The  American Indian daily emails I receive had one subject this week about learning from Nature and about how it is when we stray from Nature and focus on other worldly things that we lose site of how to live…

I’m probably out in left field here, but, after the rains this week, I was so glad to see that the banks of the ponds and lakes were back up again, that the water level was higher and that …..

and then I thought about all of the birds, frogs, turtles, whatever, who may have built nests in the reeds and grassy marshes while the water level was low.

This thinking stemmed from the recent video clip of a movie, which showed the actors (Tom Hanks and that other guy who plays many roles…) talking about the Zen Buddhist…   That story where the family gets a horse and the town thinks how lucky they are to have a horse, and the Zen Buddhist says something like “we’ll see”.   And then the son falls off of the horse and breaks a leg and the town thinks how unlucky/sad it is that the son’s leg is broken and the Zen Buddhist repeats the “we’ll see” sentiment…  and, of course, the kicker…a war breaks out and the son is not called into battle because his leg is broken…

And yet, even when watching Nature, it’s something that has to be done with KNOWLEDGE or discernment or something…otherwise, it may just seem that Nature is cruel and heartless…

This week there was a bird’s nest blown from a tree during Nature’s rain and storms.   Last year I saw a baby blue jay who probably died after being blown from a nest during a freak storm…the little thing was alive when I saw it, but by the time I went back with something to contain it so I could take it (WHERE???) some place safe, it was gone…

Sometimes…it appears that life just SUCKS.

And then I remind myself that “there is a reason”.

But, what the hell reason could there be for nests flooding or being blown from a perfectly good tree branch??

I guess, at some point, you just have to BE LIKE THE BUNNY and wiggle your nose and go find a carrot.   Can’t dwell on anything too long.

P.S.   The “message” of this post may not hit you right away…but there is a LOT being said.    Maybe pretend that you’re back in junior high, and you’ve just been assigned this piece as homework…you are to find 4 messages and write a paragraph on each.  What would you come up with?

Just wanted to say it out loud again…ok.  PRINT it out loud.

In everything, give thanks.

Thank you.

Create a blog for Villages1.com and discovered what Categories are and how to use them…so…somewhere down the road will be revisiting all of my previous 202 posts and assigning them to categories.   This will make it easier for visitors to my blog.  You know who you are.

LOL.

There is a personality, a rather nasty one, who takes over on occasion.   Cruella is a very good name for the entity…

I’ve never been a perfectly patient person.   Oh, I can often fake being patient.   And, I do.   I also STRIVE to be patient, to be kind, to be nice.

But there are moments, moments which I look back on and CRINGE…those times when someone inadvertently, and unknowingly, risks their life and limb by asking me to do something I am not prepared to do, or something I don’t want to do, or something I’d rather not do, especially when I’m tired and feeling under the weather and don’t want to be bothered.

While sick with a cold this past week, I was asked by the Walmart attendant to produce a receipt for the carton of Mountain Dew at the bottom of the shopping cart I happened to be pushing out of the store.   The Mountain Dew was not my purchase, and the receipt for it was out in front of Walmart with the true owner who was smoking a cigarette.   I gave the attendant my receipt, explained that the other person was outside smoking, but I guess I looked so bad that she must have believed that I WOULD steal the Mountain Dew and so, while she held the cart hostage, I was forced to go retrieve the smoker’s receipt.   I wasn’t very pleasant when I shoved it towards her.  And IMMEDIATELY I felt horrible for having done so.

WHO WAS THIS PERSON THAT IS ME???   And, where do I hide now that I’ve shown my Cruella persona?   I make it a priority, USUALLY, to be nice to people, pleasant, smiling, friendly.   Am I faking??   Am I really a hideous person?

I left the store, but came back in to apologize…the attendant was on a break.  I explained to the person taking her place that I had been rude and I felt terrible about it, and that I wanted to make amends.    The kind person assured me that he would pass the message along.

I could relate more of these displays…but I think facing and mentioning one is more than enough for the moment.

There is an email that is passed around quite often…I’ve even printed it out and it’s hanging on my wall…I really love the message, here it is for posterity –>

“May today there be peace within. May you  trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget  the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.  May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has  been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.  Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom  to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of  us.”

I wonder why it is that I can’t REMEMBER it when I need it.

Actually I know why…it is because I DO NOT PRACTICE!!!   In order for the NICE PERSON I WANT TO BE to be who I am, I have to PRACTICE the sentiment of the quote.   I want to meditate more.   Perhaps sitting and repeating this quote is a good place to start.

Sigh.

Just watched Michael Moore’s 2009 Documentary/Movie on Capitalism…it’s surprising to me how LITTLE I know about so many events that have occurred in our country.  I mean the kind like the “Bank Robbers of America” strike for the workers who were not going to be paid the money due them because of Bank of America shutting down the place where they worked.   Obama backed them, and the rest of the local country supported them with food during the strike.  Eventually each worker was given $6K, or thereabouts.    It seemed a bit like the Egyptian revolt, without the killing and bloodshed.   I also liked the part where the family moved back into their OWN HOME after being evicted by the sheriff, where the town SUPPORTED them in returning to their OWN HOME in order to keep the value of ALL the homes in the area from continuing to decline.  Nine patrol cars were sent to back the bank, but the rally to support the people who had been living in a truck for a week won out, and 6 hours later the bank representative and the patrol cars left the area.   At the end of the movie, the credits revealed that the family is STILL living in their OWN HOME.  It was interesting to learn about the SECOND BILL OF RIGHTS proposed by Franklin Roosevelt shortly before his death ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwUL9tJmypI - I hope the video is still available for viewing! ).     DEAD PEASANTS INSURANCE!!!  Really??   Is this insurance SHARED with the family who ALSO loses a valuable “member” of the “family”?   Keep making movies, Michael!!   And, keep DOing SOMETHING!!   And, while I’m at it…love this effort too –> Capitalism Did This!

There is a GORGEOUS FULL MOON outside right now, the air is crisp and clear and it’s quiet here in The Villages.  IF there is ever a place to be poor, to be one of the not rich masses, this is the place.  I recognized this fact, again, this morning…what a beautiful day this turned out to be.  82.  Blue skies.   The strife of the Middle East, the plight of the homeless in our Nation, the rampant unemployment…distant today, at least on the surface.   Found out today that one of The Villagers, a male retired senior citizen, who routinely adorned the golf course, daily…he’s working now.   Not by choice.   Forced to get a job to support his wife and himself.   It’s by grace that we have the moon and the sun and the blue skies…the balmy breezes, the greens of the golf courses and the active retirement lifestyle…all of the rest that life has to offer is also here in Paradise.   But we don’t have to focus on it here, there’s just too much more to be happy about.   Thank heavens.

Over a week ago, I learned of the reality of relationships as well.   Those stories I’ve heard told about The Villages and the rampant STD’s and all the rest, I’ve never seen that side.   Never witnessed the nastiness, the humanness of daily life, not here, not in The Villages.   But, last week, I met a man who loves to dance as much as I do.   He even offered to “make a great dancer” out of me, said I have what it takes to become a “great dancer”.  He told me that he didn’t mind my talking, said he liked that I expressed myself.   He said he didn’t mind that I’m not a “fashionista” (sp?) and that make-up and hair color aren’t necessary.  I can’t remember all of the other RED FLAGS of the evening, but I did write an email to a couple of my women friends describing the evening and mentioning how UNREAL the evening had been.   I left Katie Belle’s feeling like Cinderella, wearing the shiny new dancing shoes…it was on the way back to the house that I experienced reality settling in…talk about “too good to be true”…   I received a phone call, yeah, I had given him my number…I love to dance and here was someone offering to teach me all the right moves (I had a wonderful time learning during my first dance lessons that night).   Anyway, after I heard the phrase “the trouble with ….” the 6 or 7th time, and after I had repeated that the reason I had left the dancing was to come home to finish some work I needed to complete again, I KNEW that my instincts, albeit secondary instincts, had been right.   I never heard from this guy again, but did get a call from a friend of mine a couple of days later.   It turns out that this guy is a tad psycho…doesn’t take rejection well, is stalking his last girlfriend who hides in the ladies room when she sees him coming…   We girls have been warned about PRINCE CHARMING in recent movies…I’ve been living in the bubble that is life in The Villages for so long, I never saw him coming.   I have it on good authority that he’s lost my phone number.   Thank heavens.

With the tightening of the belt, I’ve been taking less Nutriferon than normal…the usual one a day has become one every three days…have to spread them out.   It is usually after some really emotional event, this time it was a thumb drive, with ALL of my recent paying work on it, that went south.   My last backup, Jan 24, even though I specifically indicated a FULL backup…didn’t include either of the thumb drives on the PC.   A side note, the backup was begun when I realized a tornado might be tearing our world apart and it had been at least a month since the last backup.  ANYWAY, losing all of the data, paying $45 to have it recovered, receiving a cd with 3.5MB of data only to find out that the PUB files weren’t readable by Microsoft Publisher…sort of made me sick internally.   And, sure enough, within three to four days, I was down for nearly a week with a nasty bug of some sort.   Thought it was a cold, but read in the paper yesterday that the Oak trees are spreading pollen everywhere and that a lot of people are allergic and that sometimes cold and allergy symptoms are exactly the same.  Whatever it was, it’s nearly over.  Thank heavens.

Let’s see, what else?   Would that I could, be something I’m not, I could be living the life of luxury.   Instead, I’m just living.   For anyone reading this, I KNOW WHAT I MEAN.   Maybe you might understand…maybe not.   Enough said.

I am craving the opportunity to sit in a dark theater, watching romantic comedies (YES, more than one at a time), watching Colin Firth movies, watching funny children’s movies (NO 3D THANK YOU VERY MUCH…WHY?  WHY? does it have to BE THIS WAY???).  

I’m one class away from being a CERTIFIED CERT team member!   While I was sick I chose to stay home for the day of  the CPR class, the only day I missed.  THANKFULLY, that class is taught many times, so it’s just a matter of attending and then I can pick up my badge and my certificate and my very OWN CERT bag full of emergency items to be used to aid my fellow Villagers in the event of any kind of emergency.   Today we had a mock drill and we assessed and provided support to mock victims…it was a rush!!

I completed the 2010 tax returns of 5 Villagers last week, another rush.   Was sick this week, but will be back at Colony again next week to tackle the task once again.

I tried to give blood two weeks ago, only a small amount before my vein decided enough was enough and stopped donating.   Since I found myself ill nearly 5 days later, perhaps Mother Nature knew best??   Will try again in 8 more weeks.

My friend, a previous breast cancer survivor of 4 years, found out that she may have to go through the whole process again…she spent the Christmas Holidays waiting to hear the results of her biopsies…she’s since found out that the cancer has returned and she was operated on the day before yesterday.   Thankfully, she has family and friends to support her.  She’s a survivor.   YOU GO GIRL!!!

It’s a wonderful day in The Villages.

Take it or leave it.