There's something to be said about manners, don't you think? They're one of those aspects of our lives that is either active, dormant, or totally dead. I love a good show of chivalry - someone holding a door open for a person, saying "thank you" and "excuse me", even cracking a smile. Manners are not one of those old-fashioned traditions people used to live out when they walked around town with dresses up to their necks, and top hats and canes shouting, "Cheerio!" to their fellow streetwalkers. They have everything to do with respect. Don't we all want to be treated with respect? Don't we all want to be acknowledged that our presence matters? I would certainly hope we would all say yes.
Greetings aren't the only types of manners that hold value, but even (dare I say?) holding in what I like to call "gaseous vapors" at the dinner table. Now belches, on the other hand, are actually considered a gesture of respect in some countries. I don't know if I could go so far as to say that, myself. I'm not really into hearing or smelling someone's eau-du-toilette scent while I'm trying to enjoy my macaroni and cheese or a sweet indulgence of chocolate cake. Sound gross? That's because it is. That's where manners come in to play to save the day!! So let's focus on manners as being innate or cultural. More than likely they are cultural. My mom raised me to keep my elbows off the table when I ate. Being an adult now, I still remember her voice in my head telling me to put my elbows down and sit up straight when I'm eating (I will admit, I tend to fall off the wagon at times). They are good qualities to have, they're not nit-picky, just ways of showing self-respect and dignity. Manners do matter.
NEXT: Dogs
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
...miss the wind
I should have written this post a week ago when it was actually very windy outside. A funny take on my title since I literally missed writing about the wind ON the windy day! haha :) And it hasn't been very windy at all since then! Nevertheless, I am still able to write about it because it is one of the wonders of nature that ministers to me so very much. "How can someone miss the wind?" Easy...by focusing on the messy hair, the papers flying away, the leaves or seeds flying off of a tree and into one's eyes. There may be a statement made such as, "Oh that wind!", but it's purpose can be missed. The wind is that healing mechanism God sends our way to remind us that there is reprieve for the faint-hearted. The wind is all around us to envelope us and give us a sense of security...the security that we are alive, and not just simply alive, but alive with a purpose...just like the wind. When it is hot outside, what do we love more than a cool drink to quench us? We love that wind, that breeze that brushes our faces, blows back our hair to cool our scalp, and relaxes us.
We know a tempest blow can cause such destruction that there is no turning back. The mighty wind is to be respected. It is part of nature. It is totally out of our control, yet we think we try to control it by holding up an umbrella or our hand to block it. We see the effects of the wind, we feel them, and fortunately, we can even smell them at times. I absolutely love when gushes of wind blow around me, and the paralyzing scent of a blooming jasmine stops me in my track. I can't get enough of it. I have to keep sniffing the air...sniff after sniff. The wind is my friend then, don't you think? One of the best, simple pleasures in life is looking out the window and seeing trees sway, colorful leaves glistening in the sun, and the only way you can see the fullness of the glisten is because the wind is moving them!
Have you ever stood at the bottom of a tall aspen tree in Autumn and looked straight up? I have done that. It was the most amazing thing. I just stood there, watching these little hands of yellow dance wildly back and forth, all around because the wind was, in essence, the puppeteer. I remember being at youth camp long ago and our campground was in the mountains. There was a big field we had to hike up to, and it was vastly open. My friends and I laid down in the grass, and I felt the breeze come through the trees across the field. I watched clouds move by so fast. The combination of the wind and those clouds made me feel the closest to Heaven I have ever felt. That's the wind.
NEXT WEEK: Oh, the beauty of a life lived with manners
We know a tempest blow can cause such destruction that there is no turning back. The mighty wind is to be respected. It is part of nature. It is totally out of our control, yet we think we try to control it by holding up an umbrella or our hand to block it. We see the effects of the wind, we feel them, and fortunately, we can even smell them at times. I absolutely love when gushes of wind blow around me, and the paralyzing scent of a blooming jasmine stops me in my track. I can't get enough of it. I have to keep sniffing the air...sniff after sniff. The wind is my friend then, don't you think? One of the best, simple pleasures in life is looking out the window and seeing trees sway, colorful leaves glistening in the sun, and the only way you can see the fullness of the glisten is because the wind is moving them!
Have you ever stood at the bottom of a tall aspen tree in Autumn and looked straight up? I have done that. It was the most amazing thing. I just stood there, watching these little hands of yellow dance wildly back and forth, all around because the wind was, in essence, the puppeteer. I remember being at youth camp long ago and our campground was in the mountains. There was a big field we had to hike up to, and it was vastly open. My friends and I laid down in the grass, and I felt the breeze come through the trees across the field. I watched clouds move by so fast. The combination of the wind and those clouds made me feel the closest to Heaven I have ever felt. That's the wind.
NEXT WEEK: Oh, the beauty of a life lived with manners
Thursday, February 10, 2011
...deprive
Okay...this word can wear different cloaks. It can relate to food. It can relate to love. It has many different facets. Deprivation is that state of being that can cause a person to head one of two directions: within or without. There is no middle ground to it. If I deprive myself of small luxuries, I will personally get edgy, unsettled, and I will start to feel a slight imprisonment. That may sound a bit narcissistic, but nonetheless, it is reality.
I don't have much pocket change to live on, if you know what I mean, but there is no way I am going to deprive myself of buying a $7 handbag at the thrift store if I see one that just really gets my goat. This doesn't happen that often, but when the opportunity comes around, I take it. You gotta live life still. Surely, that's something more materialistic in the grand scheme of things, but I think I work hard enough in my days to enjoy those little indulgences. I don't deprive myself of the allowance. Nobody is put on this earth to just slave away and not be able to reap some kind of reward for their toil, however small. I must give myself grace and mercy to partake. It's okay. The same goes for food. Fat = flavor...ya gotta love butter. I'm not talking margarine...I'm talking real butter. Real sugar. Real cream. Too many people deprive themselves of those kinds of little luxuries. There is a fine line between indulging and savoring. Deprivation is not keeping us from indulging...it's keeping us from savoring. I say, "Go ahead...eat that tasty treat..." I like to say (and I mean this with all positive regard), "We're all gonna die someday...we might as well enjoy the food on the way out."
When it comes to other types of deprivation, I will just hone in on one, in particular...and it's heavy, but in my opinion, if a person is not dealing with something heavy in life, however small or big...well, is that person really experiencing the depth of life? I'm talking about being deprived of love. The entire world, past, present, and future, is longing and aching and screaming for love. Real love...the kind that bestows dignity and sanctity upon a human being. It's not easy being love-deprived. I have people in my life right now, in the past, and probably will have in the future, who are depriving me of love. These people are depriving me of relationship...it's hard, it's hurtful...so what do I do? Do I deprive them because they're depriving me? That's a big question to chew on. It's challenging to answer. Part of me wants to do that right back at 'em. But where would that get either of us? "Ticket to downtown Nowhere Fast"...that's where. We are placed on this earth to give the love that has been freely given to us. Nobody should be deprived of love. We all learn as we go. Don't deprive someone of knowing who you are. There's bound to be someone who is ready and willing to accept what we have to offer of ourselves...we're all people...we all have something within us that will enrich the life of another person...let it go.
NEXT WEEK: The wind
I don't have much pocket change to live on, if you know what I mean, but there is no way I am going to deprive myself of buying a $7 handbag at the thrift store if I see one that just really gets my goat. This doesn't happen that often, but when the opportunity comes around, I take it. You gotta live life still. Surely, that's something more materialistic in the grand scheme of things, but I think I work hard enough in my days to enjoy those little indulgences. I don't deprive myself of the allowance. Nobody is put on this earth to just slave away and not be able to reap some kind of reward for their toil, however small. I must give myself grace and mercy to partake. It's okay. The same goes for food. Fat = flavor...ya gotta love butter. I'm not talking margarine...I'm talking real butter. Real sugar. Real cream. Too many people deprive themselves of those kinds of little luxuries. There is a fine line between indulging and savoring. Deprivation is not keeping us from indulging...it's keeping us from savoring. I say, "Go ahead...eat that tasty treat..." I like to say (and I mean this with all positive regard), "We're all gonna die someday...we might as well enjoy the food on the way out."
When it comes to other types of deprivation, I will just hone in on one, in particular...and it's heavy, but in my opinion, if a person is not dealing with something heavy in life, however small or big...well, is that person really experiencing the depth of life? I'm talking about being deprived of love. The entire world, past, present, and future, is longing and aching and screaming for love. Real love...the kind that bestows dignity and sanctity upon a human being. It's not easy being love-deprived. I have people in my life right now, in the past, and probably will have in the future, who are depriving me of love. These people are depriving me of relationship...it's hard, it's hurtful...so what do I do? Do I deprive them because they're depriving me? That's a big question to chew on. It's challenging to answer. Part of me wants to do that right back at 'em. But where would that get either of us? "Ticket to downtown Nowhere Fast"...that's where. We are placed on this earth to give the love that has been freely given to us. Nobody should be deprived of love. We all learn as we go. Don't deprive someone of knowing who you are. There's bound to be someone who is ready and willing to accept what we have to offer of ourselves...we're all people...we all have something within us that will enrich the life of another person...let it go.
NEXT WEEK: The wind
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