Tag Archives: Life Lessons

Simple, Silly Things

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The Big Muskie Bucket

The Big Muskie Bucket

Not too long ago, my husband and I took a road trip in Ohio. One of the things we wanted to do was to find out what “The Big Muskie Bucket” was. We had passed the sign for it many times but didn’t have any idea where to find it. It took us a while, but when we did, it was well worth the drive. We learned that it is the largest mobile mining dragline bucket ever made and large it is! I am 5’7” but standing inside Ole Muskie made me feel tiny! Lately, watching the news, reading Face Book posts, and interacting with the world around me has also begun to make me feel small.

I’m pretty sure you’re going to think that I’m off my rocker (remember I’ve told you before that I am crazy) but there’s no better place that proves my point than on the road. I know that I’m old fashioned but when I learned to drive waaaaay back in the 70’s our instructor instilled in us a responsibility to use good manners on the road. Signaling and waiting to see the other person’s headlights in your mirror before pulling in front of them, moving over to allow others to merge, and waiting to pull into traffic until there is room enough as to not cause another driver to have to slow down are just a few examples I still believe in. Simple, silly things? Maybe, but these simple things can make the difference between a pleasant trip and high blood pressure.

The road however, isn’t the only place where we need good manners. Somewhere along our way, we as a society have become so focused on ourselves and our agendas that saying a “please”, “thank you”, or “excuse me” is all but extinct. Add on top of that the need we all have to be heard, often at the expense of listening to anyone else’s point of view. This equation creates many unpleasant interactions. I’ve witnessed several situations where the parties were saying the same thing in different ways and neither was willing to stop arguing long enough to realize they were more alike than different. It’s happening more and more every day. I also can’t figure out when it became acceptable to leave our grocery carts in parking places, throw diapers and fast food trash out our car windows, or treat service workers disrespectfully. Simple, silly things?

I’ve always tried to live my life putting others first. In whatever situation I find myself in, I aspire to treat others the way I want to be treated. I liked to think it made a difference, but recently I‘ve begun to doubt myself. How can one person make the world a better place? What makes me think that I can effect a positive impact on those around me? The happenings in the world tell me over and over that I’m a small fish in a big pond…… a simple, silly person. So, feeling dismayed, my heart has been heavy, I‘ve questioned my ability to make a difference, and I’ve felt like giving up. Thankfully that’s when God stepped in. One morning recently, when I was feeling especially discouraged the scripture for my daily devotional was “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven,” Matthew 5:16. Then soon after that I read a quote that said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that”, Martin Luther King. Coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidence. Jesus and Martin Luther King were both men doing the right thing in the midst of a world that tried to make them feel small. Both spent their lives leading humanity on a new and better path. Both went to their deaths fearlessly and selflessly standing up for what is right. Now, let me be very clear. I am certainly not anywhere close to being a Martin Luther King or Jesus! Their words however reach across history to remind and teach me that doing right is always the right thing to do. It doesn’t matter how it makes ME feel and I don’t have to worry about the results. I just have to simply be faithful in the journey one small step at a time. Now that doesn’t seem silly at all.

It’s Time

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It’s time…..past time really.  For what you ask?  For taking down my hummingbird feeder for the year.  I’ve been diligently watching and waiting for an empty feeder, however, it hasn’t happened because there is one lone straggler.  I’m not sure why he’s staying behind.  Maybe he feels safe here, maybe it’s my special nectar recipe he’s become accustomed to, or maybe he feels weak and needs to build up his strength for the long trip that awaits him.  Whatever the reason, he’s here, he’s hungry, and I’m doing my best to help him prepare to be on his way.

I too, am a lingerer.  To me, the biggest benefit of retirement so far has been being able to take my mornings slowly.  I relish leisurely sipping my coffee, nectar if you will, and then refilling my cup as many times as I want.  Casually remaining in my PJ’s instead of quickly getting dressed is refreshing.    I’ve dreamed of this languid life and staying behind while the rest of the world rushes off is a great gift.  Maybe my hummingbird friend has discovered this too.

There’s a danger to being a lingerer though.  For the hummingbird, tarrying can literally mean life or death.  For me, the peril is the life or death of my dreams. Living a fulfilling, meaningful life or dying in my procrastination and hesitation.  I have an inner creative, kooky side but for most of my life I’ve stifled the ideas and plans that have emerged from that part of me.  I vacillate and put off acting on them letting opportunities and experiences flitter away.  Oh, I develop those ideas in my mind.  I spend time with them but when it comes to taking off with them, I linger.  Fear shouts that I will look foolish, complacency reminds me that change is hard, and insecurity whispers that I’m not good enough.  I remain hungry for the journey I could have and should have taken.

For the first time in many, many years I have the opportunity to pursue some of those postponed dreams and create some new ones, too.  I’ve remained at “the feeder” long enough. God has gifted me with what I need and my life experiences have taught and prepared me to move ahead.  With the help and support of those around me and lots of prayer, it’s time….past time really, for me to be on my way and fly!

A Work in Progress

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I’ve been rereading all that I’ve posted here since beginning “My Sea of Thought” and I realize that I’ve written about a lot of “lessons I’m learning.” Because of that, one might assume that I have it all together.  I can assure you that I don’t so I wanted to set things straight.

In the past two years I truly have begun to understand some things about myself.  I think it started when I read the book “A Confident Heart” by Renee Swope of www.proverbs31.org .  I believe with all my heart that God directed me to this book to help begin a process of healing and growing.  Since then, through music, readings, and study, I think I’ve developed a clearer picture of my true self and the woman I want to be.  The thing is that being presented with a lesson and applying it are two different things.  It’s just like all the years teaching in my classroom…I prepared and presented lessons everyday but what my students did with the information was up to them.  I have very good intentions but I’m sad to say they don’t always develop into actions.

I’m finding that my ramblings here benefit me.  It’s a way to clarify the changes I need and want to make…a way for me to get a picture of this new and improved person I desire to be.  It’s kind of like an artist who allows the picture he has inside of himself to come to life through his paint; turning an empty canvas into a masterpiece.  In my case, I am the empty canvas gradually coming to life but I have a long way to go!

Confucius said, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” I want you to know that I am moving more slowly than I’d like to admit.  Old thought patterns and insecurities die hard but I’m determined to steadily put one foot in front of the other.  I so hope that some of my life lessons resonate with you, too.  I am learning (here I go again!) that through shared struggles and triumphs we gain a better understanding of each other and by offering support and encouragement we make moving forward just a little easier.  It is a life-long, often bumpy journey that requires patience and dedication but one that when traveled culminates in creating a unique masterpiece of each of us.    Slowly but surely it’s the journey I yearn to take.

The Only Way to Travel

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Riding the Tygart Flyer

Fall is here!  The colors are vibrant, the air has less humidity, and the evenings are cool.  It’s one of my favorite times of year!  My husband and I celebrated the season and his birthday by taking a short, scenic train excursion yesterday.  Scenic it was!  The mountains were alive with golds, reds, oranges, and greens.  The bright blue sky boasted fluffy white clouds and the falling leaves whirled on the breeze like fairies.  When we reached our destination we were not disappointed.  The waterfalls and river glistened in the afternoon sun like diamonds.  It was a fun and relaxing day except for one thing……

Our train traveled up then back down the mountainside on one track which means on one leg of the trip you’re sitting backward.  I didn’t think much about it until a funny feeling came over me.  Call it dizzy, woozy, or what you’d like, it wasn’t pleasant. Scenic or not, taking a trip backward is not what I prefer.  Thankfully by adjusting my seat and where I focused on the landscape I was able to enjoy the rest of the journey back to the station.

If traveling backward is so uncomfortable, then why do I do it so often in life?  It’s hard to say how many hours or even days I have spent looking back to times past when I was younger and skinnier, my children were little and I felt needed , love was new, or someone I cared about hadn’t passed away.  During those times I yearn for the past and often perceive it to be better than today.

Unfortunately, I don’t only look back on “good times.”  I more frequently return to the mistakes I’ve made, the people I’ve hurt, the people who’ve hurt me, and  the things I wish I’d done differently.  Returning to these memories produces that queasy, uneasy feeling just like my train ride down the mountain.   These are painful reminders of my failures and I can recall them just like they happened yesterday.  As a result unpleasant sadness and regret settle in my soul.

Have you too taken these backward excursions?  It’s time to adjust our seats and change our focus!  Why continue to waste our today by reaching back into yesterday?  It ‘s becoming clearer to me that continually traveling back to the past takes me off track and is making it harder to reach my desired destination.  The events of our lives, good and bad, have helped shape us into who we are today.  Instead of clinging to them we need to focus on the joys we’ve experienced, the lessons we’ve learned, wisdom we’ve gained, and set our sights ahead to a future that is vibrant and alive.  Whether life takes us up, down, or whirling on the wind we can be sure of one thing…… Living in the now and looking forward is the only way to travel!

What Poetry Can Do: Life Lessons

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I promised in my last post that I would talk to you about the messages on the balloons that were part of the Poetry Box unveiling.  It is interesting that in the last few days I have had conversations with different people about the legacy we leave behind and how we’ll be remembered at our funerals.  What do funerals have to do with Poetry?  Funny you ask……

Who would have known (not I), how this interaction with poetry would end up teaching me so many life lessons.  The messages on each balloon are a good example.   I wrote the messages to provoke thought around poetry in the kids’ minds and then hoped it would spark  conversations.  Little did I know that each of the messages not only represents something poetry can do, but also have provided me with a better vision of a blessed life!  So here we go!image

Message 1:  “Creates Images”

Just as the poet’s words can conjure images up in our minds, so can we leave images with others we come in contact with.  There are those pictures we can bring forth from our memories of images that have touched us.  A stranger’s smile just when we needed it most, your grandma’s open arms as you arrive for a visit, or a child’s eyes lighting up when she finally understands.  We choose everyday what images we leave with those around us.  I am becoming more aware how important it is to leave as good an image as I can, as often as I can, so that those who are watching are left with beautiful pictures when they need them.

Message 2:  “Helps You Understand People”

Poetry is a safe place where you can express yourself freely.  Reading poetry exposes us to different values, beliefs, customs, thoughts, and ideas.  It helps us see the world in a new way.  We need to be open to read people and allow ourselves to be read in the same fashion, letting our differences create beautiful verses together, one building on another.

Message 3:  “Shares Feelings”

There is a reason why certain poems have lasted through the centuries; they elicit strong feelings in the reader!  Poetry is often the language of love.  The Psalmists used it as heartfelt praise.  There are poems that express every feeling a human has ever felt.  That’s why we love poetry.  We discover we are not alone in our feelings.  There is nothing more reassuring as when someone says, “I know how you feel.  I’ve been through it too”.  Sharing our feelings with each other is risky.  It is uncomfortable.  It is sometimes embarrassing.  But sharing your feelings with someone else is also the greatest gift you can give them (and here’s a little secret it is a gift for yourself too!)

Message 4:  “Poetry Tells Stories”

I am a story teller at heart.  I love to use my words and phrases to draw a listener into my tale.  To make them feel as if they are one of the characters and part of the action.  Poets do the same thing with their rhythm and rhyme.  They lure us into their story with their web of verse and suspend us there until we reach the end, leaving us wanting more.  This is life!  We all have a story to tell!  Some funny, some sad, some scary, some boring, you get the picture, but a story to tell  just the same.  We all like to tell them (some over and over again) to any audience we can find.  Sometimes, we are all trying to tell them at once and we get louder and louder and louder until no one can hear anything….  I think the lesson here is that yes, we do have a story but we don’t always have to be the teller.  It is important to also be a willing listener.  For what magic do we miss out on when we hear only our own story?  What heights might we soar by hearing what others have to say?  Instead of seeing ourselves as story tellers, why not be story collectors?

These first four balloon messages while intended to describe poetry, have helped me see a little more clearly the person I hope to be remembered as.  I hope that each day, I leave an uplifting image with someone I meet.  I aspire to be understanding and accepting of the differences between myself and others and to build on those differences to create strong relationships.  I want to be more willing to bare my soul and share my feelings with those who need reassurance all the while realizing that I need it too.  And I hope that one day when I am being remembered people will laugh at some of stories I’ve told, but in their hearts they will recall that I collected theirs too.