Inspiration

In the past few weeks, I've had several people comment on my blog. One said, "I never knew this side of you." Another said that she read what I put on my blog and it gave her another perspective of certain situations. I thought to myself, "Wow! My blog is having an impact!" And then I had difficulty remembering, in detail, what I wrote. Uh-oh! So I just finished reading all my posts. Is it retarded to be inspired by my own written words and thoughts?? Then, so be it... I just found out the other day that I am a milktard, too. (Thanks to Edward for bringing urban term to my attention!) Why not be inspired by myself? My conclusion from reading my entire blog is one of excitement. I'm thinking, "This is pretty good! Not nearly as boring as my left brain would have me believe!" If nothing else, the construct is pretty smooth. Stupid left brain! Wait... what?

In reading my posts, I noticed one glaring omission: I am Episcopalian... and proud of it! The Episcopal Church is a member of the Anglican Communion. "Episcopal" derives from the Greek word "episkopos" meaning overseer, namely a bishop. Just like the state fair has fried dough, we have Apostolic Succession. I attend St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock.

I chose the Episcopal Church because of it encourages tolerance of diverse peoples and creeds, searching for the truth in the Gospel and practicing Christ's love in your own life. My ancestors have been members of the Episcopal Church for the last 400 years, but that did not factor too heavily in my decision. Over the course of many years, I investigated many other major religions and some Christian denominations, such as Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. To this day, I believe Astrology to be true.

That's what I love about TEC: it allows for spiritual discovery and emotional growth. At first, I felt embarrassed that I didn't know when to sit or stand or my part in the responsory. Once I fell into the grace of the Episcopal liturgy, I came to understand its' purpose: to include, to embrace all who participate, to "bring into the fold." It's a wonderful feeling. I love my Church. It's truly a place where you can worship, pray, express yourself and ask questions without fear of dogmatic reprisal. Some would call us a bunch of upstarts! If you have the opportunity, I highly recommending trying it! I guarantee you will be welcome.

If you are interested in reading more about the Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Bookstore in Seattle, WA is a great place to start. It's the online store where I get most of my spiritual reading. One of my favorite authors on this subject is Bishop John Shelby Spong. I see his literary mission as liberating the Scriptures from hatred and intolerance in order to reveal the love and grace of God. It's good stuff.

I will close with one of my favorite prayers, attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Peace be with you,
Jaime

P.S.~ I had a piece of fried chicken and a slice of cherry pie for dinner tonight!

Inner and Outer Thoughts

Once again, I've been slack in my blog. I apologize to all my faithful readers; it's heartless of me to just leave you hanging out there in cyberspace.... forced to read other blogs. Sacré bleu! So here goes... what's new with me...

Recently, I've had a resurgence of soulmate happenings. Hints that lead me to believe I'm on the verge of something very good. Whether waking or dreaming, the air around me almost seems heavy with those warm fuzzy feelings that a soulmate engenders. Music, which is very important to me anyway, has been imbued with a renewed idealism. I've had dreams just about every night on this very subject. Some I remember, others I just wake and feel cozy all over. Other times, I've had déjà vu. Overall, I've had a great sense of peace fall over me, which is very nice. The tricky part is I don't know who this person is. Could be someone I talk with everyday OR someone I've never met.

The concept of soulmates is esoteric, at best... To me, it means two people who are perfectly matched. Not that either is perfect, but the fit together is perfect. In a Platonic phrase, split aparts. Soulmates complement each other in ways that encourage growth, emotionally and spiritually.

Having said all that, I've had this feeling before and it petered out (obviously since I'm single). I am a romantic at heart, although I hide it well (I think!) in the practicality of everyday life. As I get older, I've come to realize that finding one special person is rather daunting. As such, I also believe that you can carve out a long and contented life with someone other than your soulmate. That doesn't diminish my faith and hope in finding my soulmate.

In other news, we scurrying around at work to deploy 290 computers before August 22nd. In three days we have rolled out 62 PCs. Shoo! I've come home everyday and just fallen out for an hour before I can motivate for the rest of the evening. There is light at the end of the tunnel: there is a finite number of these boogers. Eventually, it will get done. I really do enjoy it; the only problem is my BS tolerance strains under the hard physical labor!

Speaking of BS... I have to make mention of something that leaves me stunned silly: Cheney's declaration that he is neither in the Executive nor the Legislative branch of our government. Come on! Is he joking??? Does he really expect us to believe that he has the right to pick and choose which branch he wants to affiliate with when it's convenient for him? Puh-leeze!

My mini-family reunion is coming up soon. We will all be in D.C. on July 9th for a week. There will be 14 of us reuniting: my mother, my aunt, my grandmother, my three sisters and their families from all over the U.S. I am so excited about this trip. Not only does it satisfy my need to travel, but it also is a chance to reconnect with those who know me best. Whenever I visit with my family, it encourages me to rediscover facets of myself that may have been forgotten since childhood. 4 out of 5 of my nieces will be there and I can't wait to see how they've grown. They are each so wonderful in their own unique ways. (Holla, Morgan, Taylor, Carly, Erin and Kiowa!)

Before we reconnoiter in D.C., we'll be stopping in Collinsville VA where I'll get to visit with my dad, Jim. He's going to show me his cabin in the mountains. We may have time to go visit my great aunt and great uncle. They live on the family farm in Chatham, VA. Hopefully, I'll get lots of great pics to share with you all after I get back. I can't promise I'll be posting during my trip, but I'll sure give it the Harvard effort!

Cheers,
Jaime

A 3-Hour Tour and More Random Thoughts

Hendersonville. Go ahead, say it. Small town USA. I've been living here for 12 years now and there have been a few times this little town surprises me. Saturday was one of them.

I had a regularly scheduled hair appointment downtown at 10:30. Since Willowby wakes me up by 7:30 every morning and I realized Friday that my car inspection was out of date since March(!), I headed out early to get some errands done before my appointment. That only took until 10am, so I decided to wander downtown until my appointment. I had no idea that Hendersonville was the happenin' place to be on Saturday mornings!

In the span of 3 hours, I saw 3 people I know from work, 1 ex-boyfriend, an art gallery named The Silver Fox and browsed the Mast General Store. I had never been in The Silver Fox gallery and I found some interesting items. It not only had art, but furniture, trinkets, jewelry and clothing. I was excited to see some art pieces that my chiropractor has hanging in her office. It's poetic philosophy superimposed on artistic medium. The artist is Kristen Jongen and the series is called Soul Soup. One day I will own a piece of her art! I like what she has to say.

Back to Random Thoughts...

I recently changed the blade in my shower razor... after 6 months. Is that too long to wait? I love how smooth my legs are, but the blade is so sharp that my legs are quickly becoming covered in bandages.

Yes, my car inspection was completely overlooked since March. Oops. I guess I wander under a lucky traffic patrol star. Maybe it's a little leeway since my car was smacked up last August. What reminded that my inspection was out-of-date was a letter from Governor Easley. It said, "Hellooooo! Yoo-hoo! Here's a friendly reminder that you are breaking NC law!" LOL!

Let me preface this next thought with the following facts: I've been single since 2004 and I live in Hendersonville. Yikes! So, I went to the grocery store tonight before picking up dinner from Outback. As I headed to the checkout, there were 3 (count 'em, 3!!) good looking guys (and seemingly available) in my path. What does this mean? I'm not sure, but I do know I get awfully excited when butterflies cross my path. I always heard that that means love is on its way.

My new haircut is very cute. My stylist is going out on 2 months maternity leave and so I wanted my hair cut shorter so it would last until she gets back. I am now advocating short bangs for summer. They look fresh and sexy for summertime.

I'm watching the Democratic Debate in New Hampshire right now. Out of all the candidates standing on that stage, only one believes that English should be the official language of the US. This seems like a no-brainer to me. Clinton argued that the reason for not making English the official language is it restricts bringing in translators in emergency situations, etc. Dodd argued that we live in a global economy and we all should be proud to speak more than one language. Gimme a break! In Europe, plenty of other nations have 1 official language AND their citizens still speak 4 or 5 languages. It's about geography, not a global economy! As I see more and more businesses around town have signs ONLY in Spanish, the more I want English to be the official language of this land. When I went overseas, I was expected to speak the official language. I did so to the best of my ability. It's a respect issue. For how long are we going to be pushovers for people who want citizenship in this country?!? I fully believe in this country's motto, "Give me your tired, your hungry, your poor." I don't, however, believe in it slowly being changed to "Give me your tired, your hungry, your poor... and we'll bend over backwards for them." Immigrants and citizens alike in the USA have to WORK for the benefits of her democratic society.

Having said all that, I am a staunch democrat! I may, possibly, be moving toward the Independent party. What I really want is a Populist President. Did someone say John Edwards? I think the citizens of this country, the USA's backbone, has been ignored for far too long!

I ran across a blog last week that got me to thinking of introducing a new facet to my blog. Every now and again, I make lists in my journal. All kinds of lists: what I like, dislike, hobbies/interests I want to discover, my strengths, my weaknesses, etc. Whenever I come to a crossroad in my journey, I find that making lists brings clarity and gives my self-esteem a boost. Be sure to look for that exciting new feature in upcoming posts.

Peace to all,
Jaime