Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Writing is Therapeutic: "Our Ponderosa"


Writing is therapeutic, so I try to write nearly every day. It allows me to express emotions and release pent-up feelings; reflect upon a situation and solve problems; or recall precious memories and create moments of happiness when the going gets tough. I invite you to join me in recalling and writing your memories. Write with me and post excerpts in the "comments" section of this website or start a journal of your own which might one day become a memoir or novel. Feel free to comment or ask questions. What follows is my journal entry for January, 2014 titled, "Our Ponderosa."

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My brother didn’t know, but he helped to raise a Vulcan, a tiny shemale who had no sense of self nor well-being, nor any ego to speak of, just a drive toward perfection, the only reason she was born human in the first place. This is how I sometimes felt, and sometimes, I try but fail to imagine what my life would be without my "four-eyed" brother who had to hold a book four inches from his face in order to read.Yet, he managed to help grow a girl who helped grow a family.

I grew up in a large, white, wood-frame house, a house that could have been situated anywhere in the world but was located in the lower Midwest. It was surrounded by vegetation—hedge bushes on both sides of the house, a large elm tree in the front yard which also provided shade for the neighbors on hot summer days; a pecan tree in the middle of the back yard, a mulberry bush, and fruit trees, including two apple trees, a peach tree, and a pear tree; and different types of flowers—daylilies, crocus, gladiolas, petunias, four-o’clocks, periwinkles, morning glories, marigolds, honeysuckle, and roses of every color and size -- growing wild along the fence or planted in flower beds. In the middle of the backyard was a concrete fish pond filled with speckled, bobble-headed goldfish. Beyond the backyard gate was Truman Elementary School, situated on a hill overlooking a park with a playground, basketball court, and two baseball diamonds.  Each summer, we watched little-league and men's baseball tournaments right from our backyard fence.

It was a large, nine-room house that allowed us to run through every room without stopping. It had been built especially for the housing developer and his family, so it was the best landscaped house in the neighborhood and the largest. When my father took his pregnant wife and five children to see it for the first time, he was brimming with pride. I’ll never forget the smile on his face as he embraced our mother who smiled and snuggled approvingly. The house was located next to the corner lot across the street from the white section of town. We didn't know we were encroaching, and for a while we played with the white children who lived across the street, sometimes sitting curbside underneath the streetlamp until suppertime. We didn't know at the time, but this big, white house and its landscape became our Ponderosa (to be continued).

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Acceptance or Forgiveness?







In the past, when I tried to recall personal situations that required forgiveness, I got a headache, but I could think of many situations that required “acceptance.” After struggling with the concept of “forgiveness” and getting nowhere, one day I decided I can only forgive after I accept. 

Acceptance has been explained in many ways, but I like the explanation offered by Mark Nepo via video posted on YouTube, where Oprah sits and talks with the poet and philosopher regarding his book. Based on this conversation, “acceptance” is “going with the flow,” like being in a body of water, feeling the current of the water, and adapting to that flow despite obstacles, hardships, or heartaches. 

My spiritual beliefs are based on ebb and flow, so the concept is easy for me to accept. According to Mark Nepo, it’s up to us to allow hardships to flow “through us,” rather than push against them. Acceptance is not surrender or helplessness. It’s a conscious act of allowing ourselves to experience the emotions caused by a negative experience and then let them go, making sure we don’t get stuck in the past. Also, we must determine how to learn from our negative experiences in order to use them for our personal growth. Going against the tide or nurturing feelings of helplessness can cause us to drown in misery.  

After much contemplation, I have decided this: I don’t know how to forgive, but I know how to accept and go with the flow in order to overcome hurt feelings and emotional setbacks initiated by others but maintained by me. Acceptance allows me to keep moving forward, far from the scene of an accident, crime or tragedy, leaving every shred of evidence behind—people, places, and emotional attachment to the negativity. 

 "Acceptance" leads to positive thinking because it allows us to express emotions without getting stuck in a bad moment. While forgiveness can be complicated, acceptance only requires the will to move on. I think I am able to accept, and maybe one day I’ll truly know what it means to forgive and forget. Meanwhile, there’s something liberating about going with the flow.

 

 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

I could plant a garden in the wintertime.



Happy New Year, 2014!

So many possible resolutions, so little time! What difference can I make? What could I change?



·        I could lose weight (but I like hotdogs & chips and totally hate gyms).

·        I could adopt or foster a child (but my patience is short).

·        I could volunteer at a homeless shelter, a pet shelter, or somewhere else but...or

·        I could plant a garden in the wintertime.



Yes, that’s what I’ll do.