Eyes that see

I have always had a problem adding my eye color to questionnaires. They just don't fit because the choices are usually blue, brown and green. My eyes change as if they are responding to moods. Most of the time they are greenish grey and that is not listed as a choice. I just looked at my drivers license and it says green. Apparently, grey was not a choice on the day I answered the question.

As I was reading my current Kindle book, "Mistletoe at Moonglow", I came across a character who had the exact same problem. He really didn't know what his eye color was on any given day. It made me laugh and it also made me feel not quite so weird! 

Black Friday

 Wow this black Friday really does seem like black Friday. Thanksgiving was no different than it has been for the last six years. The only other person in my house is my oldest son. Since my divorce in 1999 I spent fifteen years pretty much alone. Because of the pandemic this year really does seem like blackness of some kind.

I see pictures on Facebook of friends who have spent the holiday with family, no matter what the current rules are. I pray that they all come through this pandemic healthy. Today I am plain sick of this crap. 

Happy Thanksgiving

 Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Please take the time to think about all the things and people you are thankful for. Things will get better, they have to. 

 

Abundance

I have never considered myself rich by any means, but lately I am re-assessing this thought. The news is full of people who don't even have food to eat or a safe place to sleep. They literally don't know how they will survive another day. This pandemic has ripped away the livelihood of people who thought their lives were pretty secure. I have no idea what this is supposed to prove, but I am grateful that I am not one of those people.

I am not rich but my house and car are paid for, I have a Social Security income that won't change much, have excellent credit and owe no one anything. I learned at a very young age not to live above my income.

I remember years ago reading somewhere that if you have more than you need at the end of the day, you have abundance.

Time for gratitude

While watching a friend's podcast this morning I was inspired to use gratitude as the subject for today's post. I asked myself what am I most grateful for?

There are several things that came to my mind. For instance, fairly good health, A comfortable home. enough to eat, friends, enough money to live fairly well and my gift of writing. That really isn't what I am most grateful for though.

That would be people. Since my very first breath people have been part of my life. There were first my parents and other relatives, the hospital staff, neighbors, playmates, classmates, friends, people in stores and on the street, coworkers. You name it and I had contact with all of them. People of all color, races and beliefs. Thinking about all the people I have had contact with since the first day of my life really is mind boggling.

It is also mind boggling to realize that no two of these people are exactly alike. Everyone, from their first breath to their last are on their own. I am most grateful to have been created to be counted as one of those people.

Holiday shopping

I just spent the morning shopping online for gifts. It is kind of cool to shop in my pajamas in front of my computer. Actually I began my shopping experience yesterday. My birthday is in a couple of weeks so I thought I might as well get myself a gift to mark the day. So I checked out my closet and decided to purchase a couple of new tops, one in heather blue and the other in heather grey. The grey one replaces a sweatshirt I have had for twenty years, celebrating a long past local Quad on our Mt. Taylor. I figured it was past time to put it to rest.

This morning I found a special Christmas book for my youngest great granddaughter. It is called, Santa's Christmas With a Mask, and will no doubt be a collectors item someday. I will probably tuck in a gift card.

I have been trying to figure out something for my son, who lives with me. He is one of those people who has everything and keeps ordering from Amazon. The UPS delivery guy comes so often I am sure he thinks he is part of the family by now. Anyway, I did find something that I think will work on the Amazon Black Friday page. While I was there I decided to accept the 30 day free trial of Prime. Hey, who wants to pay an extra charge for shipping? Not me. I expect to cancel it after the free time is up. Don't tell anyone at Amazon!

My holiday shopping list has been cut way down as most of my wonderful family no longer accepts the fact that I am still alive. Oh well, their loss! Happy holidays everyone!

 

Be present in the present

While reading a new Kindle book last night I came across a passage that caught my eye. It was; You can't worry about what comes next until you let the now happen. It  reminded me of the message Eckhart Tolle shared in his book, A New Earth. Be present in the now. 

In this pandemic we are all living in I think people tend to worry about tomorrow instead of doing everything they can to stay safe today. Worrying about tomorrow can and does cause anxiety. I know, I spent 15 years of my life suffering from panic attacks. In my case I now believe it was, at least partly due to a chemical imbalance, but once they start it is hard to stop them. 

I think the only control anyone has is right now. Just think of all the good things in your life and be grateful for them. Don't compare yourself with anyone else. They are not living your life. You are.

Don't worry about tomorrow, just do your best to live today!

Follow the leader

I know there are many people in the State of New Mexico who think our governor is over reacting when she decided to put us back to the rules of March 2020. Personally I don't see that she had any choice.I would hate to be in her position! If people would have followed her advice in the first place we would not be where we are now.

I simply cannot understand the Trump followers who refuse to wear a mask and who congregate in large groups. He is in a world of his own making and it is plain idiotic to follow him. In my opinion, by refusing to take the pandemic seriously he is responsible for the death of many more people than would have happened if we had a leader who actually cared about someone other than himself. He cares more about playing golf than anything else. 

There is no way that I will follow such a shallow self absorbed person, who thinks he is a leader.

A magic carpet ride

My gift of words was inspired by author, Richard Bach, whose ability to take his reading audience with him on magical spiritual journeys amazes and delights me. My first taste of his remarkable talent was, Illusions, loaned to me by a friend, who also had a hand in my spiritual evolvement. I believe it was the spark that caused me to pursue a dream I didn't even know I had.

I think every writer was inspired by an author somewhere in their past. Perhaps it was someone famous, perhaps not. My first book, Wake up!, can be read from any spot, cover to cover, and it will make sense to the reader. That is quite an accomplishment for a first time author, especially since I was simply following my intuition. Back then I knew nothing about writing a book. 

A lesson I learned from Bach's writing is, always write from your heart. Write what you believe in and the world just might believe it too. Over the years I have gotten by with a lot, especially as a columnist for the Cibola Beacon in Grants, NM. A sneaky writer can slip ideas in that others might be reluctant to challenge. Sometimes it makes me laugh. I don't lie, but I have been known to bend the rules just a little because it keeps people on their toes.

So today I owe Richard Bach and his slightly off kilter mind a great big thank you.

I also owe my daughter a thank you too. Several years ago she made the comment, "I don't know anything about you." Her father came from a large family and she knew a lot about him from the stories they told. About ten years after I began writing, my only daughter stopped communicating with me, partly because she didn't like something I wrote. My message to her is, "Don't ask the question if you don't want the answer." 

I am going to continue doing what I am doing because I believe that is exactly what I am supposed to do, while I am a resident on this planet called earth.

Your pick

In a conversation with a friend this morning I said I really didn't care who wins the election. My friend said she did because she didn't want anyone messing with Social Security. According to her Biden would do that. Curious,I looked it up and discovered that Biden intended to raise taxes on the rich. Thinking back to her comment I wondered where she got her information from. She had made other comments that just sounded a bit fishy.

Due to the conversation I did rethink my comment that I no longer care who wins. I realized that I did want my candidate, Joe Biden to win. The reason is not so much for him, but for his choice of a running mate. Kamala Harris is more than qualified for the job because of her previous experiences. More than that I see the possibility of her eventually becoming the first female president of the United States. That is something I would like to see during my lifetime.

I really do not understand how Trump was elected in the first place. He had no qualifications to be president. It wasn't what he knows it was who he knows. Someone who has over and over been bankrupted should never hold the title of president of the United States. What kind of a leader is that?

Although my friend and I have different views about this election we respect each other's right to have them.    

To finish this post a couple of days later, it looks like Joseph Biden is the 46th president-elect of the United States. You go Joe!

A difference of opinion

 Yesterday my home repair person stopped by to take care of a minor problem with some work he had previously done. We had a little bit of time to talk about current events, including the election. We have different opinions about what is going on and who will win. As he was leaving I said, "Do you want to make a bet on the election?"

He stopped where he was and asked. "$10?"

As he came back to do a fist bump I added, "Or lunch."

He said, "That's even better!"

I figure no matter who wins we will both enjoy the lunch, making us both winners!

What's left?

 November first gives us two months left in 2020. There are still two major family holidays left. As the virus count goes up in each state people are asked to stay home and avoid large crowds. As I look around at my life that really isn't so difficult. Even though we still have Thanksgiving and Christmas to get through, being pretty much alone already, that doesn't change my activities much. 

Most of my biological family live in other states and the thought of sending a card or making a phone call is beyond their capabilities. If I even got a birthday card from anyone but my oldest son, who lives with me, I would be in shock.

Isolation really doesn't change my life. It is pretty much what I have been doing for years because the majority of my biological family do not acknowledge my existence. Family holidays have been a joke for years. What family? `

The only thing I am looking forward to in the next few weeks is an end to the political garbage! It will be really nice to turn on the TV or check into Facebook and not have to witness the name calling and the skeletons being drug out of closets. It will be interesting, during November, to see who will occupy the white house for the next four years. 

What is left in 2020 is anyone's guess. I for one, am just happy that I have been given the opportunity to stick around to see what will happen.