remembrances of days past some sweet, some mundane holiday songs, gone from the public square trees once adorned with lights and baubles now tossed by the curb crumpled wrapping paper fills the garbage bins
December marks the end of the calendar year the new year has arrived like a unblemished babe awaiting impact of what the world will lay on the babe or the impact the babe has on others
so for us, the new year comes it can be a clean slate a time for new beginnings or a holding place for the past’s baggage
baggage from the past you can chose to toss gone is the looking backwards and lingering regrets
with a clean slate and heartful of gratitude i have a new start
Nothing else matters more than sharing kind thoughts with friends and those you care about. Let me tell you a few reasons why. Friends carry one another burdens. Friends make friends laugh. And friends make life fun. I have friends scattered around the globe and they enrich my life. I’m the connection point in this story that spans three countries. I hope the story stretches even farther.
It all began as the result of a writing prompt from an Irish group I’m part of. They gave us about 10 minutes to answer the following question.
If you were one of the seven dwarfs, which one would you be?
My initial reaction. Ugh. What am I going to write?
Then the words flowed. I read, and to my amazement, the group laughed.
The next day, I was chatting with an overseas friend, suffering from the effects of COVID, and she stated she knew she was grumpy, and hated feeling so. I offered to share what I written, hoping she’d find humor in the piece.
What I received back was totally unexpected. It was delightful and left me laughing. My husband, not wanting to be left out of the humor, read both pieces and joined me in the laughter.
Words are so powerful. If you can share something which will lighten another person’s burden—I encourage you to do so.
Here are the two pieces. If you have a response to either, please leave a comment.
Who knows what type of dialog we may get going here…
The prompt:
If you were one of the seven dwarfs, which one would you be?
Today, I would be GRUMPY. You know how they say one gets up on the wrong side of the bed? How can that be? I share my bed, which means I only have ONE side to get up from. If I’m GRUMPY today, and only have one side to get up from, does that mean I’ll be GRUMPY again tomorrow, and the day after?
I can’t bear the thought of having the name GRUMPY hung around my neck. It feels like a two ton weight. Carrying this burden around continues to wear me down.
“Get outa my way! Can’t you see? I’ve got a load to carry and you’re making my work harder than it needs to be.”
“Don’t you smile at me! There’s nothing to be happy about today.”
“You. You, over there… Stop talking about me. You’d be GRUMPY too if you had to lug this rock around with no one to help you.”
“Don’t go telling me what to do. I’ve gotta mind of my own.”
“When will this terrible day end? …and who else is going to show up thinking they can tell me what to do.”
“What’s wrong with this porridge? It isn’t sweet, and it has lumps in it?”
“Time for bed again already?”
“Hey you. Shut off the lights and shut up your mouth. I wanta get some sleep.”
The response:
Hi, I am GRUMPY this week and I am told Covid is responsible for that bad feeling. I have been SNEEZY, SLEEPY, DOPEY and DOC too. I was so HAPPY to talk to you again today, but when I am better, I think I will be my old self BASHFUL again xx
All the dwarfs loved your poem and amazed you got that out in a few minutes. Thank you for sharing it with me, love from BASHFUL xx
… the mountain casts a spell over people who live near it. When one leaves the area, the spell causes that person to never really leave, but at least continue to return.
Maybe…
Maybe not…
We left the area about six weeks ago, then returned to retrieve a vehicle we’d left behind. Our conversations revealed we each felt happy to be back in town, driving the streets, seeing a few friends, enjoying the sights and having food from several favorite places.
Let there be no mistake. We know our new home, the region where we live, the town we’re part of is exactly where we are supposed to be and we’re thrilled to begin this new adventure in our life journey.
We’ve returned to locations from our past homes because of the people, but never experienced the feeling of simple happiness by just being in the area. Perhaps there is a spell on us from the mountain, or maybe it’s because we each experienced so much personal growth and deepened our spiritual lives here; made many friendships and memories. We changed living here. We’re not the same people we were when we moved here. We smile, knowing we’ll be back again.
Beautiful Night Scene
Have you ever felt like living somewhere changed who you are?
I recently finished reading “The Second Half of your Life” by Jill Shaw Ruddock.
I resonate with the term “Second Half” instead of “old” or “retired.”
This book covers much information I’ve previously read, available to the woman who reaches those menopausal years, yet Jill Ruddock nicely pulled it all together in one place. Being an American, I enjoyed reading perspectives from “the other side of the pond,” even though I’m currently “on that side.” The core issues remain the same.
I enjoyed the humor found in the different use of vocabulary.
I appreciated her reference to those of us who are “baby boomers” being the “golden generation.” She stated we have defined every age of our lives simply because of how many of us there are; and expects as a group we will redefine what “old” means.
Cold, windy day at Dingle Bay
I like that thought. I have no interest in the idea of trying to be younger than my current age, but certainly won’t sit down and wait to die. This is my “second life” and I’m enjoying life. For me, that means life is to be lived; to be creative; to be full of passion and meaning.
Last week I spent a morning with a group of women trying to get a Women’s Resource Center off the ground here in Tralee, Ireland. The room was filled with energy while women shared their vision and passion to create something in the community to benefit many. Some of these women were in their “second half” living a passionate life.
When it comes to negative thoughts and self-talk, we have to fight back against those things.
Steven Furdick’s book, Crash the Chatterbox may be a good resource if you struggle with this type of negativity.
Furdick wrote the book to help people understand how they can battle the negative thoughts and lies filling their heads and hearts and instead turn to God promises and truth.
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others if they will work through the questions in the back.
There are a several statements that stood out to me:
…it’s not just what this chatter says that makes it dangerous. It’s what it keeps us from hearing.
…mistakes are inevitable but disrespect is inexcusable. And ingratitude is more than a misdemeanor.
…gratitude allows us to disconnect discouragement at the power source by choosing to call God good in spite of our situation.
Have you ever felt trapped in your marriage, in another relationship, in your job, in your town, whatever? Well, I’ve spent times in my life trapped. Trapped in a job, like a wild bird in a cage desperate to fly free. I thought there wasn’t anywhere to turn.
One day someone asked me: what happens if you find a cookie on your desk, day after day – and then one day a note replaces the cookie?
The idea fascinated me.
I explored the emotions of being trapped and the options yet at the same time considered other fall-outs of ‘escaping’ the office.
A story was born. My character, Liz becomes the trapped employee. One thing leads to another. The story solves a mystery or two; unlocks dreams or passions previously dismissed as financially impractical or immature; and necessitates dealing with a tangle of relationships – both building new ones and healing old hurts.
Writing this story I explore another place. I bring all the senses into play of being somewhere else and find Liz’s special place. You will too. Join Liz on her journey and discover what the Dream Glasses reveal.
If you are interested in knowing when the Dream Glasses is released, go to the
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I will notify you when the book is available.
Journey to the Heights 