Emotion's place in life's journey

Ups and downs, hills and valleys, a song that has a range that summons tears; and, if it's classic, the memory of the notes, the harmony, the mood and the message, endurably lives on.

A good analogy for life: all its parts, complicated, simple, thick and thin, deeper depths of living as we age, some of us make it to the status of memorable.

We are like songs. We carry our melodies, and hope we can blend in those pieces that come to us unbidden...grab a friend, create a new and different composition. We feel our emotions leave their stamps on us. Emotions are our ego's expression of those energies attracted by our "doings" in the world. We do, we feel the repercussions, an emotion is associated, and we express it. Song, dance, visual manipulation, writing, are for us to emote with in a way others can share the feeling of our experience or emotion.

We humans, as a common species, tend to be universal; and therefore, commonly understand certain things. For example, all of us have emotions. Even the so-called emotionless sociopath, experiences something that triggers his or her behaviors.

There probably aren't many "new" emotions, but there are new ways of thinking about emotions that have been around since our caveman days. That is to be aware of the emotion, aware of the trigger, and then take control of it. Use as much emotion as you need to, but properly place it to work for you, not against you. I also have to remember that exercising a choice that is preferable for me, is not going to please anyone necessarily, nor are many people going to even notice anyway. I am truly free to exercise choices with the understanding that I also must deal with the consequences, intended or not.

My emotion today came from anger at a verbal response to my own question, at which I took offense. I think my anger was righteous anger, and I think it was mild anger, appropriate to the situation. I did not show my anger. I simply left the room when I had decided that I would not sit and be miserable for two hours in an overheated room.

I could not control the room temperature because a woman had made herself in charge of room temperature. She presumed to speak out for the entire roomful of people who were all "cold." I was sweating.

I feel righteous in defending myself or protecting myself from this controlling force. I can control me, so I decided to excuse myself from a class that was important to me in order to stay in control of my own comfort zone; and in order not to let this lady have satisfaction of determining that I would be physically uncomfortable in an un-airconditioned room for two hours with the temperature 94 degrees outside.

I feel better for having made the decision to control my comfort, but with that decision came the decision to give up any learning that might have taken place. I don't think there was a right or wrong choice, just a choice and a repercussion. Cause & effect. So it was my choice to miss class in order to stick up for myself, control my comfort; and, not let this woman know I was going to sit there miserable because of HER choice.

This was also healthy for me so that I would not sit there and become more angry as my temperature rose. No resentment.

And so each emotional path we choose, and length we allow it to travel, the low or the high road we take, the means by which we will travel, allow us the power we need to write our lives. We can create harmonic compositions and change the moods as we experience the days. Eventually we will see the exquisite blend of high notes, low notes, and all the refrains running through the sophisticated symphony we have made.

Comments welcome

Muse Empire

Girls of Riyadh

By Rajaa Alsanea, a decent read and a wonderful look into the lives of a group of people Americans might otherwise not see. Rajaa, a 25-year-old author, now of some fame, produced a series of emails over time, that told in detail the intimate lives of her Saudi girlfriends. The emails have now been compiled into a novel, and for a 25-year-old, I have to say, she keep the reader engaged.

I was interested to earn many new Arabic phrases, and her perceived differences among people from different regions of Saudi Arabia. She dishes the old school customs that prevent young Saudis from partnering with someone they find suitable for themselves, while yet honoring her family and forefathers & mothers.

Certainly, anyone interested in learning a bit more about the Muslim faith as seen and practied by this modern Arabic woman, should give this book a go. I rate it on a scale of 1-5, a 4.

Re-Connect to Past

How peculiar to reconnect with Husband No. 1 after 34 years. Credit the power of technology and even, Google! Funniest thing, though, is that he was looking me up, about the same time I, was looking him up. Not too much seemed to have changed for him, though he had divorced the lady who stole his heart, i.e. one of my good friends!

She has moved on to another love, after he left her for her wacky ways! Wackier than mine? Apparently!

Me, I moved on to many other loves, loved, lost, and finally in my fifties, may be finding myself and I like me! I never liked myself much til now. Now that I have given up on comparing myself to others for better or for worse. It just feels good to be me.

I have come to terms with my mania ;-) and let it be part of me, yet, in recognizing it and allowing for it, giving it its due, I seemed to have tamed it. I know it and it knows me.

I'm not sure what he has come to terms with, this husband no. 1, but I found him after all these years, witty (and I remember that he always was), stable (though I think he went through some weird years) with wife no 2 who lasted many years, to the point of getting grown girls educated and out of the house...

He gives no indication he'd like to meet up....I was kind of hoping he'd like to....but that's ok....but he did credit me with starting him out on his tennis career. We started tennis lessons together in 1974 and played tournaments and league tennis. Now, he coaches and teaches tennis, in a town near you!! Apparently, he's been quite faithful to the sport. This makes me proud of him.

I don't know what I came on this earth to do, but I know I've fought many battles, mostly with myelf. I cannot begin to figure out how this relatively short life on earth impacts our spirit and what we do once we pass the borders of this atmosphere and return to the "place" or space from which we came.

But it is interesting to catch up to someone whom you haven't laid eyes on or spoken to in 34 years, but someone you loved and cared for, and to find out a bit about what they have lived. I encourage anyone who can, to contact someone, a best friend, a relative, a lover, and find out how what's up. Who knows what door it may open, or not. We have to be willing to understand that there are no obligations on either side, and perhaps the gesture may not even be welcome. But we can try.

Here's to our past, and better, our present!

Sue Uncle Sam for 84 million dollar loss

In a perfect world, Uncle Sam and his State cronies, should be taken to task in a courtroom for the damage done to this crop.

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3025668/

The upperhandedness of our government, in this case North Carolina, has gone too far. This was a cash crop that in fact, should be legal. Why?

It's just not ethical to destroy anyone's crop of anything. I come to this conclusion having just read Ken Follet's "The Ends of the Earth" in which during medieval times, the earl of the shire could just come along and trample anything the peasants grew on their own that wasn't officially approved. In fact, in the book, a youth was growing "madder" for the dye. He was, like our 84 million dollar loser in North Carolina, growing it for his own profit and purposes.

On horseback, the earl trampled the plants in the forest until there was nothing left of them. Ironically, this particular plant's value was in it's roots which when dried and made into powder, was used as a valuable red dye. Viciously, he did this, just to spite the youth and his peasantry and to show him who was in control.

Our government goes too far. First, in the fact they would allow tobacco to be grown all over the country, a profitable crop that destroys the health of the people who use it. However, a crop such as was grown North Carolina has basically been determined to harm no one. There seems a viciousness in denying a huge population through the country, the right to inhale a different (non-approved) brand of smoke.

Tyranny. Fascism. Fiefdom rule. As Americans, this is just one small example of the trampling of our rights to do what we wish with our land.

If this story involve my land, and this were me, I would investigate whether the government itself grows this crop, and if so, I would take it all the way to the Supreme Court to find out if it's OK for Tanto Sam, why it isn't OK for the American people. This needs to stop. It's an outrage.

Ellen v. Oprah: Laugh or cry

Let's get real, Oprah is out and Ellen is in. Suddenly, viewers are tiring of the same ole same ole tragedy ending in happiness. Oprah, while admirable and trend setting over the past few years, is expiring into tragic story oblivion.

Ellen, on the other hand, cracks you up constantly. She is off the wall and her guests are upbeat, funny, and their stories never sad. She takes a different approach, asks questions that require thought rather than the canned answers you can expect on Oprah. Oprah: "How difficult was that for you?" Guest: "Oh it was difficult, difficult."

I love the episodes of Ellen in which she goes out into the public arena and interacts with people who are working on their everyday by the hour jobs. She did See's Candies today and I thought I would fall in the floor laughing. She goes for the expressions on the faces of the workers or customers. She's great.

Her guests are unusual and offer something interesting, different, and most oftentimes, funny. After work what I want is FUNNY. The stress of a day is so wonderfully counteracted by laughter.

I love her marriage to Portia and that they are so into their lives together. Ellen gives gay women everywhere a reason to believe they can be recognized as "together" and that it is "ok."

So, I am leaving Oprah after devout viewing over the past six months...for Ellen. Sorry, Oprah, I need the laughs.

Past thinking about future becomes...

the scary present.



No food...cost exhorbitant if available at all. Riots in the streets.

People go from freegans to outlaws, even cannibals. Thangs don't look so good.

What will we do? Really?

I read the fear-filled novels written by the LaHaye's about the end of the world as we know it.

I know the Bible says the world will not be deluged with water ever again, but fire and brimstone. Take comfort, ya'll......

When you look around the world as we know have the power to do through technology, we see it all seeming to crumble, to fall apart....entropy of some sort in motion.

With the continuous expansion of the universe, the likelihood is a neverendingness of the human condition. How can things so bad get better?
I don't see it.

What do you do but enjoy your moment as you have it, each and every expansive moment. Get out of each life's breath the depth of where it will carry you.

Only then can we find tranquility, even as we quake and flood and cower to our tsunami deaths. How is it we are supposed to live in those moments but to make peace with them as they present themselves. "This is the way I was meant to die?"

Human living makes no sense to me. No sense at all.