Today…. I took a walk outside on Planet Earth.  It was beautiful.  Warm.  It felt like happiness, and soundness.  It felt spiritual.

Here is the thing though. I don’t practice any ONE singular religion.  I don’t have it in me really.   ONLY because… I think  there are SO many religions  which offer up some incredibly beautiful and loving practices about living life.

This is what else I think…..  The spiritual life isn’t found up in the sky somewhere…. or in a book as a set of rules… or in any one singular place.   It is right here with us.  Before us.  It is all around us right here on earth.  It is inside of us.

Being a spiritual person…. and a good person….  means becoming a real human being.

There is a Buddhist guy named Thich Nhat Hanh.  He is actually a pretty well-known Vietnamese monk.  He has said some pretty profound things.  This being one of them:  “It is not so important whether you walk on water or walk in space. The true miracle is to walk on earth.”

Now how true is THAT?  Think about it.  Becoming a KIND human being… a GOOD person….. is probably the greatest miracle we can perform.  If we can do it.

So do we take good care of our hearts?  How can I make my heart kind and loving?

Maybe it is like Carol King said…  “You got to get up every morning, with a smile on your face, and show the world, all the love in your heart.”

So  maybe.  When we get out of bed in the morning… it might benefit  our kind hearts to say….”Today as much as possible, I won’t harm anybody. Today as much as possible I am going to try be of service and benefit to others. Today I want to do all actions so that all living beings can attain the long-term happiness of enlightenment.” (Thubten Chodron)

Maybe.  The old Golden Rule tells us that people should treat others in the same way that they themselves would like to be treated.
Walking… on the earth….  and being kind…. is definitely a good thing.  I think.

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”   ― Desmond Tutu

The average human being, has about 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day.   Sounds like a lot.  But think about it.  Whoops…. you did it again…. you just eked out another one.

Our brains are probably the most incredible functioning little entity in the world.  Well… some brains more than others.  But the fact of the matter is… we have A LOT of thinking going on in that gray matter.

Well… gray and white to be accurate.   The brain’s gray matter is made up of neurons, which is where signals are all gathered up…. and transmitted.  And that’s not all.

The white matter is made up of dendrites and axons…. and these little whip-digits create a network…  by which neurons send their signals.   Yep.   And in your head…. there is 60% white matter… and the rest is gray.

Okay… but I digress.  Back to Thinking.

It has been reported by the people in the Lab Coats with Clipboards:  The average Joe and Josie…. think negative thoughts 80% of the time.  We often dwell in the past or the future, obsessing about mistakes we might have made.  We are frequently battling guilt, planning ahead or worrying.
We are constantly drifting into fantasy, fiction and negativity.

This is true for me, and I am not sure about you.

I like to think that I can stay focused and grounded in what I am doing… most of the time.  But… that is what I LIKE to think.

The truth of it is… I am all over the map.  Like 60,000 feathers in an 80 mile per hour wind.

And once they start blowing all over the place willy-nilly… it is hard to gather them up.

If I could just be like a duck… and keep my feathers attached… grounded… on my body….   CONNECTED.  With me at all times…. in the present.  Oh how great it would be.

It is called being mindful.

And it would be an added bonus if I could let the water roll off my back… like the duck does.  Now those are some really good feathers.

And even better thoughts.
Good thinking.

And just remember… if negative thoughts come hurtling your way…..  DUCK!

“Just let awareness have its way with you completely.”  – Scott Morrison

To find yourself, think for yourself.”  – Socrates

Life Lesson #32.  You never really know what’s on the road ahead.

A police officer pulls over a fast moving truck.  When he approaches the vehicle, he finds a dog behind the wheel of the car.

“Uhhhhhhh…. alright buddy.  What is your name and what is a dog doing driving a truck?”

“Waldo.  Chasing the cat. Was I speeding?

“As a matter of fact you were.   Now  why in the world does a dog need  a truck to chase a cat.”

“That’s what we do.  Dogs chase cats.”

“Yeah.  But with a truck?”

“It was the best I could do.  The cat’s driving a Corvette.”

“That’s enough. Put your paws behind your head.  You’re under arrest.”

“Stupid Cat.”

“A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.”  —  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Oh, somedays… you wake up and you realize… “There’s more to life than just Sock Monkeys.”

I am sure everyone has this realization from time to time.

That is when you have to broaden your horizons… widen your perspective….  sing a different tune.

There is a lot to be said for keeping it fresh.  You know.  Moving outside the circle of sock monkeys that you know and love.

But that is one of my biggest stumbling blocks, I think.  The thing about me… I love routine.  I like to know how things are going to go…..  even though I know… we never really know.  Yet, I find comfort in having things be status quo… even steven…   and sitting on the middle of the fence.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love to learn knew things… and even to try new things.  But ultimately, my heart goes back to putting it all in a nice, neat, little line.

Like.  I can eat leftovers.  Again, and again, and again.  I am happy when there aren’t any surprises behind door number two.  I like to have a set of rules, and stick by them.  I guess I am milk toast.  Tapioca pudding.  Plain cheese pizza.

But back to the whole deal of it.  I think it is probably good to switch things up a bit.  Drive home a different way from work.  Try to flip the pancakes in reverse order.  Tie your shoes in a new loop.  Anything.

Whatever it takes… to march to the beat of a different drummer.  A little monkey drummer…. playing the cymbals.  Yeah baby.  That’s it.

Play monkey play.

Tonight, I am sad.  I found  out a good friend of mine died.

Her name was Cady.   She was a four legged friend.  But a friend, none-the-less.   In fact, perhaps, maybe more than most.

You see…. I think there are teachers are all around us… if we take the time to notice.  They come in many shapes…. and many forms.

Now Cady was one of those dogs who had a heart of gold, but at the same time, it seemed to me, that she had the weight of the world on her.

There was always, ALWAYS, something to be done.  And SHE had to be a part of it.  A lot of times, this involved, the incredibly elusive and mysterious phenomenon called The Tennis Ball.

“Where’s your ball Cady?  Go get your ball.”
And then she would warp into the mindset… the preoccupation, the distraction, the obsession with finding the tennis ball.

In her mind. … she would have to find it….. OR… OR ELSE.

So then, with all her might, with all her mind, with all her energy and vigor… she WOULD find the ball.

IT was her goal.  Her quest.  Her destination.  And she fulfilled it, time and again.

You see.  I learned lessons from Cady.

And…… Oh how we love these friends.  My heart aches that she is gone.  My heart aches for her people.

It reminded me, tonight, of my pal Harley.  I will still forever miss him.  Another heart of gold.

A beautiful blessing that my life has known.  And yet one more great teacher.

A movie came out a few years back.  One of those Samuel L. Jackson is a bad @ss kind of guy.  It was called Snakes on a Plane. I never saw the whole thing, but I got the gist from just scanning the channels.

There were a bunch of snakes.  They were on a plane.  The plane was in the air.  Sam Jackson was on the plane too.  Let the games begin.

But today.  I couldn’t help but a LEAST think of the title of the movie.  Snakes on a Plane.

Oh.  Snakes come in many shapes and sizes.  Today, one just looked like an obnoxious middle-aged blond in jeans two-sizes too small.

Okay.  Here is the scenario in a nutshell.

We flew today.  On a plane.    We were sitting at the front of the plane, along with a half-dozen others.  Then, abruptly, and out of nowhere, a woman… with that frizzed-out-kind of blonde hair, jeans too tight, dressed younger-than-what she-actually-was kind of look…. … talking loudly on a cell phone… which was tucked… shoulder to ear….  entered our day.

She had an over-sized suitcase…much larger than the allowable carry on.  She was jamming it time and time again into the overhead bin…. directly across the aisle from me.  Several people watched… with jaws dropped.  Finally she wedged it into the bin… cracking the overhead bin door.  But alas…. it still hung out by a good 4 or 5 inches.  So she shoved on it harder… and then tried slamming the door on it.

Meanwhile…. she never missed a syllable of her cell phone conversation.

Holy crap.  I finally said… “Spatially, I can see that just isn’t going to fit.”   She turned around and glared at me.  A thousand-dagger-deaths of a stare.

At that point, the flight attendant tackled the woman and directed her to another bin.  The woman huffed… and bumped into a another passenger.   As the flight attendant unjammed the bag… and got it down into the aisle for the passenger… she smiled at me.  Mary said loudly… “Don’t help her.  Make her deal with it herself.”  And the guy behind us said… “You didn’t see me jumping up to help her.”

She was just a terribly self-absorbed person.  I was dumbfounded by her lack of awareness of anyone but herself.    After she cleared the aisle, the 100 or so people which were backed up in the hallway were able to board the plane.

She made no apologies.  She had done no wrong.  In fact, it seemed the other way around.  It appeared that it was the world… all against her!  Again, she glared at those around her.

I know one thing about all of this.  I never, ever, ever want to be like that woman.  Not even remotely.  And I hope I never have.

And if I ever act that way, I hope someone… someone who loves me… will say… Polly.  You are acting like a snake on a plane.

I’ve seen the snakes.  And I would rather not be one.  I am thinking in this case, earlier today….  St. Patty drove ’em out of Ireland and into suburbia. On planes.  With over-sized suitcases filled with conceit.

“`It’s very rude of him,’ she said,  `To come and spoil the fun!’” – Lewis Carol

“But….”  she asked,  “… Is it Authentic?”

Then, with the heaviness of strongman’s barbell…..  the curator of the museum glared over the top of his glasses.

“Madam.”  He replied with all the condescendence he could muster,  “Who is to say what IS… and what is NOT authentic.”

Ahhhhh.  Scenes from an Art Museum.  Just like a great sandwich.  Crusty on the outside… but really meaty on the inside.

So once again, The Mona Lisa brings me to ask this.   Just what does it mean to be authentic.

As the dictionary gives it to us:

Authentic is an adjective…. which means….”something” of undisputed origin; genuine.  OR …. made or done in the traditional or original way …. OR…. based on facts; accurate or reliable.

But what about life.  Our lives? I think Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we THINK we’re supposed to be….. and embracing who we are. We can choose authenticity… if we want to.  It can make us feel hopeful… and also a little nervous… at the same time.

We feel hopeful because being real is something we value. And nervous?  Well… choosing authenticity is a huge undertaking. Choosing authenticity means….. that we have to have courage enough to be imperfect and be okay with it.  We also have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, all the while… knowing how to set boundaries.

It also means exercising compassion.  We are all in this together… all alike.  This  comes from knowing that we are all made of both strength and personal struggle. Whole hearted love for ourselves….. and others.   Practicing authenticity is a part of our soul-searching in life.

But it is one way we can find true respect, happiness and grace.

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.  —  Buddha

Those old nursery rhymes are a horrid bunch, now aren’t they?  What the heck were are parents thinking when they read these things to us just before bedtime?  It is no wonder that half my friends are afraid of snakes, spiders, heights, flying… and of COURSE… curds and whey.

Yes.  Those old nursery rhymes have hidden meanings.  Hidden, dark, creepy meanings.

Just a few tonight…. lest I’ll scare myself half-awake.

Of course, Ring Around The Rosey is the most well-known horrible and depressing children’s tale.  This rhyme dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665.   Yep.  The good old plague.

The symptoms of bubonic plague included a rosy red ring-shaped rash, which inspired the first line. People  back then would carry around  pockets full of fresh herbs, or “posies” ….  because the dying didn’t smell so good.   And then, the inevitable…… the “ashes, ashes” line is believed to refer to the cremation of the bodies of those who died from the plague.

Great thing to read your kid before they doze off for the night.  Sleep tight Johnny.

And what about Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.  You know the one.  With the cockleshells and all.  It turns out…. this rhyme is a reference to Bloody Mary. The garden refers to growing cemeteries, as she filled them with religious opponents (in the ongoing war between Catholics and Protestants). Silver bells and cockle shells were instruments of torture….. and the maiden was a device used to behead people.

Most of them… from Little Bo Peep… to Rock-A-Bye Baby…. have a dark, and doleful side.

But what about Jack be nimble.  Hey dude… be quick.  Jump the heck over the candle stick?  How could that be bad?

Turns out… Jack was a murderous pirate… fleeing authorities.

Boom. Boom.  Out go the lights.

So there you have it. The next time you go dancing around a Mulberry Bush… remember it was punishment for women prisoners at England’s Wakefield Prison…. for nearly 420 years.

Sweet Dreams child.  Sweet Dreams.

 Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time travel has to be one of the coolest things ever.  Ever since I was a little girl-child, I have been intrigued by all the possibilities this affords.  To and fro.  Back and forth.  Over the river and through the woods.

Yes.  Time Travel.  The Final Frontier, really.

There is a big HOWEVER in that.  It appears we tiny-brained humans have only been able to figure out this time traveling deal in our minds.  We can visit the past in through distorted memories, and we can visit the future in thought via projections and speculation.

We are not firing on all six cylinders when it comes to time travel.

I propose we are overlooking a few secret hints.  And by missing these, were are not quite figuring out the grand formula.

Here is my list of key things we are not paying enough attention to.
1. Deja Vu
2.  Dreams
3.  Intuition
4.  Unexplainable Coincidences
5.  “I think you must have a twin” comments
6.  Unnatural Phenomena
7. Lime Jello

Now most  of these are forthright and self-explanatory.  Take Deja Vu, for example.

Now most  of these are forthright and self-explanatory.  Take Deja Vu, for example.

Now most  of these are forthright and self-explanatory.  Take Deja Vu, for example.

But, there are a few which I suspect are direct indicators of Time Travel.
Like, the ever-so-familiar conversation we have ALL had with someone.  One party says…”Wow! You look familiar.  Do I know you from somewhere?”  And the conversations ensues.  Only to end with  “Well… I guess you must have a twin someone!”

Now there is…. as Oprah Winfrey puts it… your BIG AHA moment when it comes to time travel. Yessssirrreee.  You have already done it in the future… but you don’t remember it today.  In fact… today is not really today at all.  We are 200 years in the future from now… coming back and playing little tricks here and there.

Like missing socks in the laundry.  UFOs.  Preposterous dreams.  Car keys in the refrigerator.  And all the rest.  It is just us… you and me… in the future… jerking around with the past.  And Lime Jello?  Certainly THAT HAS to be some kind of joke from the future.

But I wonder what each of us would do if we hone these Time Traveling Skills?  Would you visit pass misgivings?  Miss old errors.  Talk with someone long gone?   Or see future plans? Life Outcomes? Or.  Or…

Or maybe we will come to know ALL of this…  yesterday, or so.

Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough.  –  George Bernard Shaw

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.  — Carl Sandburg

Here is a little secret about me. (Well.  Not for long….)

I have favorite words.  For all sorts of different reasons.

Some words, I like, because of what they mean.  Love. Compassion.  Wholeness.  Light.  Goodness.  Cheeseburger.   You get the idea.

But SOME words… I like for no good reason.  Maybe it is the way they sound, or how they look.  I don’t know.

For instance….. Wobbly.  Gumption.  Lurk.  Slumpy.

And another comes to mind.  Glitch.

Last night, I was very familiar with GLITCH.  It appears I hit one.   What exactly does that mean?  Well, if you listen to Mr. Webster….
Glitch is a noun…. which means a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or irregularity of equipment. It also means an unexpected setback in a plan.

Personally…. I think he nailed the definition.

And, as luck would have it… yesterday my brain, heart, and soul felt like they were experiencing a temporary malfunction.   It is sort of like when your computer gets hung up… and you see the spinning hourglass (or in the case of Mac users… the spinning beach ball.)

Relentlessly….  my hourglass and beach ball, BOTH, were in a spin.  And for no apparent reason.

When we hit a wall, and there IS a good reason for it….. we can at least give it a “name” or a “meaning”….    But.  When there is no evident source, or cause….  it is just hard to figure.  Plain old hard to figure.

Which brings to mind another word I like.  Monkeywrench.

It definitely think the ambiguous Monkeywrench caused the glitch.

The best part of all of this?  People.  Today.  Which brings to mind the other words…. Love. Compassion. Wholeness.  Light. Goodness.

And of course… Cheeseburger.

“It is more honorable to repair a wrong than to persist in it”  —   Thomas Jefferson