Happiness and Control

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

Can you name two things that don’t go together? There they are. Happiness and control.

As long as we are trying to control an outcome, we’re never going to be happy. Imagine right now … say to yourself, “I would really be happy if …” and I’ll tell you that inevitably it will mean that if something or other would just go differently than it is, i.e. how you would like it, you could be happy. This is a lesson that comes up again and again and again. And in every area of one’s life.

Right now for me, both of my animals have serious medical problems, one just discovered within the last week. I would be happy if … this weren’t so; if … I could alter the outcome; if … what ails them could be turned around. None of this is reality. I can do the best I can to comfortably extend their lives for as long as possible. Who knows how long that might be? Surely, not me. And I can enjoy their wonderful company for as long as that is. I can do my best and that’s all I can do. And if I can get my head straight – it seems to come in and out of this – I can actually be happy right now as they have so far lived wonderful, happy lives and given me so much joy. And they will continue to do so for as long as they do.

We all have circumstances in our lives we wish were different. They often involve others, no? But what we need to always remember is that we are all living beings, of one species or another, on our own journeys in this lifetime. I’m not here to control yours. Nor you, mine. I don’t believe it’s our job to keep trying to control how things turn out. We can do our best to be a force for good, but beyond that, we need to trust that the Universe is in order and all is happening exactly as it should.

And there’s the happiness. Not saying it’s easy, but in that peaceful, trusting state of mind, it becomes much easier. Be happy. Me, too.

p.s. The photo is of the happiest plant on my porches. This was not the year of the thriving plants and flowers, but for some reason, this coleus, in a spot I considered probably too sunny, just gets more rich and beautiful every day. Perhaps that’s what I’m talking about.

Babysitting A Betta

/ still a dreamer / 10 Comments

Meet Pipsqueak. She is a female betta, a type of fish sometimes known as Siamese Fighting Fish. But Pipsqueak is a lover, not a fighter.

Each year I watch my neighbors’ pets for a week or two when they go on vacation. Up until now, that has included their 2 cats and their pond fish. As they built a new and much larger pond this year, I am also caring for koi in the pond as well. But my next charge was brought over in a glass vase by the younger daughter, C. It was a betta. Bettas are new to me.

C. gave me instructions to change the water once a week, and gave me food that appeared to me like the pond goldfish food crumbled up with instructions on how often to feed Pipsqueak. Without a filtration system in there and after talking with a friend, I felt a bit concerned. So … me being me … I stopped at Petco and purchased a book on bettas, which will be for C. when she returns, and some food formulated especially for these fish. My suspicion was correct in that the water needs to be changed way more often for that size vase. I had also noticed the small rocks in there had some rough edges which might tear her delicate fins and many cracks which could harbor bacteria. No problem, I have many decorative marbles. And so I read about bettas.

Pipsqueak has already had her second water change, now has safer rounded-edge flat marbles, and a food to suit her needs. She actually has enough room to swim in that vase. I’d probably give her something bigger, go for plants, etc. but she really isn’t my fish. My adjustments are to insure her health and that she’ll be doing well when C. returns. She’s a great kid, about 12 years old, that really does like animals. I think she will be interested to learn what more she can do for her little fish.

Now Pipsqueak … I didn’t know much about bettas, though I’ve never been crazy about any animals kept in small spaces, (and that is different with this fish), but I didn’t expect too much from her personality-wise. Well, has Pipsqueak surprised me! She’s an amazing little fish, watches what I do, comes up to say hello, etc. and otherwise swims about her little “tank.” I keep her with me as much as I can as she is actually quite curious! (Not next to the computer, not in sunlight.) At night, she’s on top of a bookcase where the cats don’t see her.

I am always humbled when I meet and learn about a new kind of animal. Every animal, bird, insect, fish, reptile … has it’s own life, habits, needs and … personality. We rarely give them enough credit for being the amazing creatures they truly are. So I am enjoying Pipsqueak and trying to give her a pleasant time while she’s visiting. It didn’t take long to see … she’s so much more than “just a fish.”

In the wise words of Anatole France,
“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

Another Reason I Love Summer

/ still a dreamer / 10 Comments

Reading.

One of the wonderful things about summer is that the light lasts so much longer. OK, that can mean more time to get things done, but it also lends itself to sitting outside and reading for awhile after one is done those very things. Another wonderful reason to love summer? NOTHING on television. Repeats, silly reality shows, (except Master Chef), not one thing to make one want to curl up and engage with some characters on a good drama or have a good chuckle. All that adds up to?

Reading.

I just finished Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, another excellent book. And, like The Last Templar, it’s a novel which offers insight into an historic period/series of events I’ve known little about, the internment of the Japanese during World War II. This is a beautifully written novel. It is, all at the same time, a story about the cultural differences of an American and Japanese who fall in young love, a murder mystery told through a courtroom drama, aspects of life on San Piedro island – the men who make their living fishing on the ocean and those who cultivate the land on strawberry farms, the experience of some of the islanders who fought in the war and the aftereffects, and the rounding up and shipping off of the island’s Japanese residents and the conditions they were forced to endure.

Sounds like a pretty tall order, but Guterson is a wonderful writer and he captures it all. The snow, the cedars, the ocean, strawberries – all are practically characters in their own right. I’ll be holding my breath, but am going to get the movie.

And now I’ m reading a children’s book, Holes by Louis Sacher. Holes was the American Library Association’s 1999 Newbery winner. Awhile back, I decided to start reading what is considered the best in children’s literature and made a list – those that I wanted to read selected from among the Newbery winners. However, I  prefer this list – the ALA Newbery medal winners AND the Honor books chosen – many not-to-be-missed books were right behind the medal winners.

Hoping you’re finding some time to read whatever you love while the daylight lingers ….

Medieval Murder Mystery

/ still a dreamer

The Last Templar by Michael Jecks caught my eye at the annual library sale because the London Times jacket notes said “The most wickedly plotted medieval mystery novel.”  I am drawn to medieval times, particularly the music and Gregorian chants, (and the Cloisters in NYC!), but I couldn’t recall ever seeing a mystery of any kind being written in this time period. I was intrigued.

I also have just enough information about the Templars – very little, that is – to want to know more. Let me say this. How this book is written is everything we are told in our workshops, critiques, etc. how not to write. It is all tell, and rarely show. Jecks wrote this in 1995, however, and I believe writing style was quite different then. This is also his style. For me, there was a bit of overkill throughout in how the bailiff, Simon Puttock, contemplated and worried about the murders of the town farmer and the abbott, Oliver de Penne, and had to consider Sir Baldwin Furnshill as a suspect.

And yet … I kept on reading! Why? The Last Templar had a pretty good plot and the mystery surrounding the murders was a good one. I was also enjoying the descriptions of medieval life and learning new words of the period. I enjoyed getting background on what was happening at the time with the Templars, the Pope, the Church and the Inquisition. It was a way of taking in some new history as well as solving a mystery!

One thing I really would have liked, as the main characters did a bit of traveling around England, was a map. This seems like a minor point, perhaps, but when in a new environment where locations are critical to the evolving story, I find a map invaluable. I love that the Mercy Thompson series has a map of the area of Washington State in which the story took place and that there is also one in Snow Falling on Cedars of San Piedro Island. Who lives where, where boats come in, what part of the island who grew up on all become intricate parts of the story. I like maps; I find them helpful in cases such as these.

Would you like The Last Templar? I think the writing style might not be for everyone, but if you like a good murder mystery ….

 

 

 

Poetry in Motion

/ still a dreamer / 8 Comments

 

I don’t think you need to be an animal lover, or even a lover of horses, to appreciate the elegance and spirit of the Friesians in this video. But if you are … prepare yourself for a real treat. The magnificence of these animals is simply moving.

KFPS Friesians will not allow the video to be embedded, and in fact, the horses will be much better appreciated full screen. Take a look and enjoy.