Real or plastic

This morning a picture of a china tea cup posted on Facebook jogged my memory about something I had written in my e-book, Journey of an Enlightened Egotist, still available on Amazon.com by the way. It reminded me not to settle for less than I deserve because we all deserve the very best the universe has to offer. The following is the quote from my book.

Many years ago my grandmother was examining the plastic dishes in my kitchen cupboard and commented, "You are old enough to use real dishes." I  have remembered this experience all of my life, but I should have paid more attention. She was really saying plastic was not good enough for me. Today some of my most treasured possessions are the cut glass dishes I inherited from her.

Recently while doing some research on the subject of ego vs soul I found an interesting analogy that again reminded me of the experience. The ego was referred to as a plastic flower and the soul as a real blooming flower capable of birth, death and rebirth.

According to the material the ego is outside of us and is formed by listening to and believing what others think of us. Over time this accumulation of garbage became ingrained in my mind and convinced me that it was the real me. It was an erroneous conclusion. 

My real center is my soul. It is my personal connection to my Creator and all things created. It makes me one with the universe and is the voice of the spirit within. Unlike the ego, the soul is eternal. Because of its pure source it is impossible for the soul mind to project negative thoughts and emotions. Negativity of any kind is always the product of the ego.

Allowing the ego to control my life caused my own misery. The ego commands, demands, promotes dependency, claims to know everything and seeks personal gratification. The soul mind informs, suggests, guides, encourages growth and recognizes a power higher than itself.

When I truly observed the wicked ways of the ego and began experiencing a soul centered life I laughed at the absurdity. Who in their right mind would consciously choose a life of misery over one of peace and love? We can only change what we can see.

Note the warnings

How often do we get warnings of possible danger from the universe and simply ignore them? This happened to me about a week ago and it has taught me the hard way to not only pay attention, but act when I am warned.

There is a land phone sitting on my desk with its cord on the floor. I have lost count of the times I have caught my foot in the cord as I got up from the desk. One would think that I would have paid attention and moved the cord  to a safer height.  That never happened.

Apparently the universe got tired of warning and decided my time to pay the price for my ignorance had arrived. Yup- I not only caught my foot in the cord, but ended up on the floor across the room from the desk. It does not appear that I did any damage to my hip, but I can't say the same thing for my knee. It took the brunt of the fall and is causing intermittent pain in my leg. I have no one to blame but myself.

To make matters worse the pain has kept me from going to my grandson's basketball tournament, which wouldn't have been so bad except his team won, making them the 2016 city champions. The Lakers are an amazing team who have been almost unbeaten the whole season.

I would say I have more than paid for ignoring the universal warning. 

and the winner is...

My poor cat, Smokey, was in a recent fight with a neighborhood intruder. My dog, Ejay has been doing his best to keep the feline out of his yard, but Smokey insists on going out just once more before bed. For a couple of days we had noticed that he was acting like something was wrong. He wasn't limping or bleeding and seemed to be eating. Then my son decided to check him out.

He noticed a small hole a little below the tail. Not being sure what it was I made an appointment yesterday morning to have it looked at. Darn good thing I did because it was much worse than we thought. After the area was shaved to get a better look this is what was uncovered. Not the prettiest sight in the world for sure.

He was given an antibiotic shot to last two weeks along with cream to be applied to the wound twice a day. The worst part for Smokey is that the doctor ordered him to stay inside for the next 10 days until he rechecks the wound. For a cat that usually goes in and out whenever he chooses that is like a life sentence!

He seems to be doing alright today, but it is only day one. He apparently got over the trauma of being encased in a pink dog carrier, borrowed from my daughter. He hates being in the car and it was trauma enough for me to endure his continued loud protest on the trip to and from the doctor without trying to hold on to him too.

I don't know if Smokey won or lost the fight, but this better not happen again, or he can get a job and pay his own medical bills!

Happy birthday Ejay!

This is Ejay's first picture in December 2012 after I rescued him from the animal shelter. Although he was happy to be free he badly needed grooming and current shots.. The vet thought he was about 10 months old which would make his birthday sometime in February. To simplify things I gave him Valentine's Day. That would be today- Happy 4th Birthday Ejay!

At first I wasn't sure I could keep him because he followed me everywhere and I was afraid I would trip over him. Eventually we got used to each other, although he still follows me wherever I go. He also had to get used to sharing his new home with two felines. That's still a work in progress.

This is a recent picture of my spoiled pup. He apparently has taken over the job of making sure I do my exercises.

Just for you

Having just shared a poem I wrote in 2000 with my Facebook friends I decided to also share it with my readers, many of whom I do not know. I do know that you exist and that is all that matters. I have never considered myself to be a poet, but this particular poem is one that I am very proud of. It was channeled during the night from my soul mind to my current human mind. Perhaps I was a poet in a previous life.

~Pure Love~

I will love you forever and ever

I will defend you against your enemies

I will support you when you are weak

I will cry with you when you are hurt

I will warn you when I see danger

I will teach you anything I know

I will listen quietly while you teach me

I will pray for you and with you

I will hold you when you need comfort

I will feed you when you are hungry

I will help you live but can not live for you

I will respect your right to your freedom

I will love you forever and ever.

Barbara Loure` Gunn 2000 

 

 

Do it anyway!

During my therapy session yesterday I made the mistake of  saying, "I hope you know I don't like this exercise". To which my therapist's partner stated with a smile, "never tell Mike you don't like an exercise because he will be sure to add it next time".

The exercise in question was on a balancing board and I had escaped doing it during my last round of therapy sessions.

With a do it anyway approach Mike said, "Usually when you don't like doing something it is the exact thing you need to do".

Alright I'm doing it- see!

Parts is parts

Remember that 2006 Wendy's chicken commercial- parts is parts? It came back to my mind yesterday and caused me to realize that for the last six months I have been focusing on my hip and leg and pretty much ignoring other body parts.

Realizing it had been months since I used an upper body exercise machine I wrote a check and paid for a years membership in the fitness room of our family center. Where else am I going to have the use of any machine for as long as I choose to use it for $25 a year?

The first thing I noticed was the addition of a couple of new machines. One that caught my eye was a really nice exercise bike with a very comfortable seat. I had to try it out. I could have stayed on it all day. I eventually moved on to the upper body machines I had used before my surgery. It felt like I had come home.

Even though I will still continue doing my hip/lumbar routine every morning I am really happy with my decision to move on with an exercise plan.

After all parts is parts and they all make up my whole. 

Moving on with a different attitude

If you have been keeping up with my recent blog posts you know that my hip is perfect. There is nothing wrong with the implant. With that out of the way, I took a picture of the treadmill that I believe contributed to my leg/back pain. The picture became a for sale flyer that I posted Friday at our family center. The very next morning I got a call from a young lady who wanted to buy what I had to sell.Yesterday afternoon I had the exact amount I had paid for it in my hand. A perfect exchange wouldn't you say?

 Sometimes it seems that what I believe is going to help with my healing is actually interfering with the process. At the moment I have a brand new upright exercise bike sitting in its box ready to be assembled. That is not going to happen until I check it out with my physical therapist. I have the receipt and it can go back to Walmart if he says no.

I hope its a yes, but even if it isn't I plan to resume walking in the gym at our family center at least a couple of times a week. When the weather warms up a bit I will move to the park and no doubt take my camera along.

In addition to walking I plan to execute the new exercises I have been given with more enthusiasm because I know it will eventually bring about stronger muscles.

Yesterday I reached the six month point in my hip replacement recovery. It was a date I had been eagerly waiting for since my surgery. I realize I still need to exercise some caution, but as of today I am moving forward with a different attitude.

 My goal now is to be the best that I can possibly be. Several years ago I told a friend that I want to live to be a healthy 100. No more of this pain crap for me- Been there, done that and I am through!!

Yesterday I saw a statement that said,"women who have their last child when they are over 33 have a better chance of living to be at least 95 than those who don't". Well I was 41 when I had my daughter! There has to be some good reason I agreed to do it again. 

Today is the day

Today is the day I will find out if my intuition is right. I will soon be heading to Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque to meet with my surgeon and have xrays taken of my hip. They will either show that it is the cause of my current leg problem or, as my intuition says, is not the cause. In any case, I do agree with my surgeon that it is the only way to find out for sure.

I'll get back to you with the results.