Jun 26, 2015

Rose Candle


"I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored," said the late Erma Bombeck, in an essay about how she might have lived her life differently. 

While growing up, my mom laughed uproariously at her columns, while I only chuckled at the jokes I got. I get all of them now.

I thought about my mom, and Erma, while wrapping the "good" koozie around my Dr. Pepper the other evening. 

The good koozie?

Yes, it's the fancy one. I keep it in the china cabinet.

You're kidding, right?

Um, no.

It's time to take the good koozie off the pedestal and put it to work! What, in heaven's name, am I saving it for? I don't have a lot of "nice" things (mother of 5 speaking) but if my drink is not worthy of the "good" koozie, than I have bigger problems than just having the wrong beverage in my hand.

Now go burn your rose candle.

Jun 25, 2015

Hate the Sin










It is incumbent upon me to hate the sin.

All sins.

Even my own.

Especially my own.


Jun 22, 2015

All Things Are Permissible


St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12

Douay-Rheims Bible
All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 


If you are offended by this flag, and there is no righteous reason for me to fly it, then I will take it down out of respect for you. It's ok for me to fly it, but it's not ok to deliberately offend, in matters of little consequence. 

It's ok for me to eat beef, but not when my Hindu friend is visiting. It's ok for me to eat bacon, but not when my Muslim friend is visiting. I love my friends. All colors. All creeds. You don't win them over to your way of thinking by offending them deliberately. 

You start with your points of agreement. We are all energetic beings from the same Source. Let's start there.


Jun 19, 2015

Mind = Blown

You can hardly read internet articles any more without seeing a link or a listicle about something promising to "blow your mind!" (A listicle is what substitutes for journalism. It gives us a "list" of 10 things you must do, 5 things never to eat, 6 things that should never be on your resume, and so on.)

Blow my mind? Adrenal fatigue much? How can my mind be blown again and again? Really, the reason for the extra shoelace hole in my sneakers will blow my mind?

Or the ads on Yahoo, which I've seen with many variations on the theme: "Great new [insert name of product here - weight loss product, vitamin, etc] takes [insert store name here] by storm!  Really? Takes it by storm? The weight loss product didn't just show up on the drug store shelf one day and a reasonable amount of people bought a reasonable amount of it for whatever reason? People stormed? Did they have to call in riot control?

When everything is underlined, nothing is underlined.
When everything is bold, nothing is bold.
When everything blows my mind, nothing blows my mind.


Jun 15, 2015

Perception IS Reality

Everyone in advertising knows this: perception is reality. If you think a brand is good, it's good. If you think it's bad, it's bad. Doesn't matter what the facts are or the empirical data reveal.

Advertisers spend millions to convince you that the colored cereal in the box with the toucan is better than the colored cereal in the plain box. It must be working, because they're still doing it.

Anorexics think they're fat. What's defective here, the perception or the reality? The perception, of course. But it doesn't matter to the hurting person, because her view of reality is warped.

Bruce Jenner thinks he's a woman. What's defective here, the perception or the reality? Obviously the perception. However, the empirical data doesn't change his feelings.

Don't live by your feelings. Have a reality check before you permanently mutilate yourself or otherwise cause yourself harm. There may be other factors in play that you don't know yet.

Spiritual warfare is real. Guard your thoughts.

Jun 11, 2015

What I Can Control

I can't change it. Right now.

I can't get away from it. Right now.

All I can do is change the way I think about it.

I control my attitude.

I will control what I can control. What else can I do?

Jun 10, 2015

If It's Not Broken...



When beloved characters are redrawn, modernized, or changed from how we remember them, always ask why. It's foolish to change just for change's sake. Improvement, yes. Always strive to be better. But different? Why? Give me a great reason.

Look at Bob & Larry's eyes in this classic drawing. Now look at the version I first saw on some paper plates for sale at Wally world. The eyes in the second set are wrong! They aren't supposed to look like that.

I assumed that the paper plate manufacturer made a horrendous mistake, until I found the same drawings on the official Veggie Tales website.

When they got invisible arms, it was because the artists got lazy. It was "too hard," they said, to draw clever cutaways such as were in the original episodes. Ugh. That's not an improvement. And the new eyes? Don't forget what I said about "Whee!" vs "Wow!" New does not always mean better. Remember "New Coke?" "New Math?" Betamax?  Enough said.

Jun 9, 2015

Generosity

In another lifetime, I worked for the post office. I was trained in the office of an affluent area (let's call it M), then went to run an office in a rural area (let's call it S.) You can tell a lot about someone by the mail they receive.

When I got to S, the first thing I noticed is that no one there got the Wall Street Journal. Instead, they got magazines about backyard poultry or taxidermy. No one at M ever got chickens in the mail. M residents had wealth, and lots of it. They had large PO boxes that received statements from banks & brokerages. (Some had small boxes because they were too cheap to get big ones, so their mail was crammed in there.) The people of S, many of them, are unbanked. They'd get their SS check, cash it somewhere, bring the cash to me to buy money orders to mail their bills. Some of them needed my help filling them out. Some needed help addressing the envelope. I'm happy to help.

Come April 15, the M's were in line with huge envelopes sent certified. The S's put one stamp on their normal envelope (one page return) & dropped it in the slot.

For all their wealth, no one at M ever gave me eggs from their chickens, flowers or sugar cane or tomatoes from their garden, a cd of their favorite Christmas music, or even a thank you note.

Money doesn't buy class, and the people with the least material wealth are rich in ways that the Ms will never know.


Jun 7, 2015

Perseverance

Dr. Seuss was turned down by 27 publishers before one accepted And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street.

27! He had to keep believing that what he was doing was right, after 27 experts told him he wasn't worth publishing.

If you think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right. Don't let others change your mind, if you're right.

Hang in there. If you know you're doing the right thing, keep doing it.

Don't give up.

Jun 2, 2015

The Evening News

Once upon a time, journalists had a sacred trust to bring us the truth about what was going on in the world, no matter how uncomfortable that truth may be.

Somewhere along the line, the financial interests took over the news, and started conditioning us with selected stories, particular slants, glaring omissions.

Even the talking heads themselves are now chosen for visual appeal, not credibility. It doesn't matter what's really going on. Look at the jewelry the talking head is wearing! She got a haircut! He got a facelift! She moderated the local spelling bee! If it bleeds, it leads! (Or is it ledes?) Who made the cut on American Idol? Is Don Draper smoking a real cigarette or cloves?

Wait, was there anything important that went on anywhere in the world today?

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain....

If the "news" is the only place where you're getting your news, you are missing out.

Big time.

Jun 1, 2015

Shiny Things


The finger said, "look at me! I have a ring! It's gold and diamonds! Don't I look grand?"

Another finger said, "Well, Honey Pie, I have a ring, too. It's platinum and has a channel cut of 9 gems."

The next finger said, "Hey, y'all! I've got yellow gold, and check out the carats on this bad boy!"

The baby finger cried when no one was looking, and wished that she were as grand as her big sisters.

The thumb was too busy being opposable and doing useful things to notice what anyone else was wearing.

Sisters, my sisters: individually, we are weak, like fingers. Together, we are strong, like a fist.

Who will be "together" with me? Who will help raise the vibration of the world, and appreciate things that are far more valuable than jewelry? (Jewelry's ok - just not as important as positive vibes...)

I need serious friends. Spiritually mature friends. Friends who will encourage me, not judge me because your ring is bigger than mine.

I need Divine Connections.

Who's in?