Ponderable

A Symphony of Human Comfort – The Magic of One in Many

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The Antennae Galaxies are undergoing a collisi...

The Antennae Galaxies are undergoing a collision that will result in their eventual merger. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever gotten the right words of comfort when you needed them? Has the right book suddenly came into your hands when you were looking for answers or pondering an issue, deeply looking for some comfort? Somehow, it seems that we experience these occurrences when we seem to have lost our hope, or when our mind/heart is experiencing turmoil, and need to find a little ray of hope or “something” that will point us in the right direction, as our life compass has undergone a little interference. When we happen to find that ray of light, we feel comforted, as well as grateful. Grateful for the ones who have written the words that seem to make so much sense today, as sometime ago. It is like a symphony of human comfort that is as old as we are, that transcends time, space, culture, race … the right words at the right time. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1

We are part of everything, and everything in us, a concept that for some is difficult to grasp, and that is understandable. Many times, I see a connection in everything that surrounds me. It is in those little moments of serendipity that I feel that connection stronger. It is when the works of someone who lived many years or centuries ago, happen to touch my soul today, and offer insight – whether spiritual insight, or one of those “aha” moments, when my questions seem to have been answered. It is then that I understand that we are one in many. As if our collective knowledge comforts our collective souls. We are part of a greater process, each one contributing in perfect time and harmony, each one influencing one another.

I leave you with a poem that I wrote sometime ago – “One in Many”

One in Many

On this day I shall wish

many blessings, harmony

When the night gives in to day

and the day nestles the night,

we will be as one in many.

Shine your light for it will be

as the beacon one will see

Always seek your love to give

without measure, plenty and free.

As you give you will receive,

one in many it has been.

Me, You, It, one and the same,

Love, One Source, is One in many.

As you wish it will be done,

may you wish, joy, peace, and love

For it returns the wish to wisher,

two ten fold, as one in many.

The Comfort Cup of Coffee

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I love sci-fi and monster movies, not so much people killing people, but more the fantastic kind – werewolves, mummies, aliens, vampires …. One thing these movies have in common is the cup of coffee that the desperate people who have run for their lives decide to have once they have found shelter, a safe place for a brief time, until the ordeal starts again. It never fails, whether in an abandoned building, a hut, the middle of the forest, or a cave, they manage to make that cup of coffee that seems to bring comfort, somehow. This is one of my favorite moments in a movie, so much, that sometimes, I run to the kitchen and make a cup of coffee for myself, as if I too, am being comforted, and inside the movie. Besides, I happen to love coffee so much, that any excuse is good enough to have that extra cup. Why am I writing about coffee? Well, because we all need that moment, or what I call “the comfort cup of coffee.”

We need to have that moment of peace, of feeling safe, of stopping all the running we do and coming to a halt – to meditate, ponder, and reassess our direction. We need that cup of coffee (whatever that may be for you) to help us reenergize and keep going. One thing I have understood is to take that moment when I seem to need it – it makes a difference in what follows next. Whether your cup of coffee is time alone for yourself, a much-needed vacation, a weekend or day off, a sabbatical, a walk in the woods or the beach, or time well spent with people you love and have not seen for a while … it doesn’t matter what it is, because it is personal, and the result is always “feeling better,” “re-energized,” and “strong.” Timing is also different for everyone; you will know when it is time for that comfort cup of coffee.

Food for thought – What represents that cup of coffee in your life? Have you ignored the need for it? Why? What happened as the result of not having it?

Oh No! It is too late!

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Well, it happened. Just about when I was ready to get the .com domain for Inkspeare, which has been available for some time, someone in France just scooped it up; what a bummer! When I tried to search for the “Inkspeare” website with the .com domain, it does not let me in to view it. The Bing description appears as “We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.” When clicked, it appears as the domain has been registered to a hosting site, and is now parked by the owner. Boohoo, it took so late for me to decide to get it, and now, it doesn’t make sense for me to get the .ME, because really, wordpress.com sounds so much better, than .ME.  Anyone knows why would someone park a domain?  It puzzles me and makes me wonder. Uh, but enough of lost domains; it is Watercolors Friday, and today, I want to celebrate the mundane. Yes, the mundane and how we can make it sparkle.

Recently, my husband gave me a Nook, which I have to say I totally love, but I did not have a case for it. Then, I realized that I loved the box that came with it – a sturdy box that would make the perfect case if it wasn’t so mundane. Well, I decided to try to change that, since I really liked the box, mostly because it had the perfect space for the charging cord. I took on the mission to make it look like something I would love to look at, and delight myself in opening when going to use the Nook. I thought about it, and this is what I did.

I covered part of the inside with decorative tape (leopard), and part of the outside as well.  Then I took ribbon and beads and fastened them using the same tape so I could open the box by pulling it for the two sections – the nook and the charge cord.  After that, I took a vintage copy of The Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and removed the covers. I attached them, front and back, and glued/glazed the thing with Mod Podge to make it strong and durable (It hardens and protects). This is the result, and I am happy with it. If you have visited this blog, you know that I try the green solution first.

009 nook1 011

In picture order – inside, front, and back.

I hope you like this project, and celebrate with me on making the mundane sparkle.  Besides, if any of you know the answer to the question, why would someone park a domain? please, share it with me on a comment. I am curious. In addition, I would like to add that I am going to unplug for a few days, so this will be my last post for about a week. Thank you for reading, and I will see you in a few days 🙂

HAPPY WATERCOLORS FRIDAY!

Update – I found this site that has great information about domains, and therefore, I am sharing it http://www.thesitewizard.com/

UPDATE 2 – I have to say, that after thinking about it these couple of days (even after unplugging myself), I made the decision to get the .ME domain, so Inkspeare will now be Inkspeare.me.  Although my first choice was the .com for obvious reasons – everyone looks for a .com first, when searching; it is almost a reflex – I think that a .ME would be easier to remember than a .net or .org, or any other variations. A comment by Roxana suggested that it is more personal, and I happen to agree. Besides, the original .wordpress.com will still work if someone searches for Inkspeare that way, or click in any of the live links I have all over, so there is no harm done.  I still like the .com better, but that domain is parked by someone so it is not available right now. However, I am happy with my decision of purchasing the .me domain.

Ghost Words

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A trashcan at a food court in Salt Lake City, Utah

A trashcan at a food court in Salt Lake City, Utah (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The more I think about our kind, I see the complexity of our being.  This morning for example, I went for my early walk, and saw this complexity unfolding.  I am a hello, good morning person, so when I am walking and happen to see another of my species, I usually say the words.  Many times, I get some kind of response – a smile, a gesture of a head tilted sideways with a subtle up movement, a hello or a good morning.  Other times, I get nothing, a stern look, or a head down, avoiding eye contact.  This has puzzled me for so long – why do people do this?  Even animals, acknowledge other species, and theirs.  This morning, I said Good Morning to a woman who was cutting some flowers, and who politely answered with a short and quick good morning, the kind with the absence of a smile.  Later on, I said good morning to a man who had come out of his home and was ready to collect his garbage cans.  He looked at me, as if I had just insulted him, and said nothing.  As I walked further, I spotted a crossing guard who was walking to reach her morning post.  I smiled, but instead met with the quick head down to avoid eye contact.  Later on, I encountered two neighbors driving to their destination flashing smiles and waving. Thank God I’d just reached home and that was the last image I had on my mind – my happy neighbors – because I was beginning to feel a bit uninspired and yes, puzzled, about why people behave that way so early in the morning. I understand when people have had a rotten day, but so early?

It is true that we are living in a fast technologically “challenged?” society, and that we seem to “need more hours” to keep up the pace. However, we seem to have forgotten good manners while we spend the 24 hours we have. It seems to me that two very important words/phrases are almost nonexistent these days – GOOD MORNING (or Hello) and THANK YOU.

It may be my perception, but I seem to hear them less these days. It was very important to say Thank You or Good Morning, not too long ago, although it may seem another century, or as if these words have been relegated to retail pleasantries status. It puzzles me when a door is held or opened for someone, something is given, or someone takes the time or effort to do something for someone, even for a stranger, and these words are never said. As if the person at the other end was a ghost.

What has happened to us? Why are these words less important today than a few decades ago? I am not sure if the speed we live our lives has to do anything with it, or is it that our values have changed, and good manners are not important any more? Sometimes I get more thank you’s from automated systems/services or machinery than from human beings. It is not that I want to be thanked all the time, but more of a concern about “where is our kind headed.” A world where everything is taken for granted? One without gratitude? One where machines seem to have better manners than humans? Or are we there?

We all have our slip-offs and moments of “zombie awareness,” but when our hurried steps/lives become more significant than the generous acts of others (who happen to have the same 24 hours that we have), maybe it is time to stop the purposeless frenzy and think about how long  has it been since we said the Ghost Words.  By the way, Thank You for reading this.

 

Celebrating Your Power to Say No – Watercolors Friday

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I want to dedicate this Watercolors Friday to YOU.  To all that is YOU.  I hope that you think about that.  You are more than the sum of your parts – you are a special creation.  You are more than all your roles; you are more than all your labels, and you are more than all your thoughts and dreams together.  Together … to be.  All the possibilities that your being – your creation – gives you.  I hope that you celebrate yourself today; I know that it is not easy to do this sometimes.  Many times, we forget to celebrate ourselves because we are too busy celebrating others – or what others want in our lives.  Sometimes, we do not want the same things, but we are afraid of saying NO.

It is easier to say YES than to say NO.  It take guts to say NO because we are afraid of what others will think of us – and that is pretty much it, we care too much about what others “will think” or “feel” and we end up forgetting about our feelings, wants, and needs.  We stop celebrating ourselves.  At extreme, we end up living unhappy lives, lives that belong to others.

Saying NO doesn’t come easy; it takes time and training/practice.  I remember the first time I learned to say NO and being conscious of it – as a decision.  I was two and a half (my memories start at that age).  My Mom wanted me to play with two little girls that lived across from us (by the way, we lived in a haunted house – no kidding here).  I hated to play with them because they would not let me play with their toys – they wanted me to sit and watch only.  One day, I had it.  I waited until their Mom came to ask my Mom to let me go and play.  I waited until they started playing with their beautiful plastic horses – tons of them.  I wanted to play with a light caramel  horse.  I reached to grab it, and they took it away from me.  That instant it clicked (I remember the moment like it was now) – I swiped my hand across all their horses and scattered them all over the living room – then, I could not stop doing it, and horses of all colors and sizes flew up on the air.  I was free. I said NO.  The girls started crying, and their mom took me home.  That was the last time I had to go there; I was happy.

Over the years, I stopped saying NO and learned to say YES more often, until another dramatic day … It was like that for me for most of the time until I grew up and later in life, much, much later, I understood that I did not have to say Yes, when all I wanted was to say NO.  That is when I started celebrating myself.  Today, I am confident saying NO when I mean to say it, and that is when saying YES will make me unhappy.  It is better to say NO than say Yes and do what it is that you said yes to with an unhappy and unloving feeling, or doing it half-way, with no passion, or to do a crappy job at it – just because NO was what you were supposed to say.  That only disrespects the other person, who is counting on you.

There are many times that we will have to say Yes when we rather say NO; however, this happens because we truly want to help someone – and that is honorable.  However, it is when we prolong the Yes, and it starts affecting our happiness that it matters to say NO.

Happy Watercolors Friday! Celebrate YOU!

Reminder:

I will be giving away three copies of Ramblings of the Spirit, the first book of the trilogy The Dinorah Chronicles.  To enter for a chance to win one of the three copies, just like my Facebook page (link at the right of the screen on this blog) and that is all you have to do.  I will announce the three winners on May 20, which is the birth date of the person to whom I have dedicated this book – my maternal grandmother.

The Second Truth

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Truth – 1. Conformity to knowledge, fact, or actuality; veracity.  2. Something that is the case; the real state of affairs.  3. Reality; actuality.  4. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.  5. Sincerity; honesty. – American Heritage Dictionary

By looking at the above definition of truth, one will think that truth is one-sided, as we have traditionally learned to believe.  “There is only one truth” is a phrase that we have heard many times, and possibly agreed with it.  I say, we should consider a second truth, not only when the first truth does not suffice, but always.  To illustrate this point, let me relate to you something I overheard this morning at the post office.  This post was inspired by that conversation.

A man was talking to the clerk about a problem with his red mustang (later I saw the man at the parking lot pulling out in the new model).  Apparently, something had been wrong with it and the mechanic took time figuring out what it was.  The man was making these comments, feeling certain that he knew the truth.

Mustang Man – “These mechanics know nothing these days.  They cannot figure out the problem unless they hook the car to a machine.  I remember when good mechanics used to know what was wrong with the car just by listening to it – blah, blah, blah …”

Mustang Man continued to share his wisdom and the more truth he felt he shared the better he seemed to feel, and he left the post office smiling and wishing the clerk a great day.  The clerk seemed to agree with him as well.  I was smiling, and Mustang Man smiled and gestured a good-bye to me.  However, I was smiling, not because I agreed with his truth, but because I knew of a second truth.  There, I saw how truth is based on our own experiences and the knowledge we have at the moment of a particular subject.

My truth – My truth is based on different information and knowledge of the subject.  See, I am married to a mechanic, and by default, a lot of the knowledge has trickled down to me.  Many times, I find myself in conversation with my sister, and she tells me – “the mechanic just told me what you just thought it may be.”  I laugh because, in 25 years of marriage, I have become a sponge, learning little bits by osmosis.  Through my husband I have learned that today’s cars are not even a shadow of what cars where many years ago – possibly the time -frame Mustang Man was talking about.  Today’s cars are computerized beasts full of software and sensors that depend on one another, like a steampunk symphony, one thing affecting the other but not necessarily becoming a part of it.  Today’s mechanics are more knowledgeable in terms of absorbing and learning more information, and knowing different systems, than yesteryear mechanics.  They need to learn software, and learn to use it to be able to diagnose a car properly.  Today’s computerized beasts are more than motor and spark, therefore requiring precise computerized adjustments.  With so many sensors and software systems, one little issue may trigger another, and therefore making it more difficult to diagnose.  This would be impossible to do by a yesteryear mechanic  or a.k.a. Mustang Man’s hero.

Another issue with today’s systems is that they keep changing at fast pace, as technology changes, and the consumer seems to want more “bells and whistles” and comforts.  This creates the need for better trained mechanics who undergo continuing education through their jobs.  High end cars, have very sophisticated computerized systems, that only become available to lower end models later on, or by special order – depending on the maker.

According to Mustang Man’s truth, which was based on old-fashion knowledge of automotive systems and an admiration for the good ole’ mechanic, today’s mechanics know nothing.  According to my truth, which is based on more current information on automotive systems and my admiration for my mechanic hubby, today’s mechanics are more knowledgeable and educated.  Two truths that are completely opposite and both influenced by the observer/participant experience.

And that is why you should always consider the second truth – learn, explore, inform yourself, and then make up your mind, before uttering your only truth.

English: Own Work, Public Domain School in Col...

English: Own Work, Public Domain School in Columbus Avenue, New York, NY, USA. Category:Images of automobiles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why Am I Here?

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I am sure that at one point or another we ask this question to ourselves.  It is the big question, at the brink of figuring out existentialism, our own, our desires, our goals, but no – it is more than that, the big Why.  But maybe that is not the only approach, or even the right approach; maybe, it is better to know that WE ARE HERE.  Yes, we are here and what you do with your time here is up to you and no one else. Do you really need a why to realize it? Or, do you dare to realize that YOU ARE HERE, and that in itself is one of the greatest discoveries and mysteries.  Dare to dream, but dare to accept that the infinite lives in you and you are here, in the infinite, while you try to figure out why.  Once you accept this, the why will be secondary to the greatness that you heart will experience, to the deep communion with all it is, and all it is inside you, and all is everything.

I came across this awesome NASA Timeless Earth video posted by youtuber boatright.  Watch it, and pay attention at how you feel when you are watching, and enjoy it because yes, you are a part of all that – of everything. All I can say is that I am glad that I AM HERE.

How to Stay Balanced When You are Upside Down

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A triangular prism, dispersing light; waves sh...

A triangular prism, dispersing light; waves shown to illustrate the differing wavelengths of light. (Click to view animation) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, I didn’t want to write about my novel or a writing topic, but instead, I wanted to write about what I was inspired at the moment.  So I asked my Muse, what do you want me to write about today? The title you just read came to mind, so that is what I am writing about this instant.

As someone who has known what this means, I can tell you that it is not easy to hang in there when everything has flipped upside down at one point in your life.  When your world hangs the opposite to your focus, it is easy to be discouraged, throw the towel, and just hang for eternity.  I think that hanging a bit is fine because you need to rest to fix your focus.  You need to rest emotionally, physically, and spiritually, as well as in the material state.  So give yourself time to just be, and let your broken spirit rest.

Once you have rested and pondered on your misery, the moment to make a decision knocks at the door of your heart, and you know that this is the time when you decide to pick yourself up and fix your focus, or maintain a state of hanging, sinking slowly into a deep hole.  Whether the contents of that hole is depression, sadness, anger, hopelessness, inertia, hate, laziness … and many other things, it is different to each individual.  However, when you are hanging upside down, after the rest, you will hear that knock, and you will have to answer.  Whether you start pulling at that rope, lifting yourself up slowly, and appreciating how the image comes back to focus bit by bit, or let the rope go, it is up to you.  One thing is for sure, you need to balance yourself to be able to pull that rope and getting yourself back up.  How is it possible to balance yourself when everything around you seems to be spinning out of control and you hang but by a leg?  It is not easy, but it is possible.  This happens when you rest and give yourself time to focus.

  • First, you need to recognize that you need help – whether from a professional or a best friend, and of course yourself.  Whether you can do this on your own, or need help is personal.
  • Second, you need to recognize that there are no blames in this process.  I truly believe that we are responsible for our own choices, and no one is to blame.
  • Third, you think about what you believe as truth in your life and make a commitment to yourself.
  • Fourth, you learn to view the world upside down for a while, and ponder about it.  What you discover about it may surprise you.
  • Fifth, you learn what your priorities are, and decide to make them your priority or not – knowing that there will be consequences to your decision (positive or negative).
  • Sixth, you accept to deal with those consequences understanding the process.
  • Seventh, you do this slowly, one step at a time.
  • Eight, you remain true to your beliefs and priorities when you start to fix your focus.
  • Ninth, you will discover that some things from your old upside down world, do not go into focus no matter how hard you try, so you will have to let those go, otherwise you will stay out of focus in some areas.  In this process, you will learn to say no.  You will learn that you will have to accept that you cannot please everyone. You will also learn to weigh which opinions matter more to you – others or yours.
  • Tenth, you must accept that no one can live your life but you, and that you cannot live your life according to other’s ideas of what your world should look like.  You have been given a responsibility to manage your life (a gift) and live it as well as you can; however your truths and priorities will guide you here.
  • Eleventh, this is when you start feeling that the image in front of you is just an image, and what matters is how you feel about it and how you live your life in this quasi upside down world.  You make it as straight as you want, and you do it one step at a time, balancing yourself in the process – checking from time to time your beliefs, truths, and priorities.
  • Twelfth, the realization that you are always in control hits you, and suddenly, even that you might be still pulling yourself up as you pull on the rope slowly, trying to straighten your world and fix your focus, you can see that the view upside down and in between is as ugly or beautiful as you make it to be, and that there is always a prism changing colors.

This is what I had to write today.