SoCS: Morning Has Broken, Names, and 30 Days of Thankfulness

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “morning.”

 Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Morning has broken, but it’s not broken. It still works just fine. I however do not often see the break of day as I am not a morning person unless absolutely necessary. Or meaningful. It takes a lot to get me up at the crack of dawn or to sleep before midnight.

“Morning has Broken” was first written as a hymn in the early 1900s. Then Cat Stevens made it a pop hit in the early 70s. The hymn doesn’t have the exact same notes, but pretty close. Cat added at least two extra notes in the second mention of morning, (mo-or-or-ning) compared to what I’ve seen in the hymnal. Most of us still sing it the Cat Stevens way.

I just stepped out of the stream of consciousness, having been pulled out by the stream of curiosity, to discover from Wikipedia, that Cat Stevens was born Steven Demetre Georgiou in London. He later took the stage name, of Cat Stevens and now goes by Yusuf Islam. I’m not going to research why, though I could guess, as I am back in the stream of consciousness.

Cat Stevens, as I will always think of him, is a pretty cool dude for someone who has had three names. But maybe that’s an okay thing. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could change our names whenever something significant prompted us to do so? A few of you know that my government name is Joanne, but I choose to be JoAnna here on my blog, because I like it better with the a the end. JoAnna of the Forest. In real life, I have a mini forest in my backyard. The neighbors might say the front yard, too, though it’s very mini.

If you could choose your name, what would it be?

Glinda is a nice name. It floats like a bubble…. I have forgotten the prompt. Must’ve lost it in the stream. Curiosity made me peek. Morning! Morning Star was one of the first veggie burgers. Now, I like Gardein vegan burgers. The Morning Star “sausages” are pretty good.

Does anyone open presents or go to church on Christmas morning anymore? Maybe people with kids. Seems like most of the Christmas stuff goes on on Christmas Eve. That’s good for a night owl. Then you can sleep in on Christmas morning. But wait! One holiday at a time! We haven’t had Thanksgiving yet!

Here’s a little thing I found on Facebook that I’m doing as the month goes along:

Let me see if I can do this in a SoC way without thinking about it. These are things I’m thankful for:

Person: David, animal: dog (Marley, and all of them!), cozy place: by the fireplace with candles or a campfire. Favorite snack: Skinny popcorn. Place: home. Shoes: Oofos! Scent: honeysuckle, pine, clove. Restaurant: vegan. Blog: hard to pick, but I visit http://derrickjknight.com/ daily. (Before that it was: Natalie Scarberry) Time of day: late afternoon. Tradition: Christmas Eve music and It’s a Wonderful Life. Gadget: blender. Something old: my old body. Something new: My compression nano socks. Experience: scuba diving a long time ago. Recipe: lentil wellington. Store: whole foods for good stuff and dollar general for convenience. Quote: Jeremiah 29:11 (God has a good plan for you.) clothing: stretchy yoga pants. Keepsake: My parents’ photo albums. Disappointment/Fear: I’m now thankful for my divorce and time alone to love me again. Book: The Bible and The Language of Letting Go. and many more. Feeling: Joy. Photo: the polaroid Caroline took of me and David in ’72 which became my book cover. Luxury: TV/movies. Charity: The ones that help animals. Song: “Let it Be.” Gift: Mother Earth. Something at Home: Toilet Paper! Most thankful for: Life.

Whew! That too longer than I thought. Thanks for reading.

Here’s a whimsical video:

~~~

For more streams and SoCS rules,

visit our host, Linda Hill by clicking HERE.

SoCS: Not Knowing and Being Thankful

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “a word that contains a silent letter.” Choose a word that contains a silent letter and use it in your post, or write about words with silent letters in general. Enjoy!

I just don’t know why so many words have a silent k at the front. We could differentiate no from the knowledge know with noe. Wait Why does knowledge have a k in front? You know what? I don’t care. Much. We have to prioritize our cares.

I still don’t know why I was so sick over the past week. Thought it must be covid, but nope. Two negative test results. I’m about 75% better now, thank God. But there were a couple days of headaches and chills when I got in touch with my own mortality. Thank you, God that the mysterious rash did not itch. It’s the rash that made me heed the suggestions of friends and go to the doctor Friday for further investigation in spite of feeling better – ish. We decided I will go back Monday for tests since the West Nile Virus antibodies take 8 days to show up. I look forward to getting my energy back to where it was. I miss walking Marley. I used to complain about being tired. Now, I’m looking forward to that level of energy which was good compared to what the mystery virus took from me.

Enough of that! I am thankful for what I have. Not knowing can be okay. Some things might even be better not to know. I didn’t used to believe that. But now, there is only so much room in this brain.

Not knowing much about Queen Elizabeth, it was nice to learn she worked on vehicles during the war and worked to help pay for her wedding dress. Plus, she loved animals, at least dogs, especially corgis. And here’s a humble quote from the queen:

“Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.”

— Queen Elizabeth II

Speaking of not taking ourselves too seriously, when I was about five or six years old, I asked my mother if Queen Elizabeth and Elizabeth Taylor were the same person. Mom laughed out loud and told me no, they were two different people. I didn’t know why it was a funny question. Now, I kinda get it.

Please feel free to join me in taking a moment to pray and/or send strength and comfort to the people and animals suffering from disasters around the world, especially in Pakistan, Ukraine, California, and Kentucky.

We are all part of the web of life. “Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” (Chief Seattle)

Below is one of the many golden webs around my home made by what I call banana spiders. This one was well over my head. I cropped it to see it better.

Banana Spider

~~~

For more streams of consciousness and to learn more,

visit our host, Linda G. Hill, but clicking HERE.

Good News Tuesday for August 23, 2022: Free Student Meals in California, Sorghum is Thriving, Hope for Sea Turtles, and a Flight Crew of all Black Women Honors Bessie Coleman

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

California Will be the First US State to Offer Free Meals to All Students

California’s Universal Meals Program will give all public school students access to free breakfast and lunch. The state of Maine is developing a similar program. ABC News has details.

…

Gluten Free, Drought Resistant Sorghum is Thriving in France

Sorghum is the gluten-free, drought resistant grain that needs little fertilizer and less pesticide. Eudes Coutte, a sorghum farmer in France, has had only a slight decrease in crop yield during the drougth but has the advantages of spending less on irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizer. The Good News Network has more.

…

Hope for Sea Turtles

The US state of Georgia set a new state record for the number of sea turtle nests last week with 3,966 nests being observed. You can read more about the endangered sea turtles and the work to protect them in this article from CNN.

Meanwhile, the first sea turtle nest was found on a Mississippi beach since 2018. Oil spills hurt the sea turtle populations in 2010 and 2019. ABC News has more.

Sea turtles are protected in the US. It’s important to keep their environments safe and clean and to turn off beach facing lights during hatching season so as not to confuse hatchlings trying to get to the ocean.

…

Celebrating Bessie Coleman with a Flight Crew of All Black Women

Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to get a pilot’s license. One-hundred years later, American Airlines celebrated her achievement with an honorary flight from Dallas, Texas to Phoenix, Arizona with a crew of all black women. Watch this video to learn more and join in the celebration:

…

Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news in the comments!

One-Liner Wednesday: Has Gratitude Ever Kept You Awake at Night?

“Has gratitude ever kept you awake at night?”

Reverend Patti Mary asked this question in her sermon on Sunday. I thought she was quoting Curtis Almquist since she had referred to his book The Twelve Days of Christmas, Unwrapping the Gifts. The question, “Has gratitude ever kept you awake at night?” was not in his chapter on gratitude, so maybe it was from Almquist, or maybe it was from Patti Mary.

My answer is, gratitude has not kept me awake for long, so I need to count my blessings when worries and questions are doing summersaults in my heat at 2AM.

What I did find in the chapter on gratitude, was Almquist quoting Rilke:

“I would like to beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to live the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms of books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live therm. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Oh, I’ve noticed it living into the answer, I just need to remember to trust the timing.

Live the questions, but don’t let them keep you awake at night.

One Liner Wednesday is hosted by Linda Hill who is a blessing. For more one-liners visit Linda’s post here.

SoCS: Living Color!

Our Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt for today is…. ““black, gray, and white.” Use one, use ’em all. Bonus points if you use all three. Have fun!“

There are a lot of colors in between black and white. Not just gray which some people spell, grey. I go back and forth. Most of the world, and most skin colors, are something other than black black and white white. Though it’s okay if your skin is black or white, but most people are not. Most people seem to be some combination of brown, pink, white, black, yellow, orange, red…… and then there are the green folks on the planet whose name I forget from the movie Avatar which is full of wonderful colors!

Some people like black and white photos. I like some other colors in photos. There’s a thing now where people are painting their rooms gray – sort of a dark gray. That might be okay for an office. Neutral can be good, but I think it would get boring in a house.

When I was a little kid, all we had was black, white, and grays on the TV. Even Lassie was in black and white, but I loved that show anyway, and cried when it was over. Now, I prefer color, unless I’m watching an OLD movie, like, It’s a Wonderful Life. I LOVE Christmas movies!

It’s a Wonderful Life does a pretty good job with black, white and gray, plus George Bailey’s imagination!

Color is one of the top ten things I am thankful for.

Living color!

This was a big deal in the 60s!

I’m thankful for Linda Hill, our SoCS host and her weekly prompts and our colorful wordpress community!

Happy Thanks Giving!

For more streams of consciousness, rules and guidelines, visit Linda Hill’s SoCS prompt post!

SoCS: Thanking All Body Parts

Here’s our most excellent prompt from our most excellent SoCS host, Linda Hill:

….“body parts.” Pick a body part and talk about it. 

I can tell you right now, I can’t pick just one. But I can say thank you to all my body parts:

Thank you to my gut for telling me when I’m stressed and need to run away or play, or just rest.

Thank you to my heart for being strong and steady.

Thank you to my feet. I know now you have bone spurs in the heels. I am trying to take good care of you. I hope you like the TLC cushiony shoes. I will not walk long distances on pavement or go barefoot any more. I’m grateful the plantar fascitis is finally getting better.

Thank you to my legs for letting me know I need more magnesium and not aching so much at night since. And water probably helps.

Water. Thank you water. I know my body needs more water, more often. Thank you, body for letting me know by getting tired.

Thank you to my hips, flat and wide as you are, you have made room for babies and make my waist look smaller, even though it seems to be getting bigger. Oh well.

Thank you to my back. I know I complain about you, but you’ve had a lot of work to do over these 60 something years, and you let me know when you really need to stretch out and decompress.

Thank you for my neck and shoulders, what a work out you’ve had. Holding up so much weight. I hope you like the stretches, too.

I can’t forget the breasts. Such a mixed relationship we have. Yes, gravity has taken its toll on you ladies, but you have served me well and fed two babies. Thank you.

Thank you for my lips. I know you seem to be disappearing, but we have had many nice kisses over the years and you still know how to sing and speak well when the brain cooperates. Thank you to my throat and vocal chords and the fun with songs.

Thank you to my cheekbones, known as one of my best features.

Thank you to my freckles. I know I didn’t like you when I was young, but now I know they are angel kisses.

Thank you to my skin. I’m sorry I have abused you in the sun for so long. Thank you for teaching me acceptance with all these lines and wrinkles.

Thank you to my soft, hazel eyes that came from my mother. You’ve taught me acceptance, too. Aren’t you glad I don’t use mascara any more? Thank you for teaching me to see the beauty all around us.

Thank you to my nose and ears giving me delightful smells and sounds to enjoy, or warnings when needed.

Thank you to my hair which still has some red in it. Thinner, but still long and wavy.

Thank you to my old bones, thinner too, but still strong. I’m doing better at taking care of you. Thank you for supporting me still.

Thank you to all my body parts I haven’t mentioned, like the private ones. You ….. What can I say…. Thank you for warning me, or trying to, during the stressful relationships of the past that were not right for me. You knew all along. Thank you for letting my babies out and for holding things together all these years.

Thank you to my lungs. I’m sorry for what I did to you in my twenties. Thank you for still helping me breathe well. You like the yoga right? I know, deep breaths beyond yoga.

Thank you to my brain. I know I need to work to keep you in shape, but you still got it when it matters most. Thank you for being flexible and open minded, but helping me along the way.

Oh, how could I forget! Thank you to my hands and arms. You have worked so hard and rebelled during the hardest years, but you healed enough to be able to keep on expressing my thoughts here on this computer. I know you have hated it at times, but it’s better now. Thank you! I’ll try to take it easy on the yard work, pace myself, and wear gloves! What’s that? Okay, I’ll give you more lotion.

Freckles, wrinkles, and all.

Resting body parts

The pokeweed rash is get better thanks to an updated prednisone Rx. Since my plantar fascitis is finally almost gone, I’ve been able to walk more. Here are some places we’ve walked lately:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For more streams of consciousness, rules, etc. visit our host, Linda Hill here.

Good News Tuesday for August 17, 2021: A Kidney Donation Beyond Borders, Stories of Gratitude, Peseverance, and Trust from the Olympics, and Choosing Your Own Headline

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Israeli Teacher Donates Kidney to Palestinian Boy

Idit Harel Segal, an Israeli kindergarten teacher and mother-of-three, wanted to do something meaningful for her 50th birthday. She decided to donate a kidney to a 3-year-old Palestinian boy from the Gaza Strip. Read more about Segal and her decision here.

…

Olympic Medal Winner Expresses Gratitude for Truck Drivers

India’s Mirabai Chanu who won an olympic silver medal for weightlifting expressed appreciation to 150 truck drivers who gave her free rides from her village to the training center 15 miles away. This article from Mint provides details and Mirabai’s reminder: “Never forget a favor.”

…

The Fastest Blind Man in the World

There’s a new documentary coming out about “the fastest blind man in the world.” The film titled Unteathered tells about David Brown who lost his sight by the age of 13 due to Kawasaki disease. Jerome Avery, David’s training buddy of 15 years, was recently inured, so David will have a new trainer in the paralympics next month. You can read more about this extraordinary athlete, trust, and brotherhood in this article from the Good News Network. Be sure to take a look below at the trailer for Unteathered.

…

PS: I found something good on Facebook. It touches on why I do Good News Tuesday:

Got Good News?

Feel free to share your good news headline in the comments!

SoCS: My Not So Wee Accident

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “wee.” Use the word “wee” or find a word that contains it and use it in your post. Have fun!“

I wish I could say I had a wee accident, but that would not be true. I wish I had been able to say, “wee!” as I drove my car into the picnic table, but I was more like, OMG or WTF in a sort of out of body experience. People rushed to see if I was okay. I assured them that I was. Embarrassment and disbelief were my worst injuries.

I remembered pulling into the rest area parking lot on my way to the mountains. I’d stopped about two hours earlier for lunch and stretching and only had two more hours to go in the six hour trip. I remebered looking for a shady parking space, picking one out, turing into it and my car ran over the curb into the sturdy metal rest area picnic table.

Now I know there’s a name for what happened: Pedal confusion. It can happen to anyone, but it happens more in old people. I’m sure being tired was a factor. I stepped on the gas instead of the brake. I still find it hard to believe and embarrassing. It also happens more in confinded areas like parking lots. I’ve actually done this twice before over the years though not recently until two weeks ago. Both previous times, I was pulling into a parking space, but didn’t do any damage as I was able to correct my mistake quick enough. And there were no picnic tables. One person I lamented to said she rear ended someone by stepping on the gas by mistake. I’m glad no one was hurt.

People were very helpful. They called the police, EMS, and even a fire truck just to be safe. In spite of my assurances, EMS checked me out and everything was normal by then. There was a police officer who was very helpful. He said he could get a tow truck faster than AAA’s estimate of 45 minutes. The tow truck arrived in about 20 minutes and the police officer took me (in the cramped back of his police car) to the car rental place and made sure I would get a rental before he left. Maybe it was because I was a older ? woman driving alone. Maybe it was my father’s Bible in the car door pocket. Maybe he’s just a good cop and it was a slow day.

So anyways, I managed to have a good swim in the pool the next day and kayaked on the lake with the goal to stop thinking about the accident (after I had read at least three articles about pedal confusion.) I managed to drive the rental car back home without incident. My messed up car is still 4 hours away and needs a LOT of work. My husband says, that’s why we have insurance. He encouraged me to “get back on the horse.”

Eventually, I’ll have to go back and get my car which makes me nervous. I don’t enjoy driving anymore and talk to myself saying: “My foot is on the break. The break is in the middle.” I stay on the brake as much as possible in parking lots. Once in the parking space, I put on the parking brake. When I move my foot to the gas, I go slow and say, “Easy does it.” It makes me nervous just to write about it.

Deep breath. Another deep breath. Maybe some day, I’ll get my confidence back about driving. But I don’t want to drive long distances if I can help it. I’d rather sit here on the couch and watch TV while petting my cat.

I had prayed for safety and mindfulness at the beginning of the trip. Well, at least I was safe, because I was not hurt. Just my pride. Yeah, so I get more humilty. Okay. I am thankful.

To wrap things up, what does make me go “Wee!” in a fun way? Like swinging high in a swing. I’m not so much of a “wee” person. Maybe the ocean on a day when the waves aren’t too rough and they tickle me with foam. I wouldn’t mind swinging on a rope swing over a lake and jumping in, as long as I know the water is deep. Maybe riding a horse would do it. It’s been a while.

What would make you say, Wee?

Oh, swining a grandbaby on a swing. That would do it!

My granddaughter’s not a baby anymore.

Be safe and be mindful.

Update: Trying to wake up this morning, I stumbled upon this Ted Talk which made me realize my practice of mindful driving has become not so kind and a little bit shaming. So I was thankful for the idea of kind attention Shauna Shapiro shares in this video.

…

For more streams of consciousness, rules, etc. visit Linda Hill at:

https://lindaghill.com/2021/08/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-7-2021/

SoCS: The End Can Also Be the Beginning

Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “the beginning, the end.” Write about the beginning of something and the end of  something. Bonus points if your first sentence contains “the end” and your last sentence contains “the beginning.” <– Read that again. Have fun!

The end can also be the beginning.

The end of COVID could be the beginning of gratitude and appreciation… that’s redundant. And it was going so well at first.

You can start your day (or Stream of Consciousness post) over at any time.

The end of COVID could be the beginning of gratitude for hugs and freedom to travel. Gratitude for the earth and arts we’ve embraced more fully. Gratitude for teachers, health care, and science.

The end of my first marriage was the beginning of a long grief process which had to come before loving myself again, which had to come before any healthy relationship involving romance.

The end of tenth grade was when my first boyfriend left town to move back to Connecticut. That was the beginning of the summer and there was a second boyfriend by the end of the summer.

The end of my daughter’s high school graduation triggered the Universe (directed by God) to direct my first boyfriend from tenth grade to message me, just out of curiosity.

The end of my first boyfriend’s career in 2011 was the beginning of his move to North Carolina with his three crazy dogs.

The end of my career in 2017 was the beginning of finding myself again, my authentic self, coming back home to art and creative pursuits of the heart.

The end of the Trump administration could mean healing the great political divide if we would just listen to each other and stop watching the news. Except for Good News Tuesday here on this blog. Well, maybe we need to watch a little other news. If we could just have FACTS, like, Joe Biden is president of the US, and when COVID vaccines are really available, and where. But I digress.

The end of the news programs, mainstream ones, usually include a bit of good news, which should also be in the middle and in the beginning. Good news, bad news, Good news, bad news, Good news. Like that. Good news in the beginning.

Did you ever have an ending that turned into the beginning?

Stream of Consciousness Saturday and Just Jot January are hosted by Linda Hill. For more information, visit:

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2021 Daily Prompt – Jan. 30th | (lindaghill.com)

A Letter to My Past Self About Reasons to Keep Living

This post is inspired by Eliza at: https://elizajourneythroughlife.home.blog/

I’m sending this back in time to myself whenever it’s needed most, sometime in my late teens or early twenties when I had thoughts about suicide. 

Dear JoAnne, 

It’s me, your future self, writing this to you when I am 65 years old which doesn’t feel as old as I thought it would back then when I was 20. Believe me, there is plenty of life to live. 

I know this is hard time for you. I know you are confused and lost trying to figure out what to do with your life. I know your heart aches and that you’ve had thoughts of giving up. Don’t give up!  It’s very important that you know life will get better. There will be hard times ahead. There will be times when you feel your heart is breaking, but the good times will vastly, surely, and greatly outweigh the bad. When I look back at all the good times over the past 45 years, I am so grateful that I didn’t give up.

You will gradually gain the skills to navigate and overcome the hard times. Things that seem impossible now, will someday be easier or less important. 

There are good times, wonderful times, ahead with the constants in your life: nature, art, writing, dogs, horses, cats, learning, and spirituality. These are the things you need to focus on now – the true loves of your life that always nurture your spirit and feed your soul. There will be love. Love from men, friends, and family. Your parents love you very much, even more than you can realize right now since you haven’t had children, yet, but you will. The love of family and friends is important. For now, don’t worry about the men, especially the ones who act like boys. You deserve love that is kind and caring, mature and strong. It might take a while, but you will have it. For now focus on loving yourself. 

You are valuable! You are worth so much more than you know. You have so much to give to this world with all your gifts, gifts that are still being developed. 

I know you might not want to hear this right now, but God loves you deeply, profoundly and forever. Just trust me on this. Your family is praying for you every day. Let this knowledge strengthen you. I know your ideas about religion are eclectic and nontraditional, and that’s okay. That’s part of who you are. But understand that there is a Higher Power who loves you dearly and has a wonderful plan for you! Trust the timing.

So, forget about men for now.  Remember your dreams. Your dreams may change, but they will always be about helping others and Mother Earth. For now, focus on loving yourself and learning. Cut down on the drinking. Be safe. Go back to college. Feel free to explore different classes, different interests.

There’s a whole world of possibilities waiting for you!

I’m sending big hugs and abundant love across time to you. Be still for a moment and feel it. Then move forward with you wonderful life. I promise your life will be will be interesting, beautiful and full of wonder.  

I love you always, 

JoAnna

…

Today’s Just Jot January topic was, “Letter.” I’m thankful to E for her nudge and patience on this letter and to Linda, our JusJoJan host for getting me to go through my draft ideas to get it written.

For more on Just Jot January, visit: #JusJoJan prompt the 11th – “Letter” | (lindaghill.com)