Einstein Was Right

It took me a very long time to understand the Theory of Relativity. No teacher was ever able to explain it to me in a way I could grasp. It wasn't until I read a book about Albert Einstein that I finally got it. Today, on the two year anniversary of my sister's passing, I do believe my understanding has taken on a whole new meaning.

Rather than launch into all the science-y stuff, (I know how short some attention spans are!), I shall, instead, leave you with this:

Time does NOT heal all wounds. In fact, "time", as we know it, truly is an illusion. Because if it weren't, then I wouldn't still feel the profound sense of unimaginable sadness when I think of my Cricket. Nor would it feel like a minute and a half ago that I last saw her. "Time" is the ultimate Jokester. We are Its dupes. I miss my sister still. Two years is a lifetime. Two years is a minute. Time is the Great Deceiver. I'm on to you, Jokester. Oh yes I am.

As I struggle to find my way back 'round to the Joy today, I will offer these. For myself as much as for those of you who come here to be reminded that Joy is a CHOICE. These photos are my reminders. I am transported back, what seems  Light Years, to a different lifetime of my own...and the many moments when the enormous Love of one Cricket LaStrada was there for me to touch. She may not be "far" from me now, but that veil is keeping me from a hug. And lemme tell you, she gave the BEST hugs EVER!

I love you, my Cricket.

{P.S. Just to be clear: "light year" does not denote "time'; it's about distance. And if you want to know more, look it up.}

{1986: my siblings and I, just after our daddy left the Planet}

{I don't recall the year. I DO recall the absolute JOY on her face when she opened this gift. 

I believe my brother gave it to her. That's his cheek there on the right.}

{THIS is my sister. Just look at those eyes!}

Bon Voyage....(again!)

And so, another trip 'round the Sun begins.

It's always a bit weird for me. This whole time thang. It doesn't seem possible that I have been on this marvelous Planet for six decades. But, according to the records, I have. Each time someone asks me, "How old are you?", I always need to stop for a moment to think about it. I even do the math in my head. Like somehow, it will make more sense if I do the math.

Weird, I tell ya.

So yesterday, whilst at my darling sister's home, watching her prepare the Feast, I said aloud, "Sixty. Can you believe THAT?" My sister said that she, too, had to do the math (she is eight years my junior) and the tone in her voice suggested a bit of bewilderment too. As if it weren't possible that I could be that age. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, despite her being the "younger" sister, she's always taken care of me as an elder sister would. Such is the makeup of our respective personas. She is much more the "grown up". I am...not so much.

Funny how that works.

Anyhoooo...

This morning, when I rose from my bed, it occurred to me that I was beginning yet another voyage 'round this fiery ball we call our Sun. And my first thought was, "Guess I ought to pack my bags." An odd thought first thing in the morning. But there it was. Pack your bags and get ready for another year-long adventure. Because now, that's what it is for me. An adventure. I don't know what's coming. I have no clue about the surprises around the next turn. There is no way for me to foresee the challenges OR the bounties that lay ahead. And, near as I can tell, that is precisely what makes it so much fun. The not knowing is no longer scary to me. Now, it is what makes every day feel like Christmas morning. What new gifts will appear, waiting to be unwrapped?

I've never been good at "long-term" goals. I used to try. Really I did. But somehow along the way I realized that I'm just not one of those people. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal. In some ways, it's made for a pretty exciting Life. In other ways, it's been my curse. But no matter how I choose to look at it (and, let's face it, it IS a choice.), the bottom line is this:

I love my Life. It has been hard and easy and fun and scary and full of deep Love. For that, I will always be grateful. And what is to come...well, I'm happy not knowing.

That is, after all, the FUNNEST part of Life.

Learning to Live on Critter Time

Mostly, Humans live on what can be called Linear Time. It's a 24/7 existence. For many, a dull, two-dimensional existence that makes one wonder why any of us bother. Get up, go to work, come home, do all the other stuff you have to do, go to bed....and start the whole thing over again next morning.

Really? Is that all there is? Is that why we're here?

I don't think so !!!

In the past several months, it has come to my attention, or should I say, a more clarified awareness, of just how much we count the hours/days/weeks. It has also become more clear that Critters don't share the same concept of time that Humans do. I've known this all along, but my awareness of this difference has become much more acute lately.

Take, for example, the little piece I posted back in December about The Magick of the Season; or the one I wrote a few weeks earlier about That FACE. Or even the one about Crow. In each of those postings, I spoke of things I wanted so badly, and their coming to fruition. Now, some months later, even more dreams are floating up to meet me, becoming realities that were only recently things I'd been imagining. For me, those "several" months seemed a long time passing. But if I weren't so conditioned to live on Human Time, I might not feel that way at all. Were I to look at the events of the past several months the way a horse does, I might not care at all that it took X number of days for these things to rise up into my life. Because I'm pretty sure that horses don't care about how many days have passed. Mostly, I think, they care about food and shelter and kind Beings in their presence. They care about whether or not they're allowed to BE horses, without abuse or neglect. They care about the Humans that care about them....and not a whole lot more.

At least, that's what I think.

I also think that once we get out of the rut of Linear Time, and start living like we came here to live...with great attention to Joy and doing all those things that make us happy, by taking time to imagine living those moments we so wish to live, by trusting that everything is exactly as it should be and we are precisely where we're supposed to be, we begin to actually LIVE those joyful moments, doing those things we so want to do, regardless of self-imposed limitations or economic circumstance. For me, horses are magic. And when the time was "right", I was led to a particular place, to meet a particular group of people AND horses, so that all those moments I spent imagining became actual moments I am now living.

And that, my friend, is what living on Critter Time is all about.

P.S. I would like to say a HUGE thanks to Lynne Hayes at Horse Spirit Ranch and the lovely Teddie Ziegler of Phoenix Farms for helping make my dreams come to life. Also, to PJ and Cinco, for doing such a fabulous job at being horses and reminding me that partnership is about heart, not money. It was a SPLENDID day! Tomorrow is here. I am deeply grateful.

The photos in this post were found on Pinterest; I could not find the origin of either, so if you know to whom the credit goes, please notify me and I will gladly post their names here. To whomever you are, thank you for these fantastic photographs!

Either Way

The minutes will pass, whether or not they're used to your benefit.

As will the hours
and then
the days
and then
weeks, months, years.

You say it goes by

SOOOO fast

but it's not about
time
not really

It's about
usage

Whether you choose to use those minutes in a JOYful way
or not
they will pass
all the same..

That is all.

{I would love to give credit to the Human who is responsible for this gorgeous picture. 

Alas, I cannot find its origin. 

So, if it is you, I would love for you to comment/email so I can give credit where credit is due.

 If you know who is responsible, also, please, let me know and I will edit immediately! Either way, THANK YOU!}

Hally Happoween!

Holy Halloweenie! Can you believe it's the last day of October? Where oh where did the year go? I swannee, time just keeps flyin' on by. Does it feel like it's going faster to you too? Or is it just me? I'm all agog today, even a bit disoriented. Just cannot understand the speed with which the first 10 months of this year have flown. Am I reaching the end of the roll (ya know how toilet paper rolls seem to shrink faster at the end?)

Anyhooo...

I like to think that time is an illusion anyway. That all we really have is time...and then...we're gone to that Other Place where (I'm betting) there is no such thing as time. As my brother is fond of saying, "We have time and then we're dead." Nice, huh? That being the case, perhaps this whole "I can't believe it's Halloween!" thang is kinda moot, doncha think? So then...is there a point here?

Well, as a matter of fact, there is! The point is, time is marching on. This is a good thing because if it weren't we'd be...ummmm....dead, right? And who wants dead? Really though, the point is, it doesn't really matter. The time part, that is. It doesn't matter because a) it's an illusion and b) it beats the alternative. I'd rather have time marching onward than not being here at all. At least for now. Which leads me to the real point (oh yea. those first two were teasers): the real point is that the only part of "time" that has anything to do with anything is the NOW part. The part where we are right here..right at this moment...right...NOW. 

I'm guessing you've heard that before too, huh? There's a whole lot of "living in the Now" stuff going 'round these days. Eckhart Tolle wasn't the first one to get on that band wagon. But he may well be responsible for the latest band of adventurers riding that wagon. The book was pretty good. (that would be "The Power of Now") and the next one was equally worthy of reading ("A New Earth"). Both spoke extensively on the topic of living in the Now...and both lent further perspectives on letting go of learned behaviors and unspoken limitations. He urged us to quiet the Ego, simplify our lives, and crack open the vault of Knowing. Simple, useful suggestions for anyone not quite thrilled with their current state of being.

I, for one, have found other means to the same end. My tools are varied and various, bold and bodacious, fun and funner. They are the tools I have hand-picked over many years of shopping for what suits me. Since they were gotten with me in mind, I shan't tell you they're tools you need to have. But...(always with the "but") I will say that it's worth the time it takes to gather your own. The ones that suit who you are, that will help you  build your House of Dreams. Whatever that means to you. Just remember: since time is an illusion, it doesn't really matter how "long" it takes for you to get there. Because, in the end, there is no there. There is only here.

How's that for a point?

Hally Happoween~

geez

geez.

it's thursday again. and it's JULY! and the year is past the half-way mark. GEEZ.

i just keep hearing that song in my head "nick of time" (bonnie raitt). there's one part where she says something like, "life gets kinda precious when there's less of it to waste". she's talking about her parents...and getting older. and so maybe that's why the whole 'time flyin' thing is so....alarming. or maybe...it's just a reminder. don't waste ANY of it. make it all count. cherish every second. even the moments that are less-than happy ones. cherish them all.

so i'm sitting here, looking at the clock (only because i have to be somewhere at 3:30, otherwise, i couldn't give a rip about what time it is), and wondering again...how it got to be 2:00...when it seems like i just got up an hour ago (i got up 8 hours ago!). whut the....???

chella is roaming in and out of my office, yakkin' at me every time she walks in. she wants my attention. and right now, aside from reaching down to stroke her a few times, i'm not giving it to her. what she REALLY wants is for me to brush her. but she wants that all day, every day. i swear that cat would let me brush her from sun up to sun down, if i'd do it. crazy cat. but i love that she's here. and i love that she's so vocal and tenacious and utterly persistent. because, in the end, she always gets what she wants. just another thing i love about her. she's a great teacher. don't give up. just keep on demanding. watch me. it works!

i'm rambling on...mostly about nothing...because i'm unsettled and don't know why. i have 'ants in my pants', as my mama used to say. that restless feeling that i can't seem to put my finger on. what the hell is it? what do you want? just tell me, already.

geez.