Monday Meditation

Times of great calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm.
~Charles Caleb Colton

Day 25: Something You're Looking Forward To

That would be 6pm-ish today for reasons I can't share because I don't want everyone in the world to know my business.  But it's something that makes me laugh and brings a smile to my face.

Monday Meditation

To be able to move on, one has to learn to forgive not only the person (or people) who have done one wrong but also oneself. 

~ Eugenia Tripputi

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

~Lao Tzu

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
~Brian Tracy

Reflections

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

~George Bernard Shaw

Look within!... The secret is inside you.
 ~Hui-Neng

Having had some time to think about things and life in general,

I've decided on a course of action for the coming year.  

It comes down to the fact that no one has control over our lives or emotions other than ourselves.  

No one can make someone happy, no one can make someone unhappy.  

It is our reaction to the stimulus that creates the mood. 

So don't react in a negative way.  

Change your response.  

I used to think of this as a lonely photo.

If I was in one chair, who would be in the other?

Now I wonder why I need someone in the other chair at all because it would be a blessing to sit and feel the sun warming my skin and listen to the waves roll in and 

just be.

And if I choose to have someone be there, then I need to put someone there.

Stop fearing rejection. 

Stop with the negative self image.

I have decided, this is the year I turn things around.

This is the year I manage happy.

Monday Meditation

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

~Buddha

Monday Meditation

Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward.

~Victor Kiam

Monday Meditation

The best way to mend a broken heart is time and girlfriends. 

~Gwyneth Paltrow

Last night Midge and her long time (nearly 2 years) boyfriend broke up. 

It wasn't mutual. 

It wasn't her idea.

There are many things I could say to try and mend her broken heart, but

I think her dear brother The Brat Child did it best.

BC: So we're never going to see him again?

Me: Nope

BC: (in a matter-of-fact voice) Well, then I guess we should just shoot him.

Me: (to Midge) I guess this is where I should tell him violence isn't the answer.

BC: (after driving past some cows) We could make him kiss a cow's butt.  A POOPY cow butt!

Me: Good idea, less violent.

BC: Then we could get a gun, load it up and shoot him then tie him up, take him to "watersand" and throw him in the water and let sharks eat him!

I'm now wondering if the Brat Child was a Mafia Don in a previous life.

Progress?

We have a roof.

We have new flooring on the way.

We don't have a ceiling in the master bedroom yet,

though the contractor should be taking care of that shortly.

There are still some unsightly dead trees around. 

Makes me want to buy a chainsaw and learn how to use it.

Insurance doesn't always provide money to remove destroyed trees.

(These aren't our trees, just dead ones that make it look painful still)

At night the air is heavy with wood smoke.

There used to be a house here.

There used to be 3 houses, a shed and a carport between the house on the left

 and the pile of rubbish in the foreground.

Two of the three have new foundations.

The new view looking out to the river Rivah.

Dueling dozers.

The area on the far shore is where the Hurd's house used to be.

This building is a garage. 

Yeah, I thought it was a house at first too.

And that upside down flag is a sign of distress if my memory of maritime flag symbols serves me. 

And yes, I'd say it's still a bit distressing in Jackson Acres.



Words of Wisdom

Let it Be
When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,

there will be an answer, let it be.

For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,

there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,

shine until tomorrow, let it be.

I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,

speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

While I was contemplating a post to go along with the photo above, I was also listening to the Beatles.. 
 And because I wrote this post 3 days ago around 1am, using a song seemed easier than thinking at the time. 
Our house (seen in the background of the photo) is being fixed as I type.  While it means I have to make other plans for my weekend (grrrr) it also means that we're marching forward and making progress and getting awesome new flooring. 

Monday Meditation

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."

~Stephan Hoeller

Monday Meditation

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.

~ Brian Tracy

I will be heading south to Deltaville this coming weekend for the first time since the tornado hit.  While I've seen photos, I've been told that the photos do not do it justice. So today's quote definitely offers a spin on things that have happened.  While I'm not thankful the tornado happened, I am most definitely thankful no one was killed on injured in our area. 

There are possibilities in the rebuilding.

The same holds true for the struggles of life.  There are times in life that get you down and make you want to give up.  Times when the thought of being thankful is simply ludicrous.  Times when the only thing that is appealing is staying in bed with the covers pulled up over your head.

 

But there are possibilities in the rebuilding.

Monday Meditation

Burdens are the foundations of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.

 ~Rumi

This one I struggle with, but in lieu of this week's line up of events, it's a good one to think about.

Monday Meditation

"Forgiveness is not the misguided act of condoning irresponsible, hurtful behavior. Nor is it a superficial turning of the other cheek that leaves us feeling victimized and martyred. Rather it is the finishing of old business that allows us to experience the present, free of contamination from the past."

~ Joan Borysenko

Monday Meditation

                                 But learn                                 

this custom

from the flower:

silence

your tongue.

~Rumi