May 10, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

For She is the Tree of Life

Photo by Barbara Mattio

Here we are two days from Mother’s Day and I have blogged about the original mother. Today I wish to pay homage to the Nanas, grandma’s, Bebe’s, and Grams in the world. Many of us benefited from the comfort, wisdom and succor of our grandmothers. I remember both of my grandmothers clearly.
One was English and we would have high tea in the afternoons. We would play bingo with her friends and I always won. I remember the toy box in the closet off of the dining room. She came over on the boat from England with her husband and 6 children to find a better life. I have two pieces of furniture she brought to America. I feel her spirit every time I look at them. She was a brave woman who did not find America’s roads paved with gold. I think I get courage from her and I am grateful for what she has added to my life

My maternal grandmother was the anchor in my life. I called her “gramcracker” and she took it with great humor. In my eyes, the sun rose and set on her yet I was aware she wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t either and we loved each other just as we were. She was a night person, a trait I inherited from her. She would sit in her chair and fall asleep. I would creep out of bed and sneak behind her chair and watch TV until the station signed off .( I am fairly old.) I am sure there were times she realized I was there and she never said a word. I learned unconditional love and acceptance from her.

Both of these women influenced my life and taught me to put roots down. This is something I do even when my life is in flux. When life changes, I move my roots. I wanted to share the importance of these women, who though in the twilight of their lives, enriched my life more than words can describe. What I learned from them is worth more than any amount of money. They were the trees which gave me reflections of who I really was despite anything else happening in my life. The love they gave to me taught me how to love others and that I was loveable.

Thank you to all of the grandmothers who have influenced the lives of their grandchildren. I hope I am half as good of a nana to my nine grandchildren.

“The very commonplaces of life are components of its eternal mystery.”
——Gertrude Atherton

May 10, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Bumps Along the Way

I am on a journey. We all are on journeys. You go along for awhile and step after step you move toward the future. You live in the moment and keep your mind positive and forward thinking. At times the road goes up and at times it descends. The flat regular surfaces of our journeys are the easy bits whether we are seeking our goals or pursuing a new fork in the road. We can even become complacent and think it will stay this way always. And then one day we start out and “Oops” we have an incline. Some days we have an incline and potholes. These make for tough days. I find for me it is best to remember that this road I am on is neither all bumps or all straight flat surface. Faith is needed for this because when you look all around and all you see are hillocks and pits it can feel pretty scary and uncertain. Most of us human being don’t do uncertainty very well. I do admit I know some people who thrive on it but I haven’t figured out a way to do that. Then we have the forks in the road. Which to take? Decisions to make. You look one way and then another and sometimes you flip a coin. Sometimes, there seems to be inner guidance trying to get our attention. Now another decision. Listen or ignore. From years of experience, I usually listen. I can’t say that I do 100% of the time, but I am a work in progress. Now when the potholes appear, I slow down, and I breath deep. I know they aren’t just going to go away; but I can choose to handle them better than I used to do.
Usually bumps coincide with emotional challenges or lessons we have yet to learn. I am getting better at not panicking and remembering to trust. Trust is not one of my best accomplishments. Now that I have experienced the connection of my soul and Divinity, I am improving because I know, just know I am not alone. The Beloved gives us something else that has helped me greatly along the path and that is beauty. Divine beauty is everywhere. I use it to recharge my batteries,so to speak. It can be a garden, the ocean, the mountains, the scent of the air. All bring me back to the Divinity that is within me. Then I can take another step and another until I no longer see the bumps and only see the Divine creation around me.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting-a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson