What's your excuse?

There is a saying:  "Excuses are like @##$%^&#, everyone has one."  Some people use belly buttons, I have another word which is not proper in polite company.  I could write a book of excuses, ask any of my friends.  While I am getting better at this, when I was younger, I had an excuse for everything.  I think making excuses robs us of responsibility, so I am trying hard to relieve myself of this particular habit.  I think it takes away from our knowing that we are human and therefore fallible.  So now, every time I think I need an excuse, I stop, just for a minute, and just get real with myself.  Make a ripple, skip the excuses, see what happens.

Bear, Catboy, and life

Years ago, I had a dog named Bear.  He was a 75% red wolf who I got from a friend.  A few years later, we rescued Catboy from the window well of our chiropractor.  I had given little thought to how these two would do, frankly, but the little kitten needed a home.  I brought Catboy home and gingerly introduced him to my 95 pound dog.  Catboy was probably 6 pounds soaking wet.  What formed was so much love and camaraderie . Impossible, you say.  Nope, Bear was an outdoor dog, but when he was in, you had a hard time keeping them apart.  It makes me wonder how much we miss by judging things.  Who would ever have thought these two would end up besties?!  Bear has been gone 10 years now, and Catboy still sneaks down to the basement and lays on his friend's rug.  Somehow, I believe we need to re-think a lot of things.  Life would change if we did, for the better.  Make a ripple, give it some thought, see what happens.

ALL LIFE MATTERS!

"L O L!"

It took me a while to find out what this really meant on a text.  As far as I was concerned, it meant "love you lots!"  It wasn't until I got an odd text from a friend that I finally got, "Laugh out loud."  I felt it wasn't as important as love you lots, but it had it's place.  When was the last time you actually laughed out loud?  I have to remind myself to do this, but it feels so good when I do, and the bonus is that it makes someone turn around and look.  We are so proper, aren't we?  To heck with that!  We need to find and appreciate the humor in life whenever or wherever we find it.  Make a ripple, laugh out loud!, see what happens. P.S. it doesn't hurt to love someone lots, either!

The Zen of Catboy

We have survived "Black Friday!"   We have gotten past "Cyber Monday!"  Personally, I don't do any of that but I know a lot of people who are whipped into a frenzy about the next holiday.  Then there is Catboy.  He wants me to remind you that I can buy him a bag of new toys, and he will crawl into the bag and fall asleep, totally ignoring the toys.  He will stretch for 10 minutes until his body feels good, and then take a nap to celebrate.  He is, after all, almost 19.  He enjoys just gazing out a window, or sitting in a sunny spot, but also being petted and spoken to.  In these coming days, it would do all of us well, to take some of his advice to find time to just be.  Think of all the stress we could alleviate!  Make a ripple, know what is important, see what happens.

Turn a mistake...

into a lesson.  Let's face it, we are all human and are prone to making mistakes.  But some of my best lessons have been learned from some of my worst mistakes.  It is only bad if we don't give ourselves the opportunity to learn and correct the behavior.  No one likes the pain it causes to admit a mistake, but I know, for sure, when I learn the lesson and do things a better way, life takes a turn for the better.  Make a ripple, know you are human, see what happens.

The best things in life

are not things.  Here is my partial list, not in any particular order: the sound of the ocean and salty smell, the sun's rays streaming through the window, a brisk walk in the park, the smile on a new mom's face, my cat eating and purring at the same time, a good nap, a look from someone that tells you they really care, being generous, being joyful, being loving, being color-blind, always having an open heart.  Make a ripple, write your own list, see what happens.