Tag: life

nature

Bloom Where I’m Planted

2chicksandapen

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A sea of green. Grasses of several kinds, grown knee-high and blowing in the breeze.

It’s a peaceful, idyllic scene, this acre upon acre of green.

Until…

orange!  Orange of all things.  A orange blob right in the middle of all this verdant, lovely green.  An interruption.  An annoyance. Like a lightning bolt to my eyeballs.  Piercing and wild.  Why?  Why here?

I waded through the grasses to get a closer look.  I found that this bright, almost glowing orange was actually a tightly clustered bunch of petals.  A gutsy, piercing, look-at-me! blossom.  A beauty, standing out boldly in her own way.  I studied it for a while, wondering about its roots.

Later that day, walking through the acres, I saw another orange splotch, hundreds of yards away from the one I first noticed.   How did they get there?  Are they family, I wondered?  Long lost sisters, maybe?  Or even just spreading their wings?

“It’s just a weed,” a friend said.

But it’s pretty, I thought.  What makes something a weed, anyway?

(Being me, I looked it up, of course.)

I now know that a weed can be anything that grows where it’s not planted on purpose.  That turns up where it’s not wanted.  Where it’s not supposed to be.  Even someone’s prize roses can be a weed if they come up in a pumpkin patch.

It’s all about context. Beauty can be anywhere.  I noticed and admired these orange ladies more so because they were dramatically different than all the deep green surrounding them.

From these brazen orange beauties I learned to just bloom wherever I happen to be.  Make the most of where I am, even if it’s not the perfectly sunny spot.  I don’t need approval to show my true colors.  To be myself, grow and blossom, wherever I plant my own feet. 

Have the courage to be different.  To stand out.  Will everyone appreciate it?  Not the meticulous gardeners. Who like it all in control.  But to other eyes, I might just be the antidote to the ordinary that they need.  The splash of color in a sea of monotony.   The lightning out of the blue, or green.  The inspiration to spread their wings.

inspire

Daydreaming

2chicksandapen

I love it when I find somebody or something that inspires me. Today it was Spanx. Not the pants, although they are amazing it was their founder.

The one, the only Sara Blakely. A bad ass boss woman who supports others with her posts, her generosity, her wisdom, her experience and so much more.

I saw this first hand this year when she hired an up-and-coming local college graduate at her firm. Next time was when COVID hit and she directed funds to her Red Backpack grant program. I saw it again today with the post above on LinkedIn. What an influencer. What a shining example for women in business.

In today’s world when so much is crazy and uncertain she points to herself. She uses herself as an example. She talks about the non-traditional path she traveled to get where she is today.

She talks about hard work, challenging times and starting with her own daydream. She chipped away at her daydream until she could sustain herself and others.

What a beautiful thing. Success is a great but those who share their successes, experience and know-how with others is equally beautiful.

Keeping with the name of the post, what is your daydream? What are you doing to make that dream a reality?

Don’t have a daydream? Starting dreaming know. You will at least enjoy the dreaming process even if you are not ready to take flight yourself.

Dream big.

nature

Plop Plop Plop

2chicksandapen

Not too long ago I wrote about sounds of the night. Specifically sounds at a friends house while in the backyard on a peaceful evening.

I also said I would test the sounds of the night elsewhere. This weekend it was on the farm. Another peaceful time but also different atmosphere. A rustic paradise nestled in the mountains but hidden in a mystic valley.

First, fireflies light up the air space in the distance. Then a bat flies by from time to time. Some light off in the distance from neighboring homesteads. These may not be sounds but it’s part of the vibe or atmosphere. A different kind of peaceful evening.

It was the calm before the storm. The clouds were bringing in a cooler, crisper air. Rain was lurking. You could smell moisture on the way. Does anyone even know what rain smells like? I think I do.

Into the cabin I go. The cabin with the red roof. The metal roof. Just like that the rain swept in. First, the wind starts hissing. Not a full howl but the leaves a-shaking in the trees. A few little branches hit the roof with a faint sound.

Then a drip, drip, drip sound appears. The sound of a dripping faucet comes to mind. Quickly it shifts to drip-drip, drip-drop, drop-drop-drop. The drops come faster. They turn into plops. Plop-plop-plop.

Plops don’t last long (neither do the plops in a toilet) oh my. Not quite a monsoon but a hard rain rolls in. One that would drench you if you had to run to car from the grocery store. Fast, hard, fiercely pounding rain. The sound was amazingly satisfying on the red roof top. The metal rooftop made the rain experience special.

It wasn’t long until I dozed off to sleep. A peaceful sleep. Unfortunately I know many who don’t sleep well at night especially with all the life stresses of a pandemic front and center.

It is my hope that just one reader will listen to their nightfall sounds and enjoy them as they drift off to sleep. For some it may be a subway train, for others it may be fast cars on their Main Street. Wherever you are enjoy tonight. I know I will.

perspective

Out With the Old

2chicksandapen

Out you go! In with the new. Cleansing is going on around me. Recycle, repurpose, redirect, reconfigure, remove, renew, etc.

Sometimes you need to reshuffle life. A fresh perspective. Some old items are sort of new these days. Maybe they were rehomed or repurposed. Meaning they will live another day despite their age. Maybe they just needed a new environment. Maybe some new paint. Maybe some buffing or waxing. Maybe even a recycling project of sorts. Taking older components to reuse in a different way making them new but still old. Recycling is good for the environment and has many benefits.

Speaking of old, I got rid of an old car. Not a super old car but one that still had many miles left to go. It was pretty. It was fun. It took many adventures. Only it was time for something new. Out it goes!

A new purpose. A different look. A unchartered kind of road ahead for its owner and companions. Nightfall has come. A new journey begins. Off we go.

Have you had to let go of something in the past to make room for the future? Many have to experience this in life. Sometimes with the arrival of a new baby something has to go. Maybe when aging something must go. Maybe if downsizing is needed something must go.

Cleansing is a process. Maybe you can just start cleansing your social media followers list as a practice activity. See who you miss and who you don’t. Out with old. Off we go. Go, go, go as Dr. Seuss would say.

perspective

Cranky Pants

2chicksandapen

This chick is cranky and opinionated! At least I admit it and at least I am comfortable publishing my cranky, emotional and somewhat opinionated stories and rants. Knowing full well said stories are read worldwide….a fun fact I am super proud of.

Fun fact: this past month our readership skyrocketed. Not sure why but it did. Cheers to all you newbies out there reading along. We adore you from afar.

This post is also not about something current in my life that should make you wonder if you know me and are reading this. I wrote this a while ago and just opted to publish it now. A blast from the past so to speak, However it rings true when I hear or experience life through my lens and thus I figure it was time to share my thoughts.

I am at a loss at society today. One can look at the craziness on the news and see all the horror the world has to offer. But I am in control of what I watch and what I am exposed to as an adult. And for that reason alone I rarely watch the news it’s just too depressing.

As a parent sometimes you just open an email from school only to see how vile people are. Offering your kids drugs at school, writing death threats on the bathroom wall or even worse. Times are changing and bad news travels faster than the speed of light thanks to the internet.

The yellow school bus kids ride isn’t even a sanctuary anymore. Bullying and isolating happens on the daily to those who are different. I often shake my head and think who raises their kid to be ugly to others? It’s unfortunate as our kids still have developing brains and don’t have the foresight needed to tune out the negative vibes like we can as adults. It’s just awful to watch in some instances.

I choose to focus on the positives in life. A few positives: I have my good health, my good friends and an amazing family. I have a nice roof over my head, a reliable vehicle to drive and I am fortunate to be active in the community. I volunteer when I can and I make a concerted effort to impact others each week in a positive manner.

So what could possibly make me cranky? Life makes me cranky. All the takers in life weigh on me daily. Takers are near and far. Takers are people or entities who want to take things away from you that you work so hard for.

Takers sometimes come disguised as friends but I say frienemies. The friends you tolerate that you don’t trust as far as you can throw them. The ones who are nice to your face but then throw you under a bus the first chance they can to elevate their personal image. I’m sure everyone has at least one in their life.

Or maybe it is your boss at the office who tells you to your face that you are the best thing since sliced bread then turns and tells your coworkers how incompetent you are. Maybe it’s a friend of the family or neighbor who pretends they are supporting you but then sweep in and snag your valuables. Valuables can be defined differently for each situation. And then there is the big taker, The corporate greed monster. The big fish in the little sea. That entity who likes to sue people with limited resources to take out the competition. Or maybe it’s a strategy the big company has thinking your firm doesn’t have the capital to defend a frivolous lawsuit. Or maybe that big company thinks they can bully you with the threat of a lawsuit. The last scenario is just like the school bus bully but the kid grew up. He is still just a bully. Different disguise but still a bully.

The list goes on and on but the moral of the story is life is tough. Whatever your battle you must find your sunshine and let it light the way to new beginnings. Learning this simple life lesson in your early and formative years with help you navigate the adult world that is harsh and full of takers waiting to prey on you whenever one sees a moment of vulnerability.

Ignore those in today’s society who judge you for having a mask on or off. For those who roll their eyes when you say you want to enjoy the fresh air outside. For those who are so wrapped up in corona that they want to bully others online or in person. Just mute them!

This is yet another post from the vault. An oldie but goodie. A fresh corona spin added and here we are at the end of the story, for now.

Remember to watch your back somebody is always on your tail no matter what stage of life you are in. Don’t stay a cranky pants. Keep evolving. Never stand still. As long as you are looking forward whatever is in the rear view is the past. And nobody can change your future but you.