I know it's been awhile

I haven't posted a blog since March, 2019. Why? Well, I thought my life was pretty uninteresting and didn't want to bore you just for the sake of writing a blog. It's sort of like the child who didn't talk until he was six years old when he asked for a different kind of cereal for breakfast. When his parents asked why he hadn't talked before then, he said, "Everything was fine until today."

Yesterday, though, I did have an interesting experience that relates to another experience I had a few weeks ago. I went to my hair stylist and after she had washed my hair and I sat up, I was so dizzy and nauseous that I had to sit there for several minutes before trying to stand up. I barely made it to the styling chair, felt bad the rest of the time I was there, managed to get home and then felt awful the rest of the day. Today I am 99% back to my normal self.

My stylist told me she has had this happen before and she knew what it was. From the Mayo Clinic:

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo — the sudden sensation that you're spinning or that the inside of your head is spinning.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo causes brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is usually triggered by specific changes in the position of your head. This might occur when you tip your head up or down, when you lie down, or when you turn over or sit up in bed.

Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be a bothersome problem, it's rarely serious except when it increases the chance of falls. You can receive effective treatment for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo during a doctor's office visit.

It goes on to say this can also happen after being in the dentist's chair which happened to me a few weeks ago and I figured it had to do with being in the chair too long and/or them giving me too much pain killer stuff! These bodies of ours sure are amazing, aren't they?

I'm sharing this with you in case you've had a similar situation and didn't know what was causing it. There are some crystals in our ear canal, I guess, and they can get rearranged which is what causes this problem. Wouldn't you know it would have to do with crystals!

In other news, we needed to go to the store today and I didn't feel up to it. Rhonda stubbed her toe the other day and didn't feel like doing a lot of walking. We decided to try Safeway's "We'll do the shopping and bring it to your car" service. We found out they charge only $5.00. We looked at one another and asked ourselves, "If we were sitting in our car outside Safeway and someone came along and said they would do our shopping for us and bring the groceries to the car for $5.00, would we do it?" You bet! So we did. What a wonderful service to offer people.

Gotta go, the groceries just arrived and the least I can do is put them away! More another time......

It was an exciting time.....

Recently, I came across some old letters I didn’t know I had! They were written to me by hand or using a typewriter since we didn’t have computers back then. There was no email so we had to actually write or type our thoughts on paper, put them in an envelope, and mail them. There’s something so visceral about reading someone’s thoughts in handwriting rather than print.

What struck me about the letters, and is probably the reason I kept them, is the level of excitement people had about the world of the metaphysical. Things like crystals, channeling, and space beings were still able to cause one’s eyes to open a little wider along with one’s mind. Now, it all seems so ordinary and ho-hum. Back then, yoga studios weren’t on every street corner next to a coffee shop and characters in television shows didn’t wear crystals or carry tarot decks around with them.

I wonder what we would have thought of the circumstances we face today. Many of us are so weary. Some people are tempted to give up and feel like the world has gone too far down the road of negativity. Are they right? Are we doomed? I don’t think so and I think those of us who remember the excitement of the 80’s and 90’s owe it to ourselves and others to reach inside and reconnect with that energy. We need to remember the joy of sharing new ideas and practices with our friends. We need to let go of feeling apologetic because we believe in higher principles and in the basic goodness of humanity.

Sure, we’re the older crowd. We’ve been around awhile longer than some of the more vocal people. Maybe that’s why we need to be the ones to speak up a little more, share a little more, and remind people of the higher vision for humanity. As a race, humanity is going through growing pains not unlike adolescents who feel gangly and out of sorts most of the time. It’s a stage humans are going through and maybe it’s up to us to provide some support and encouragement instead of giving in to the temptation to pull back and take a nap until it’s  all over. What do you think?

Enjoying other people’s dedication

This morning I decided I wanted to listen to classical music, specifically Mozart’s Concert Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in D. I put on my ear phones and sat looking out into the snowy darkness. The snow has been so heavy where I live that I’ve not gone anywhere for exactly one week today and most likely it will be another day before the roads in my neighborhood are passable.

As I have been listening to the music, something struck me. I thought of all the hours the people playing on the recording practiced their respective instruments. From the time they picked up their violin or oboe or sat at the piano, they were dedicated to learning to play their instrument. I thought of the hours they spent learning their scales, the hours they spent practicing the same pieces over and over.

I remember walking down the halls of the music department when I was a music major in college and the cacophony of sounds that flowed through the air. Each student was in their private practice room working hard to master their latest piece of music. We never criticized each other for our imperfections. We knew we were practicing for the next recital or test and didn’t expect perfection during the practice phase of learning the piece.

As I listen to the music this morning, I am grateful to each of the performers who were dedicated to learning their craft so well that they were chosen to perform on this recording. I’m grateful to all the people who were dedicated to their crafts whether making my iPod, the headset, the technology that allows me to access and download the music without leaving my home - amazing.

Every second of every day each of us are the recipients of other people’s dedication to their skills whatever they might be. Other people are the recipients of our dedication. When we feel stuck or discouraged and want to give up whatever it is we’re doing, maybe remembering all the people who will enjoy our dedication can motivate us to keep going. I’m grateful each of the musicians on this recording never gave up and shared the joy of their craft with the rest of us. Thank you!

I began the new year by lightening up

I don’t mean by changing some points of view. I mean I really began the new year by bringing more light into my home. I have two favorite places for crocheting. One of the places has great lighting and the other didn’t - until now.

Some folks who know me well know that one of the best gifts to give me is a gift certificate to JoAnn’s, a store that sells things like yarn, fabric, and great lighting for crafters. I had such a gift certificate. I also had a 50% off any one item coupon. I was able to get a great new floor lamp for half price and by using my gift certificate it was a free lamp for me! What a difference it makes to be able to see what I’m doing.

The second way I am bringing more light into my life will arrive in the mail Monday. It’s a little delicate to talk about, but it’s lighting that brings me joy. A few years ago when I was with a group of crocheters and knitters, one of them said she had to leave early to buy a special light for a camping trip. She and her husband had an RV and were leaving on a trip. She said there were these little lights that could be placed in the toilet so that when her husband got up to use the rest room in the middle of the night the light would go on and he could see where he was aiming.

I decided to look these lights up and discovered they came in rainbow colors. The light sits on the rim of the toilet and is activated when a person enters the bathroom in the dark. The lights can be set to show one color or they can rotate through the rainbow. I bought one, put it in my toilet and it brought me great joy on a nightly basis until it quite working.

One of my gifts to myself was to replace this light. I did and it arrives in the mail Monday. One of life’s small joys that you shouldn’t reject out of hand until you’ve tried it!

2019 already holds more light for me - physically and figuratively! Lord knows, we could use more light in this world right now and I’m doing my part.