Time

 Rolling so smoothly and every once in a while folding back on himself. This was Grandfather Time’s experience. Mostly, when he folded back it was a pleasant wave of energy and feeling but occasionally it didn’t feel so good. He wondered if it had something to do with that little world.

 Most of the peoples and worlds that he provided with time were happy with these opportunities to repeat their happiness and joys from the past but there was one world he was concerned about.

 This was a world that had unhappiness and misery besides happiness and joy and so, when the moment would come where he would fold back on himself and happiness and joy was repeated on most of the worlds, this one world would sometimes have all kinds of unhappiness and misery that had happened before, happen all over again. 

 He didn’t know what to do about that. He had to continue to fold back on himself because the other worlds were enjoying the experience so much. He wondered if there wasn’t something he could do to resolve the situation on that one world - such a beautiful little world from space, blue and white, very pretty. He wondered again, what can I do so they don’t repeat their unhappiness from the past. 

 “I know, I have an idea and why,” he chuckled to himself, “why in the world, so to speak, didn’t I think of this before?” In that moment he called out to his friend and mate who was in another part of the universe and doing things differently.

 Soon after, Grandmother Time was preparing for her trip to help her old friend. She asked her daughter to carry on for her. Her daughter, Mother Time, said, “I will Momma.”

 Almost immediately upon Grandmother Time’s arrival Grandfather Time asked her, “What can I do about this beautiful little world?” Grandmother Time looked at it. “It is beautiful,” she said.

She thought for a moment and then said, “I know what we could do but we will have to join for a long time and this means you will have to stretch to where I am in my part of the universe and I will have to stretch to where you are in your part of the universe and we can, if we move back and forth slowly like that, I think, create a calming. It will still be beautiful for all the other peoples and worlds as it has been but this way we can create something more gentle that will be more like a ripple instead of a wave.”

 “Ah I see,” Grandfather Time said. “So instead of a sudden wave that can happen when I fold back, things will be calmer and softer. Do you think that maybe the peoples on that world can sort out their problems then?” “I think it’s worth a try,” Grandmother Time said.

 And that’s what they did and they’re working on it now so maybe we can sort out our problems. Let’s give it a try. Happy 2019 and beyond.

The Stairway

When I was growing up we lived in a very old house. It had this rickety stairway that led downstairs from the bedrooms. It had a bannister but it was shaky. Every time you walked on the stairs you felt like they were going to fall down but carpenters and other builders said that the stairs were meant to be free swinging. 

They said that they were actually very sturdy and that each stair supported the other not unlike a rope bridge over a canyon that just had ropes and boards. They said it really was very safe but it would be shaky. 

That’s what they said anyway but I remember having to go down that stairway, especially at night when we had to go downstairs to the bathroom, because the stairway was dark. We had a nightlight upstairs and a small one at the bottom but there wasn’t any way to light the stairway. 

When I was very young I remember several times going down that stairway very slowly at night when I was really frightened but making it all the way down and all the way back up. On the way back up I ran up to the brighter light upstairs. It was always a relief to get there.

One day something happened that was really marvelous. I remember it so well. As I was about to step on the stairs there was a little light there. I didn’t know where it came from but I looked down and there was a light slightly above the stairs just floating there. 

I walked towards it and it seemed kind of friendly, thats the only way I can describe it. So I started walking down the stairs and wonder of wonders, the light kept moving before me and lighting up the stairway. That happened all the way down to the bottom of the stairs. 

When I came back to the staircase I didn’t know whether the light would be there for me but just as I was reaching my foot towards the first stair, there it was and from that day forward going up and down the stairs at night that light was there. 

Everyone in my family saw it too. My sister saw it, my mom saw it and my dad saw it when they went down and back up the stairs.

My little sister always called it Genie because it was like a magical genie to her. Soon we all called it that.

  

All throughout my childhood from that point on Genie was there. I remember once my dad said, “We all love Genie but maybe we ought to rebuild the stairway …,” and that’s as far as he got. All the rest of us said, “No, no, Genie might go away!”

So to this day, even though I’m now all grown up and not as frightened as I used to be as a child and am getting on in years, I still live in that house.

My sister got married and moved away and my folks passed on years ago but when I got married we raised our children in this house. The children got to know Genie on the stairway at night. Its been a magical place that way and we all feel that Genie loves us and we love Genie too.

There’s something special that I’ve learned from Genie and thats that it’s possible to do small things that are really needed and just be yourself when you’re doing them. In this way you can give of yourself while still being who you are. 

I’ve tried to live my life that way doing small things for others as well as doing larger things when needed and to be gracious in giving and receiving.

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May you all have a most pleasant holiday season.

Minor Changes on My Blogs

Laws have changed in the European Union that have to do with some elements on my blogs, so I’ve removed those elements to comply. I hope these removals haven’t inconvenienced you. Do know that I welcome you all to read these blogs. Goodlife

The Question

Todd got out of bed. He looked in the mirror, shook his head. “How could I have gotten this way”, he thought to himself. “I used to be… well I used to be younger, that’s true,” he thought to himself, “…but now? Oh dear, I look like an unmade bed.”

He went to the bathroom, took a shower - a nice long one because it was his day off and he decided he would get dressed up in his best clothes. It had been a very long time since he got dressed up although when he looked at his wardrobe he was concerned that he wouldn’t fit into any of his nicer clothes anymore.

“Well,” he thought, “that’s what elastic waists are for.” He took out some of his old pants that didn’t have much wear because he bought them when he had put on weight and then he took it all off but in recent years he put back some of it - he was pretty sure he didn’t put it all back on. He tried on the elastic pants and wonder of wonders, they were loose! “This is wonderful,” he thought. And he tried on the next smaller size - still loose - and the next size.

You see, Todd is the sort of person who gains weight and looses weight and gains it again and looses it again. Some of you might know someone like that. Some of you might even resemble that but that’s alright, it’s part of life.

After a while, Todd found the size that fit him. It was somewhere between his biggest and his smallest so he didn’t feel too bad about it. Okay, it did have an elastic waist but not the whole waist, just at the sides. “So, that’s okay,” he thought with a smile.

He looked at his shirts and discovered that he did have several shirts that still fit him comfortably. He thought, “I can look nice today. I don’t have to be all rumply as I normally am in my old clothes.”

You see, Todd didn’t have to get all fancied up to do his work because his work was as a woodcarver. As a woodcarver - and he was a very good one - he didn’t have to look fancy but today was a special day. Today was the day he was going to ask his friend, whom he had known all his life - he was going to ask her out on a date. He was a shy person and never had the nerve to do that before but today was the day!

“She won’t be expecting me to look this nice”, he thought. “Normally I just look like, well, that unmade bed.”

So, he got his shoes out and polished them and brushed them to a bright shine. He thought, “It’s probably silly going to the repair shop but still…” nervously mumbling to himself getting ready but adding, “…gotta try, gotta try.”

He drove over to Crumple Repair, excited and nervous, to ask Shelly out on a real date. Everyone at the auto body repair shop knew him and called out to him as he was walking up the driveway.

Slim said, “Here comes Rumply!” “Hi Rumply,” others said and waved. Jack, who’d worked there the longest and worked for Shelly’s dad when he’d started the place, called to Shelly by her nickname at the shop, “Crumply! Rumply’s here only he looks different. Wonder what’s up?”

Shelly looked up from the dent she was pounding out, gave Todd a big smile and said to him, “You look great! What’s the occasion?”

Todd said, “I’ve known you all my life. Your my best friend in the world but your more than that to me.” Nervously, he continued, “You’re much more than that to me. Would you come out on a date with me? A real date, not just hanging out?”

Shelly got up slowly from the car she had been working on and walked up to Todd. She spread her arms out and they hugged each other. “Oh Shelly, I don’t want to complicate our friendship but I’ve loved you for a long time and just didn’t know how to say it.”

Shelly laughed and said, “I’ve loved you for years but I thought you didn’t feel that way so I made do with friendship. I love you too.”

——————

Valentine’s Day is a time to be reminded of the value of love. Hope you have a most benevolent and lovely day. Goodlife

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(photo: Photo is © B. Kim Barnes, used with permission and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/38102978064/)

Rainbow Rising

Charlie looked out across the open plane. He could see as far as he needed to but he was waiting because in the canyon that was just past the plane, every day about this time it would have a rain shower and he would enjoy watching that even though it didn’t come, most of the time, to where he lived.

He liked to watch it because at this time of day the rainbow would rise. “Oh what a glorious sight that is,” he thought as he relived it in his mind, “It literally starts as light very bright on the ground and then if you don’t know what it is you’re fascinated.”

The first time he saw it he literally ran towards it until he realized it was a rainbow! And up it came and it lasted for as long as the rain shower lasted which is usually about 10 minutes.

“What a beautiful thing, “ he thought, “Mother Earth is such a wonderful mother because even though she provides things that can be challenging and even daunting she also is generous with her gifts.”

“Thank you Mother Earth,” he thought. He looked down as he said that and then he crouched down and touched her dirt and said almost reverently, “Thank you for all your kind gifts you give me.”
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May you also have gifts from Mother Earth and a benevolent 2018. Goodlife

The Feather

She was a special little duck, not too big as ducks go. She had plain but nice and smooth and shiny feathers but there was one thing unusual about her and that’s that on her back, she could reach it so she could clean it and keep it shiny, was a small single red feather. 

Bright red feathers don’t usually show up in a ducks body there, at least not for her nor her relatives and it stuck up, sort of popped up out of the rest of her feathers so it looked a little funny when she was walking around or swimming. Of course when she was flying with friends or family, not many people could see it. It wasn’t a big feather so it didn’t interfere with the way she would fly but she could feel it in the breeze.

She liked to visit the park with her friends and family. A lot of her friends and family would eat the bread or other things that people would throw but she didn’t like to do that. She held back, she knew she was there for a reason but she wasn’t sure what it was. One day the reason showed up and that explained why she had that red feather.

“Over the vista and through the woods. Now, how did that song go?” 

“Grandpa, it’s not over the vista, it’s over the river and through the woods,” Andie said.

“Is that it,” Andie’s Grandpa Jeff asked.

“Yes,” Andie answered.

“Oh well, it’s good I have you around Andie, isn’t it because you can help me to remember the things I used to know and - there was a time when I taught you that song.”

“That’s right Grandpa. Sorry, I shouldn’t have made such a fuss,” Andie said apologizing.

“That’s alright, sweetie. Don’t you worry about it. What do you want to do today,” Grandpa asked.

“Well”, she said, “I was thinking, maybe we could walk down to the park - you know the place you like to go and sit on the bench by the ducks, because that duck I was looking for - you know the one the other day?”

“Yes, the one with the funny feather,” Grandpa answered. “That’s right. I was wondering if that duck came back,” Andie responded.

“Well, lets go,” Grandpa said.

“Okay,” Andie answered.

So they put on their jackets. Grandpa Jeff used his extra warm scarf and Andie put on her warm sweater vest. They left the house and walked towards the park. It was only two blocks away but it was a nice walk because on the way, there were several people who had friendly dogs and Andie would say hello to all the dogs and they’d come up wagging their tails. 

One place, Grandpa Jeff said hello to his neighbor Jocelyn who was always very happy to see him and they would linger for a little bit. Andie would smile shyly and look at the ground and hope that someday her grandfather and this sweet lady Jocelyn would get together. “They’d make a sweet couple,” Andi thought to herself.

They got to the park and settled down on their favorite bench. Not too many other people were around, just the regulars that came there every day. They waved cheerfully to all the regulars and the regulars waved back and they settled in and waited for the ducks to come.

The ducks always came at the same time of day. Andie figured that they probably had other places they wanted to visit. Grandpa figured that they had other places where they could get goodies and they would go on tour to various places where they could get some foods they liked. 

Andie and her grandfather would always bring special food that they got at the pet store that was just for ducks. It gave them all of the nutrients they needed to be healthy. So they felt good about feeding the ducks and knowing that they were helping them too.

Soon the ducks showed up and lo and behold there was the duck with the different feather.

“What do you think that means, grandpa?” “Well you know, it is funny. You wouldn’t expect a red feather to be sticking out of a duck in that place. It’s just a mystery, isn’t it”, Grandpa responded to Andie. “It sure is,” Andie answered. Grandpa continued, “I don’t know what that red feather means but I wonder.”

Soon the ducks came out of the water towards them because they knew that they were going to get their good food. Several of them came over including the little duck with the red feather. 

Andie’s grandpa Jeff and Andie spread out the food for them and most of the ducks started eating except the little duck with the red feather who walked right up to Andie, turned around and pecked at the feather and pulled it out. She dropped it right at Andie’s feet.

Grandpa looked over at Andie and looked at the little duck and said, “I think that’s meant as a gift for you.” Andie responded quietly, “I think so too. Should I reach right down and pick it up now?” “I would,” Grandpa answered.

Andie slowly reached down and got the feather and watched the little duck and noticed that the duck watched her all the way and when she picked up the feather she held it for a moment and little duck kept watching her.

“You know…,” said Grandpa, “…I think she wants you to do something with it.” Andie answered, “I know this sounds silly but I feel like putting it in my hair.” Grandpa responded, “Go ahead.”

She stuck it in her hair and the little duck looked at Andie and then at grandpa Jeff. She looked back at Andie one more time and nodded her head and turned around and went back in the water.

“What does it mean, grandpa?”

“I’m not sure what it means…,” Grandpa said, “…but I think it must mean something good.”

Well, they went home after that and they talked it over that night - what could it mean - but they didn’t know so they each went to bed and had a good nights sleep and looked forward to going to the park again the next day.

Sure enough, the next day they looked at each other and smiled. Andie was wearing the red feather. She had dusted it off and found a way to put it in her hair so it wouldn’t blow away.

“Oh, that looks nice,” Grandpa said. “Thank you. I’m not sure if it’ll stay there but I have it sort of connected to a scrunchy and I think it might,” Andie replied.

“It’s a beautiful gift and not a bad looking gift giver,” Grandpa said with a smile.“Not bad looking at all,” Andie said cheerfully.

They walked on towards the park and Andie said hello to the friendly dogs and then they got to the house where Jocelyn lived but she wasn’t sitting out on the porch as usual. Andie noticed that her grandfather looked disappointed but they walked on. 

A half a block away from the park they saw Jocelyn at a distance walking towards them from a side street. As she got closer she said, “How do you like my new Christmas hat?”

Grandpa Jeff and Andie glanced at each other, then looked at Jocelyn. Grandpa Jeff said, “My, that’s a beautiful big red feather on your hat.” Jocelyn answered, “Thank you, and what a nice red feather in your hair, Andie.”

“We really want to tell you all about what happened at the park yesterday,” Jeff said. And soon they were talking and laughing like old friends.

Soaring in the sky a little ways overhead, little duck smiled and knew that the little girl and the old man would soon be happy with the lady.

——————

Happy Holidays to you all as well. 

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Photo is © B. Kim Barnes, used with permission, and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/30687841335/in/album-72157656268292266/

Beyond the Edges

Bill looked over the edge. He was always afraid to do that because when he looked over the edge he could see all his dreams and it just made him nervous. 

On the one hand he was excited and happy when he saw his good dreams but on the other hand, sometimes he would see those scary dreams and it just made him nervous. 

He’d always been able to look over the edge before he fell asleep but he’d never been able to stop himself from falling asleep just at the point where he could look over the edge. 

He called it looking over the edge because it was that point between being awake or being asleep. There was that midpoint where he could feel himself sinking into sleep and he called that the edge. 

One morning he woke up and he’d had a good dream and he felt relaxed and happy and he just enjoyed those feelings for a while. Then he heard a voice in his head saying, “There is a way you can experience only good dreams.” Bill said, “Who’s that?” And the voice said, “I’m your conscience, I’m also your soul and I have a gift for you.” 

“Really?” Bill thought wonderingly to himself though it felt like part of a conversation. “Yes, really…”, Bill’s conscience replied, “…this is what to do when you’re looking over the edge. You’ve noticed how in the past when you look at your happy dreams they’re always on the right side and when you look at your unhappy dreams they’re always on the left side.” 

“Yes, now that you mention it,” Bill answered. Bill’s conscience continued, “Well, this is what to do. From now on when you look over the edge, look only at the right side and then while you look at the right side, drag it across so that it’s on the left side too.” 

“Is that possible,” Bill asked. 

“Yes, try it tonight when you’re looking over the edge.” 

That night when he laid down for sleep, he didn’t know whether he could even fall asleep because he was excited to try the new way but sure enough when he started sinking into sleep he looked over the edge and he saw his good dreams on the right side and the scary ones on the left side. 

So he concentrated and looked really hard at his good dreams on the right side and he dragged them over to the left side. He was concerned that that would mean that his bad dreams were on the right side but they weren’t there anymore. His good dreams just filled out the whole panorama of his dreams and everything felt happy. He didn’t know what to think but he was sinking and then he was asleep. 

Bill woke up and he was in his dream. It was a happy dream, the one he loved where he’s climbing to the top of the mountain and it was so easy and he got to the top and he could look around in all the directions - he loved that dream. 

He woke up and he remembered that he’d woken up in the dream too. He’d never woken up in a dream. He was awake, he felt, when he was in the dream, he really felt himself doing that. He wondered if there was a message there. He thought about it and he thought about his life.

He was born with one leg slightly shorter then the other and it had been difficult getting around. It wasn’t a big difference but it was enough of a difference so that if he wore regular shoes that his back or his shoulders or his legs would hurt and so he always wore a special shoe which made it feel better. 

He had to be careful to keep his balance though so he never really climbed up any steep hills or even the trail that went up a mesa near where he lived. Doctors told him that it might be risky or it might be possible, they weren’t sure and so, playing it safe he’d never tried. 

Since it was saturday, the day when he went out and did things or saw friends, he decided that he’d take up a friend’s offer and go on that trail and see if he could make it to the top like in his dream. 

He called his friend, Millie, and he told her that today was the day he was going to try the trail with her and she was excited and said she’d bring everything that they needed - water and food - for a picnic on top and that she would either go first or walk behind him, what ever he wanted. He wanted to walk behind her so he could see how she walked and where she put her feet. 

Millie also brought walking sticks for him so he had something to lean on if he needed it. Well, they started out and the first part was very slightly uphill but he leaned on the walking sticks and it was fine. As time went on and the trail switched back and forth as it often does going on a hike, he needed to lean on the walking sticks more and he had to stop and rest a few times. 

Millie said it would be alright and that they didn’t have to go the whole distance if he didn’t want to but Bill said, “I think I have to try to go the whole distance.” She smiled and said, “Okay.” 

They made it all the way to the top. Bill looked around at the top of the mesa and he could see in all directions and for a moment he felt like he was in his dream again and then he looked at Millie, his good friend and she looked at him and warmth and love spread between them. 

They both knew in that moment that their long friendship was finally going to turn into something closer and certainly, it happened. 

Years later Bill realized that the whole purpose of his climbing the mountain dream, was to learn that some risks are okay to take and the whole purpose of him climbing the trail to the top of the mesa with his closest friend Millie and being there with her and looking in all directions - that being there with her in that moment that he could take the risk and go past friendship and that they could be married and live together and dare he say it - yes - to live happily ever after as they have been doing.

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Sometimes you can go beyond your limits and live happily ever after. Happy Thanksgiving and goodlife to you all.

Candy Corn's Inspiration

“Mmmfffff.” 

“What is that? I can’t make that out.”

“Mmmffffff.”

“What, I can’t hear you. Can’t you speak louder?”

“Mfffmmffffmmmffff!”

“I still can’t hear you. Can you speak louder?”

After a sort of scrabbling, ripping, popping sound from a brightly colored bag came a shout, “Here I am!”

“Ah, there, now I can hear you. Who are you? You’re really different looking.” “I’m Candy Corn,” she said happily.

“You…you’re Candy Corn eh?” “That’s right! Who are you?” “I’m Licorice. Hello.” “What is this place,” Candy Corn asked.

“It’s a grocery store,” said Licorice. “We’re on a shelf. Butterscotch told me something. He said that people will come here and take us to their homes and put us in bags for little people. What do you think of that?”

“Wow! That sounds like fun!”

“Are you always so cheerful and happy,” Licorice said feeling a little overwhelmed by Candy Corn’s enthusiasm.

“I’ve always been like this as far back as I can remember,” Candy Corn answered.

“Well, you are very colorful. Yellow and orange and a little white. A very pleasing effect,” Licorice commented, “I noticed everyone else with you are all the same colors.”

“Yes, we all like to be colorful in the same way. You  have lots of colors too. I see black and red and yellow and all sorts of colors. I like it,” Candy Corn said, “Very stylish.”

“Do you think we have a purpose besides being as sweet as we are,” asked Candy Corn. 

“Well, it seems that people don’t always know how to say nice things to each other or even to talk to each other and sometimes they like to bring out  sweet things like us, candy, that can cheer everybody up,”Licorice responded.

“Now I understand that…” said Candy Corn “…but isn’t there something that can be done so that human beings could still enjoy candy but don’t use it instead of being able to talk to each other?"

“Wow, that’s a pretty profound thought for candy,” said Butterscotch chiming in to the conversation. 

“Still, maybe there is,” Candy Corn continued feeling inspired, “Maybe we could start a new slogan called, Candy or conversation or both!”

“I like that,”Licorice and Butterscotch said together, “That’s good” “Let’s do that,” They all said together in happy excitement.

———————

It’s okay for Halloween to be sweet as well as fun. Hope you have good times, good talks and maybe new friends too. Goodlife 

Happy Returns

He felt like he’d just woken up from a deep dream. He smiled and looked up. Bright blue with a few puffy white clouds and he smiled wider. “Oh, this is perfect,” he thought. 

He looked down towards the villages and cities, for he could see in all directions being at the very top of the mountain. “It looks quiet but there’s sort of a sadness there,” he thought to himself, “I wonder if they’re missing something?” 

Sky, his dog, who had been laying beside him during his long nap looked at him and said, in that special way they had of talking just through their eyes, something that helped him to understand. 

Sky said, “They are missing you. They are missing that naturally happy part of themselves. You don’t remember but you came up here because the people began losing their happiness and since you are the one that holds and protects the peoples happiness you came up here to keep it safe. Do you remember now?” 

“Yes”, said he said, “I do remember that now. Thank you for reminding me. Perhaps we should come down from the mountain.” 

“Yes Hap,” Sky said, “Lets come down from the mountain now and you can sprinkle your happiness all the way down.” 

“How shall I do that,” He asked. Sky said, “The clouds are forming above you now because they will help. So just look at the clouds.” 

Hap looked up at the clouds and soon they became heavy and thick and a slight golden and green color appeared that looked a bit like a rainbow and then there was pink and light blue as well. “Oh, I like those colors the clouds are.” “Yes,” Sky responded, “Very nice. Now just be yourself and look at the clouds.”

Hap was filled with his own happiness and looked at the clouds and soon the clouds spread out all over the land. The mountain, yes, the small villages and the cities and all over the planet and rained lightly. 

Some people remember the rain that came in different colors and felt like it was tingly and after that, people were happy and liked each other and weren’t mad at each other for reasons they couldn’t even remember anymore. Life got better and Hap was able to come down from the mountain with his dog Sky and all was well again. 

May Happiness visit you soon and your town or your city and may it visit all your friends and family and for that to happen in the most benevolent way for you all now. Goodlife

An Unexpected Leaf

Tom crawled out from under the leaf. It had fallen on him and was a complete surprise. He thought he’d never get out from underneath it. 

 “Oof,” he said as he finally got out from under. He didn’t take it personally of course, because leaves do fall and of course they come back again and that’s a great joy of living in the forest. 

 “Renewal,” he thought to himself, “That’s always the way it happens. It’s very unexpected. You come to the end of what ever it is for you and you just sort of go away.” 

 Tom had experienced this himself many times as an earthworm but it was unusual to be a portion of it and of course when the leaf hit him, unexpectedly, on the head and made him a little bit fuzzy there for a minute, he was thinking, “Is this the season?” He looked around and he said, “No, no. This is Spring.” So he was confused. 

 He looked up in the tree. It wasn’t very far up because it was not a very big tree and there sitting on a branch where the leaf may have fallen off was his friend Arnie, the squirrel. 

 “Oh”, he thought. He smiled at Arnie and Arnie laughed. They were old friends. He never thought that Arnie would be able to drop a leaf and it fall exactly on top of him since leaves like to flutter when they fall. 

 Tom laughed out loud and Arnie ran down and they laughed together. Arnie said, “I can’t believe the leaf landed right on top of you.” 

 He laughed as he said, “I’ve been trying to do that for about 3 or 4 leaves and I don’t think you ever noticed it because the leaf just flew by.” 

 “I didn’t notice it,” Tom said. “But this time I couldn’t help but notice it. I’m glad you didn’t pick a really heavy leaf. This one kind of made me a little dizzy.” 

 “Oh, I’m sorry,” Arnie said sincerely, “I didn’t realize I’d hurt you.” Arnie came up close to Tom and brushed Tom gently with his fur. “Does that feel better?” 

 “Oh yes,” Tom said. “Oh, that’s better. Thank you!” 

 “I’m sorry,” Arnie said, “I’ll never do that again, I promise.” 

 Tom said, “Can I trust you on that?” “Yes really,” Arnie replied, “I’ll never play a joke on you again. You’re my best friend. I don’t want to hurt you!”

 “Okay,” Tom said, “I forgive you.” “Arnie offered, “Do you want to go for a ride?” Tom said, “As long as it’s a short one and please not up in the tree.” “Okay,” Arnie replied. 

 “I know you like to go up in the tree, “Tom said, “but it scares me. After all, I live underground most of the time.” 

 “I know”, Arnie said, “that kind of scares me.” They looked at each other and laughed and they both said almost at the same time, “We sure are a couple of strange friends aren’t we.” 

 They both laughed and Arnie laid down and Tom got on and they took a slow walk around the forest. Tom looked around to make sure everything was safe for them and thought that it is a good thing that there are lots of trees so they could walk and be protected by low hanging branches. As he appreciated that he relaxed more riding on his friend.

 Tom said, “That’s a nice ride but I think I’ll go back home now.” “Okay,” Arnie said and carefully went over to where the opening was to Tom’s home. 

 “Arnie asked, “Come out tomorrow and play some time with me?” “Anytime, anytime but tonight I think I’m going to go down to my house and I’m just going to rest and take it easy. With my exciting friend, I can’t do this too often.” 

 They both laughed. Arnie knew that Tom was just kidding and away they both went to their homes.

------------------------------
 Forgive somebody today, it’ll make you feel better and them too. Goodlife

Someday Soon

  Arcan circled over the planet. It was certainly beautiful. Blue and white and green. He’d never seen a planet like that. He got a little closer and he looked at the northern part of the planet. He hadn’t seen that before. There was these beautiful colors just dancing around - it was brilliant and wonderful and marvelous. 
 He got a little closer and he saw some people. He was actually not that far from them. They were pointing in his direction - he wasn’t too surprised.

 He swooped down and settled on a log and the people ran over and they said, “What kind of bird are you” and Arcan thought about that and said, “I’m the bird of change and transformation. I help to bring out the good parts in people and help them to let go of the parts they don’t like so much.”

 “We’re already feeling better,” the people were saying, “It’s wonderful. Will you stay with us for a while.” “I’ll stay for just a little while,” he said and Arcan flew around the places where the people were and then he came back and settled back down on the log and the people were all smiling and sitting down and at that time were having a meal.

 Arcan looked around. They seemed to be happy. Things looked better. The children were playing and not fighting over any toys and everyone seemed to be much better.

 The people waved at Arcan and he flew on. “I wonder where else I have to go on the planet,” he thought and he flew over a body of water.

 It was very vast and since he could float he settled down on the water and pretty soon people who swim in the water - some big, very big and some very small swam up to the surface and they said, “Who are you” and he said, “I am Arcan” and a big swimmer came up and said, “I know this person.”

 Arcan recognized the whale immediately, an old friend. “Good to see you, my friend,” said Arcan. “Yes, good to see you too. I will tell them all about who you are and what you do. You can fly on now if you wish,” whale said. “Thank you,” Arcan said and off he flew.

 He got a little closer to a place where there were many structures, many buildings but he noticed at the top of one building there was a garden. Someone had planted fruits and vegetables and a few flowers just for beauty.

 He swirled around and landed on a small bench and the gardener came over and said, “I have never seen a bird like you,” and Arcan said, “Thank you.” The gardener said, “You seem to have a sort of glow about you.” “Thank you,” said Arcan. “And I can hear you speaking,” said the gardener. “Yes, I hear you as well. Is your life all right,” Arcan said.

 The gardener said, “Well, I come up here to the garden because sometimes people are not pleasant and sometimes I am not pleasant in return and I would like to be different, maybe better.”

 Arcan said, “Here, let me help.” He flew up in the air and swirled around over the gardener and settled back down on the small bench. The gardener said softly, “I feel so much better.” Arcan flew up again and flew around the garden and the fruits and vegetables and flowers glowed a bit.

 “I think,” Arcan said, “I will fly around other places where there is food and maybe I could help to bring about a change for the better.”  The gardener waved at him and off Arcan went and he’s been flying ever since.

 Maybe you’ll see him someday soon.

If Only

Walking across the prairie, the giraffe looked in all directions. He didn’t see anyone except his friend, the little one. Little One was also looking out. They got to a spot where there were a few trees and there were a few birds looking on but they were friends. 

Giraffe looked down at his friend Little One and Little One looked back up and they smiled at each other and Giraffe slowly shrank and got smaller and smaller until he looked just like Little One and they played in the grass and jumped around and found nuts and little foods that they could eat and they had fun and then they went over to the tree and the birds came down and they turned into birds and flew around in the sky with all the other birds. 

Then, after a time they all came back and the birds settled in the trees but Giraffe and Little One settled on the ground and they turned into beings like Little One and then Giraffe slowly got bigger and bigger and bigger until he was his normal size and they looked at each other, Little One and Giraffe, and smiled and Giraffe could see into the trees and the birds were all smiling too with their eyes glittering and they were almost winking, the way birds wink, in a happy way. 

Giraffe thought to himself, “If only people could do this so they could find out what it’s like to be other beings - to be different - to be completely different then what you are but to discover the joy of it as we are able to do by some miracle.”

Giraffe discussed this with his friend, Little One and they said, “If only” and the birds nodded in agreement. 

“Maybe it could happen for people somehow if they imagine it and actually try to feel it - you know - feel what it feels like,” Little One said. Little One looked at Giraffe and Giraffe thought about it and said, “Maybe.” Little One looked at the birds and the birds nodded with their maybe nod. They all smiled at each other. Maybe.

The Place

This is a mystical story of change and transformation. I have written it that way and it has that energy. 

So you will see that there are run on sentences and places where the punctuation needs to be corrected but all the words are spelled right and all you will read will be of the story and of life itself. 

I hope you like it. It has affected me in a benevolent way and may it be the same for you.

Goodlife

Upon awakening from the deepest sleep he’d ever known he had a vision. It was a village high up in the mountain. He knew he’d been there once before but he couldn’t remember why but he was young and strong and so he decided to pack a good lunch and take a few extra things - water and things he might need for a good long day hike. 

It was warm outside but of course high up on the mountain it would be much cooler, so he’d bring extra things for warmth and he got all that together in a short time and started on the trail. 

It was an easy way - about half way up it got a little harder but he liked that and when he got to the place where he remembered there was a village he looked around and felt it was right there but he wasn’t sure how to get there. 

All of a sudden he saw a place that if he looked in that direction it was sort of blurry. He looked around all the other directions - everything was sharp and clear. There were the trees and some leaves on the ground and a squirrel and a rabbit - off in the distance that might be a deer but in this one spot he looked it was kind of blurry and he walked towards it and he got a little closer and all of a sudden he felt a little dizzy and he walked through and there was the village just like he’d remembered it. 

It was warm and comfortable there and he took off his backpack and set it down. He wasn’t sure whether to go ahead or not so he sat on a rock and pretty soon a young woman came up about his age and sat on the rock too and they looked at each other and she said, “You’re not of my world” and he said, “I want to be of this world” and she said, “In order to be of this world you have to let go of all of the things that are unpleasant from your world” and he said, “I would like to do that” and she held her arm out towards him for a moment and pretty soon he forgot all of the things he didn’t like about his old world and he was able to be with her in that moment and feel as a portion of her world and they moved down the path closer into her village and as they got closer and closer to her village he felt himself not quite being there and then he saw a blurry place and he knew he was supposed to walk through it and even though the tears were running down his face he walked through it and he was back on the trail but he didn’t have his pack and his things. 

He walked down the trail crying all the way - not sobbing but the tears were running down his face. He wasn’t like he had been when he came up on the mountain - strong but also with feelings of anger. He was now the way she was in her world and he left all his things there. 

He knew he would go back but he had to walk down the trail and take one more look at where he was from and when he looked back at his village he could see that he had to grieve for letting go of the good people there and he did that for a while and then the tears stopped and he ran back up the trail and he got to the place where he could see the blurry spot and he quickly ran through it and there was his backpack and there were things but he knew he didn’t need that anymore. 

He sat on the rock and soon she came along and she said, “Are you ready now” and he said, “Yes, now I can be.” They walked down towards her village and he didn’t see the blurry spot anymore. He had let go of all that was hurtful and harmful in him and he had moved on to be in the place of love with her. 

Happy Valentine’s Day.

The Trail

I was walking along a trail the other day, high up upon a ridge. There were trees and bushes all around with occasional pinion trees - very beautiful. Along the ground there were 

wildflowers growing. Occasionally there’d be a deer off in the distance. 

This is a nice old trail, not many people know about it. So there’s never any stuff or trash, no cigarette butts - nothing like that and it’s always and only a sense of peace and calm. In some places it’s so high that on days when there’s low clouds or fog it’s always moist, though I cannot see as far as I would like.

As a result, I came up unexpectedly on an old turtle and we both stopped and looked at each other as if to say, “I didn’t expect to see anybody on this trail today.” You know how you can look at someone who cannot speak your language and they have the same expression in their eyes that you do. We were both quite friendly but I had a little space where I was in the trail so I moved aside and let old turtle walk by. We nodded at each other with a nice look in our eyes. A pleasant surprise.

When walking on this trail I think about how beautiful things can be because this trail is like an old part of the Earth where things are the way they were, I feel, many many years ago. As I said before, I practically never see anybody else up on this trail but this day I came across the old turtle and somebody that I never expected to see.

There’s a place on the trail just around a curve on the path where there’s a stone that’s almost in the way but what it really is like, this big stone, is a nice place you can sit but you don’t see this stone that juts out over the path until you come up right on it. 

So I came around the curve and there sitting on the edge of the stone is a person who stood up when she saw me. I’ve never seen another person on this trail at any time so I was very surprised and I looked at her and she looked at me and we both sat down on the stone. We were both surprised. 

I was hiking up on the trail and I thought perhaps she had been coming down. I asked her where she was from and she pointed off in a direction. I wasn’t sure then, whether she spoke my language but I hoped that maybe she could kind of get it. 

She asked me where I was from and I pointed in a direction - normally I would just say - and we smiled at each other. Then I asked her, just taking a chance, “Tell me something nice about your life.” And speaking my language perfectly she said, “I live in an old part of Earth. It’s not far from here but you cannot find it from this trail unless you know just how to do it.”

I said, “I’ve been walking this trail for a few years and I haven’t seen any trails off to the side either up or down.” She said, “I know.”

We talked a little bit more and then she reached out towards me. I thought she was going to shake hands but when I reached back she reached up and it was like she was pointing at me but not exactly - she reached up towards my forehead and then things changed.

Everything sort of glowed gently and beautifully. I could see a golden aura around her and I looked down and I saw it around me too. She got up and made the signal to me to follow her and I - I just did. It seemed right. 

We walked up the trail a bit further and we got to a spot where the growth of trees and bushes was very dense. 

She did something with her hand. I’m not sure what because I couldn’t see all of it since I was behind her and suddenly there was another trail there that I had never seen before. We walked on the trail and we went up to this place. It looked a bit like a cave, sort of a small cave though it had a pretty tall opening. I’m not to tall myself but she was a little taller then me, not much but a little bit and she didn’t have to duck. 

We walked in to the space inside though it was really quite small. She walked over to the left and on the cave wall there was what I can only describe as color moving around. It was beautiful. Kind of like seeing a round rainbow in motion.

She reached up with her left hand and while she didn’t touch the colors she came close to touching them and suddenly, I can’t explain how, we were in this other place.

It looked a lot like the trail in that everything was pristine and beautiful. There was a lake and in the distance I could see a river that either flowed into the lake or perhaps the lake flowed into the river, I wasn’t sure but everything had that golden glow. It was so very beautiful.

We walked down towards the lake and when we got there she turned around and smiled. Then she turned back quickly and walked into the lake. I thought she was going to swim and I’m a good swimmer myself so I slipped off my shoes quickly and tossed my shirt to the side.

I noticed she went in to the lake with her clothes on but I thought, “Oh well, she’s modest. That’s actually a nice thing.” As we got deeper in the lake I was just ready to swim but suddenly she ducked under and before I realized it she was gone but in her place was a dolphin and the dolphin nodded at me and made that sound that they make that’s so cheerful and for no reason I could think of I just ducked under too.

Suddenly I was a dolphin and we swam and played in that lake and I never felt so wonderful in my life. We did dolphin things and we enjoyed ourselves. We jumped out of the water the way they do and twirled around. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life. I discovered what the joy of living in every moment felt like. It was such a great gift.

Then suddenly, without any warning, I was standing back on the shore. I looked around and didn’t see her though I did see someone swimming away in the distance and I knew I wasn’t supposed to follow. So I was sad to see my friend dolphin leaving and I didn’t see anybody else around.

I picked up my shirt and tied the shoelaces together on my shoes and threw them over my shoulder. I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t see the way out but suddenly I decided to look straight up and there was an opening to the sky I hadn’t noticed before. I had never thought of looking up because all that was around was so beautiful.

I could see that there was a pathway that I hadn’t noticed before because it was a bit higher up. I’d dried off now so I put on my shirt and shoes and walked up the path higher and higher still in the golden light. 

When I got close to the top I noticed that the path circled around above where the lake was. I walked up towards the rim that was open to the sky but the golden light started to fade and I didn’t want to leave it. So I went back down into the golden light and the place of the lake.

I sighed and thought how I am of an age where all my friends have passed away and I’m the last one left in my family. I’m very old and would it be so bad to stay here and pass the rest of my time away in this beautiful place. I don’t know if there is food but for some reason I don’t feel hungry. 

I walked further on past the lake and got to a small waterfall. I cupped my hands and made a bowl of them and scooped some of the water from the waterfall. It was beautiful and as golden as everything else. I felt it was safe to drink and I drank some.

The water tasted wonderful. I was still just as old as I was before but I felt wonderful inside so I took another swallow and the next thing I knew I was in the lake. I was the dolphin again and I was swimming with my friend and I knew I could stay there forever.

Happy New Year. May it be a golden one for you.

New Traditions

Jenny stepped out into the breezy hallway in her apartment building. Her mother said, “Wait honey, wait. Put on your scarf, it might be a little chilly.” Jenny ran back in and got her scarf, the one she liked with the blue bells on it, and then ran back out and went over and stood by the elevator. 

Several of her neighbors were leaving for work and they all smiled at Jenny. Now you might think that Jenny was going to take the elevator but she was too young to be going to work. She was waiting and you might ask what was she waiting for - we’ll get to that. 

Well, the people who were leaving got on the elevator and they all waved at Jenny and she waved back. The elevator doors glided shut and off they went downstairs to wherever they were going, Jenny thought. 

Jenny was smiling as she waited for her friend. She didn’t have to wait long. Soon the elevator made it’s little sound with a ding and the doors opened. Out walked her favorite person, besides mommy of course.

Well, he wasn’t exactly a person but to her he was. Out walked a cat. Nobody else on the elevator, just a cat and the cat walked right over to Jenny and put his paw up on her which always meant to pick him up and even though Jenny wasn’t that tall, she was only 7 years old, she managed to pick up eekoo and hold him and he would lick her hand a little bit. 

Meeting eekoo was her favorite thing to do every day. No one really knew where eekoo came from but they knew his name because it was written on his collar. 

Everybody in the building knew eekoo. Some people liked to give him food or treats but eekoo didn’t show up for food and he didn’t really go for it if it was offered - he would just look at you and blink his eyes if he liked you and then he’d just walk around the building. 

He came from the neighborhood and no one knew where he came from. Some people decided that he was a free cat and he lived where ever he felt welcomed. 

Sometimes eekoo would stay with Jenny and her mother and other times he would stay in other apartments in her building and he came to be known as the cat who came to visit.

Every year a few days before Christmas eekoo would show up with a bell around his neck. It was the only time he ever had a bell around his neck. It wasn’t on his collar. It was more like a necklace with a thin chain and a little bell on it. 

Always, eekoo would make sure to go on all the floors and run back and forth in the hallways. The little bell would make its little tinkle, tinkle and people knew it was eekoo telling people it must be Christmas time. 

After eekoo was done on all the floors bringing his cheery message he’d find his way out as always. The day after Christmas, eekoo wouldn’t have the bell around his neck anymore. 

People wondered for years, who was putting the bell around eekoo’s neck but one day when Jenny was 12 years old, she found out. 

Later in life Jenny always said, “I’ve never forgotten that day. It was just a few days before Christmas and I wasn’t really thinking about eekoo or anything else. I was just walking to school and up in the distance I saw this old lady. I’d seen her before and we always waved at each other.

“She lived in a house a few blocks away from our apartment building. I always looked for her when I walked by there because she was getting kind of old and I was a little worried about her. 

“I was walking past a neighbors hedge and the lady hadn’t seen me yet. I was getting ready to wave at her but when I got past the hedge I noticed she was bending down and I couldn’t exactly see what she was doing. 

“When the lady stood up, there at her feet was eekoo. He had run by a few minutes before when I was further away and paused just to blink at me the way cats do when they’re happy to see you and before I had a chance to pet him he ran down the street.  

“The lady was wearing her long winter coat and I couldn’t really see what she had been doing when she was stooped over. I thought she was petting eekoo but then eekoo ran back to me and he was wearing the bell around his neck. He looked at me and quickly blinked again and ran off. 

“Well, for years I’d been walking that way to school and I couldn’t wait when I was done with school that day. I stopped off and I was kinda shy but I knocked on the ladies door. She came to the door and she said, ‘I saw you this morning. You saw me put the bell around eekoo’s neck.’ And I said, ‘That’s right.’ Then the lady said, ‘I have something for you. It’s something special but don’t open it up until Christmas.’ Then she went inside the house.

“She wasn’t gone very long. She came back with a tray and some hot cocoa for both of us. There was also a box on the tray. We sipped our cocoa on the front porch and then she gave me the little box. It was all wrapped up for Christmas. She said, ‘Somebody gave me this when I was a young girl and I wanted to pass it on to you.’ ‘Really?,’ I said. ‘Really’, she answered.

“I remember, we sat and talked for a little while and the lady told me that her name was Mrs. Gibson. I finished my cocoa and thanked Mrs Gibson for it and for the gift and then I ran home to tell mom about Mrs. Gibson and eekoo. 

“Mom said it was okay that Mrs. Gibson had given me this present because she knew Mrs. Gibson as many others did in the neighborhood because they looked out for the old people to make sure they were alright.

“When Christmas came I remember opening up the gift from Mrs Gibson last. When I opened the box there was another box inside, a wooden jewelry box. It had a small carving on the wood of a cat. I opened that box and inside was a beautiful necklace and it had two small bells on it. On one of the bells was an engraving of a cat and on the other was a girl.   

“Mom said, ‘Oh my, that’s beautiful. It looks very old.’ I remember taking it out of the box and I just loved it. Mom said, ‘Oh look, the clasp - it’s also - yes, it looks just like a cat. Isn’t that amazing? Well, you’ll have to tell Mrs. Gibson thank you.’” 

Jenny liked to remember this every Christmas because she had a picture on her mantlepiece of eekoo, her beloved cat friend from when she was a child and every year around this time she’d have a dream. The only part of the dream she could ever remember was eekoo and he seemed to be smiling. Also she could hear his bell tinkling and she would wake up smiling. 

After that she knew what she wanted to do and she did so with her children. She had her own little girl now and a little boy too. She would take out the necklace and she’d walk with her husband and her children on all the floors of their apartment building and ring the little bell to let everybody know that Christmas was coming.

Merry Christmas to you all.

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Photo is © B. Kim Barnes, used with permission, and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/6865173881/in/album-72157627291278455/

This Week

Okay, this is the week I’ll be putting up the new Christmas story and the new New Years story.

Stories To Come

I’ve decided to post my new Christmas story early this year. There will however be no Halloween story. Instead though, I have a nice New Years story and I’ll be posting that early as well. 

So for those of you who like to translate the stories, and there’s many of you out there, and share them with others, you won’t have to rush at the end of the year because I’ll have them up fairly soon. 

First will be the Christmas story and then the New Years story. Goodlife