The Edge of Cool

     Being cool is most likely a state of mind.

     The misty ethereal plane of coolness starts to be visible somewhere in the preteen years.  

     Its beginning is like stepping onto an endless sheet of ice.  At first it's hard to get the feel of it.  There are a lot of awkward moments, but after some practice, it becomes smooth sailing, second nature, something done on auto pilot, like breathing.

     Coolness shows itself in the simplest of forms.  To do otherwise would be, well...... uncool.  A nod in one's direction.  A slight swagger, a certain way a hat is worn or striking a subtle pose.

     Being cool is endless, or so I thought.  

     Recently I had the opportunity to deliver my oldest cool grandson to football camp.  I wore my cool shades, I tuned the radio into some cool music, turned it up loud, rolled the window down.  I kept the conversation at a minimum.

     On the second day I was instructed to let him out of the car fifty yards from where his cool group of friends were standing.  I'd fallen off the edge of cool.

     But, being cool is most likely a state of mind.

Are You Connected?

     Life is what YOU make it.  Yes, there are circumstances that happen during our lives that are either good, bad or maybe humdrum, but the outcome we experience is up to each and every one of us.

     I'm going to share an excerpt from a book I'm re-reading.  I'm not here to argue religious dogma or doctrine, again, we all choose what we want to believe.  My intent is to allow you to give this some really deep consideration.

     The following is taken from Ask And It Is Given  by Esther and Jerry Hicks (The Teachings of Abraham)

     "You can feel whether you are allowing your full connection to Source Energy or not.  In other words, the better you feel, the more you are allowing your connection;  the worse you feel, the less you are allowing your connection.  Feeling good equals allowing the connection;  feeling bad equals not allowing the connection - feeling bad equals resisting the connection to your Source.

     You are, even in your physical expression of flesh, blood and bone, a "Vibrational Being", and everything you experience in your physical environment is vibrational.  And, it is only through your ability to translate vibration that you are able to understand your physical world at all.  In other words, through your eyes, you translate vibration into that which you see.  Using your ears, you translate vibration into the sounds that you hear.  Even your nose, tongue, and fingertips are translating vibrations into the smells, tastes and touches that help you understand your world.  But your most sophisticated of vibrational interpreters by far are your emotions."   

     This coincides exactly with quantum physics. Can being connected to God be so simple?  Pay attention to how you feel.  Not how someone else makes you feel, how you allow yourself to feel.

No One

     No one has control over how you feel, except yourself.

     No one was put on this earth to make you happy.  If someone makes you happy, that's really not their job, happiness does not come from an outside source.

     No one makes you mad.  Nope.  If they made you mad it's because you let them.  Perhaps they are just having a bad day.

     No one makes you sad.  Nope again.  If they made you sad, it's because you let them.  Who really enjoys feeling sad?

     No one makes you worry.  If you worry, it is because you have chosen to do so.  Worrying solves nothing and it is not good for your health, plus, it does not accomplish one single thing.

     No one has the right to tell you what to do.  That doesn't mean you should tell your boss to shove it.  A job is simply a job, something you have chosen to do.  If you let it make you miserable, that is your choice.

     No one has the right to tell you what, or how to believe.  Most people don't know why they believe the things they do in the first place.  Most adults find out, somewhere along their path in life, that their parents really didn't know everything.

     No one can tell you that you can't do that.  'That' being whatever it is that you want to be or do when you grow up.  If you decide to believe that you can't, then again, that was your choice.

     We all come from the same place.  Even those who we deem unworthy.  We all have the same mission:

     Live your life to the absolute fullest and let no one steal your dream.



     

     

     

     

     

My Motto & Why

     My motto is this:  If I can't laugh at myself, I have no business laughing at anyone else.

     My recent silliness, that I have come to get great joy from, is lyrics, that I make up, and then sing them to a familiar or favorite song for someone on their birthday.  I record this with my phone and then post them on Facebook.

     I stood, last night, in the background while the recipient of my most recent "birthday ditty" laughed hilariously at his song.  It's been another favorite of all the people who watch them.

     I've watched it myself at least four times since and each time I do, I laugh like an idiot.  It helps to lift my spirits.

     There is a big difference in making fun of someone and poking fun.  I try very hard not to do the first.  No one enjoys being made fun of, it's hurtful.  But, if I can make someone smile, it makes me feel better too.

     With my odd sense of humor often comes times of laughter that some may think inappropriate or even disrespectful.  Let me give you an example of just such a time.

     My father died many years ago as a result of losing his battle with cancer.  He had decided to donate his body, what was left of it, to medical research in the hopes of helping others.

     The protocol for this procedure was that when the medical research was finished with him, his remains would be cremated and returned to his family for internment.

     Keep in mind, this was nearly thirty years ago and not many people that we knew had ever done this.

     Time ticked on.  One year lead to another.  Seven years later Mother was feeling guilty about not knowing exactly what had happened to him, or to his 'shell'.  

     I made a call to the funeral director and asked if we could find Dad.  

     About a week later, my oldest sister, Lela, and I attended the visitation service for an old friend of Mother's.  Mother was wintering in the South at that time, so we went in her place.

     Let me tell you a little bit about Lela's and my sense of humor. We came out of the same mold when it comes to finding humor in the oddest of places.  Sometimes it is not safe to be in the same room with us.  Our other sister, Blanche, will readily attest to this.

     So, anyway, we have gone through the receiving line and are making our way to the door when the funeral director, who by the way, was a wonderful, wonderful man, called to me.

     "Ruthie, we found your dad!", he exclaimed.

     My response was, "You did?!  That's great!"  

     I shot a look at Lela and knew immediately we needed to make a fast get-away.  After a brief explanation of what the next steps to be taken were, we thanked him and headed for the door.

     We scurried down the sidewalk and finally got around the corner of the building.  I turned and looked at her and said, "I feel like we are in a Far Side Cartoon.  I'm envisioning a man, sitting in a dark and dungy cavern with a large cauldron of ashes in front of him.  He has a telephone receiver in one hand and a large scoop in the other.  The man says, "Bill Murphy?  Yep, got him right here."

     We were nearly rolling in the gravel trying to get into the car.

     I can also assure you, Dad's internment was even more hilarious and he played a huge part in where our oddness comes from.

     

There's Nothing Like It

     There's nothing like a fresh batch of hair color first thing in the morning.  It will not only make you look and feel younger, it will open up your sinuses.

     There's nothing like going to a big box store, surrounded by paper products and arriving home to realize there is one roll of toilet paper left and you didn't buy any.

    There's nothing like laundering fifteen beach towels one day and seeing them hanging on the fence around the pool the next day.....in the rain.

     There's nothing like pulling your favorite shirt out of the dryer, putting it on and realizing your favorite pair of panties are stuck on the back, after you've been to the grocery store.

     There's nothing like making tuna casserole and when you take it out of the oven, you see the can of tuna still sitting on the counter.

     There's nothing like getting all spruced up for a day of running errands and to discover at lunch time you forgot to put in your false teeth.

     There's nothing like going to bed with wet hair and waking up the next morning with the ultimate comb-over.

     There's nothing like finding joy and silliness in the smallest of things.  Seek and ye shall find.

Don't Slam It

     I've been pondering the barn all day.  Well, more specifically, the barn door.

     Why does the barn have a door in the first place?  Perhaps it is weather related, but I'm not sure.

     Even though I've been really busy, the barn and it's door just would not go away.

     We've all, as adults, parents, grandparents, etc., done this.  Any time a young child went tearing out the door, leaving it open in their wake, we have yelled, "Where you born in a barn?!"

     This usually makes absolutely no sense to said child.  They have no idea what it is we are talking about.

     First, they don't have a clue as to where they were born.  When they figure out how they were born, it usually makes them want to puke.  But as far as where, they could usually care less.

     Maybe kids go flying out the door because they haven't completely forgotten from whence they came.  Maybe they still remember they have a mission.  To them, life is an adventure. Places to go, things to see, stuff to try.  They know no limits.

     The next time this scenario happens, just get up and shut the door yourself.  Whatever you do, don't slam it in their face.

     

Love What You're Doing

     Most of us have heard the term "starving artist".  It applies to people who use their passion for art, whether it be painting, sculpting or whatever, as their occupation.  One problem most artists have is a lull in their creativity.  A blank spot that is filled with zero inspiration.  I experience that from time to time, but mostly I'm bombarded to the point that I get overwhelmed and then begin to spin in circles.  Feels like I'm doing something, but in truth, I'm not getting anywhere.

     So many of us fall into the rut of chasing the 8-5.  Most don't have a choice.  There are bills to pay, kids to feed, and keeping a roof over our heads is a necessity.  Those are just the basics too, life can throw us a curve ball at any time and those are never cheap.

     Stepping out of the norm can be frightening.  It can take you back to the starting point with no free pass.  It can put you in the bottom of the barrel in a heartbeat.

     The first one I made was for a business associate.  The piece has become a popular item.  It has had many "sisters".  Recently I was contacted to see if I could make one into a Christmas tree topper.  Christmas seems like a long way off, but the pages of the calendar are falling off like leaves on a tree.  The middle of this new year has already passed. 

     It was a welcomed challenge and she turned out better than I had anticipated.  The Angel Sun Catcher turned Angel Tree Topper:

     There is a great sense of accomplishment in doing what you love as an occupation.  It might not make you rich in monetary forms, but you will never know if you don't try.