Earning Feathers

There is sooo much happening in our country 

and in our world.

Not to worry,

I'm not dwelling there.

Quite the contrary actually~

I'm not sure how each of you handles discerning news,

but I have to be cautious about how much I see or hear.

I think many folks are able to tune it out

or not let it get to them,

but it "gets" to me and bothers me internally

to the point that I'm tense and don't sleep well.

I like to know what's going on so I'm not in the dark,

but I don't need every detail of something that happened

on the other side of the nation

and that I can do exactly nothing to change.

Lately, I've been a little stressed.

There are always stresses in life.

Of course there are and rightly so;

how else could we acknowledge how great our blessings are.

It's not only been societal news, but 

also some wrinkles in our life that need a hot iron.

Maybe some of you can understand that.

Sometimes, there are situations that require sideways thinking

in order to come to any sort of end.

And with that, I will set forth a pondering~ 

The other night hubby ran across a question~

I might not have it exactly as it was posed

since I was not the one who read it.

There is a colored man who likes to walk his dog.

When he does, he will have one of his daughters walk with him

because he is fearful that he will be harassed due to his color

if he walks alone even though he has never experienced it before.

There is also a white woman who sees a colored man walking alone

in her neighborhood who she's never seen so she calls the police

because she is afraid that he might cause her harm even though

she has never experienced such a thing.

Are either of these fears un-based?

When hubby presented me with that,

I said, "It's the breakdown of community."

He hadn't thought of that.

Their fears are real.

I am afraid of snakes - just am.

No matter how much I know about them,

that certain snakes are good etc.

My heart races and I get "stuck" when I see them.

I've improved though.

I no longer scream, drop what I'm carrying, and run.

Some people are afraid of heights, of water, etc.

Fear is fear, but it can be overcome.

It is unfortunate though that such situations as the above example

are real anywhere.

The good news is, we can help it.

We just need community.

We've become a society of no eye contact

let alone words or actions or communication.

If that man walking his dog commented on the woman's

flowers or color of her house or just smiled and said "Good afternoon"

or the woman commented and said how nicely the dog behaved

or "What breed is it?" or a hundred other small niceties,

soon they might know each others first names and be able

to smile and wave with no fear on either side.

And actually quite the opposite of fear-

that is community.

If someone began to harass the man walking the dog,

the woman might step out and speak up,

"That's Jim and he walks by here with Duke almost every evening.

He's not hurting a thing."

And if "Jim" saw something fishy around "Mary's" place, he might 

bring it to her attention so no harm came to her.

It's a sort of protection for both sides.

And there would be a *unity* rather than a division.

And that makes all the difference.

Folks will pay a small fortune to insurance companies

but won't pay a compliment to an unknown neighbor.

The return of community is far greater than that

from any insurance company I've ever known.

Our year 2020 has had its challenges so far.

(to say the least)

So in the face of adversity at every turn,

I try to do something positive or find a positive focus.

I have been reading the Stillmeadow books

by Gladys Taber.

They are delightful!

They were written during and after WWII

so it's not as though they were written with no knowledge

of severe occurrences.

What is so striking is the element of home and community

and the positive attitude toward others and for our country and world.

Just this morning, there was a line that stated,

"Nobody is so obscure that they can not do their part."

It has become so accepted for folks to act with malice

that it really is scary.

If we act in good will, we might feel insignificant,

but just keep that in mind - 

"Nobody is so obscure that they can not do their part."

It is a line well worth the repeat.

And now let me make a bit of a diversion.

Over the past week, I've spent a little time in the garden.

Have you noticed how Mother Nature doesn't seem to care

what sort of issues we face?

My tomatoes are almost 2 feet tall :-)

And so far the voles haven't found my onions or cauliflower.

And the strawberry plants I planted last summer

have little green strawberries on them the size of marbles.

The humming birds and house finch are happy.

The bees are in love with the mock orange that's blooming

and sending out it's delicious fragrance.

The neighbors got their first cutting of hay off the field

so the hawks have had their bellies full.

In the mingst of it, there I am tugging at the weeds,

letting my mind wander where it might,

being at ease in the blessing of a garden.

 As I said above, when I feel "yuk" inside,

I try to do something kind physically.

The other day, I vacuum-sealed 16 quarts of beans

for my mother-in-law so they stay fresh.

That might sound silly to some of you,

but it's the little niceties like sealing beans,

or shoveling snow for someone, or passing along a favorite magazine

that make each day of life a little kinder.

They don't cost anything more than a morsel of time

and yet are meaningful.

A few days ago, I had the doors and windows open

since it was such a lovely day.

A wind gust came up while I was upstairs.

I thought little of the front door being open.

When I went down stairs, there was a dove feather right in the middle of the floor between the dining room and living room.

I picked it up and admired it and set it on a little tray I have.

Then yesterday, I opened the front door to look at hubby's pepper plants.

There near the front steps was a beautiful hawk feather

so I picked it up and set it on my tray with the dove feather.

Both are perfect, clean, whimsical feathers.

They got me to thinking~

maybe by the time my time on earth is up

I might have enough for some wings.

So what if we - each of us - 

lived in such a fashion that we were trying to earn a feather

so that when our time is up we will have earned our wings?

Isn't that a pleasant thought?

How might our communities look then?

There are some good things happening right now if we only look.

Folks are finding home.

The yards and houses are better cared for now than in many years.

More meals are being prepared at home.

Families are spending time together.

And in general, people seem appreciative of what's good.

These are the things I'm focusing on.

Would be a shame to let them go unnoticed.

Just something to ponder~

 

The $10 Lesson

This is a post I am so happy to share with y'all.

I know at least a good majority of my readers here are good people 

so I know you'll "get it."

In order to share the lesson,

I have to share the story.

Several years ago my mom went through an awful treatment for skin cancer.

She had an equally awful reaction that was life altering for her.

The response of the doctors was,

"That only happens to .01% of people."

She was in pain for quite a while.

The chemical cures they prescribed for the reaction 

by trial and error only hurt her more.
I gave her some homemade lotion to try
which she uses to this day.

She can no longer go outside and has to wear long sleeved UV clothing 

even inside if the sun is shining.

It's been long enough now that we can harass her about being a vampire,

but at first it was devastating

for someone who lived outside and who's therapy was the garden.

Fast forward a few years.

We had a gentleman come into the shop a while back

asking for a fix on the frame of a neat old pickup he recently acquired.

MrLB told him what he would do to fix it and about how much it would be.

We had a big job we were working on and said to give us a call

and we would work it into the schedule in February 

which was fine with the gentleman.

Hubby was just mentioning a week or so ago, that the fella with the pickup never came back.

He said, "I told him how I'd fix it so he probably had someone else do it."

Within a day or two of that statement,

he came into the shop, only we hardly recognized him.

It was the first time he had been out of the house in nearly 3 weeks.

His face looked like it had been beat with knife grass - that grass that cuts.

He explained that he had been in for skin treatment and had a reaction.

Evidently he is also one of the .01%.

After chatting for a few minutes,

it was obvious he had been and was still in pain.

I've made my own lotion for some time now and had a small jar in my desk drawer.

I gave it to him to try.

He called the next day and said he didn't react to it,

and that it actually felt soothing especially to his ears which were particularly painful.

I made him a batch over the weekend and took it in Monday 

which was when he was picking up his pickup.

I put it in a clean peanutbutter jar so he could get his hand into it.

I don't sell the lotion.

It's a Rosemary Gladstar recipe not mine,

and I told him that.

He paid me $10 more than the cost of the ingredients.

I was fine with that - my time etc.

I told him he didn't even have to pay me.

Knowing the pain my mom went through,

I would have made it for him regardless.

Any "extra" money I get throughout the year, I save for quilt show in October.

So I put the money in my little stash.

Then comes the lesson portion ~

A friend who lives in another state lives on a fixed income.

She recently pulled $10 from one allotted fund

to add a little something extra to her granddaughter's birthday gift.

She will be discontinuing her internet soon because she doesn't have the extra money 

and internet is not a necessity.

She is wise with her pennies,

and I respect her for that.

I was only too glad to send that $10 to her with a little note.

As I see it, it's really for her granddaughter.

I know it's not millions but am hoping it helps or at least replaces it.

Today while I was at work,

a woman came in with a jar that held a $10 bill.

It was the gentleman's wife.

She wouldn't let me refuse it.

She said "He had a bee in his bonnet, and I was to have it."

She also said the last two nights he has been able to wear his cpap machine again 

so has been able to sleep and is beginning to feel better.

So I replaced the $10 in my stash.

The thing about all of this, which I already knew deep down

is that I would have made the lotion for him for free.

It made me feel good to be able to offer some sort of help.

It was also easy for me to send the $10 to my friend.

I didn't even think twice about that.

And when generosity feels good,

it's just right and is rewarded on multiple levels.

This really isn't about me,

but each and every one of us.

If we can find a way to give that we genuinely feel good about,

we receive a gift far greater and everyone wins.

I know that - have known that,

but I think it must be easy to get caught up in our daily grind and forget.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who forgets this at times.

So needless to say,

I'm so happy to be reminded of this lesson.

$10 may seem like a silly sum these days,

but it's sure been a valuable lesson.

I hope this little story can help you as well.

Whether we are on the giving or receiving end,

generousity and graditude are just plain good for the soul.

I think we've all been on both sides at one time or another 

which makes it even better.