AH...THE GOLDEN YEARS!   Isn't that the time most folks look forward to?  But like all the rest of the chapters in our lives, this is but another one to get through.
     OFTEN, I HAVE BEEN ASKED...."what's it like for me as a single lady, to be retired".  I usually answer it this way.  In the first place, to be retired usually means one has reached a certain age, a time referred to as being OLD !  So, that's not so good, unless one is in good health--both mentally & physically.
     AS FOR THIS SENIOR LADY....this time of life has it's perks.  There are no more worries about having enough money to pay the bills each month. There is no need to endure that excruciating alarm clock bell, which dictated our previous working years, when whether we felt like it or now, we had to get up and go to work all those decades ago.  There is no more responsibilities for the health and welfare of the children we were supporting.  But even though they are grown ups, one never really stops being a mother, who is concerned about them.  And then there are grand kids who are both a delight, but represent more additions to our families, for whom we are continually concerned about their future.
     SO, IT IS A MIXED BAG....of pros & cons.  But I must say that it is a less stressful time for me.  I am the final word as to if I want to travel, or how I choose to spend my money. Thus, I do not have to ask permission of any man.  Also, as a gardener, I am free or make a flower bed or plant a tree anywhere on my property, if I so choose. No one but me gets a vote (or a demand) on anything, anymore.  Happily, those days of being under the thumb of another, are gone forever.  And I say a big AMEN to those stressful days of yesteryear. 
     DON'T YOU GET LONELY....some ask?  On occasion, perhaps. But keeping busy with artistic pursuits, e-mail, my blog, sending commentary to the "Opinion  Page" of a couple of newspapers, writing books, gardening, piano playing --you name it--gives me little time to feel sorry for myself. Then, there are my two beloved "best friend" doggies, who love me no matter what.  And  there are  my Spirit Guide & Guardian Angels, who protect me day & night and are ever with me.  So, I am never  alone. But I would encourage all Retired Senior Citizens to keep busy--both physically & mentally.  For you know what they say? "If you don't use it, you lose it!"
     HOWEVER, WITH OLDER AGE & RETIREMENT.... there is much time for reflection as to how we have lived our lives--both good & bad memories continually surface.  Yes, during so many decades,of pain & stress, our lives didn't turn out as we imagined when we were youngsters. Because, back then,  we had such high hopes for our glorious future.  But sadly, with the passage of years, the ravages of  life have beaten us down in many ways.  However, we Seniors should dismiss all those failures, painful episodes and disappointments, if we are to go on into our twilight years with any sense of satisfaction for the life we have lived. 
     GOD EXPECTS NO LESS.....than for us to be proud that we are each a  "spark of the divine", which we are.  And that we have done the very best we could do during this lifetime, given what we had to work with. 
     BUT THERE IS NO DENYING.... that for so many of us, we have had to endure so many dark times, before we could see the blessed light!

                MAY  GOD  BLESS  YOU  ALL -- BOTH  YOUNG & OLD 
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       DEATH & DYING seems to be everywhere on the Gulf of Mexico coastline, that has become impacted by BP's oil gusher.  "Everything is dying" was a quote from a life long resident of south Louisiana, as she looked around at the surrounding marshland where ugly crude oil had invaded everywhere. 
      FOR US, who see this horror on TV everyday for endless weeks now, it is obvious that the damage already done will probably not be alleviated in most of our lifetimes.  It is one thing to see the beautiful Alabama & Florida beaches inundated with oil.  But it is even worse for the marshlands, that border the Gulf, to be killed down to the roots.  This is because the marsh has always served as a buffer when hurricanes came to the land.  Additionally, the loss of spawning grounds for seafood sources, as well for as birds and other creatures is unimaginable. 
     BUT THERE IS ANOTHER source of "dying", to be considered.  Indeed, it is an entire culture of people along this coastline that could be dying--never to come back to what was.  These are hard working people, generations of whom have always lived by the sea, and on the sea.  Most of them know nothing else, and when interviewed, their tears come while trying to express their dismay. Why, we even learned that a charter boat captain committed suicide recently, so depressed was he at the dismal future that lay ahead for him, because of the pollution of the Gulf.
     IT IS SAID....that nothing lasts forever.  But sadly,  the people of this coastal region quite simply are not able to adjust to any other way of life--even to the possibility that they may have to move away from their beloved coast, in order to survive.
    BUT THE HANDWRITING has been on the prophetic wall for some time now.  According to prophesy, Earth changes will necessitate relocation for many now and in the future, when either man-made or natural disasters occur.  And this unfortunate oil company disaster is apparently one such event, among others yet to come, which will cause coastal folks to move to high ground or suffer the consequences. 
     THIS IS NOT SOMETHING anyone wants to hear.  But these changes have already begun.  Unfortunately, such affected folks will not be able to go back to what was before. This was evidenced by one fisherman, who was asked-- "What will you do if you can't fish the Gulf anymore?"  His reply was this.  "I guess I will just go home--and wait to die."
     SO, IT IS UP HILL all the way for these people, who cannot imagine living any other place but on their beloved Gulf coastline.  For most, that is all they have ever known--like the generations before them.  So, the will to start all over again is just not within most of them.  And that is such a tragedy!

     WE CAN ONLY WISH THEM WELL -- "Bon Chance, Mon Amie"
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     ALL  OF  US .....have felt that illusive feeling, from one time or another coming from deep within our psyche.  But most of the time, people usually dismiss it as unimportant.  Well, I am here to tell you, that this is not a good idea!
     WHY?  It's because "there are more things in heaven and earth, than that which meets the eye". Those, who believe all there is to life is what we can hear, touch, smell and see are just "whistlin'  Dixie", as the saying goes.
     THIS  HAS   NOTHING  TO  DO  WITH....what faith or religion one adheres to. It has to do with the fact, that each of us has an immortal soul, which is being guided everyday of our lives, by our unseen guardians, who are trying to make contact with us.  I used to think, that whenever I felt such a deep seated dictate, which would pop up in my mind many times when I had to make an important decision in my life, it was merely my "feminine intuition". Well, it really was intuition!  But it had nothing to do with being female.  I was to realize later, that these urgings came from a more spiritual source.
      ONCE....I had a strong feeling, that my car should be traded in.  As far as I knew, it was running just fine.  But that feeling just wouldn't let me rest.  So, I traded in my 1965 Ford Mustang for a 1970 Cutlass Supreme.  And would you believe, a week later the sales guy at the dealership called me to ask a question.  He asked if I knew, at the time I traded my car in, if anything was wrong with it?  I honestly told him, that I knew of nothing wrong.  Then, he told me that the transmission failed--just days after I traded.
     ANOTHER  TIME ....there it was again--that strong sensation within me, that urged me to look for another job.  Well, there was nothing wrong with my present position, as far as I knew.  But still, that inner urging persisted and would not stop.  So, I got myself another job.  Would you believe, a week after I left my former position, that company laid off a large number of people.  Now, I have no way of knowing whether I would have been among that number.  But I figured that my "inner voice" probably saved me from being suddenly unemployed.
     SUCH  THINGS.....have happened to me over and over during some years of my lifetime.  Unfortunately, in my younger adult years, I dismissed such inner advice as just my imagination.  Thus, I made many mistakes, that I probably could have avoided back then.  However, I have come to believe, that we have to be allowed to make our own mistakes, so we can learn valuable lessons.
     SUCH  SPIRITUAL  GUIDANCE.....of which I speak, stays within the psyche of folks for their entire lives.  But the majority pays little to no attention to such a phenomenon.  This is due to the fact that most people are so busy, career driven and stressed out from the demands of everyday life, that they can never become open enough to accept that they are being helped by the unseen.  These sources are our guardians, whose only job is to help one particular human soul, whom they are assigned to.
     SO....LISTEN  TO  YOUR  INNER  VOICE....because your protectors are always struggling to get through to help you--if only you would pay attention.

                     OPEN  YOUR  MIND  TO  SUCH  BLESSED  HELP.....
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     IN  1973....WHO CAN EVER FORGET that beautiful song (from the movie of the same name), that the great Barbra sang --"The Way We Were"?
     ONE  ONLY  HAS  TO  LISTEN to those lyrics, in order to be in agreement with the wise words of that song.  Because, it is true. None of us can ever hope to go back to the way things were at any specific time in our lives.  Those times are no more, and can never come again.
     MANY  OF  US  would like to go back to a time when certain of our loved ones were still with us in this lifetime on Earth--just to be with them again and relive some of the past good times we remember, before they passed away from us. But we can NEVER go back to those times, because those loved ones  were supposed to exit when they did--even though we do not want to accept this.  Their time here with us was at an end, and they were called back to the "other side", which is the true home for our souls--that place where we are all destined  to go at our appointed time.  But they will be waiting for us, when our time comes.
     PEOPLE  OFTEN  REMARK  about the "good old days"--times when they remember better times, than how we live today.  True, many things have changed, and there are challenges that were not there before.  But with the passage of time folks too often remember only the good times they had back then, and gloss over the problems people endured in previous years.
     EACH  ERA  HAS  IT'S  PROBLEMS....so, we should never forget how it was back then.  Today, people are divided politically and morally about the laws of the land.  Some think that we can't get through our disagreements.  But we only have to look back at history, to see that  this is not so.  In the 1930s, people wondered how they would survive.  The 1940s brought us the greatest world war ever, when civilization was in such danger and life was a matter of life or death for millions.  The 1950s & 1960s saw the Cold War when we lived in fear, waiting for either Russia or the U.S. to drop the first big bomb, and when Civil Rights  & Women's Rights struggle was on-going.  And  the nation was torn apart. by the terrible Vietnam War.
     ALL  OF  THESE  THINGS  (and more) happened in the so-called "good old days", that many people long to go back to.  Obviously, the memories of such people are tempered by only the good times they had then.  They have dismissed the truly difficult times people endured in those days.
     TIME  MARCHES  ON....and we have to march along with it--enduring the good times as well as the bad.  No doubt ten years from now, folks will look back at our current disagreements, and will wonder what the fuss was all about. 
     WE  SHOULD  ALL  REALIZE.....very few things come easily for most of us.  After all, life on this difficult Planet Earth has always been troubling, painful and downright unfair.  So, what else is new?  Current times are just more of the same.  So, we will endure and get through the current difficult times too.
     YES, WE  CAN  NEVER go back to the way we were.  Life is about progress in so many ways, and where there is no progress there can be no quality in our foreseeable future.
     SO,  WHY  IN  THE  WORLD would we ever wish to go back to the way we were.  There is nothing worthwhile to be gained in that king of thinking.

           CHERISH  THE  HERE  AND  NOW......AND  GO  WITH  GOD !
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     HAVE  YOU  EVER  PONDERED  THE  MEANING  OF  LIFE?  Have you felt that you are out of place, living in this lifetime?  Have you ever questioned whether you were on the right path?  Well, you are not alone.
     PERSONALLY.....these questions have nagged at me for decades.  But it is now, only in older age, that I understand my purpose.  I have been told,  through spirit, that I am living my 48th lifetime on this planet, and  this life may be my last here.  I can only hope that this is true. Because I have had enough of   mankind's evil inhumanity to it's fellow species,  that is always with us on Planet Earth.  For with each generation, over thousands of years, most residents of Earth have not learned the lessons of the past.  Thus, countless humans have made continual evil blunders over and over again, causing pain & death to the multitudes.
     BUT  THERE  IS  HOPE.....for a better future now.  This is because in this new century, the search for true spirituality is taking hold of so many people .  This was never the case before.  Remember, how one's stated man made religion reflected how people thought?  Folks I grew up with were either Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Jewish or other Christian churches.  Thus we always professed our allegiance to one or the other of these.  Thus our actions were always ruled by our church & small town society.  This closed our minds to any other possibilities, because our church rules were unyielding. But now, for me, when asked my beliefs I always say-- "spiritual--not religious".
     HOWEVER,  FOR  MANY  WHO  FEEL  OUT  OF  PLACE  HERE......there are reasons for this. Perhaps it is because our souls have lived many lives and gained more experience & wisdom from these sojourns.  Therefore,God expects  us,  to do more to fight against evil, as well as do good works in this lifetime.
     BUT OFTENTIMES  THE  LIVES  OF  SPIRITUAL  SEARCHERS.....are more difficult.  But as it is said, God does not give us anymore than we can stand. Perhaps, these feelings of being out of place stem from memories of when we were on the "other side" or in past lives.  So, many of us are driven to try and right wrongs, because we instinctively know that Earth life could be better.  This is often attempted by being creative thinkers, scientists, writers, visionaries & leaders.
     AS  A  WRITER.....I endeavor to plant seeds of thought into the minds of many, who perhaps could be reached, to se that there is much more.   I do not always succeed, but this is what I instinctively know is God's path for me.
     ALL  I  KNOW  IS.....that I (among countless others) feel that much is missing here on this planet.  Yes, we probably feel uncomfortable here,  because our soul has become wiser through many lifetimes.  Thus a nagging sense of being out of place on Earth is ever with us.
     BUT  COULD  IT  BE.....that our souls continually exhibit visions within our being  of better places--on other more advanced planets?  Thus, this feeling that we do not belong here persists........ and we yearn to leave.  

                              "PLANTING  SEEDS  FOR  THOUGHT"
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     MANY  PEOPLE  DO  NOT  UNDERSTAND.....why this current economical downturn has happened.  But this is nothing new.  Since our nation's beginning, there have been several such downturns--some worse than others.  After all, whatever goes up, must come down--and that includes the economy.
     FOLKS  IN  THE  "ROARING  TWENTIES".....found this out big time. The 1920s had been a time when  the stock market was  flying high, and so many people were investing--even on credit.  They apparently thought their "good times" would never end, for they had gotten used to the illegal  booze flowing and the money coming in from their stocks.  But then the stock market crashed on that infamous October day in 1929,  ending the hopes & dreams of millions.  Thus the "Great Depression of the 1930s" became a reality, not just for those who had invested, but for the entire nation.
     ON  A  LESSER  SCALE....a similar thing happened in the 1990s and into the 2000s, when the economy was good, with jobs & opportunities  prevalent . In fact  it proved too good, because many people bought homes they could not afford, often times because risky bank loans made this possible for them. Thus there were too many suspect loans being approved with little to no collateral and/or no down payment.  So, we might surmise that contributors(in part) to "hard times" often appear to be  loosely regulated stock markets & unwise banking practices--to name two.
      BUT  THESE  ECONOMIC  SET  BACKS.....are visited (from time to time) upon certain generations to teach human kind lessons that need to be learned.  In the case of the 1930s Depression era,  true, extreme hard times became a way of life for the multitudes.  But it prepared folks back then for what was to come their way.  They learned during the 1930s how to become stronger.  And this prepared them for those infamous 1940s war years of deprivation. 
     IT COULD  BE  THE  SAME ... for those of us, enduring hard times in this current recession.  For Americans had become known as the "fast food" generation--usually getting everything they wanted whenever they wanted it.  But now, hopefully, they are learning  how to do without & to conserve.   All of this is character building, for until one knows how to weather hard times, one's character has not been tested.  Besides, could this be lessons we need to learn, to better prepare us for (perhaps)  what is in store for us in the future?
     THIS  LADY  USED  TO  PUT  MUCH  CREDENCE.....on the here and now in my life.  But having endured so many ups & downs in my 77 years, I now know that this role I am playing here on planet Earth, this time around,  represents just a tiny speck of time in the history of my soul.   Thus I have come to view it all as an infinitely small span of life that I must get through, in order to get to my true home on the "other side". 
     SO,  WE  SHOULD  ALL  VIEW  OUR  LIVES  AS  SUCH..... and do the best we can with what we've been given,  and not cry & complain--"WHY  ME?"-- whenever things do not go our way.
      KNOW  THAT  OUR  SOUL'S  ESCALATION......is predicated on how well &  courageously  we each pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off & get on with the next chapter of our lives.

                 A M E N   TO  THAT   !! 
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     MANY  FOLKS are asking about "global warming", when we are experiencing one of the worse winters in recorded history.
     WELL,  SUCH QUESTIONS are understandable, when coming from younger people, who have not lived long enough to remember any worse winters.  But when older folks say this is the worse in their memory, then people should pay attention.  Of course, the young should pay more attention to the wisdom & experience of seniors anyway.  But then, that is another topic for another time.
     HOWEVER.....it is a fact, that the city of Baltimore's record keeping (since 1870) has noted the heaviest snowfalls, resulting in  three of the worse having happened  within the recent seven weeks.  This is not even to mention the fact that many sectors in the deep south have experienced snow events, in places where the severity has rarely--if ever--been seen.
     WHAT  IS  HAPPENING?  According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, they predicted (LAST  FALL) that more extreme storms were yet to come.  To quote this agency-- "Strong cold season storms are likely to become stronger & more frequent, with greater wind speeds & more extreme wave heights".
     FURTHERMORE....sources say record amounts of moisture, due to warming oceans, have been pushed up from the south, where this encounters cold temperatures--thus causing extreme snow events.  It seems that all over the world, temperatures on the surface are causing  more evaporation of ocean water, which is resulting in erratic weather patterns.
      AND AS  WE  ALL  WELL KNOW ..... what goes up must come down.  So it follows, that this saturated atmosphere, which is apparently evident,   obviously is resulting in the form of stronger hurricanes in summer and extreme snow events in winter. 
     LET'S  FACE  IT....no matter how the naysayers complain, that climate change is bogus, the facts do not lie.   Weather is changing!  It is a fact, that the glaciers are melting & the oceans are warming. Thus causing more severe weather changes, which often come in the form of altered ice & snow weather patterns.
     SO, WE  ARE  LEFT  TO  PONDER.....what is next?  Many will even question whether a move to a warmer sector might be good for them.  Of course, that will be left to the individual or family to decide.  But keep in mind, that every region has it's own dangers, and there is no perfect place.
     WE  ARE  WHERE  WE  ARE  FOR  A  REASON......at this point in time.  After all,  we are but pawns on God's chessboard of life.  And it is left for each of us to do the best we can wherever we are.

     TAKE  HEART...THERE'S  ONLY  A  COUPLE  MONTHS  'TIL  SPRING !
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     IT IS SAID, that we dream every night.  But most of our dreams are not remembered when we awake.  However,  there are certain vivid dreams, which stay in our psyche, sometimes for years.
     THERE ARE EVEN certain people, who have dreamed about events yet to happen, such as an  impending air plane crash.  But no details are given in the dream--airline name, plane number, timing, etc.  So, these can be very frustrating.
     JUST A FEW NIGHTS AGO, I had a memorable dream.  I was looking out from my back deck into the trees on my north Georgia property.  And there off in the distance was one of the beautiful lakes in Yellowstone National Park. It seemed to me in this dream, that I (along with some of my family) was planning to go to that lake for a swim, because it appeared to be only a few miles away.
     THEN IN THIS DREAM, just as we started to walk down the deck stairs to go there, we saw a disastrous sight.  It appeared that this previously calm lake had suddenly exploded, throwing a large, hundred foot wide plume of water hundreds of feet into the air.  As I watched, I realized that I could do nothing. Then I woke up.
     SOME WOULD SAY, that this was merely a figment of my subconscious mind.  But today, I found out something that gave me pause to think further. Apparently, since last Sunday (1/17/10) it is reported, that 1000 earthquakes have been registered at Yellowstone. (3.0 to 3.8 magnitude).
     SO, I CAN'T HELP but ask myself if this dream was a warning--a precursor of bigger quakes yet to come? Of course, as usual there is little to be done about such a warning.  In the first place, few would take such a dream seriously.
     BUT YELLOWSTONE DOES sit above a super volcano, which is still active--as are  many other active volcanic sites & fault lines. I just recently heard of another one, that few people are aware of.  It is something called the Puerto Rico Subduction Zone, and it is not the same as what caused Haiti's disaster. So, apparently this is another potential danger, that is being closely monitored.
     HOWEVER, on our beautiful--but oftentimes dangerous-- planet there has always existed potential disasters from Mother Nature, and particularly through Earth Changes that seem to be getting more prevalent  these days.
      NO  DOUBT,  what will be will be.  So, we should just hold on to our hats, because there are more bumpy roads ahead.

                            C'EST  LA  VIE ..........

      
    
    

     No doubt about it, for the people of Haiti, who are experiencing such a terrible time, it probably does feel like the end of the world for many of them.
     But unfortunately, Planet Earth has always been a globe where terrible events happen in many life threatening forms.  Besides earthquakes, this planet's inhabitants have had to experience tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, volcanic eruptions, droughts, floods, blizzards, etc.etc.  And there is never an end in sight for the number of such events.  Yet, the people, who are left, endure and go on.
     Cases in point,  in just over five years of recent history, there have been three particularly horrible events--that is not even to mention all of the other things Mother Nature has thrown at us during that time.  However, these will stick in our memories longer than most.  In 2004, there was the awful tidal wave in the far east, then 2005 brought us Hurricane Katrina, and now we are seeing the earthquake news from Haiti.  All of these events were responsible for astounding loss of life and property.
     Each time we hear of such terrible happenings, most of us are saddened and dismayed  and feel a need to help the victims. Also, we can't help but feel that there but for the grace of God could go us. 
     But such is the nature of our volatile planet.  For it is a place of learning for our souls, during this particular lifetime.  And no matter how much we send money and help to the victims of disaster--be it in the far east, the Gulf southern states or Haiti--in times to come there will be other places of disasters yet to come. There is no stopping it.
     So, for we residents of Planet Earth, of course, we should always help our fellow people in need.  And if at some future date we become the victims in need, we should always stay strong and resilient.
     For it will be just another test of our soul's courage.

                       ENOUGH  FOR  NOW.......