Hi….how are you today?
That’s a loaded question isn’t it! But from time to time, it is good to pause and take a breather. We’re all in a right pickle at the moment. Some are feeling up the creek without a paddle. Some are overwhelmed by anxiety and are juggling more than they can manage.
There is a saying…SHARING IS CARING. Each week we take some time to read the SHARE-YOUR-WORLD posts from other bloggers and to work on our own. It’s a good chance to take a breather and think about other members of our human family and what they are going through. As most of you know SHARE-YOUR-WORLD is hosted by Melanie the creator of sparksfromacombustiblemind, who provided us with this week’s questions in the following post:
https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2020/08/31/share-your-world-8-31-2020/
I am losing track of time. Somehow, I totally forgot that yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday. It also somehow escaped my notice that the children are starting out back at school today, or at some point this week. I seem to be living in a time warp!
Time! Time can do so much! I spent a very lovely week with family recently and since then I have been in a reflective mood. It started on a sad note, but Jack has helped to steer my reflections. Jack is a prize, an absolute prize and I treasure him. We had some deep conversations with my family and with each other recently. We talked about the potential for harder times ahead and the threat of propaganda.
For over four years I was thoroughly discombobulated because of the damage that started with Jack and I not communicating properly, and was made miserable by a situation that seemed beyond our control to address. But look at the outcome. Look at the complete turn-around in events! To me…the way things worked out with Jack taught me lessons for life. Lessons in endurance and in keeping your hope sharp and bright. Lessons in patience, humility and keeping focused on peace.
There are so many of us who are feeling discombobulated by this year, one way or another. My Dadda said to me last week that there seems to be something eerie in the air…and I don’t think he was talking about the virus. There is a feeling of trepidation, of “what will happen next?” I have lost count of how many people have said to me in conversation that they are uncertain about so many things right now.
I have thought about that a lot and I decided that it is at times of uncertainty that we really need to be absolutely certain about what is good. I feel more passionate than ever about doing what is kind, choosing to do good and not allowing myself to lose my grip on right and true values in times of trouble or propaganda.
Each week, we SHARE-OUR-WORLD…and usually that means we give others a little glimpse of what is going on in our minds, our household and our neck of the woods. But in a way that title is a reminder that we all SHARE the same prime location in this universe as our address. We live on a stunningly beautiful planet which is being mismanaged. However…many of us also SHARE the same dreams, the same yearnings for a clean earth with thriving happy healthy creatures.
So although times seem uncertain, I am going to try to keep my focus on what I am certain will contribute to a peaceful clean earth that is safe for all living creatures.
Questions
What is the last song you sang along to?
I was working on my posts for Jim Adam’s SONG-LYRIC-SUNDAY for the next few weeks and one of the songs that I was looking at it…well, I find it kind of emotional.
What was your scariest nightmare about?
Sometimes I am not sure if I am fully asleep or not when I have flashbacks. Is it a flashback or a nightmare? It doesn’t matter. It still has the same effect on me. I will be in bed and it’s dark and I suddenly feel as if I am back there that night in the park. The same terror creep back over me. Because it was a very warm night it is easy for the dark and the temperature in my bedroom to stir those memories. That is frightening because it was a very real event.
I don’t have many scary dreams. I don’t watch scary entertainment so my brain does not have much in the way of disturbing images to churn up.
However, I sometimes have a dream that upsets me. I dream I am on trial in a court. No matter how I explain myself, the prosecution twist my words and make me look like the worst person on earth. That horrible feeling of not being believed, of being condemned, people not being willing to see the good in you – it does upset me. In those dreams I can feel my stomach is in knots as I desperately try to defend myself and show how I am being unfairly accused. But nobody believes. They all look at me with hatred.
My theory is that during those years when Jack and I were having problems, what upset me the most was the cruel gossip spreading around me. It still shakes me up to think of the horrible names I was called and the lies told about me. People were making me out to be something I was not. I tried to just be me. I tried to be the person I am and hoped that those rumours would fade away, as friends and colleagues who knew the real me poured water on them. But I learnt something that saddens me. People like a sensational story, some salacious secret. It felt as if no matter what I did, no matter how I tried to refute the slander, people still had me on trial…and they judged me guilty of things I would never dream of doing.
And the truth is…deep down, I have still not recovered from that.
Not everyone will understand this, but the one thing that helps me most is thinking about the slander and vicious words that have been spread about our Creator, the maker of this incredible planet we live on. Back at the start of human history, the rightness of his rulership was challenged and it was claimed that humans would be better off ruling themselves. The court case that has been conducted since that day is soon to end.
What food do you crave most often?
When it comes to food, I am rather faddish. I love variety so much. So if I do have a craving, it will be a temporary one. Tomorrow I will not want the same food.
Today I have a craving for sun-dried tomatoes.
When I was up north we made lots of buffet food. I made salads and puddings. But I also served some finn crisps with a scraping of cream cheese. Half of them were topped with smoked salmon, the other half with sundried tomatoes. They disappeared within minutes.
What’s your grossest bug story?
I remember being hugged a lot by people in Ghana. It was gross because we were all dripping with sweat. Sweaty hugs are kind of gross.
I think my eyesight is failing. I just re-read the question and realized it said “bug”, not “hug”. Do I have a gross bug story? The only time I get annoyed by bugs is when they are trying to feast on our picnic or garden party buffet! When we were up north, everything had to be in a container with a lid because there were wasps and flies buzzing all over the garden.
I have a really really awful snail story. It was at the home of a woman we were trying to help. She was battling addictions. I remember she bought a box of slug pellets and one evening in a drunken episode, she dropped the box and it split open on the edge of the patio. It may have been a few days after she dropped the slug pellets that I went into the garden to take her rubbish out and found a mound of snails. It made me feel so ill.
I love snails. I think they are such amazing and beautiful creatures and it still upsets me to think of that scene.
GRATITUDE SECTION
I was feeling blue on Sunday. Jack was worried about me because I had a few tears and I told him there was a sad heavy lump inside me that would not go away. At his encouragement, Jack and I went for a walk that evening and I felt my spirits gradually lift. I am so pleased I live near to beautiful parkland with ancient trees and pretty flower gardens. I am thrilled that those parks were quiet on Sunday evening except for a few smiling families and cheerful dog-walkers.
I am so glad we were out enjoying creation. I am thankful for trees and flowers and fresh breezes. I am so happy we have pretty skies and that there are always ducks on the pond. I am grateful for squirrels and woodpeckers who catch my eye and make me smile.
I am glad that I have someone to share all of that wonder with, someone to put his arm around me when I am a little tearful and I am not sure why. Someone to nudge me to put my boots on and go out for a walk with him. Someone to grasp my hand and kiss the back of my fingers.
Someone to buy me a vegan Magnum ice-cream on the way home. I know right! Isn’t he the best!! Seriously, the vegan ice-cream was the cherry on top of the cake of what Jack did for me on Sunday.
I am deeply deeply appreciative for the miracle of having Jack back in my life. Believe me, sometimes that alone is enough to make me wonder why I ever feel blue or anxious about anything. He is the most wonderful happy ending and I do know I have more than any Disney Princess. But sometimes the world still creeps in and chips at the inner me. Jack knows just what I need to cheer me up. He knows to get me outside and to remind me to breathe in the joy of creation and put out of my mind the trouble that the corrupt system keeps churning out.
When I see the beautiful planet we have been given as our home it convinces me…that we…you and I…have the prospect ahead of living on an earth in much better hands.
“…Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth…”
Caramel 