Feb 24, 2011

Fish and Falling Snow

This morning, I was pleasantly surprised by falling snow; snow that stuck around for a little while, even though it wasn't a lot of it. I took photos, wrote poetry, then it began to melt. By 10 AM, it was half-gone, and by now, there are barely any traces left.
Yesterday there was snow three times and a good little hailing as I worked at a friend's place to tidy things in her yard. Nothing stuck but the cleaning that got done. Then later, leaving my growth group, it was once more snowing yet not sticking.
Today was the second time anything has stuck all winter where I live, while many others around the city have seen it several times. I guess I just chose a great place to live for those who don't like snow. Thing is, I'm one of the people who enjoy it tremendously, so... as cocks crowed and crows cawed and cars crunched through the silently falling field of white this morning I was thankful. Thankful that though there wasn't much snow, there WAS some. Thankful that there was enough to whet the appetites of those of us who enjoy it but not so much that people couldn't get around or that they missed work because of an overload of it.
I got to thinking how much I enjoy snow but also about some of the other seasons' delights... below is a poem I wrote a few years ago during one such moment of delight...

Ripples

Ripples criss-cross
The waters of the slow river
Trout and salmon jump
In loops through the air
The light gleaming off
Of their iridescent skins,
Catching rainbows
Momentarily, into the air,
Surrounded by the ripples
Of splash-down as the
Trout and the salmon
Continue on their way.

Snowy Morning










Feb 14, 2011

Valentine's Day

I know it's been a while since I've posted on here, things being busy in my life of late. I just wanted to wish everyone out there a wonderful St. Valentine's Day/ Singles Awareness Day. How are you celebrating?

Feb 3, 2011

Choice and Toleration

So, it's been a while since I posted, and life has been interesting of late.

The good news is that most of the life changes I've been working on have come to fruition. Medical tests, poetry submissions, and all...

Some of you know I've removed a lot of the tolerations from my life by now. Just a few more to go, which are the ones most difficult - hence saved for the last. But I think we all have at least a few tolerations we don't have much choice doing totally away with... the ones we know will never change but that have to stay in our lives. This is when it is time to change our paradigms instead. People will not change until we change, and even still, they may not. The thing that might change is that they are removed from our lives if our paradigms don't fit together well enough to coincide and walk together through life anymore.

Case in point... the four friends I was closest to as a child, and the four I was closest to as a teenager were totally different from each other and even more-so this is true today. The eight I mention from earlier years have not really grown up - at least from what I can tell - into people I'd want to have in my life, which is sad but the truth. There are no words to describe how I wish they had continued changing and becoming well-rounded individuals who are good for society, and a couple of them might be... the six I know about, however, are lacking in this arena greatly, and all I can do is hope for them from a distance. If they were in my life, I would be tolerating what I know isn't couth about how they are living. Even though I wish they were there, in my life, I know they would be toxic and extremely unhealthy for me.

The same can be said in your life. Who do you just tolerate? The people whose actions speak louder than their words and where those actions say "danger" or "toxic" or "wow, really???" The people who you know will egg you on or jack you up or treat you lesser for whatever their reasons are. The people who, when you see them or they call you, you internally cringe. But is it really the people themselves?

No.

It's their actions, and until and unless THOSE change, the people carrying the actions represent to you a toleration. Something you are putting up with but that you really don't need to. You can choose to keep them in your life, or to remove them from your life; you can choose to change yourself or to sit down for a talk about the behavior and see how things unfold. You have a choice. And sometimes that choice, if they are people you MUST have in your life for some reason, is to change your own paradigm because they will never change.

You can change how YOU respond or interact with them by choosing a different way. You can CHOOSE what to say or not say, do or not do. You can CHOOSE. What will you choose?