Zeus and the Cat Doctor

 It had been a lonely life lately for Zeus. He’d been walking around on the streets - it seemed like forever but he knew it wasn’t that long. He looked in all the old familiar places but he couldn’t find what he was looking for. He knew that what he was looking for wasn’t here anymore but he had hope. He wanted to find some of the smells to remind him of the old days with the old man. It was a good trip to make every day. 

 Some people wondered why he kept doing that. Others thought it was love or loneliness or that he was just old. It was all those things but it was more then that. After almost his whole life of living with the old man who was also old when they got together, it was normal for him. It was what he did with his life now. 

 He continued on his walk down the path to the old wood shop where the old man had worked. He walked up to the front door and stared at it. It was locked. He so very much wanted to go inside but there wasn’t anybody to let him in so he walked around the outside. 

 There were still a few lingering smells from those old days. The old man used to like to sit out in back sometimes on an old wood box behind the wood shop and smoke his pipe. Zeus walked over there and sat down next to it. 

 He could still sniff some of those old tobacco smells and they were a comfort to him. Doing that always made him feel better. He would sit there for an hour or so and then he’d walk on home. 

 The old man’s daughter, Susie, still lived there and she took care of him and that was a comfort too but she had a busy life. She often went off with her friends - he didn’t know where - so he’d be a bit lonely and he would go on his walk every day to remember the good times with the old man.  

 Everybody in the neighborhood knew him. Sometimes the children would call to him and if he really liked them he would stop for a short visit but this didn’t happen every day, just some days. 

 He was almost home when Jeremy came running out from the alley and bumped right into him. Jeremy was getting a little older now and he fell over. Zeus stopped and stayed with him. 

 Jeremy was a cat and was almost completely blind, he was born that way, and they had become friends. Zeus remained with his friend while Jeremy figured out how to get up. 

 Jeremy had only 3 legs so getting up was sometimes awkward for him. He was born that way, almost blind and with 3 legs but the people he lived with next door loved him just the way he was. 

 Jeremy got up and the 2 of them leaned together which is a way that dogs, cats and some others will hug each other sometimes. They walked together and since they were almost home they got back within a minute or two. 

 Susie and her friends were there. They saw Zeus and Jeremy coming up the sidewalk and they stopped what they were doing. Susie looked at the pair and she thought, “What an odd mixed match they are but they are very precious.” 

 Many of her friends were taking pictures of them and it always made her uncomfortable when that happened because she felt somehow it was invading Zeus’s and Jeremy’s friendship but she noticed the dog and cat didn’t seem to mind at all. 

 The two came up to where everybody was and her friends all sat or crouched down to visit with them. They knew that Zeus and Jeremy were not young so they were gentle and petted them and said sweet and friendly things to them. Zeus and Jeremy sat down and enjoyed their friendliness.  

 After a few minutes Jeremy got up and walked over to Richard who was sitting by himself and feeling kind of grumpy because he had broken his toe and it was really hurting. He was wearing a walking cast and since he loved nothing better then to go skateboarding he was a bit grumpy.

 Jeremy jumped up into Richard’s lap. Richard didn’t know what to do because he didn’t have a cat but Jeremy settled down and Richard just started gently petting him. 

 He noticed as he was petting Jeremy that he felt better and his toe had stopped hurting so much. He didn’t know why but he appreciated it and pretty soon he was smiling and laughing with the rest of his friends. 

 Susie and her best friend and neighbor Joni looked at each other and smiled. Joni quietly said  that Jeremy was working his special magic again. They agreed that Jeremy was a cat doctor. He could cheer anybody up and he could help them to feel better no matter what. He just had that special way about him.

 Zeus smiled to himself. He walked up on the porch and got up on the old man’s wooden deck chair that Susie kept there for him. He looked around sleepily as he started to relax. It’s not a bad life even though the old man was gone - it’s a good life in a lot of ways. Maybe I’ll stop making that walk and hang out more with my friend Jeremy. I might pick up some pointers and someday perhaps I can be a dog doctor. On that note he settled in for his afternoon snooze.

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Photo is ©️B. Kim Barnes, used with permission and can be found at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/5887795802/in/album-72157627291278455/

Jon’s World

Jon rolled over in bed. “Have to go to work,” he said in a tired miserable way. “I don’t know why, what’s all this big fuss about the South Pole. Every year we have to trek down to the exact South Pole,” Jon grumbled to himself. “Well…,” he muttered, “…I’m not in this alone so no point in fussing any more about it.” 

 Jon was a member of a crew that walked down to the exact South Pole every year. Scientists would be there of course and they would take their usual measurements and Astrophysicists would study the sky - everybody would do what their speciality was. 

 Jon worked with the sled dogs to keep them safe and secure and well fed and to some extent controlled because sometimes they would get overexcited. 

 His job was to bring back-up supplies on the sled just in case. You never knew about the weather there so even though the scientists all rode in an old snow cat, which Jon also maintained and filled with supplies, he and the dogs went with the sled. 

 It was only a group of 8 to 10 every time and this time the group was 9. It took about 2 to 3 hours to get to the area and mark the South Pole as precisely as possible.

 Jon had the sled packed with everything and would mush the sled, that was his job and so they were off. After about 2 hours, the general area where they were going was just ahead. The scientists in the snow cat were using their knowledge and instruments to find the location. 

 A little ways before they got to the pinpoint location the dogs stopped and they absolutely refused to go any further. Jon did everything he could to coax them but the lead scientist, Mr. Jeffers said, “We have to go on.” Jon replied, “Well it’s, it’s not very far.” They could all see it. 

 It was about 100 yards away (91.44 meters) and Mr. Jeffers said, “Well Jon, you come along when you can and we’ll see you there.” Mr. Jeffers and the rest of them in the snow cat drove off towards the area. 

 Jon walked over to the dogs. He knew them all very well and he sat down in front of the lead dog. He patted the lead dog a little bit which always meant to the other dogs that they could sit down, so they did and then while the lead dog was sitting Jon said, “I know that you know something.” 

 The lead dog gave him that warm loving look that dogs do that people who live with dogs know about and Jon said, “We’ll stay here.” And so they did. 

 After about a half an hour one of the scientists, Mr. Royce, walked back and said, “Are you coming?” Jon answered, “Well you know, they just don’t want to go any further and I don’t want to leave them.” Mr. Royce said, “Okay, okay,” and he walked back. 

 About 20 minutes after that Jon had a funny feeling and the dogs had it too. The dogs got up without Jon saying anything or giving any order. The dogs looked at each other, they looked at Jon who also stood up - and things seemed to be different. Jon noticed there were colors swirling in the air around them and the dogs seemed to like it though they weren’t getting excited - they were just happy. 

 Jon felt a sense of ease coming over him and the next thing he knew his eyes were closed. He knew he was still standing but he felt like he was in a deep sleep. After a little while he started feeling very warm and then actually hot. He wondered what that was about because he was going to have to take off his parka. 

 He opened his eyes and he looked - he was in some kind of a - was it a desert? No, he could see trees in the distance. He looked towards where the sled had been but it wasn’t there. The dogs weren’t either. He looked all around and off in the distance he saw the dogs frisking around by the trees and they were splashing in what looked like a pool. 

 Jon suddenly realized how hot he was so he took off his parka and his boots. He thought this must be a dream - of course, it’s a dream. Everything will be alright so he walked over to the dogs and the dogs ran up to him and they were all happy.

 The lead dog came up to him and gave him that look that Jon knew. So he sat down and he looked at the lead dog. 

 Suddenly Jon felt himself going through an odd sensation. Pretty soon he felt kind of like he was a dog and pretty soon after that he felt like he really is a dog. He looked around at himself and he had 4 legs and he was wagging his tail and he was thinking to himself, “but I’m a man, I’m not a dog,” 

 The lead dog looked at him and Jon felt freer than he had ever felt in his life and he thought, “what a wonderful dream!” He ran into the pond and splashed around and all the dogs splashed around in the pond with him. 

 He came out refreshed and looked again at his friend, the lead dog. Lead dog brushed up against him and Jon could hear something. He wasn’t sure what it was until he realized it was a song. It was some sort of tune without words. The music was beautiful and then he started hearing the words and the words were, home - I’m home. 

 He didn’t know what that meant. He was starting to get a bit nervous and then the lead dog came over and leaned against him and he leaned back with his dog self and soon he was completely relaxed and sleeping some place. Then, as he awoke he heard it. 

 It was the most loving voice he’d ever heard and it said, “You’ve been playing at being a man but now you’re home. This is the place where dogs live and where they come from and now you’re home again.” 

 He wanted to wake up from his dream and his dream sleep but then he realized - why fight it - I’ve never been so happy and comfortable in my life.

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Detail of photo: Photo is ©️B. Kim Barnes, used with permission and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kimbar/21544139049/in/album-72157657309351200/

The Silver Sail

 The old man woke up. He’d had that strange dream again. All he could ever remember was that there was a very flat and calm lake. It had a sort of gleam to it and in the distance there was a sailboat. 

 He liked that boat very much. He’d always wanted to have a boat of his own but the distinctive feature of the boat is that it had a silver sail. The sail was so bright that the sun would reflect from it and at the moment of the flash of the sun reflecting off of it he would wake up. This happened every time. In the past it had bothered him because he wanted to know what happened next. 

 He had been a story teller his whole life and like any story teller, there has to be a good finish and it’s also good to have a nice start - and it’s even better for it to be a good story all the way through.

 So on the one hand it bothered him and on the other hand he really liked the image of the calm water, the sailboat and the silver sail. “Anyway,” he thought to himself, “…how many times have I had that thought.” 

 He rolled out of bed and Q rolled with him. Q was his dog. Well actually, to be perfectly honest, Q was his families dog who had taken a shine to him. 

 They called him Quintus Rex and he thought that was a silly name for a dog but he didn’t say so to the family because they thought it was a funny name and he didn’t want to rain on their parade, so to speak. He was kind of an unusual looking dog and so every time they’d say his name they would laugh looking at him. 

 The old man felt that Q, as he called him, was a fine looking dog - he was just different. “And so,” he thought, “ well, just because he’s got big floppy ears and one of the ears is much shorter than the other doesn’t mean that he should just be continually laughed at. Dogs like it when people are happy but if they’re the butt of the joke eventually they don’t like it too much, just like human beings.” 

 So the old man treated Q different and he didn’t call him Quintus Rex even in front of the family, he always called him Q. 

 Later in the day after a nice family breakfast, he looked at Q and said, “Want to go for a stroll boy?” Q always wanted to go for a stroll with the old man because it was fun and so of course he looked happy and wagged his tail.

 They lived in a neighborhood where, if you had a well-behaved dog, that you didn’t have to use a leash and so they both left the house - no leash. 

 Q looked up happily at the old man as they walked along. The old man liked to say, “Heel,” and of course Q would do that but he looked up at the old man with happiness because the old man could understand and recognize that he was happy just to be with the old man. 

 They walked down that slow slope towards the lake. It was a nice lake. It was fairly big. You could see the other side but it was at a distance. 

 When the old man was younger he used to be able to walk around the lake but now that he was older he was happy just to walk down there, think his thoughts of his life and have his good friend Q with him.

 The old man sat on the bench that was closest to the lake. Most of the benches were behind the path so that you could have chats with people walking by. The old man, when he was younger, used to sit on those benches for his Sunday walk but now that he was in his advanced years he liked to sit near the lake because most of his friends whom he used to see there had already passed over. 

 So he sat near the lake and Q sat on the ground near him. The old man would usually look at Q and say, “Do you want to go play, boy?” When he would do that Q would go off and play with the other dogs or sometimes splash a bit in the water. This time the old man didn’t say that. He looked kind of sleepy and Q thought - maybe I’d better stay. 

 Q looked out at something that caught his eye on the lake. He wasn’t sure what it was and he glanced back at the old man. He wanted to see if the old man had seen it but the old man had shifted on the bench. He wasn’t sitting up any more. 

 He had in fact leaned over to the side and now he sort of slowly descended to the rest of the bench and looked kind of like he was sleeping but Q knew what it was. To be sure, Q put a  paw up on the old man and he knew. Dogs have a way of knowing these things. 

 Q looked at the old man but again something caught his eye. It was a flash of light from the direction of the lake. He turned around and looked directly at the lake. 

 He saw another flash of light and there out on the lake was a sailboat. It was a nice one. Not too big, just a nice size, and it had a silver sail.

 Q was happy. The old man had told him about his dream several times. Again he looked at the old man laying on the bench but somehow he knew the old man wasn’t really there any more and Q got happier and excited. 

 He wondered whether the old man’s dream had come true and he looked at the boat with the silver sail. He saw something. He had good vision like dogs do. 

 The old man was on the boat! He was waving at Q. Q hopped up in the air with joy and when he landed the boat was gone. The silver sail was gone and the old man on the boat was gone but dogs can accept these things and he knew that the old man was happy and Q was happy for him.

 He looked back at the bench. A couple of people had come over and he looked at them. One of them said, “It was his time,” and glanced at Q and Q nodded - it was his time but Q knew that it was the next time for the old man.

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We all will have next times, I believe. Goodlife to you all.

Morning of the Sun

The morning became her as she shone brightly in the sky. She laughed merrily to herself as she did every morning when she thought about some peoples calling her Father Sun. Mother Sun was closer to the way she thought of herself as she gave freely of her light and warmth to encourage all life. 

When waking she always looked at all the planets that she had managed to accumulate over time. Some planets were not originally planets at all but were moons of other planets. 

Still, she managed to move things around a bit and over time they became planets and this was good. 

She enjoyed her array of life giving objects and she smiled upon the peoples who insisted on saying Father Sun and Sister Moon when in fact it was closer to the other way around. “Still, a small thing,” she thought. 

She loved the peoples of all forms. She did think it was strange that some of the peoples didn’t understand that the other peoples, including the four leggeds that lived with them very often, were the same status. 

She thought, “Well, they are young as a people and they will grow and realize that all beings are the same in the heart, mind and body because they are all made of the same thing.” 

“They communicate differently at this time but most are telepathic, even human beings - they just don’t remember. But”, she smiled again to herself, “they’ll begin to wake up and they will remember how to speak from the heart without using words out loud and this way,” she thought warmly, “this way there would be no more misunderstandings and that would be good.” 

She relaxed and got on with her day.

The Tower

Beryl looked towards the sky as she did every day at this time. The clouds were moving by as always and they would take the form in this part of the cloud or that part of the cloud of the spirits that always lived there. 

Sometimes the forms would be of animals and other times clearly of people and still other times shapes that she didn’t recognize but were not a shape of a normal cloud so it must have been something she didn’t know about. 

It was a special time of the day when she would have her tea. Sometimes her friend Millie would come over and they would both look at the sky and have their tea together. 

They had been friends for as long as she could remember and now they were both elderly and looking forward to having more time off since their children had grown up and were enjoying good lives. Beryl and Millie felt very good about that. 

They both lived in separate little apartment-like places, sometimes called in-law apartments, in their children’s homes and so they were comfortable and within easy walking distance of each other.

Beryl looked up into the sky again and she wondered when they were going to finish the tower. She and Millie had discussed this so many times but as the tower was being built over the years, and her grandmother and even her great grandmother had mentioned it to her, that it would always either fall down or it would be blown over by a strong wind. 

Over the years people learned how to build it better and now her young ones and Millies young ones as well had all discovered how to build it so it was stronger and more durable and the tower didn’t fall over any more. It didn’t blow over even when strong winds would come and it was getting higher and higher. 

She noticed, the last time she looked, that it was almost touching where the clouds would be. She thought for a moment about the old stories and how the old ones said if they could only fly up to the clouds and be with the spirits that were there, that the clouds showed every day, that they would be happy and feel wonderful. And so came the project of the tower. 

Millie looked at her friend. She knew exactly what Beryl was thinking because Beryl spoke about these matters every day. Millie’s life was different. She had her boyfriend, as she called him although she was too old to be called a girl and he was too old to be called a boy but they liked to call each other boyfriend and girlfriend just for fun. 

Millie loved her friend Beryl, and she wanted Beryl to be happy too but Beryl’s children, especially Johan, had made the tower their lives work and so of course it was very important to Beryl.

Beryl spoke all of a sudden, “Look, they’re moving that piece into place. I don’t see how they can move it up like that but they have their ways, these engineers eh?” Millie said, “Mmm, yes.” 

And then after a last bit of struggle the final piece went into place and soon the clouds encased it and were moving through and all around the tower. For those who were present there, a great shout of happiness and joy was made. People hugged each other and were even weeping because this was something they had worked so long for - generations of people had tried to do this and now it was going to be possible to visit the spirits in their home. 

Millie and Beryl were having the same thoughts and looked at each other and reached over and patted each other’s hands. This was a momentous occasion. 

The people who were below the top of the tower looked up at those who had placed the last piece. They could see them climbing up that last piece to be with the spirits and visit them in their home. Soon everyone below the top of the tower could see that their favorite spirit was defined by the clouds and it was that wonderful smiling face that they all loved so much. 

High up in the tower Johan was there. He was thrilled to have been part of the group who placed the last piece and he had climbed up with the rest of them. He saw a bit of the smile and knew this must be the smiling face he’d seen so often from the ground. He felt what he could only describe as ecstasy. It was the greatest joy and yet there was an unusual silence. His friends were around him and nearby in other parts of the tower but he felt totally at peace, quiet and still. 

In a moment he heard the voice and the Voice said to him, “You have done well to come and visit us in our home. We welcome you and so we will give each of you a gift. You can come only once but we will give everyone their own gift and it will be a story. The stories are meant to encourage life, to support love and to provide a welcoming for all life between you and all life - and between life and all of you. In this way these stories will support the re-blossoming of the best and most benevolent life for all beings.” 

Johan was overwhelmed by his feeling of pure love that he felt from the voice. He felt tears of joy streaming down his face and knew that it was time to leave. He started climbing back down. 

When he got to the plateau level where others were waiting but still a ways up on the tower, people saw the tears streaming down his face and they knew he must have had a marvelous experience because even though the tears were coming he was smiling and looked joyous. 

He climbed back down to the bottom and others hugged him and he hugged them in return. Johan shared what the voice had said and from that day forward people were able to gather stories from the spirits in the sky. 

Soon the people all had stories and they told their stories at gatherings. No matter what disputes or arguments had preceded their gatherings, after the stories were told all was forgiven. Love prevailed and a better life was had for all beings.

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Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Goodlife 

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.

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