The older I get, the more I realize the importance of positive thinking; you know, walking in the sunshine and avoiding the shadows in our minds. We gaze into the future and wonder what lies beyond the little bit we can see. Our economy is terrible, the housing market is failing, businesses and families are sinking quicker than life preservers can reach them, and health care is no longer affordable. It’s a frightening time for everyone let alone for us baby boomers. Looking forward to retirement was supposed to be fun. That was back in the days when we thought we actually could retire. It’s getting more difficult to imagine living on investments that have all but disappeared and social security than is anything but secure. Social what? Did you say security? Yet when we get right down to it, we all have a choice to make and it is a decision that will affect the rest of our lives. The choice is: how will we decide to view life. Is the glass half full or is it half empty?
Month: January 2011
The Measuring Game
The rain was really coming down the other day, all day long. I wondered what my neighbor would say the measurable rainfall was. That’s her thing; measurable rainfall. It got me thinking about how many things we measure in life and by what variable of standards. For instance, the value of a new car is often measured by the name of the manufacturer and what the price tag says. The quality of a school is measured by the economics of the neighborhood it serves. Gourmet brownies are measured by the richness of the chocolate and butter used in the ingredients. We, as mere human beings, measure each other up for all kinds of criteria. The desirableness of a suitor may be measured by his income, his looks, his weight, or his age. Woman are far too often measured strictly by appearance. Friendships are often measured by how much time is spent together, or by favors that are granted or gifts given and received. They are too often valued by what one person can do for another as far as socially advancing another, or advancing them professionally. There are work friends, church friends, shopping friends and work out friends, all working…
Feather Dusters and Cob Webs
They have grown thick and fuzzy, these cob webs in my head. Not only that, but our damp Pacific Northwest winters present the grave danger of mold entering into the equation. Can you imagine? Moldy cob webs hanging out in our heads? I know it’s happening to me and I know what a dangerous outcome this could have if something isn’t done about it soon. My thoughts are becoming stale. Boring thoughts lacking essential energy and creativity. Useless thoughts void of anything positive or inspirational. Old cold moldy thoughts held prisoner in a cob webby head. All that can be done is to locate a magic feather duster, one that enters our damp webbed brains on a warm breeze and sweeps away the cob webs while drying out all the mold. It’s somewhere to be found- somewhere on this planet of ours. The duster is made from soft colorful feathers plucked from the tails of birds of paradise. It wafts through our heads ever so gently, carefully sweeping the thick sticky webs from side to side. Given enough time,at least a week, the webs will all be dusted away and the mold will dry out. Our thinking will be crystal…
I Want to be a Snow Bird!
Enter the long dark days of winter. The wind blows in great gusts of frigid air carrying rain drops and ice crystals. They slap across my face in the early morning trek down the road with my dogs who run for cover under parked cars and boats bundled in canvas and tarps. The sting causes me to pull my wool scarf up over my mouth and nose. I wish I would have thought to protect my eyes with some kind of goggle. It’s miserable. GET ME OUT OF HERE ! It’s time for Mexico. Oh, yeah. MEXICO. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll strap myself to the wing of a plane if I have to. I’ll wear the goggles. I’ll be fine. I can feel it now; warm sand under my bare feet. Waves rushing up and covering us in warm salt water. The infinite pool, sparkling bright blue, just as blue as the sky. I’m going. I’m not sure how or when, but I’m going. Later, Mary Ann
Resolutions
As always, I have set quite a few goals for the new year. It happens every new year, of course. Yet the older I get, the more serious these resolutions have become and the more determined I am to stick with them. I really do plan to lose weight and get in shape and I really will set regular hours just for writing each day. But most importantly, I plan to spend more time developing my spiritual life. I plan to spend more time with God; to talk to Him more, to read His word more, to look to Him for guidance and comfort and to give Him my fears and frustrations. Through this, I hope to leave the stress behind and develop stronger ties with my family and friends.