When I was a little kid, I had a LOT of energy.  I think I was a pretty good little chump… but I bet I was a handful.  I wonder what my brothers and sisters remember about my busyness.

Anyway… I found out a couple of years ago, that I used to walk in my sleep.  My Dad told me that they would tuck me in at night… all in my little jammies… and the next morning I would be in bed… completely dressed.  Sometimes in a coat.

Now, I don’t have any recollection of this… but I have a theory about it.

I think, at the end of the day… when it was time for me to settle in…. I had it in my little head that I needed to get a LOT more done.

So, in my sleep state… I just went about my way and…… did the things that were weighing on my mind.  Dad said I probably stopped doing this by the time I was eight or nine.

Or perhaps… when I got older… I started put my jammies back ON.

None-the-less… to think about it is a little funny and a little scary.  Heaven only knows where I went.

My other guess… is that I was guarding my money.   I think we got an allowance…. around 25 cents per week.  And I didn’t want anything happening to mine.  I didn’t trust my sisters as far as I could throw them..  so I was always worried they take my stash.  I kept it in a little green felt bag with a drawstring on top.   Like a little Leprechaun.

These days, I still stay pretty busy.  I rarely sit down during the day, except to eat.   But I don’t sleep walk.  Heck… I don’t sleep long enough to go for a walk.   And I don’t guard my money anymore either.  I leave that to the bank.

What is my point to all of this?  None, really.  It is just that sometimes… I really wish I could travel through time and see what I was like as a kid.   I don’t have very clear memories about any of it.

And if I could travel back… and see myself as a child… I would tell myself a thing or two.  Like…
– Take the long way home sometimes… and take time to notice.
– Surround yourself with good people.  Don’t waste energy on the leaches in life.
– Don’t be so rigid in your ways.
– Be a better listener.
– Always be kind
– Be present
– Always ask yourself about your purpose.  Why are you doing  what you’re doing  with your life?

My little seven-year-old self would probably say…”What in the world are you talking about Lady?”

But… if I only knew then…. some of the things I know now….
Well….  I might be a better person today.  If nothing else….. maybe I would have stayed in bed a little longer.

My Nature Poem, For You.

The Blue Jay stands a fearless watch, for all the other birds.

And when the hawk comes swooping through, they all let runny turds.

Thank you.  And.  Good Night.

Or Good Morning.  Whichever the case may be.

Human beings sure can be a piece of work.
I am at the top of the list.  We are complicated, complex, intricate, involved,  and….  at times…. we can be a bit convoluted and tangled.  Like a Gordian Knot.

I suspect that there is not a human on the planet who does not have struggles.  Inner struggles.

Again, yours truly is right at the top of the list.  Heck.  I have so many inner conflicts… I sometimes feel like I have ALL the Hatfields, and ALL the McCoys… living in my head.

I also suspect that we get through these in different ways.  Some might turn to things, like food, or cigarettes,  or thrill-seeking, or sugar, or exercise.  Others try prayer & meditation, or drugs, or alcohol.  Some people use a combination of things.

A lot of times, when I get all struggled up inside, or stressed… I get cranky-wanky…. sometimes even pissy.  I absolutely loathe this about myself.  I know it when it is happening.  But it is sort of like a roller coaster.  I can feeling it taking the long slow rise up to the apex…. and once it gets to the top….  whoooosh… down it goes… and there is no stopping The Beast.

I don’t always have the where-with-all to do it…. BUT…. the best remedy, for me… is to slow down… and use quiet meditation.    In theory.

And with all of that said….. I think one of the most important things we can do in our life paths, is to raise our level of consciousness.  When we become more aware…. we come a little closer to understanding. (I am speaking for me and the mouse in my pocket.)

I have to have the intention to “raise my consciousness” .  If  I start with the intention to raise my consciousness and state of awareness,… I am stepping in the right direction.     Again, in theory.

Today….  I could have used a lot more mice, and a lot more theory…. I’ll tell you that much right now.

But each day… if we recognize our stumbles, and get up from our falls… we keep on walking.  Down the right path.  To better.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.  —  Swami Vivekananda

What the heck do you get when you put 150 First Graders up on a stage…. all at once…. in little felt hats and vests… to sing Christmas Carols?

You get about the cutest thing ever to grace the whole entire planet.  Oh my goodness.

Tonight we went to see the Hollingsworth East First Graders perform their Holiday Concert, and it was too sweet for words.  I should not even try to write about it.

Except that I can’t help BUT to write about it.

You see….this performance brought so much joy, to a whole lot of people, in one big whopping dose.  Those kids sang, they danced, they motioned…. and of course they fidgeted, wiggled, and scuffled.   But, their little voices were filled with a measure of magic, I’ll tell you.  It was heartfelt, and innocent, and….. absolutely beautiful.

The kids came in all shapes and sizes, and their performances varied by great degrees.  In one row was an extroverted “I-am-going-to-be-the-next-American-Idol”…. and in the next row…. a shy “I’d-rather-be-home-watching-Sponge-Bob” kind-of-kid.  But no matter their style… or lack there of, they brought their own special contribution to the charm of this concert.

A rich diversity of voices, and personalities, all joined together in one harmonious group.  A wonderful thing.

It was happiness.  It was good.  And I can count… yet another splendid blessing in my life.

When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice.  –  Sarah Vaughan

If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.  – Billie Holiday

It was about 18 or so years ago.  We took a friend and her son to Heuston Woods for a nature hike.  We will call the mother Lulu and her son Dagwood, to protect the innocent.   At any rate… away we went… with a song in our hearts, a picnic basket in hand, and binoculars around our necks.

Our intention was to be in touch with nature, especially for young Dagwood. We enticed him with stories of how absolutely cool it would be to spot animals in their natural environment.  Well, a couple of hours in, we had not seen anything.  We had not heard a single bird sing. There was scarcely a squirrel in sight, let alone all the lions, and tigers and bears we had promised.

Dagwood wanted to know why we were striking out…. and Lulu shrugged her shoulders.    Mary explained that sometimes you see them, and sometimes you don’t.  But that is was important to stand silent, and watch, and listen.  Well… clearly this was out of Dagwood’s capabilities.  He was a raucous boy.  So as we tried to stand in silence, Dagwood leaned back, his little chubby belly thrust toward the sky, and in his loudest booming voice, he howled…. “Yoooooooooooooo.  Wiiiiillllllldllllliiiiifffffffe.”    Of course, there were no nature sightings in Heuston Woods for three weeks to follow….after that demonstration.

Nonetheless.  We had a great day.

These days, I am still interested in seeing wildlife.  So here at home, we feed the things of the wild.  We put out ungodly amounts of bird seed on a weekly basis.   And now, that cold weather is approaching, my corn-to-deer regime begins. (We have honed this with a corn trough for our pallies.)  Not to mention a few red apples here and there.

As a result, we see a lot of “Yo Wildlife”  Part of the reason we are so popular with all the four legged creatures are the No Hunting Signs everywhere.  They can read… you know.

Yet.  Looking back to that day 18 years ago, and right up through today…. I think that I have learned a lesson in all of this.

Sometimes, you have to stand very still, and listen.  Patiently waiting, can at times, bring you exactly what you need.  Yet there are times when you need to take action.   You need to do something to attract what you want in life.  Moving forward, seeking out, and giving energy to find what is in your heart.

Yes.  Sometimes we have to sit and listen for the next sweet song.  And other times we need to give the bird another seed.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden

 It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

 If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. – Napoleon Hill

(Mary Bullen took photographs #2 and #3.  Our two sets of photos are about a week apart!)

Some days… you just sort of have Humpty Dumpty on your mind.  Relentlessly.  I’m sure we’ve all had these tumultuous times in our lives.  You just can’t get the dude out of your thoughts.

This is one of those days for me.

So, I say we break it down, so we can all rest easier, and go on living our lives.

The most common modern text follows:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Whatever could it all mean?

First item of note…. the obvious.  I really don’t think Humpty Dumpty was an egg.  Nowhere in the poem, new or old, does it make such a claim.  So, why I ask you… WHY is the Humpster always depicted as an egg?

Humpy Dee could be anything, really.  A tea pot.  A lamp.  A glass of water, for all we know.  Heck… a Chia Pet.  But… it doesn’t specify egg.  Anywhere.

Next on the agenda.  A lot of people say that Humpty Dumpty didn’t fall…. Dumpers was pushed.  Again.  Speculation.  The poem clearly states….  Humpty had a great fall.    Light headed?  Clumsy?  Vertigo? Trying to tie those shoes and spilled over?  Or perhaps pushed?  I’ll tell you.  The mystery continues.

Who is Humpty?  Boy or girl, animal or inanimate object?  Argggghhhhh.  This is just getting worse and worse.  We are no closer to a solution.  It is all a big puzzle.

One thing is certain.  It is clear that Humpty could not be put together again.  The King’s men tried.  The King’s horses tried.  What the heck?  The horses tried?  Soooo… what do I make of all of this?

I think Humpty Dumpty was just THAT….. some kind of a puzzle….. say……  like a jigsaw puzzle.   The thing just fell off the wall… perhaps on a windy day…. and down it went.  So the King’s men and horses gave it a shot… but… no dice.  You see, in that strong wind… some of the pieces blew away.

And THIS is exactly what we can learn from Humpty.

Everything changes.  Sometimes we fall.  And we fall so hard (or even light)…. that all our pieces go all over the place.  Eventually, we get them back together… but not quite all the way.  A couple of pieces blew away.

It doesn’t mean we aren’t okay…. or that we aren’t complete.  It doesn’t mean that we aren’t put back together.  It simply means that we have changed… as a result of that tumble.  We are different.  We have become a new puzzle.   Just missing a couple of pieces that we will never forget.

So maybe it isn’t such a mystery after all.
Then again, maybe he was simply  a Boy Egg on a wall…. who got pushed.

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.  —  Hugh Prather

I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.  —  Stephen Hawking

She wished for wings, or roller skates.  But her Bigsly brought her fireflies  and that was even better.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” ― Eckhart Tolle

“If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” ― Meister Eckhart

Everybody knows the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Box, right?  The blue box… “The Cheesiest”…  Yes that is the one.  Well, I will tell you this much right here and now.  The little flap thing, on the side of the box, which reads… “TO OPEN PUSH HERE”?   This is a great big fat lie.  It doesn’t EVER open when you push there.  It just bends the holy crap of the box.

These are lies they told us in our youth.  There were a bunch.

Okay.  Saturday Morning Cartoons were full of them.  One of the classics was The Road Runner.  Dag nab it.  That bird was as fast as lightning.   Meep. Meep….. and swwwooooooossssshhhhh.  Away that bird would go, always, always, always leaving the Coyote eating a puff of dust.   But the thing of it is, coyotes can run at speeds of 43 mph.  And roadrunners?  Only 20 mph.  That makes the coyote, crossing the finish line, 23 mph faster than Old Meep Meep.  Lies.

And how about the Dancing Hippos in Fantasia.  Now where the heck do I start with THAT one?  Never mind that the hippopotamus is one of the deadliest animals on the planet, and it can easily outrun a human.  Again, I say.  Meep. Meep.

Since we are on the topic of Disney.. … I have to bring up Mickey Mouse here.  Okay, the dude only had four fingers on each hand.  AND… he always wore gloves.  This has Mafia written all over it, if you ask me.  The high pitched voice, the cute red shorts, and big ears..???   ALL of that was part of his Witness Protection Program.  Along with the no-fingerprints-left-behind-gloves.    I am pretty sure his real name was Mickey the Knife.

Finally, one of the worst lies of them all.  If someone shoots you in a cartoon, you will be just fine… unless of course you make an attempt at drinking a glass of water.   And as such, water will promptly begin spouting from the bullet holes which have just riddled your body.  Other than that… you are pretty much good to go.

We see lies everywhere.  From the time we are very young until the day we die.  Not only do we see the lies… we take part in them.  According to Psychology Today… we really don’t have much of a chance against it.

We, as humans, are predisposed to lying…., both by behavioral conditioning as well as by cognitive evolutionary biology.  We start as early as 6 months of age… with fake crying and such.  But we get pretty good at it, by the time we are four.

I used to lie a whole bunch.  Oh, the error of my ways.  But now… a little older and wiser…., I try to always tell the truth.  I think we are better people when we tell the truth, seek the truth, and promote the truth.  Like my dear old Dad used to say…..  Honesty is the best policy.

Yet.  Now and again, I will pull a fast one over on you here… in my writing.  But that is called Fiction.  Which can be a good thing.  I learned it from Cartoons.  Meep. Meep.

Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.  —  James E. Faust

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.  —  Groucho Marx

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