This is my attempt at cohesive thought. A shot in the dark when I'm in my own head, probably pure comedy on the computer...we'll see how it goes.
Hopefully this little baby blog will grow into something useful for some of you people out there in the verse, enjoy!
In California there are the Jacaranda trees...in Hawaii there are the Shower trees.
See, on the list of things that I miss about California, I wouldn't necessarily say that the annual shedding of the jacaranda trees is high up on that list. Don't get me wrong, I love jacarandas. Their vibrant purple blossoms are one of the few ways that I truly enjoy the color purple, and they remind me of home (which is helpful right now).
And while I do miss the color explosion, I didn't really miss the mess...I can't because it here too! I have found that Hawaii has it's own version of the jacaranda, it's called the shower tree (very aptly named)...or rainbow shower tree depending on the variety.
This tree starts blooming around May, and starts really shedding blossoms as the island cruises toward summer. The cool part (and irritating part), is that it seems to be an unending process. A long blooming season allows a continual shower of blooms until the winter rolls around and the trees start dropping foliage as well as flowers.
The little dropped flowers of both trees, while beautiful and delicate, are amazingly messy! I walked out to the car today only to find blossoms halfway up the windshield and the parking space had a clean spot where the ground was sheltered by the car.
As silly as it is, I love it.
Somehow it is reassuring that I can find little things everywhere that remind me of where I started, where I come from, even when I am geographically far. It gives me a whole new appreciation and respect for those friends of mine who long ago moved from their countries or states of birth. It seems the human mind has an incredible gift to find home wherever we land.
I don't watch the news. It's depressing, lacks substance, and I don't have cable...so I can't. What I do, is read the news. The search bar on my browser yields a plethora of news outlets to choose from. Sites vary from the NY Times, BBC, Reuters, CNN and pretty much anything else I can get my hands on. Today was a good day for the US news outlets. Usually overwhelmed by socialites and sensationalism, today the top story was about five soldiers killed in a friendly fire incident in Afganistan (the Fox story is a little jumbled, but if you want a clearer version...try this one.) While it is a sad story, and not one I was glad to read by a long shot, I was glad to see it in a headline. We are so inundated by the inane and meaningless in the news that I think it is sometimes very easy to forget about the important, and frankly high risk things that also affect us and people we may know. I also went to BBC.com today to check up on the Russia-Ukraine situation to see if there has been any new news since Ukraine elected their new President, a business tycoon and a man with several political forays already on his résumé, Mr. Petro Poroshenko. I'm glad to see him proposing realistic solutions to the still escalating conflict in the eastern regions. With the pro-Russian Vostok Batallion gaining ground in the region with their volunteers from Russian conflict areas, higher training and weaponry, things could get very messy, very quickly. Though it seems that there is nothing but "bad" news in the news, it reassures me to keep in touch with the world. It reminds me that my "earth shattering" problems are nothing more than mosquitos, irritating and painful to me, but inconsequential to anyone else. So keep that in mind peeps, don't lose your perspective. ... Nature girl
I would think it was funny if I wasn't so irritated by the constant chime alert that it triggers on my phone. I can't really say that it is a bad thing, seeing all these messages from people who are so motivated to be healthier. But the problem is, I am just not finding my source of motivation; and I don't just mean for fitness!
Motivation is supposed to be something that wells up from within. A source of instigation to change our individual circumstances for the better, in whatever way things need to change. Some people need to eat better, get more exercise, change careers, move on from detrimental relationships, or see a change on their life path. My trouble is that I can't seem to find that little spark to get the ball rolling!
For instance, I have been trying to write this one post for 2 1/2 WEEKS!
I seem to have just run out of metaphorical "gas"! To make things worse, I feel like I am standing at the pump to fill up and have suddenly forgotten where to put the hose. Deer trapped in headlights have a better chance of action than I do right now.
Don't get me wrong, I have established the parts of my life that need change and even made plans as to how to affect those changes. However, the part of those plans labeled "Day 1" seems impossible to execute. It seems like it should be remarkable easy to get up and walk 2 miles a day according to my fitbit, eat more veggies (I even bought them), work my business (Love me some Arbonne), and do baby things, but I just can't seem to get started effectively!
And out of all the things that frustrate me because they aren't happening, there is this little alert on my phone that goes off whenever someone posts on the Fit Bit message board and I get completely irrationally angry at all of these happy, fitness minded people, who keep posting encouragement and success stories of their goals achieved!
So my new plan is this. I'm not going to scrap the old plans, they are still good, but I'm going to refocus on changing my attitude. It sounds a little cliché, but I'm going to try and have the "Attitude of Gratitude". Every day I am blessed with a roof over my head, clothes in my closet, and food in the fridge but it is SO easy to move right past the blessings and onto the obstacles that I need to slow down and think, really think, about the good stuff!
For at least 5 minutes each day I am going to try and focus on the good things around me. Blessings, funny kids that make me laugh, friends (near and far), family, good food, and loads of opportunity! Hopefully, by reframing my life around the good, the obstacles to my inner motivations won't seem as daunting.
My happy thoughts for today? I'm going to bake a cake tonight, a fruity cake, with cream cheese frosting (a favorite) and hang out in a well worn sofa. And that's all I have to do.
I tried to read the news yesterday, and I almost threw up.
MSN, Yahoo, Fox, Huffington Post, and even local news was a complete wash! All the stories were about storms, drama in basketball, celebrity babies, new cooking fads, and Sara Palin. It was almost like the real world didn't exist!
Does everyone know that we have had troops deployed to Jordan for the past year? Originally sent to bolster Jordan's troops against the conflict in Syria, they are now also training Iraqi soldiers in counter terrorism and we are supplying them with weaponry. Didn't the US do that once before? And didn't that lead to our soldiers getting shot by weapons the we sold to the other side?
What about Ukraine? Did anyone keep following that after Crimea voted to be part of Russia...not that I have found. I have to go to BBC.com and guess what? It is always one of their top stories! But nowhere to be found in our news media except in the other news sections at the bottom of the pages! The entire eastern region of Ukraine is in turmoil between pro-Russian factions and pro-Ukranian demonstrators, and getting more mand more dangerous by the day because of Russian propaganda, and militant groups. By the way, did you know that we sent troops to Europe too?
And then there's good old Korea. The south is experiencing the resignation of the PM over a sunken ferry that killed many of the 476 students and teachers on board. And the north is conducting live fire drills, and may be ramping up to a nuclear test despite UN objections!
And yet none of this is in news media rotation.
In talking to friends about the lack of news reported on "the news", I was referred to this video on YouTube:
At first I was amused, as it pretty much coincided with what I had found in the news. Then I realized that it wasn't really all that funny. Someone actually put this together, admittedly as a jab to mostly conservative media stations, and it has thousands of views. People are openly mocking our news circuits.
Do people realize, I wonder, how much of a laughing stock we must appear to other countries when what a bigoted man said to his girlfriend is top billing on our news programs? Or when we are more concerned with the release of the cast information for the new Star Wars film, than we are about our President saying we have an "ironclad" agreement with the Phillipines to defend them and their sovereignty from Chinese interest in outlying islands?
Having pets (wether dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, herpes, rodents, or birds) is one of the most regarding relationships available to children and adults alike. However, like all relationships, there is a lot of responsibility that goes into them...or there should be.
Growing up surrounded by animals has been a joy for me. From infancy with my parents St. Bernard's, to fish in grade school, and a dog in high school, to a stray cat that adopted us, and finally to my very own puppy as an adult (not to mention the various wounded or abandoned animals I brought home along the way), animals of every variety have had a place in my heart.
But there is a difference between making sure that the fish has clean water and food, and the dog that needs training, playtime, walks, food and baths to be a normal well adjusted pet. And those responsibilities are not for everyone of all ages.
Especially around holiday times, there is a large uptick in adoptions and purchases of rabbits, cats, and dogs - and that is really disturbing to me. Pets aren't gifts, they are relationships, responsibilities, and above all should not be considered disposable (like we think of many gifts we receive these days)! And there is a huge disconnect when animals are treated and considered as objects rather than as the creations that they are. I suppose that this has been rattling around in my head for a while because of a teenage girl I see walking a chocolate lab in the park every night. She is always deeply engrossed in her phone, paying no attention to the dog, and walking him on a long leash where he pretty much goes wherever he wants. Now as a general rule I'm down for giving your dog the space to enjoy his nightly walk, the problem is that this dog is aggressive. He lunges at other dogs, stares down passing pedestrians, and has mental issues about skateboards - all completely unobserved until the fit starts by his teenager. Now, everybody has a different style of pet ownership, and I accept that. I know that there are really rigid pet parents, really lax pet parents, and those that fall somewhere in the middle (like me). But when people say things like "that's just a bad dog, it should be put down!" or "don't you know pit bulls are too dangerous for families?" or "that cat is a menace! Why don't you get rid of it?" my first instinct is to say "well you're socially insensitive, why don't I get rid of you?"! Somewhere along the line, we, as a society, decided that it was easier to shift the blame for an ill mannered pet to the animal instead of the owner. Absolving the human of any harm inflicted on the animal by poor training, a lack of appropriate stimulation or socialization, and transferred it all to the unsuspecting and poorly prepared animal! What a disservice we do to not only the animal but also to teaching our children about responsibilities to others (human AND animal)! Percy and I had to work really hard to get him to the 85% well behaved dog he is now, and we still work on the other 15% due to stressful changes and parental inconsistencies. I know that my dog's behavior is DIRECTLY related to the work we do together to address his issues. It is my fault, not his, when he tears out into the yard to bark at passing dogs and people. It is my fault when he chews things up in the house because I left trash out, or didn't leave him something to do while I was gone, and I take responsibility for that. Percy is a good dog, with a somewhat permissive owner...and it shows. But he is mine, and I love him, and I will work with him to make him into the best dog I can...every day...even when he is stubborn, and distracted, and grumpy. Because he is a reflection of me, and definitely not expendable or returnable! ...Nature girl
I think at this point everyone has heard the phrase "selfie"; The kind of picture you take of yourself with a cellphone or camera. It also ranks right up there in the useless verbiage column with "twerk" and "fo shizzle".
Now, to be clear, my problem is not with the word, or the people who use it/do it, but with the attitude behind it. I have the same problem with Twitter, and Instagram. The idea that people need to know (implied: want to know) what we are doing all the time, and see us doing it is such an over share of information!
Incessant picture taking is kinda my thing, I love to take pictures to remember who I was with and what I did and I even like sharing those pictures on places like Facebook! But unlike this guy...I am completely aware of my surroundings when I do it.
Listening to his iPod and trying to take a pouty, emo, photo to show off his "coolness" he almost ends up with a hole in his head from a passing train!
It seems that we, as a society (and I am not excluding myself here), are so concerned with what others think of us, that we have to prove something....even when we are all alone. I have no idea why, or when, we became so self conscious and desperate for outside validation but here we are, mired in this destructive cycle.
You can't imagine how shocked I was to find that not only is the general populace afflicted with this need for reassurance, but so is our supposed commander in chief and VP, Obama and Biden! Now, Obama has been taking selfies since he plugged in to social networking, this is not new news but now, it is showing up on my FB timeline as if it is something to be proud of and bragged about. That we have the "cool" president.
When my cousin joined the police academy he mentioned something sort of in passing and it has stuck with me (forgive me Brad, I will have to paraphrase because I don't remember your exact words...and if I get it wrong, blame me!), he said: If you end up on tv, as a cop, in an unnecessary gunfight or giving interviews and being a personality...you aren't doing your job properly. The job is protection, not fame.
I can't help but think that we have lost his sense of clarity and purpose, especially in the leadership and people of this country. If our concern is for how others perceive our actions, instead of the real ramifications of said actions, then we are doing it wrong.
We have lost the plot of leading lives that we can be proud of.
I never really understood the question "What do you want to do with your life?". I realize now that I never really heard the question. I wanted to grow up and have friends, be liked, and have a family. I wanted to be in the medical field, and be successful, but not rich. I got asked that question a lot, and never really realized that people weren't asking how I wanted to be thought of, they were asking what I wanted to produce, what footprints I wanted to leave in life, how I wanted to live!
Now when I think of that question I love it; it's a challenge to me. It's reminding me that my actions have reactions and cause events in other people's lives...good and bad. It reminds me that people will think whatever they want to, and that doesn't change my goals, for my life. I don't want to be famous, I want to live a life that spreads blessings, big and little.
There should be a periodic gut check to everyone on the globe to make sure we are not letting other people make our decisions for us. That we are living honorable, productive, purposeful lives, geared toward bettering ourselves and those around us. Undisturbed...as much as possible...by deceit, shortcuts, social fronts, false or shallow reinforcements (Not to say that people don't need reinforcement, they just need it from people who actually care), and self aggrandizement.
Let's re-learn modesty, persistence, grace, and honesty, so that we can stop seeking outside affirmations...and taking selfies.
Now that you all have a song from The Sound of Music stuck in your heads, I want to walk you through a few of my favorite things, products, places....whatever. Mostly because I'm trying to figure out what makes me really happy.
There are things and places and people that everyone loves, but in this world where everything is a "favorite", "best" or "have to have"; how many of us know what our real favorites are? I've been thinking about this today, because I balanced my check book today...something I hate doing and it got me thinking. See, I love walking in parks and harbors, they just make me relax. I adore ice cream on cold days so I can eat it burried in a blanket. I love baking, and crafting, and seeing my pup run so fast it's like he never touches the ground. I love baths, books, thunderstorms, and little kid birthday parties. I love coffee dates with girlfriends, and midnight shakes and chili fries at Harbor House, and my heart will pause for the sound and smell of rain. But to narrow it down to the things I really love, left me a little confused as to what to leave out, so I established some parameters. First, it had to be a guaranteed happy result...100% of the time. Second, it had to be one of those things that you are down to do anytime it is brought up. Third, I have to have a specific memory attached to it (if it was good enough to make a memory for me I know it was great!) So with these criteria, I came up with these "favorite things"...in no kind of order at all. Walking in Dana Point Harbor...right before sunset. It's a small window, but in it, but the air changes, the people are out with their dogs, and you can hear the "ting ting ting" of rigging clips hitting the aluminum masts on the sail boats. The smell of the waves on the breakwater is crisp and salty on your lips and life is suddenly very simple...and sweet. Impromptu meet ups with friends. That beautiful point at which your schedule and your friend's free up for 30 minutes at the same time. It's like a gift from heaven, and you can sit down and have coffee or tea, or just sit and talk! For those precious minutes, the only thing that matters is to laugh and talk and be present. There are no bills, no calls to make, no appointments to be at, no stress about work, and no troubles that can't be fixed with a latte or a hug. A blank piece of paper. The possibilities that are contained in a piece of paper are miraculous! It could become a paper airplane, origami, a sheet of scribbles, a love note, or the start of a novel. It could be a cup where you pour your secrets, or a wadded up ball to play with the dog! The immense possibility contained within a new pad of paper, a notebook, or a sheet of copy paper are delightful and a joy to discover! There are a handful more of my favorites, but I'm going to stop this before I get too far from the point that I am trying to make. Sit quietly for a minute and think about what really brings you joy. There are millions of things that we fill our lives with, because we think our lives need filling! If we could all just cut away the filler and really look at the things that bring JOY, not just temporary fun, I think we just might be a little more balanced. ...Nature girl
