Groundhog Day

       I wrestle, with myself. Everything I am and everything I become is on my shoulders. It is exhausting, invigorating, eye-opening, refreshing, and frightening. I attempt to look at today with no blame, hiding, or denial. How fascinating to face... me. 

 

     From time to time, my husband and I participate in Wii boxing. After just a few minutes of active sparring with the animated opponent, huffing and puffing begins as does upper body exercise. We too often lose to the TV, but that is secondary... we win with an excellent exercise workout.

      The idea of losing and winning have been on my mind lately. I think about The Biggest Loser, where the person who loses the most weight actually ends up winning the prize. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character wrestles. He has unfinished business in the character development department. He repeatedly experiences a particularly annoying and exasperating Groundhog Day. He finally uses the unstoppable day(s) for self-improvement... and he loses, his gritty ego... to win a special gift, the girl of his dreams.

      Unfinished business and losing can be nagging, like an untied shoelace (especially when I'm exercising), or photos with visibly disheveled hair, or a family photo with just one family member missing ... I want to tie shoelaces, comb disheveled hair, and photo shop into a picture the missing family member. Despite having thought A LOT about life, I have unfinished business and questions... but there are forever-buried final memories and mysteries, with clues, coincidences, as well as pictures of tire tracks and reactive body twitches at the arrival of one key person. But otherwise, that's it. I wonder... I wrestle and hate to surrender, give up, and succumb to defeat. It feels so like I have lost, like I have seen my own shadow to experience 6 more weeks of winter.

     Jacob in the Bible gives a palatable perspective that helps me begin to surrender and squelch my striving to answer unanswerable questions... to give up. Strategist Jacob decides that rather than continuing to wrestle with his brother and father-in-law (like he had been successfully doing for years), he would face a more formidable opponent, battling for the heavy-weight championship of the centuries. He spends an entire night wrestling with what he thinks is an angel. Jacob notices his new opponent's strength, and that He acts more like a sparring partner. In the morning, Jacob discovers that he was actually wrestling with God and finally gives in. He demands a blessing and God gives him one.

      I am learning an admirable aspect of  *the FOREVER Substance Behind the Shadows*: He allows me to spar with Him and He NEVER tires. He's tough enough to handle my insatiable appetite for questions, and He knows me better than I know myself. I am wearing down, and I am acquiescing to the phrases: "I give" and "I surrender." 

Walking Warm-ups

       my neighbor and i walk together once or twice a week. we enjoy hiking our nearby lake trails or walking through the neighborhood.

     we tend to be yin-&-yang-like, reminiscent of the vintage show "the odd couple"... she is 40-something and i am 50-something; she has no children and i have two; she takes her shoes off immediately when she enters her home, while i prefer to leave my shoes on for warmth; she loves, loves, loves to watch basketball and football, and i prefer survivor and downton abbey; she follows the biggest loser and i don't; she rarely watches movies, and I love movie entertainment...

      we manage to uncover common-ground similarities during our hour-long walks. we both recently began sabbaticals; we need a daily walk; we were born and raised in illinois; her husband is an alumnus of the same university as my husband and i; we play dominoes; and, her father just passed away. i remember the deep sadness, as well as the challenging aftermath of inheritance taxes and financial decisions; so, we share the common human experience... of dealing with death. 

      as we discuss father-stories, I wonder about one other issue. we haven't discussed by whom our deepest needs are met. mine are met by the FOREVER Substance Behind the Shadows. i strive to listen, understand, and be prepared to share IF she has questions. i earnestly pray she is seeking direction from THE listening Father/Advocate...  * The 4-EVER Substance Behind the Shadows *


      For walking warm-ups, click these links to see gentle leg swings:
             * video of  front-to-back leg swings  *    &  *  side-to-side legs swings *

BEET-Tacular Detox

The term "heart" in the Bible actually refers to a region that includes the gallbladder rather than the actual heart. To get the physical sludge out my gallbladder, a year ago my husband found this beet concoction on the Internet that claims to "keep the bile thin and moving" by cleaning sludge from the gallbladder. It has a refreshing, tangy taste.

Beet-tacular Recipe

1 large organic beet or beetroot (raw, washed, not peeled unless not organic and finely grated in a food processor)

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 T flax oil

Use this mixture to add to your salads or eat alone as above 2 or 3 times a week. Note: If you cannot find organic beets, be sure to peel them. It is best to buy organic beets and use the peel as well. (Hyvee and the health food store both carry organic beets)

For intensive, 3-day sludge cleansing:
1)  Day one: take one teaspoon of mixture every hour throughout the day.
2) Days two & three: make a fresh batch. Take one teaspoon of mixture 3 to 4 times a
     day or more.

Artichokes help stimulate the gallbladder to increase bile and keep digestion going. Don't just eat the artichoke hearts... the leaves are beneficial, too.


        sludge. it is dirty. mud, glop, goo, gunk, muck, ooze are dirty too. Yuck!

      disgusting, dead, smelly things are dirty, indeed. dark, shadowy turkey vultures eat dead things. they are like natural environmental cleaners.

     to be "galled," holding a grudge, is like dirty sludge. why would i want that? "beets" me!

     clean-up of grudges against others, with the critical help of the  *the FOREVER Substance Behind the Shadows*, is the greatest heart cleaner.

* 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 *  

Informative January 2013 CDC data on the effects of women's binge drinking is at this link:  * Women & Binge Drinking *

The link to my heritage-related sludge clean-up opens by clicking this link: * Boologging Begins *

MANGER DANGER!



      manger scenes are becoming my obsession. so far, i own nine of them; they are from china, jerusalem, and cancun; one spins in circles; one is for the mantle; they are on and under the Christmas tree; i even claim neighbor joe's manger scene in his front yard! my husband believes it is harmless; but, nevertheless, it is an addiction.
 

      in my final, somewhat lengthy, December 2012 post, I CAN'T SLEEP!  i share a "tale of two manger scenes," where my grandson surprised me over the holidays by regularly and secretly entering our bedroom to play with my hidden, special manger scene (he totally ignored his little people manger scene i specially purchased). playtime MANGER DANGER created toppled or hidden wise men, sheep in palm trees, cows atop the stable, and a misplaced shepherd. interestingly, Baby Jesus stayed put.

      his experiences in our darkened, shadowy bedroom beg me to ask the penetrating question:

how many past opportunities to make positive, *synthetic happiness* have i avoided because i was afraid to enter the dark unknown?

*the right sidebar contains definitions of synthetic happiness & natural happiness*

      my compelling adventure to heritage "synthetic happiness" seemed to draw me in; it was toppled and disheveled, yet meaningful and worthwhile. memories were out of place, missing, and scattered. entering a dark and shadowy room was scary. the FOREVER-Substance-behind-the-shadows (Who has no beginning and no end) was there; and He created safe, deep happiness.

      there is a secret i failed to share... it is an interesting element of my grandson's play time. he felt quite relaxed and comfortable in our bedroom. in fact, many times, after playing safely alone with that manger scene, his diaper became... rather smelly...
 
      ...to discover positive, meaningful, intriguing happiness in spite of sad or undesired events, it might be beneficial to figuratively participate in childish activities like stomping in mud puddles, kissing slimy frogs, chewing strangers' disgusting gum AND, with the relaxed and comfortable company of the FOREVER-Substance-behind-the-shadows, privately take care of [stinky] business!

Feel FREE to click the following link to open:  *A Synthetic Happiness presentation by Dan Gilbert *
&
My blogging to heritage-related-happiness opens at: * Boologging Begins *

My entire family loved this apple salad recipe at Christmas time. Apples (and their skins) have pectin which encourages digestion. I prefer organic apples.

Hyvee's Apple Salad (t=teaspoon, T=tablespoon)

1 med. apple sliced & chopped (honey crisp is recommended, but I prefer Granny Smith)
3/4 t lemon juice
2 T chopped walnuts
2 T honey
1 t flax seed
1/8 t ground cinnamon (this ingredient helps sugars digest & creates an apple crisp taste)
1 T salted sunflower seeds (optional)
1 T dried cranberries (optional)

In a small bowl, combine the apple and lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Chill until serving. Yield: 2 servings.

Enjoy!
* 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 *