Heather kept an organized home. Next to “neat as a pin” in a Google search was (see Heather). One could stop by any hour of the day, and they’d be treated to a pristine environment. Little did anyone know that Heather’s cleaning took place in the middle of the earliest hours of the morning. Her inability to sleep, as well as her need to have ‘perfect order’, was because her life was filled with debris. Poor decisions, Pop culture interests, and a lack of Faith, kept her scrubbing and cleaning to no avail.
Rory asked these questions a day ago. It seemed a fun place to start the day.
Do you think being outside is good for a person’s wellbeing?
It is absolutely essential. When I’m outside, all my problems seem smaller. The immense beauty and expansive wonder of Nature (something I cannot fully explain) speaks to me. There are forces so much bigger than I. My favorite personal explanation is “It’s a place where I feel comfortably insignificant.” Once when my granddaughter, at about 8 years old, was having a ‘meltdown’, my cure for it was asking her to go and sit outdoors. It worked. It always works. I don’t consider it a distraction, but rather a reconnection.
How much of a sensation seeker are you?
This is a good one. I am a bit of a daredevil. But the path I take is usually testing my own limits. As an “eyes wide open” person when it comes to assessing physical danger, I don’t as often take safety risks as I test the “rules”. I think most rules are arbitrary nonsense. Remember the 6-foot distancing during the pandemic? Yeah…that one was actually an IQ test and most people were sadly scoring in the double digits. lol 😉
Do you believe in blind luck?
No. Since I decided to center my life around gratitude it has been even more beautiful. And to feel gratitude, one needs someone or something to thank. I am thankful to God for his grace and love. By finding that life direction which increases my perception of beauty and calm, I haven’t regretted the decision… and I truly don’t care what others think of it. Faith is absolutely a daily decision and no different from deciding what you’ll wear. Since I’ve looked for miracles (I even did as a child), I’ve recognized SO much. It’s quite like the saying, “You can’t win the lottery if you don’t play.”
Sadje’s Sunday Poser brought to my mind a beautiful memory along with the usual ‘food for thought’.
Doing generous acts of kindness feels SO satisfying. I’ve often wondered if getting such satisfaction from it wasn’t a little self-serving because I get so much pleasure from it.
I’ve described doing such things as similar to Johnny Appleseed who spread his seeds hoping that some would grow. He didn’t need to stand around waiting for that ‘fruit’ because he had faith that some would take root. It wasn’t in his hands to tend them or even find out which ones grew. He got enough satisfaction from the act.
That’s how I see “Paying it forward”.
A few, maybe 5 now, years ago, a lady was walking through our grocery store wearing a gentle smile and carrying a bouquet of roses. She was about 60 years old. When our eyes met, she walked up to me and asked would I like a rose? (I love flowers but wondered what ‘the catch’ was yet there was something about her that made me graciously accept a rose.) Then she made my whole day and gave me a memory that still warms my heart.
She explained that she was the caretaker for an elderly woman who no longer was mobile enough to come to the grocery herself. The woman said that the elderly lady asked her to purchase a bunch of roses and hand out some ‘sunshine’ for her. (I’m tearing up as I write this.) I never asked for that beautiful soul’s name, but I assure you that her act of kindness has not been forgotten. I’m proud I am able to share it further with all of you.
Sometimes I wonder if that lady has passed on to Heaven. We all know that she would be welcomed home there. I hope she somehow knows how far that kind gesture has traveled.
Lift your chin in the face of unpleasant things And be present with ‘hope’ in your heart. No matter what a new trouble brings Lift your chin in the face of unpleasant things. The architect of all that tomorrow brings Needs the faithful to do their part. Lift your chin in the face of unpleasant things And be present with ‘hope’ in your heart.
A savior born this month (according to tradition) was an emissary of Peace and Hope in a natural world where there’s a battle between Good and Evil.
Human beings equally require shadow and light to discern one from the other and worldwide nearly half of humankind survives on less than $6.00 a day so poverty is a default condition for most people.
Nature is both beautiful and cruel and worldly survival is built of both.
Accepting that there’s a place without those struggles is called ‘faith’ and living purposefully to improve human existence (one person at a time) is life.
Doing our best, through generosity and forgiveness, seems a fair use of our worldly lives once we realize we’re not ‘in charge’.
Since so many other online writers have blogs dedicated to their writings, I’ve decided to jump onto the bandwagon. All posts published here will be either fiction or poetry, some new, and some previously published on various places on the Internet. Some of my works are conventional, and some are quirky. All fiction posted here, except for fan fiction, will include the letters "rose" somewhere, as a tribute to my Baba.
Sillyfrog's Blog 