Well, its been another one of those dark-depressive-cloud-hanging-over-me kind of good days. Good among other reasons, because it’s an opportunity to walk a mile in the shoes of those who suffer similarly in short bursts or more permanently.
And it’s nearly 1 a.m. I didn’t intend for tonight to be a late night and to start the week off handicapping myself. I could have gotten to bed on time. I just… started a project that required my attention (burning our huge pile of brush, but in a super controlled manner so as to hopefully minimize or avoid altogether, causing damage to the large trees next to the pile of brush. Hopefully, I avoided that, but between lighting it on fire, keeping constant care over it, so it didn’t get out of control, and then drenching the coals at the end, to avoid any chance of unexpected fire, the whole project probably took me 6+ hours.
It was good for Che, though. She got to spend pretty much the entire day outside of her pen (which is a very large pen, as they go… probably 100 feet by 80 feet, or more. It’s big. But it’s still a pen, not freedom.
Anyway, I didn’t do much at all today. I just felt heavy. Hard to do much when you’re heavy. And now I’m starting another long week.
I’m pretty discouraged with that right now. I think maybe what set me off was trying to write some posts that turned out harder than I thought and didn’t get done, posts that require digging deep into my life, or posts I’ve tried to write before, gotten stuck on before, and got stuck on again today.
I tried working on a name for my nonprofit organization, but I didn’t get anywhere useful. That’s discouraging.
I think that might be part of it as well… trying to make progress on these other things and not making any.
I don’t know… I’m beat.
#1. I’m grateful I was able to get the brush pile burned without, it appears, having damaged the other trees. I won’t know until later, but I think I did a pretty decent job.
#2. I’m grateful that I was able to make some progress on the trails through the woods. I figured I’d try and test to see if raking would cause issues with my ulnar nerves, and it didn’t! I don’t know if it was a coincidence or what, but that was nice to figure out. I will try again. I know I can’t shovel, but if I can rake, that would be good.
#3. I’m grateful that Geico agreed to date my policy as of the 31st of May. I guess I’m supposed to have all my cars insured under Arkansas law, even if I don’t drive them (not very friendly for low-income people). I tried to get everything done today (having put it off until the last minute, with the state of Arkansas waiting in the wings to fine me $100 per vehicle–I have four or five that are uninsured because I don’t use them). Geico, as luck would have it, was doing system updates, and I couldn’t get my policy changed (one more reason not to put things off). Anyway, the lady (Claudia) was super helpful, and I super appreciated her (I let her know how much I appreciated her helping me, and she laughed with delight. At least I could brighten her day a little bit with mine being a bit cloudy and gray).
#4. I’m grateful I found the tick on me before it had latched on too hard. I’ve got to do a tick check after I shower. Having Che around is quite… well, it changes my lifestyle quite a bit. I have to take time to feed her, give her love (she’s a massively high-maintenance dog), and she’s a tick and chigger magnet, and since she bowls you over when she comes to say hi, and rubs all up against you after running through the brush and tall grass, now I have to shower every night to avoid chigger bites, ticks, and poison ivy. The number of chigger bites I have has definitely increased since she came to visit again.
#5. I’m grateful that the gasoline that spilled on my leg and then caught on fire, catching my leg on fire, burned off quickly enough between swiping my hand over it and not being very much, that all it did was burn the hair off my leg and not burn me. Luck.
#6. I’m grateful that I was able to help a repeat customer over the phone today without having drive out to Bella Vista to get him squared away. He does a paper route, and he needs to leave at midnight, but I don’t “work” Sundays, but I didn’t want to leave him hanging in an emergency (his vehicle not starting and his needing to go to work at midnight tonight), so I walked him through the tests he needed to do to get the car diagnosed, and he was able to get himself take care of.
Well, my lovelies. I hope your good day was a happier one for you than mine was for me. I’m off to shower and do a tick check.
Good night.
Lift the World.
~ stephen
Lift the World 
Hello, brother!
Uh, that’s a hair-raising experience! YIKES!! I’m so glad you didn’t get burned more, too!!
I’ve been fighting heavy inner clouds the last few days, too. It’s hard to know what to do with Americans going crazy and people thinking four-word slogans combined with violence will solve any problem.
Speaking of that, I’ve been thinking of what in the world I could put on a sign. Violence for violence = violence? Destroying innocent lives is tyranny? Anarchy invites dictatorships? Sowing destruction reaps destruction? Violence against the innocent is heinous, no matter what your political platform? (Doesn’t fit on a sign.) Destroying innocent lives does not equal restoring innocent lives. (Doesn’t fit on a sign) None of those thoughts is positive.
The one that sticks in my mind is “Rise above…” Maybe that could be your organization’s name. I think we talked about “one heart” or “one at heart.”
Rise above prejudice. Rise above hatred. Rise above fear-mongering. Rise above hate-mongering. Rise above instant judgment without trial. Rise above bigotry. Rise above violence-mongering. Rise above politics. Rise above voices that demonize our neighbors. Rise above, reach out in love. Rise above, build unity. I don’t know… Everyone who values peace AND unity needs to reach out to each other and rise above.
Now I’m repeating myself. But there’s a lot of turmoil outside and inside. I hope that it might yield some good. Force Americans to discover more of us stand with each other in peace, regardless of race, creed, religion, identity or even politics, despite what the news would have us believe.
We need a love creed. A unity creed. And people to commit to it, or the rest of our world will go up in flames.
Well, this post is probably too long to show up on your blog also, so I’ll send it to you in an email.
I hope you rest well tonight and wake up lighter in the morning.
Love you, brother…
Oh! That above comment is mine, but I didn’t see the add email and name part section this time! (Or is it the below comment?)
Oh! And you are inspiring growth, Stephen! 🙂 🙂
I’ve been thinking about things I’ve wanted to improve for a long time but utterly lack motivation to do it – or at least, once push comes to shove I do! Ha ha, we were talking about motivations the other day. If I were to post my goals on a blog, I would probably give up on them the next day. 🙂 Buuuuuuut…. Maybe if I owe Hans a dollar every time I miss my goal… Ha ha! Money can be my motivation! 🙂 🙂 🙂
AND you’re inspiring me to start with manageable goals. I’m not going to get 100%, I don’t think, but I know I will make great improvement! 🙂 One goal is ready to go to sleep in time for 8.5-9 hrs of sleep. Ha ha, I’ll start tomorrow. 🙂 Tomorrow I yielded the goal to a higher cause. 🙂
The other goal is to get rid of the spicy words in my vocabulary – words that are so useful and expressive! That’s the one that’s going to be harder because most of them fly out of my mouth without thought. 🙂 Buuuuuut…. if I owe Hans a dollar maybe my consciousness will be more conscious and aid me! 🙂 🙂
Okay, sleep well again, brother! I love you!
Well, poop! Where did response #3 go?? And what was it about? Oh! You are inspiring positive steps towards growth! Ha ha! We were talking about motivators the other day… I would cave on my goals within a day or two if I posted them online. :} :} Buuuut… If I pay Hans a dollar every time I miss one, then I think it will make a sufficient impression on my consciousness to help me effect changes I’ve wanted to make but haven’t. For years. And years! 🙂 🙂 Ha ha!
You’re also inspiring me as to *how* to make my goals. 🙂 🙂 I shall start with one or two and build on them once they’re sticking, just like you!! 🙂 🙂 First two – language and bedtimes! Next two, stretching and journal writing. 🙂 After that, exercise and service… But we’ll start with the first two. 🙂
Thanks for your example, brother!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Aaaaand response #4! 🙂 It had to wait in the wings while I re-wrote the missing response #3. 🙂
Ticks on dogs! I remembered seeing some anti-tick stuff for dogs when we were buying fly spray for the horsies a week or two ago. And then I remembered that there are some medicines Aussies and other herding breeds can’t take if they have a particular gene common in the herding breeds – MDR1 – because it will permanently damage and/or kill them. (No, I didn’t remember the name of the gene until I looked it up.) 🙂 Check out the thread here:
https://
http://www.australian-shepherd-lovers.com
/flea-and-tick-medicine.html
At the end of the thread above, corroborated by some other threads, is the recommendation for this tick repellent here: https://
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/
petcostore/brand/credelio
In case you want to get rid of the little blighters!
(And if you want to actually follow the links, you’re going to have to get rid of the spaces. I added them as an experiment to see if the reason the comment isn’t posting is because of the links.) 🙂
Love you still!! 🙂 🙂
Argh! Response #4 still not posting despite 4+ tries and breaking the links I had in them! :{ Check your email! 🙂
Sorry for spamming your post, Stephen! Some of them posted after all. It looks like WordPress automatically “fixed” the links I included, which actually mess it up because now the links will take you to the homepage and not the extensions! Oops.
In repost of post # 3 – which still was not showing up I said “Tomorrow” I yielded the bedtime goal for a higher cause. Ha ha, it should have read “tonight” 🙂
Okay, talk to you later! 🙂
Hope your day is going well! 🙂