Silent Sermon Sunday

I am the master of my fate:
I am the keeper of my soul.
~William Ernest Henley

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly
Image courtesy of The Internet

One More Reason To Blog!

I would like to introduce you to Linda! That's not this day-lily's real name, for that's been lost. However, Linda is the best name for her. She is one season old. She came all the way from Washington state to live in my garden. Just because I admired her when I saw her...

...on another's blog!

Linda is a glass artist and gardener. I met her through another blogger who is a jewelry artist and well, the thread winds through and around and now both of these talented women, who I have never met in 'real' time, have become friends. Amazing.

If you want to see a garden that you'd love to sink down in and just spend hours looking around, then by all means, go see Linda at, An Artist's Garden and enjoy your visit.

Please note: You CAN NOT have the turquoise Adirondack chairs for I am taking those, and also the bird house...hands off, that's mine too! Oh, and the glass bird baths, any of those are most likely mine. Don't argue with me. And, enjoy your visit.

Linda, I am thrilled that Linda rewarded me with a bloom the first season of being up and here. When we move? She goes with me!

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Loves To Garden

Belief With No Direction

I absolutely, with all that I am, know the power of prayer. I know that it works. I know this without question.

And yet, there are times, that no matter how much I believe this, I still can't pray. Not because I don't want to, but just because...

...I absolutely do not know what to ask for or how to express my feelings. There is so much that is needed; so much that requires Divine Intervention. My hopes and needs seem precariously perched on the jagged edge of the Abyss of Disappointment.

I am afraid that even a whisper...my whispered prayer...it could be enough turbulence to pitch them like leaves over the side.

My feelings are a fog that swirls about me.

I don't know what to ask for...is sitting in silence the answer, then?

Dear God,
I am here... Amen


Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly
Image courtesy of The Internet

Focus Holly, Focus!

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Michael leaves again today for another week away. I needed to reminded that this is a day full of possibility instead of farewells. Hope your week goes well. I'm going to do my best to make certain mine does.

Travel safe with my love, My Lion!

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Misses Him Already

Silent Sermon Sunday

Where ever in the vast cosmos you now reside, I hope it is grand. Where ever you are, I hope you can feel that I still miss you every day. Time has not changed anything except that I love you more. Happy Father's Day, Daddy.


Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka Jimmy Dietor's Daughter

Go On, Take A Good Look!!!

I promised you when I started this blog that I would always talk about the things that need to be said, but that people shy away from! Remember that I told you that! Okay, let's get to it.

Do you own a washing machine and dryer? I'm sure you do. Most of us do, and we use the hell out of them. When was the last time you actually bothered to clean the machine that cleans your clothes? What do you mean? You don't? Really? That's just stupid! It has to be cleaned. It cleans your clothes but it doesn't clean itself. It's not an oven, for heaven's sake.

Now, let's take it further. Do you have a front loading washer? I'm lucky enough to have one. Love the damn thing. Love it for the low water it needs to be efficient, yada, yada, yah....

I wipe it down on the inside and around the gasket each time I'm finished with it. And, very regularly, I take out the drawer where you put the detergent and bleach etc, and clean that with hot water. Yeah, I'm just Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker all rolled up into one nifty package.

So smug...yep, that was me when my neighbor was in the other day and asked, "Holly are your machines new?" "Nope, five years old, why?" "Wow, they look new," laughs and kids, "Do you use them much?" I come back, "Have you met my husband, Mr. Clean? He thinks it's his job to give me laundry every week; he calls it job security! I use the heck out of them!!"

Yep, smug me...just proves how worthwhile it is to clean down the machines regularly. Especially important when you have your laundry room on the first floor of your home where they're likely to be seen by visitors.

SMUG, I tell ya!

So, last night, I'm looking at the dispenser drawer and I start to ponder that pretty regularly, even though I'm so good, I see what looks like moldy black spots...and that shouldn't be. So, out it comes for one more wipe-down, and then I decided to wipe out the big open slot where the thing lives.

OMG! EWWWW!!!!!! I'd never thought to look in there! Holy Crap! Get me a Hazmat Suite immediately!

Can I tell you? It was coated black...with mold. Yep, all that bleach, detergent, fabric softner, and still covered with mold. I so did not expect that!! But, then I started to consider, of course!!!!; it's always moist and seals tightly!

Go on, take a look at yours! You'll see it! It's there, I promise you....lurking there. Get cleaning immediately!

I battle mold so much in various spaces of the house...like the shower, and places like that. And, I know we didn't have these issues when I was growing up. I never saw my grandmother and aunt fighting against it all the time... and trust me...they were clean freaks. Never heard them even discussing mold as a battle ground.

I know I'm older and likely to sound as though the world was a harder but nicer place, (when I was a kid....fill in the blank...no, I didn't walk 10 miles up hill both ways in my bare feet to school...that was my father's generation,) and I'm not saying life was better, but mold? We never heard about it or saw it. Okay, maybe once in awhile you'd see the caulk around the tub get some funky dark spots, but I swear, that's all! Now, even toilets get mold in them if you don't clean them with religious fervor!

Oh, and speaking of the caulk around the tub? If it's in good shape and you don't want to pull it out because of mold spots, just take a paper towel, wet liberally with bleach, leave it there on top of the spot. In a few hours? Gone! What magic!!!

I think we have such issues with it now because our energy efficient houses are so freaking air-tight that they don't breathe anymore. The air flow is virtually non-existent. Yeah, energy efficient means it's easier on the pocketbook in terms of utility bills etc, but it creates an entirely different issue for the home owner. Now we worry about the toxic nature of all our cleaning products and chemicals...but what's the choice when you're battling mold/mildew/chaos??

So, I promised you I'd tell you this stuff, and here's the lesson for today: go look in places like your front loader and for the love of all that's holy, clean it out! You'll thank me, but not while you're doing it; then you'll be cursing me for writing this stupid blog about mold. Ewww! Gross!!!!

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly

Silent Sermon Sunday

"Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray to us who have recourse to thee..."

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly
Picture taken at one of Los Missions de San Antonio

Mr. Toad's Flying Circus

It's pouring buckets here today. One of those nice rain that goes on for hours and makes you stop to look out the windows; getting lost in your mind as you watch it come down. Instead of making the bed, I was standing at the bedroom window just peering out at nothing.

I saw a slight movement. There he sat at the top of the wall just outside my window. Being rained on. Slight move again up to the edge of the wall. "Oh no, Toad, you don't want to do that...come on you can't be that foolish! It's an eight foot drop onto the rocks below. Please, don't!"

Whew...he stopped.

He sat there rain plinking on his head; I sat watching. Then, LEAP! Oh My God, he threw himself over the side! I couldn't look. But then I just had to, because what the hell could he have been thinking?!???!

Slowly I opened my eyes...and there he was splayed out; not moving. Damn. I so did not need to see a toad commit suicide. Sigh. Now I have dead toad on my water fall. A big dead toad...yuk!

But then, a slight movement. And he sat up. Sat unmoving for the longest time. Then HOP! Off the rocks stopping to snap up a bug foolish enough to be in his path. He trundled off to take refuge under a hosta leaf umbrella.

Amazing. I would not have bet money on that outcome!

It brings to mind a parable I haven't thought of for years. A man is hanging on a cliff's edge, his fingers painfully latching on for dear life. He feels as though he's been there forever and is beginning to realize that he hasn't got a chance. He begins to pray.

Praying harder than he has in his entire life. God answers him, "Let go!"

The man says, "I'm not going to let go, you must be crazy. I pray to you for help and you tell me to let go?! What sort of God would say such a thing? If I let go I'll surely perish!"

"Let go," commands God once more.

The man refuses again, but his fingers which can't hold on anymore are beginning to let go one by one as the minutes pass. The man is in agony. More afraid than he has ever been.

Once more- loudly now, God shouts, "LET GO!"

Realizing there is no hope, the man finally says, "As you will it," and lets go beginning his plummet to the rocks below. Just when he closes his eyes and accepts his fate, he feels wind beneath him lifting him up, up, up!

Powered by his beautiful wings he never knew he had!

Whatever you're clinging onto that is causing you pain, that you're too afraid to let go of because you think the devil you know is better than the devil you don't...LET GO! Believe that what is ahead of you will be better than what you let go of. Trust that you have wings and the power to soar ahead.

Thanks Mr. Toad. You reminded me of a very important lesson and I won't forget your foolish flying feat of bravery any time soon. Your flying leap of faith.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Has Been Reminded To Let GO!

Dear BP

Dear British Petroleum:
There was a time in my world, when BP stood for blood pressure; now it is synonymous with a rise in most Americans' bp, that could make most of us stroke out! Please, I need to know by your actions and not just your talk that you are aware how catastrophic it is...what cutting corners has likely cost us.

Today, my morning contemplation may be something meant for you to consider, so I'll share it here:

" We should not be embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful out of them." ~Alain De Botten

I don't care about the how and the details...I just want you to stop defending yourself and get to work returning our Gulf of Mexico into the one that made me sing the Creator's praises when I stood at its edge in December. The place that burned this beautiful image into my brain. You owe us that. You owe us.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly

Why?

Why do we Humans use every crisis and tragedy as an opportunity to point the finger at the opposite party? Why do we immediately start shouting blame at others? Why do we waste time, precious time and energy in this ridiculous need to feel superior...to feel vindicated...to feel inculpable? To use an accident as a platform to push an agenda? To posture for the cameras?

For the love of all that is holy and for Mother Earth, can't we just accept that sometimes horrible things do happen and begin to use our time, energy, and resources on working together to help remedy the immediate? To work to help those unfortunate who find themselves in the middle of the catastrophe? To grieve those who lost their lives in the tragedy of it all?

Can't we, instead, use our intelligence and efforts to rectify what life throws at us instead of yelling, screaming, wasting precious time, and feeling powerless?

Please. Can't we?

There will be time enough to sit and point after we rescue ourselves from the current situation. But, right now...in this moment....let us concentrate in learning what we need to learn and helping to return our world to its rightful order.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly

Silent Sermon Sunday

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly
Picture taken on Memorial Day

The Silent Killer

Some life lessons are easier than others. Learning to manage and handle disappointment has been a true test of my willingness to grow and expand my spiritual side. The biggest stumbling block...the largest road block. The most consistent reminder that no matter how far I think I've grown, I'm still not where I need to be... yet. The emotion that sneaks up on me and sits in my stomach and freezes there. Smirks as it moves back in and sits right down and makes itself at home. Again.

This morning, I came to an ah-ha.... You're likely to say, "Duh!" Maybe most of you realized this about disappointment much sooner than I have, but I'll share it anyway.

Feeling disappointment turns out not to be the problem. CONTINUING to feel disappointment is the problem. That's what sucks all the emotional energy out of you and keeps you from moving on.

Once you realize that disappointment, like all other emotions, is transient and will move or change well, it looses its claw-like hold.

Disappointment doesn't have magic Velcro voo-doo. It has no more hold and sticking power than any other feeling. We just seem to hold onto it way longer than we should. We make it become a fixed variable in our lives. I don't know why exactly. But, I think it's because we don't realize that we do it...and it's so silent and insidious, we don't realize we've given it permanent residence in our world view.

If you're constantly disappointed? That's you doing that...not disappointment having magic powers over your life.

Put it out on the curb with the rest of the trash. PUT IT DOWN! Just leave it and move on. You'll see it again...all emotions cycle through our lives....just don't let it live in your space with you.

Stop saying with each new experience, "Well, here I am again; disappointed once more." Stop comparing each new thing with past experiences like it's a foregone conclusion! Instead, deepen your magick by asking, "Okay, that didn't go as I hoped, so what's the lesson in this for me? What could I have done or should have done differently?"

When you start asking good questions, you start getting better answers and the power over constant disappointment is in asking those questions and cataloging the answers! You want power over disappointment? Start using it as a learning platform, not a definer of your life.

See it moving through you and out of you...let it it move on and transcend....it will...you just have to let it move on and take what you know from what it brought with the experience.

As Glynda the Good Witch says, "Be gone, be gone. You have no power here!"

I'll see you again disappointment, but you can't live here anymore.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Has Been Disappointed AND Lived

Seek & You Will Find

"Something within each of us waits and listens for the sound of the genuine... If you hear it, and turn toward it, it will free you."

~ Paula D'Arcy
Waking Up To This Day:
Seeing the Beauty Right Before Us

I hope this week gives you ample opportunity to listen and turn toward it...


Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Strives To Be Genuine