On any given day…. one can normally find some little bit of joy.

Albeit…. there are certain days which I like better than others.  I think this is probably true for most of us.

As a generalization…. let’s consider Mondays.  They get a completely dreadful rap.  Most people go back to work on a Monday….. after having two days away from work.  And they don’t like it.  Not one little bit.  Mondays have been scorned as such….. forever doomed to wear the Scarlet A upon their little Monday chests.

A for Abhorred.

Sundays can be a mixed bag for me.  During the Fall…. they are a day I love.  You see, I like to watch football.  NFL football is my favorite.   As a result of this… I can really dig a Sunday.  But.  Sundays seem to be the day when you always have things planned with family.  Which is a great, and golden thing!  Don’t get me wrong.

But when you have a “thing” to go to….you miss the games.  And then you are sad.  But happy at the same time, because you got to see little Junior, and little Junior’s kids, and such.   But dag nab it… you missed the football.

Like I said.. Mixed Bag.

Today… we had a family “outing” to share in.  It was actually my idea (after a friend informed me of the event).  We went to see the Richmond Community Orchestra play their Christmas Concert over at Earlham College.    After that, we all went to Clara’s Pizza.

This was a great time… on several different levels.
1.  Sharing time with family and friends.
2. Eating Pizza King pizza at Clara’s.
3.  Seeing and hearing the exultation of music.

Now…. Number 3 was especially splendid because the Orchestra is community based and composed of all amateur volunteer musicians.  That’s right.  No pay.  They do it for the love of the game.   They were up there performing like crazy….. because they are truly into their music,  Young, and old alike.  They performed with verve.   It made me happy inside.

Yes, I had to smile on several occasions during the concert.  Seeing people work so graciously at realizing their passion.

Even though I missed my football… I found something completely joyful and good.   And I didn’t have to look… or listen…. very hard.

So as Monday looms… Let’s put the “ON” back in Mondays..
Oh wait.  It is already in there.  Well, while we are “ON” the topic…. let’s find a little love and joy in the day…. somehow.  Let’s rip the Scarlet A right off its chest.

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul”  — Plato

“Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”  — Angela Monet

Tonight, we watched the National Dog Show.

What a complete treat.  The finals came down to a stunning group of amazing and beautiful dogs.  For fun on a Saturday Night….. we try to figure out who the judge will pick.   I was winless.  Once again, my favorites were overlooked.  The Norwich Terrier was in the wings.   Not to mention the Norfolk Terrier.  And the little Russell Terrier…. which was a cute as could be…. also on the sidelines.

I loved the Bernese Mountain Dog, and the Golden Retriever too.  But they didn’t get to the final ring either.

So after two hours of viewing the competition…….
The Bloodhound wins the show.  (Which always reminds me of Christopher Guest’s Ventriliquist-Dog-Handling Character in “Best in Show.”   “Pine Nut.  Peanut.  Macadamia Nut.  Hazelnut. Cashew Nut. “)

Anyway.  Dogs are amazing to me.  I just read a study which was conducted to test dog’s understanding of language.   They spoke a series of words in the dog’s native human language… that is… the language it’s owners spoke.   And then, they spoke the same words in a foreign tongue.

The dog used the opposite side of his/her brain to try to decipher the words.  Which indicated that they truly are trying to process human’s spoken language.  (I am giving an abridged encapsulation of the study here.)

The long and short of it is this.  Dogs are smart.  They are beautiful beings.  And I like them.

Back to The National Dog Show.  These babies are the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter.  The Golden Eggs.  But I think the AKC is doing it all wrong.   I think they should hold a competition for Mutts.  Mixed Breeds.  Heinz 57’s.

You see… for as beautiful and amazing as all these Breed Standard Canines were…. none of them compared to our Maxine, or our Frances, or our Ollie.  I am certain we have the most incredible dogs in the world.

I am pretty sure you do too…. if you own a dog…. and you love yours like we love ours.

And while they try to make sense of, and comprehend our spoken words…. they do something far better than that.  They understand the language of the heart… and they speak it quite well.

 One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.  –  Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Create.
We all do it.  In some way, shape, or form.

I like to create through photography, drawing, and writing.  Some people do it through baking or cooking.  Still others sew, or knit, paint, or sculpt.   But creativity comes in many different sizes.  Music is a huge example.

A lot of people are creative in business, or in helping the community.  What about people who fix things, like cars, and plumbing and electric?  I’ve seen them figure out creative solutions to the tasks at hand.

For sure… you don’t have to wear a little black beret cocked to one side of your head to be creative.

I love to sit and generate ideas, and bring them into actualization on paper.  Albeit, most of the time, it is digital paper, but none-the-less.  It is just where my brain is happiest.

Science, mathematics, medicine, engineering, and the likes……  all sprout from the creative.  Heavy on logic, but equally heavy on innovation.

Albert Einstein once said “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

Yesssindeeeeedy.

As I mentioned, it is where my mind feels gratified and content.  I imagine that we all have different places where our brains like to be.  But sometimes, other things get in the way.  Worry.  Stress. Busy-ness.

I guess we can’t stay in our “happy” zones 100% of the time.  But wouldn’t it be nice.    Yet I think we should probably visit as often as possible.  It is most likely good for our well being.

And when our well being is good… we can be good for others.

Sort of like when you are on an airplane, and the door blows off in mid-flight…. and all the little masks drop down out of the ceiling.  Yep.   You see, you aren’t good to anyone else, unless you first grab your own mask and start sucking oxygen.

So… today.  Suck your oxygen.  It will make your brain happy.

And we’ll all live happily ever after.  That is…. IF the plane lands.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.  —  William James

Perceptions.

This word has been on my mind tonight, so I guess that is what I am supposed to write about.

There are as many perceptions in the world as there are people.  We each have our unique perspective on any given situation, on any given day.  It is said that there is no reality.  Just perception.  Yep…  our way of regarding someone or some situation.  Our understanding, or interpretation of….. anything.  A mental impression.

It isn’t far from an opinion, really.   What we perceive is influence by every other single moment of our lives.

For instance, if our parents taught us from the time we were born that oysters were highly poisonous, and we would drop like flies if we ate EVEN one… we would probably be reluctant about frequenting the Oyster Bar Scene.    Oysters are poison.  That is our truth.

So you see, perceptions can be a tricky thing.  Because let’s face it.  For whatever reason…. people actually DO eat oysters, and they survive!  (And they LIKE them!)

Just today, in several conversations throughout the day, I could see that people had extremely divergent impressions of varying situations.

Here’s another side of it.  Some people don’t give a rat’s astroid about what other people think.  Somehow, I truly believe this is a gift.  Maybe.

I wish I had just a little bit of that.  You see…. I care way too much about what other’s think of me.  I put an awful lot of weight in it.  Daily.  I think there is a difference between being “open” to other’s opinions….. and worrying about what other people think about us.  And I worry.

With all that said…. I hope you don’t think any less of me tonight.  The truth is… I don’t like oysters.  Not one bit.   My perception of them rests in knowing that they are a grayish white bivalve mollusks with rough irregular shells.  And they remind me of snot.

But back to the thing about perceptions.  I guess it might just be that we do not necessarily have to agree with, or share, the same outlooks as others … . … but perhaps  we should simply accept that we are all unique.  And that truly is one of the best parts of life.

I can’t think of anyone I admire who isn’t fueled by self-doubt. It’s an essential ingredient. It’s the grit in the oyster.   —  Richard Eyre

For memory, we use our imagination. We take a few strands of real time and carry them with us, then like an oyster we create a pearl around them.  — John Banville

Chocolate milk.
The carrot that goes on the face of a snowman.
Baby kittens.
Roller skates.
Strawberry Pop-Tarts.
The grass stains on the knees of my blue jeans.
Rain storms that fill the street gutters.

This is a very, very short list.  A list of things that I can remember being really thankful for in my youth.  I can think of a thousand more from my earliest days, but I am sure it would bore you to tears.  And heaven knows, I don’t want to make you cry.  Not tonight.

It is a happy night.  Or it should be.  This is the Eve.

By this point, a lot of people are exhausted.  They have been working hard….. preparing food and readying the household.  Peeling and pureeing.  Scrubbing and sweeping.  And tonight, they find respite in their little beds, with their little fleece blankets, and cotton covered pillows.  They dream of platters of turkeys, and mountains of pies, and boats filled with gravy.

Then at the crack of dawn, the real bustle begins.  Getting it all mashed and strained, cooked and fried…. all just in time to be placed… ever so carefully on the long cloth-covered tables.  Hours of thinking and planning, shopping and carrying, cooking and cleaning… for this fine moment.

Thanksgiving Day Dinner.  Turkey Day.  The Stuff Your Belly Full Day.  They sit…. to partake in this feast of feasts.

Then.  Fourteen minutes later… the whole big deal is over.  Gobbled.  Chomped.  Burped.  And maybe burped again.

Yet. If most of us are lucky… it really wasn’t the main event.  It was just a layover.  Because on this day, we are reminded to be thankful.  THAT…. is the thing of all things.

Should we really need such a reminder?  If we are lucky, we do not.  You see, on any given day, at any given moment…. even during the darkest and most desperate moments…  there is always a reason to be thankful for.  Sometimes it takes courage to notice.  But most days, this should be as easy as pumpkin pie.  We have life. And breath.  And the spark in our souls.  The most precious gifts of all.

I recently heard an extremely touching account from a person who had been through the unthinkable.  Yet despite this deep sadness and pain …. she found reason to be thankful.   She could smile and be grateful for the world that she is in right now.

All of us…..  are in the midst of this constant flow of energy… we call life.   May we all be thankful to be here together.  May we always remember that we share all of this with one another.  We are very much alike… and at the same time… we are all very different.  Thankfully.

I am grateful for the blessings in my life.  They are infinite and they abound.

I am thankful that I am who I am.  And I am equally thankful that you… are YOU.

Crayons.
Captain Kangaroo.
Baskin-Robbins.
Fluffy clouds.

I love a good quote.

From the time I was very young, I have been quoting the notable.  Back then it was the likes of any dynamic figure in a book or on TV.  From Fred Flinstone to Dr. Seuss.  Bugs Bunny to the Honeymooners.  Every once in a while, I would throw in some Edgar Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling, or Henry David Thoreau, thanks to my Dad.

There are many things said, which bear repeating.
And then, there are many things said… which were better left unspoken.

Nonetheless.  I won’t do much of the speaking tonight.  But I will leave you with this.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”  — Galileo Galilei quotes

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”  — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”  —   Winnie the Pooh

It is undeniably true.  Today started off miserably.  It wasn’t by choice, I’ll tell you.  I didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  When I woke, I was on the same side I’m always on.  And I certainly didn’t start off on the wrong foot.  You see, I have a left foot and a right foot.  There is wrong foot.  I wanted the sun to shine… and the birds to sing.

But… it all went sideways.  I should have known things were going to be foul, when I tried to place the coffee pot on the table, and I missed by three inches.  Now, we have a terrific spot on the living room carpet.  Soon there after, I spilled an entire beverage during breakfast.  I assure you, neither of these incidents involved alcohol.

No.  Things were going south quickly, and I had no control.  Next, there were printer errors, and network glitches in the house.  And… with the high winds.. our electric went out, just long enough to disrupt all electronics.

Before long, human communication errors began to spill forth.  Luckily, we are both big girls, and have mostly come to realize when this is happening… in the very midst of it.

But something was running amok.  If I knew astrology, I probably could have blamed it on Jupiter passing by Saturn too quickly… before Venus lined up.  However, I cannot hold those planets accountable… without knowing the waterworks of it all.

Finally….I left the house with caution.  Tripping and falling came naturally today.

By 6 p.m. this evening… I thought all was lost for this day.  I arrived home and opened the mail.

Oh Sweet Cheeses.  A box?  With my name on it?  Before I ripped in to the packing tape… I held the box to my ear… to ensure it wasn’t ticking.  Silence.  So I tore in to it.  And what to mine eyes did appear?  A FREAKIN’ MAGIC WAND!

I’m not kidding you.  No frilly, sissy-make-believe Disney plastic wand.  Nooooooo. This is a hand-crafted, dyed-in-the-wool, true blue magic wand.  Handcrafted.  Solid wood.  And a pearly striped handle.

Shoooooooowwwwweeeeee.  I started waiving that thing around like a Herminey.  I changed one of our house plants into a bowl of jello… which was kind of cool.  Mary wasn’t as thrilled.  She loved that particular plant.  But now we have a huge bowl of lime jello.  Enough to last a year… IF we ate lime jello.

At any rate… the day turned around just like that.  All I needed was a little magic… and tonight.. I was given the wand to get the ball rolling.

Which brings me to this.  I should have been able to see the magic that was there all along.  I should be able to recognize the goodness, that is in my midst, on constant and consistent terms.  There is so much of the fantastic all around… all the time.  And when a little fog gets in the way… I need to remember that the spectacular is still RIGHT there.

Yep. That is what I should do.

But. ……. ……  It is STILL WAY okay that I SO LOVE my new magic wand.  I do!   I shall use it all the time.

….. …..  Oh boy oh boy…… ……. .. I hope the Owl comes in the mail tomorrow.

Sunday.  Sunday. Sunday.  It is a gray rainy day here in this part of the planet.  Here in Ohiolands.  It will be mostly gray, and dead here… until late March or April.  The blahs can get to a person… in one isn’t careful.

There are different things that people call upon to stave off any kind of doldrum.  Some people summons chocolate, or a glass of wine.  Others run a mile, or twelve.  There are people who read, or paint, or sew, watch TV.

One of the things that works for me is… Music.  It does a body good.

Right now I am listening to good ol’ Pandora Radio.  “In The Future” by David Byrne is playing.  It is from his album called The Knee Plays.  Man I love this guy’s music.  Way back when The Talking Heads first started chattering.  That was so long ago in 1977.

There is a pretty wide range of music that I love to hear.  Better yet, that I love to listen to.  There is a big difference.

Some tunes just pass over us.  And we hear them.  They may cause us to tap a toe, or do a little jiggy-wiggy dance while chopping onions in the kitchen.   They are good melodies.  I have an entire truckload of those swarming around in my head.

Of course, there are some that we don’t like at all.  I think perhaps men and women even favor certain types of music which differ.  I would guess that  more men like Hard-Metal-Acid-Head-Banger-Rock …. than do women.  And, I bet more women are fans of…. say… The Carpenters… then are men.

However, once again, I digress.  Back to the main drift of this….

There are the songs that cause us to stop in our tracks.  They might may us smile, or they could elicit tears.  Maybe they motivate us.  But they are the special songs.  The ones that really flip the old switch in your brain… and in your heart.

These are the ones that really make us feel something (happy or sad, good or bad).  As soon as that very first familiar note hits our ears.   I love it when a song has this effect on me.  It is like Saturday Morning Waffles, teeming with butter and powdered sugar.   So good… in every way.

The songs that make your feel like you just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow… or won the gold medal in hockey… or realized your goldfish wasn’t really dead.  It was just sleeping.  Whatever the case.   Those songs make you feel crazy-go-nuts golden- good.

Yet…. on a gray rainy day like today.. one has no choice but to call upon music.  One needs to crank up the radio… and let the likes of Carpenters put it out there…

“Hanging around.  Nothing to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down….

And I thought Sunday Rainy Days were a challenge.  Ahhhh… there is always tomorrow.

 Where words fail, music speaks.  —  Hans Christian Andersen

Oh… the dreaded Black Friday.

Believe it or not.. if you are waiting for the Friday after Thanksgiving to go shopping, you are already missing out on the “HUGE Black Friday Deals Going On NOW!”  Yessssirrreeee Bobby.  Every store on the planet seems to be running such ads.

Uggghhhhh.  People.  I ask you.  What have we become?  Honest to goodness.  Black Friday starting two weeks before Thanksgiving?  Christmas music piping in over the airwaves all the month of November?  Christmas Candy was on the shelves before Halloween was over?  I’m pretty sure in a couple of weeks, we will be seeing Easter candy lining the aisles.

Please don’t mistake my disdain for dislike.

I like Thanksgiving.  I like Christmas.  And Easter.  There are always crazy-good meals on these days.  You know… mashed-potatoes-and-gravy-kinds-of-meals.

But the thing of it is… we’ve lost all semblance of sanity when it comes to the Holidays.  The whole gift-giving scenario of Christmas has grown to epic proportions.  People are thugging each other the day after Thanksgiving to get $3 off a sweater.  That’s the spirit of Christmas I’ll tell you.

C’mon people now.  Smile on your brother.  Everybody get together… try to love one another right now.

If you detect a note of cynicism, you are right.   I don’t think it will ever change, but we’ve lost sight of the meanings of things.  In theory, these are all great holidays.  In practice, it is mostly a commercialized whirly-gig with a party on the side.

It is a little unfair of me really.  I mean, when I was a kid… I loved getting presents on Christmas morning!  What kid really wants to sit at Mass for 90 minutes… when they could be shredding into wrapping paper and crunching on candy canes.

But the wholeness is fading.

Sitting still and reflecting.  Being at peace…..and seeking peace.  Giving thanks.

These are things we should be shopping for and giving.  And you can only purchase them at one place… and all for the same price.

It is in the everyday living of life.  Showing up early, and opening a door for someone else.  The door of compassion.  Giving welcome.  Giving comfort.  Paying things back and forward, left and right.

The currency comes from the heart. And the more you give, the more you receive.

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.  —  Gilbert K. Chesterton

Every once in a while, the energetic universe gives you a gift.

Let me step back a minute.
Intuition.  I think this is a human quality which is largely overlooked.  In fact, it is dismissed in most cases.

Many tremendous thinkers throughout history have stressed the importance of intuition.  I mean, big hearty thinkers… like “Call Me Al” Einstein, and Carly Jung, Immanuel Kant have even gone so far as to define intuition as ‘a priori’ knowledge.  They consider intuition  as a fundamental and indispensable aspect of human nature.

Being the “two sides to every story” woman that I am…. I’ll tell you this.  There are those scientists and psychologists who have explained intuition away by lumping it in the same category as animal instinct. They place way more weight on reason. Personally… I am a great big FAN of reason. Yet… reason has been known to fail us from time to time.

But I put forward this notion which I think I share with others.  Intuition and reason do not stand in two separate buildings…. they do not stand against one another. They are both a part of us… and one was never meant to supplant the other.  It is like peanut butter and jelly.  They are completely different, but they go together so nicely.

Intuition is a process of receiving information or insight.  But, it doesn’t rely on  rationalization. It is sort of how we how we interact with the unfathomable.  It is how we interface with our Higher Self.  Some people call it our soul, or our Consciousness.  And it is that part of us that unites us all.

So what I am trying to say is this.  Intuition is a powerful tool.  It is the side of us that can give us the inside glimpse.  The Scoop of the Magical.   The big “Holy-Smokes!-I-never-looked-at-it-that-way-before!” kind of moments.

Back to my first line… about the gift.  I was in my car late yesterday evening… coming home from a meeting.  When I got home and opened the car door… this “piece of paper” was in my lap.  I thought… what the heck?   Then I picked it up and read it. “When you have answered all the questions, you may remove this stub.”

Then… I really said… “What the heck!”

I have no idea where this came from.  But rest assured, I have not answered all the questions, so clearly I did not remove the stub from its source.  However… it brought me to this.

Someone, out there somewhere… HAS answered all the questions.  So they removed the stub.  And the universe put it in my lap.  I’m calling this an intuitive gift.

I don’t know what it means… but I’m not going to try to reason it out.  I’m simply going to wait… and keep my “Sneaky Suspicion Meter” handy at my side.

I should also be clear.  I don’t want all the answers.  But I am glad I have the stub.  It is probably as close as I am going to get.

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.  —  Maya Angelou

The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity; moving beyond it necessitates intuition, which in turn
configures new perspectives and conquers fears.  — Dan Stevens