Tuesday, May 22, 2012
SCARY TOASTERS
Because of my current and disturbing living situation, I went on Amazon to search for a simple, two-slice toaster. Appalled is the best description of my reaction as I scrolled through page after page of toaster options. Choice is a nice thing, but there is a point at which choice surpasses any definition of conspicuous consumption and in my humble view approaches near-criminal waste of resources, producing and offering items of such lame and limited value that I now just want to toast my bread with a fork and a Bic lighter.
Allow me to digress briefly: I have a perfectly lovely toaster. I have no idea how to get to it. Along with my printer, my crock pot, some favorite undies and my iron, it is ‘lost’ in the secret and forbidden realm of my huge storage unit that holds all my favorite worldly goods except for the few items I have with me as I ‘camp out’ in my former home. I promise, once I again have adequate housing, I will continue to make use of any items I have been circumstantially forced to acquire and if they prove unnecessary, I will re-home them. Allow me to once again go on record that I am all for minimalizing my accoutrements and simplifying my life… at least to a point that still maximizes my physical comfort and ability to work and function effectively.
Anyway, I know, from personal experience and years of observation, just exactly what TOO MUCH looks like.
In this case, before I could stand it no longer, I scrolled through fifty-one pages of toaster offerings at twenty-four toasters per page. I counted 197 items that were simply ‘toaster related’ such as toast tongs, toaster covers, pans for toaster ovens, etc. Leaving a grand total of one-thousand-twenty-seven toasters and toaster ovens offered. Granted there were duplications. Yet, did you know that you can spend anywhere between $18.00 and $900.00 for a toaster. Not only are there two and four-slice toasters, but there are conveyer toasters, bagel toasters (some are floor models I mean they are the size of a stove and stand on the floor) and there are some that scorch the imprint of Hello Kitty, Jesus Christ, and your favorite football team logo onto your bread.
I said to myself, “damn! They’ve got toasters for everything. Someday they will make a toaster that sings to you and pours your coffee too, heh heh”
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, but they already do! There are toasters with built-in radios. There are toasters that cook your hot dogs, toasters that cook your eggs and toasters that actually combine a coffee maker into their make-up.
All I want is a couple slices of ordinary dark toast without being yelled at for changing the toaster setting from 2 to 7 and a congenial living situation.
So, having given up, I really cannot tell you what the bottom line is as far as toaster offerings goes, but I feel, somehow, deep inside where my values and discretion keep each other company, that 1097 types of toasters including designer toast and designer toasters is really a bit much.
I’m afraid to do a search for hand mixers. I gave my big counter-top Kitchen Aid to my sister who bakes a lot and with a sore wrist, I think I need one of those old hand mixers. Wish me luck.
Monday, March 5, 2012
FROM TOO MUCH TO ENOUGH: AN ON-GOING TALE OF A YARD SALE
From Too Much to Enough: An On-Going Tale
Had another episode of the ongoing Yard Sale today.
All this stuff has become such a burden in the following ways:
Too much mass
Too much space filled and required
Too much weight
Too much quantity
Too much attention required
Too many diversions
Too many insecurities revealed
And now, the blessing is the release of those many things which no longer, or never have served my higher purpose, or any necessary purpose whatsoever.
Beautiful gifts, charming and poignant antique treasures, cute little schotchkes (sp), outgrown, never used, emblems of unfulfilled dreams, collections of fear-based stockpiles, hauled to Tennessee from Florida, never used and filling space , creating dams and blockages…
It is with discomfort and some angst I am letting go of these many things, for so much less than their fair market value. Some very nice people are getting some very, very good deals on some very nice things.
After years of putting on yard sales in South Florida, dealing with certain immigrants walking off with armloads of clothes for a buck, just to get rid of them, not to mention yard sale shop lifters (can you believe it!?!?!) I was really annoyed by someone today who tried to pull some of the same tricks. A box of craft items was listed at a dollar. What does she do? She crams double handfuls of additional items into the box, demanding it all for fifty cents, then stacking up nine pair of jeans, pants and a skirt priced ridiculously low at a buck a piece, and a beautiful new semi-formal dress priced at 7.50 in a big pile and demanded the whole thing for five dollars. I was adamant. She got snotty and I chased her off. I will not be taken advantage of any longer. Enough is enough.
Putting these things back into the flow has the advantage of unblocking blocked energy and assuring that all that which is needed will have the opportunity to arrive.
But I have the responsibility to respect these things and assure that they are placed into the flow in a respectful manner and not dumped carelessly and without fair recompense.
Allowing oneself to be cheated is far different from donating things to a charity which is also a valid way of placing things back in the flow.
In other words, I have recognized my responsibility for the things I have acquired to receive fair exchange, and thus avoid denigrating their intrinsic value.
This is a form of transformation. I am transforming myself from a messy borderline hoarder to a person with a handle on simplicity, and with only those things that are useful and bring me a sense of joyfulness.
This is quite a difficult dragon to slay: one with much tenacity. But I truly understand that once you have identified a demon, it is more easily slain.
More to sell in a week or so, because enough is enough and too much is too much.
Had another episode of the ongoing Yard Sale today.
All this stuff has become such a burden in the following ways:
Too much mass
Too much space filled and required
Too much weight
Too much quantity
Too much attention required
Too many diversions
Too many insecurities revealed
And now, the blessing is the release of those many things which no longer, or never have served my higher purpose, or any necessary purpose whatsoever.
Beautiful gifts, charming and poignant antique treasures, cute little schotchkes (sp), outgrown, never used, emblems of unfulfilled dreams, collections of fear-based stockpiles, hauled to Tennessee from Florida, never used and filling space , creating dams and blockages…
It is with discomfort and some angst I am letting go of these many things, for so much less than their fair market value. Some very nice people are getting some very, very good deals on some very nice things.
After years of putting on yard sales in South Florida, dealing with certain immigrants walking off with armloads of clothes for a buck, just to get rid of them, not to mention yard sale shop lifters (can you believe it!?!?!) I was really annoyed by someone today who tried to pull some of the same tricks. A box of craft items was listed at a dollar. What does she do? She crams double handfuls of additional items into the box, demanding it all for fifty cents, then stacking up nine pair of jeans, pants and a skirt priced ridiculously low at a buck a piece, and a beautiful new semi-formal dress priced at 7.50 in a big pile and demanded the whole thing for five dollars. I was adamant. She got snotty and I chased her off. I will not be taken advantage of any longer. Enough is enough.
Putting these things back into the flow has the advantage of unblocking blocked energy and assuring that all that which is needed will have the opportunity to arrive.
But I have the responsibility to respect these things and assure that they are placed into the flow in a respectful manner and not dumped carelessly and without fair recompense.
Allowing oneself to be cheated is far different from donating things to a charity which is also a valid way of placing things back in the flow.
In other words, I have recognized my responsibility for the things I have acquired to receive fair exchange, and thus avoid denigrating their intrinsic value.
This is a form of transformation. I am transforming myself from a messy borderline hoarder to a person with a handle on simplicity, and with only those things that are useful and bring me a sense of joyfulness.
This is quite a difficult dragon to slay: one with much tenacity. But I truly understand that once you have identified a demon, it is more easily slain.
More to sell in a week or so, because enough is enough and too much is too much.
LACK vs ENOUGH
LACK vs ENOUGH
Enough is all we need. The right amount of anything is a blessing. Whereas too much of something quickly becomes a burden, perhaps overtly, perhaps subtly, but a burden nonetheless.
At this time, we seem to lack wisdom and maintain a bit too much in the way of greed. I see this manifesting as overindulgence in entertainment, poor quality food and beverages, and a tendency to cling to government handouts like a baby at a tit. The debt crisis is a prime example. Nearly everyone has too much debt. We sure have a lot of stuff though, don't we?
Sometimes we wake up and realize this and shed our burdens in a manner that blesses ourselves and others. Sometimes, if we have refused to awaken, we are forced to give up things through some type of occurrence outside of our own control.
And then we cry, we blame, we get angry, we feel victimized, until, at some point, we notice that we feel lighter, freer, and more flexible.
Is America coming to that point? Are we, as a nation, being faced with the time to choose? Do we choose to give up that which no longer serves our immediate notions of comfort, greed and laziness so that we can reclaim our freedom that so many have fought and died for?
I certainly hope so. Let us pray for America. Veterans Day is coming in about two weeks. Let us show our gratitude to our Military Veterans and active duty personnel. But that is not all I refer to. Everyday is the time to be grateful and express gratitude. And remember our Source with love and gratitude. Summary: More love, more gratitude and willingness to let go for the sake of freedom.
Be Well
Victoria
Enough is all we need. The right amount of anything is a blessing. Whereas too much of something quickly becomes a burden, perhaps overtly, perhaps subtly, but a burden nonetheless.
At this time, we seem to lack wisdom and maintain a bit too much in the way of greed. I see this manifesting as overindulgence in entertainment, poor quality food and beverages, and a tendency to cling to government handouts like a baby at a tit. The debt crisis is a prime example. Nearly everyone has too much debt. We sure have a lot of stuff though, don't we?
Sometimes we wake up and realize this and shed our burdens in a manner that blesses ourselves and others. Sometimes, if we have refused to awaken, we are forced to give up things through some type of occurrence outside of our own control.
And then we cry, we blame, we get angry, we feel victimized, until, at some point, we notice that we feel lighter, freer, and more flexible.
Is America coming to that point? Are we, as a nation, being faced with the time to choose? Do we choose to give up that which no longer serves our immediate notions of comfort, greed and laziness so that we can reclaim our freedom that so many have fought and died for?
I certainly hope so. Let us pray for America. Veterans Day is coming in about two weeks. Let us show our gratitude to our Military Veterans and active duty personnel. But that is not all I refer to. Everyday is the time to be grateful and express gratitude. And remember our Source with love and gratitude. Summary: More love, more gratitude and willingness to let go for the sake of freedom.
Be Well
Victoria
LOVE ENOUGH
Thursday, July 21, 2011
LOVE ENOUGH
With bazillions of egos wrestling for space, recognition, prominence and dominance in the world, one wonders if there is any hope at all for resolution to all our world of troubles.
A woman I know introduced me last year to a system called Infinite Love and Gratitude. It is a complex and multi-dimensional system for healing body, mind and spirit. It has to do with kinesiology and diagnosis, removing blocks and working with assorted alternative healing modalities.
Bottom line though, is Love and Gratitude.
Jesus loved enough to cover the whole worlds ills. Everywhere he looked and touched, healings occurred. He chose not to save his mortal self in order to show us the way of salvation.
In each instance when He fed the multitudes, He first gave thanks, and then divided the few loaves and fishes into baskets full for the many people and followers attending His teachings. His gratitude was the acknowledgment of God's infinite love and supply for all of creation, without limits.
His last words in the Garden were words of deepest commitment to God, of giving up His sense of self for the greater good.
His last words on the cross were words of welcoming His spirit home to God, from Whom He knew he had never been truly separated. He was the Wayshower.
Through his wonderful and often misunderstood words in the Sermon on the Mount, He gives us the guidance we all need for blessed living.
Misinterpretations of His words through many translations and through changes in the way some words are defined have caused some lack of acceptance toward some of those precious teachings.
See Matthew 5:1-48
In verse 3, the 'poor in spirit' actually referred to the ego. Those who have softened their ego, or have controlled or conquered its self-righteousness are truly blessed.
Verse 4 refers to those who mourn, saying they are blessed because they shall be comforted. When we encounter a dark night of the soul, we mourn for whatever loss, be it mental, physical, emotional or spiritual we have experienced or are experiencing. The blessing comes from the passage through the dark with the realization that we indeed are comforted by the eternal support and love of God for us as His created being.
Verse 5 is a big one. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus, in the Aramaic language He spoke, used a word that meant MODERATE, not weak, as we define meek today. Blessed are the moderate, for they shall inherit the earth. All of creation belongs to the MODERATE good steward who cares for and honors creation. He who does not give in to knee-jerk reactions and hyperbole, is he who survives to tell the tale.
Verse 6. Like Solomon, asking of God an understanding heart, the ability to be discerning and fair, Jesus tells us that seeking to be our best and most loving selves, in God's likeness, is self-fulfilling. And believe me, it is a daily quest, not a one-time seminar from which you come away with certification!
Verse 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Karma. We draw into our experience what we most exhibit.
. We could talk about Job here, but that is another whole discussion.
Verse 8 tells us that the pure in heart shall see God. Pure in heart refers to those who are true to the principles of this teaching.
In verse 9, we are told that the peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the children of God. What is a peacemaker. We wonder a lot about that very thing today. In brief, again, it is one who follows these teachings in His Sermon and in the Golden Rule. There may be another whole discourse on that coming up in a few weeks.
Verses 10 through 16 cover, essentially, one topic, and it feels not very encouraging. Who wants to be persecuted for righteousness sake or for any other purpose, Kingdom of Heaven not withstanding! Let's say a high school kid is ridiculed by classmates because he refuses to do a drug. Well, ultimately, he will be rewarded for his stance, and they will pay some karmic penalty. Taking a stand for principle is what America is supposed to be all about. It is our justification for the wars we get into. Sometimes it is a measly excuse to cover that which is based upon greed rather than principle. Our government seems to be ruled by Pharisees and Sadducees! But the majority of our military respond out of devotion and love for country and their oath to uphold their assigned mission. In our world, righteousness is not always easily discernable. Certainly it is contingent upon motive. Honor, valor, self-sacrifice, faithfulness, and holding one's ground for the highest good are the attributes of righteousness. The comfort of knowing one had done their best and done the right thing is a deep and abiding comfort and is accompanied by an assurance that God is honored by your best efforts and rewards with all that comfort which enfolds your heart and mind and purifies your emotions. That is the peace of knowing that all is in Divine and perfect order.
Perhaps we shall take up the rest of the verses another time.
Be blessed
Love, Victoria
LOVE ENOUGH
With bazillions of egos wrestling for space, recognition, prominence and dominance in the world, one wonders if there is any hope at all for resolution to all our world of troubles.
A woman I know introduced me last year to a system called Infinite Love and Gratitude. It is a complex and multi-dimensional system for healing body, mind and spirit. It has to do with kinesiology and diagnosis, removing blocks and working with assorted alternative healing modalities.
Bottom line though, is Love and Gratitude.
Jesus loved enough to cover the whole worlds ills. Everywhere he looked and touched, healings occurred. He chose not to save his mortal self in order to show us the way of salvation.
In each instance when He fed the multitudes, He first gave thanks, and then divided the few loaves and fishes into baskets full for the many people and followers attending His teachings. His gratitude was the acknowledgment of God's infinite love and supply for all of creation, without limits.
His last words in the Garden were words of deepest commitment to God, of giving up His sense of self for the greater good.
His last words on the cross were words of welcoming His spirit home to God, from Whom He knew he had never been truly separated. He was the Wayshower.
Through his wonderful and often misunderstood words in the Sermon on the Mount, He gives us the guidance we all need for blessed living.
Misinterpretations of His words through many translations and through changes in the way some words are defined have caused some lack of acceptance toward some of those precious teachings.
See Matthew 5:1-48
In verse 3, the 'poor in spirit' actually referred to the ego. Those who have softened their ego, or have controlled or conquered its self-righteousness are truly blessed.
Verse 4 refers to those who mourn, saying they are blessed because they shall be comforted. When we encounter a dark night of the soul, we mourn for whatever loss, be it mental, physical, emotional or spiritual we have experienced or are experiencing. The blessing comes from the passage through the dark with the realization that we indeed are comforted by the eternal support and love of God for us as His created being.
Verse 5 is a big one. blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Jesus, in the Aramaic language He spoke, used a word that meant MODERATE, not weak, as we define meek today. Blessed are the moderate, for they shall inherit the earth. All of creation belongs to the MODERATE good steward who cares for and honors creation. He who does not give in to knee-jerk reactions and hyperbole, is he who survives to tell the tale.
Verse 6. Like Solomon, asking of God an understanding heart, the ability to be discerning and fair, Jesus tells us that seeking to be our best and most loving selves, in God's likeness, is self-fulfilling. And believe me, it is a daily quest, not a one-time seminar from which you come away with certification!
Verse 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Karma. We draw into our experience what we most exhibit.
. We could talk about Job here, but that is another whole discussion.
Verse 8 tells us that the pure in heart shall see God. Pure in heart refers to those who are true to the principles of this teaching.
In verse 9, we are told that the peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the children of God. What is a peacemaker. We wonder a lot about that very thing today. In brief, again, it is one who follows these teachings in His Sermon and in the Golden Rule. There may be another whole discourse on that coming up in a few weeks.
Verses 10 through 16 cover, essentially, one topic, and it feels not very encouraging. Who wants to be persecuted for righteousness sake or for any other purpose, Kingdom of Heaven not withstanding! Let's say a high school kid is ridiculed by classmates because he refuses to do a drug. Well, ultimately, he will be rewarded for his stance, and they will pay some karmic penalty. Taking a stand for principle is what America is supposed to be all about. It is our justification for the wars we get into. Sometimes it is a measly excuse to cover that which is based upon greed rather than principle. Our government seems to be ruled by Pharisees and Sadducees! But the majority of our military respond out of devotion and love for country and their oath to uphold their assigned mission. In our world, righteousness is not always easily discernable. Certainly it is contingent upon motive. Honor, valor, self-sacrifice, faithfulness, and holding one's ground for the highest good are the attributes of righteousness. The comfort of knowing one had done their best and done the right thing is a deep and abiding comfort and is accompanied by an assurance that God is honored by your best efforts and rewards with all that comfort which enfolds your heart and mind and purifies your emotions. That is the peace of knowing that all is in Divine and perfect order.
Perhaps we shall take up the rest of the verses another time.
Be blessed
Love, Victoria
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY
Here is a horror story for you:
Once upon a time… no strike that! Every day at work, some customer (passenger) shakes his head over the intrusions of TSA into his/her rights of person. Then the person next to them (sadly but predictably this is usually a woman) pops up and says something like, “Oh but it makes me feel so much safer!” or “Anything to make us safe.”
Well, personally I am horrified and disgusted by the frequent willingness to give away our rights to privacy of person and the willingness of so many to complacently accept illegal search and seizure.
Complicit in this fiasco is the continual insistence of business to require so many of their employees to fly daily and weekly when such wonderful technology as conference calling and Skype, to name only the two I am acquainted with exist and are available to all. Using these forms of communication would have the end result of lowering costs to the end user and lowering the income of the airlines and airports, thus encouraging them to fire TSA and provide privatized security relying on bomb and drug sniffing dogs and their military or retired military handlers. It is a proposition that would be a save-save and win-win deal all around.
These passengers who allow themselves to ‘feel safer’ by being groped by sulky low-lifes in blue uniform shirts with shiny TSA badges and by exposing themselves to excessive radiation and snickers of contempt or oogles of lust need to wake up!
Realize that:
1. Inherently, hurtling the human body through the air at 30,000 feet at hundreds of miles per hour in a large aluminum shell is not safe.
2. Walking down the street is not ‘safe.’
3. Getting out of bed is not safe. Neither is staying in bed.
4. Eating in a restaurant is not safe.
The best heritage any of us have ever received is our Bill of Rights. Do not give it away to the bureaucrats. Don’t give it back to the government. Do not sacrifice it for a warm and fuzzy false sense of security. Arm yourself with wisdom, with awareness. Learn to use your gut instincts and your other senses. That is what your Creator gave to you and what you are intended to use to help ensure your survival.
If you are willing to give away your rights, go somewhere else to do it. When you do it here, you jeopardize my rights and I will not stand for that. Enough!
The problem-solving intent of my blogs continues. I prefer not to moan about a problem. Complaining solves nothing. Too many complainers exist already. (Listen to talk radio sometime) Although this post is a complaint, it, as you can see, has come to you with a built in solution, and that is what we like to focus on: Solutions.
Coddled Americans are so complacent because we are so spoiled by all of our many advantages and so insulated by our politically correct and over-stimulated and over-entertained lives, that we do not know how to take responsibility for ourselves. We do not know how to be aware. We do not know how to live.
Join the boycott of the airlines and airports until this is resolved. Stop flying. Start driving when you want to travel. Take a cruise ship to another land. Take a train if you can find one. Skype. Conference call. And look at other electronic means of communication. Skype is one of the most accessible and most remarkable around and so easy to use. SKYPE!
ENOUGH COMPLACENCY
Here is a horror story for you:
Once upon a time… no strike that! Every day at work, some customer (passenger) shakes his head over the intrusions of TSA into his/her rights of person. Then the person next to them (sadly but predictably this is usually a woman) pops up and says something like, “Oh but it makes me feel so much safer!” or “Anything to make us safe.”
Well, personally I am horrified and disgusted by the frequent willingness to give away our rights to privacy of person and the willingness of so many to complacently accept illegal search and seizure.
Complicit in this fiasco is the continual insistence of business to require so many of their employees to fly daily and weekly when such wonderful technology as conference calling and Skype, to name only the two I am acquainted with exist and are available to all. Using these forms of communication would have the end result of lowering costs to the end user and lowering the income of the airlines and airports, thus encouraging them to fire TSA and provide privatized security relying on bomb and drug sniffing dogs and their military or retired military handlers. It is a proposition that would be a save-save and win-win deal all around.
These passengers who allow themselves to ‘feel safer’ by being groped by sulky low-lifes in blue uniform shirts with shiny TSA badges and by exposing themselves to excessive radiation and snickers of contempt or oogles of lust need to wake up!
Realize that:
1. Inherently, hurtling the human body through the air at 30,000 feet at hundreds of miles per hour in a large aluminum shell is not safe.
2. Walking down the street is not ‘safe.’
3. Getting out of bed is not safe. Neither is staying in bed.
4. Eating in a restaurant is not safe.
The best heritage any of us have ever received is our Bill of Rights. Do not give it away to the bureaucrats. Don’t give it back to the government. Do not sacrifice it for a warm and fuzzy false sense of security. Arm yourself with wisdom, with awareness. Learn to use your gut instincts and your other senses. That is what your Creator gave to you and what you are intended to use to help ensure your survival.
If you are willing to give away your rights, go somewhere else to do it. When you do it here, you jeopardize my rights and I will not stand for that. Enough!
The problem-solving intent of my blogs continues. I prefer not to moan about a problem. Complaining solves nothing. Too many complainers exist already. (Listen to talk radio sometime) Although this post is a complaint, it, as you can see, has come to you with a built in solution, and that is what we like to focus on: Solutions.
Coddled Americans are so complacent because we are so spoiled by all of our many advantages and so insulated by our politically correct and over-stimulated and over-entertained lives, that we do not know how to take responsibility for ourselves. We do not know how to be aware. We do not know how to live.
Join the boycott of the airlines and airports until this is resolved. Stop flying. Start driving when you want to travel. Take a cruise ship to another land. Take a train if you can find one. Skype. Conference call. And look at other electronic means of communication. Skype is one of the most accessible and most remarkable around and so easy to use. SKYPE!
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