Ponderings #54

Dear fellow travelers,

  Thank you for all your comments on my last Pondering,  it did bring back many memories for me....then the question arose....what do I write for the next Pondering? and then life happens as it always does,    and I again became inspired.

  Life for most of us goes on for a long, long time without any bumps,  and for me I sometimes take all the routine,  this good,  for granted.  The Ill call her tomorrow..Ill do this or that tomorrow..the ho hum...tomorrow option.

  Then the bump happens...and the things to do tomorrow don't happen because what just happened takes priority for a while,  sometimes a long while.

  This was the case for my telephone confident I have, this last Monday. 

A beautiful day,  a work day for her.....then the day went upside down for her and many others.  She works in the Naval Building where the tragic shootings happened.

  Another friend had her week planned out and she in an instant fell and her foot is in a boot for a few weeks...her plans changed in an instant. 

  I know this list could go on and on....

  This isn't to set up that feeling or word of fear...just the opposite..I am writing this for myself, and for you also if you want to join in........to enjoy and love all the routine NOW moments,  live in the beautiful  NOW.  and do the things NOW that I know I said I would do tomorrow.

 Call that person and email that note.   Forgive that perceived personal infraction...it really in the world of events doesn't usually mean anything.  Probably wont even be remembered five years from now, or even two...you get my meaning. 

 I know some things may have happened to you or in your life that  may be or are  really, really difficult to resolve,  but for your life to move on in an upward joyful spiral,  moving onward and upward, not remaining stuck,   is the best option I know.

You may be saying,  "She doesn't have any idea what has happened to me. this or that happened and I cant get over it".  and yes, I don't know what has happened to you,  and for that I don't for an instant mean to minimize what may have happened.

  I just know that living life to its fullest and revealing that innate goodness within you is what is important.  Being joyful is what is important.  and that is my greatest wish for you,  to be joyful and love life--  your own life. 

    Loving and living life is what is important,  not holding grudges or anger or resentments...like one of my friends always says....Get over it....I say-  Let Go and Let God.

What ever works.... work it.   I say. 

    The world really is beautiful!   When I focus on the bird at the feeder, or my little dog smuggled up on the bed and the beautiful full moon and then the sunlight peeking through the tree leaves...and many other moments,   it is beautiful!  

   All the other not so happy  happenings , are calls for prayer.  For lessons to be learned. The focus for me most of the time after what happened, is how did I react.?

Did I react with Anger or Love?  Fear or Faith?  Resentment or Forgiveness ?

We have choice...choose wisely.  

   Every life has its valleys,  just don't set up camp,  keep on walking thru the valley, be brave, have faith,  and the hill upward appears. Honest,   

Breath, and love, and learn.     and  yes,   Smile.....This is that NOW  moment.

There is something,  more than one something of good to focus on.

For all those living in a moment calling for prayer.  You are in prayer.

You are loved, supported and cared about.

And some words from that wonderful wise women   Maya Angelou... 

In April, Maya Angelou  was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday.  Oprah asked her what she thought of growing  older.

Maya Angelou  said this:
'I've learned that no matter what  happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go  on, and it will be better tomorrow.' 

'I've learned that you can tell a lot  about a person by the way he/she handles these  three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and  tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've  learned that regardless of your relationship  with your parents, you'll miss them when they're  gone from your life.'

'I've learned that  making a 'living' is not the same thing as  making a life.'

'I've learned that life  sometimes gives you a second chance.' 

'I've learned that you shouldn't go  through life with a catcher's mitt on both  hands; you need to be able to throw some things  back...'

'I've learned that whenever I  decide something with an open heart, I usually  make the right decision.'

'I've learned  that even when I have pains, I don't have to be  one.'

'I've learned that every day you  should reach out and touch someone. People love  a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the  back....'

'I've learned that I still  have a lot to learn..'

'I've learned  that people will forget what you said, people  will forget what you did, but people will never  forget how you made them feel.'

What are you doing in this Now moment??

Just Pondering on the Now moment

Rev Linda Patton,  ENTC

http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #53

Dear fellow travelers,

  This is another nostalgic pondering, so triggered by an article I received which I have included at the end.

  This refers back to the time when the old telephones were used.  When you actually dialed a number, not pushed a button.  I worked in management during that time for the local telephone company and we were assigned duty positions to cover during strikes.  I was assigned to "Information".  This is when operators were women only;  before male operators, 911, automation and obviously the Internet.

  The "Information" voice was the "go to person" who knew everything.

  The first time I had strike duty with only five minutes of training, I was lead to my stall, where a large telephone directory was located  and frequently requested calls were posted on the wall,  then given a headset--and I was on duty.

 I remember my very first call--

"I want "the Chickens"? I don't go to work today."

Say  "WHAT"???  no chickens listed,  but then  my spelling is still not the greatest. 

"The Chickens"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  he kept repeating!!

My friend who had been on duty a few hours longer, heard me and began pounding on the glass partition.  She was hollering the name of a company downstate, a big chicken plant.   Well--  one down.

  The calls kept coming, everything from what was the weather, to fires, car accidents, and then when I thought two hours had passed,  it had only been ten minutes.

I couldn't find the numbers,  my neck was in a knot.  but some callers did actually ask for telephone numbers but I still couldn't find them easily.

 I do remember a women calling who didn't want to live any longer,  and I walked her thru her finding her own telephone book,  giving me her doctors name and number, and then hers. and then I took a break,  which were strictly regulated.  and I called her doctor. (this was not the normal procedure, but then I was not a regular operator.)

  We worked 12 hour shifts,  for however long the strike lasted, usually three weeks or so.  I remember praying the regular "Information operators" got every penny they were asking for,  if not more.

  Time moves on and..

  Now we have male operators.  DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE (not Information)  and automation, 911 for emergencies,  and the Internet for the weather,   but to me I must admit I do miss the voice of the women who knew everything,  except when they were on strike......

   Here is the promised inspiration from the other side of the line.  from a grateful caller.

ENJOY:

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the Wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's
Number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.

"Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. 

"Information."

"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
No,"I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.
I said I could.
"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice..

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.
She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.
Then, there was the time Pete, our pet canary, died. I called,

Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, " Wayne , always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."
Somehow I felt better.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between between planes. I spent 15
Minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown
Operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.

Information."
I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,

I  hurt my finger a long time ago.
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me.
I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally.

Three months later I was back in Seattle . A different voice answered,

"Information."
I asked for Sally.
"Are you a friend?" she said.
"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this,"She
said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died
five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up, she said, "
Wait a minute, did you
say your name was Wayne ?"
Yes." I answered.

Well, Sally left a message for you.
She wrote it down in case you called.
Let me read it to you."
The note said,

"Tell him there are other worlds to sing in.

He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Have you listened to anyone today?

Just Pondering on helpfulness

 

     Rev  Linda Patton,   ENTC

  http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #52

Dear fellow travelers,

  My last Pondering for me  brought back many  memories of where life was and projecting it forward,  what history has taken place over the years since I was born.   I should probably write "around me",  because that Pondering ties in with this current one through the movie "The Butler" that I just saw-(-a must see, if not twice).  It brought back more memories of those time periods which I lived through, as you may have. 

    Memories for me of  the civil rights movements, which were incorporated in the film through  the older son, a fictitious character added to intertwine the segregation and civil rights movements that were portrayed  during the film.  Also I just watched "42" the Jackie Robinson movie.  Wow--  a double whammy.

  I lived in Texas for a few years in the late 40's, and at a young age, I can still  remember going to the football games with my family, sitting in the grandstands, and hearing the obscenities being hollowed at the black football players and band members.  I remember cringing, and wondering how these people could be so nasty and mean,  they didn't even know those people, not that that should make a difference.   And I still wonder how so much meanest could have come from those people.

  I am really grateful that my family was not racially prejudice,  I didn't grow up in that type of home environment . and those attitudes were and are foreign to me  But obviously that wasn't and hopefully still isn't the same for other households.

  My regret is that I didn't do anything to help with the integration or civil rights movements when they were at their prime.  I so admire the people who did.  I  honor all the people who made those changes happen!!

  When I think of that particular time period,  I was a single mom, with the "woman" in the work place challenge.  Getting a credit card in my name was a challenge, then a mortgage for a house in my name, using only my salary was a challenge, but I did it, and then moving thru the glass ceiling happened with the EEOC.  But that wasn't life of death, just higher wages, and  better jobs in a male dominated society. 

  We have come far as a country--obviously-- a black president, one of the richest in all ways black women,  many black company presidents, and intermarriage isn't a taboo or illegal any more.  To me,  all good,  in all ways.

 Moving in a different direction but another current upward movement is the "same sex" marriage law.

 But where else do we need to travel??  what am I not seeing??

  What else needs to be changed??  Where is our consciousness??

  

  Change does happen--sometimes at a much higher cost than necessary.

  What price am I willing to pay??

   Just Pondering on change and history and attitudes

   Rev  Linda Patton,   ENTC

  http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com

Ponderings #51

Dear fellow Travelers,

I usually do my own writing but I received this from a friend and decided it was so creative and to just pass it on.

Trust you will enjoy it.

---

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: The Year You Were Born - THIS IS Interesting, GREAT! ~Informative~

YOUR PAST - AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION The screen is going to fade to black;  and follow the instructions below. You'll be pleasantly surprised with this one... Delete the words the year of your birth          Type in the year only!! Click on the  ?  mark The screen will fade to black while it is loading. Sit back and enjoy!! Click below... Year of your birth The screen will move by itself. What did your think?

      Just Pondering on Creativity

      Rev Linda Patton,   ENTC

      http://Ponderings-everyday-spirituality.blogspot.com.