3/30/14 RMB A New Hat

3/30/14 RMB A New Hat 

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

I like this quote by your contemporary and associate:

A pedestal is as much a prison as any small space. -Gloria Steinem, activist, editor (b. 1934)

What defines us, can also confine us. Can we shift from labels being absolutes, to possible variations? Can one be this AND that, rather than one or the other? A number of examples run through my mind. I resist naming them as that, to some extent, would be kin to name calling.

We are all more similar than different. At our base, our energy is of the same source. Every dimension added, adds something to everyone, a possibility or an opportunity to expand, if only in thought. According to Darwin, it isn’t necessarily the strongest or largest that survives. It is the most adaptable.

I am not a fan of Halloween, after all it is a holiday, yet many adore it and enjoy it immensely. Is the appeal that it is a time when we deem it acceptable to dawn a costume and become someone, or something, other than ourselves?

Here’s a proposition, if it is too daunting and unmanageable to be open minded or accepting or understanding, could we try it on as one would a costume, for a day, or even a moment. Wear a new prospective, as if it were a new hat. Some might find it fits well enough to wear every day of the year. Some might prefer to return to where they feel most comfortable. But I guarantee anyone who tries it, including myself, would never be the same.

When we look through another’s eyes and see what they see, we become something more than we were before, thanks to their vision.

Examining possibilities,

Loraine

3/29/14 RMB Watching Words

3/29/14 RMB Watching Words

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

Friends gathered today for dinner at a restaurant new to most of us. Two of us had been there before and as one of them started to explain, we were going there because it was a favorite spot of the other and this gathering was for her. The friend telling me about the locale said she had to intentionally stop herself from qualifying the decision to go there. As though it was too fanatical, far out, hippy-ish to go to a vegetarian restaurant.

Perhaps this is why I think so highly of this friend, she listens to what we are saying and why we say things, even when she is the one doing the talking. Underneath our conscious, maybe even underneath our subconscious, sits an entity that judges, without reason, without thought, years ingrained, lifetimes of witnessed prejudice fester there. Societies mark, an ugly scar, inches in deeper and deeper, unless we are diligent in our awareness.

There was no need to qualify or apologize for taking us all outside our norm and sharing a new fun place, with great food I might add. Our thoughts can free us or box us in. Reverend Millie often said “Watch your thoughts, watch your words and watch your deed.” It is surprising and amazing what we see when we watch carefully.

Sharing mine with you,

Loraine

3/12/14 RMB Ant Chatting

3/12/14 RMB Ant Chatting

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

Today filled with activity, especially at work, people and books, conversations and correspondences a plenty. Once outdoors, walking off the day, I mused at all that transpired. I took an extra deep breath, letting it out along with the day’s stresses.

My favorite interaction occurred between my boss and the Pastor’s dog. Maria is dog sitting Shelby for her Pastor. Shelby rushed into the office delighted to meet new faces with new scents. In our boss’s office, she was more excited that a person was offering her treats than in the treats themselves. With her she brought a wagging tail and relief to a tense day.

As I walked, the Rainbow Bear Light Dancer-Ten Bears message came to me. Those are messages that I have started sending to a friend with a bear Indian guide, Rainbow Bear Light Dancer, from my Indian guide, Ten Bears. It’s a kind of “thought for today” thing. I plan on posting them on the blog, but have not yet found the perfect way to do so. I really like this one, so I’m including it here to thank you for being a part of this life’s conversation.

All my best,

Loraine

Kind and Patient Rainbow Bear Light Dancer,

If a traveler stops to rest in the forest and has a conversation with an ant, what wonders would the traveler learn? Would the ant be grander for the exchange?

If the traveler and the one met in the forest were both ants, would they hold a conversation at all, or simply fall into step with one another, working their tasks as is their habit?

And if a human traveler met another human on the path, would they both stop to chat? Or would they simply fall into step with one another, working their tasks as is their habit?

And we think ourselves superior and wise.

Remind us with your words and your smiles Rainbow Bear Light Dancer, to stop and visit awhile, to exchange our wisdom, to make one another grander than we would otherwise be.

                                  

Your companion on all your travels,

Your wonderful friend Ten Bears