OMG

Talk about patience! I have waited for years for an old building sitting on top of a hill overlooking Grants,NM to be removed. Burn it plow it under I didn't care. Just get rid of the eyesore that could be seen from everywhere.

This particular building and a man who was buying it at one time had left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I accidentally discovered while reading the Cibola Beacon that it was demolished on October 19, 2016. I couldn't believe it and drove into town to make sure this wasn't some kind of joke. I felt such a feeling of relief as I drove down the road behind where the building used to be and saw with my own eyes that it was no longer standing. There was no trace of anything except dirt covering the ground.

I then realized that the above picture, I had taken in 2009, might someday be valuable. It has always been important to me as the foreground displays several images of spirits. Guess I'll just have to continue to be patient and wait to see what happens next. 

Patience

It may not kill you, but patience is not the easiest trait to master. I have been struggling with a desire to know the outcome of a situation and my guide has made it abundantly clear that I am supposed to have patience. Easy for him/her to say, but not so easy for me to follow. One could probably say that comes from my former life as a control freak.

Looking at the word patience and needing a current post I decided to check out some quotes on the subject. Since sharing is my thing I am about to do just that. Feel free to enjoy the following.

We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. ~Helen Keller

Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. ~Barbara Johnson

Before you can consider a problem water under the bridge you must first patiently work on removing the dam. ~Michele Ustafzeski

Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is timing. It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and for the right way. ~ Fulton J. Sheen

I am extraordinarily patient, providing I get my way in the end. ~Margaret Thatcher

and one I'm sure you weren't expecting...

Everybody is going to be dead one day, just give them time. ~Neil Gaiman

Quotes make you think

I have always been intrigued by Maya Angelou and her brilliant mind. This morning I was flipping through a book I just ordered, that shares 101 of her quotes. I found one that really made me think. It stated in part that "we are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot- it's all there".

It started me thinking about my family and where everyone is right now. My three adult children were born several years apart. The first two five years apart and the last one 18 years after her oldest sibling. The birth of these three also involved my relationship with their two different fathers.

Thinking about all the experiences these simple facts brought to my children is overwhelming to me as their mother. I'm sure each child has a different view of the facts. This was brought to my attention at my ex-husband's recent memorial service as I listened to my youngest child share memories. All three children lived in the same house, but I am quite sure no two shared the same memories of the deceased.

As their mother,  I know my memories are certainly different then theirs. A fairly recent memory of something that one of my grandchildren (now an adult) said to me also got my attention. He said, "I remember you yelling at my grandpa". I wonder if he ever gave any thought as to why that was.Odd that I don't yell anymore.

No matter how close the family, children only get part of the whole picture. They are too young to understand that parents are the sum total of everything that has ever touched them, internally and externally.

Think about it.

Plans change

My spirit photography event at Rocky's on October 20th has been postponed until January. I knew it wasn't supposed to be that close to Halloween, but I went along with the plans of the gallery manager. Yesterday I  made the decision to suggest postponing the event if the flyers hadn't been printed. They hadn't and I got my wish.

It had never been my idea to share the photos close to Halloween. Above all else the event needs to be respectful of the spirits and I was afraid that would attract weirdos.

It will be much better to have it in January. After the New Year people are looking for something to do.It is a time for fresh ideas. Moving the date will also give me time to collect more pictures and information about the subject. I might even obtain a helper.

Perception changes everything

On August 15, 2016 I took a photograph of the mesa above my property. The scene attracted me because the sun was lighting it up so brightly it was almost asking me to take the picture. I did and this is how I was rewarded.

Like many of the photographs I take I did not see what was really there until it was developed. Then I noticed the many sets of eyes looking back at me, especially those on the right side of the picture. Enlarging it will aid the reader in seeing what I saw.

My first reaction was, the spirits were telling me I was being watched. It made me a little nervous because of a promise I made to them several years ago to help spread the word that they are real. I know from experience that they are and that they want me to assure people that we never die. The soul simply leaves the body behind and moves on to another assignment. I feel this particular picture is important, but this morning I realized I may have been a bit off in my perception of its meaning.

Several things have happened in my life since I took this picture two months ago, including the death of a family member. I also went through a brief period of trying to keep my blood pressure under control. I felt like I was carrying around energy that was not mine. Taking the blame for the problems of others is something I have been trying hard to stop doing, reminding myself that I am only responsible for me.

This morning I changed my perception of the eyes in the spirit photo. Instead of believing that they are watching me (judging my actions) they are assuring me that they are helping me stay on my path. And when I stay on my path I am also helping them and keeping my promise.

I voted big deal

I had thought of not even bothering to vote this year as I am so sick of this whole thing. For the last week I have been deleting anything to do with the election on Facebook. Yesterday I was in the County Complex building and noticed that early voting had been set up. I voted!

I had no intention of standing in line to cast my vote in November so this was the best option. As I looked over the ballot I noticed that there were several names for president, two of which I don't recall ever hearing before. Knowing my vote was a protest vote I skipped the first two names. I'm sure my vote isn't going to count for anything, except I did vote!

Another thing that did bother me was that a couple of other positions had only one name. Those names have been on the ballot for years and I really didn't want to vote for them again. When there is no opponent you have no choice.

I'm not happy, but I did vote!

No place like home

Wow as I look around at the weather conditions in other parts of the country I am again grateful that I landed in the little old town of Grants, New Mexico. When compared to what some of my friends are dealing with our weather conditions are ideal.

A week or so ago we did turn on the furnace because it is getting a little chilly in the morning. After an hour or so I turn the thermostat down so it will shut off. By afternoon the outside temperature is quite warm. The wind does act up now and then, but that's about it.

The last time we had weather that made the news was about 2011. We were covered in several feet of snow that kept melting and refreezing. It was difficult to drive anywhere. It taught me to always have cat and dog food and toilet paper in abundance during the winter months. It was sort of like practicing to be Mormon without having to deal with their rules etc.! It was also a good thing that I grew up knowing how to stretch food.

Grants is a great little town to live in and I am not sure I would want to live anywhere else. In addition to our weather being very calm I feel it offers a great deal of spiritual energy, available to anyone willing to notice.

Although the area is mostly Native American and Spanish I have been able to put my foot in the door and make a name for myself. Several years ago I was asked to write the column, Who We Are, for the Cibola Beacon, because the editor thought I knew everyone in town. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea. Mention my name and someone probably knows who I am, or thinks they do! When a life is spent volunteering some people notice.

I am really getting excited that Rocky's on Route 66 is giving me an opportunity to share my spirit photographs with the community on the evening of October 20, 2016. It will be interesting to see what happens as I offer yet another part of my life to my adopted home town of Grants, New Mexico.

 

A Look in the Mirror

I just finished reading a Kindle book that I want to give a thumbs up to. It is Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale. Every once in a while a book pops up that I know I am supposed to read because it has a message meant for me between its covers. I don't mean to suggest it was written for me but I am supposed to read the book. Hopefully I get the message.

This book is about a young woman looking for someone who technically no longer exists. While looking she found herself and as a bonus,  the love of her life.

I have been searching all of my adult life for what she found in Ian, the main male character in the book. He is creative, sees the person inside, is patient, fair, loving, loyal, caring, and accepting of spiritual concepts some people have trouble believing.

As I wrote his traits down this morning I realized I was seeing myself and I thought, this is really strange. I know it is not how some people see me, but that doesn't matter. They have not taken the time to see the person inside. Too bad for them!

All I have to do to find the person I have been seeking is look in my mirror. If someday I find a perfect soulmate, as Aimee did in the book, it will be a huge bonus and a grateful surprise.

An added observation to this experience is that if you change one letter in Ian's name it spells I am.


Alright perhaps I'm still working on patience!