Soul Nudge...

Ran across a FaceBook post this week that, I think, is an important reminder that we need to be nice to each other. The anonymous writer of the story used the term "soul nudge" -- the feeling that you must simply reach out to someone because you sense that they need you. You have no idea why they need you, but you get this feeling that you simply must reach out in some kind way.  As my wonderful Mom used to say -- be nice to people.  You never know what they are going through ... you never know what is in the bags of rocks that they carry with them -- rocks you cannot see, and... we all have our own bag. Remember that.  Then a few days later, a friend of mine recounted to me her experience in a check-out line at the local grocery store in which an exceedingly mean person in front of her in line was giving the clerk an exceedingly miserable experience.  Seriously... it's enough. And so -- this blog emerges...  "Soul Nudge".

Am thinking that I am not alone these days is finding myself in a world that has turned upside down a bit. Current events across the world are alarming. I check in with news about twice a day always wondering what new horror is emerging -- all the while hoping that something - anything- might be going right. I keep wondering how things could get worse ... and then they do.  Some days it is hard to maintain my optimistic view of life. I know there have been other times throughout history with great worldwide challenges. Perhaps this is just our time to face a few and see what we are made of. I guess the pandemic wasn't enough of a lesson. Then, on top of it all, there are the personal challenges we all have as well.  It’s exhausting. 

It is in this world of today where I am feeling the soul nudge the strongest.  I think others feel it too.  Hope so. I do see that some are giving other people some space to find their way through these times.  Then again -- others -- not so much. There is too much intolerance (and worse) across the board. Meanness abounds, let along even bigger "things". What harm would a bit of tolerance and kindness do? People need other people.  We are all in these times together no matter who or of what beliefs we are.

“Our life evokes our character.” (I so love these words of Joseph Campbell.) I personally feel that we should listen to and trust the "soul nudge".  ... even something as easy to give as a smile can change someone's day.  It's not a little thing. My mom also used to say that you cannot change or fix the problems of the world, but you can reach out to those you are able to touch. I am thinking that is her version of the "soul nudge". That woman definitely had a certain special wisdom.

Dust balls, spider webs, dirty windows, and ... my friend Margaret...

It's that time of year.  Spring is here  -- or at least that is what the calendar says.   The winter sun has changed ... intensified ... brightened somehow, and, once in a while, shines piercingly through dirty windows, highlighting spiderwebs and dust balls, as if the time change isn't enough of an insult to one's way of life.  Here come thoughts of Spring cleaning ...  ugh. The good thing though, for those of us in NW Pennsylvania, is that it is also time to put the screens back in, open the windows, and let fresh air inside (if it isn't snowing) - after months of the house being closed up tightly to survive the cold and ... the heat bills.  

I eagerly await for the lawn and pasture to "firm up" a bit -- still too soggy to really work outside even with Muck boots, but ... there is the holding promise of warmer days. You see -- here's the thing. I would rather work outside than inside... although, I do enjoy a clean house.  I am a picker up of sticks more than a chaser of the ever returning "dust bunny".  I prefer the light manual labor of outside. I hire out the big stuff or ignore it as much as possible.  As for inside, I have all the necessary tools for the essential chores in order to get them done as simply and quickly as possible... including an ever faithful Roomba for under the beds. Yes... it is outside for me -- where I can wander about and take my time with things after several months of being inside in front of the fireplace. I am a fresh air kind of person.

Further -- must mention.... I also have my good olde friend, Margaret, to help out with the annual cleanup of the lawn and pasture.  Margaret is a 2007 Trail Hand Bush Hog vehicle with an automatic dumper. She rests in my small barn all winter just waiting patiently under her tarp.  She is bright red. Her cargo bed will tolerate 1000 lbs. or so.  She is a hard worker. I can load up my battery operated saws and trimmers, pile assorted rakes and my Grandpa's Weeder into her cargo bed, take off into the back pasture or around the yard and Margaret makes light work of it all.  Good olde Margaret.  Don't know what I would do without her.  She doesn't go too fast like the side-by-sides of today... just sort of fast enough to get the job done and for the pre-drivers license grand to drive around too. She is a multi-purpose vehicle for sure. It's almost time.  Am looking forward to it. 

Happy Spring....   May the sun shine on you. I wish you gentle breezes as you go about your days.

Blessings in time...

I am blessed beyond my dreams and among my many blessings are three grandchildren ages 26, 17 and 13.  The thing is -- I don't understand.... How did they get to be so grown up so quickly?  It's remarkable. I look at them and still see them as children in my heart memories and yet -- they are not. It seems that it happened all of a sudden. I need to catch up. I had the same perplexing situation over time with my own children. Suddenly they are married, parents and ... poof... the years fly.  Wonderful, interesting and fun people all.  Like I said -- blessed beyond....

Was chatting with my granddaughter the other day and she asked me if I would like the viewpoint of a 13 year old. She was most serious about this. I responded that I would indeed like that, and I listened very carefully to her insightful perspective and realized, once again, how observant and smart she is.  My 26 yr old grandson called me from his car to check on me recently -- how nice is that? He was driving from Terre Haute, Indiana (where he lives) to some place in Illinois and took the time to call me. (I don't see him very often, so the call was especially welcomed.) Then a few days later my newly 17 year old grandson stopped in to do a few things for me that I probably (definitely) could have done myself but didn't want to... he stayed to chat a bit and didn't even seem to be in a hurry to be off.  Among other outstanding and positive traits, he has the most wonderful smile and ... shares it - something not always common at that age. Trust me. I know this having worked with teenagers for decades. Yes... I am blessed.  I am reminded in these memories that all moments of connection are important... each and every single one of them.

Time passes so quickly.  We all know that. We also all know that we need to cherish each day, each conversation, each shared moment, each blessing... gifts all. I am thinking that you, too, are thankful for your many blessings in time. It is those small moments of connection that are caught in memory. I also am thinking and reminding myself that it is important to share gratitude.  

 

" Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." (William Arthur Ward)

A lovely couple...

I guess I missed winter this year.  I only remember about three snows of any significance.  Odd.  I don't trust it.  It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. "In like a lion, out like a lamb" - only the other way around. Anyone who lives around here gets that.  No one in this corner of snow country trusts a light winter. We have seen snowflakes in June.

Here's the thing.  Mr. and Mrs. Goose have returned to my neighbor's pond... a sure sign of Spring.  I have been watching this lovely couple since 2018. They fly in sometime at the end of February or beginning of March, gently land, and stay about a week before heading north.  I like to think that they are resting up before flying over Lake Erie on their way to their summer home in Canada.  They spend a week here floating around and flying back and forth between what I call my horse pond on the east side of my pasture and the neighbor's pond right next to my driveway on the west side.  They are peaceful, gentle and absolutely beautiful creatures. They are the only two geese I have ever seen land on either pond and then hang around. They just rest, float, and relax. They ignore me. I am not offended by this even though I speak to them every day.

There is, however, a new concern now that there are bald eagles nearby (a nest just down the road), I hold my breath that the geese will have a safe and uneventful trip north.  The bald eagles are majestic and wonderful creatures as well, but not nearly as kind as geese. It is survival of the fittest... sort of like my whole yard, pasture, garden and the current status of my few remaining house plants.  And so it goes....