Random Tuesday Thoughts & Morning Musings

Ruby Tuesday, My World, Midweek Blues
and Miscellaneous Monday Memes are
in Monday's Multi-tasking post below.

Herein are my Morning Musings and

It's about 7am and I'm planning to swim with a friend this morning around 8:30 before getting on with the day's errands & activities. Getting into the 'water exercise' habit seems like a good idea since the pool where 'S' lives is 5 minutes away and perfect for swimming laps.

1. I can't hear 'surf' this morning, but the ocean's scent washed over me when I opened the windows & doors a while ago. Living at the beach is a blessing I seldom take for granted, but mornings like this make me smile with recognition and gratitude first thing.

2. After having my sleep interrupted Saturday and Sunday night, I'm grateful the 'vacation renters' next door didn't party on the deck late into the evening last night. I feel rested this morning and glad I talked to them about the 'noise' issue.

3. I enjoyed catching up with friends at yesterday's Retired Gals Lunch. We visited longer than usual and it was about 2:30 when I headed out to run errands. Molly's DELIGHTED to have her favorite 'Duck & Sweet Potato' cookie treats from Natural Balance and a few new toys too. Maybe I'll take her to Dog Beach later to run free & play with fur-friends.

4. Hearing of Eunice Shriver's passing this morning, my heart goes out to her family & friends. Her presence on this earth will be missed by many but her contributions are many and her legacy endures.

5. This morning's email from Simple Truths contained a link to this brief inspirational video about the power of encouragement based on the book Even Eagles Need a Push by David McNally. If you have three & a half minutes, it's worth clicking the link to watch ... now or later. Perhaps you'll pass it along as I've done ... just because.

"The Push. Sometimes we need it ... sometimes we need to give it. It can be the greatest gift you ever give. It will change a life forever." Mac Anderson, Simple Truths.com

Morning Musings ...

recent pages from
my daily journal collaged ...
as you see I don't

stay within the lines
'linear' is challenging
I think in odd shapes

following my hand
where it leads to discover
what I do not know

Click to embiggen ...
and for others sharing Random Tuesday Thoughts

Thought for Today
"The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions." Bishop Mandell Creighton

Early Morning Musings and Camera Critters

Morning Musings ...
shared in the Late Afternoon

Old Lessons Revisited Anew

I'm reading Wally Lamb's 3rd novel ... THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED. I started over at the beginning yesterday because it had been a while since I'd picked it up ... and I couldn't pick up the threads easily.

After reading the first 119 pages again, I set the book aside and did other things. This morning as I sat down with coffee & my journal, I realized that starting as he did with a compelling story line made me willing to read carefully through his 'stream of conscious' style childhood memories in Chapter 4 that I might otherwise have skimmed.

Although different in particular from my own childhood recollections, the ESSENCE of many RESONATE ... leaving me wondering whether such happenings are common to childhood per se ... and that led me to wonder ...

How much residual GUILT fuels my STUCKNESS?

What PRETENSES interfere with CLOSENESS even today?

In Lamb's story, the character Velvet Hoon 'sabotages' her writing success and 'wrecks' her relationship with Caelum. His silence adds to the shame through secrecy ... and with this in mind I picked up my pencil and wrote in my journal as follows:

Click to embiggen if you wish to read the text.

After writing, I took Molly for a walk and when we returned 'the pug trio' (shared previously in a March Camera Critters post at Small Reflections) stopped by for a visit.

When I came inside there I found a phone message from a friend and we made quick plans to walk down to the pier to watch the US Open Surf Championships for a few hours.

This afternoon, I spent a few hours reading the next 100 pages in Lamb's book before sitting down at the computer to create today's post ... hence my 'Morning Musings' showing up in the late afternoon rather than earlier today.

This is my 84thMisty Dawn started the meme and explains the rules here.

Jake has his eye on the smaller ball Molly's chewing on ...

but settles for this bigger tennis ball

surprising us all by being able to carry it in his mouth.

Meet Noah & Alle ... elderly pugs who

observed Molly & Jake from a distance ...

Ms. Kitty watched the doggies play

hidden safely behind the patio chairs ...

Molly & Jake wonder if Layla might come join them ...

while the neighbor's cat Daisy watches from her bench.

Click images to embiggen for better viewing
and for others participating in Camera Critters

Thought for Today
" Opportunity is a parade. Even as one chance passes, the next is a fife and drum echoing in the distance." Robert Brault

Thirteen Thoughts on Thursday

Thirteen ...

What I know is true
(though I often forget & need to remind myself)

1. Our internal dialogue has power and energy.

2. We can choose our thoughts ... releasing that which no longer serves.

3. Thoughts can help or hinder progress ... making things simpler or harder.

4. Some habits serve us well ... others don't.

5. Change requires acceptance of what is and thoughtful consideration of 'what might be ... if only' ...

6. Resistance is futile & frustrating ... (Are there any other Trekkies out there?)

7. Distractions are inevitable ... they can be useful and/or laughed at & released when we're aware and focused on the highest good for all concerned (including ourselves) ...

8. Judgment keeps us (and others) stuck.

9. Discernment opens up possibilities and creates options ... alternatives.

10. There are MANY right answers to most questions and unlimited possibilities available in each moment.

11. The point of power exists in the present ... and choice is a gift from our creator. We must give that which we most long to receive for giving and receiving are the same.

12. God loves us just as we are ... sees the perfection even when we don't ... and is with us always.

13. Whatever the question, love is the answer. (Thank you Jerry Jampolsky)

Click mosaic to embiggen to see better
... for others participating in Thursday Thirteen
and for 13 Healing Affirmations at Small Reflections today.

Frequently my thoughts
spill upon the page in most
convoluted ways.

Click to embiggen my convoluted morning musings ...
What are YOU thinking today?

7-24-09 Addendum:
You might enjoy these wonderful Life Lessons shared by Sylvia ... encountered yesterday after sharing my T-13 lists.

Thoughts for Today
"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." Carl Sandburg

"If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children." Mahatma Ghandi

"As a child lives today, he will live tomorrow." John Dewey

Sacred Life Sunday -- Christmas Treasures

The first picture is of my favorite manger scene displayed on a bookshelf in my living room, sandwiched between two framed "visual" pieces I created for past Christmases. On the shelf below is one of two "Painted Ponies" I bought in Taos, New Mexico this summer along with a few other special mementos including shells and candles between a few books. This is one of several sacred spaces in my home, and I've chosen to share it today in this series of photographs.

For those unfamiliar with these uniquely designed animals, the "Trail of Painted Ponies" project "began as a public art project that invited the best artists in the country to creatively transform large horse sculptures into original artworks. The astonishing results have been hailed as the arrival of an exciting new American art movement call "Pony Expressionism." The reproductions like the one on the shelf below "capture the power, beauty, and magic of the original life-sized Painted Ponies. I've looked at them for years, and finally decided to take two home with me to enjoy.

This colorful pony is called "Renewal of Life" and was designed by Natasha Isenhour under the sponsorship of the Socorro Chamber of Commerce. "Natasha's travels abroad and around the Southwest have fueled her love for interpreting the "magical landscapes" she has witnessed. A dawn seen through mists hovering over the Rio Grande River that flows through a bird sanctuary in southern New Mexico, inspired this work of art. Whether she is painting on a canvas or a Pony, this artist has a unique ability to create a spiritual luminescence that invites the viewer to enter a meditative space that seems to live inside her art."

Some of you might recognize the writing piece on the left as one I shared on this Blog in early November here and provided a linear "transcription" here.

Perhaps I'll share the two on the right
along with the 2nd Painted Pony sometime soon.

Day 24 A "linear" version of yesterday's Visual Poem -- with some editorial modifications (My Sacred Life)

I searched my files (with considerable difficulty because I'm not the most organized soul on this earth) and finally found this revised version of the piece posted yesterday. I used this "transcription" on an "Holiday Card" sent to family and friends in 2000. As I recall, the shape poem appeared inside the card (on the right) and this (on the left) ... much the way I've envisioned publishing them at some point.

birth

laughter

joy ... delight

clutching

grasping

holding tight

choking

suffocating

leaving

searching for new ways of breathing

climbing ... slipping

fear-filled falling

tired of the truth, but stalling

wandering through dark illusions

sorting through the odd confusions

meeting others ... re-engaging

linearly aging

yet repeating all the prior

self-defeating but familiar

habits

growing ill … unaware

but beginning to remember

and believe

as each December

rolls around

the Christmas story

reestablishes the glory

bringing with it awe and wonder

gentle rain

lighting

thunder

fear recedes

and love re-enters

A Course in Miracles re-centers

reminding

“nothing real can hurt us

nothing unreal exists

therein lies the peace of God”

remembrance makes way for miracles

as we step back in faith and love.

Day 23 Visual Poetry (My Sacred Life)

This original piece is one I created years ago (in 1994 I believe) and after the fact, I noticed what looks to me like a "3" which brought to mind an experience from my past at the Methodist Church I attended as a teenager. For weeks there were signs posted all over the church grounds that said, "I'm Third" and we speculated what their significance might be. On the last Sunday of the month, one of the leaders told us a story (the details of which elude me) but I recall the meaning of the sign as being to put God first, others second, and ourselves third.

The actual message around the outside of this "shape" came through me ...(from the depths of my soul as I worked through issues related to the death of my mom, the loss of my marriage, and an illness that caused me to spend about six months in bed)... but the first three phrases "inside" the shape are a direct quote from the beginning of A COURSE IN MIRACLES that have stayed with me since I first came upon them in 1989 when I began to study the course ... something I did daily for the next 5 years.

I keep this framed piece in my living room because it's one of my favorites. Recently, when my new neighbor's daughter dropped by for a visit and asked about it, she saw an "Om" and found the message appropriate for that symbol. I suppose you may see something totally different. In the interest of "facing fears" today ... I share it here. A friend scanned it for me several years ago and gave it to me on a CD when I expressed my desire to use the piece a few years back as part of my annual Christmas greeting. I happened upon the file today while reorganizing my photos in Picasa and it seemed like a "sign" :)

I've created numerous "abstract" visual pieces like this one over the years, framing and giving many of them as gifts to family and friends. Typically I begin with a "doodle" (or line drawing) on the page then write whatever comes to mind around the outside edges using ink ... always in a single draft. Sometimes, as with this piece, the message continues inside the spaces. Often, my perfectionistic self would like to "fix" perceived errors, but because of my process ... whatever mistakes occur, remain forever. I've had to learn to live with them.

Upon uploading this one using Picasa and testing it quickly before composing this accompanying post, I discovered that clicking on it enlarges the piece enough to read the message more easily than the smaller "test scribblings" I've published on Small Reflections (here , here and here), so there's no way to hide. It is what it is ... I write what I write ... and I am who I am. I'll need to teach myself how to use the "scanner" function in my HP All-in-One printer before I can share any more of these pieces.