Perfect Endings

 Meditate

Find your Center

With a birthday on December 26, as a child I was accustomed to being forgotten, but thanks to Facebook, dozens of retired friends, plus family members, I now get to celebrate this day in style.
Being a Capricorn (Dec. 22 -- January 19), however, can cause issues with laughter and silliness. For instance on the same page as the newspaper cartoons that light up my day is positioned the "Horoscope" which reads:


You'll require patience and common sense when dealing with money, friends, and relatives. Have faith in yourself. Pay attention to what you do, how you look, and what you want to achieve.


This is the holiday season filled with expenses, family, and friends. It is easy to run out of money, and patience. What do these palm readers think we are, miracle workers?

I do pay attention to how I look and that's what scares me. I read years ago and believed that it was important to live life fully everyday and go out 'all worn out.' When I look in the mirror before and after makeup, I realize that I am beginning to look like that 'old woman all worn out.' As for paying attention to what i do, I do look very carefully for big dogs coming my way. The Witness--Murphy Doodle. What I want to achieve is easy to say but difficult to finish--I want to keep writing the History of the Miami,Ok Golf and Country club. Did I ever pick a puzzle to complete with this goal!


I foresee, several options to this frustration of not being able to accomplish all that the world demands of us:

One, do not read the horoscope, but it is on the funny page of the newspaper and I can't resist reading what might be really funny.

Two, google a better horoscope for that day.

Happy Birthday for Monday, Dec. 26, 2022:

Although you are focused and determined, you are also playful and mischievous. You have a large personality, and others often look to you for strength and reassurance. This year you are reaping the rewards of past efforts. You will get a promotion, an award, or some special acknowledgement. The Denver Post

This makes me smile and feel good, and isn't this what the world needs now, besides love sweet love.

Three, treat a horoscope like Jack taught me to read fortune cookies in 1983. End the line with the following preposition--"In bed."

Fortune cookie reads: NEVER DO ANYTHING HALFWAY

Now, read this aloud for special effects with the new prepositional phrase.

NEVER DO ANYTHING HALFWAY IN BED. 

Fortune cookie reads: YOUR EFFORTS HAVE NOT GONE UNNOTICED


Now, read aloud for special effects of your choice.

YOUR EFFORTS HAVE NOT GONE UNNOTICED...IN....ON....AROUND..

This is why they call these phrases pre-positional.....
Well, not really and I'm sure my grammar teachers in heaven are either laughing out loud or scolding me. That is not how I was taught. I learned prepositions by memorizing the most popular 60. I can still repeat: aboard, about, above, etc. etc. etc. until my memory gives out.


There is a Fourth option, use a colorful prepositional phrase to finish a horoscope. For instance:


Simplicity, moderation, and a keen sense of when it's time to make a change will help you dictate what comes next....in bed; on the road; after dinner...


Concessions will be necessary but worthwhile if it gives you the freedom to live and do things your way...by the waters edge; in your dreams; after skydiving...


Hopefully, I can remain focused and determined this year but always with a little bit of humor in my heart and in my mind. Think of all of the ways you can create your own Perfect Endings to this year, to this day, to a good life...



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Merry Christmas from Our Home to Your Home

 

We've had our share 

of bumps and bruises

twists and turns

this year.

Yet, overall our year

has been JOYOUS and

MERRY.

May your New Year be filled

 with Joy and Kindness. 

My winter tree
 in front of me
takes me back
 to our children's
playhood, when
Santa arrived
filled with 
surprises. 

Oh, No

 Dear Readers, 

Please forgive my mistake in my last post, or at least laugh along with me.

I often write and dally with my mind until the real story develops, then I hit the fabulous delete button.  It is a treasure for writers, no more pencil erasers worn out or papers trashed.

Last night I forgot to it delete on the bottom portion, so you may have seen the earlier versions of thinking and writing. Now you know the rest of the story.

The Biggest Mistake We Make in Life

Is Thinking We Have Time....

Food for Thought or Not

"How we spend our days is how we spend our lives."

 Annie Dillard 

Lately, since I fell October 24, I've been thinking, reading, sleeping, and looking at life from a couch or chair. When I think of thinking I'm most often reminded of the cliché  "food for thought." Then I laugh. Something inside of me examines this line differently than my school teachers. If I eat then it is often followed by sleep, so why would anyone eat food in order to think? However, when I play golf I find myself eating snacks for energy, so why not say "food for energy"? The adult version is to ponder an idea totally but I like to look at things aslant to keep my mind active and laughing about word choices. 

Thinking about other people's thoughts intrigues me. When I think with my emotions I find myself talking to God about the war in Ukraine, the women in Iran, and will this younger generation build bomb shelters like my father did in 1961. From there I ask "why" people are so selfish, so mean spirited, and then the voice in my head yells, "Stop." 

I like her voice, she is the strong woman in me. She knows that there are millions of loving caring people, who everyday step into help others. My neighbors recently cooked a church meal for 125 people. We know that most young people today set goals, help others, and are intelligent well-rounded individuals, who do not make the headlines.  

Currently, making me think differently are the sprakkar women who live south of the Arctic Circle in Iceland. The wife of the President of the country, Eliza Reid, made headlines a few years ago when she wrote an article claiming that as the wife of the President of Iceland she was not her husband's handbag. She maintains her own identity as an outstanding woman.

While rereading The Little Prince I collected the thought about the value of the lamplighter whose planet was turning faster day by day, so that now he had no time for rest. (So many interpretations of this line.) His planet made a complete turn every minute and he had to light a lamp and put it out every minute.  He had no time for rest and yet what he loved most was to sleep. As there was no solution the little prince deduced that the lamplighter was unlucky. "That man would be scorned by all the others; by the king, by the conceited man, by the tippler, by the business man. Nevertheless he is the only one of them who is thinking of something else besides himself." Other readers saw the lamplighter as focused only on his work and not someone who could be a friend. Isn't it fascinating to read or listen to other perspectives on a person, place or event without making a judgement? 

 

What I perceive about The Little Prince does not begin to touch the language nor experiences of other writers who expound on the meaning of this 96 paged book written eighty plus years ago. I thought perhaps he was lonely, yet curious about life.

Not an allegory of war, rather, a fable of it, in which the central emotions of conflict—isolation, fear, and uncertainty—are alleviated only by intimate speech and love. But the “Petit Prince” is a war story in a very literal sense, too—everything about its making has to do not just with the onset of war but with the “strange defeat” of France, with the experience of Vichy and the Occupation. Saint-Exupéry’s sense of shame and confusion at the devastation led him to make a fable of abstract ideas set against specific loves. By Adam Gopnik The Little Prince--a War Fable

The Little Prince is an honest and beautiful story about loneliness, friendship, sadness, and love. The prince is a small boy from a tiny planet (an asteroid to be precise), who travels the universe, planet-to-planet, seeking wisdom. On his journey, he discovers the unpredictable nature of adults. The Little Prince-a Children's book

The Little Prince teaches that the responsibility demanded by relationships with others leads to a greater understanding and appreciation of one's responsibilities to the world in general. The story of the prince and his rose is a parable (a story that teaches a lesson) about the nature of real love. The Little Prince

The beauty of the internet allows me that wide open rabbit hole, where my mind ventures about from one planet to the next. 

While I relaxed and allowed my body to heal, I read profusely: all magazines up to date; blogs and online stories I follow, up to date; one book a week or more instead of one book a month, done; quotes copied into my journal for guidance, done. Miles walked, not touched!

Once a week I read Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper.  She begins with her essay "I've Been Thinking...."

This week she wrote: "I love to walk, and I especially love to walk in nature. I love to listen to the sound of birds, and if I am lucky, the water in a nearby creek. I notice the trees, the sky, and the air as I meander about..."

I love to walk and be a part of nature, too, and so I let her words speak for me. (Click on the blue links to read more.)

I love cartoons for their perspective on life and words.

Christmas will be here soon and this year we celebrate our season of love with all of our children and their families. My mind will not be on writing and reading as much as it will be on "Thoughts for food" that I can prepare in advance or easily. Now to focus, but on what?