The Secret? or Life A Work in Progress
Somewhere in my memory I hear the voice of my step father's mother, she was the only grandmother I ever knew and she had a tremedous impact on my life as I grew up, and even well into the 70's when I had a family of my own already. She would hear of some tragedy or other and her eyes would crinkle at the edges while they filled with tears of compassion then she would state rather matter of factly,"Ah, life! It's just a work in progress, we poor humans live out our given years and then we step out of this form into another, just like the sanp of our fingers, it is so fast!"
So comes March the month when my grandmother was born, of course the year was 1880 and the times were much different then. She however never lost the magic of life, the hundred and one little sparks that make life magical were always just behind the twinkle in her eyes when she told a story, or reprimanded myself or one of her other 33 grandchildren. She was a constant teacher, never being too busy to stop and tell a story, weave her magic and then move one. When I first became her grandchild I was somewhat freightened of this lovely silver haired woman in patchwork skirt and silk ruffled blouse, with hair braided to her knees, woven with beads and ribbons. She was magic, living, talking, singing, walking, gardening, cooking she was always so full of life that she fairly twinkled in a special light.
It was my grandmother that first introduced me to the idea of Leprechan's! Little folk, Fairies, Dwarfs and the like. One day while my mother and new step father were off on their honeymoon she took me for a walk in what she called the "wee people's forest". It was there that I first remember seeing toadstools, and fairy rings in the damp moist earth beneath the pine tree that surronded her farm. In the dark dense soft floor of the forest my grandmother pointed out tiny little paths amoung the leaves that led to holes in the trees, or tiny crevises in the rocks, "There" she would say "that's a sure sign of the wee people." And at night when the fireflys filled the air with childish delight she would declare that the faires were flying off to a meeting unde the great pines! In the morning I would hurry out to look for toadstool rings, a definate sign that some wee people had held a meeting there during the night! It was wonderful stuff, the stories of my childhood. My heart holds dear those times of believing in 'magic' and the unseen world of the wee people.
Now of course as an adult, even though I hate to admit it some of the precious times of life then have slipped away into the recesses of my mind and remain now only as memories.
Life is a work in progress, that's certain, I can't help but wonder though how many of us really know that. Recently as those of you who read my blog often know my husband and I have helped out friends going through some tough physicall and emotional things and I can honestly say that the uncle in the situation is oblivious to anything but his own ego! The neice, who is my friend is much more aware and awake following her brush with death. So today I am musing about in my mind wondering if we wouldn't all be better off if we could hold on to the fantasies of our youth, if we could stay connected to the magic in life so that we could see things in a more open and aware fashion. Yes, I know that all human beings must grow into adults, but wouldn't we possibly be better adults if the wonder and merriment of our youth never left us?
My grandmother never changed, in all the long years of her life she never lost the connection to the magic side of things, she was always able to live with such abandon, such happiness that everyone who met her loved her! She could light up a dull conversation by making all of us remember the times when we believed whole heartedly that fairies, gnomes, dragons and damsals still lived in a realm that we could neither see nor enter, she could open the door at a moments notice to the side of life that made it special and real! She was self sufficient all of her life, 100 years of life...she grew her own vegetables, fruits, and raised her own chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and never made a meal out of a can of anything unless of course she had put it up in the last season! She walked miles every day, feeding livestock, caring for her gardens, hauling water from the lake, making bread, churning butter and yet I never recall that she ever complained about a thing! She had a love for life that was insurmountable! She held fast to the fantasy, the belief of other beings in a realm right here beside us, she heard voice when the wind blew, and could tell whether the rain would come by walking barefoot on the ground.
Age didn't seem to touch her in the way it does the rest of us, she was the same in my eyes on the day she died as she was on the day I first met her. There was something about her belief system that made life a journey worth taking, it was brand new and the same all in one instant! She taught everyone who crossed her path something about life, how to cope, to be stallwart in conviction, how to manage when everyone else was going broke, how to trim a tree, or clip a hedge, how to make the gladiolas bloom twice and the tomatoes bear fruit right up to the first heavy frost! She made life fun, and most important she made life exciting! When she said it was a work in progress she meant it!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if on this Saint Patricks Day just for a moment all of us could believe! Don't you wonder how much it would change us if we weren't so caught up in the living of life, making ends meet stuff that we could actually see a firefly and think it was a fairy? I have to tell you that some part of what she taught me still keeps me going after all these years, at times I actually am able to believe in small people, secret pots of gold and the rainbows that lead us to them! However, I am ashamed to say that I don't believe as often as I should! Grandmother told me once that the secret fountain of youth was real, that all one had to do was believe in the unbelievable and hold on to the magic of life and everything would be wonderful!
It saddens me to see that somehow over the years this old world of ours has become far to 'REAL", now I am not saying that we should throw all caution to the wind and begin to act like children, but what I am saying is that a little of the magic of this life needs to sneak back in, and we need to help it! Life isn't supposed to be druggery! I know that hard work, and honest labor are supposed to reward us with all that we need, and that we are suppose to be content not to ever get what we want! The Judaic/Christian philosophy of life is work hard, work harded and be happy with what you have, but I am not ready to settle for that, and I hope dear readers that you aren't eaither!
Recently I heard about a book that has been making it big called 'The Secret!", well I have a news flash for you, the book is really nothing new, it is infact almost word for word a concept that rose to the forefront in the late 1800's and was espoused as "The Way to Live a Wonderful Life". Having read 'The Secret", I can tell you that there are some good, yes ever wonderful ideas in there, but guess what unless you have the heart and the mind of a child you won't believe any of it! The true secret to a happy life is simple...try a little magic, don't tell your children you are feeding them brocolli tonight tell them that they are having Fairy Trees, and that if they eat them all they will be able to see the wee people! The true secret ,to success is to believe in miracles, in magic, in the possibility that what we see and live is not all that there is, that right here in this space that I occupy on this seat there is an infinite number of finite worlds which we do not see, and can not imagine even if we tried.
The true secret is that if you can remember the monster under your bed when you were a child, or the tooth fairy, or if you have ever imagined that a fairy had danced in your yard and now in this moment you can recapture that feeling even for an instant you will have a better life. If indeed you do remember the magic of your childhood and can muster up the courage to share it with one or two of your children, or family, or friends than you have the ability to reawaken in them the same magic! And that dear ones is the true secret to a wonderful life.
This old world of ours is full of tragedy and hate, full of wars, and pestilence and arrogance that harms and hurts, and people who are users and abusers, this old world of ours is changing for the worse everyday not for the better, so try this simple remedy to give yourself and those around you a boost:
RX:
Take one part joy of childhood,
Wrapped in gossmer tight
Hold it to the rainbow
Till is gathers light
Then lift it up and looking close
You'll be amazed at what you see...
The eyes of fairy maidens,
There beneath a tree!
A toadstool ring, a gnomes home
Gather back the magic moon
Now look into the faces all around the room...
Hope does spring eternal, or so the story goes
It isn't wealth or riches, nor whom a person knows...
True riches spring from wonder, the kind found in a child
Sweet magic of believing other worlds and other beings
Lead us to a happiness of soul felt murmurings
Let's us be at peace again, out of place and time
Leads us back to fonder days once when life was kind
Gives us back our looking glass, our merriment and merth
Makes us the type of people who can save our earth! ep 2007
And as the old song goes, Joy, Joy to the world! Sweet people gather round, the fairy beings are dancing now, their tiny drums do sound and we are all one nation, one tribe upon the earth, no sound of guns now silenced, no weapons of distruction to harm the fragile ones, just joy and hope and wonder as PEACE comes tumgling down! Buffy St. Marie 1962
So comes March the month when my grandmother was born, of course the year was 1880 and the times were much different then. She however never lost the magic of life, the hundred and one little sparks that make life magical were always just behind the twinkle in her eyes when she told a story, or reprimanded myself or one of her other 33 grandchildren. She was a constant teacher, never being too busy to stop and tell a story, weave her magic and then move one. When I first became her grandchild I was somewhat freightened of this lovely silver haired woman in patchwork skirt and silk ruffled blouse, with hair braided to her knees, woven with beads and ribbons. She was magic, living, talking, singing, walking, gardening, cooking she was always so full of life that she fairly twinkled in a special light.
It was my grandmother that first introduced me to the idea of Leprechan's! Little folk, Fairies, Dwarfs and the like. One day while my mother and new step father were off on their honeymoon she took me for a walk in what she called the "wee people's forest". It was there that I first remember seeing toadstools, and fairy rings in the damp moist earth beneath the pine tree that surronded her farm. In the dark dense soft floor of the forest my grandmother pointed out tiny little paths amoung the leaves that led to holes in the trees, or tiny crevises in the rocks, "There" she would say "that's a sure sign of the wee people." And at night when the fireflys filled the air with childish delight she would declare that the faires were flying off to a meeting unde the great pines! In the morning I would hurry out to look for toadstool rings, a definate sign that some wee people had held a meeting there during the night! It was wonderful stuff, the stories of my childhood. My heart holds dear those times of believing in 'magic' and the unseen world of the wee people.
Now of course as an adult, even though I hate to admit it some of the precious times of life then have slipped away into the recesses of my mind and remain now only as memories.
Life is a work in progress, that's certain, I can't help but wonder though how many of us really know that. Recently as those of you who read my blog often know my husband and I have helped out friends going through some tough physicall and emotional things and I can honestly say that the uncle in the situation is oblivious to anything but his own ego! The neice, who is my friend is much more aware and awake following her brush with death. So today I am musing about in my mind wondering if we wouldn't all be better off if we could hold on to the fantasies of our youth, if we could stay connected to the magic in life so that we could see things in a more open and aware fashion. Yes, I know that all human beings must grow into adults, but wouldn't we possibly be better adults if the wonder and merriment of our youth never left us?
My grandmother never changed, in all the long years of her life she never lost the connection to the magic side of things, she was always able to live with such abandon, such happiness that everyone who met her loved her! She could light up a dull conversation by making all of us remember the times when we believed whole heartedly that fairies, gnomes, dragons and damsals still lived in a realm that we could neither see nor enter, she could open the door at a moments notice to the side of life that made it special and real! She was self sufficient all of her life, 100 years of life...she grew her own vegetables, fruits, and raised her own chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and never made a meal out of a can of anything unless of course she had put it up in the last season! She walked miles every day, feeding livestock, caring for her gardens, hauling water from the lake, making bread, churning butter and yet I never recall that she ever complained about a thing! She had a love for life that was insurmountable! She held fast to the fantasy, the belief of other beings in a realm right here beside us, she heard voice when the wind blew, and could tell whether the rain would come by walking barefoot on the ground.
Age didn't seem to touch her in the way it does the rest of us, she was the same in my eyes on the day she died as she was on the day I first met her. There was something about her belief system that made life a journey worth taking, it was brand new and the same all in one instant! She taught everyone who crossed her path something about life, how to cope, to be stallwart in conviction, how to manage when everyone else was going broke, how to trim a tree, or clip a hedge, how to make the gladiolas bloom twice and the tomatoes bear fruit right up to the first heavy frost! She made life fun, and most important she made life exciting! When she said it was a work in progress she meant it!
Wouldn't it be wonderful if on this Saint Patricks Day just for a moment all of us could believe! Don't you wonder how much it would change us if we weren't so caught up in the living of life, making ends meet stuff that we could actually see a firefly and think it was a fairy? I have to tell you that some part of what she taught me still keeps me going after all these years, at times I actually am able to believe in small people, secret pots of gold and the rainbows that lead us to them! However, I am ashamed to say that I don't believe as often as I should! Grandmother told me once that the secret fountain of youth was real, that all one had to do was believe in the unbelievable and hold on to the magic of life and everything would be wonderful!
It saddens me to see that somehow over the years this old world of ours has become far to 'REAL", now I am not saying that we should throw all caution to the wind and begin to act like children, but what I am saying is that a little of the magic of this life needs to sneak back in, and we need to help it! Life isn't supposed to be druggery! I know that hard work, and honest labor are supposed to reward us with all that we need, and that we are suppose to be content not to ever get what we want! The Judaic/Christian philosophy of life is work hard, work harded and be happy with what you have, but I am not ready to settle for that, and I hope dear readers that you aren't eaither!
Recently I heard about a book that has been making it big called 'The Secret!", well I have a news flash for you, the book is really nothing new, it is infact almost word for word a concept that rose to the forefront in the late 1800's and was espoused as "The Way to Live a Wonderful Life". Having read 'The Secret", I can tell you that there are some good, yes ever wonderful ideas in there, but guess what unless you have the heart and the mind of a child you won't believe any of it! The true secret to a happy life is simple...try a little magic, don't tell your children you are feeding them brocolli tonight tell them that they are having Fairy Trees, and that if they eat them all they will be able to see the wee people! The true secret ,to success is to believe in miracles, in magic, in the possibility that what we see and live is not all that there is, that right here in this space that I occupy on this seat there is an infinite number of finite worlds which we do not see, and can not imagine even if we tried.
The true secret is that if you can remember the monster under your bed when you were a child, or the tooth fairy, or if you have ever imagined that a fairy had danced in your yard and now in this moment you can recapture that feeling even for an instant you will have a better life. If indeed you do remember the magic of your childhood and can muster up the courage to share it with one or two of your children, or family, or friends than you have the ability to reawaken in them the same magic! And that dear ones is the true secret to a wonderful life.
This old world of ours is full of tragedy and hate, full of wars, and pestilence and arrogance that harms and hurts, and people who are users and abusers, this old world of ours is changing for the worse everyday not for the better, so try this simple remedy to give yourself and those around you a boost:
RX:
Take one part joy of childhood,
Wrapped in gossmer tight
Hold it to the rainbow
Till is gathers light
Then lift it up and looking close
You'll be amazed at what you see...
The eyes of fairy maidens,
There beneath a tree!
A toadstool ring, a gnomes home
Gather back the magic moon
Now look into the faces all around the room...
Hope does spring eternal, or so the story goes
It isn't wealth or riches, nor whom a person knows...
True riches spring from wonder, the kind found in a child
Sweet magic of believing other worlds and other beings
Lead us to a happiness of soul felt murmurings
Let's us be at peace again, out of place and time
Leads us back to fonder days once when life was kind
Gives us back our looking glass, our merriment and merth
Makes us the type of people who can save our earth! ep 2007
And as the old song goes, Joy, Joy to the world! Sweet people gather round, the fairy beings are dancing now, their tiny drums do sound and we are all one nation, one tribe upon the earth, no sound of guns now silenced, no weapons of distruction to harm the fragile ones, just joy and hope and wonder as PEACE comes tumgling down! Buffy St. Marie 1962
posted by Leah PettePiece | 1:39 PM
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