Free education

This morning I watched the updated podcast from my friend, Bob Luckin and his wife Judith. They are both ministers at the "Center for Spiritual Living" in Florida. I found it very interesting as it seems Bob was admitting he had once been heavily into being a perfectionist. I can certainly relate to that as I spent a good portion of my life striving to be a perfectionist.

During their program Judith kept referring to a woman by the name of Brene` Brown. Never heard of her I thought. Who in the world is she?

Later, still asking myself that question, I checked her out on google. I discovered she is a professor, lecturer, author and podcast host. She has spent over a decade studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity and shame. So, apparently the lady knows what she is talking about. Because I am a writer and have a curious mind I decided to look her up even further.

I then read some of her quotes. Two of my favorites were: "You don't have to do it alone. We were never meant to." and "Let go of who you think you are supposed to be; embrace who you are."

In conclusion, just because we are supposed to stay at home to save lives it doesn't mean we should stop educating ourselves. Education is sometimes free!

Purpose confirmed

For some time I have known that my purpose in this lifetime is to inspire others to be the best that they can be. It has never been more apparent than the last couple of weeks. Since I am alone most of the day it gets lonesome at times. My only contact with the rest of the world is social media, mainly Facebook. I have friends all over the world and I have been making a practice to keep in touch and check on them.

I am very lucky that the county I live in has an almost non existent count of the virus so far. Hopefully it stays that way if people just listen to the guidance they are given by our Governor. At this point I don't give a damn if she is Republican or Democratic. She is a very smart lady!

Anyway, back to me, and my purpose. I know without a doubt that it is my job during this trying time to do everything I can to spread positive energy to everyone I come in contact with (literally speaking). It makes me really happy to post positive things on my FB wall and in my online writing group, "Let's Chat". I am going to keep doing just that because it is my purpose.

In reading a friend's post I found these suggestions to connect with your soul mind.
Repeat: I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, harmonious and loving.
I am source
I am spirit
I am soul
The things I focus on will manifest.

Space

Space is such an important item in the challenge we are now facing. We are being asked to stay home and keep our distance from other humans, so the virus is not spread. I'm doing that. I am also looking around at my neighborhood. I live about three miles from the nearest town, which is Grants,NM. All the property in my area is divided into 1/2 acre plots, so none of the houses are very close together. There have been many times in the last few years and since my divorce in 1999 that I thought about moving into town. I even picked out houses I wouldn't mind living in. Today I am wondering if the Universe was looking out for me. I am still here and enjoy looking out from my office window at what I call my personal mountain.

I am also noticing that New Mexico has few cases of the virus and there are so far none in my county. My son said it was probably because it is sparsely populated. He is right about that. Grants is situated halfway between Albuquerque and Gallup. There are miles and mile of empty space on the trip either East or West. We are also protected by mountain ranges. I have often thought it is almost like living in Shangrila. (probably not spelled right!)

This morning I am grateful that my path has brought me to this special place on earth.

Opportunities

Although staying home and away from the virus is not exactly my idea of fun it has presented some opportunities I would not have otherwise had.

It has allowed me to be creative in my cooking, which I love to do. My son likes to stick to recipes. I prefer to experiment with what I have on hand.

I have seen and shared some really beautiful photos from far away places that I will never see in person. Facebook is a wonderful tool that I am grateful to have. It allows me to keep in touch with friends all over the world.

This morning I viewed a lighthearted church service from my friend, Bob Luckin and his wife, all the way from Florida. There were some problems with the broadcast and the picture was sideways. It just made me laugh as I occasionally tilted my head to see them right side up. 

I have also been watching some interesting Netflix movies and reading Kindle books- free. I watched a wonderful movie yesterday based on a true story titled, "Freedom Writers". It was about a young teacher who used unusual methods to teach children, thought to be unteachable by others, because she believed in her students. I wish I had experienced a teacher like that. 

So anyway, although staying home is not exactly fun it does present opportunities to grow that I would never have otherwise had.

Just wondering

Watching the little snippets of the news and the things Trump is saying I am wondering if the pandemic will be the end of his chances for a second term. He probably won't get the virus but, he won't have to. Many of my friends voted for him and believe he is a shoe-in for a second term. I am thinking there is a very good chance he will kill his chances all by himself unless he learns to keep his mouth shut!   

Day eight

Our local Smiths store started allowing seniors to shop from 7:00 to 8:00 am so I got up early and took advantage of their generosity. I was mainly interested in bread and vegetables. We had plenty of meat. I had found a recipe yesterday for bread that didn't require eggs so I bought extra flour. It was a nice thought but the store was out of yeast. Oh well, maybe I'll make cookies instead!

Although there was a line to get into the store when it opened everyone seemed to accept the fact that they were not letting too many in the store at one time.  I was impressed that nobody was hoarding. People were just buying what they needed and quickly left the store.

I am beginning to think that my generation, even though they are the most vulnerable to the virus, are the most likely to be kind and follow the rules to keep things running as smoothly as possible. 

  

Purpose

In this crazy time I am trying to decide what my purpose is. I have decided first of all to do everything I can to keep myself healthy. Since we have no known cases of the virus in Cibola County, NM I have been shopping at the dollar stores, picking up items that I use every day, so I don't run out. I am not hoarding, just being smart. Today I didn't forget my two cats and dog. I made sure they had plenty of treats to last awhile, they already had enough food.

Since I take blood pressure medication every day I am a bit concerned about the availability of refills. There isn't anything I can do about it so there is really no point of worrying. What will be will be.

Now then I have been thinking about how I can help others. I have decided that staying as positive as possible is the only thing I can contribute. So I am only posting helpful things on Facebook and on my writing site, "Let's Chat".  I am also deleting anything negative from stupid people who are not helping the situation.

Also, knowing that I need to stay active and home, I purchased big skeins of baby yarn to make a couple of blankets and a few baby bonnets. When all this craziness is over I will no doubt donate them to the maternity ward of our local hospital. The other thing I am doing to keep busy is picking out Kindle books to read and accessing Netflix movies.

The bright side

Like everywhere else there have been shortages in our grocery stores for a couple of days. Last night my son checked out Walmart and came home with some things to put in the freezer for later.  They still had no bottled water available.

This morning I stopped by Smiths to pick up a few things to add to our, just in case, supply. We aren't hoarding, but we aren't being stupid either. For myself I have decided to stay home as much as possible. Makes sense to me! That means avoiding stores etc.

As I was checking out at Smiths this morning I noticed that they did have bottled water and decided to get some. When I asked the box boy to grab me a 12 pack he made the comment, "Smiths is the best, Walmart needs to take a rest!"

I have always preferred to shop at Smiths, but it made me laugh! It made the checker laugh too!

A reminder

I just finished reading the Kindle book,  Seven Days by Alex Lake. It is the story of a 15 year old girl who was abducted and imprisoned in a basement for twelve years. It reminded me of an experience I had when I was in high school. I was walking home from school when a man stopped his car and asked if I wanted a ride. I don't know what made me do it, but I said yes.

He drove past where I was living and I got a little nervous. He started driving through a residential area not too far from my house and I got more nervous. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know what I was going to do. He stopped the car and left to investigate something in a yard. I immediately opened the passenger door and quickly started walking home. I planned if he stopped me I would run up to the first house I came to and pound on the door.

That didn't happen and for some reason I was free to walk home.

Today I am thinking , WOW! Someone was looking out for me!! This book reminded me of that experience as if it happened yesterday. I enjoyed the book and am happy to recommend it.

No meat?

I noticed yesterday that the meat department in our grocery store was almost depleted so I am sharing this recipe for Vegetarian Chili. Although it is for a slow cooker it could be cooked low in a large pot on the stove.

1-2 chopped onions, 1 chopped green pepper, 2ribs celery chopped, 2-3 thinly sliced carrots,28 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes, 12 oz. frozen or 1 can corn,2 cans black,pinto or kidney beans, 1/2 cup water.

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, few shakes Tabasco, 2 tsp. cumin, 1 tablespoon chili powder.
Cook in slow cooker on low 4-6 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Closing

My little town of Grants, NM is slowly closing down. I am not sure it is necessary, but it may be a good idea. Public schools and our Family Center will be closed for three weeks. Not sure what is going to happen to the shelves at the grocery stores. The binge buying makes me furious. If shoppers would just shop like they usually do there would not be shortages. It seems that some people just don't care about their neighbors and that is really sad.

Probably sometime around the first of April things will get back to normal, at least I hope and pray they will. In the meantime stay safe!

A perfect cup

https://www.wtvideo.com/video/23251/how-to-plant-a-lemon-in-a-cup-and-make-your-home-smell-good?fbclid=IwAR0qE7zXAiFui5jdVjUkPtmYrn4XlUci-ywv0SufRo_IuFgRqL6f4LThUSo

This morning I found the above site with instructions on how to grow lemon seeds in a cup. I decided the next time I go to the store I am buying a lemon and trying this. I began looking around for a cup to grow the seeds in. Although I have many in my cupboard, none seemed exactly right. Then I spotted the perfect cup. It is rather large, with a picture of red chili and corn on the front. It was actually a gift from a neighbor, given to me in 1989, when I had cancer surgery. Although it is attractive I have never known what to do with it- until now.

Day one

Here we go again with another time change! I usually wake up a little after 6:00 a.m., but don't actually get up until 7:00 a.m., or until my dog Ejay insists he has to be let out.This morning I looked at the clock, which I had set to daylight savings time and said under my breath, "Oh shit!"

I hopped out of bed a little after 7:00 to take my morning blood pressure medication. I had planned to go back to bed for awhile except Ejay decided it was time for me to let him out. While I was waiting for him to return I decided to put the coffee water on. Still not wanting to begin my day I returned to my bed with the thought of getting a little more sleep. Right!!

When my clock said 7:30, which would have been 6:30 yesterday, I decided to give it up and get up. Hopefully my internal clock will be reset tomorrow.

The Universe speaks

This is going to be an interesting week for Universal energy.

Tomorrow we take the leap to daylight savings time.That alone can screw up people's lives, especially if one takes medication at certain times of the day. If you have a job you could be late for work. Oh well it happens every year and so far nobody has decided to put a stop to the change.

Next up is our friend Mercury. He will finish his latest journey on Monday. We can all go back to communicating. Well at least some of us can. It is also safe to sign contracts etc., but be careful that means you are taking responsibility for your actions. What a concept!

And finally we have a Friday the 13th this coming week. Some people think that is a bad omen, but I do not agree. I have a black cat who was born in 2004 and she has never caused any problems, well except for her constant meowing that she has been doing lately when she wants a treat. The only way to shut her up is to give her what she wants.

Taking a break

In case anyone hasn't noticed I took a little break from writing my blog. March is here, mercury has a few more days to do its thing, the weather today is beautiful and it seemed like a good time to just sit back and observe.

I did take my car in for brakes today because it was a necessary chore. My car had been making squeaking noises that were hard to ignore. I thought it was coming from the brakes, but I was wrong. The noise is coming from a bearing or something in the rear end of the car. Apparently just something that needs lubricating according to my mechanic. I'll check that out next week, but at least I have the brakes taken care of.

Looking at my calendar this morning I couldn't figure out when I could take my car in because of appointments and commitments. My intuition said to just take it in today. After informing my mechanic I had finally gotten around to do the brakes, he asked "do you want to do it now?" I said, "Sure". Since I only live a short distance away I was driven home and when the car was ready an employee came back to get me. As I have said before, it is great living in a small town! This would never have happened in let's say, Albuquerque. Intuition is also a great tool to learn to follow.

I'll see what happens for the remainder of the week. Oh and don't forget daylight savings time starts Sunday. That's something I could do without. I think Arizona is the only U.S. state that has the right idea! Just leave it alone!!