At Mercy to My Wizard

In the back corner of my mind sits a little wizard, directing my dreams with his wand. I sometimes don’t know what sort of thoughts my mind holds for me. I turn to my laptop and have nothing immediate to say. I have no memories spouting out at me giving me all the mixings to construct a sentence. What I do is put my fingers on the keyboard and let the wizard’s wand dance. The sparks flying up in my brain, are they mine or are they his?

I’d love to have a job where I am paid to daydream or just think. I love to stay still and think. Blocking out the noise, the chatter and buzz, is not a problem. I have trained myself to go somewhere else in mind only and I leave it to the wizard to find out where that is.

To write, to me, means not to think. I have to let go and let something else take over. I am sabotaged by my thoughts. So, here I am, one who loves to think and loves to write, which requires me not thinking. That’s a conundrum. Instead, I think while I’m not writing, all the time about everything, and when I write… that’s when I relax. I don’t overload myself, I almost meditate. It’s why writing makes me happy. I let the wizard do the work.

He must have on blue today, my wizard, a royal blue, one piece, and shimmery magical smock. His hair is wiry white and he has a stool that is nearly as tall as he. But the most interesting part is the part at the end of his wand. The sparks crack and fizzle, much like the meteor I saw three nights ago or like the glow in the night from a child’s sparkler stick. I find this most interesting because many times, I tell a story to myself, due to this wand and its flight through my catalog of life. I read words after I write them, and it is as if they are brand new to me.

Is this odd? I don’t know. Perhaps I am writing this because I want to know if it is or not. Wizard, tell me, is this off beat?

Wizard says “No, its happiness.” Wizard says, “This is truth.” Wizard says, “I’m no wizard, but you released, instead.”

Off beat or on, it makes no difference. Because Wizard is right, this is happiness. I sit and write and think when I’m not. And I, in the end, get to see a piece of me not influenced by too much thought, spelling my truth out instead.

Be the One Who Cares

After a brief reprieve… I’m baaaack.

Where have I been? Well, on a road trip to civilization, swimming mental laps through a lake called Uncertainty, and saving a dog named 27220.

I enjoyed civilization, drowned in Uncertainty, and am most moved by 27220.

27220. She’s the color of saucy caramel and her lowered eyes match her fur. Her ears are pointy flaps, but you can’t make that out in the photo of her because they are flat to her head, from fear, the same as her tail that is tucked between her legs. She’s scared and she should be. She’s overlooked and she shouldn’t be. She is a lost dog, found only by the Athens Animal Control Shelter. They have taken her and assigned a number to her and given her a countdown. They graciously post a photograph and write a blip on her brilliant, submissive personality. They state that she deserves a second chance at life, to be happy and bring happiness to whomever may adopt her. Yet, she has two weeks or so to win someone’s affection from her cage at the shelter, lest she be ‘put down’. That’s a sweet way to say killed. To her disadvantage, she is a Pit Bull Terrier Mixed Breed. She is not fluffy and smiling for her photograph. She’s sad and scared… so, she’s overlooked. And just like that, another one bites the dust.

Except… I saw her picture. Her tender eyes dripped with soulfulness and unlike some, I respond to the words Pit Bull Mix with elation. I have one. I have a Selma Lu Mela. She’s a Pit Bull Terrier Mixed Breed that makes my day everyday. I know the truth of what this breed of dog offers when loved and not abused. I’m not the only one of course, but we’re in the minority, unfortunately. Man has done a superb job of a negative marketing campaign against this creature with no voice to dispute its bad reputation. The easiest dog I’ve ever raised is a Pit Bull Mix. I immediately saw similarities between Selma Lu Mela and 27220. And the more I thought of her, the more upset I got. Her eyes were emblazoned in my mind and ignoring a situation like this is not in my nature. This is not just a problem. This is not a thing someone else should deal with. I saw her; I became aware of her and her undeserved death sentence. I am helping.

I was once told in a dream by someone very wise, “Be the one who cares.”

Those are good words. The one who cares is the one who acts like they care. The one who cares is the one who does something about it. The one who cares doesn’t ever say “Somebody should really do something about that. That’s a shame.” Being the one who cares hurts like hell sometimes. I cried like a hungry baby for two hours on my way to civilization (that’s what I’m calling Atlanta) thinking of this abandoned dog and how the shelter wasn’t willing to let me pick her up quickly while I was close by to where she is located. It was a difficult process and it put pressure on the amount of time I had to find her a warm, fuzzy home in which to belong. Serving as foster parent was fine by me, but not the shelter for some insane reason. I needed a certification number in order to do that. So, my last resort remained and I took it. I prayed and prayed and cried and prayed. I needed someone to be qualified to get the dog out of the shelter and to the vet in order to receive healthcare. In the meantime, I would find her a home.

Who says miracles don’t happen? Not me.

A certified person from New York belonging to a rescue foundation sponsored 27220. This individual has no plan for her but has used their credentials to simply arrange for the dog’s transfer and care. Never ever say New Yorkers are cold hearted, reader. This one New Yorker reached down into a random Georgia animal shelter and took the initiative to save the life of a sweet creature that they had never met. I don’t even know how they found out about 27220. Was it possibly a trickle effect from all my frantic calls to numerous animal organizations? I don't know. It could have just been purely coincidental and there was a New York dog lover just as panicked as I was. But now, I'm calling everybody I know to keep my end of the prayer… I will find her a home where she can be loved and share her small but mighty miracle. She’s a piece of grace now.

So, all in all, I’m vowing to always remember the words ‘Be the one who cares’. It hurts, because caring hurts, but it makes a life when it works out. I'll care about the world- dogs and all. Man has domesticated dogs, they depend on us- caring isn’t an option now. 27220, last I heard, is waiting on her new arrangements, playing with the other cats and dogs at the vet, and very happy somebody somewhere cared. One difference in the world is made. By caring and following through and lots of prayers that anonymous certified New Yorkers might help out.

Two new Party Names: Hypocrites and Imposters

Republican, fine. Democrat, dandy. I don’t despise either as they typically despise each other. What I despise is the flagrant hypocrisy swarming around the heads of those party members who are usually on guard hurling insults toward the other Americans they can so easily dismember with their foul mouths. I’m about to vent what’s in my head now. I’ve heard enough from both sides of the choo choo track. I am neither a professed Republican nor Democrat. Actually, both groups get on my nerves.

Here’s what I see…

Republicans collectively believe that there should be smaller government as opposed to Democrats who wish for a bigger government. Republicans, though, do wish for the government to regulate many personal choice issues that go on in one’s life. This seems to be a conflict to me. How can Republicans want smaller government except find it okay to tell a citizen how to make their minds up about personal choices, only one of which is sexual preference, there are many others. My take on this, I do not care what you do behind the door of your home as long as you are not inflicting harm on another human being or live defenseless creature. We all know what is basic right and wrong. Behave and be happy and be a contributing member of society and I acknowledge one’s religious and sexual preferences are their own darn business. If one can’t find it in their heart to believe in God… well, it’s their heart, their life. I don’t have all the answers to give, friend. I don’t get it really- God is apparent in my world… but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Now, Democrats typically speak of themselves as educated, enlightened people that look down on their counterpart Republican. They call themselves open minded and tolerant. Many think Liberal and Democrat refer to the same type of thinker.

Liberalism by definition- a broad class of political philosophies that consider individual liberty to be the most important political goal.
Liberalism emphasizes individual rights and equality of opportunity. Within liberalism there are various streams of thought which compete over the use of the term "liberal" and may propose very different policies, but they are generally united by their support for a number of principles, including freedom of thought and speech, limitations on the power of governments, the rule of law, an individual's right to private property, free markets, and a transparent system of government.

To me, the above does not necessarily define a Democrat or a Republican. It is separate. Democrats and Republicans form platforms where they agree to take stands on certain issues in unison. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans are for a complete freedom of thought and speech right now, because they honestly can’t stand when the opposition to their party has a thought that isn’t harmonizing with their own thoughts. And as we saw during the campaign, some became violent about it while protesting at conventions. They call the other party “stupid” and tell them to “piss off” among other things I shouldn’t write in my sweet little family friendly blog. Neither side is truly for a free market from what I see. Democrats lean toward the government regulating almost everything and Republicans just stepped in and bailed out faulty financial institutions instead of having the free market handle it. I’m not sure about that transparency of government; people from both parties only want to show what exposes the other side to be bad guys and what makes their side look like heroes.

And the part that makes this especially hypocritical… liberals emphasize individual rights. This means individual rights to be and think how one wants. To vote how one wants to vote, for the issues and concerns that affect their own lives. So, Democrats should be okay with opposition of thought and should realize they are being hypocritical when they can’t understand that to call themselves a liberal means they have to be open minded to everyone’s individual freedom of thought and speech… not just thoughts that coincide with their own. As far as ‘limitation of government’ that was stated as a liberal philosophy, well, that doesn’t sound like a Democrat either. So it is conflicting that a staunch Democrat should use the word liberal as a synonym.

Further speaking…

I think if you want everyone to be behind our new President (which I personally am, because he is my president elect, because I am American) then you should have also been willing to be behind our existing President for the same fact that he was elected by our nation. If Obama gets the benefit of the doubt then Bush should get the benefit of the doubt. Be fair, right? Don’t just be convenient for your party’s sake. If you call Republicans names then you didn’t listen to what Obama really said in his acceptance speech. He pleaded for unity, not division. And if Republicans dismiss their allegiance to the country and executive branch then they are being like the party they complained about for the last eight years.

For Republicans who bring religion up consistently, if you are one who calls others Godless and insult them because they worship and believe in a different way than you do… then practice what you preach and quit judging other people. Man does not know everything, especially about what God intends.

Democrats, if you are wealthy and pushing taxation to distribute where the government deems appropriate, then please, practice what you preach and take the money out of your existing tax free accounts ie. ‘trust fund democrats’ distribute your wealth with the rest of us who are distributing our paychecks. If it’s money that you are living off of, share, like you preach, my friend. It is “neighborly”. Don’t expect this rule to apply to others but not you and try and beat the system. Own up and pay without complaint.

Like a school yard, the finger pointing and talking is out of control. I’m so ready for action and ready to bury all this back and forth insult swapping. I am ready for solid problem solving and not rhetoric splashed about on the t.v. and web. Let’s put our need for drama aside and get to work for once. We should have pride at this moment. We have just shown the entire world what the United States stands for. Through Obama's triumph and McCain's previous sacrifices we have just capsulated what we represent. We can do anything and stand up to any challenge. We elect freely who leads us and we fight for them fiercly. This is what we should be speaking of, not calling others names and bickering.

One sneeze at a time

I'd like to start by saying,

"ah-choo!"

"bless you."

Colds are coming. And elections too.

Election of a new President of America.

"bless you too."

I feel sorry for you. Whichever of you gets the privilege - or the sentence - of serving our nation. You will be loved shortly and hated more after. You will never ever please us all and we will expect you to, Mr. New President. And when you don't, because you can't, we'll collectively as a nation represented by those counsel on the t.v. set that repeat themselves unmercifully, well, we'll insult you and make judgements of not only your policy, but your personality and the personalities of those in your family and circle of friends too. Don't worry, we won't spare a soul. We'll include your parents, and judge them too.

Here's a question, fellow Americans.

Will we be able to expect better from our politicians when we start treating them better? (I'm including other politicians in this broad term 'we'.)

I think it is worth considering. There may be many men and women out there capable of serving our beloved and worthy country in a brilliant manner- but they may be unwilling to subject their loved ones and own selves to the scrutiny of the media, which receives ratings from we the viewing people, that is propelled by sensationalism, that is based on many times unnecessary, sometimes false labeling or propaganda, that can cause an enormous amount of pain and a low quality of life.

I wouldn't sign up, would you?

Just a question, just a thought. All that in one sneeze's time.

"bless us all."