priorities

My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order.

Dolly Parton

At least she has her priorities straight.

god help me...please

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.

Thomas à Kempis

Imitation of Christ

I watched a movie tonight called Rosenstrasse. During WWII in Germany, the Jewish husbands of Aryan women were protected--for a while. Then these men, too, were rounded up and held. Their wives held vigil outside the building where the husbands were being held and demanded their release. According to the movie, the men and women being held at Rosenstrasse returned to their families.

At one point in the movie, Lena (the protagonist Aryan wife) approached her father (a German man of some prestige and power who was an anti-Semite) and begged him for help. He refused. Not only did he turn his back on her literally, but he also denied the stories of camps and disowned his own daughter for having married a Jew.

In that moment watching the film, I felt such powerlessness and incomprehension for his reaction. I am not proud of my response. All I could feel was hatred. No compassion. No understanding of his fear or worries. None. I couldn't get there. And the hatred I felt was not just directed at his behavior, but at him.

Yes, I know it was a movie and this was not a real person. However, there were many real people who did the very things that this role portrayed. God help me. I am not as full of lovingkindness as the Dalai Lama who prays for the Chinese--the very people who ripped him from his homeland.

So I must turn toward my own shortcomings with lovingkindness. May I find peace. May I find compassion for the woundedness of others. May I find enough that it spills over to those around me.

May it be so.

farewell, oceana

We will miss you.

growing up is hard to do

Everything we think, say, and do has an immediate effect on everyone and everything else.

Ed and Deb Shapiro

Day by day, I work to be aware of my words and deeds...and thoughts. I know that sometimes the awareness comes after the words have already left my lips. Sucking them back in doesn't work. I own them. I apologize.

Sometimes I get tired of apologizing.

Sometimes I want others to know that their thoughts, words, and deeds affect me, too.

It's so simple--and not.

how to get rid of enemies

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.

Abraham Lincoln

I could use a few more friends. Couldn't you?

I just finished reading Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com. He talked about Zappos and how it came to be the successful company it is today. Recently Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2 billion in stock. Zappos has been in business for 10 years.

One element of their success is that they treat everyone kindly--as if they are friends. That includes their vendors. Competition and squeezing the last drop out of a negotiation don't move business forward. Cooperation does.

Pretty simple, don't you think?

Works for me.

love thursday 11.25.10 ~ thanksgiving

Random love items and thankfulness list:

Animals do feel love. No doubt about it.

No accidents...

In the cold weather, the flexible tube from the high efficiency furnace pump to the outside freezes and the pump tends to overheat. I have to unhook the outside line from the pump and use a shorter length of tubing into a 5 gallon bucket in order to keep the garage from flooding.

For some reason, I can't find the extra piece of tubing that I usually have on hand. Okay...if you saw my garage you would understand why I can't find it--but that is beside the point.

Next door, a furnace repair truck is sitting in the driveway. I walked over and asked for a piece of tubing. What he asked for is that I pass his card along to someone. So, I'm doing that here: Service First Heating & Cooling, Inc. is a father son shop. The phone is 360.907.7683 and email is service1st@yahoo.com.

Thankful for...

...enough food--today, tomorrow, the next day, and probably several days after that.

...time with Mom.

...passable roads.

...help putting up the Christmas lights.

...two orange boys and an old tortoiseshell girl.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

authentic you

If you are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire.

St. Catherine of Siena

Gives new meaning to being a firecracker, doesn't it?

when did you decide?

who's crying now?

(poor banana after a freeze)

(and right next door, blackbird has a new baby)

I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence.

Dolly Parton

It's coming. Snow. We had a precursor today. Some fell, but none stayed. Just look at poor banana. I walked out the door this morning and what you see above is what I saw. Droopy. Glassy. Very sad.

And just a couple feet away, Blackbird has a new leaf opening. What a weird weather year this has been. I doubt that I can save the baby leaf. I just hope I can save the plant through the winter.

As you can see, I have wrapped the base of the plants with rope lights. They do a stellar job of keeping the ground warm enough. I also have to figure out a cover for banana this year. The one I used last year won't work because it is too short. I might build a teepee wrapped with clear plastic to let the light in. For now, Blackbird has a 5 gallon bucket on his head at night. I'll remove it during the day.

We also put rope lights inside the cold frames. Here's to the grand experiment....

give

"If you have two coats," he replied, "give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry."

Luke 3:11

Over and over, we are asked to help those in need. Give. Feed the hungry. Take care of the widows, orphans, aliens--anyone among us in need.

Be kind.

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

And now, there is research to support this idea. Giving to others is good for us.

What will it take for us to get this through our thick skulls?

I just hope we can get it before it is too late.

raw faith

Go see Raw Faith...

...a documentary about the beloved Portland Unitarian Universalist Minister, the Rev. Dr. Marilyn Sewell.

It will be showing in Portland at the Hollywood Theatre on Saturday, November 27th at 5:00 and 7:00; Sunday, November 28th at 5:00 and 7:00; and Monday, November 29th at 7:00.

And let me know what you think.

After the showing Marilyn and George did a Q&A. She reported that she told the director that what she had to offer to the film was her honesty. She is honest and vulnerable throughout and I found it very moving.

holographic universe

(mijo hanging out)

What is in one is in the whole, and therefore, ultimately,
Each soul is responsible for the whole world.

Gary Zukav

"He's got the whole world in His hands..." just started running through my head. Are we not His hands on earth?

love thursday 11.18.10 ~ healing

Just a brief post today to say thanks for all the love and good wishes. I am feeling better. If I have to have a bug, a 24 hour bug is the way to go.

flu season

So, to prevent fatigue and worry, the first rule is: Rest often. Rest before you get tired.

Dale Carnegie

I'm glad I did a load of laundry yesterday so I would have enough clean underwear today.

I ache.

I'm cold. I want to be in the hot box with Misi.

Nausea.

Headache.

I drank clear liquids and ate bland food.

I took a salt bath.

I used the magic healing machine.

Tomorrow will be much better...except for that storm that's coming in. Not. Ready. For. Snow. Please.

indifference

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

Elie Wiesel

Let me tell you something I am not indifferent about: Choice.

I believe in choice, just like the Divine believes in Free Will. I get to choose. YES!

Have you been to the grocery store lately? How many toothpastes or types of corn chips do I need to choose from? Really.

That's one of the things that makes Trader Joe's successful, you know. Fewer types of peanut butter...choose one...keep shopping. Seriously. They pre-shop. This is not a Trader Joe's commercial. I rarely shop there.

I'll let all you grocers in on a tidbit--I go for quality...not just price. So today, when I was looking for organic, non-GMO corn chips...you didn't have what I wanted. Fifty kinds of corn chips and you didn't have one I really wanted.

Seriously.

keep walking

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.

Buddhist Proverb

And since it is Monday, I must be headed west.

contradancing

Went dancing and had a great time. I do believe I will do it again. It's like square dancing without the square.

And...I ran into an old friend, quite serendipitously. Lovely. Thank you, Universe.

fitting in

I look just like the girls next door... if you happen to live next door to an amusement park.

Dolly Parton

things that make me cry

bagpipers playing ceremonial tunes

color guards

sincere thanks

sacrifice recognized

the anthems of each branch of the armed services

seeing others tear up

watching an F-16 fly over

watching a Marine in dress blues bestow a medal on a fellow Marine in camouflage who has lost both hands and part of his forearms

seeing the same two Marines hug

seeing the MC and presenter "shake hands" with the man with no hands without missing a beat--not so much as a flicker of the eyelid

love thursday 11.11.10 ~ veterans' day

A father was trying to read the newspaper, but his little son kept pestering him. Finally, the father grew tired of this and, tearing a page from the newspaper – one that bore a map of the world – he cut it into several pieces and handed them to his son.

"Right, now you’ve got something to do. I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to see if you can put it back together correctly."

He resumed his reading, knowing that the task would keep the child occupied for the rest of the day. However, a quarter of an hour later, the boy returned with the map.

"Has your mother been teaching you geography?" asked his father in astonishment.

"I don’t even know what that is," replied the boy. "But there was a photo of a man on the other side of the page, so I put the man back together and found I’d put the world back together too."

from Paulo Coelho

Today I am attending a ceremony to honor the World War II veterans. In my heart, I honor all veterans.

I am mostly a peaceful person, so some would think it strange that I honor those who have served in the armed forces. For me, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I consider myself to have an inner Samurai. The desire of the Samurai is not to have to fight. But if one must fight, the cause should be just and honorable.

I honor our warriors who have served during peace and those who have served during conflict. I honor them for doing what they believe in.

And I thank them for their time, their service--and some of them, for giving their lives.

Thank you for trying to put us all back together.

a sobering thought

A sobering thought: what if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?

Jane Wagner

somehow the fit is not the same

(remember this?)

He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger.

Japanese proverb

(updated version: same computer...same cat)

echolilia: a father's photographic conversation with his autistic son

This is amazing.

fall back

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.

Charles Schulz

American cartoonist
(1922 - 2000)

I decided to wait until Sunday morning to turn the clocks back so I wouldn't stay up later because I knew it was really earlier. It didn't work. I still stayed up later. Oh, well.

Lord, help me through the dark afternoons. Bring on the festivals of lights.

all right, everybody--listen up...

Nature is cruel. We don't have to be.

Temple Grandin

an open letter to the white right, on the occasion of your recent, successful temper tantrum by tim wise

Worth reading.

love thursday 11.04.20 ~ vulnerability

The most excellent Brené Brown:

post election

Wonder if I will ever live in the tropics....

Oh, wait!

If I just wait long enough, I can live in the tropics without ever having to move.

and another thing...

...I know that you think you are doing a good deed by stopping in the middle of the road to let someone pull out from a side street. HOWEVER, have you considered the 12 people lined up behind you waiting while you wait? Do us all a favor...follow the rules of the road and take your right of way.

...Of course, you are sick of political ads and the negativity generated during the season. We all are. HOWEVER, not voting really doesn't solve the problem. Turn off the sound when the ads come on TV--better yet...turn off the TV. Do your own research. All politicians are not the problem. Many of them are true public servants and we would be in a world of hurt without them.

...I used to say, "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of pain." HOWEVER, I live with pain every day. Some days are not so bad. What I am really afraid of is suffering.

what i did on halloween...

...went grocery shopping

...dug a patch of earth and mixed it with straw for the potatoes

...prepared the garden beds by raking the earth level and pressing the sides of the mounds

...put new handles on the newest cold frames so SO can open them

...vacuumed the leaves from the lawn

...ate macaroni and cheese

...blew the leaves from the sidewalk, driveway, front lawn, and deck

...hung upside down

...ate candy


You?