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Self Nurturing: The Desert Experience

To say that I have been in a “dry spell” is an understatement.  I have been wandering in an arid desert for some time. It has been a month since I have written anything.  Nothing has surfaced to the tips of my fingers during that period.  Life has been happening, as usual and there is little control that I have over it.  It is a good thing that I trust in God to take care of the universe and that I do believe that everything is in divine order, even if I cannot see that.

I have been dealing with bee stings and the consequent physical reactions to them.  No, I’m not completely allergic to them.  I don’t have to carry the little needle stick thingy that some people have to carry.  But I do get very bad localized reactions – swelling, infection, and inflammation, which means a trip to the doctor.

So then I had to deal with antibiotics and tapering steroids, followed by the consequences of taking antibiotics (you ladies know what I mean by that!).  And so, guess what?  Another trip to the doctor.  Which then meant more antibiotics – great!!  The weather then turned “grey” for several days and my spirit, which was struggling to stay afloat anyway, took a nosedive.

Just to add to my personal misery, I took a tumble.  I was having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, stepped from the carpeted area onto a very slick (read greasy) rubberized part of the floor around the food area, and felt like I had stepped onto an ice rink.  I managed to not fall on my back (which was where I was initially headed), but went down hard on the outside of my right knee.  It’s amazing how something like that can affect the normal routine of life.

First of all I had to cancel my Pilates lesson and make yet another trip to the doctor.  When I walked in this time I asked his receptionist if she had my key ready.  She looked somewhat confused and asked, which key?  I smiled and said, “The key to my hotel room.  I feel like I’m taking up residence!”   I went home with a knee brace and instructions to “RICE” – Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate.  So no Pilates for a few days, no exercise at all for a few days.

Just to let the universe know I was not happy, or maybe vice versa, who knows, two days later I banged the toe next to my little toe on my left foot into a door.  I’m not sure what kept the cuss words at bay.  Perhaps a lot of practicing at reducing this particular defect of character.  After icing it for a couple of hours it turned the requisite deep purple and blue green and I decided I should buddy tape it in case I had broken it.  I made the decision not to go to the doctor’s again just in case he thought I was stalking him.

It is at this point that I remember thinking that I would like to go to the airport and get on the first flight that came along.  Then I thought that maybe that could be to “Small Town, Idaho” (no offense to any natives from there).  So I went out and bought a bar of the best chocolate I could find and deliberately comfort-ate with a nice cup of tea.  Very British of me!

Well the last couple of days have seen a slight shift in the weather.  Not quite so hot and definitely not so swampy.  I love the heat and the sun and I even tolerate humidity, but we’ have had six or seven solid weeks of relentless heat and humidity and I have discovered that it drains me on all levels.  And when I’m drained my Muse disappears:-(.

So the cool breezes and lower temperatures and the lack of high humidity levels seem to have freed my spirit enough to get on the keyboard.  I am hoping that this will continue for a while now because I can already feel some ideas catching up and getting ready to pop out onto the page.  Have a great Labor Day weekend.  

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Shared Wisdom: A Found Treasure

I love finding treasure.  It might be that I put on a jacket that I haven’t worn in a long time and there in the pocket I find a five dollar bill.  Or perhaps I decide to clean out a closet or a drawer and there, caught up in all the stuff, I find a piece of jewelry that I thought I had lost.

I sit at my computer desk two or three times a day almost every day.  I have had this desk for a few years now.  It’s a typical computer desk with the working area . . . → Read More: Shared Wisdom: A Found Treasure

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God’s Messages: He Never Gives Up

Many years ago, during a period that I was living in England, I attended a very special retreat at Aylesford Priory which is located in the heart of Kent.  The Priory is an ancient religious house belonging to the Order of Carmelites and dates back to the 13th century. The setting there was extremely peaceful and welcoming and I returned several times to attend other retreats.

The reason that the particular retreat I mentioned above was so special was because I received an incredible gift, the first of many messages that God has given me through others.  One of . . . → Read More: God’s Messages: He Never Gives Up