to ask me “how dare you approach me?”

China is one exotically black and white colored cat who is one cool character.  He is extremely laid back and nothing seems to faze him.  I always have trouble remembering the sexes of our cats.

Cool Hand Luke a black female cat I brought into this marriage who hangs out in our bedroom and is appropriately named.  I have another completely black cat “Slinky”.

It is hard to tell the two apart although if you pet them you can tell the difference immediately.  “Slinky” is somewhat timid and extremely affectionate.

Tiger is the third cat from the second litter of Jasmine also appropriately named who sorts (???) blends in with every one.

Buttons is the other tiger looking cat who decided to adopt our family.  He showed up at our doorsteps and my wife started feeding him and when he got his shots, she let him come in.

He knew a good thing when he came in:  he did not go out for months again.  He is the newest member of our menagerie.  He does, at times, terrorize the other cats.

He also terrorized the vet and her staff during his exam:  It took them ten minutes to catch him in the exam room when he squirmed out of the grasp of the vet and three people were chasing him around the room (the vet called for backup).

He scratched the hell out of the vet in the process.  He is still a (???) somewhat wild although he has calmed somewhat after he got fixed.  That pretty much takes care of our cats.

Pax, the father of the pups, is the only pet of ours not mentioned by name.  He is the biggest and oldest dog close to an hundred pounds, an Rottweiler mix.

He suffered from bad ear infections and only at the vet where they put a muzzle on him would he allow anyone to go near to clean them.  It took me awhile before I lost my fear of him.  The veterinary helper called him a “baby.”  He is one dog I never want to get out he is one scary looking dog.

There is also Sweetie our golden retriever who is aptly named.  She will stand there forever letting you pet her.  She is one happy-go-lucky dog who always likes to have something in her mouth.  She was traumatized by her original owner who would lock her up for hours.  That is how we got her and that is the last of our menagerie.

Tags: Add new tag, big dog, Buttons, cats, Cheyenne, China, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dogs, ear infection, eight cats, four dogs, God, golden retriever, happy-go-lucky dog, Jasmine, menagerie, my daughter, my son, my wife, Pax, pets, Pumpkin, quiet laid back cat, rottweiler mix, Slinky, Sweetie, thank God, Tiger, Tilla, veterinarian
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Your life crystallizes when the end is near.  Let me say, no one knows when his/her end comes.  We continue to keep the illusion our life is forever.  It certainly is an illusion.

Everyone knows the only thing certain is death and taxes to use a cliche.  Yet we act as if that truth is false.

My declining health put this truth in sharper focus again.  I do not want to waste time, which is my most precious resource although there are times I squander it.

I realize the more I can do His will, the more I can fulfill my calling the less regret I have.  I certainly can not tell you what your calling is.  Or what your tiny voice is commanding you to do.

First you have to allow open spaces in your life.  And then you can listen to the tiny voice only you can hear.  And life is full of others who are eager to tell us what to do including our loved ones.

No one knows how much time they have on this earth.  That is a great mystery.  Sometimes when you are ill you think you have an idea how long you have here but you really do not know.

What I do know is the more I listen to that tiny voice nudging me the less anxiety I experience in my own life.  And I am concerned less when that time will come.  Peace of mind usually accompanies doing His will.

I have to face each day prayerfully and allow for those empty spaces so I can listen to that tiny voice only I can hear.

And the more I obey it the more peace of mind I have.  And I thank God for each new dawn I face.  It does not really matter as long as I am doing His will.

Tags: a great mystery, anxiety, declining health, do His will, do not waste time, face each day prayerfully, fulfill my calling, God, how long do we have, illness, illusion, life is forever, my life, new dawn, obey God, only thing certain is death and taxes, open spaces in your life, our loved ones, peace of mind, regrets, squander time, tell us what to do, thank God, the end is near, time is a precious resource, time on earth, truth, your calling, your life crystallizes, your tiny voice
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