Reflections

I've been a bit reflective these days... Lots of changes have happened in my life & in the lives of those I love. It's neither good nor bad. It's just life. We humans are apt to complain a lot. And I mean A LOT!! We get sick & we whine & moan. Sickness is no fun of course, especially if one is seriously ill, but overall, our human tendency is to make sure others know we feel yucky. Someone is rude to us & we pout or get angry. We have a bad day & we need time to decompress & unwind. It's just how humans are. 

Animals on the other hand...can be sick & they hide it well - it's what they have to do to survive in the wild. If someone yells at their dog, the dog has hurt feelings yet still forgives & still loves that person. When a dog has had a bad day, it still hopes & still tries to make the most of  its circumstances. 

Just this morning, my husband threw a toy onto the hardwood floor for our dog Penny to play with. She jumped down off our bed (a big jump for such a little dog) & went sliding onto the floor, legs splayed out & head down, with her chin landing with a thump. She quickly grabbed her toy & jumped back up onto the bed as if it was no big deal. My husband instantly felt bad for her & vowed not to throw the toy from the bed anymore. Penny, realizing my husband wasn't going to throw the toy after all, began licking her little toothpick legs. It was clear that although she acted as if it was no big deal, her legs did take a pounding & were sore. But that's a dog for you -- they just go with the flow. They accept what is & move on. So do other animals.

Photo: Cari Kissel

Photo: Cari Kissel

Our cat Ella, after using her litter box, tears through the home as if she's high on catnip, bumping into furniture as she runs. We hear the thump, but she carries on, seemingly concluding that the bumping into things already took place & there's no use dwelling on any pain associated with it. Nevermind the fact that Ella is 13 years old & isn't as active as she used to be. She doesn't let her aging body stop her from having fun when she can. Animals are cool like that. We humans could learn a lot from their example. 

As I reflect on how animals go through life, I realize that out of all the species of life on this planet, human beings are the ones who possess the greatest control over their circumstances, yet complain the most about the hand they are dealt. I'm sure we all know someone who finds every excuse to be negative. The sun never shines for such people & if it did, they wouldn't notice it because they walk around with a dark cloud over their heads. I'm not speaking of those with mental illness who may have difficulty being positive. I'm talking about those who just have a negative disposition overall. Life isn't always going to be sunny & warm. Outside, the birds still happily chirp & sing, flying with gleeful abandon, even when the nights are cold & the winter rains we get here, shake & toss about their homes far more than the earthquakes we occasionally experience ever do. I'll take an earthquake any day, over being tossed about in a tree branch, & possibly having my home thrown to the ground & destroyed by the wind. 

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In this world, there is much stress & anxiety because people, intelligent & good as we are, also possess an innate ability to be mean, sometimes cruel & even evil. We can't change the world. We can, however, change our little portion of the world for the better. We can approach life with a positive outlook & attitude & we can BE positive, BE good, BE loving & kind & we can stop fretting over the things that don't matter & focus on the things that do. We can stop dwelling on the past & live for the present.

And when we need to learn how to do just that, we can look to the animals around us & let their examples be our guide.

The End

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Be A Little Crazy

Being normal is overrated. What IS normal, anyway? Is it a standard definition of acceptable traits that are within certain parameters? Does venturing outside of those parameters violate normalcy? Who created those parameters in the first place? Who gets to decide if someone is

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abnormal or not? Is being normal like being in a club, where one has to be accepted before being included? Well I say......

Phooey on normalcy! I think it's perfectly fine to be crazy sometimes. Some of the coolest people in history were a little crazy. There's 3 kinds of crazy, 2 of which are acceptable in my opinion, the 3rd of which is not. People have often treated those who have a mental illness or a disability as if they have the plague. It isn't contagious, folks. That kind of crazy can't be helped. We are all still human beings & we all have SOME sort of "stuff" that makes us a bit crazy. As long as we are either keeping our "crazy" under control with therapy, medication or whatever floats our boat, & we aren't hurting anyone, including ourselves, then that's okay. Live & let live!

How about those who are covered in tattoos or dress in ways that garner them lots of attention? If such people are indeed normal, why is it that we still judge them & find them lacking somehow? And before anyone says "but I don't ever do that because I judge someone

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on how they behave, not on how they look", I cry fowl on that one. Don't think you've never judged someone. We ALL have done so at least once. How many of us have judged an old person to be stupid & deaf, as we speak loudly to them in a deliberate & slow manner because we assume they have lost all understanding & hearing & we have to speak to them like a child? We have all judged someone. What about those who are "eccentric" & "odd" & act just outside "societal/acceptable norms"? Hey, as long as nobody is hurting anyone, who cares?! Live & let live!

Then there are those who do all the "normal" things such as going to work, paying their bills & doing what "normal" people do, except their personalities are so off-putting that they come across to others as the opposite of normal. They can be rude, obnoxious, self-entitled, self-absorbed (narcissistic) & act as if the world not only revolves around them, but that the world owes them whatever they want or what they feel they deserve. They don't care if they hurt others, so long as the end result serves their purpose or fulfills their wishes. This kind of "crazy" is unacceptable because it harms others.

There. Those are the 3 kinds of "crazy" as described by moi! So live a little. Don't take life so seriously. We're not going to get out of it alive anyway, so we might as well make it count. Be kind, don't hurt others, be smart in your choices, and HAVE FUN!! And most importantly, be weird, be silly, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself for the sake of fun now & then. Make that silly sound with your tongue or dance like John Travolta in the grocery store. Rock out to music in the car & laugh when others stare at you as you drive down the road. Just BE A LITTLE CRAZY!! Live & let live...& have fun doing so!!

Photo: Cari Kissel

 **Have an opinion about this post? I would truly appreciate your feedback in the comment section below, or in the confidential feedback form on this page. Please keep all comments respectful & tasteful**  

Times Have Changed

How I miss my parents. If they were alive today, they would both be in their 90's. They brought about a certain comfort that always made me feel "safe", even as an adult with children of my own. They represented security, balance, family, ethics, goodness, stability & love, all rolled into one package that they created together when they married while still in their teens in the 1940's. My father was drafted during World War II & he & my mom moved from Indiana to California when the Marines sent my dad to San Diego & he was assigned to the USS Panamint & later saw battle in the Pacific Theater. Together, they raised their family: 2 sons & 4 daughters. I was the youngest.

Sweet Maggie's Cloud

My family's Maggie girl died 2 years ago & when she died, a part of my soul died with her...such was our bond. I don't mean this as judgment, but as being sincerely baffled when I say that I have never understood people who view animals not as living beings, but as "just a dog/cat etc". Animals are not here on earth to serve us. Although we can surely have a symbiotic relationship with them where they help us & we help them, they have the right to exist & enjoy the life they were given just as much as we do. Lesser intelligence does not equate to lesser right to life. This isn't a "don't eat meat" post. I respect people's rights to choose their food.