Shirl’s Saturday Sermon, or. . .This is all Diane’s fault
After listening to the most pathetic professions of Diane101’s wallowing in her discomfort and physical/emotional pains and symptoms this morning, I am forced to write this diary because I
seem to have an inability to turn her down when she insists. But that is a whole other issue. . .
In as much as Diane has been “under the weather” this morning, we are humoring her and she has asked if Zander will be our “waitress” for the Saturday Sermon. . . . . (and if none of this makes sense to you, just understand that it is coming from that crazy woman, Diane)
Here it is: Many of us have been inundated with the understandings and emotions of all that is going on in the greater world, the political world, the horrible war, and on and on, to say nothing of all that is going on in our own personal lives with family, spouses, friends, lovers and enemies.
I am suggesting that the frustrations and all of those emotions can be allowed to weigh us down and bring us, if not despair, a real feeling of less than hope. Choose not to take on the “responsibility” for all that is going on. Be responsible only for your own actions or in-actions, but none others.
What to do when you are in the horrible place of downward spiraling energy? Create a space within your self that is your sanctuary. Take a couple of deep breaths, Breathing. . .then close your eyes and think of a beautiful, restful spot of your own choosing and your own description. . .some place you have actually been or some place that you just create in your imagination, it doesn’t matter. Trees, flowers, flora and fauna, Mountains, sea shores, it doesn’t matter as long as it is a place you would enjoy being. Just allow yourself to sit in that place with out worry or care for a moment or as long as it feels good to you to be there. Restore yourself. Know that once you have created this place, it is yours and it is residing within you. Visit there whenever you wish. Recharge your batteries, refresh yourself, allow yourself the luxury of this personal space of retreat.
Now doesn’t that feel better? No you are not to go there seeking answers or for figuring things out. It is a place of rest and rejuvenation to be used whenever you need it or want it.
Enjoy your Saturday! Enjoy everyday to the greatest degree that you can. There is no yesterday, there is no tomorrow, there is only NOW. To miss now by dwelling in either of those other two places would be a mistake.
Hugs to everyone,
Shirl
[I have no idea what Zander will be serving. . .but some soothing tea sounds about right to me]
(all kidding aside, wishing wellness and joy to each of you, and those feeling less than well especially)
Update [2005-6-25 15:14:7 by shirlstars]: Hey, Froggy Friends. . .if you post pictures, PLEASE make sure they are less than 400 pixels wide or it causes some folks problems with margins and they must scroll side to side to read or see what’s going on. Thanks
Hi Shirl.. thanks for taking me there….
Wow. That’s it. Just wow.
Find a great picure of a abundant garden with lovely old fashioned, possibly Victorian, people gathered there in loving and beautiful surroundings…That would be my special place.
Welcome….
This one is very nice but can you find an older pic..or painting..i know you can do it..like Sunday in the park, can’t remember who did it…
Is this any better?
Seurat?

That would be it…..thanks zander, is it called Saturday in the Park with George, or Sunday or what..
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
… an island in the Seine.
C’est ci, c’est Pointillistique.
I don’t know how much I will be able to attend your diary today as I am very weak at the moment, but I do so want you all to read and hear her words….
I was so down this morning, partly physical, and partly emotional, and when I was talking to shirl and she was giving me her words of wisdom I realized that a lot of my sadness was coming from the endless onslaught on horrible stories, bad news, you know what I mean. Then add into that the personal problems I know many of you have and I am no exception, and well it just all mounted up in my along with my general malaise na d started to pour out of me in sobs…
So shirl brought me out of that place with those words above and I said you just have to write this up for a diary as I know many, many are going through just what I am and it can get overwhelming.
So share your stories and your healings with us….
Could I please have some raspberry tea now…
I hope today gets brighter for everyone…
I just stepped out of a hot, peppermint-scented bath myself after spending nearly a week with my sister and her 4 kids.
Whew!
She’s been having trouble with the 15 year old girl, who dresses like a porn star and thinks she is nothing more than a pair of enormous breasts, and, after a week of observing her, I’d sadly have to agree.
She’s going through a custody fight with the kids’ father 10 years post-divorce. To cope with the stress of raising teenagers I came to the realization that my sister, whom I haven’t seen in a couple of years, has quite possibly become an alcoholic, like our father.
I mentioned my concern to her and she blew it off saying she was on vacation and didn’t normally drink that much, but she certainly seemed like a seasoned drinker, averaging 10 cans of beer each and every day this past week, and not showing any effects from it. If I ever drank even one can I would be silly and slurring my words.
Anyway, she’s now mad at me and giving me the silent treatment and I don’t know what else to do to prevent her from dying an early alcohol-related death like our father did.
In the spirit of this diary I would like to shrug off her problems and escape to a peaceful inner place of my own. Where does social and familial responsibility end? I don’t know if I’m supposed to forget about what I learned this week and act as if everything is fine in her and her kids’ world.
We are also back from the beach; hope you found some restful moments, too, even with all the family around!
Sorry to hear about your sister—it sounds a lot like my own mother, who still refuses to admit she has no power over alcohol. This came on a bit later in life for her, long after I had gone to college and moved out, although early warning signs were there, I suppose. Like you, I found myself wondering what to do, how to get her to admit, change, etc…
It was and still is harder for my younger sister, who lived with it longer. She even attended some Al-anon meetings, and still has to repeat herself, in echo of Shirl’s message today, that she can’t control someone else’s choices and behaviors.
It’s still not fun having front row seats to watching someone you love self-destruct. {{{hugs}}}
No tea to offer, but here’s a soothing picture of the kidlets building sand castles from our Ocean Isle Trip for you!

Thanks, Deb. Glad to hear you had a good beach week.
Our weather was perfect, although we spent some time doing repairs to the cottage.
One thing that came out of my week: I appreciate my own kids 1000% more than I did before….and that’s a lot!
This year, we decided to let each kid bring a friend with them for our beach week. My son’s 2 closest friends were unavailable, and his next best buds are a pair of fraternal twins. We thought it would be mean to invite one and not the other so we said, what the hell, bring ’em on.
Sheesh. We ended up with seven children and four adults, and waaaaaaaay too much of the week felt like we were running “Camp Brown at the Beach.”
My own kids have never had a problem entertaining themselves for hours in the sand and waves; this other group was there for fifteen minutes and saying, “Is this ALL we’re going to do all week? I’m bored!”
As I mentioned in Cheers & Jeers, I think this younger crew needed to learn how to have an unplugged vacation even more than the adults.
But yes, there’s nothing like Other People’s Children to make you realize all the under-appreciated qualities of your own offspring!
Welcome back Mrs. Brown! dealing something like that – except my mother is powerless to food. It’s like dealing with a junkie…
You nailed it – it’s hard to watch. Because also if you try to help you get smacked because you are the closest.
You have sooooo much on your plate, yet you have the bestest attitude about it all..when I grow up, I wanna be just like you. 🙂
It took me 15 years to develop a relationship with my sister. 10 years of as much ‘unconditional love/no judgement’, ‘unconditional love/no judgement’ as I could manage at any given time…. or course, she’s older, so probably spent even more time trying hard to tolerate me.
That’s not us, but we did spend some time hanging on a beach together not that long ago – and laughed about all those years. I hope you and your sister manage to find a way….
Hmmm…I’m going to have to try this “unconditional love/no judgment” thing you speak of.
I guess I have a hard time not mothering everyone. Jeez, she’s 41 years old!
your sibling and children. I find that an alcoholic or any addict is very hard to deal with. Mainly because truth becomes the first hostage and even the first corpse of the battle. And there is always a battle. On our side because we want the real person back and on theirs because they are afraid there is no longer a real person.
Hi Glitter. . .nice to see you again. Thanks for stopping by our little resting spot.
Nice being here with you in the pond!
My sanctuaries if it all gets too much … and these have evolved into daily duties, which offer me a constancy of action that is always helping me.
My two cats. Bear and Althea.
The mother cat and five kittens in my garage since last Saturday. The kittens are beginning to open their eyes and are very wiggly. The mom cat is finally relaxing, after having lived in the scratchy evergreen shrubbery outside an office building near Wal-Mart. She is NOT feral. She PURRS loudly! Ohhh….
Sen. Boxer, the lame raccoon, who gets a peanut butter sandwich and cat food every night. I have to fend off dogs and cats to make sure he gets his food. And he loves the treats: A few chocolate chips and some raisins. Cookies are like heaven for him.
The mom and dad quail who’re nesting in the bushes, and who love the bird seed, and a mixture of margarine/cooked grains/peanut butter I put out for all the birds.
I’ve been pulling some weeds too, and then admiring how the flower garden looks so much nicer afterwards.
And, finally, my biggest confession: I like to watch Greta Van Susteran’s show sometimes at night. I like watching meaningless reports about missing white girls once in a while.
And last night’s TV was particularly amusing — in a wonderful escape sort of way — because every single news show went after Tom Cruise’s attack on Matt Lauer.
(Actually, on a serious note, I think Tom needs the help he decries. He seems on the verge of some kind of a breakdown.)
Oh crap. Everybody’s offering canyons, tea, and peoppermint baths, and i offer FOX news. Well, continuing somewhat in that vein, I also recommend Mark and Marc on “Morning Sedition,” Air America radio .. those two are SO FUNNY! in a really good way. Since they’re on 3AM-6AM my time, I listen to the archived shows.
Laughter good!
There is hardly a better sanctuary, or rejuvenating place that is better than laugher. . .
speaking of Quail ….
I was outside watching Danni rollerblade and a ruckus ensued. The quails were going nuts. We have a ton of em around here. I think they are so darling. Remind me of the old Disney cartoons…. anyways
A cat was the culprit. What to do???
So I waited to see if the cat would leave. It obviously had killed one of the birds AND destroyed a nest. It wouldn’t go.
So… with some guilt… I threw dirt clogs in the direction of that cat. I know I can’t hit anything if my life depended on it – so I was worried that this time would be the time I’d hit something. But I didn’t… BUT the cat still won’t budge.
Dannni was freaking cause the quailes were freaking… so we rushed the area saying “ssssscat” and all that carzy stuff… cat finally slunk away.
I still feel bad. 1. that I had to holler at a cat which I LOVE cats… but 2. that a family of quail are in crisis mode.
OH!!! but… we have tons of butterfly bushes and even though they haven’t started to blosoom yet – we have MONARCHS back – they came finally returned last year after NONE for about 3 years. We have swallowtails and itty bitties (forget the names) But it’s so lovely in the mornings and early evenings to have the front porch covered in butterflies. It’s quite the sight and we can’t wait for the bushes to bloom.
A friend told me abou them as a way to “support” the butterflies. Was wonderful to see the Monarchs back. Seen 5 today. :O)
That’s tough, J.
First, quail are SO amusing to watch … I love how they scurry so speedily. And the way they look after their babies! I’ve never seen such devoted parents!
I agree with what you did. The dirt clods won’t hurt the cat. I had to yell at some dogs the other night who were eating the food I’d put out for Sen. Boxer…. they made me so angry. My neighbor talked to one of the dog’s owners, and she said she just lets him roam at night. Not good.
Butterfly bushes! It’d be wonderful if you took a photo.
When they bloom I will 🙂
I love em because I do not have a green thumb. Only things I can seem to keep alive are these bushes and chilie/pepper plants.
Here’s a linky about the plants and how they don’t attract butterflies… they are a butterfly MAGNET. Hummingbirds dig em too. We get hummer sword fighting some days here with them all. It’s like a hummingbird army some days. Plus they are drought resistant and very very hardy plants. They get 100 heat days here and then dumped with snow. Haven’t lost one yet.
http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/bgq/buddleia.htm
Here’s a google search that shows some pix of em
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&biw=984&q=butterfly+bush
I know I know! They have a phallic shape to em… not the only reason I like em 🙂 I have blue, purple and one yellow one.
Did you notice how the last paragraph above fit right in with your signature?!
….
I’ll investigate those butterfly bushes! Maybe I can grow one!
Whatta coinkydink 🙂
They are lovely and very fragant. We had to trim em back a bit to get at the deck. Otherwise they are small trees. Don’t know why they haven’t bloomed yet.
I’ve been known to kill plastic plants… try one – what wouldn’t grow in your area of the woods – it’s so beautiful there?
Here’s a pair to watch. . .
Whoot!
Just what the Shaman ordered! Except “recharge”… never get me too close to anything electrical (laugh) I always lose out. Rejuve. Spending a quiet Saturday with the kids. Yesterday I made my infamous stuffed mushrooms and I made enough to take to a dear friend. Helps to get out of my pity party by doing that type of shit ya know.
I have been in a emotional funk myself. Plus there’s been the end of school schtuff, the appointments schtuff and the whole spiral of “oddism” that happens with change/newness.
But moreso, I’ve been in a Hagula mood because as I said earlier that I went from Giddy to Shitty in a short amount of time.
BUTT.. I’m still not letting go of hope. I think we can beat this Bush Bastards. Is it just me or are others taking delight in pissing off those Repugs you come across in the stores and such?? 🙂
PS to Shirl, I may have misunderstood your comment under mine in the ettiquite thread(?) I hope I didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve been retracing my posts and comments and ratings and I can’t find where I may have done something wrong. After a good sleep I think maybe it wasn’t directed at me to begin with(?) Talk about me being emotional… 🙂 I guess I just don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the great feeling that I get from reading you ladies and gents. But, if I did screw up somehow, please alert me so I won’t do it again. Okie?
I cannot see, feel or read anything you did wrong in that thread. So I certainly didn’t feel that you directed anything negative towards me. . .even though I usually tend not to “see” negative anyway (although that was not one of my better moments). I no doubt posted something that should have been more directed to someone else. There was no intent to direct anything personally to you. . .unless of course it was really good. . .LOL
You are A Okay with me, bird lady! Let any such worries just fly away.
WHEW! It’s so hard to navigate the networld sometimes because alot of “me” is body language, intonations and facial stuff.
It’s hard to “read” people sometimes when you can’t see em 🙂
Cool, I can stay!! Cuz Shirl sed’ so!
Mango Passion Daiquiries for everyone tonight!
he,he,tee he. . . .the 5 year old in me recognizes the one in you! You can stay in any sandpile I’m playing in any time!
This is my spot of sanctuary. . . or at least one of them. As you see I enjoy my time out in the greater Universe.
<very big Smile>
That’s lovely….and it makes me feel so damn lonely.
It feels just like this to me, only a little different perspective:
I hope someday you will know deep within that you are never alone. . .we are all connected. . .to and with everything.
That’s more like it: connected to the earth. Something about space always makes me feel lonely.
Thanks for the wishes.
For some reason, that reminds me of a chocolate covered cherry 🙂
And doesn’t that just make it such a delicious place to visit!
🙂 oh yeah
Speaking of spots… men don’t always ask for directions… but since I’m a nefarious backseat driver – I always let him know where my “spot” is 🙂
Yeah, it’s not much fun when they get lost along the way. Um…just wake me up if and when you find out where you’re going!
I guess one could say my husband taught me how to drive a stick… but I had to teach how to drive MANually 🙂
This is one of the places I end up. . .
I release myself into the center of the brightest star in the center of the redest spot and just soar into a infinite space of undulant layers of soft glowing colors, surrounded by the feeling of immense all knowing love. Ahh, works for me.
A little rain must fall … I can’t enjoy this anymore, with any ease, because it’s now so wide on my screen that I have to scroll horizontally, and that’s hard to do.
I have a standing offer: If you have an image you’d like to post, but think it may be wider than 400 pixels, e-mail it to me, and I’ll resize it for you in minutes.
Ditto any HTML tags.
in light of what susan says above, do you want to do a copy of this diary, part 2, I don’t know, but if you do, post at the top about the size of pics and susans words above, also if you are posting pics you may want to do it as a new comment rather than a reply, that will keep width down..Not a prob. for me anymore with my wider screen, but I feel for others..
Susan,
Any chance you can resize the Painting in Zander’s post, and replace it? It is 480 pxl
If Not We can start a second edition of this so you can still play if you would like. All the other pics are under 400pxls.
Oh, I’m so sorry! I think I’ve gotten used to Diane keeping me in check… but now that she has a 17″ monitor… oops.
I’ll try to remember….
Left the FB cafe right after I posted this afternoon. (Had to go out of town for a gig) I just came home and sought this out. Boy! Are your words ever on the money! I should paint “breathe!” on every mirror in my house. Thanks!
I use the Post It Note system, myself. . .don’t know why anything that does so much to even out our energy is so darn easy to forget about.
Yep, I have to remind myself all the time. So glad you found it helpful.