Recently a beautiful young friend of mine shared her thoughts on the scar she received on her face from "being in the wrong place at the wrong time". I noticed the scar when I first met her, but I don't see it anymore. She is such a beautiful spirit that she glows and the scar is diminished in her light. She credited those scars for changing her life, in a good way. So my mind started wandering around and around thinking about scars, physical and mental. I have scars too. We all do. Some are healed. Some are not. Physically, I credit the scar I have from melanoma for changing my perception about life. I was so worried that I might not live to see my daughters grow up. Well, I did. That scar is a daily reminder of the fragility of life and a victory of life. My leg is forever marred, but it's inconsequential in the big picture of things. That scar is healed, physically and mentally. But I have some others that are not. And it may be that I haven't let those emotional scars heal because of fear of being hurt again, the wounds keep me cautious and wary.
In order for wounds to heal, a scar has to form. If the wound is opened continuously, there is no healing. This observation made me think about the emotional wounds that people have that don't heal because the circumstances keep causing the wound to reopen. It gives an insight into why people behave the way they do. I also thought about how our scars identify us. Wasn't it Thomas in the Bible, who recognized Jesus because of his wounds/scars? Do our scars identify us? Do they tell our story?
So the Universe scars us if we live a full life. But doesn't a sculptor scar/carve the marble to bring out the beauty of the sculpture? In the end, the marble is transformed into something that creates a deep feeling in the mind of the one who appreciates it, something of timeless beauty. The scars are no longer visible in the beauty of the art. I say, embrace the scars, choose to let them heal, choose to be better because of them. Choose to be a masterpiece!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
A Piece of Life
Haven't blogged in while. Life has been busy. School has started, so my part time job is in full swing. Parent has been ill. Made a trip out of town. One daughter is back at college, one changed jobs. Sometimes even retirement has those times when it's easy to become overwhelmed because while you may not have a full time job, you still have responsibilities, obligations, and worries. Yep, I said it, worries. Let's just say my Zen like nature has been a bit rattled in the last few weeks. Nothing major, but enough to require a bit of life juggling (and attitude adjusting).
Doctor tells me to lose 20 pounds. She's worried about my cholesterol and glucose numbers. Not totally a surprise to me. Cholesterol has always been an issue. I will probably end up taking medication. However, the glucose was a bit of a surprise. So, I've been cutting carbs and sugar. Bread is gone. Sweet tea is a memory. And dessert? No longer welcome on the plate. I refuse to cut out fruit though. That is until I absolutely have to do so. I don't like many vegetables. We shall see what happens with this endeavor.
So here I am at 55, with life changes still going on. And the questions keep coming. This election really amazes me with the opinions people have based on mind set and culture rather than fact. How can we blame someone else for a problem he/she didn't create? How do we say no to the needy? How does a Christian justify judgement of others? How does someone who got a free ride tell another person he/she is not deserving? Maybe the question is not what would Jesus do but what would Jesus say? Oops, I'd better duck, someone is going to throw the Bible at me.
And here's another thing that gets my goat. What good does it do a person to "look good for his/her age"?
I'd rather hear, "she acts good for her age". Yep, that whole looking good issue bothers me. People spend so much time on how they look on the outside and forget about how they are on the inside or whether or not they are able to do for themselves and others. What good is a good looking corpse? I guess your good looks will get you into "good looking heaven". There, I said it. I blame TV for our fascination with good looks. All we see are photogenic people, day in, day out. It's like it's normal to be a 10+. Nope, look around you. Oh ladies, you know what I mean. How many lunchtimes do you sit around comparing notes on how to lose weight rather than how to become a better human being?
So, contrary to popular opinion, early retirement is not a piece of cake, it's a piece of life.And the longer you live and the more you know, the more you question what you used to know. More to come, I have some thoughts on penny pinching and networking that are just screaming to come out!! What about you? Are you "looking good" for your age? Well, isn't that nice!
Doctor tells me to lose 20 pounds. She's worried about my cholesterol and glucose numbers. Not totally a surprise to me. Cholesterol has always been an issue. I will probably end up taking medication. However, the glucose was a bit of a surprise. So, I've been cutting carbs and sugar. Bread is gone. Sweet tea is a memory. And dessert? No longer welcome on the plate. I refuse to cut out fruit though. That is until I absolutely have to do so. I don't like many vegetables. We shall see what happens with this endeavor.
So here I am at 55, with life changes still going on. And the questions keep coming. This election really amazes me with the opinions people have based on mind set and culture rather than fact. How can we blame someone else for a problem he/she didn't create? How do we say no to the needy? How does a Christian justify judgement of others? How does someone who got a free ride tell another person he/she is not deserving? Maybe the question is not what would Jesus do but what would Jesus say? Oops, I'd better duck, someone is going to throw the Bible at me.
And here's another thing that gets my goat. What good does it do a person to "look good for his/her age"?
I'd rather hear, "she acts good for her age". Yep, that whole looking good issue bothers me. People spend so much time on how they look on the outside and forget about how they are on the inside or whether or not they are able to do for themselves and others. What good is a good looking corpse? I guess your good looks will get you into "good looking heaven". There, I said it. I blame TV for our fascination with good looks. All we see are photogenic people, day in, day out. It's like it's normal to be a 10+. Nope, look around you. Oh ladies, you know what I mean. How many lunchtimes do you sit around comparing notes on how to lose weight rather than how to become a better human being?
So, contrary to popular opinion, early retirement is not a piece of cake, it's a piece of life.And the longer you live and the more you know, the more you question what you used to know. More to come, I have some thoughts on penny pinching and networking that are just screaming to come out!! What about you? Are you "looking good" for your age? Well, isn't that nice!
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