It is also coming to that time of year-you know what I’m talking about. Yep, Santa Claus! That time of year when everyone is in a big hurry to get the best deals (nothing wrong with that-just don’t mace the people that are in front of you), when people are trying to figure out what to get who, what to make for the meal Christmas Eve and then the BIG meal Christmas Day. And it’s all done in one day. We have this crazy living the couple of months before Christmas and then it’s here.

And talk about Black Friday! Did you read all the accounts-hence the mace comment above? People were actually hurt because other people had to get that last toy. Says quite a bit about Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward men.

Isn’t this time the time of year for giving? For the caring of what happens to our fellow man? Remember years ago, people would open up their homes for those that didn’t have as much. We did what we could to help those less fortunate. Remember all those drives for underprivileged kids for toys? Toys for tots? You still see some, but nothing like it was years ago. When did we become a society that stopped caring about one another?

This year, I don’t have a lot of money to do Christmas. So, this year, I’ll give my time to my kids and my parents. Need a babysitter for the next year-sure-call me, need me to come over and take care of you when you don’t feel good, okay-I’m there. Don’t have a ride, sure. Doesn’t sound like much, but just think what savings it will be for them. My folks? I’ll cook for them. I know what they like and will share what little we have with them.

Giving doesn’t always mean spending thousands of dollars on family just to make sure you got them everything they wanted. Sometimes it’s a matter of giving them what they need. Yes, it is a shock when that happens. The first year my parents didn’t go all out surprised me. But the gift I was given that year and all the years afterwards was the greatest gift of all. Spending time with them-not just at Christmas, but all year.

We never know when God is going to call someone home-yes I know it’s a bit morbid for this time of year, but it’s true. The greatest gift I now have is the fact that I still have very loving parents. So this time of year, I thank God every day that he is still letting me have them. I hope to have them till they’re 100!

So, next time you’re on the way to the mall, stop and think about what this time of year truly means. Stop and give thanks for loved ones-here and gone. And maybe think about what you can do for them that would help them.

And don’t forget to look for that slow rain-maybe we’ll have some for Christmas day!

Till next time.

How often are we out driving, and see a live deer at the side of the road-looking right at us?

Do you ever get the feeling that these animals are possessed with maybe the soul of something else?

I find that most animals (domesticated and feral) seem quite intelligent, but there are just some animals, that when they look at you, seem to have an superior intelligence. Or maybe we feel sometimes that these animals are inhabited only briefly by a loved one that has passed on.

Remember the deer at the side of the road looking at you? Why didn’t it run right in front of you? If you live out in an area where deer are the norm, you know that usually they spook right about in the middle of the road. They stop, give you the deer in the headlight look, and hope like hell you can swerve around them.

But when they just stare at you, like they know you? Letting you pass by-maybe for that instant, it’s Nannie jumping in to keep the deer there and you alive.

If you’ve kept up with my sporadic blogging-you know that I’m big on animals. You also know that I live in an area where we have quite a bit of wild life. If you’ve ever taken my Medicine Card Class or Animal Totem Class, you know that while I’m a believer in power animals, and spirit animals, and spirits being in animals. You also know that sometimes a woodchuck is just a woodchuck and nothing more.

In my backyard in the spring and summer, it’s a zoo. We have woodchucks, rabbits, squirrels, fox, raccoons, woodpeckers, deer, just to name a few. So, I’m not one to look out and believe that every I see an animal out there, it is a message to me. Most of the time, it’s because we have an apple tree in the back yard and that is a food source. We will also once in awhile attempt to plant a garden which becomes another food source-for the animals, not us.

But once in awhile, these animals are messengers. They are appearing before us to let us know something. Deer staring at us-side of road-not moving-keeping us alive to do what we are meant to do this lifetime. Often times when I feel an animals has come my way for a reason, I will meditate to find out what that animal means to me. I also use reference books-medicine cards for one, and any number of animals books.

I take what the animal is saying to me to heart and try to do my best by it.

Sometimes, it’s just stopping by to say hi, sometimes it might have a profound message for you.

Whatever the case, be open to it. Open your heart and mind to see what it has to say to you. And then use the message wisely.

Till next time.

What I ended up watching that night was the movie Happy Feet. It’s a movie about penguins. Emperor Penguins to be exact. Okay, okay-twist my arm-sometimes I like musicals and cartoons too.

I watched it that night, and a week later watched it again. And it really got me thinking. About being different and how society looks at you. And how they treat you. But before I get into that, let me share just a little bit about the story.

It starts with Memphis and Norma Jean, meeting and falling in love. When penguins mate, they lift up their hearts in “song”. If you’ve ever watched a documentary about this, they will “sing”, and whoever is attracted to their voice becomes their mate. So, the 2 love penguins hit the right notes together and voila, an egg is dropped. The female penguins go out to forage for food while the male penguins sit on the eggs. But you must never drop or lose an egg. Of course, Memphis loses his egg for just a few seconds. The females finally come home. Norma Jean finds that her egg has not quite hatched yet. But when it does, out comes the baby penguin, who can’t keep his feet still. They name him Mumble, because when he lifts up his voice to sing, it sounds awful. But his feet are always happy and tapping away. Mumble grows a little slower than most of the other hatchlings, and when they finally are ready to lift their voices up in song to attract a mate, well, Mumble just can’t find the right voice. But when he dances, Gloria decides that she fits right in with him. His tapping and her singing.

Eventually, the elders ostracize Mumble. He’s not a part of them, he doesn’t have a heart song, he just doesn’t belong. He leaves the colony, and meets up with some smaller penguins. Adélie penguins. There is a small group that Mumble becomes friends with. They travel with him, trying to keep him out of trouble. They get into more trouble than they keep him out of though. In their travels, they find that humans want to come to the Antarctic to fish, which will mean less fish for the penguins. Mumble ends up in an aquarium and when a child taps on the glass, starts tap dancing. Everyone is amazed that a penguin can do that and the humans finally release him back in the wild. Of course, they have a tracking device on him.

Mumble leads them to his colony of penguins in the Antarctic. When Mumble returns home, the penguin voices are lifted up in song, and Mumble does the only thing that he can do-tap dances. The humans are amazed and take videos and sends them around the world. The humans decide that they have been overfishing there and leave everything in its natural setting. And everyone lives happily ever after.

I love the movie, the singing and the dancing, but what had really opened my eyes was the statement it made about being different. Poor Mumble doesn’t have a heart song to attract a mate with-he only has tap dancing or happy feet.
Therefore, he is kicked out of his home. His parents feel bad, but what can they do-the elders have decreed that Mumble doesn’t belong.

How many of us have felt like that? You’re “kicked out” because you’re different. You don’t belong. And it can be any reason-physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. Oh, you’re in a wheelchair, I’m not going to look at you because you’re different. Oh, you’re emotionally or mentally challenged, well, I don’t know what to say to you, so I’m going to ignore you like you’re not there. Oh, I’m a born again Christian-you’re a witch???? I’ll pray for you, but I definitely won’t be spending an evening of food and conversation with you.

Growing up, I was extremely shy to the point of being absolutely terrified of people, and I was (and still am) overweight. Plus I was (and still am) psychic. That was 3 strikes against me from the very beginning. And I can tell you that I was ostracized almost my entire life. People wouldn’t talk to me because they thought I was stuck up-after all, I wasn’t saying anything. I never got picked for the fun stuff because look at her-she’s fat, I don’t want her on my team. And when I finally realized that I had abilities, well, it was really just an overactive imagination. Because being psychic isn’t real.

How many times have we turned our heads away because someone was different? Well, you say that you don’t know how to react to someone who is different. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I do the wrong thing? Maybe sometimes we should just try.

When J and I go to any store, because of his health, he needs one of the electric carts to get through the store. I can not believe how many people act as if he’s not even there. They will cut in front of him while not looking at him. They will pass him in a narrow aisle giving him a dirty look for being in THEIR way. And it amazes me how when some of those same people have issues, they are the first ones to expect everyone to drop everything to help them because all of a sudden they can’t do it for themselves. Yet when they were healthy, they ignored those that had handicaps.

We are even teaching our children not to care about other people. Working in retail has proven how much society has changed from the 1930’s. Back then, if your neighbor got sick or hurt, many times, the whole neighborhood would pitch in to help. Now, we are so self absorbed, some of us wouldn’t even know our neighbor had died until we started smelling something really bad coming from next door.

There are many reasons for people being different, but I think it’s time that we started caring again. Really caring and showing that we really care. Next time you see someone in the grocery store that has a handicap, offer to get the product off the top shelf, next time you see someone struggling with trying to get something in their car-offer to help them. If people don’t want your help, they’ll tell you. But at least care enough to offer. Even if, at first, all you can offer is a smile.

Sometimes even a smile is the greatest gift you can give someone. So, don’t ignore people who are different, don’t make them feel like Mumble, an outcast. Appreciate people for their differences and get to know them. We are all human and we all like to be loved and needed-no matter what our difference. Try it, you just might find that it changes you in a very positive manner.

Like I said, at the end of the movie, Mumble saves the day. Everyone loves him and his difference. I wish it could be like that in real life. But maybe if just a couple of us try to make a difference, maybe little by little, we will all be able to save the day at the end.

So, lift up your heart song, see who hears it, or sees it or feels it. And if you can’t sing-get those Happy Feet going!

Till next time.