I love...

Phone tag.  Well, let me put that another way.  The "tag" part can get frustrating, but it is nice to know that when the game is "won,"  I get to actually talk to the person on the other end.  Texting, and e-mail, on the other hand are a very flat way of communicating.  We can do it quickly and quietly, but there is no emotion, or personality to it.  We can also misconstrue a text by putting an emotion into it that is hard to read. Sometimes, someone might word a message in a way that we do not get it.  My rambling point is, it is better to communicate by talking.  It seems that we do a lot less of that and I think it is NOT to our benefit.  So, go play tag with someone whose voice you haven't heard for a while.  Tell them you miss them.  Let them know the real deal.

We teach people how to treat us.

This an undeniable fact.  What we need to start with is a healthy self-esteem.  That is hard to come by given the world we live in.  We get so many mixed messages while we are growing up.  We learn the lessons our parents are taught.  We have all tried to be the best parents we could be, but in a flawed world, it is difficult.  The good news now, is that we can, with some work, find a way to increase our feelings of self-worth so that WE CAN teach people how to treat us with the respect we deserve and not settle for anything less.  Just think of how that would change things!

Nourish....

your spirit today, and every day.  I don't know what an effect having the pope in our country was for you, but it left an indelible mark on me.  I believe that many of our troubles stem from our lack of connection to our spirit, and spirit in general.  It is the best part of us.  It is the good, honest, pure part of us.  It has no agenda but love and goodness.  It has been important to be reminded of that.  It has been good to actually SEE spirit in action! LETS KEEP THAT ENERGY GOING! 

"P" is for Pope...

"P" is for peace.  I can't tell you what an effect the Pope had on me this week.  Well, it is a little hard to put in words.  Let me tell you what my heart says.  My heart feels calmed by him.  My soul, nourished.  He stands for everyone.  He has no agenda, other than asking us to love each other and our Mother Earth. He has no time for derisiveness , only the love of all human beings. He speaks softly and carries an essential message. I only hope that we are all listening... 

Hello Hallmark

Last night I was out with my friend.  She informed me that it was Native American Day.  I was a little taken aback.  Where was the advertising on the T.V.?  Where was there ANY mention of it?  Where was the Hallmark card?  There are Hallmark cards for everything from a fungus on your cat's toe to the leaves falling in the street.  I am sad that these beautiful people are still so marginalized.  What does that say about us as a people?  Whatever it says, I am embarrassed.  I know that we are better than this.  Let's think of all our human value.  Everyone needs to have their day! 

A male perspective..."It ain't over til it's over."

As a child growing up in the 50's, it is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of an American Original, Yogi Berra.  To me, Yogi represented an era when baseball was very important in the fabric of American life.  The NFL was something you might think about when the World Series was over.  Baseball was truly an American past time.  Yogi was an icon of the Yankee dynastys in the 50's and early 60's. America was different, then, I got my baseball, not from soundbites on the 24 hour sports channel, but on the front porch, on a warm afternoon, (yes, I said afternoon) listening to the radio with my grandmother. Those of you who lived it, know what I am talking about.  For those of you who don't, I am sorry you missed it.  Yogi's life may be over, but for those of us who were fortunate enough to experience this wonderful time, the memories remain.

ENTITLEMENT, What is it good for?

absolutely, nothing, say it again.  I am speaking of the Millenniums. It is a sad fact, but the attitude of this particular 20-30 ish group of people is, well, annoying, off putting, and  lacking in any respect for other's.  They seem to have their own rules, "what is mine, is mine."  " what is yours is mine."  It gives me pause to think of just what kind of "Grown ups" they will turn out to be since there are no rules for them.  I am not saying that all in this age group are guilty.  I am saying that I see more lately who are.  Do you want to have people like this run your world when you are older?  Me, neither!  So I say to them.  "you are not any better than me because you are spoiled!"  In fact, you are lacking something very important.  The things we are ALL entitled to have are LOVE and RESPECT!