Be Brave Buckeroo!!-

Lately, I just can't seem to shake this thing in my head!! Perhaps it's just me, but does anyone else ever wonder just how much imagination it takes to come up with Yoda? I mean, really. Just dream him up, out of thin air. With no prototype, just sort of have some sort of story that is so fantastic, so creative, so imaginitive....something no one else every thought of before.

I've been thinking about that a lot lately. What kind of person does it take to create something new? How brave do you need to be to let your imagination guide you, and put that to paper? Or to research that thing that no one else really believes in, but you know in your heart it's there...just not quite yet.

I think that way about many things. Music, for example. Back in the day, it was just live. Some records, some tours, a bus or two. Fast forward to today...artists can't even release a cd anymore before four or five songs are already downloaded and people have moved on to something else. That kind of evolution takes vision......I remember when music videos first came out (including that forward thinking ditty...'Video killed the radio star...'), transitioning from casettes to cds...and now mp3 format. Who thought of making music fit onto cd's?

What are those kinds of people like? Like the person who designed hot air balloons. I guess that's the nature of inventive mind. My brother-in-law is an inventor. I can't tell you how impressed I am with that. Someone who saw a problem and came up with a solution to solve that problem. Then passed it on. When I think about it, it blows my mind.

Another example is when someone writes a book about things such as Hobbits, and Rings and Kings who need to return to their thrones. Middle Earth was something created in someone's mind and put to paper, then shared with the world. Amazing.

I sense I'm rambling. Not really making a point, but I guess my real thought is that courage and bravery and strength are all strong character traits, not usually given to the creative souls of our world. But lately, I have been impressed with how strong and brave and courageous one has to be to believe in oneself enough to let the world see your passion. It has to be put out there.

To all the George Lucas's and Tolkien's out there.........be brave and strong and courgeous. I, for one, can't wait to see what you have to offer.

My new little corner

I have a new little corner of the world.

It's a pretty amazing place really. Lots of people, but nobody in particular.

I race out of the office to take my lunch break as if my life depended on it. The actual timing changes every day, but it's still as important as ever. I have a new little corner where I can see everybody. Parents with children, children with parents, those who use wheels, those who are ambulatory. All shapes and sizes on the their way here, and there, and nowhere in particular.

There is one woman who comes every day. Even though she's there over the lunch hour, she never eats anything, just buys her coffee and sits in the same chair. Every day.

You can tell she loves it there. She's in my corner of the world. She sees all those people. She just watches them. Listens to the snippets of conversations that pass her by. It's amazing all those people with all those plans, all heading somewhere in particular.....while she sits.

She doesn't talk to anyone but the coffee barrista. She always smiles, pays her money and then finds her chair by the window. One day there was someone in her usual chair. It seemed to throw her off, but after standing for a moment, she rebounded and found another spot, a different vantage point for a different kind of day.

Sometimes I wonder about it. I wonder about her and I wonder about all those people who are walking to and fro.

I'm guessing that what makes this tiny corner of the world so special is that it's a cross-section. It's a place where common and uncommon meet. A place where lives are changed, made better, muddled through, and where some are gainfully employed. I'm guessing why she likes her spot so much is because she has a chance to watch all of that movement, all of that universal energy and engagement come together in one place. She can watch other people's lives, even just for ten seconds and imagine their world. Their comings and goings. Their passions and their bitterness. All picked up from snippets of ten second conversations. Their burdens walk by her, and their celebrations as strollers hurry through. Busses drop off and pick up. Husbands help wives from their walkers into their cars. Tender smiles, kind touches abound.

She sees it all.

And she wonders.

And then, just as quickly, she snaps out of it, and wanders quickly back to work, ...patients and co-workers alike, waiting for her to return......

.......from my little corner of the world.

More about characters....you know who you are!

You know what kind of people I really love? I love characters. People who are different....they think differently, dress differently, act true to themselves....characters. Usually I find people are either manipulated by their own genius, or simply just manipulated. Those would be the 'cookie-cutter' people who you find along the way who are just like everyone else. The ones who leave an impression are those who capture my interest and my imagination.

To me, genius is not measured by the status of a person, or the perceived worth of their possessions, or where they are on the societal food chain. In my mind, true geniuses are those who do not live in fear to be their own person. They are the characters. Their sphere of influence may be small or large, but they have one and they know it,...and are true to it.

Most of the people I have gravitated towards are those kinds of people. My closest friends are characters in that way. In all honesty, they all teach me something powerful. I watch them, how they handle their lives, how they interact in challenging circumstances, how they allow their true heart to lead them instead of outside forces.

Out of all the gifts that God has blessed me with, I think that in the bigger picture, it's the exposure He has allowed to all those 'characters' who have freely given a piece of themselves to me. My heart feels like one huge cement sidewalk piece where others have stepped in the wet cement and left their footprints as a reminder of things that are important.

Some characters have passed away. Some live very close to me. Some I haven't connected with for a long time, while others I talk to every day. I am a sponge to those who would pour something good into my life, I just can't seem to get enough.

To all of those characters who might end up reading about yourselves here.........thank you......from the bottom of my cement, foot-print covered heart. What you have shown me and given me will be guarded and treasured and hopefully passed on as I learn the art of giving myself away from each of you.

Thank you.

The Important Players

Remember that old Elvis song about life being a stage and all of us are playing our parts? I was thinking about that last night. The important players in my world.

There are lots of people of influence over the years. People who have left HUGE impressions, who have been there just at the exact hour of need, those who manage somehow to come along side for a time.

The two pictures in the prevous post are two of my important players. I had written a big huge thing to accompany the pics but it got erased when I tried to post. I didn't retry to put those thoughts back into words.

Now though, I can't get out of my head how life changes so fast. Years come and go. These two women bring my life into balance in a way I could never do on my own. God knew what he was doing when our little trio was created. Even though they represent greater things to me than just one word each but if I was to try to explain it, Wendy represents all that is safety to me, while Becky is all things freedom. One gives me wings and the other gives me roots. How unbelievable is that! The really amazing thing is that you never know when you're going to need your roots or your wings. There is a time for everything.......roots and wings. Today I need them both.

Life is changing quickly.

Meet 2 other amazing players.

You know how you have 2 sides to your brain - and there are people who tend towards one side or the other - left-brain people and right-brain people?

Somehow I have a heart like that. It has developed into my left-side heart and my right-side heart. One side is named Mike, the other side Sam.

Good solid strong names for good solid strong boys.

It's unbelievable how God made us with the capacity to totally envelope another human being, sometimes more, in that unconditional love. That love that allows us the freedom to give roots and wings, which we all need at one time or another.

In all honesty, I have no idea what kind of parent I am. All I really do know is that if one of those sides of my heart didn't exist, my whole world would be out of balance. I didn't know that 16 years ago. I didn't know it 11 years ago. I know it now.

What I am most thankful for is that no matter where life takes them, they carry a piece of my heart with them forever. Their own half!!

I am an incredibly fortunate woman.