Rosh Hashanah

So, today is Rosh Hashanah.  I’m not Jewish, I am a believer in Jesus, but I am fascinated with jewish traditions and rituals.  I can’t say I dug deep here:  Rosh Hashanah begins the holiday more commonly known as the Jewish New Year.  Like many Jewish festivals, it is not a singular day, but a period of time, and it ends with Yom Kippur.  A period of ten days.  I found an article that introduced the concept of “Ten Days of Awe”.  This phrase intrigued me.

I’ve been yearning for some discipline & structure lately, some perspective in a sea of potentially bad news.  So “Ten Days of Awe” sounded like it fit the bill.  In my opinion, the word Awe is holy and separate from all other words.  There are very few, very special things that can create awe.  The birth of a baby is a vivid example of the kind of moment that takes your breath away and leaves you speechless.  In my life, the most common awe-inspiring moments are when God speaks to me.

So starting today, I’m making an appointment with Awe for the next ten days, and you’re invited to tag along if you like.

Day #1:  This morning I read Proverbs 30, Psalm 30, and Romans 1 (Bible chapters).  Wow.  Not only did they speak to the turmoil in the current events of today, but the words encouraged me to rise above the turmoil and gave perspective not only to current events, but to everyday tasks.

Analogies are something God uses to expand my vision and this popped into my head on this First Day of Awe:  Have you ever watched stars at night?  When the kids were small, we’d often go lay in the back yard and stargaze.  We’d look for constellations, planets, airplanes, satellites and the ultimate prize — a shooting star.  Most often, one of us would see one, and we’d all try to see it too, but it was gone in a flash.  Everyone wanted to see at least one, so we’d wait, scanning the heavens.  Some would eventually get bored and leave, but often a tenacious stargazer (me) would continue to wait semi-patiently for that ultimate prize.  When I finally saw one, I’d find myself smiling.

That’s what it’s like when you are listening for God.  You have to wait.  You have to scan.  You have to be semi-patient (better if you are fully patient, but He’s patient, so it works out).  And you have to expect.   Think about it.  Why would anyone lay on damp grass with dew falling waiting to see a shooting star, if they didn’t expect to see one?  Well, the same goes for spending some quiet time focused on the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  His voice can be quick just like a shooting star, but just be patient.  When you hear it — you’ll find yourself smiling.

procrastination

My pampered dog, Shadow, has shown me yet another interesting life lesson. Before I found Shadow, my dog-shopping research had taught me that the high points of owning a poodle are (1) they are very intelligent, and (2) they don’t shed. These qualities also lead to the lower points: they need frequent grooming and they don’t necessarily love what is involved. I learned early-on that, annually, it costs more to get my dog’s hair cut than it does to cut my own. Keep in mind, my poodle is a “standard” or large poodle. He has a LOT of hair.

In order to save some money, I taught myself how to trim Shadow inbetween grooming appointments. However, I’ve also “learned” to extend those inbetween times longer than I should. The last time, he had gotten quite shaggy and dirty. Some of his hair had become matted — when the hair tangles itself into large balls of hair that can actually pull at his skin. I set aside an afternoon and got my shears and began to cut away the offending hair. When I was done, I had enough hair clippings to make another dog! However, Shadow still looked pitiful. Instead of his normal handsome black color, he was an odd shade of gray and the remaining hair felt greasy. He actually looked like he felt embarrassed. After a good scrubbing in the laundry tub, during which time Shadow was VERY unhappy, he returned to his normal color and very happy self.

Poodles, it turns out, don’t have fur. They have hair, and it “sheds” much like human hair does. However, there is so much hair, that instead of shedding all over the floor and furniture like fur, the hair becomes entangled in itself. Add to that the normal skin renewal that all mammals go through, where skin cells die and fall off. These skin cells also become entrapped in the hair. This is how matts, and “doggy smell”, are created. When I had cut off Shadow’s long hair and thick matts, the remaining hair was still filled with dead skin cells that had to be scrubbed off in the bath. (Totally grossed out yet? Hang in there…)

So I started to think about many things in life that I don’t keep groomed: my closet, my thought life, my health, my “To Do” list, and my relationships among other things. If I don’t routinely clean these things (literally and figuratively) then the areas of my life can become unsightly, smelly, and maybe permanently damaged. I procrastinate for many reasons, but in all honesty it’s just not that difficult and it doesn’t take that much time to maintain the areas that need attention. The longer I put it off, the more difficult the job is. When the “grooming” is complete, even if the work has been unpleasant, everyone is MUCH happier. However, it seems that I have to learn this lesson over and over again.
Poor Shadow.

Got Problems?

I noticed that I’ve been waxing a bit sentimental lately in my blog, so Abby assigned me “homework” to blog about something lighter and funnier.  Well, what follows is one of my favorite viral internet stories.  However when I went looking for it, I found this version which has a very funny moral tagged onto the end.  Enjoy!

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.The jackass cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.  Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited his neighbors to come over and help him.  They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.  At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.  Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.  He was astonished at what he saw.  With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer and his neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.  Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, lots of dirt!

The trick to getting along well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!

Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the 5 simple rules to being happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries – Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

NOW . . . enough of all this happy crap . . .

The donkey later came back and bit the heck out of the farmer.  The gashes from the bites became severely infected, and the farmer eventually died in extreme agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY’S LESSON:

When you do something wrong and try to cover your ass, it always comes right back to bite you !!

Moving On

I have a “third child”, a black standard poodle named Shadow. Shadow is a very good dog, although he does believe that the world revolves around him. As far as he is concerned, the reason any and all human beings were created is to play with The Poodle. His perfect day consists of eating, playing, sleeping, and being let out routinely in order to take care of “business”. His simplistic view of life has taught me a few things. Here‘s an example:

Shadow and I often go for a walk on a trail in a local park. Even though he does well on the leash, he totally enjoys being off the leash (don’t we all??) I’m confident in allowing him off-leash because he doesn’t wander or run off, he stays close to me. When another person or dog approaches, I hold his collar or put him on the leash temporarily. He always enjoys meeting new friends and eagerly anticipates these new “contacts” as they approach. Usually contact is minimal because, after all, we are strangers and usually the humans are “working out”. What I’ve noticed, though, is that once these new friends walk past they are totally out of Shadow’s mind. I can release him the instant they pass, and he bounces ahead eagerly anticipating whatever is coming down the trail. He doesn’t turn around to follow, he doesn’t even look back, he just moves on down the trail. Shadow doesn’t dwell in the past, and I can learn something from that. Why dwell extensively on what is now history? What’s the point? Whether the memory is good or bad, an accomplishment or a regret; the good can’t be made better and the bad cannot be fixed. Something new is always coming down the trail and I’m better off moving forward, staying close to those I love, and eagerly anticipating whatever new adventure lies ahead.

Ballroom Marriage

My husband and I took ballroom dancing lessons a few times. As with learning a foreign language, you only get good at it with frequent use and we didn‘t follow through. However, during the lessons we noticed something about ballroom dance ~ a metaphor for marriage ~ so the lessons weren‘t a total waste. I recommend that every couple take ballroom dance lessons at least once, especially engaged couples. The lessons may give you a revealing perspective of your relationship.

During a ballroom dance lesson, the men and women are all taught the same basic steps, individually (the women learn the steps “backwards”). The couples then have opportunity to practice the steps with music. The men are encouraged to go to the women and ask if they would like to dance, and the women are encouraged to wait to be asked. As this is accomplished, the instruction begins to take on a different emphasis, shifting from “steps” to “communication”.

The couple is encouraged to create a “frame” with their bodies, maintaining this structure so that subtle indications from the man will cause the woman to follow his lead. While it may seem antiquated in today’s society, in ballroom dancing the men always lead and the women always follow. It is for just this reason that ballroom dancing lessons can be quite amusing. Today’s modern woman has a great deal of trouble following this directive. Add to that the fact that most women tend to pick up the rhythms and movements faster than men, and you have the makings of a romantic comedy.

As with most romantic comedies, there are some moments of painful humor that are quite revealing. This is when the metaphor for marriage truly shines:

• Maintaining the “frame” while dancing is exhausting. No one is supposed to hold the other up, you are supposed to maintain your own part, remaining strong and solid for your partner.

• Some women, myself included, are just born leaders, and some men simply don’t mind being lead. There are also those relationships where there are two leaders…yikes! Certain couples may find ways to make this work as they practice their dance steps — women whispering steps and counts, men giving hints as to what they’d like to do next — but sooner or later, someone gets upset because someone else isn’t doing their part.

• Someone has to lead, make the decision, and take responsibility. That someone is supposed to be the man. It’s not that a woman can’t lead. After all, each person has learned the same steps. Being practical, in dance, the man is the one who is facing forward most of the time!

• Truth be told, women enjoy being lead, and they like to look wonderful while they are at it, but they have to completely trust their guide. Men can get understandably overwhelmed with all the details, but they love having a smiling, beautiful, trusting woman in their arms.

• The dancers have to work together as a team, the woman is not just “window dressing”. With practice they become true partners, working together, developing methods of communication that become instinctive. Only they notice the missteps, but they smile and laugh because they are safe within their “frame”.

When all the parts work together, after hours & hours of practice, the dance seems to flow seamlessly and is beautiful to watch. Then one day, after 50 years of dancing together, people will stop the dance partners and say, “Tell us, what‘s the secret?”
What do you think their answer is?
(If you ever ask, you’ll notice that the first thing they do is look at one another and laugh!)