PLEASE, REPEAT AFTER ME—PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS

While processing through age-related periods of transition
I find it helpful to review insights that continue to deepen my
Awareness of natural changes (like them or not) that are classic to
One and all, and thus do I tend to back track through intuitive trains of
Thought posted in the past, and since I began to feel overwhelmed
By mental fatigue, which saw my optimistic attitude slide
Straight down that slippery slope so as to collide with Grrr on
Friday (and now that David has flown home), my think tank
Saw fit to couple up with that self-healing homework assignment
While reviewing insights that had emerged early on during
Last week’s overly busy family fun fest at which time
Additional insights bubbled up as naturally from within
My brain’s well spring of intuitive knowledge as has happened
Time and again, and rather than asking you to back track to
Find the enhanced edition of one post in particular, I’ve copied
And pasted the expanded version of last week’s insight driven
Train of thought, below, for this reason—I believe insights
Newly added, will prove helpful to self-healing as we age, and
With that last statement acting like a feather tickling
Your curiosity, I wonder if your power of 
Intuitive intelligence will shine a spotlight upon
Specific insights that have recently emerged to
Challenge my conscious mind to grapple with
Deeper truths which the conscious portion of
My think tank had not fully absorbed with
Crystal clear clarity as pertaining to ME until
Today, and so, once you’ve set your
Thinking cap on straight—let’s get to it—

After yesterday's post was published, I was surprised to
Find myself feeling confused for the rest of the day, and upon
Awakening, still feeling confused, today, I came to see that
It's not a question of how many people are inside me but
Rather:  How many emotions do I harbor (like insecurity or
Anger or shame) in a numbed and thus unnatural 
State of being deep inside my mind, which I cannot
Consciously feel, at all?  And if those subconsciously
Repressed reactions dare to emerge, how many of
My natural emotions have I been taught to loath, abhor, and
Thus, disavow as my own?  As in ‘Shame, shame' on me if
I own up to (or heaven forbid—reveal) any
Emotional reaction that society reviles as being
Shamefully reprehensible—BTW:  Shame, like envy, is
Yet another of many emotions that are commonly
Despised, worldwide—suggesting my having been
Taught to reject a lot of reactions that are 100% natural—
And since the same was true during your childhood, too
We each developed need to erect an invisible shield of
False pride, behind which our defense systems hide
So many emotional reactions from our conscious minds that
We can’t readily discern that which we truly feel deep
Inside, suggesting that we have no clue when
We’re lying to ourselves, which is why we tend to hear:
The truth will set you free to naturally be true to
Your whole self by way of freeing feelings that prove
Contradictive, which you and I are unaware of
Repressing, and not until you and I feel free to
Naturally express reactions that comprise the entirety of
The emotional spectrum without shame can we know
Ourselves so deeply as to be true to oneself completely!
BTW—That last insight suggests that self control is
Best utilized to suppress (rather than numb)
The natural emergence of impassioned reactions from
Leaping out and attacking others, thus balancing our
Very real human need to engage as honestly with the emotions
Of others as we need to engage courageously with our own if
We hope to grow ever more insightfully reflective in
An objective (rather than defensively unbalanced) manner once
We’ve calmed down enough to examine the full spectrum of
Eachother’s impassioned display of emotions clearly in depth

Once my think tank began to consider the right question concerning
Emotional reactions that I’m still unaware of repressing
(Not to be confused with reactions that I know I’m suppressing)
Guess what happened?  My sense of anxiety-producing
Confusion decreased, and my abdominal muscles stopped
Contracting in fear—Fear of what?
Fear of the negative energy field that surfaces from deep within 
My brain whenever my defense system is struggling with
Deeper truth so as to hide a socially unaccepted
Emotional reaction from revealing itself to
The conscious portion of my mind
You see, as long as my processor can’t identify
The specific emotion that’s demanding my conscious attention
A negative energy field will continue to produce anxiety that will
Disrupt my peace of mind until whatever I need to feel is named—
For example, today, I came to realize that my defense system has been
Rejecting not one emotion but two, and not until
Repressed fear rode out of my subconscious on
The tail end of repressed anger (both of which I’ve been
Taught to deny so as not to be called fraidy cat or
Bad tempered shrew) the blended nature of that
Complex reaction had doubled the potency of
The negative energy field that had caused
My stomach muscles to clench and my head to ache with
Swirling confusion until both of those emotions emerged, individually
Offering the logical portion of my brain sound reason to experience
A welcome wave of mental relief—Relief from what?
From feeling confounded by mental discomfort that
I’d not been able to name until intuitive thought, grasping
Hold of my processor, had correctly identified
Two emotions that I’d needed to free the conscious portion of
My brain to feel, both of which, left in their unprocessed state, had
Had continued to produce negatively charged energy that had felt like
A dust storm swirling irritation throughout my body from head to toe until
The main source of my unidentified anxiety was intuitively revealed to
My conscious awareness so that I could feel, rather than deny
My repressed sense of fear and anger, openly, honestly, unashamedly
Whewwww!

Once my precious family had flown home
My processor chose to dive into 
This (expanded) string of intuitive insights, which has
Offered my conscious mind the clarity that proves
Necessary to simplify emotional complexity, which
Inspires my intelligence to work toward identifying
Repressed emotional reactions in need of
Being revealed and released in hopes of relaxing
My anxious state of mind, and thus, yet again, having
Placed my faith in my intuitive power’s ability to
Problem solve in solitude on its own, have I revised 
‘A future plan of action’ (mentioned but not yet
Explained in a previous post), and—and once I feel
Wholly ready to describe this plan, which will
Help me to resolve the problem of disowning
Emotions that prove to be repressed within
The depths of my mind, you, too, may come to
See why common sense (combined with
Courage and humility) suggests that anyone
Who subscribes to the theory that
Clarifying what actually takes place inside
Our heads is easy is really as much in
Denial of subconscious repression as was I—
Hhmmm ...

ANXIETY SIGNALS ME THAT PEACE OF MIND IS WRESTLING WITH GROWING PAINS

Where is last month’s heartfelt surge of energy that inspired
My thought processor to run a connective marathon with
Both sides of our family and life long friends in
The midwest before flying home to embrace the annual
Migration of beloved snowbird friends before
Re-energizing our hearts and readying our home to welcome
David and one of his best friends into our guest rooms so as to
Enjoy a football weekend with us immediately before preparing
Our Thanksgiving feast took over our kitchen during
The days before Barry and Marie flew in to occupy
The spruced up guest room that David’s friend had just enjoyed as
His own, followed by enjoying our Thanksgiving feast, which
Preceeded Ravi’s 4th birthday party on Saturday, which
Thankfully, came off without a hitch though she’d been sick during
The week, in fact, sick enough to have been homebound along with
Her parents on Thanksgiving Day, which is why, before our feast
We’d caravan’d to their place to bring them knishes and cheer; then
Straight from Ravi’s party on Saturday, Will and I
Drove Barry and Marie to the airport, where, while
Hugging goodbye, our hearts smiled to know that
Out love fest will resume quite soon, as
Will and I plan to drive to the coast over winter break to
Enjoy time with Tony and Ray, who, having spent
Thanksgiving with their dad, were deeply missed, this week—and
As enjoying Rocky movies, together, is another family tradition
David arrived home after Ravi’s party with three tickets in hand for
CREED II, which Will and I and he were off to see (after
I’d awakened from a late afternoon nap), last night, and thus
Did it come to pass that by Sunday, my energy, having been
Fully spent, saw me feeling exhausted to the bone and in need of
Down time, big time, when David picked up Ravi so as to enjoy
His precious niece during the last hours of his ten day stay—
Thank goodness, my choice of clothes for our upcoming trip
(With yet another lifelong friend) had been organized before
Family and friends flew in for the holiday, because
I’ve learned from past experience that as soon as I arrive
Home from dropping David at the airport, today, my think tank
Will shut down, no if’s and’s or but’s about it—

Imagine how exhausted (and anxious) I’d have felt about
Over-extending myself to an overwhelming degree had I not
Agreed, wholeheartedly, to pack up our Thanksgiving feast
(For thirteen) so as to caravan to the home of a younger cousin where
Our clan enjoyed celebrating with hers—thank goodness, deeper truth
(Being so bold as to look me straight in the eye and speak to me of
Personal limitations with assertive clarity on Thursday) reminded
My younger-than-springtime-spirit that age is not just a number
And at my present age, I simply can’t continue to generate
The super octane mental and physical energy that had
Naturally been mine to spare during the years of
My prime when thirty or more loved ones were wholeheartedly
Embraced to break bread at our table while hoping not to bite into
A knish stuffed with cotton, which was traditionally mixed in with
About a hundred or more, which, being absolutely delish
Are always devoured quick as a wink—
Sighhh ...

PS
Serving up a knish filled with cotton is yet another
Long standing tradition to uphold from generation to
Generation, beginning with Will's grandma, who’d
Sailed across the ocean to the USA from 'the old country'
And with tongue in cheek, I'd begun to put my own spin on
Will’s funny family tradition by stuffing cotton into
Two knishes, so that more than once during dinner, we'd
All have reason to laugh out loud upon hearing—I got it!

PSS
As I truly feel blessed to know that so many in our
Beloved family continue to see me as the hub, making
Certain that our well oiled wheel delivers us to places
In the heart that we all long to enjoy, forever and a day
Please do not confuse the explanatory nature of these last
Several posts as my lodging complaints or laments—for example
Today’s intuitive train of thought is an honest assessment of
A life well lived staring clearly at necessary change (which
I’d not freely choose to make) in a natural state of transition—
BTW, I don't think you've ever seen 'our' homemade knishes
(This being the tray that everyone 'noshed' on while watching
Football before we'd packed up the rest of this year's batch, which
Were transported to our cousin's kitchen along with
The rest of our mouth-watering feast)—Yum ...

REALISTICALLY—RELAXING MY MIND THROUGH TRANSITION IS NOT AN EASY TASK

When you’ve always taken pride in being the driver
It can be hard to pass the keys forward and
Humbly take a seat in the back and—relax(?) your active mind

When you’ve always been the hub of a well oiled wheel
It can be hard to reshape yourself into a spoke when that wheel feels
Like it’s speeding straight toward a wall studded with sharpened nails

When you’ve always taken care to be consciously aware of
Those in need of help, encouragement, guidance and TLC
It can be hard to embrace the reversal of those roles with grace

When you’ve always been seen as younger than springtime
This reality can be hard to absorb:  Over these past few years
Younger than springtime has been a figment of my imagination—
Hmm ...

YESTERDAY’S TRIO OF ANGST RIDDEN CONCERNS IS ACTUALLY A CHOIR

Holy Moly!
Deeper truth has emerged in that the trio of
Angst ridden concerns, which had need to be
Acknowledged and purged, ran much deeper than
I’d originally surmised; however, I’m guessing that
My power of intuition decided not to reveal
The expansive scope of my frustrations to me until
Thanksgiving had passed so as to free my spirit to
Thoroughly enjoy the holiday with Will and all of
Our kids as well as extended family and friends who’d
Gathered from near and far, and since Barry, Marie and
David are still in town, my intelligence has decided to
Call upon patience to mollify the bulk of my angst until
All three fly back to the coast—Barry and Marie
Late Saturday afternoon, David on Monday—and
Though my preference is to end each post on an up note
Neither Hhmm nor Ohhmm feel authentic, today, so
All can think to say is—
Grrrr ...

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

I’m thankful for an abundance of blessings
One of which is having developed faith in
The intuitive powers of my brain, which,
Along with patience, empowered
My conscious awareness to
Identify (so as to gain control over)
The emotional complexity that surfaced
As unnamed anxiety, over these past couple of days

Yet again, I’ve been repressing anger over
Negative aspects of life that are beyond
My control to resolve—problems like
My cousin’s brain tumor or a friend being
Fired over a trivial matter or my fear that
Something will happen propelling
The caravan of thousands of families currently
Seeking asylum to tangle with our troops, resulting
In guns being fired, and as not one of these problems
Is mine to resolve, I’m reminding myself to calm
Spiking anxiety, which serves to warn me that
My brain’s intelligent connection to
Logic is feeling overwhelmed by waves of emotional
Complexity in need of being soothed and relieved—
And now that this trio of problems has surfaced
From subconscious repression, I charge
My intelligence with calming this most recent
Upsurge of repressed anger, which has flooded
My think tank as if danger is closing in, threatening
People I love as well as families, whom I’ve never met
And most likely, never will, suggesting my need to call upon
Patience in hopes of releasing this buildup of anger in
A positively focused, productive manner (as if
Relleasing hot vapor from a whistling steam kettle) so as to
Free my mind to fully enjoy my good fortune to celebrate
This year’s Thanksgiving feast with Will, our beloved family and
Friends, several of whom have chosen to fly in, and
If clearing my mind of subconsciously repressed angst in time to
Free my spirit to thoroughly enjoy this holiday with loved ones
Is not a blessing for which to feel deeply thankful then
I don’t know what is—
Ohhmm ...

WHAT DOES MY DEFENSE SYSTEM HAVE TO DO WITH REPRESSING EMOTION? EVERYTHING!

As our understanding of the complex workings of
Our brains continues to increase, the fact that
Our defense systems deny us ownership of emotions that
We’ve been taught to disrespect in others makes sense for this reason:
As long as our own socially unaccepted emotional reactions
Remain unconsciously repressed within
Subconscious pockets of our brains
We feel no reason to reject ourselves

And with that insight in mind, here comes
The revised three step plan that my faith in
My power of intuitive thought has filtered into
Yhe conscious portion of my mind, overnight:

Step one:
Each time unnamed anxiety strikes, I'll remember to muster
The courage to stop denying ownership of offending emotions

Step two:
I'll work toward consciously identifying
The repressed emotion (which is natural to human nature)

Step three:
Once identified, I'll accept the emotion as my own so as to embrace
My vulnerabilities realistically rather than feeling ashamed of myself

You see—the more I come to respect myself, vulnerabilities and
All as a whole, the less apt I’ll be to judge others too harshly when their
Natural reactions expose the same vulnerabilities, which
Prove classic and universal to human beings, one and all—

In short, this three step plan will offer me a balanced view of
My strengths and shortcomings, thus serving to enhance
My natural sense of judgement with an intelligent, compassionate
(Rather than a defensive, self righteous) view of human nature, in general

And now you can see why the right question to ask is not
How many Annies live inside me but
How many natural emotional reactions has
My defense system secreted from the conscious portion of
My mind so as not to judge, disrespect and reject myself as
Harshly as I judge and disrespectfully reject
The emotional reactiveness of others—in short, by placing
My vulnerabilities in the same boat as the vulnerabilities of
People in general, my relationship with my whole self and others
Grows ever more balanced, thus stabilized and easy to
Nurture—naturally, compassionately and lovingly—over the long run

I mean, seriously—if
There's only one of me in all the world then
Once my intelligence absorbs the necessity of
Identifying,  feeling and releasing 
Natural emotional reactions (that children
The world over are taught to deny, repress and disown) in
A productive and proactive manner then I'll be able to discern
The true feeling that I’ve been programmed to reject as
My own before confusion sets my mind to reeling with
A defensive attitude, which produces
Negatively charged energy that swirls toward
The surface of my conscious awareness as
Unnamed anxiety, which will continue to weigh heavy on
My spirit so as to disrupt my peace of mind as long as
A repressed emotion remains unrevealed to me—

PS
I wonder if intuitive strings of insight, which
Have surfaced over these past several days, will
Ready the conscious portion of my mind to explain
The homework assignment that my therapist suggested, several
Weeks back, as being a helpful tool to employ whenever
I feel troubled by my inability to identify a repressed emotion—

Holy smokes!  It's just come clear to me that
My intuitive powers chose to pen the last couple of
Posts in hopes of guiding my conscious awareness to
Absorb insights concerning the fact that, once again
Emotional complexity, which remains in need of
Compartmentalization, has been anxiously disrupting my peace of mind—
Hmmm ...

IINTRODUCING OUR CHIEF POTATO AND FRIED ONION SMASHER!

With traditional dishes to prepare for our Thanksgiving feast
(Potato stuffing for knishes, having been peeled, boiled, chopped
And mashed together with salt, pepper, fried onions and
Mouth watering butter, last night) the only writing
I’ve had time for since awakening, this morning, has been
Devoted to expanding upon (or revising) strings of insight that
Appeared in the post published before today’s, because
As you know, combing through complex trains of thought in
Search of intuitive clarity is my thing ...

Ravi holds her new rolling pin in readiness for

Wednesday evening when she and Papa will knead and roll

The dough (into which our potato/fried onion filling will be

Stuffed) before the frying of 100 Knishes begins ...

Did I mention that though this is four-year-old Ravi’s

First year smashing potatoes, when it comes to

Rolling dough, she’s a pro, having partaken in

Our family’s tradition beginning at the tender age of two 

Chief Potato and Fried Onion Smasher mashes with gusto!

HHMM—I'VE BEEN ASKING MYSELF THE WRONG QUESTION ...

After yesterday's post was published, I was surprised to
Find myself feeling confused for the rest of the day, and upon
Awakening, still feeling confused, today, I came to see that
It's not a question of how many people are inside me but
Rather:  How many emotions do I harbor
In an unnaturally repressed state deep inside my mind though
I cannot consciously feel them, at all?  And of those
Repressed reactions, how many have I been taught to
Hate, loath, despise, abhor, and thus, disavow?  As in
'Shame, shame' on me if I own up to (or reveal)
Any emotional reaction that society deems reprehensible
BTW:  Shame, like envy, is one of many emotions that’s
Commonly despised—suggesting my having been
Taught to reject alot about myself that’s actually natural —
And the same is true of you, which is why
We each develop need to erect an invisible shield of
False pride, behind which our defense systems hide
So many emotional reactions from—ourselves that
We can’t readily discern what we truly feel
Deep inside, which suggests that we have no clue when
We’re lying to ourselves, which is why we tend to
Say:  The truth will set you free—to naturally be
True to your whole self by feeling (rather than
Repressing) the entire spectrum of natural
Emotional reactions as they emerge!
Suggesting that self control is best utilized to suppress
Empassioned reactions from leaping out and attacking
Others without numbing us to our need to engage with
Reflective insight in an objective (rather than defensively
Unbalanced) manner so as to be able to examine the full
Spectrum of our emotions, calmly and clearly in depth

Once my think tank began to ask the right question concerning
Emotional reactions that I’m unaware of repressing
(Not to be confused with reactions that I know I’m suppressing)
Guess what happened?  My confusion decreased and
My abdominal muscles stopped contracting in fear—
Fear of what?  Fear of the negative energy field that
That surfaces from deep within in the form of
Unnamed anxiety whenever my defense system is
Struggling to hide a socially unexceptable emotional
Reaction from revealing itself to the conscious portion of
My mind, and as long as my processor can’t identify
The emotion that’s demanding my attention, that
Negative energy field will irritate my peace of mind
For example, today, I came to understand that
My defense system was repressing not one emotion but
Two, and not until fear rode out of my subconscious on
The tail end of anger (which I was also taught
To repress ‘or else’) the blended nature of that
Complex reaction had doubled the negative energy
Field that had caused my head to ache until
Both of those emotions emerged, offering
The logical portion of my brain sound reason to experience
A welcome wave of mental relief—Relief from what?
From feeling confounded by mental discomfort that
I’d not been able to name until intuitive thought
Had identified two emotions that I’d needed to
Identify and free myself to feel, both of which
Had produced negatively charged energy that felt
Like a dust storm was swirling round throughout
My body from head to toe until the main source of
My emotional complexity was intuitively
Revealed openly —to me
Whewwww!

Now that today's string of intuitive insight has offered me
Sound reason to work toward identifying
Repressed emotional reactions in need of
Being revealed and released in hopes of reclaiming
Peace of mind, I'll place my faith in
My intuitive powers ability to rethink
The plan, mentioned (but not yet explained) in
Yesterday's post, so—until such time as I feel
Wholly ready to describe a plan that will help me to
Resolve the problem of disowning emotions that
Prove to be repressed within the depths of
My mind, common sense suggests that anyone
Who subscribes to the theory that clarifying what
Actually takes place inside your head or mine is
Easy is either in denial of subconscious repression or
Just plain crazy—
Hhmmm ...

HMMM—ON CONSCIOUSLY COMING FULL CIRCLE ...

On second thought—
Why am I surprised to find that
There are 'Me's' whom I've not yet met?
Seriously, how many Me's does
Ravi (whose youthful think tank is
Naturally unrestrained) reveal while
She and I are enjoying our playdates?
Let’s glance through just a few

Furious Ravi!

Sleepy Ravi

Fearless Ravi

 

Imaginative Ravi

Fearful Ravi

Mischievous Ravi

Funny Ravi

BFF Ravi

Fully confident Ravi

Super hero Ravi

Surprised Ravi

Creative Ravi

Exhausted Ravi

Delighted Ravi

Ravi of the jungle

Ravi, defying authority, daring to do whatever she wants

Sad Ravi

Innocent Ravi, so easy to love

Ravi who loves to share in delight

Girlie Ravi

Princess Ravi all abloom in the garden

Adorable Ravi, hamming it up

AHA!  It's insight time!
Whereas my earliest years were
Spent absorbing whatever it took to 'fit' my
Free spirited, well-rounded, open-minded personality
Into society's well mannered, four cornered box—
During my later years, I've been
Adventuring ever more expansively toward
Whatever it takes to release (and reveal) more and
More of me from continuing to feel unnaturally
Constrained by having experienced a lifetime of society's
Rules and restraints so as to come full circle concerning
Freeing my spirit to feel as furious about being boxed in as
I feel free to rejoice about being fully alive as is true of
Ravi's full range of natural reactions, which, like mine, exist
Between two poles (a delighted state of wonderment at one end
Full blown outrage at the other), all of which can be readily seen
By watching a well loved child, whose sense of personal security is
Nurtured by adults while she goes about experiencing every aspect of
Her day-to-day life—expressing her well balanced, full range of
Emotional reactions—naturally—and if you ask:
How can adults recreate that sense of free spirited
Existential freedom when, unlike Ravi, the world has offered
Your spirit and mine sound reason to shrink back fearfully or
Toughen up and push back, having developed an attitude of
Skepticism so as to protect our very real human vulnerabilities
From pain? I'd reply:
Well, my friends, in answer to that question, it should come as
No surprise that my think tank has conjured up a plan ...

DO YOU KNOW THAT OUR THINK TANKS WEAVE COCOONS?

It’s important to note that the post penned
Concerning 'small stuff' on Wed.
Refers to proactive changes that I’m in
The process of making in hopes of improving
My attitude concerning fear of what comes with old age that
I cannot change for the better, compounded by the ills of
Our world, both of which (left to their own devices) can
Wield the power to overwhelm the continued good health of
My spirit’s sense of well being unless I consciously turn
My focus toward aspects of life that are within my control to
Improve, and in hopes of creating this change for the better in
My attitude (because attitude is everything), I'm challenging
My brain to direct my intelligence toward recharging
My spirit each time the ills of the world feel too burdensome to
Free my pleasure center of emotional pain that must be borne by
Families for whom I care but have never met ...

And just as with every heartfelt plan that intuitive thought has
Brought to my awareness, this plan, which has been
Fermenting within my thought processor over
These past couple of months, has finally emerged from
Within a cocooned portion of my think tank for this reason:
Reflection suggests that at every stage of life
The strength of my spirit’s connection to positive focus
Has guided the fearful portion of my nature toward
Venturing ever more deeply into yet another
Courageous adventure, and as choosing to adventure past fear
Suggests a balanced state of mind, I’ve never been one to
Run blindly ahead, leaping off cliffs nor
Have I dug in my heels so deeply into a closed minded
Attitude as to get sucked, over long, into emotional sludge, so
Rather than releasing repressed fear to sabotage
My continued need to provide myself with emotional balance at
This late stage of life, I’ve chosen to strengthen my faith in
My brain's innate power of intuitive thought, which invariably
Cautions me to stick close to the traditional path of
‘Right and wrong’ while courageously freeing my imagination to
Think out of the box so as to safely continue to
Carve an original path that's existentially my own—
Hmmm ...

I awoke, this morning, with not so much as
A conscious clue of penning a post with
Such depth concerning the strength of spirit that's
Existentially essential for positive focus to guide
A person's state of well being to seek to sustain
Its balanced sense of 'self' no matter what may
Lie ahead until each word of today's
Intuitive train of thought surfaced as though
All on its own from within my thought processor’s
Aforementioned cocoon, more commonly
Known as—my soul
Ohhmm ...

PS
Holy smokes!
Who penned today’s post?
Certainly not the corny me I know myself to be—!
Leaving me to ask—how many me's must there be
Deep inside my brain, whom I've not had
The conscious pleasure of meeting—as of yet?
Hhmmm

MY INTUITION BIDS YOU GOOD MORNING

Intuitive thought, which penned yesterday’s post, awoke
The conscious portion of my mind, today, to inner need to
Revise and expand upon that which had originally emerged—
Hmm ...

MOST ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE OF MY LIFE, EVERYTHING IS SMALL STUFF WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS ...

MOST ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE OF MY LIFE, EVERYTHING IS SMALL STUFF WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS:  I FEEL NEED TO BE PROACTIVE IN PROTECTING OUR FOREFATHERS’ CONCEPT OF LIBERTY FOR ALL AND I FEEL NEED TO ENJOY MY GOOD HEALTH WHILE GENTLY ENCOURAGING MY LOVED ONES TO DO THE SAME

As promised in a recent post, it’s come time to
Address my decision to consciously
Enjoy my good health and hard won liberty to
Be true to myself—Every day
Really!  Every single day!
For the rest of my life!
And while enjoying my good health and
The  liberty to be true to myself
I’ll appreciate Will's good health and his sense of
Liberty to be true to himself as well as
Barry's, Marie's, Tony's, Ray's
Steven's, Celina's, Ravi's and David's
Good health and their sense of liberty to
Be true to themselves, and let’s not forget
The good health and liberties of
My extended family and friends, all of
Whom make up our little corner of the world
None of whom know the horrors of being
Torn from their despairing parents' arms, which
Is not small stuff by any means, because
Thoughts of adults terrifying children, all of whom
Deserve safekeeping, enflame my passions as
Is true of thoughts of pogroms!  Or sex trafficking!
Or terror stricken children, stolen from
Burning villages, enslaved, drugged and brainwashed into
Becoming cold blooded killers, battered children raised by
The quiet psychopath, next door, and with
Knowledge of horrendous ‘stuff’ like that taking
Place right under my nose, how can ‘small stuff’
Irritate me?  Well, here’s why it will—
Irritation concerning imperfection is as natural to
Human nature as is true of pleasure whenever
All goes as smoothly as planned, so here's where
Depth in self awareness helps me to
Progress toward bettering my attitude whenever
Some minor aspect of life sours my spirit's smile—
I remind myself that my precious loved ones are presently
Robust with good health and that each one has been blessed
To work freely toward making the most of their lives in
This land of opportunity, and with those thoughts in mind
Any heaviness of spirit, based in ‘small stuff’, lifts as
Spontaneously as humming and laughing stimulates
The secretion of dopamine, which, upon being absorbed
Throughout our bodies, offers up a natural high

If you ask how else my mind has been working toward
Buoying my spirit during times when woe upon woe is
Heaped upon the heads of so many seeking asylum, I'd reply—
I decided to spend as much time as possible with
Loved ones (also descendants of immigrants) who
Dwell in states far from our desert home, and thus, when
I learned that Will's conference was to be
Held in the Midwestern metropolis where
We were both born and raised by immigrants, fleeing
Persecution, I suggested that we stay longer than
Had been true in years past so as to pleasure our hearts
(As well as the hearts of loved ones) at a more leisurely
Pace than had been the case when life's non-stop activities
Had caused us to feel more hurried and anxious than
Relaxed and happily fulfilled; however now that
Our Golden Years are upon us, today's proactive
Train of thought is the very one that served as
The arrow, which, having been drawn forth from
Cupid's quiver, had hit the bullseye, which shaped up into
The marathon of hugs enjoyed with loved ones, who, like
Will and me, also feel blessed with good health as well as
Spending precious time with a trio of loved ones who’ve
No choice other than to struggle to enjoy the severely limited
Time that old age or serious illness has placed on their plates,
And though everyone we broke bread with matched
Our delight to have supped, together, each of the three who
Are not long for this world, embraced our presence with
Tender-hearted hugs that held on to our eyes with their own as if
Their spirits wondered, as did ours, if we'd ever enjoy
Each other's presence in this life, again, and—today, while
Reminiscing over their expressions of heartfelt appreciation of
Our visit, my soul feels peaceful as each of the three comes to
Mind ... and now, with feelings of inner peace enriching
The present state of my personal well being, it’s time to
Take hold of a fresh loaf of honeyed whole wheat bread before
Fetching Ravi (from preschool), who is sure to feel as eager as
Her gramma to enjoy this sunny afternoon at the duck pond, where
My grand daughter and I, thriving happily within each other's
Presence neath a clear, azure blue sky, shall ponder upon
The fact that Good Fortune's wand, held aloft in
Lady Liberty’s hand, chose to cast a smiling spell upon
The greater part of my life as well as upon my grand daughter’s
First four years, suggesting how fitting it is for today’s train of
Thoughts to fuel my heart with gratitude that will carry
My spirit toward the coming weekend when
My shopping list from previous years will be copied in
Preparation for creating our traditional Thanksgiving feast
Soon to be enjoyed with family and friends—
Ohhmm ...