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 So, There I Was

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Shelagh
LeeBrown2010
LC
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dkchristi
Abe F. March
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Betty Fasig
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Betty Fasig
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Betty Fasig


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Age : 81
Location : Duette, Florida

So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat May 14, 2011 5:26 pm

I have never written a blog. In fact I am not so sure what one is. But here I go in all my ignorance.

I was looking out onto this world that is our farm, as I usually do when I am worn down by the bending and lifting and my spine is in a crook and the cramp will not go away.

I am reminded of the Lilies of the Field, how they toil not.....but a lily is not responsible for other lilies and is rooted to one spot. Perhaps the comparison is for olden times. I know that food and shelter does not just drop out of the sky, no matter how hard anyone prays.

I always loved the stories where one got wishes granted just for being kind. Remember the story of the fish that asked the hungry fisherman to put him back into the river and he did. He was granted wonderful stuff for that kindness.

So, there I was looking out.

Love,
Betty
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alj
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat May 14, 2011 6:50 pm

I don't think there are any rules for blogging, Betty. You just write about stuff. It looks like you've made a good beginning.

I wonder about the same thing, I think, if I read you as you meant to be read. I don't know how it works. If I did, I would write a book about it, and it would make that NYT list that so many people aim for.

I don't know, I just wonder, like you.

But I do get a sense that there is a truth to be gleaned from the sayings attributed to that Jesus person, like considering the lilies of the field. I think He was saying there is no point in worrying, because worrying won't get you anywhere. And there are other things He is supposed to have said, like, "Ask, and it shall be given." Apparently, I don't always ask the right way, if there is a right way.

But I cannot help but think that it is somehow tied up with words like faith and grace and just believing that it can happen - that you are worth it - not because of how hard you work, but just because you are.

I haven't figured out what to do about it yet, but I do believe that we somehow create our reality - or maybe we create our perception of reality, and as long as that remains our perception, it is real for us. Would be simple except that everybody else has created their own perception, and no two are exactly the same, because our experiences are not the same. So we co-create this group perception, and we unconsciously agree to abide by it. So. Here it is. This is what is real. Everybody agree? Only sometimes, somewhere, there might be this one little kid who doesn't buy into it, and shocks everybody by saying, "But he doesn't have any clothes on." Some part of me somewhere seems to think that Jesus's job was to tell us that the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes. And another little voice tells me that today, we are beginning to see that it's true - for ourselves, and that before much longer, we will all be able to see through the illusions that we believe are real, and everything will be like He said. We will be like those lilies.

But we aren't there yet. We're stuck in a place that is kind of like the Zen Master who said, "Before enlightenment, chop wood; carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood; carry water."

And sometimes I wonder, Are we really responsible for anybody other that ourselves? When we carry the responsibility for someone else, do we deny that person the means of finding her own bliss, or his?

And after I do all my wondering, I remember those lines at the end of Bach's Illusions: Everything in this book might be wrong.

Ann
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Abe F. March
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat May 14, 2011 10:43 pm

Ann. Good post.
Pondering the wonders of the universe and our role in it, is a step toward enlightenment. We are the universe. We create. We communicate. Our actions cause things to happen, both good and bad. At the center of all this is love, a powerful force. If we can see the word, love, without sexual connotation, we may begin to understand how powerful it is. I don't believe that Love is something you take, but something you give, and what you give reflects back.
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 3:02 pm

Abe, I agree about the love thing. In fact, I imagine that is what the talents that are multiplied ten-fold is about. Also the saying that one must lose one's life to gain it.

Ann,
Your voice is so often what my voice would say if I did not blurt out. Eloquent, you are, my friend.

Love,
Betty
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dkchristi
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 3:56 pm

This is the mystery of life discussion, the one shared with all humankind across the globe. It gives birth to idols, religions, spirits and many customs that actually separate us from each other.

I do know that I can be having a marvelous day read something or receive a phone call and only because my mind changes focus for a moment see my whole vision of that day change.

Drugs change the way the mind perceives it surroundings and the person has a different view of the world.

For me, the mind is an expression of the power of creative force that made our existence possible, especially since we use such a small part of it.
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alj
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 4:12 pm

DK, have you ever read any of Carlos Castaneda's work? He's one of those writers I keep saying I'm going to read someday.

Ann
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dkchristi
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 4:40 pm

My reading list is beyond comprehension at the moment. Shall I add another?
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 5:00 pm

The written word. What a connection to other minds it is. There is nothing like it. It takes a reading of the written word to connect one mind to another. As I lay back upon my pillow for the night, there is a book with someone elses thoughts right there for me to read and connect. The writer may have been dead for years but the words remain on that page for me to see into that writer's mind.

All those people who hated "English" class never knew that it was the skill of the very most importance in their lives. Reading unlocks the human mind.

Love,
Betty
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dkchristi
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun May 15, 2011 5:38 pm

You are so right Betty. This generation doesn't read in depth. I wonder about their thought processes. The world will change rapidly as they exert their influence based on txt, video clips & 140 words per thought.
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slb
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyFri May 20, 2011 6:33 am

Like I mentioned on another site, blogging is the latest version of a journal or diary. You've got blogs about everything from philosophy to politics to how to decorate yoru outhouse. (Okay, I'm not totally certain about that last one, but I'm sure if you look around long enough, there'll be one.)
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat May 21, 2011 4:56 pm

So, There I was tonight, worn to a frazzle and I began to think about Stephen's idea of decorating the outhouse. I remember many out houses. Every one of them had daddy long-legged spiders. In my extreme youth,the daddy-long legs scared and facinated me. Such lovely legs, almost web-like themselves, little round body. I used to try to see their eyes. Alas! My near blindness prevented that and even today I have never seen a daddy-long-leg's eyes.

Today's Port-O-Let cannot come close to the old homestead outhouse for smell or flies. There was another smell, but I cannot put my memory nose on it with word.

Perhaps it was entrenched into the wood, or the dank smell of the Sears catalog on the floor.

Out houses that I have known kind of decorated themselves on the inside. There was a beaten path that curved through the vegetation to that door. No flowers were planted there as I remember.

I think, if I were to have one this day, I would make the path a lovely adventure with flowers on the path and some of those tree faces that smile down on one along the way. Solar lighting, too.

These days, I am sure grafitti would adorn the walls, but back in my old time, no one hung around long enough to adorn the walls with witty sayings or suggestions.

Just as well. Life was hard enough without more trash to worry about.

Love,
Betty
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alj
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat May 21, 2011 6:52 pm

When my mom's brothers started dating anyone seriously, to the point that taking her back to the farm to meet the folks became necessary, it was my mom's job to go along, and introduce the girl to the feminine side of farm life. Like when my Uncle James decided it was time for my future Aunt Mary Lee to go through the initiation.When they first arrived, Mary Lee was introduced to the human family members who were still living on the farm. At that time, it was my grandparents, and the youngest of the siblings, my Uncle John.

One of the next steps was to introduce her to the outhouse. Mom went with her to show her how it was done. While they were inside, Mary lee tells about hearing several loud stomping and clomping noises just outside. Mom, she remembered, said quickly, "Oh, don't worry, Mary Lee. That's just John."

Mary Lee was quite relieved, later in the day, to learn that John was also the name of my grandfather's best mule. So, There I Was 492623

Ann
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jun 11, 2011 4:18 pm

So, there I was,

too pooped to fart, my smashed finger throbed with my heart beats, I sat down and looked at my panting dogs and thought that we all needed a good face wash. I got out the wash cloths, wet them in the faucet and washed my dogs faces one by one. What smiles they gave me!

I washed my own face and smiled on my own self.

It was a brand new afternoon.

Love,
Betty
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alj
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jun 11, 2011 4:43 pm

It's the simple things that make us smile the most.

Hope that finger stops throbbing soon.

Enjoy the evening, Betty.

Ann
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Betty Fasig
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Betty Fasig


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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jun 11, 2011 5:29 pm

Dear Ann,
If ever you need a face wash, here I am. :)My little one's love a face wash. I wipe their noses, talk the talk with them, tell them what lovely persons they are, how all the squirrel, 'dillos, birds for miles around love them. By the time we are through washing our faces, we could all lay on a pillow belly up and have a nice nap with lovely dreams. It does not get better than that.

Love,
Betty
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Betty Fasig
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Betty Fasig


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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyMon Jun 13, 2011 5:07 pm

alj wrote:
I don't think there are any rules for blogging, Betty. You just write about stuff. It looks like you've made a good beginning.

I wonder about the same thing, I think, if I read you as you meant to be read. I don't know how it works. If I did, I would write a book about it, and it would make that NYT list that so many people aim for.

I don't know, I just wonder, like you.

But I do get a sense that there is a truth to be gleaned from the sayings attributed to that Jesus person, like considering the lilies of the field. I think He was saying there is no point in worrying, because worrying won't get you anywhere. And there are other things He is supposed to have said, like, "Ask, and it shall be given." Apparently, I don't always ask the right way, if there is a right way.



But I cannot help but think that it is somehow tied up with words like faith and grace and just believing that it can happen - that you are worth it - not because of how hard you work, but just because you are.

I haven't figured out what to do about it yet, but I do believe that we somehow create our reality - or maybe we create our perception of reality, and as long as that remains our perception, it is real for us. Would be simple except that everybody else has created their own perception, and no two are exactly the same, because our experiences are not the same. So we co-create this group perception, and we unconsciously agree to abide by it. So. Here it is. This is what is real. Everybody agree? Only sometimes, somewhere, there might be this one little kid who doesn't buy into it, and shocks everybody by saying, "But he doesn't have any clothes on." Some part of me somewhere seems to think that Jesus's job was to tell us that the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes. And another little voice tells me that today, we are beginning to see that it's true - for ourselves, and that before much longer, we will all be able to see through the illusions that we believe are real, and everything will be like He said. We will be like those lilies.

But we aren't there yet. We're stuck in a place that is kind of like the Zen Master who said, "Before enlightenment, chop wood; carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood; carry water."

And sometimes I wonder, Are we really responsible for anybody other that ourselves? When we carry the responsibility for someone else, do we deny that person the means of finding her own bliss, or his?

And after I do all my wondering, I remember those lines at the end of Bach's Illusions: Everything in this book might be wrong.

Ann

Dear Ann,
You words are a song.


Love,
Betty
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alj
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyMon Jun 13, 2011 5:20 pm

Then there is a pair of us, my friend.

Ann
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyMon Jun 13, 2011 5:41 pm

Dear Friend Ann,
Often your words speak to my heart. You are a rare one, you are.

One wonders how hearts connect with these little things called words. Is it a magic and enchanted path we step on when we learn the code, the letters that make up the words that allow us to connect our mind to another. I believe it true.

We become magic ourselves.

Love,
Betty
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyThu Jun 16, 2011 5:22 pm

So, there I was,
Thinking about what a mess our economy is in, how we all feel so powerless to change anything. Even counting on our votes to make a change seems futile. It seems that no matter what political party we endorse it does not really matter much.

The banks are in control, that is sure.

I thought that we need to get the banks by the balls, but how to do that, us little people here who are indebted up to our eyeballs to the banks. They have us by the cajones.

It occured to me that we do have the most power of anyone.
Banks depend on our middle class deposts, our middle class desire for the dream of a house, a nice car, college for out children.

I have tried to save money. It is a hard thing to do and make the mortgage and eat and even living out here in nowhere and going to town once a week, gas takes a cut.

I wondered if every one like me just all at once took their money out of the banks . . in cash, put it in a deposit box, or a sock or under the bed. If we never used a credit card for anything except a dire emergency for a couple of years....I wondered if we could do some good for this America. If we never bought produce that was not grown here, ...if in fact we went American ... could we little people change this nation? I think so.

People still have the power. I think.

Love,
Betty
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Abe F. March
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptyThu Jun 16, 2011 10:38 pm

Betty,
I agree with you. People have power if used collectively. The simple act of making a purchase is a power move. If people collectively decided not to purchase products produced by a certain company, the company would be out of business. The same is true with imports. How to get people to do things collectively that would create this power, is the problem. The I-Net is a good way to voice opinions and make our desires/wishes known. If we as writers can make a strong case, others may join our cause. There is power in the pen (the keyboard). We have power. Voting is just one of the ways we make a difference. Influencing the vote is what the powerful people do with commercials. Word of mouth, emails and blogs are available to send our message(s).
Keep speaking your mind. You already have a following.
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jul 02, 2011 5:05 pm

So, There I was . . .

Thinking about what talents I have that I might use to make a few dollars.....

My goal is to earn 150,000 and pay off our house in the next five years so that in my older age it is a done deal and the banks could not hover. I have no affection for banks.

It seems an impossible thing.

I look at my life, what I do that might in some way connect, what talents I have that could produce some money....well, a lot of money.

I make pretty good soups. I wonder if I could have a mobile soup kitchen for the farms in winter. Say I anchor a propane grill with a couple of side burners onto my landscaping trailer, put a roof over, haul it around to the farms at lunch time, sell soup by the quart....maybe chicken, menudo, chili, bean...Have big cuban bread to go with it.

My David thinks that I am nuts. I think he may be right.

There must be a way to pay off the mortgage so we can relax a little.

Love,
Betty
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jul 02, 2011 7:28 pm

You've taken the first step in making that $150k by writing it down! At least that's what the financial gurus who advise on this subject say. They say to write your goal down, or even put pictures on your fridge that represent what you want as a visual to look at every day. Then the brainstorming, action, and maybe even Providence, take over.
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySat Jul 02, 2011 8:23 pm

I had it figured out, but fate interrupted with more expenses and a budget cut - me. I'd like to find that magic formula myself to pay off the mortgage. The reality, however, is that insurance and taxes are 3/4 of the payment; my mortgage interest rate is 2.67. No matter what, the house will still be costly to keep and maintain. My aunt who chose to always rent may have it right after all. She never has to worry about her lawn turning brown or an electrical outlet that quits or a new roof or the tree that just missed the house during the last blow.
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun Jul 03, 2011 11:48 am

How did you get a mortgage rate of 2.67%??
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Betty Fasig
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So, There I Was Empty
PostSubject: Re: So, There I Was   So, There I Was EmptySun Jul 03, 2011 5:47 pm

Dear LC,
I believe in the visual having an effect on your determination. Before we had this house built, we put the plans for it on the refrigerator door in that old trailer. I looked at it every day. Small little steps are what make dreams come true. It is not the big win of lottery or windfalls that drop out of the sky. I must be a little bit of a turtle, because I put one foot out and follow it with the other, dream the most lovely dreams, too. Have the most outlandish hopes. I no longer believe in magic as I hoped to be true as a child, but I can see a far distance in my mind. Time is the element when one gets older. When it runs out, I guess all this hoping and dreaming never mattered much anyway. But meanwhile, I would like to hold on and live the best life I can.

It takes a bit of money and a house.

Love,
Betty
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