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With Dusty 
From our guest writer this month: Springtime is here. It seems as if love blossoms more in the spring. In Midwest the redbuds and dogwoods are blooming. The free spirit of Nature casts its many colors on the hillside. They have no reason to compete with each other. They are all beautiful alone or together. When we experience fresh new love, most of us feel as carefree as the summer breeze. Then as we get to know each other's habits, we begin consciously or subconsciously monitoring the other person's habits, ways, and actions toward us and others. We remember how good it used to be and try to make the other person make it that good for us again. This can never happen, so the situations exalt into fights. Free love does not have expectations upon another. When love is new and fresh, both people want to be together, talking, feeling, touching and snuggling. There comes a time for us do earthy things. Some of this marvelous oneness we have experienced gets misplaced. There is no reason people can't have fresh free love forever, if you are with the right person. The first thing to understand is the other person is not in your life to always entertain you. You are not your lover's keeper. You are their helpmate and playmate. People don't own people. The time another person spends in your life, if it be a moment, a day, a year or whatever, is a gift from the Great Spirit. Freedom within comes when we set others free to find what is best for them. This is true love, a love that is big enough to let go if that is what is needed. Anyone can love someone freely in good times, but can you weather the bad times? This idea isn't new by any means. But it still has lots of room to be put into practice. This is true whether this be people, pets, places or things. There comes a time in all of our lives that we have to let go of something or someone. In the letting go we find true love. And many times this very letting go will mend fences and you find you don't have to give the person or thing up after all. You just had to be willing. When we love someone or something, this isn't always easy but the rewards are bountiful. If you will stop when someone doesn't do exactly what you thought they should and remember to let go of that thought and not act upon it, you will feel the true free love for a lifetime. True love will always be free. The freedom will keep it fresh and new each moment. Whatever we set free will return to us or come back to from another source, if it does leave. "Nothing is ever lost in the Spirit." Dusty’s Sharing – Rituals, or habits, do not have to last through eternity. They can be changed any time and many times throughout one's life. It is simply a matter of willingness to do some housecleaning when awareness brings a desire for change. This type of housecleaning is for more than one's surrounding household. It involves going within to do some sorting and tossing of habits, choosing what to keep and what to release. It involves looking at one's attitude about how time is occupied. Are there desirable new rituals to establish? Some people have daily or weekly habits that they would like to remove. It isn't always easy to remove projects that have imbedded themselves into routine acts through the years. The first thing necessary, before they can be removed, is to identify them. With pencil and paper in hand, imagine dividing the habits into two stacks, as those desirable to keep and those to toss. Beginning with early morning hours, what activities fill that time? Desirable or undesirable? Write it on the appropriate pile of activities. This thought can be carried through the day. Would it be more desirable to get the bed made and dishes washed before watching a favorite television program? This may require moving the extended time for having early morning coffee to the undesirable stack. Getting necessary household done early can relieve concern about dirty dishes in the sink if someone stops by. It may be just the opposite. Some people feel an urgency to do housework before taking a bit of quiet time. Taking the quiet time first may be a healthy way to start the day. This may take practice and experimenting to discover what activity or non-activity works best for the individual. Usually developing a desirable habit works best by slotting it in with a standard activity to completely eliminate an undesirable one. When a new, desirable habit can be added to an established habit, it helps plant it for permanency. Breaking a routine such as driving the same route to the store each week, taking a few side streets instead, can bring a refreshing sense of adventure. It helps stimulate the desire for more awareness in the world surrounding. Writing just a short note or sending a "thinking of you" card to a friend or family member could be a welcome weekly routine, maybe doing so on Sunday afternoons. Simply being reminded that someone is thinking about them, people feel loved when they receive a special note. And this act can often bring a warm reply. Getting out for exercise is often on the preferred list but has a way of often being ignored. An activity, such as a short walk, can be added into a time slot to become a daily ritual. It is a fun time for new discovery and a healthy activity. The endeavor may be only one daily activity or one or two weekly activities. Ritual offers a sense of organization and brings good feelings about one's self. When could it be fit in and given a specific amount of time each week? A preference, for health reasons, may be to eat a larger meal at noon rather than in the evening. This can be a gradual change with a lighter supper and healthy fruit snack later in the evening. Rather than plopping in front of the television in the evening with nothing seemingly better to do, sitting at the piano or other instrument for anyone who has once played or desires to learn may be a desirable endeavor to re-establish. It is healthy for Seniors to exercise the mind to keep it pliable. Memorizing might be a good project that can be included with morning and bedtime personal hygiene. My mom works crossword puzzles as soon as the newspaper arrives and goes through them quickly to help keep her mind alert. She says watching "Wheel of Fortune" on television is for that purpose, too. As my son pointed out, some people do not have many rituals. They employ different activities and enjoy whatever is at hand. I have found, however, that over the years as we get older, our time is our own and we tend to slip into routines to avoid boredom. Sometimes they are just monotonous activities without thought of whether they bring pleasure. The question to ask is whether we are enjoying these routines. Cleaning one's inner house can be a refreshing experience. It brings relief to be rid of all the clutter and anticipation in what to add as new inner furniture. Even just rearranging existing furniture can bring new delight. Once this inner housecleaning is accomplished, one can sense the reward of truly enjoying every moment! Some sites I recommend: Jesus’ Spring Housecleaning |
