..."Life is Good"..."It's all good"..."Don't Worry Be Happy"...

“Thank goodness for all the things you are not, thank goodness you're not something someone forgot, and left all alone in some punkerish place, like a rusty tin coat hanger hanging in space.” ~Dr. Seuss

Bob Marley’s song, “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” was playing on the local radio station. It was the last song I heard before I went out and mowed the grass, which seemed to have sprung up an additional three inches overnight. I hummed the tune while the lyrics played in my mind. With each pass across the lawn, I started thinking about the accuracy of any of those popular expressions and how my more human nature wanted to argue with the statements. Things in my life and the lives of others did not always seem so wonderful. Dr. Seuss once said, “In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!” I know the statement is absurd and may even put a smile on your face, but how can we pretend everything is good when so many painful things are happening to people, animals and to the earth itself? Wouldn’t it be better if there were peace, prosperity, and happiness for everyone, and all parts of the world were treated with the greatest kindness?

This beautiful planet and its inhabitants have been suffering for a long period of time. We have experienced all kinds of fear-based events. People of one country, religion, or race have been taught to hate those who are different. We have felt powerless to create the lives we want, where peace, love, health and prosperity prevail. We have stood by and watched Mother Earth being devastated from wars, pollution, and a plundering of her resources.

This planet has been a difficult place to live and many have realized that the right thing to do is to learn from our mistakes and do whatever serves the highest good of all concerned. Yes, life can be good. It can all become good by watching and experiencing extremes of what didn’t seem fair and right, and protest such unfairness whether it’s in our private lives, in our communities or world wide. The awakening we are experiencing is growing. We have faith and our combined energies are shifting to hopefully make all our lives all good.

Some of the things I have learned

I’ve learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you learned from them.

I’ve learned that a diploma hanging on the wall doesn’t make someone a smart or decent human being.

I’ve learned the school of hard knocks may be the best education out there.

I’ve learned that money doesn’t even the playing field and is a lousy way to keep score.

I’ve learned that members of your family may not always be there for you, nor are they always biological.

I’ve learned that a stranger can change your life in a matter of minutes.

I learned a secret could change your life forever. 

I’ve learned that book smart is not the same as experience on the job.

I’ve learned no matter how hard to try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt, and you will hurt in the process.

I’ve learned that real heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, despite the consequences.

I’ve learned that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I’ve learned to tell someone what he or she means to you because we’re not promised another day.

I’ve learned to be at peace with my flaws and imperfections.

...I Remember You...

A vacation is supposed to make you feel revived. When you come back home you should feel rejuvenated and re-energized to take on the world again. But when your vacation involves a poignant journey into your past it can reveal a lot about the person you have become. You can either come home renewed or depressed. Nothing about the vacation I returned home from this summer was anything less than uplifting. Time flickered away like the many candles that were burned, and before I knew it, two weeks had passed. Secrets, splendid points of view, and spirited conversations arose.

Adventurous antiquing, good food and being back in my home state surrounded by the beautiful Great Lakes filled the gaps of my heart as we consumed a variety of good wine. Girlfriends and Sisters of the Heart made this one of the most memorable trips I have made in a very long time. There is enough joy in my heart to last me until the next time we all meet again.

I recently invited my son to lunch. He wanted to know, and I wanted to tell him, where I went, and whom I met with. Well naturally, I brought pictures to the restaurant to give him a slide show. After all, what is a good story without pictures? When he came upon one of the pictures of myself with two other women in a restaurant, he wanted to know who they were and how they fit into my life. I told him about that particular evening, and as I told how the events unfolded it brought tears to my eyes.

It all started many years ago when two girls were born three days apart and lived two doors away from one another from the day they were born. I’m talking about my friend Sue, and me. I liked to rub it in when we were kids about being the oldest, but it was always in fun. We were the first two babies to be baptized on the same Sunday at the same church. We went to the same schools, and did all the childhood things together, learning to ride bikes, skate, and no matter what we did, it was non-competitive, no quarrels, and no jealousy. We did everything together and for the most part were inseparable for many years, especially during the formidable and character building years of our youth.

I moved away after we started high school. I was so mad at the world during that time, I abandoned my childhood friend and my prior life and reinvented myself (I’m not going into that historical era, because it’s irrelevant to this story). Sue was my Maid of Honor when I married two weeks out of high school, it only seemed fitting she would be the one. After that, our lives became very different, and although she was forever in my heart, we drifted apart.

We reconnected during the past couple years and agreed to meet half way from where I was staying and from where she lived. Sue was bringing her 93-year-old mother with her, who I considered my second mom growing up. Mrs. S’s law was my mom’s law and if I screwed up or misbehaved, she had the inherent right to scold me like one of her own kids. But, I also remember many hugs and kind words that made me cherish those growing years.

Mrs. S suffers from Alzheimer’s and has for some time now. Sue told me she may not remember me because she has days she doesn’t recognize her own daughter or other family members. I assured her it didn’t matter, because I remember who she is and who she was to me. They arrived at the restaurant shortly after I did, and in a blink of an eye, the past forty years was blurred and I saw my friend and her mom as I remembered so long ago. I fought back the tears, because I knew there would be plenty when we said good-bye. The wait staff graciously ushered us to our own private area to reminisce, which ended up being way too short. I thought Mrs. S may have remembered my mother or me from the bright glimpse in her eyes when Sue tried to convey who I was, but the conversation was thwarted in a matter of a few minutes. Flutters of memories flashed in my mind, I saw her laughing with my mom and planning our combined birthday parties, the Mother and Daughter Banquets we attended with our grandmothers. I smelled the cookies she made and the warmth of the hot cocoa she fixed after we froze ourselves ice-skating, all of which seemed like yesterday.

Like all good things, they sometimes come to an end. I hate goodbyes. I loathe the sinking feeling I get when the words pass over my lips. It’s inevitable and you know it’s going to happen. It doesn’t mean you have to like it, you just accept it. Placing my sunglasses on before the tears welled in my eyes, Sue and I hugged. I hid what I dreaded the most…another goodbye. I reached in the car and hugged my dear friend’s mom, and as I did, she kissed me on the cheek and said, “I love you, Mary Louise.” In that instant, I was reduced to being six years old again.

...Log Cabins, Sweet Red Wine, Laughter & Bats

There are some people in life who bring out the best in you. With them, you are able to say whatever’s on your mind. You connect with them in a way that’s easy and unforced. ~M

Pick any one of the title words and there will be a story to follow. Ask any one of the four middle-aged, once hippie types females who spent a week together in a log cabin with one bathroom and uninvited midnight visitors, and each one will tell you their version of exactly what happened. The short of it is, (sorry girls) we once again became little screaming girls coving our heads with beach towels as we dodged the unwelcome flying critters.

I often wonder when things happen in three’s if there’s a symbolic meaning to it. In my life it has, it’s usually been either good or bad and rarely anything in between. But, being the curious woman I am, I wanted to know what the meaning of being visited by bats on three separate occasions meant. Let's face it; the bat isn't the most popular of animals. In fact, it's largely misunderstood and so therefore, many of its symbolic meanings are inappropriately fear-based. So together, we delved into the meaning of bats from the Native American perspective and this is what we found out about them after the last sleepless night in cabin number one.

The Native American animal symbolism of the bat comes from keen observation. These spiritual people recognized that the bat was highly sensitive to their surroundings and so therefore was considered a symbol of intuition, dreaming, and vision. This made the bat a powerful symbol for Native American shamans and medicine people. Often the spirit of the bat would be invoked when special energy was needed, like "night-sight" which is the ability to see through illusion or ambiguity and dive straight to the truth of matters.

The bat is a highly social creature and has strong family ties. They are very nurturing, exhibiting verbal communication, touching, and sensitivity to members of their group. The bat also symbolizes awareness of your surroundings and sensitivity to the feelings of others and perception on a psychic level. The bat is a symbol of rebirth and depth because it is a creature that lives in the belly of the Mother (Earth). From the womb-like caves, it emerges every evening at dusk; and so, from the womb it is reborn every evening.

Native Americans view the bat as a commitment to spiritual growth and self-improvement. It helps us reap some of the most profound rewards like:
· Dying to our ego
· Loving our enemies as ourselves
· Going within to touch our inner demons
· Exploring reality (which can be scary)
· Renewing our thoughts and beliefs on a moment-to-moment basis

All of these tasks can be harrowing experiences. This is why the Native American symbolism of the bat deals with initiation, because this creature takes us to outlandish extremes, and rest assured, the bat is never leaves our side while we are journeying.

Interestingly enough, our small group of like-minded women saw the symbolism of our nocturnal visitors. We came together after thirty-five years to a familiar place and put our differences and our pasts behind us. We touched and buried the demons that made us who we are and what we have become today because of them. We forgave one another for acts of betrayal. We talked, we cried, and we drank a lot of wine. We held onto one another and we laughed sometimes in a stupor for the lack of sleep. We did this until seven days passed.

These are a few things I leaned from this experience; incidentally, most of them are intrinsic of the Native American bat animal symbolism:
· Illusion
· Rebirth
· Dreams
· Intuition
· Initiation
· Journeying
· Inner Depth
· Communication

We were up early that last Saturday morning, our faces hurt from smiling, our throats sore from talking, our eyes red from the tears and lack of sleep (or was it from the burning sage and cigarette smoke?) After an emotional goodbye, we all went our separate ways hiding our tears behind our dark sunglasses and will ardently await our next reunion.

“It takes a while to earn the title “girl” friend and a lifetime to know its true meaning. But once this person enters your soul, she will walk forever beside you…”