Phantom Fantasy ?

As we are approaching the time of year when ghosts and goblins and all thing unworldly seem to be in evidence and actually quite celebrated, my mind is drawn to how we allow the unreal to so influence the real in our lives. I suppose it is easy to dismiss much of the gory and gruesome as truly beyond the realm of possibility, but what of the equally destructive fear based behaviours that we allow to govern our thoughts and actions.We can shrug off the ghouls we see on our doorstep on Halloween night but what of the monsters that invade our waking hours and keep us from accepting and embracing the opportunities that come our way. I once read that fear is False Expectations Appearing Real! How easy to acknowledge this acronym and how difficult to consider separating the letters into another possibility....... Fervent Energy Abolishing Restrictions!! As the light of day casts aside the phantoms of the night, maybe the light of a different outlook can cast aside the phantoms in our mind. Is it worth a try?

Can you make heads or tails of this?

As I am still musing about the proliferation of puny-sized personal Pods and phones, I came across a description of radio when it was first introduced. People were obviously having difficulty understanding how it worked and the eminent Albert Einstein came up with a very scientific and, if I do say so myself, reasonable explanation: You see, wire telegraph is a kind of very, very long cat. You put his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? Well, radio operates in exactly the same way. You send signals here and they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat! Too bad, since often the sounds emanating from the cat are far more pleasing than those heard on the radio. Can you believe we have come so far in the ability to miniaturize our communication? Come to think of it, the cat is one of our smaller animal friends. Was Einstein right? What do you think??

Singing the Blues?

It is with some chagrin that I admit to being a very recent convert to the joys and freedom of an iPod. I am now in the process of transferring hundreds of songs to an instrument the size of a small chocolate bar.(Chocolate can be applied to ANYTHING).

In the course of going through the numerous CDs we have, I turned my thoughts to the jazz I love and thought you might be interested in a quote from the legendary Duke Ellington: "I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues".

Can you imagine what might be accomplished with the challenges in our lives if we only looked at how they could be transformed into something totally outside the box of our preconceived notions. I suppose it takes the patience and courage to wait them through and then see what appears. Clarity tends to come long after our immediate response has mellowed. Even though the prospect of a good sit and pout has some appeal, can you imagine the release of an even better jumping jive! Good exercise and good karma.

A Sober Thought

As we begin a new school year, I cast my mind back to the days when I was preparing to welcome a new class of students. I realize we were both approaching this time with some trepidation. New experiences can be a testing ground for all the wonderful resolutions we have regarding our need to be, as well as appear, in control. We put on our masks and face the world and then wonder why we are not experiencing the satisfaction we feel we should. Peer pressure is acknowledged to be a very real part of a student's life, yet it exists in everyone's life and often determines how we react in any given situation. We want so much to be respected and admired that we often acquiesce to what the "group" dictates, forgetting that they too are operating under the same false set of rules. We fear words against us as if they were actual blows. I offer this thought when such a situation arises. It comes from a cherished book, Faith In The Valley, by inspirational writer, Iyanla Vanzant, whose words have guided me over many years: It's not what people call me, it's what I answer to that counts. Disregard the negative calls and answer with kindness in all events and see what happens. Such a simple concept, and one, which embraced, can effect such a change in how we handle some of life's challenges. Would you agree?

A Fine Time for a Little W(h)ine!

There a many definitions of friendship, embracing all the various situations in which we so often seek the solace of those who understand. I believe the following thought deserves a very serious place among those definitions:

A real friend knows when to listen,

when to stop listening,

when to talk,

when to stop talking,

when to pour wine,

when to stop pouring,

and when to just hand over the bottle!

Good friends are like good wine, they truly do improve with age. What do you think?

For the record?

I offer a point to ponder for those of us who have reached the "vintage years" and find that our memories are sometimes less than reliable. I have found the reason and it comes courtesy of a very clever bear, Pooh! Let me quote:

"Pooh, did you remember to help owl?"asked Piglet.

"Of course. I have a phonographic memory, you know." said Pooh.

"You mean,"said Rabbit, "a photographic memory."

"No," insisted Pooh. "Phonographic. It goes around and around. Sometimes it gets stuck. That's why I remember things so well."

"So you took care of it," said Piglet.

"Took care of what?" asked Pooh.

Ah yes, and this is especially relevant since it applies to those of us who can actually remember phonographs. Would you agree?

Perseverance

I am musing about the need we all have to persevere even when things are difficult. Max and I seem to be particularly dealing with this right now. This place, which we inhabit at this time, is calling for real courage and faith. Booker T. Washington offered some true insight into this when he observed that "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed."

I am including, as inspiration, a photo of our portly pussy cat, Bumble. Due to her ample girth, she was unable to copy her less well-endowed house mate, Missile, in relaxing on her back. BUT she was not deterred and continued to practise with absolutely hilarious results until one day......EUREKA, she did it. The look of wonder and pride at this accomplishment is evident and well-deserved. Winston Churchill would be proud of her as one who took to heart his exhortation to " never, never, never quit". How can we fail to do the same?