Elephants Under The Rug

Did you know?

When you have too many elephants under the rug, it becomes rather an all consuming task. It will take so much of your energy to keep them under there.

You’ll become accustomed to doing it. However, you won’t realize how much life you’re missing, often until so many years later.

Elephant maintenance will take up so much of your energy. When difficult things happen, you won’t have any energy left to handle them. When someone tries to fool you, they’ll be able to take you in easily. All of your energy is going toward those elephants.

A better way of handling it is to take all the rugs outside. Put them over the porch railing. Come back inside and sweep the floor.

Then, you make tea for yourself and the elephants. Have lovely, in depth conversations with the elephants. Talk about everything. Be fearless, even when the subjects trigger you.

Have tea with the elephants on a regular basis, several times a week.

Over time you will notice something interesting. Some of the elephants, despite remaining large, will suddenly seem entirely less impressive and frightening to you. Others will change into bunnies. They will sit there having tea with you looking absolutely adorable. Some others may turn into sparrows and fly out the door when you go out to get groceries.

Soon, you will find that you have room in your life for something other than the elephants. 

You can do whatever you’d like with the rugs. They’re only decorative now. You have a lot more freedom in your life now that you’re not on elephant maintenance duty so much.

Neighborhood Walk

 Going for a walk while its rush hour is more challenging than I expected.  I'll be careful, getting hit by a car isn't on my list of things to do.

The sky has been greying all day, and it's deliciously cool out, despite it being almost mid-June.  I'm not a fan of summer.   As I walk along, yarrow and purple clover nod at me from the side of the road.  The Congregational Church looks beautiful, and peaceful as always.  It makes me smile when I look at it.  I was doing some genealogy work a few months back and went down a rabbit hole in Millbury and Sutton.  One of the delightful things I read about was the history of this church I've lived so close to for decades.

The fence bordering the river is old and rusty.  Behind it, I see remnants of what an older fence might be, with huge iron rings hammered deeply into huge boulders.  I wonder who put them there, what did the neighborhood look like that day?  It must have been hard work.

Climbing nightshade makes her way through the fence.  I pause to listen to the birds, trying to identify who is around, but the traffic is too loud.  Finally, during a brief lull I pick up on a Red Winged Blackbird, a Cardinal and a Song Sparrow.

Time to cross the street again to the pond.  I swear, it seems like some of these people speed up when they see a pedestrian crossing.

There are at least 20 geese at the pond.  I tell them I won't bother them.  Keeping my promise, I stay far enough away to not disturb their little gathering.  There are shadows on the water and a mist over the pond.  I take a few pictures of the pond and sneak one of the geese.

There's some fleabane by the path to the water.  Another Red Winged Blackbird and a Grey Catbird are the soloists just now.

I notice some raindrops on my glasses. I tell the geese goodbye and thank them for letting me enjoy the pond with them.  I walk toward the road, and all 20 heads turn to watch me.   I look both ways, all clear!   Moments later, a maniac driving super-fast in a pickup truck appears out of nowhere and almost kills me.

I get to the sidewalk and he's long gone, so my swearing falls on deaf ears.  The geese are all still staring.  "I'm OK guys, it's all good. I travel with protection" I tell them.  They finally return to the edge of the water.

I don't really mind the light rain as I make my way home.  The rosa multiflora down by the water smells so good, I stop and just inhale for a moment.  Somewhere nearby I can hear Grackles being loud, in their little travelling bird gang.  I'm sure they'll be at my backyard feeders before long.

One last crossing to get back to the house.  Two cars, once in each direction actually stop and let me cross.  I think I might faint from shock!  The buttercups by the front wall are a spot of sunshine in this day that is given to the peace of the clouds and rain. 

I take a moment on the bench out front before going in the house. I think of all the living and working that has happened in this neighborhood as I look at the now empty Steelcraft building across the street. I'm looking forward to finding my notebook and recording all the plants and birds I encountered today.

The next time, I decide I'll bring my binoculars, and my notebook, maybe even an umbrella.....Wait, hold on.  I only have two hands, and I'm getting carried away.

Time to go make dinner.

I take one last deep breath of the sweet, mossy scent of this beautiful day, and inside I go!

Be A Dandelion

 In this world

When things are dark 

And evil pretends to be holy

The dandelion shows the way

Grow stubbornly and persistently

Even when they try and stop you

Show up everywhere you choose to

Regardless of who thinks it's appropriate 

Be brightly joyful and celebrate life 

Despite the attempts to make you see only fear

Let the seeds of your one beautiful, singular life 

Spread near and far

Wherever the wind may take them 

Always remember 

In the end 

"Weed Killer" always loses

The dandelion is CREATION

CREATION is everywhere

BE A DANDELION 

 

Shiny

Everything is so shiny and sterile these days. 

Does that mean I can’t re-use cookie tins, jelly jars and coffee cans?

Wait…coffee cans?  Somehow I doubt used coffee pods are good for much.

I remember lots of people made nail holders by attaching Gerber baby food jars to a board. So many garages and sheds had collections of those.

Anyone else eat breakfast cereal out of those margarine bowls made to be reused?

We repurposed so many things. 

Feels like so much these days is designed for single use, then toss away.

I miss that simpler time.