Oh god, did I feel Peter’s despair in that maze! I’ve been there! And forced my sheer will to keep going even though my instinct has been telling me to listen to the divine signs.
At the end of the day, as frustrating as it might be to be stuck in the maze, havent we sometimes looked back at the challenge fondly in some way? In gratitude, perhaps, for letting us feel a bit more alive, even as we struggled?
Terrific piece this Sunday. And a happy Father’s Day to Peter. Love to y’all.
A totally great point, Tonika! Yes! A life without struggle is like a play without conflict -- mildly enjoyable, but certainly not memorable. I suppose it's all about balance, yet again. 🙄😂
Thanks for tuning in on this big day for your boys! Can't wait to hear all about it. HFD to Nick, and love coming your way, too.
On the same day as your boys' celebration, Tonika, was my daughter's 32nd birthday, for which her tribe had flown in. Now far-flung by the careers of spouses and the desire to buy houses, and hungry for that nurturing, intuitive face-time, I found myself bragging about my Sisterhood of the Stack. I realized later that I'd spent the whole weekend talking about relationships and maybe that's the female perspective too, along with the intuitive/ mystical.
I created a tucked-away corner where I did Tarot readings, at my daughter's suggestion. Parties are exhausting for me because there are so many topics I'm avoiding. Best to talk about THEM and stay in the intuitive lane. With two of my 'bonus daughters' I found myself reading oracle cards on their relationships with very harsh and difficult mothers. And I told the story of your mother-in-law, Mary. Even before I got to the punch line of the will, Fiona knew you were going to be cut. Combined with my description of you, it illustrated my point that the most lovable people in the world can still get the brunt of rejection and not-good-enough.
So perhaps Peter has been born into a different maze than you. Being the golden child or favored one is its own burden. You have to simultaneously reject that specialness you've been given but find your own self-worth. Here is the easy path--mummy loves me best. But once you go through that wide open pathway, you find you're blocked at the end and have to retrace every turn and find the harder choices.
That takes, I think, logic. Otherwise, how do you separate intuition and self-inflation? Are the kids and you, who are willing to give Peter hints, any different from his mother? In every case, when I'm encouraging the use of logic it's in order to challenge that bribe of 'I'm special' without turning it into a competition where I'm the winner. IMO 100% of the problems we're facing in the world are because of some people being told and treated like they're better than others. That identification is what I call toxic masculinity, although it's women (like these two mothers and your MiL) who use it. Employing logic as tonic masculinity is the way out of the maze, I think and I feel--covering both bases/ hemispheres.
Just the thought of an amusement park automatically depletes me (I'll bet that doesn't surprise you!) but this Puzzle Place looks downright creepy. Mazes freak me out, says the lifelong claustrophobe. But, as always, your analogies are spot-on, Mary. We truly do live in Bizarro World and I find myself retreating more and more into the Trees. It's exhausting thinking about all of these things.
“Aha. This is how our divine guides must feel. Every day, they witness our “earnest striving,” as Rudolf Steiner put it, bumbling around on this crazy planet, unable to see the path from a higher vista and unwilling to ask for help.” Exactly!
Well, Mary, I appreciate this today because lately I feel at a complete loss relating to others. I used to be a pretty good social being, but last night, I went to a family party where I barely knew anyone, and I couldn't think of a thing to say or a question to ask. Surly there must be language for what we are going through, but maybe not. Maybe I need to create "Funhouse cards" and ask, "Would you like one of my cards?" And let the image speak for itself. Then, I could have empty ones, and hand them a pen and say, would you like to draw your funhouse card?
At any rate, last night after the party I was so exhausted from not socializing that I slept for 12 hours!
Oh my, do I hear you. Peter and I were invited to a neighbor's house for dinner six months ago or more, and it was excruciating. Lovely people, nothing to talk about. And like you, I'm pretty capable of keeping the ball rolling; this was like tooth extraction. By the end of three hours I was exhausted, too. 😳
BUT... your "funhouse cards" are GENIUS! I've got some ideas for what to put on them, but I think they're all too inflammatory. 😂 What kinds of images would you choose? I'm curious.
Since your writing inspired me I’ve been thinking about it…I think ALL the emotions will be well represented! But I also want to tell mini stories too like…Katherine Watt connecting the legal dots to make the case that the legal framework was carefully put in place and paved the way for the plandemic…yeah, little card “bombs” like that…
Haha, I had a similar challenge and used Tarot/ oracle cards to talk about THEM, see my reply to Tonika above. That likely wouldn't work with neighbors but there are games made for getting to know people. One is called "We're Not Really Strangers" (not the couples version).
I still had to duck out a few times to check my computer, just so I could get in some real conversations before I got into trouble. And yes! Totally exhausting. Maybe your funhouse cards could be memes that they pick, none of which are confrontational but just funny and the kind where you shake your heads together over the insanity from both sides. Great idea of yours!
I never heard of 'Puzzling World' but what an apt description for these days. Beautiful essay on where we are and the difficulties it brings.
"What should I eat? Does recycling making any difference? Is gender the same as sex? Who’s really running this country? What news source should I believe? Is the national debt real? Is the sun harmful? How should I cure my cancer? Why are teens suicidal? Does voting matter?"
Funny not funny and this is exactly what's happening. Previous assumptions undermined. Everything up for question.
(Oh, yeah you can one-up Einstein!) And those qualities
Thank you for honing in and also offering hope - may the seeds of compassion for our mutual puzzle grown exponentially. Best.
Thanks for the gracious comment, Kathleen. I've been inspired by your own 'stack, where you've done a masterful job yourself of describing the current varying vibrational realities that engulf us.
These waters are uncharted, I think. Of course I can't know that for sure, but when I say they are I somehow feel better. 😊
I gave my daughter a birthday card with an Einstein quote I'd never heard: "There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is a miracle." In looking it up, other sites say it's a fake and doesn't sound like Einstein (and I agree with the latter). Curiously the photo that comes up with it is Elsa Einstein.
I watched a documentary on Einstein. It was very thought provoking to say the least. Being the weirdo that I am I also watched a Great Courses series on The Black Death and found it really good. The more things change the more things stay the same. Eyeroll. Plus, I can't heart any comments with my Chicken browser aka Brave.
Such a great analogy! Like wizards, technocratic totalitarians have created this puzzle world simulacrum to destabilize our minds and make us easier to manipulate through fear.
We can only do our best to dismantle the fake reality by defending truth while remaining curious and taking ourselves lightly. Remembering that Eternal Principles transcend our death and that natural rights cannot be wished away with the utopian conjuring of 1% of the 1% who are mere mortals.
Our minds may be warped by the myth of modernity (eternal progress!) But Reality remains the same. Check out this article for tips on communicating with sleepwalkers without incurring their wrath:
Perfect analogy and artful story. Somewhere I read a perspective from someone who grew up in a country controlled by propaganda and a government that sponsored it. It felt just like this, with alternate versions of reality presumably between propaganda buyers and their more evolved neighbors, friends, and family members.
One of the pieces of my "awakening" to the truth of covid was talking with a guy who owned a breakfast place in our small town in NYS. He was from eastern Europe, a country like the one you describe, and he could see EXACTLY what was going on. His description of the similarities between his country and ours had a huge effect on me. By the time we had our house on the market, he had already sold the restaurant and had left town...
I blame Big Tech for the funhouse. Journalists were once paid by the word; they received royalties and payments from the sales of foreign rights. Today, that is no longer the case. Although Facebook and the partisan websites provide convenient straw men for “fake news” critics, we should not forget that The New York Times also publishes serial fabrications (Jason Blair, Judith Miller, Hunter's laptop is Russian disinfo) . “New media” outlets (Huffington Post, Vice, and others) replaced professional, career reporters with amateurs who are willing to forgo fair pay in exchange for exposure. With the 24-hour news cycle, what passes for journalism today is largely public relations. National consciousness is no longer determined by exposure to intellectual quality, but by popularity in the form of Internet traffic and mysterious algorithms understood only by Google. Internet and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier laid bare the implications of this model: “Funding a civilization through advertising is like trying to get nutrition by connecting a tube from one’s anus to one’s mouth. The body starts consuming itself. That is what we are doing online.”
Thanks Mary, I recycled much of it from the mission statement of my non profit Fainting Robin Foundation. I set up Fainting Robin in 2018 to help independent journalists, scholars and others: http://www.faintingrobin.org/mission-statement.html
Thanks for the link; I just read about the organization. Fantastic! I love what Steel said about your career: "...scholarship at the service of historical accountability and public understanding." It feels to me like the difference between the renunciate path and the householder path within the context of religion/spirituality. You can either spend your life praying on top of a mountain to find God, or you can spend it among human beings who could benefit from your insights and effort. The world needs both... and it seems like you've found the one that serves you.
Mary, you and Peter really didn't lose that contest, you were all winners. Obviously, you guys must have taught your kids how to take on a challenge using their own creative talents and critical thinking skills to solve the problem, which they did together as a team. What more could you hope for your kids? Than to see them not only meeting their challenges, but exceeding them. Maybe that's the "leveling up" part? and that's what gives us all hope.
This was really good, Mary. I totally loved it! xox
BTW, I could really relate to that Blockbuster Effect.
So apt an analogy--indeedy! an' it's like each fambly member is given a separate piece of a larger puzzle (or path) an' expected to complete the picture without the stability of the reference image on the dang box--an' leavin' teamwork up to each individual (with some splittin' off, some combinin' forces, some usin' logic, others intuition!) -- I'm glad it mostly turned out alright in the Funhouse--an' better yet in yer marriage!
It's all kinda like goin' on a vacation together an' then each fambly member bein' led by a separate tour guide! (an' not sure if ya end up at the same destination end of the day!)
Many of us (me!) are game for a consciously chosen Fun House (I'm no fan of rides, but I LOVE all the rest--ol' Fun Houses, Coney Island "side shows" an' all the fake "marvels"--Ripley's etc) I feel that now tho'--as ya said, we're in a maze not of our choosin'--it IS disorientin' and we know that we cannot trust who's steerin' the boat we're on--versus bein' in an official funhouse where ya know you will not DIE or be left to PERISH or git eaten by a Minotaur--like we knew you'd end up at the "egress" eventually! Now, we ain't sure if there even IS an egress!
Re the story...I'm laffin'--yeah, it's a male brain thing too (not to sound sexist) but to map things out an' find the "formula" or the "right way." I have been born with NO innate sense of direction whatever--I cannot fer the life of me use a GPS. I like old fashioned maps an' I TURN THEM (physically) to make my way 'round (still!) I use things like landmarks, stores (right at the Citco gas station...), stuff that stands out (insane traffic circle, that's where ya turn). So my husband cannot tell me how ta git anywhere as he uses compass points an' mileage that are meanin'less ta me. Just as you an' Pete figgered out stuff on totally different wavelengths! I have no qualms 'bout stoppin' an' asking for directions. Hubby--the polar oppy-sit --("sits" oppositionally!)--he's often game for fun stuff thankfully--but a maze like that--no patience neither. An' too proud to ask for help!
Me, I'm also "intuitional"--it leaves me drivin' in circles sometimes but usually I make it out alive (lol).. But that's how we navigate this "crisis" ongoin' too--our higher "faith" however we customize it, our "spidey sense"--I use my gut feelin' bout folks--at least I try! I watch as some are led down paths by pundits (pun-ditz but often it ain't funny if they're dangerous)--some ugly. A few of us catch wise, others...never seem ta do so... but we're all bein' played, that's for sure!
The Hall of Mirrors is velly much the poifect analogy tho--as we all see ourselves reflected in a seemingly never-endin' path that (we gotta keep rememberin'!) is finite--does have an exit--an' exists in the "real" far beyond our illusions (all types!)
Meet 'cha on Surf Ave... there's still one rickety funhouse left at Coney! ;-)
Thanks so much for your entertaining, wise observations, Daisy. Always appreciated!
It doesn't surprise me that your instincts are keenly developed, even if your sense of direction isn't. Hey, maybe those two go hand in hand? Like, you're gifted with intuition so that you don't get hopelessly lost...? That's what I tell myself, anyway. 😂
Great point about the seemingly infinity of the path. Someday we'll all exit the stage to the real reality.
lol, thx! nope, I've gotten "hopelessly lost" but then I manage to find myself-- dunno
how-- even in "foreign lands"--I wish I had that doggie sense tho'--"they know!"
Yup, we cannot see the clear path--but I think we gals know how ta use our own (innate) intuition as to what's real--what's not--even with them obscurin' the lines to muck us up!--We'll exit stage right but re-enter stage left (I hope! for genuine shows--nothin' synthetic! may that happen, right)
On Surf Ave it is! (an' let's hope the developers that hungrily are tryin' ta reinvent that neib--shamelessly--continue to fail--folks want the cheesy rides, the "haunted house," that ol' fun house yet, AND the funky beach--I do hope New Yawkers don't let 'em steal it like they've done in other parts!)
lol re the memoir! (an' yup, ditto re Coney--they did put up some fugly overpriced over-tall con-doze but the regular folks got ticked off at the plans to reinvent the amusement park -- an' charge triple!--an' redo the boardwalk like it wuz Beverly Hills--so it's dirty an' funky like always yet! Fingers x'd it'll stick--ya couldn't pay me ta eat a clam at one of those beach-side take out joints--I'd fear it would wake up an' spit some human sludge in my eye!--but I'll fight fer their right to exist in all their glorious greasiness, hand painted signs 'n all!)
My neighbor is a carpenter, and his (adult) son is also a carpenter. I remember the surprised delight on my friend's face when he told me about the day he realized that his son is now a much better carpenter than he is. There is perhaps no joy that can compare with the joy of seeing that your kids are smarter than you are. If you had accepted your kids' advice, you may have lost some pride, but you might have gained something far more valuable.
Wonderful! Loved your list of conundrums we all face on a daily basis, if we let 'it' in. I was writing a piece on how to feed myself the correct things for my body to thrive and was going to hit publish on May 31. Then Trump verdict happened and other personal stuff and I never finished it. But I will, because what we eat matters. I just said this week to a friend...."It doesn't matter what is going on in the world, we are in it but not of it. All we can do is take care of our tribe and pray. It literally and figuratively does us NO good to know all this stuff they want to distract us with. As a matter of fact, it is to our detriment!" And yesterday I spent the day with NO devices and a persistent twitch below my eye that I have had for 3 months went away. I take this as a sign. Cut back, cut off and grow from within. That feeling we get in our gut? It is connected to every other part of our body and we cannot discount its working for our good, even though we may have no clue it is happening. Blessings to you and yours.♥♥♥
Oh god, did I feel Peter’s despair in that maze! I’ve been there! And forced my sheer will to keep going even though my instinct has been telling me to listen to the divine signs.
At the end of the day, as frustrating as it might be to be stuck in the maze, havent we sometimes looked back at the challenge fondly in some way? In gratitude, perhaps, for letting us feel a bit more alive, even as we struggled?
Terrific piece this Sunday. And a happy Father’s Day to Peter. Love to y’all.
A totally great point, Tonika! Yes! A life without struggle is like a play without conflict -- mildly enjoyable, but certainly not memorable. I suppose it's all about balance, yet again. 🙄😂
Thanks for tuning in on this big day for your boys! Can't wait to hear all about it. HFD to Nick, and love coming your way, too.
On the same day as your boys' celebration, Tonika, was my daughter's 32nd birthday, for which her tribe had flown in. Now far-flung by the careers of spouses and the desire to buy houses, and hungry for that nurturing, intuitive face-time, I found myself bragging about my Sisterhood of the Stack. I realized later that I'd spent the whole weekend talking about relationships and maybe that's the female perspective too, along with the intuitive/ mystical.
I created a tucked-away corner where I did Tarot readings, at my daughter's suggestion. Parties are exhausting for me because there are so many topics I'm avoiding. Best to talk about THEM and stay in the intuitive lane. With two of my 'bonus daughters' I found myself reading oracle cards on their relationships with very harsh and difficult mothers. And I told the story of your mother-in-law, Mary. Even before I got to the punch line of the will, Fiona knew you were going to be cut. Combined with my description of you, it illustrated my point that the most lovable people in the world can still get the brunt of rejection and not-good-enough.
So perhaps Peter has been born into a different maze than you. Being the golden child or favored one is its own burden. You have to simultaneously reject that specialness you've been given but find your own self-worth. Here is the easy path--mummy loves me best. But once you go through that wide open pathway, you find you're blocked at the end and have to retrace every turn and find the harder choices.
That takes, I think, logic. Otherwise, how do you separate intuition and self-inflation? Are the kids and you, who are willing to give Peter hints, any different from his mother? In every case, when I'm encouraging the use of logic it's in order to challenge that bribe of 'I'm special' without turning it into a competition where I'm the winner. IMO 100% of the problems we're facing in the world are because of some people being told and treated like they're better than others. That identification is what I call toxic masculinity, although it's women (like these two mothers and your MiL) who use it. Employing logic as tonic masculinity is the way out of the maze, I think and I feel--covering both bases/ hemispheres.
Just the thought of an amusement park automatically depletes me (I'll bet that doesn't surprise you!) but this Puzzle Place looks downright creepy. Mazes freak me out, says the lifelong claustrophobe. But, as always, your analogies are spot-on, Mary. We truly do live in Bizarro World and I find myself retreating more and more into the Trees. It's exhausting thinking about all of these things.
“Aha. This is how our divine guides must feel. Every day, they witness our “earnest striving,” as Rudolf Steiner put it, bumbling around on this crazy planet, unable to see the path from a higher vista and unwilling to ask for help.” Exactly!
Thx for another wonderful essay, Mary. XO
Nope, no surprises there, Barbara. 😂 Stay in the Trees and keep reminding us what it's like there. SOMEONE'S got to stay sane!
Thanks for your support... xox
Well, Mary, I appreciate this today because lately I feel at a complete loss relating to others. I used to be a pretty good social being, but last night, I went to a family party where I barely knew anyone, and I couldn't think of a thing to say or a question to ask. Surly there must be language for what we are going through, but maybe not. Maybe I need to create "Funhouse cards" and ask, "Would you like one of my cards?" And let the image speak for itself. Then, I could have empty ones, and hand them a pen and say, would you like to draw your funhouse card?
At any rate, last night after the party I was so exhausted from not socializing that I slept for 12 hours!
Oh my, do I hear you. Peter and I were invited to a neighbor's house for dinner six months ago or more, and it was excruciating. Lovely people, nothing to talk about. And like you, I'm pretty capable of keeping the ball rolling; this was like tooth extraction. By the end of three hours I was exhausted, too. 😳
BUT... your "funhouse cards" are GENIUS! I've got some ideas for what to put on them, but I think they're all too inflammatory. 😂 What kinds of images would you choose? I'm curious.
Since your writing inspired me I’ve been thinking about it…I think ALL the emotions will be well represented! But I also want to tell mini stories too like…Katherine Watt connecting the legal dots to make the case that the legal framework was carefully put in place and paved the way for the plandemic…yeah, little card “bombs” like that…
Ooh... yes! I love your vision for it. Let me know if you decide to do it...
I did a little sketch as a way to get the juices flowing…I don’t know how to send it to you?
Just sent you a direct message
Haha, I had a similar challenge and used Tarot/ oracle cards to talk about THEM, see my reply to Tonika above. That likely wouldn't work with neighbors but there are games made for getting to know people. One is called "We're Not Really Strangers" (not the couples version).
I still had to duck out a few times to check my computer, just so I could get in some real conversations before I got into trouble. And yes! Totally exhausting. Maybe your funhouse cards could be memes that they pick, none of which are confrontational but just funny and the kind where you shake your heads together over the insanity from both sides. Great idea of yours!
I never heard of 'Puzzling World' but what an apt description for these days. Beautiful essay on where we are and the difficulties it brings.
"What should I eat? Does recycling making any difference? Is gender the same as sex? Who’s really running this country? What news source should I believe? Is the national debt real? Is the sun harmful? How should I cure my cancer? Why are teens suicidal? Does voting matter?"
Funny not funny and this is exactly what's happening. Previous assumptions undermined. Everything up for question.
(Oh, yeah you can one-up Einstein!) And those qualities
Thank you for honing in and also offering hope - may the seeds of compassion for our mutual puzzle grown exponentially. Best.
Thanks for the gracious comment, Kathleen. I've been inspired by your own 'stack, where you've done a masterful job yourself of describing the current varying vibrational realities that engulf us.
These waters are uncharted, I think. Of course I can't know that for sure, but when I say they are I somehow feel better. 😊
xox
I gave my daughter a birthday card with an Einstein quote I'd never heard: "There are only two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle; the other is as though everything is a miracle." In looking it up, other sites say it's a fake and doesn't sound like Einstein (and I agree with the latter). Curiously the photo that comes up with it is Elsa Einstein.
So maybe Elsa can one-up Einstein ;-)
I watched a documentary on Einstein. It was very thought provoking to say the least. Being the weirdo that I am I also watched a Great Courses series on The Black Death and found it really good. The more things change the more things stay the same. Eyeroll. Plus, I can't heart any comments with my Chicken browser aka Brave.
Such a great analogy! Like wizards, technocratic totalitarians have created this puzzle world simulacrum to destabilize our minds and make us easier to manipulate through fear.
We can only do our best to dismantle the fake reality by defending truth while remaining curious and taking ourselves lightly. Remembering that Eternal Principles transcend our death and that natural rights cannot be wished away with the utopian conjuring of 1% of the 1% who are mere mortals.
Our minds may be warped by the myth of modernity (eternal progress!) But Reality remains the same. Check out this article for tips on communicating with sleepwalkers without incurring their wrath:
https://thetollonline.com/2024/02/07/the-recognition-of-reality-destroys-the-dystopian-dreams-of-the-borg/
Thank you Amazing Mary!🤩
Yesss... "remaining curious and taking ourselves lightly." Brilliant and true.
And thanks for the tips -- I'm going to check those out, for SURE.
Grateful for you, Grace-filled Katie! xox
Perfect analogy and artful story. Somewhere I read a perspective from someone who grew up in a country controlled by propaganda and a government that sponsored it. It felt just like this, with alternate versions of reality presumably between propaganda buyers and their more evolved neighbors, friends, and family members.
One of the pieces of my "awakening" to the truth of covid was talking with a guy who owned a breakfast place in our small town in NYS. He was from eastern Europe, a country like the one you describe, and he could see EXACTLY what was going on. His description of the similarities between his country and ours had a huge effect on me. By the time we had our house on the market, he had already sold the restaurant and had left town...
I blame Big Tech for the funhouse. Journalists were once paid by the word; they received royalties and payments from the sales of foreign rights. Today, that is no longer the case. Although Facebook and the partisan websites provide convenient straw men for “fake news” critics, we should not forget that The New York Times also publishes serial fabrications (Jason Blair, Judith Miller, Hunter's laptop is Russian disinfo) . “New media” outlets (Huffington Post, Vice, and others) replaced professional, career reporters with amateurs who are willing to forgo fair pay in exchange for exposure. With the 24-hour news cycle, what passes for journalism today is largely public relations. National consciousness is no longer determined by exposure to intellectual quality, but by popularity in the form of Internet traffic and mysterious algorithms understood only by Google. Internet and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier laid bare the implications of this model: “Funding a civilization through advertising is like trying to get nutrition by connecting a tube from one’s anus to one’s mouth. The body starts consuming itself. That is what we are doing online.”
100% and so well said, Peter. Public relations and straight-up entertainment.
Wow... the quote from Lanier! How grotesque and how true! Thanks for adding to the conversation; I appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks Mary, I recycled much of it from the mission statement of my non profit Fainting Robin Foundation. I set up Fainting Robin in 2018 to help independent journalists, scholars and others: http://www.faintingrobin.org/mission-statement.html
We have been able to do some good.
Thanks for the link; I just read about the organization. Fantastic! I love what Steel said about your career: "...scholarship at the service of historical accountability and public understanding." It feels to me like the difference between the renunciate path and the householder path within the context of religion/spirituality. You can either spend your life praying on top of a mountain to find God, or you can spend it among human beings who could benefit from your insights and effort. The world needs both... and it seems like you've found the one that serves you.
Glad you're here. M
♥ Spot on.
How about this:
God works through others when the task requires an extra set of hands.
He speaks directly to us; we just need to shut up & listen.
I think that's perfect. Thank you. 🙏
Mary, you and Peter really didn't lose that contest, you were all winners. Obviously, you guys must have taught your kids how to take on a challenge using their own creative talents and critical thinking skills to solve the problem, which they did together as a team. What more could you hope for your kids? Than to see them not only meeting their challenges, but exceeding them. Maybe that's the "leveling up" part? and that's what gives us all hope.
This was really good, Mary. I totally loved it! xox
BTW, I could really relate to that Blockbuster Effect.
That's a terrific take on all this, Rocket, and one that I hadn't considered. You're right -- it does give me hope!
YES, the Effect still dogs me to this day. Had a mini-breakdown yesterday, in fact, in trying to decide what to write about next. Oy vey. 😂
Thanks for reading, and for the comment! xox
Thank you, Mary. I’m sharing this far and wide!
😊🙏
I'm grateful, Richard! xox
So apt an analogy--indeedy! an' it's like each fambly member is given a separate piece of a larger puzzle (or path) an' expected to complete the picture without the stability of the reference image on the dang box--an' leavin' teamwork up to each individual (with some splittin' off, some combinin' forces, some usin' logic, others intuition!) -- I'm glad it mostly turned out alright in the Funhouse--an' better yet in yer marriage!
It's all kinda like goin' on a vacation together an' then each fambly member bein' led by a separate tour guide! (an' not sure if ya end up at the same destination end of the day!)
Many of us (me!) are game for a consciously chosen Fun House (I'm no fan of rides, but I LOVE all the rest--ol' Fun Houses, Coney Island "side shows" an' all the fake "marvels"--Ripley's etc) I feel that now tho'--as ya said, we're in a maze not of our choosin'--it IS disorientin' and we know that we cannot trust who's steerin' the boat we're on--versus bein' in an official funhouse where ya know you will not DIE or be left to PERISH or git eaten by a Minotaur--like we knew you'd end up at the "egress" eventually! Now, we ain't sure if there even IS an egress!
Re the story...I'm laffin'--yeah, it's a male brain thing too (not to sound sexist) but to map things out an' find the "formula" or the "right way." I have been born with NO innate sense of direction whatever--I cannot fer the life of me use a GPS. I like old fashioned maps an' I TURN THEM (physically) to make my way 'round (still!) I use things like landmarks, stores (right at the Citco gas station...), stuff that stands out (insane traffic circle, that's where ya turn). So my husband cannot tell me how ta git anywhere as he uses compass points an' mileage that are meanin'less ta me. Just as you an' Pete figgered out stuff on totally different wavelengths! I have no qualms 'bout stoppin' an' asking for directions. Hubby--the polar oppy-sit --("sits" oppositionally!)--he's often game for fun stuff thankfully--but a maze like that--no patience neither. An' too proud to ask for help!
Me, I'm also "intuitional"--it leaves me drivin' in circles sometimes but usually I make it out alive (lol).. But that's how we navigate this "crisis" ongoin' too--our higher "faith" however we customize it, our "spidey sense"--I use my gut feelin' bout folks--at least I try! I watch as some are led down paths by pundits (pun-ditz but often it ain't funny if they're dangerous)--some ugly. A few of us catch wise, others...never seem ta do so... but we're all bein' played, that's for sure!
The Hall of Mirrors is velly much the poifect analogy tho--as we all see ourselves reflected in a seemingly never-endin' path that (we gotta keep rememberin'!) is finite--does have an exit--an' exists in the "real" far beyond our illusions (all types!)
Meet 'cha on Surf Ave... there's still one rickety funhouse left at Coney! ;-)
Thanks so much for your entertaining, wise observations, Daisy. Always appreciated!
It doesn't surprise me that your instincts are keenly developed, even if your sense of direction isn't. Hey, maybe those two go hand in hand? Like, you're gifted with intuition so that you don't get hopelessly lost...? That's what I tell myself, anyway. 😂
Great point about the seemingly infinity of the path. Someday we'll all exit the stage to the real reality.
I'd meet you on Surf Ave so happily! xox
lol, thx! nope, I've gotten "hopelessly lost" but then I manage to find myself-- dunno
how-- even in "foreign lands"--I wish I had that doggie sense tho'--"they know!"
Yup, we cannot see the clear path--but I think we gals know how ta use our own (innate) intuition as to what's real--what's not--even with them obscurin' the lines to muck us up!--We'll exit stage right but re-enter stage left (I hope! for genuine shows--nothin' synthetic! may that happen, right)
On Surf Ave it is! (an' let's hope the developers that hungrily are tryin' ta reinvent that neib--shamelessly--continue to fail--folks want the cheesy rides, the "haunted house," that ol' fun house yet, AND the funky beach--I do hope New Yawkers don't let 'em steal it like they've done in other parts!)
I hope the developers leave it alone, too. The mall-ification of this country, including NYC, is tragic.
On another note, I think "Exiting SL, Re-Entering SR" would make an EXCELLENT name for your memoir, Daisy!!
lol re the memoir! (an' yup, ditto re Coney--they did put up some fugly overpriced over-tall con-doze but the regular folks got ticked off at the plans to reinvent the amusement park -- an' charge triple!--an' redo the boardwalk like it wuz Beverly Hills--so it's dirty an' funky like always yet! Fingers x'd it'll stick--ya couldn't pay me ta eat a clam at one of those beach-side take out joints--I'd fear it would wake up an' spit some human sludge in my eye!--but I'll fight fer their right to exist in all their glorious greasiness, hand painted signs 'n all!)
Let's hear it for "regular folks!" Glorious greasiness has its place too...😂
Excellent piece. Thank you!
Appreciate your comment, Glen!
My neighbor is a carpenter, and his (adult) son is also a carpenter. I remember the surprised delight on my friend's face when he told me about the day he realized that his son is now a much better carpenter than he is. There is perhaps no joy that can compare with the joy of seeing that your kids are smarter than you are. If you had accepted your kids' advice, you may have lost some pride, but you might have gained something far more valuable.
True that! Parenthood for me has been the greatest teacher, and humility the greatest lesson. Thanks for the reminder, David.
Wonderful! Loved your list of conundrums we all face on a daily basis, if we let 'it' in. I was writing a piece on how to feed myself the correct things for my body to thrive and was going to hit publish on May 31. Then Trump verdict happened and other personal stuff and I never finished it. But I will, because what we eat matters. I just said this week to a friend...."It doesn't matter what is going on in the world, we are in it but not of it. All we can do is take care of our tribe and pray. It literally and figuratively does us NO good to know all this stuff they want to distract us with. As a matter of fact, it is to our detriment!" And yesterday I spent the day with NO devices and a persistent twitch below my eye that I have had for 3 months went away. I take this as a sign. Cut back, cut off and grow from within. That feeling we get in our gut? It is connected to every other part of our body and we cannot discount its working for our good, even though we may have no clue it is happening. Blessings to you and yours.♥♥♥