Remembering

"If a man reaches the heart of his own religion, he has reached the heart of others too." Mahatma Gandhi

"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend -- or a meaningful day." Dalai Lama'

I hope that today is filled with the memories of the joyful times that you spent with your loved ones who are no longer with us.

As soon as I get a couple of major health issues taken care of I will be back writing more in this journal.

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What A Compliment!

"The human soul travels from the law to love, from discipline to freedom, from the moral plane to the spiritual plane." Rabindranath Tagore

"No one can understand the sound of a drum, without understanding both the drum and the drummer." The Upanishads

I got the most wonderful compliment from my boss today. She asked how my weekend was and I told her busy. I had to go 28 miles to the nearest town with a Walgreen’s to get my Mom's medicines. Her mail order Walgreen’s had sent a prescription for one of her medicines and then found out from the manufacturer that the medicine was double was it was suppose to be so they sent her a letter by regular mail warning her which arrived almost 2 weeks after they had been informed. I had to get her the proper medicine and we couldn't wait for the mail order. Considering that this dosage is potentially lethal you would think they would call wouldn't you?

Any way my boss said that she hoped she was as active as my Mom when she gets to be her age and if she needs taking care of that her daughters would take as good of care of her as I take of my Mom. Isn't that sweet? I was just bowled over and it made the rest of the day a lot less frustrating in spite of all of the posting problems we had.

It does point out one of my core beliefs however that we are not on this earth just for ourselves but to help others. Maybe it goes back to what Bono once said in an interview about "good old Catholic guilt." It may have that at its core but it is also something that really makes me feel good about myself. I love to be able to help others.

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Thunder on a Thursday

"You may have expected that enlightenment would come ZAP! instantaneous and permanent. This is unlikely. After the first 'ah ha' experience, it can be thought of as the thinning of a layer of clouds." Ram Dass"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality." Dalai Lama

We are expecting more storms tonight. From Merlin's behavior I think the end of the world is coming. ;-) I believe that cat is more then a little paranoid.

Enlightenment can sure hit you over the head sometimes. The person I least expected to be a supporter of Barak Obama is the lady at work who is really prejudiced. I heard her talking to another lady who is a Obama supporter and was astonished to hear her say he was the only one he would support. She made a comment that I hadn't heard before about the controversy with Obama's former pastor. She said "at least he has a pastor."

I wish more people would share knowledge instead of pretending knowledge they don't have. I think it is worse to pretend you know what you are doing rather then say you are at a lost. We have lost two days worth of billing time from an "upgrade" on our computer at work. It has been an unmitigated disaster but the head of DP assured Administration that everything would be just great. She is incapable of admitting that the computer system is a piece of junk and needs to be replaced by another vendor. She recommended the system we have in the first place and a loss of millions in revenue isn't enough for her to admit to her error.

The picture is called Up in the Air Tonight."

Catching Up On the Quotes

"One cannot do good to the country by injuring himself or his family. Similarly one cannot serve the country by injuring the world at large." Mahatma Gandhi

"Love is life, hatred is death." Swami Vivekananda

"For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope." Sanskrit proverb

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Dalai Lama

"Whether one believes in religion or not, there is no one who does not appreciate love and compassion. Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents; later in life, when facing the sufferings of disease and old age, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. If at the beginning and end of our lives we depend upon others' kindness, why then in the middle should we not act kindly towards others?" Dalai Lama

"We need to actively cultivate the antidotes to hatred: patience and tolerance." Dalai Lama

"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values." Dalai Lama

Some nice thoughts above to get the old mind working. All of them resonate with me. I'll write more when I can think clearer when this sinus infection goes away and I'm not so drowsy. In the meantime the picture above was what I came up with that was inspired by the photograph I posted a couple of days ago. Ironically my Mom like my picture better then the photograph because she thinks it look more real.

Friday. Friday

"Life is like a garden. Quite naturally, leaves wither and flowers fade. Only if we clear the decay of the past then and there can we really enjoy the beauty of the new leaves and flowers." Mata Amritanandamayi

"I get the impression that when people are not much interested in religion they also neglect values like compassion, a sense of sharing, a sense of caring - all the things people consider to be a religious message and reject. That's a mistake. These are secular ethics, not a religious message, and they are for everyone." Dalai Lama

A friend sent me the above photograph and entitled it The Day God Spilled the Paint. What a beautiful sentiment and a beautiful picture. I had to share the picture with everyone. I am going to play on my computer and see if I can do a picture with that theme.

A person that I least expected it from came to my defense today and quite pointedly called out to the Administration an injustice that had been done to me yesterday. I was touched by her sincerity and goodness. She really hit the nail on the head and put certain people on notice that the situation can not remain the way it has.

I really resonate to the Dalai Lama's quote. I have encountered people who profess to be atheists and against religion and they certainly have also thrown the decent qualities of compassion and caring out the window. They seem to think that a lack of personal belief in God gives them the right to be abusive. Their are also certain people who profess to be religious who do the same thing.

Whether you believe in God or not is a personal choice but regardless of your beliefs it doesn't change the fact that you are living with other human beings and theyall deserve to be treated decently. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is not just a religious suggestion. It applies to everyone.

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The Rainbow Bridge

"It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony among the people." Dalai Lama

A few years ago after I lost my cat Sasha my brother sent me a link to a website called The Rainbow Bridge that spoke of a place this side of Heaven where pets that are loved go and are restored to health and where they wait in a beautiful place for their owners to be reunited with them. I was reminded of the site this last week when my friend at work was grieving over her dog that she had nursed through a final illness and had to have put to sleep. Some of the people at work were laughing at her tears but I understood exactly how she felt. I did the picture The Rainbow Bridge for her and printed out the description of the place. She put the picture up at her desk at work and said it really helped her.

Pets have a way of wiggling their way into your hearts. I know my cats have.

Zonker was my first cat and he was a huge red orange tabby with gold eyes and an arrogance that you wouldn't believe. He didn't think he was King of the Neighborhood. It was the whole Universe for him. He was still my arrogant boy however and it hurt to lose him. This cat needed nobody except his royal self except around one in the morning when he got lonely and need me to rub his ears.

Sasha was my part Siamese/Abyssinian/Tabby bundle of personality. He was a house of fire and loved people. He had so much personality that when I was running my conventions he was our mascot. I have pictures of him with my guest stars. I'll never forget Colin Baker leading my staff into meowing Happy Birthday for Sasha at the end of convention birthday party that I threw for him. He is the cat that I still dream about and I miss him terribly.

Casper was my pure white "Hoosier" cat although he never lived in Indiana. He was made to be a good old boy farm cat. Mellow. Laid back. Loved to eat and sleep. He had been abused by his first owner and had a broken ear and bad hip because of it but he still remained a sweet cat. He was so white that when the sun hit him he had a rainbow glow about him. He was a soft old marshmallow.

Merlin is my big boy. He has grown from this little puff ball to 17 pounds of rather chubby cat. He is a momma's boy and will whine unless I am where he is at. He loves to cuddle and get as close to me as he can at night. Spoiled rotten of course but since I spoiled him I can't complain really.

Pixie is the newest member of the household. She is really my Mom's cat and has Mom wrapped around her little paw. I think she has added time to my Mom's life and I know she has added a lot of joy to her life. She is sweet, mischievous, and into everything.

Five cats. All different. All loved. In the book The Little Prince the title character is upset to find out that his flower is actually a rose and not unique to the world. He comes to understand however that it is unique because he has loved and cared for it. He has become responsible for it. When we allow ourselves to become responsible for a pet they become unique and are no longer just a cat or dog but something special and unique. They brighten up our lives and we have a joy in us that others do not. I understand and feel for my friend grieving over her dog. She has known a joy that those women who were laughing will never know.

Wandering Through Wednesday

"To live in fear and falsehood is worse then death." Zend-Avesta

"Follow the three R's:
Respect for self
Respect for others
Responsibility for all your actions." Dalai Lama

I would print the Dalai Lama's quote for today in huge letters and post it in my office if I thought that the people who need to practice it would do so but unfortunately the ones who most need to do so wouldn't get it and it would be redundant to those who do. It is sad that out of an office of 12 other people that one of our really good, new people feels their are only two people outside of the boss that she can trust, the other new lady and myself. I fail to see how some people can live with themselves when they spread lies and treat other people so badly. I know I couldn't. Two very excellent quotes today.

The weekend was a nice change. Okay so I really don't care for the Slitheen on the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures but I will tolerate them because Sarah Jane Smith was always my favorite companion and it is so great to see someone in my age bracket starring in a television show. Of course I also watched the Doctor Who special and loved it. It looks like it will be a really good season.

Torchwood finished Season Two on Saturday and I was sure glad my brother was asleep and my Mom working. I don't think I wanted to try and explain why I was crying all through the show. Talk about a heartbreaking episode. John Barrowman definitely proved he is not just a pretty face as some people have dismissed him as. That man really can act and having heard him sing I can certainly attest to the fact that he is fantastic. Great show.

Doctor Who fans will get a chuckle out of the picture. I think it is really nice of the dragon to watch the Tardis for the Doctor while he went exploring in China don't you? ;-) The picture is called Helping the Doctor Out.

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