sonflowerlives

My mom use to quote Bambi frequently with the “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”…  And, it always came after I’d opened my mouth with something everyone could have lived without my having said…  I would like to be able to add that I didn’t ever do that after I grew up, but no chance of that!  I mean, I don’t go out of my way to be unkind, yet I can and have been misunderstood as an adult!  So that leads to the importance of choosing words carefully and knowing well, the person we’re talking to.

My plan, after being hammered hard a few years ago when I was misunderstood, is to say less especially when I’m talking to someone I don’t know well or haven’t seen in a very long time (as people change and have painful experiences, that have happened in my absence).  Making conversation can be very difficult for some of us…  And that’s why this advice is really a wonderful thing…  Say less:  Hubby told me the first year we were married, that if I just ask questions most people will think you an amazing conversationalist, because people love to talk

Wow, big one:  Do not judge… Just because judging never ever works and bites you in the end (pardon the pun!).  I believe this is one of the bigger lessons in life, and should be so obvious to me in younger years.  I mean, why take time out to have opinions about what and why people are the way they are in painful moments, or why look like this and think that, when it’s just better to accept most everything for what it is from the heart and move on?  (My grandmother use to say, “He can do anything he wants until it interferes with the end of my nose.” (That meant give latitude until people are hurt.)

I do not agree with everything I hear are experience from others; but when I stopped having opinions about it all, life became so much more fun.  Plus…  Nietzsche is right!  One day we grow up a bit more and realize that some of those people we thought were not so smart, actually have a point.  Here it is for me and I pass it to you, if it can help:  God does not make junk.  We make junk… In our thoughts and

How many times have American educators (who believe themselves to be “in the know”) reinvented the way to solve math problems?  Many times!  It’s not okay to just find the right answer, we have to find it the way someone else believes  we should find it or be forever wrong.  And, every time these guys reinvent for us, I ask myself, “Who were you thinking of when you did that?”  Was it for me or for you, as you once again make an effort to be right.  It seems to me that reinventing is wasted time, when we should be addressing something else…  Why address “New Math” yet again when we could come up with something that’s really helpful… Like, curing cancer or helping the homeless have a homes?

Yes, those are grandiose ideas but it is one of the many ways to truly move forward in a positive way.  I mean “New Math”…  It seems like all that does is pump up some educator’s ego instead of give a student a leg up in class.  Why not do something that’s really helpful… Something that lifts up others?

Here’s a thought:  Let’s start the day, even before we’re out of bed, thinking or

We think we know a few things when we grow up, and then something slows us down and …  Well, I don’t know about you, but then I feel like we don’t know anything.  Maybe it’s a need for sleep, or the day’s just too bloody big, or somebody rubbed us the wrong way or hurt us.  The truth is, that all that can go away by being kind and generous to others.  I can’t explain the magic formula of love in action through helping others, but for sure it does wonderful things for everyone.

It’s been a rough weekend in my house…  And, I’m surely not the only one who had one.  I would like to crawl back into to bed and pretend I’m still a child who can hide under the covers to make it go away.  The truth is, I have to get going.  Better to get going with others in mind.  At least that’s my plan… And, what others are here on earth to do today?  That’s up to you, isn’t it.   Ya gonna smile or scowl, bale or bitch?  Time to make a decision.

May it be a really good one for you, and for others!

Best…

Carolyn Thomas Temple

It’s football season yet again.  The fighting Irish and all the rest… High school, college and pro teams…  Are going to duke it out on the field com rain, snow, sun or whatever weather; and we will fill the stands with our support for our favorite teams.  Grizzard, a sports writer and humorist, reminds us that the fight is everywhere for us to win, including in our own lives.  Tackle the problems, block the fear, and score whenever we have the opportunity.

Myself, I’ve had ample opportunity to do all three of late.  Funny, how some persons I know seem to be skating along just fine, as if it were intermission in the stands; yet I, and many others like me, are living the tackle/block/score end of life. for the day.  This is our time to be “in the game”…  We are not spectators.  We are living the field version.  There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves if the score is lop-sided against us,  we’re in the game…  We are players!  And, like all good football players,we must keep our head in the game.

What’s your day like today?  Is it a spectator’s day, or are you a player?  Are

Tolstoy knew a thing or two about finding joy, having written what is often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace.  Encyclopedia Britannica states that he was known as a living symbol for the search for life’s meaning.  So as we enter into another work week, let us consider his words of wisdom…  To give with a servant’s heart to others through what we do for them, instead of ourselves.  Tolstoy believed in Man and that we need to help as much as possible.  And God knows, we each of us could use some help, yes?

How will  you be helping others today?  Will it be a random act of kindness?  Will it be a planned effort for a friend?  What will you and I do today and tomorrow and the day after, to help others?  (And maybe in between all of that, we can each of us read War and Peace! No really, I hear it’s pretty good!) I think I’ll start with a smile and saying “Good Morning” to the people I see.  I will put my tech toys away while walking down the street, and greet people.  It’s a start!  After all, if I don’t have

As a child, I use to wonder where my soul was within my body.  My parents and our church would talk about it, and I would ask my parents and mentors where they thought the soul lived within my body… Sometimes the answer would be , “Your soul is that happy place inside you.” (What?  You mean when I laugh?  That means it’s only there when I’m happy.  Not good enough.)  It was all very confusing.  So, as a young adult, I was still wondering where my soul was in my body.  Being older and spending time listening to mentors, I heard things like “Read the Bible.”  So I studied the Bible (still do), and I continued to ask and wonder, as I met people from all different walks of life.  Still, no answer.

The Life’s journey traveled forward, adding one experience after another.  Some happy experiences, like the day I became a wife; and some not as happy, like the first experience of a lost loved one.  We have jobs, which take us to places of confidence and other contemplation.  And all of this added to my knowledge toward the question, “Where is my soul.”  Experience after experience and one

Slowing down is always a good thing.  Everyday, to walk away from tech toys, computers, radios… All of it.  Even the sound of the human voice.  I am blessed to live with the desert floor only a few steps away from home.  I can go out there and just be quiet, not think.  And in that quiet I can recover myself, if only just to live through the next moment.

We have so very much sadness in the world today with people fleeing to Europe for food, safety, water!  Citizens of the United States recall 9/11 and the loss and recovery.  And there is my family (and how many other mothers) who lost a child on August 24th.  We all of us stand quiet to find ourselves inside these fragile physical bodies that we call “home”.  We center ourselves and find our feet. We sigh. We let go of thoughts, living without words or human sound.

I like being quiet.  I also like what Dr. Seuss said… “‘Today is good. Today is fun.  Tomorrow is another one.”  As you and I center ourselves and rest in that inner peace, I am remembering that there will be fun in the day, even if

The city of Phoenix has experienced 12 random acts of violence (some shootings or other moving projectiles) on Freeway I-10, a freeway that travels right through the heart of the city.  It makes me wonder why anyone would want to hurt another person, a person who has done absolutely nothing wrong… An innocent individual, driving down the road and minding their own business.

And yet, I would say don’t bother to ask “Why”.  It would be like asking why our son had to die three weeks ago… There is no answer.  There is only survive and thrive for you and me.  We just have to go forward the best we can.  And humor…  I would suggest some of that…  Find your favorite comic strip and read like crazy.  To that point, I have one of my favorites framed.  It goes like this.  Calvin:  “The world is a complicated place, Hobbes.”  Hobbs: “Whenever it seems that way, I take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner.”  See you in the trees, my friends.  (She smiles and winks.)

May you have a beautiful day!

Best…

Carolyn Thomas Temple

Jim Watkins, American journalist:  Makes me wonder if he lived this like the rest of us…  Too many decisions to be made or too much hanging on for dear life…   Perhaps it was endless unemployment, or trying to finish one’s education, or trying to just live!

We have to find our courage, yes.  But we also have to understand that keeping on with that good effort every day is a given.  So I get out of bed and smile and breath, thanking God for it.  I push myself through the bed making, the shower, the toiletries, the breakfast.  I make myself SMILE.  (Actually, when I smile, it makes others smile.  It’s kinda fun!) And then, whatever challenge is in front of me, I GO! It can stink, but I go.

We’re not alone in this predicament… Even the people whose lives seem to be perfect, know that they are most certainly not.  We all have things to learn, things to experience, things to “get through.”  That persistent effort and looking up.  And, believe me when I say,  I’ve had my own moments when I’ve looked up to God and said, “Really?  Again?”  In truth? That does no good, because God expects