I hope I die before Libraries are extinct

I am not a literary expert by my or anyone's stretch of imagination but I love libraries; they have been interwoven throughout my adult life.

When I was a student at Colorado State College I worked at the library as work-study employment. My job was to shelve the books. Upon arriving for my shift, I would find the rolling cart where someone else had placed all the returned books, and off I would go - putting books back into their correct Dewey Decimal home in the "stacks." I loved going to work; the smells, the quiet air, the intellectual ambiance, the dark mystique of rows and spaces. Mainly I liked to touch the books and wonder around the stacks looking at titles.

Thirty years later I lived for nine months in an old schoolhouse bed and breakfast, Noftsger Hill Inn. The owners allowed me to use the library room for my counseling office. I refinished the floors and shelves, bought black leather furniture and an abstract rug, and hung my shingle. It was cozy, and I felt secure and empowered within it's walls.

In 2002, I purchased and restored an old Carnegie Library.  It became my home, a bed and breakfast, and my counseling center. For eight years, it was my safe place, my happy place. I decorated with books and named the rooms after former librarians. It holds the stories of my courageous clients and interesting guests? It was gloriously awesome!

One of the thrills in my life was doing a bit of research at the Harvard library. Sitting in the big oak arm chair at the massive oak table I felt like a little peanut who had just been promoted to organic butter. I remember it clearly; climbing the stairs, smelling the book scents, feeling the smooth wood I'm my skin, the cool air, and my shallow breathing. Little ole me was like walking the halls of wisdom.

I visit libraries whenever I get the chance. Carnegie libraries are always on the top of my list, but today I am enjoying a wingback chair on the second floor of the Copper Queen Library. It has the same familiar, intense attraction.

I can't imagine life without libraries to rescue me from the world, or physical books to touch; it would be so hollow. My prayer for today,"Dear Lord, please let me die before libraries become extinct."

 How silly of me - I know there must be libraries in Heaven.

Until the next time: Live while you  

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

God isn't finished with me yet

I came within inches of having a horrid wreck last night.

Yesterday I drove three hours to watch my 8th grade granddaughter play Volleyball. My drive home to Estes Park was eventful. I was on highway 119, it was around 7:00 p.m., and it was foggy enough for me to have my windshield wipers on slow. I was traveling around 35 mph, there were two vehicles behind me, and as I steered to the right to go around a mountain curve, I lost control on the ice. The car spun around and headed for the left hand shoulder. There was no guardrail, no visible trees; just an obvious drop-off. I was driving a Solstice convertible and I remember thinking, "Oh My God!" I really thought I was going over the edge of the road into the black night seeing nothing that could stop me from going straight down the mountain.

Suddenly, the car turned sharp to the right and stopped abruptly on the gray gravel shoulder with the car facing the highway. I didn't wreck! I pushed on the gas and inched my way off the narrow shoulder and back onto the right lane. The two cars behind me, that had stopped when they saw my loss of control, passed me after I was moving forward with no visible evidence of harm.

During those terrifying seconds, there was no oncoming traffic. Had there been, since I was in their lane of travel and they had no means of seeing me until they rounded the curve, they would have hit me head-on or broad-side, and we both could have gone over the edge.

My left hand automatically flew over my mouth. I crept along the right side of the road for several miles, my hand still over my mouth. I don't remember breathing, or thinking. I do remember whispering, many times, "Thank you sweet Jesus!"

I still had at least 40 miles to drive to get home, and somehow, I did.

I am trying to work my way through the maze of book publishing. I have written My Clients - My Teachers, a book about 54 mental health clients and one therapist disclosing the heart and soul of psychotherapy. I get very discouraged and lost. After my harrowing experience on highway 119, in the dark heavy fog, I know God isn't finished with me yet. I am still here to finish what I have begun and what could help so many people.

Wish me luck, although I think I am about the luckiest person I know right at the moment.

Until the next time: Live while you live 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

Appreciation

Being grateful and feeling authentic appreciation is one of the most successful means of attaining good mental health.

What or who have you appreciated today?

This morning I went for a walk behind the Leid Lodge in Nebraska City. I was grateful for the:
-  hot coffee
-  quiet
-  solitude
-  sun finding its way through the fall leaves
-  solid wooden bridges
-  family of deer who stopped their play long enough to say, "Good morning!"
-  music from the high school marching band practicing on a nearby football field
-  two squirrels playing on the stately oak tree
-  ability to walk
-  beauty of nature
-  fall colors
-  refreshing air
-  ability to see the good around me
-  opportunity to take such a peaceful walk
-  one more memory

I challenge you to make your own appreciation list.....right now!
  

Until the next time: Live while you  

 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

 

Become aware of natural, no-cost education

I think life is about learning and I learn something every day. Following is an incomplete list of what I learned on the afternoon of October 2, and the morning of October 3, 2013:

-  it is okay to be silent......words not spoken are often the most effective communication
-  people you know well can surprise you with unexpected positive or negative behavior
-  God's beauty never ceases to astound me
-  self- confidence ebbs and flows....it is not a constant
-  trust is the number one necessity for building relationships
-  ask questions - an honest answer can save a ton of time and  stimulate encouragement
-  if you want something .... Really want it-you must DO something every day to get it
-  when I feel overwhelmed .....I need help (practice what I preach)
-  Montana is gorgeous!
-  gratitude is the most important source of happiness
-  you can't persuade (get people going in the same direction) unless you use descriptive words
-  the world has gone smart phone - landlines are soon to be obsolete
-  roses carry a universal message....."I love and value you."
-  I REALLY want "My publisher" to be a part of MY vocabulary
-  the Rocky Mountains gives us more shades of green than a box of 120 crayons
-  fairness is important to the young and to the old
-  if we smile, even if we are not happy, we feel better
-  my daughter was my best birthday present ever
-  Few things are more contagious than laughter
-  authentic is my brand word

All of the above came to me in less than 24 hours. Life IS about learning. Pay attention.

What have you learned today?

Until the next time: Live while you live! 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

Choose what replenishes your soul

The sun is shining and we haven't had rain since Monday. Hallelujah!

We all need a new focus. I turned mine to books and visiting with a good friend.

I was thrilled to get to spend two hours at the Tattered Cover, an independent bookstore in downtown Denver. I don't believe there is a place on earth that feeds my soul like a library or bookstore. It must be like a high on drugs; the world and all its darkness leaves my consciousness and I am left with the serenity of knowledge and achievement. It astounds me to see the thousands of books that have been written, edited, published, and marketed. Since I have written a book and have been exploring the publishing world, I know that writing the book is the most enjoyable and the easiest part of the process. I left there with a stack of books and renewed energy.

Yesterday I met a friend for lunch. We laughed and darted back and forth between dozens of subjects, and I left there with gratitude, encouragement, and concrete helpfulness. I was refreshed. I'm not sure why we allow our lives to get so full of everything and anything that we neglect the important things; people and activities that replenish, nourish, and build.

Why do we deny our individual needs and wants? Why don't we stop and think before we say "yes" to something that fills our time but drains our bucket.

We all have choices and if we don't know or control the discrepancies between the would, could, and should of life, we are the only ones to blame.

What do you need to change in your life that has you running like a rat in a race that has no grand prize?


Until the next time: Live while you live! 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

It is raining.....again! I left the town of Sterling, CO this morning and it was pouring rain. I-76 had some flooding before I reached Brush. It is a mess. The poor citizens of Sterling have been on no flush , with no school and no restaurants or food service for over a week.

I say, "UNCLE! Enough already!" We so need a break from the water and flooding and damage. I believe everyone is fine, people are just tired, and their emotional and physical reserves are dwindling thin. I am personally not affected because I am staying with family that has a private septic system, but I can see the stress on the faces of everyone I greet. The tolerance level,  or lack thereof, is growing more evident with each day.

It is easy for me to say, "Hang in there-this too shall pass!" But, I am not suffering like the majority, so I have no way to totally relate to what they are experiencing.

The most I can offer is compassion, sympathy, and a helping hand with a listening ear. I know the waste water situation is critical and now is not my time to be positive and neutralizing. 

I send everyone a virtual side-hug.....my best goes to you all!

Until the next time: Live while you live! 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.

Mother Nature is like a bad parent

I have been in Estes Park, CO during the flood that started on Wednesday, 9-11-13. I have been thankful to have a home on high ground, electricity, internet service, and TV. Many have not been close to being so fortunate.

As the rain stopped and I was able to get out and walk around our damaged little town, I was humbled by the power of Mother Nature. The Big Thompson RAGED; it growled, groaned, roared, and violated everything it touched. It was like a scene in a horror movie. It carried sand, branches, lawn loungers, yard toys, and trees. It pushed bridges, paved highways, houses, boulders, and chunks of mountain over like they were miniatures in a dollhouse.

When it had released the bulk of its adrenalin, it relaxed like the aftermath of a tonic-clonic seizure (formerly known as a grand mal seizure) As the days passed and the water from the Big Thompson, Pouder, and St. Vrain, merged and invaded the northeastern plains, it was more like a thief in the night. It flowed in and spread out, and instead of destroying everything in its path, it filled everything with water, isolated it from services, and left it for someone else to abandon or repair.

I'm not happy with Mother Nature! I think she holds grudges, stores angry emotions, and then unloads. She loves us then she beats on us - literally; just like a bad, volatile parent; one who has a diagnosable personality disorder.

Just my thoughts for this Sunday morning. Writing it helps me face the destruction I will witness on my way to Our Lady of the Mountains.

Until the next time: Live while you live! 

Call 911, without hesitation, if you are in danger of hurting yourself or someone else.