With these eyes

I have never considered myself a photographer, but I have taken some very interesting photos over the years with inexpensive cameras. After sharing a photo I had taken several years ago, a friend commented, "an amazing photo Barbara, you capture so much". I was once told by a professional photographer that it is not the camera, but the eyes of the person using it that produces amazing pictures.

Today I want to share some photos from my repertoire for your enjoyment.

Be careful who you follow

Lately I have been checking out the people whom I believed at one time or other to be worthy of my following.

As I have changed and grown so have these people. Some of them have grown right out of my life, which is not always a bad thing.

I have asked myself some simple questions such as, is this person dependable of does he/she come and go like a puff of smoke from a chimney? Does this person follow through with promises made or does he/she disregard them as null and void as soon as they are spoken? Does the person make every effort to encourage and help promote others or is he/she more concerned with his/her own self worth?

Honestly addressing these questions makes it clear to me why some people are no longer in my life. They have simply proved over time that they were not who I originally thought them to be. Honesty and dependability are number one qualities that I require both for myself and those close to me.

We all have role models, people we look up to and desire to emulate. That's just fine as long as in the process we don't forget the fact that we are not them.

One of my first role models was my maternal grandmother. I believe I ended up being a lot like her, which always made my mother cringe. Nana was an ordinary woman, with honest values and a giving heart. When she saw something that needed doing she didn't ask questions, she just jumped in and did it. She taught me by example to value my creative gifts and to freely give them away to those who needed them. She taught me to appreciate the natural beauty of things. She taught me to strive for perfection in the way I presented myself to the rest of the world, being mindful not to become egotistical. She taught me to acknowledge a high power and to always be grateful for what I have.

As I think of my grandmother today I am thankful to have been one she chose to teach. If it were not for following her honest values my life could have gone in an entirely different direction.

An enjoyable evening

I spent an enjoyable evening last night at the amphitheater in our River Walk Park. The three person group playing was "Renaissance Man" and their music was oldies- my thing.

Besides listening to music that I really liked I had an opportunity to talk to many friends I hadn't seen in some time. It is interesting to note how people change over 20-30 years. Of course, some never do except to gain some extra pounds. Running through the audience off and on were a few of the kids I knew from working at our family center last year. One in particular is an adorable child named Harmony. She is the cutest little girl anyone would ever want to meet. Her smiling face makes me happy just being in her company.

The amphitheater has sat pretty much unused for years and it is nice that Grants Mainstreet has finally made use of the facility. Since June they have provided, free of charge, musical entertainment every Saturday night. Most of the groups have traveled from other places as far away as Albuquerque. The first group was the 44th Army Band which was making a tour of New Mexico just before Independence Day. They were a wonderful beginning and set the tone for a great summer of free entertainment.

A four piece group called "Rhythm Divine" will end the performances next Saturday. Just in time to celebrate our Fall Fiesta at the Fire & Ice park on October 11th. This event features a red-green-salsa chili cook off, with vendors, fun contests and live music. I think I'm getting hungry!

Amphitheater Grants, NM

Playing the game

My super athlete grandson, who recently turned 13, really surprised me this morning during his soccer game. He started out as a forward and made the first goal of the game with little effort. For some reason the coach switched him out about 15 minutes into the game. This surprised me as he didn't seem to be injured. He had played in the forward position most of the previous game and had scored the only goals for his team. His team won that game 2-1.

I was really surprised when the second half of today's' game started with my grandson in the defense position. What is the coach doing I wondered.

As the game went on I saw that the kid I was focusing on was responsible for keeping most of the opponents attempts at goals well out of range of the net. I also noticed that he is a fabulous kicker. The other team never had a chance of scoring. The final score was 8-0. Yay team!

New coach, new season, new team. Perhaps this coach sees something that none of the rest have!? In any case this is the time to find any hidden talents as next year he will be playing in the high school league. It's not if a player wins or loses, it's how he/she plays the game that counts!

Deleted posts

How fun! I just accidentally deleted all the posts I wrote from July 20, 2014 to now! So if you read any of them great if not it's too late!!

Of course, my first reaction was SHIT!

My second was SO WHAT!

I wonder what are you trying to tell me now, oh mighty universe? Is it time to stop writing my blog or is it just that once my thoughts are shared there is no longer a reason to keep a record?

While I ponder the possibilities please feel free to go on with your own lives.

Living with a blue aura

Checking out a post that came by my vision, I took a test to see what color my aura is. An aura is "an invisible emanation of vapor; a field of energy visible to certain persons with psychic powers", according to Webster's New World College Dictionary. It is the essence of the person, place or thing. Before I took the test I already knew mine was blue.

Way back in 2000 or so I was manning a booth for Grants Good Samaritan Center at a community event. Out of the blue a Native American lady began talking to me. She said she had been assigned to watch over/protect me until I was ready to be on my own. She went on to share that she had been in my bedroom at night, sitting in a rocking chair in a corner of the room. The window was open and I was crying. Now most people would have called a cop to lock up this strange being, but not me. I not only listened to her I later followed her to her vehicle, a pink jeep, to finish our talk. Among other things she said that my aura was blue and added that I should keep it that way! The communication with the "lady in white", as she called herself, was short lived. She made me nervous and I decided that I could very well take care of myself. I released her from her assignment and never heard from her again. The meeting is still a very sharp memory.

A blue aura is associated with the throat chakra and a person possessing one is thought to be caring, loves to help others, sensitive and intuitive. Finding out this information right about the time that I began finding my own voice in my community is more than a little interesting today. Looking back I see that my aura has been blue all of my life. I also see that along the way it got tangled up with my ego, which is energy picked up from others. In the process I lost the clarity of my purpose for being here.

Yesterday while editing a manuscript called "Journey of an Enlightened Egotist", which is waiting for further direction, I noted in the archives it was once called "Cut the Crap". Today that fact makes me laugh because it is exactly what I had to do to get real.

Also about a week ago I backed away from Facebook feeling that nobody cared if I was there or not. Hey maybe I was right because in that week not one person bothered to ask where I was. It is sometimes funny how the truth of the matter bops you right in the face when you aren't looking. Dipping my toe in the water I shared a post that came through my newsfeed, then a poem that had come to me in my mail. It was at that point that I realized it didn't matter who if anyone responded. My purpose is to pass along what comes "through" me. It is what makes me happy! What happens after that is no longer my business.

Because my aura had gotten tangled up with junk I had begun to think it was my responsibility to not only pass on information to help others, but make sure people followed my insights. Wrong!

With all the writing related gifts I have it certainly makes the fact that I live with a blue aura understandable and at times very gratifying. I think I'll just keep what I have been given and get on with my purpose for being.

Most precious gift

Yesterday's post reminded me of an excerpt from my first published book, Wake Up!. It was called "Most precious gift" and I would like to share it with my readers today with the hope that it might inspire a positive perception of the gift of life.

If you are alive and breathing, whomever you are, whatever your origin, sex or age, there is a gift you share with everyone whether you want to or not. This gift is invisible, has no scent, makes no noise and can't be touched or tasted. It is the most precious gift we have and without it we would cease to be. We all have an equal amount, no matter where we live, how much money we have or whether we are dependent or independent.

Neither a high I.Q. nor a high paying job grants anyone more of this gift than anyone else. It cannot be loaned, bought or stolen from another. We all have 1,440 minutes in each day we spend on this planet. How we choose to use these minutes is an individual decision. We are not born with a road map or a list of rules. Good or bad the decision is up to us. No one can make it for us.

It is interesting how many people with titles assume their time is much more valuable than those without. Adults often think their time is more important than a child's is simply because they are adults. Nationality, tradition and training have taught some men that their time is more valuable than a woman's is. If the world ended right now, none of us would have time left to worry about it.

Every moment of every day we all have the opportunity to help others by sharing a part of ourselves with everyone around us. If we realized time could run out right now maybe we would be kinder, smile more, share a thought or help another. Wouldn't it be wonderful to spend every moment celebrating that we have it instead of worrying about things we don't have and probably don't need anyway?

How we decide to use our allotted time is far more important than who our parents were or how many material things we feel we need to be happy. We can choose to be negative, bitter and hateful or positive, grateful and loving; taking all opportunities to extract good from every experience.