Category: choices

Clean out those mental closets

by worrylessjourney, posted in acceptance, choices, coping, enlightening, let go, life changes, Uncategorized

clean-out-your-closet-Wayne-L.-Misner-quote

Sometimes while thinking about our life we can see the places where we went off the track. It can be quite disturbing. Often we don’t want to open the doors of those closets where we have stored our missteps. The truth is that is how we learn. Looking back we can usually see very clearly how we stumbled off the path. The good news is we can also see how we got back on it.

Don’t be afraid to throw open the doors of your mental closets, sweep out the dirt, and leave it clean. Each day of life is an opportunity to learn something new. Take advantage of it.

let-go-mental-clutter-Vidya-Sury.jpg

Not at home yet

by worrylessjourney, posted in acceptance, balance, blessings, centering, choices, church, consequences, courtesy, understanding

find the roadThere are some times when I wear my feelings on my shoulders. Since coming back to my husband’s church I have not really felt at home there. It is not anything about the church but about me. After 20 years of working in a church there is so much I could share but I can’t. I offer to help and usually end up stepping on someones toes. Other people need space to do things…my turn is past. I don’t want to be in charge if anything…just offer experience. Even after several years I feel as if part of me is missing. The only change has to be made by me. (the hardest person to change)

The frustration I experience when I am at the church is painful. The best thing may be to go somewhere else for a while where I don’t feel that pull. If everything is unfamiliar I may not have such a strong reaction. At least it is worth trying to see if it helps.

As we get older we have so much to share and don’t often get the opportunity to do so. This blog has been a wonderful way to at least offer my experiences in the hope that they may help others. It has kept me centered and moving forward. This is a blessing.

 

 

A sad outcome

by worrylessjourney, posted in acceptance, choices, compassion, consequences, dogs, Uncategorized

The days have been dark, rainy and cold. Not fun for me. I am sun oriented. Tomorrow should be better. Last night I went out to a party for the first time since surgery. What I learned was it was too soon. It is so hard to remember that we do need time to heal. I am so used to being constantly on the go that I don’t seem to be able to stop.

It was a good lesson and I will be more careful. Christmas is a busy time and one that makes it hard to slow down.

good but sad choice

We also had a dreadful experience this morning. We heard our two bassets outside barking and howling frantically. When we checked that were facing a raccoon. Raccoons are not out in the daytime here and to have one not only out but challenging our dogs was a bad omen. My husband and I went out. I corralled the dogs and he approached the coon who did not run away. Also very unusual. It was very obvious that the coon was very sick. Couldn’t walk well, was disoriented and shaking as if with some sort of palsy.

The population of raccoons around us has had a problem with rabies and distemper. The raccoon was in distress and I suspect from his behavior it was distemper. He was going to die …and soon. He was at risk for encountering other neighborhood dogs who would also be at risk so my husband took the best outcome and shot him. We both felt so bad but it was best for everyone. We both hate killing anything and have both been sad about it but there was little choice. He would have died in pain and fear.

We are both animal lovers and want the best for any animal. We have near us a sanctuary for local wildlife. My husband spoke with them and they said what was done was best. It helps but we still feel bad.

Too far?

by worrylessjourney, posted in balance, choices, connections, humans need humans, learn

girl in grass holding her smartphone ordering fast foodSometimes I feel bad about ordering so many things on-line. But the truth is that no only can I get exactly what I want but without spending time hunting for it in the store. I know this is hard on the local merchants but I’m afraid it is going to be the way things go.

As things change we have to find new ways to work with what is happening. I’m sure the industrial revolution made life difficult for the workers who had previously been doing those jobs.

Computers have taken over so much and now on-line shopping is the norm. Even to ordering you food and your meals. The worrysome part is will we never leave our homes? Will be become hermits who live and dies by ourselves. It is a possibility. So much interaction between people is now electronic. We don’t see people face to face.

survive

Some changes must be made. Mankind is communal and doesn’t function well all alone. Somehow we have to incorporate the changes into our lives but maintain ways to connect face to face.

Who is to blame for this mess?

by worrylessjourney, posted in aggravations, answers, choices, consequences, funny, humor, Laughter, politics, viewpoint

This showed up last night on Facebook. It is so funny and a wonderful take on elections in general and the things that are going on in Britain and the US.

Beaker Folk Prayer for the General Election

Announced by Archdruid Eileen

Oh God, we pray for the General Election and that through it your will be done.

Albeit we’re a bit concerned that if we explicitly associate your will with the results of the election, there’s kind of an impression given that the winners have God on their side.

Which given the potential leaders we’re looking at currently seems, frankly, a bit worrying. We mean, we know you’ve worked through Cyrus, Potiphar’s wife, Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery and a talking donkey. But, you know, that was back in Biblical times when it was all a lot simpler.

And we’re a bit worried that if we say your will is equivalent to the results of a democratic election, then it’s arguable your will made a right mess of it in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Not to take party political sides, but we’ve not been a terribly high-performing country after any of those votes. Was that your will?

As if it was, we can only conclude that in fact your will is to punish us for something. Maybe the Empire, or making hot pants trendy in the 60s, or Strictly Come Dancing. Don’t get us wrong, we can understand the punishment is deeply appropriate. But shorter and sharper would probably be better than this slow death by lies and fantasy we’ve been going through lately. Just a plague of frogs, maybe?

Votes without end

Amen

Maybe we also are being punished for those we have put in office. Who else is to blame? We do, after all, vote.

When did lying become OK?

by worrylessjourney, posted in aggravations, answers, choices, ethical, Immoral, learn, morality, politics, truth

With what is going on politically in the US this quote popped into my mind, I may have used it before but it is so appropriate now.

In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell

searching for truth

 

Yesterday I heard someone talking about the absence of truth in everything we see and read. It is a incredible indictment of how things function in today’s world. If we are smart we have to question everything and IF we are good at research we may find the truth….but there is no guarantee. It is so different from the world I grew up in. I know it wasn’t perfect but the “average” person could be taken at their word. It was not OK to lie. It was not all right to distort the truth until it’s unrecognizable.

 

It makes me realize that one of the most important things that should be taught in schools is to take nothing at face value but learn to dig for more information. What a thing to have to teach children….that so much of everything is false.

look for truth

I feel lucky that my first degree was in history which meant I spent a lot of time doing research. I know how to hunt for facts and sniff out exaggerations and falsehoods. That has helped me so much in my life.

I guess I will be passing that on to my great grandchildren now.

Share joy, hope, love

by worrylessjourney, posted in balance, choices, consequences, giving, hope, joy, love, share, wisdom

It is night but after the night comes the morning. And with the morning there are new opportunities . There is so much to be shared. People who need love, hope, joy. Each of us needs to do what we can to bring that to others. Our sharing can make all the difference in someone else’s life. It doesn’t have to be physical things. If we have things we can share that others need that is a blessing. But to share ourselves is more important. For by giving love to others we enhance our own lives as well.

share joy

It is easy to get tangled up in “why do we do things? For ourselves or for others?” There is no confusion… we do it for both. We are not free from receiving good from the ways we reach out. It happens. But we can’t dismiss it as being selfish alone. Out helping others can bring them love, hope and joy. It can also bring the same things to us. That is not a wrong thing. It is just the way it works. God wants us to derive pleasure from helping others. It’s joy will remind us to keep on giving.

In my life I loved getting gifts. Interestingly enough, I now get more joy from the giving of them. There is something about the faces we see when we share of our belongings and especially of ourselves.

Share, share share. Don’t be afraid. You will not lose….you will gain!

Make it so

by worrylessjourney, posted in calm, choices, compassion, empathy, expectations, hope, peace

I love the church season of Advent. Not because of all the hoopla leading up to Christmas. Advent doesn’t feel red and green like Christmas. For me it feels blue. A beautiful, peaceful, serene blue. I imagine pictures with stars and the stable with the infant Jesus. I see calm and deep peace. I love listening to Christmas music and singing along. I suppose because the music plays at this time instead of the weeks of Christmas leading to Epiphany.

advent8

Advent is a time for expecting. The world is pregnant with hope. People seem kinder, more giving, more open. It is sad that we can’t remain this way all year long. We need to learn from this period of expectation that things can be better. We can be more caring of others. We can live together in peace. Let’s make it so.

Lasting Memories

by worrylessjourney, posted in appreciate, blessings, celebrate, children, choices, create, enjoy, holidays, little things, memories, remember

My husband loves Christmas. He can’t wait until the tree is up and the decorations out. He bought the tree while I was in the hospital but had it delivered after I came home. It is now up and decorated. (which he did) I am good but still some tired.

remember when.jpg

I managed to get enough energy to do some of the other decorations and things look pretty nice. We have pared down some over the years and don’t over do.

If we strictly followed our church’s thought we would not put up decorations until Christmas Eve and keep them up for the 12 days of Christmas ending on Epiphany. When I was a child my father and I would walk into the woods and cut a tree on Christmas Eve. That was such an exciting time for me. Just spending time with my father doing something special was enough. I remember it with such fond memories.

christmas-memory-copy

I hope we were able to give those kind of memories to our own children. These are things that can’t be duplicated. Expensive gifts are nothing compared to time spent with parents. It is so wonderful when we spend time with our own children playing, what I call, “remember when….the time the dog opened most of the presents under the tree during the night??” Those are the things that last.

Spend on memories not things. The memories last.

? The Death Panel?

by worrylessjourney, posted in aging, balance, belief, choices, consequences, control, decisions, freedom, health, judging, medical, morality, perspective

choices medicalI have been out of the loop for several days. Had thyroid surgery on Friday and am feeling good…just tired. After a fall season of chaos I hope we are moving into a winter season of rest and joy. I now have to catch up on reading everything that I missed.

I hadn’t been involved in the hospital system for a while and had forgotten how dehumanizing it can be. The hospital was good, care was good it is just how the system operates. It is so easy to feel like someone out of one of the dystopian novels. Especially the older ones like 1984 and Soylent Green. It is easy to imagine yourself discovering that the light embedded in your arm has just lit up and it is time for you to go and be floated up to bliss.

It has been under discussion and very much under wraps having a Death Panel decide who will be left to die. The majority of money is spent on end of life care. Sometimes the kind where life is extended but not necessarily for the better.However, judgement needs to be made based on health and choice. If we are lucky the medical system will continue to allow us to make out own choices and not force the elderly but active to be told that nothing is allowed at their age.

Terrible topic. So sorry. It is just something that I know could come if we don’t have a say about what happens.

I promise more pleasant topic tomorrow.