Spring has sprung! I feel it in my mind and spirit. I am ready for some changes. ![]() I remember when I was in high school, I thought that becoming an adult happened automatically when you turned 21. I figured that at that age I would intuitively know everything I needed to know and I would live my life in blissful adulthood from that point forward. I was very shocked when I discovered that I didn’t have a clue about how the world worked on my 21st birthday, or my 30th, 40th, 50th or 60th either. I was shocked to discover that adults learn and grow throughout their lives and that my parents and my relationship with them actually CHANGED as we all got older. Change requires taking risks. I hate taking risks. I don’t like to ride rollercoasters or do anything where there is even an outside possibility that I could die, like walking across log bridges. Of course I know that the possibility that I could die on a rollercoaster or walking across a log bridge is very slim, but the fear of taking a risk like that is quite real. This fear thing holds true for psychological risks too, where I could potentially die from embarrassment. The smell of the Jasmine vines bursting with blossoms when I open my front door, and the little volunteer bean plants that are popping up where I planted beans last year, is driving my desire to change along with the season. I want to make changes in my house, in my body, in my way of thinking. In order to make these changes I must take some risks and do things I don’t normally like to do. One thing I don’t like to do is wheel and deal with money. There is nothing scarier to me than applying for a loan. I’ve done it many times before but it still makes me feel so vulnerable. I have this feeling like I’m signing my life away. Unfortunately I need to do this if I am going to replace my old worn out carpet with wood floors. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time. It was a challenge to figure out how to finance this project. I had to be willing to do a lot of smiling and handshaking and paper signing. It’s worse than shopping for a car and dealing with car salespeople. You would think that being a senior citizen would mean I would always feel like an adult, but this kind of responsibility makes me feel like a little kid again. I’ve also taken some action on eating in a more sane and healthy way. This requires actually reaching out for help with my food addiction. I am a “do it yourself” woman and I take pride in being independent, but I have to admit trying to do it myself has not worked with my food. I can’t force myself into another diet that I may or may not be able to stick with. It’s actually a relief to follow someone else’s directions about how to find some peace over this issue. I feel like one of those little volunteer bean sprouts in my yard, willing to reach out and grow up. Luckily I know I'm never too old to take some risks and make some changes.
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Stress happens, followed closely by that most unproductive of thought processes, worry. ![]() I am worried about my family and friends who are going through difficult times. I am worried about the state of national politics and the terrible things going on in the world. I am worried about all of these things that I have no control over and cannot fix. There is a part of me that wants to turn to self-destructive behavior with food or put myself in a stupor watching endless episodes of “Inspector Lewis” on my ipad. Instead I decided to go back and look at an article written by Janice Taylor that I found online and posted in a previous blog (see “Feeding My Soul” 1/20/2016). ![]() Two things stood out from her list of “25 Ways to Feed Your Soul: Stop the Insanity." “Do not worry about your worries. Worry is neither preparation nor a magic pill that wards off bad happenings.” and “Pray with the rocks, the pebbles, the sand, as they are still and silent.” The image of rocks and sand reminds me of walking by the ocean and the healing power of water. Just being by water has always had a calming and centering effect on me. I have many memories of playing in and near the water as a kid. I loved being in a boat on a lake fishing with my Dad and my sisters. Fishing involves endless hours of doing not much of anything while you are surrounded by the beauty of nature. I have images in my head of the sun sparkling off of the surface of the water, watching the bobber on my fishing line, with only the sound of the water lapping against the side of the boat breaking the peaceful silence. Now that I live near the California coast the call of water still brings me peace. I love to walk along the cliffs by the ocean in the morning. Even when it’s cold and foggy I can listen to the methodical sound of the surf and soak up the negative ions. Water is used as a focus for mediation and relaxation and can be accessed at an expensive Spa or in a bathtub at home. The internet is literally awash with references and books about the healing properties of water. According to Sandra Ingerman, a marriage and family counselor, teacher, and author who uses water images and sounds in her practice "Most of us receive comfort from water. Water stimulates the body's natural ability to relax, and the only way a body can begin to heal is when it is in a relaxed state." ![]() The sight and sound of water has been used as a healing force for thousands of years. In the late 1980’s I took a trip to Greece and Turkey. We visited the ancient Hellenistic city of Pergamon, now called Burgama, which is on the west coast of Turkey. The city had ruins of a healing center. There was a long tunnel that was used by the Greek doctors to cure patients using mediation and suggestion. Under the floor of the tunnel ran water which provided relaxing sounds. On the ceiling there were 12 windows to bring in sunlight. As the patients walked through the tunnel, the doctor would walk beside them and whisper healing suggestions in their ear. I remember walking through the tunnel. It was cool and the sound of the water was hypnotic. After that experience, I would sometimes imagine myself back in the tunnel and feel it’s sense of calm and peacefulness. My internet research also turned up an unexpected source of healing, CATS, hence the title of my blog post. Evidently cats can also bring about a feeling of relaxation and their purr has healing qualities. I KNEW my kitties were more than just decorative! Pet therapy is apparently gaining momentum in many medical communities, and according to Animal Planet’s website, there is scientific research that suggests pet owners live longer than those without pets. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota of nearly 4,500 people found that cat owners were 40% less likely to suffer a fatal heart attack than people who didn’t have a cat (Society for Companion Animal Studies). When a cat purrs within a range of 20-140 Hertz, they send out therapeutically beneficial vibrations. Purring has been linked to lowering stress, decreasing symptoms of dyspnea, lessening the chances of having a heart attack, and even strengthening bones (Daily Infographic). And this goes for the nearby human, not just the cat! At one time, when my sister visited me and was feeling stressed, my former (now deceased) cat Spencer came up to her and pressed his head into her hand looking for pets. She remembered how comforting that was and used that image as a stress reliever long after she went home. I know she is under a tremendous amount of stress right now and I hope that image is still with her. I can’t be with her but I can remind her to think about the healing qualities of cats and water with the hope that they will bring her, and me, a sense of peace. It's magic! Or maybe it's the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day (even though my Irish genes are minimal). I can edit my blog on my laptop again! I am freeeeeeeeeee! I have no idea what exactly fixed the problem. The Weebly helper, Amanda, suggested that I create a new blog page and, wonder of wonders, not only did the editing icon reappear on this new page, it reappeared on my old blog page too! Whoo Hoo! I'm a little afraid something bad will happen and I will be back editing on my ipad, so I moved the back-up blog page to the end of my list of pages and I'll just keep it there for now. Now I can JUSTIFY! (notice how this section is CENTERED!) I can add COLOR to my text!!!!!! And I can make it BIGGER, and SMALLER! ![]() Look at how I can drop photos into the middle of a piece of previously rejected blog text and easily change the size: I was not brought up as a cat person. We had a dog named Frisky, when I was a kid, but he was more connected to my Mom and sister than to me. I was afraid of some of the neighborhood dogs. I have bad memories of two dogs who lived across the street. They were big, aggressive Irish Setters and they used to chase me and my sister. Then they would jump on us from behind, with their paws hanging over our shoulders, and drool on the back of our necks. Ever since that time I have had a strong aversion to dogs. After I got married my ex husband and I adopted a cat. The husband is long gone but my love of cats has endured. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I am now just three blog posts short of 100 and I have been blogging for one year. I am so happy that I will be able to celebrate my 100th blog post by editing it on my lap top. There is a God!
WARNING: This is a touchy-feely blog post. I free associated my way into a blog idea that would allow me to let my feelings out, using a photo of my cats.
After much struggle to keep Sadness out of Riley’s life, Joy finally ends up working together with Sadness to build new, more integrated memories that are part of the process of growing up and that lead Riley into a more emotionally complex life. Obviously this is not your typical “cartoon” movie with heroes and villains!
This movie really hit a cord with me. No one likes to feel sad and deep sadness can lead to depression, but avoiding feelings is not a very realistic way of going through life. The fact that Sadness was such a cute, roly-poly character made me really connect with her. I found myself rooting for her to be accepted and included in the crazy conglomeration of feelings. As it turns out, Sadness does have a purpose, to alert others, including her friends and family, when Riley is emotionally overwhelmed and needs help. The process of seeking and accepting help leads Riley to the discovery that emotions are meant to connect people together, and that relationships are the most important things in life. I am aware that the theme of this film plays itself out in my life on a daily basis. Yes, I would like to be happy, happy, happy all the time, but sometimes that quest leads to my seeking out unhealthy ways to cover up the not so happy feelings, like using food in an addictive way. Dealing with those feelings means I need to reach out for help and trust that there will be Joy waiting in the wings. I am not fond of bugs, computerized or otherwise. Recently I had a Little Miss Muffett moment while I was relaxing in my recliner. I felt a bit of movement on the back of my shoulder and when I reach up to check it out I felt something round and bug-like. I have no idea what it was because I frantically brushed it off of my shoulder. I don’t know where it went. I couldn’t find it. That alone creeps me out. I imagine there is a squished arachnid keeping me company somewhere in my recliner. I need to vacuum thoroughly.
When I was a kid I was terrified of wood ticks. Actually I still am afraid of ticks. My family often went out for picnics and fishing expeditions into the wilds of Minnesota. My Mom told us when we were toddlers she would put me and my sisters in the bathtub when we came home and pick the ticks out of our scalps. Just the thought of it makes me squirm. I remember riding home from an excursion into the great outdoors. I was sitting in the car behind my Dad and I saw a tick crawling on the back of his collar. I guess someone grabbed it. I doubt that it was me. I just remember spending the rest of the drive feeling like I was trapped in a vehicle full of creepy crawlies. I couldn’t wait to get home and strip down. I know I am not alone in my fear of bugs. It’s not a very rational fear. I am way bigger and smarter than they are. Or at least I am bigger. In high school biology we had to make a “collection” of either leaves or insects. There was only one person who did insects. She was one of my friends. I couldn’t even imagine actually choosing to go around and collect bugs, but she always marched to a different drummer and was much braver and more enlightened than the rest of us. My internet research revealed that insects have been on this planet much longer than we have and they way outnumber us. About 80% of the Earth’s animals are insects. They have been present on earth for about 350 million years. Our ancestors have only been around for about six million years, and the modern form of humans only evolved about 200,000 years ago. The earliest fossil cockroach is about 280 million years old – 80 million years older than the first dinosaurs! I know that they are an important part of our ecology and that life on this planet would cease to exist if it wasn’t for bugs. And despite their Alien-like appearance, they are much less scary than we think. Of the huge numbers of insects on earth, only one percent are harmful to humans. Most insects are harmless or actually beneficial. For example, without bees to pollinate flowers, plants would not have a way of reproducing and we wouldn’t have anything to eat! I do like bees, and butterflies, and ladybugs, and other "cute" bugs. It's the ugly ones that send chills up my spine. Despite their beneficial attributes, we humans continue to denigrate insects and try to squish and spray them into oblivion. Even calling a computer attack a “bug” is a putdown of their real value and importance. I doubt that I could ever learn to love wood ticks in the way I love my cats, and I’m not going to stop protecting myself from a spider crawling up my shoulder by smashing the bee-geebies out of it, but perhaps I can learn to appreciate bugs in the same way I have learned to appreciate opossums. I just hope Weebly can get that darn bug off my blog site. I have not been able as yet to work out how to edit my blog on my laptop. I am forced to continue editing on my iPad which is less than ideal. The sound you may be hearing is the ripping out of my hair, and I have very little to rip out in the first place (see my previous blog "HAIR!"). Here is a lovely photo of a calm day at the beach. I am C-A-L-M-M-M-M. . .
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Leslie Masona woman in search of her post-retirement future Guess what! By subscribing, you get notices about the latest Little Old Lady with Cats posts sent to your mailbox!
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WHAT IS A LITTLE OLD LADY WITH CATS - REALLY?
(from an entry posted on 5/1/2015) “I definitely fit some of the characteristics of a little old lady with cats: Retired - check, Single - check, Like to knit - check, Have cats - check. . .I do not want to get stuck in my Little Old Lady persona, however. In fact, this blog is a risk taking experiment in exploring and redefining what I want my retired life to look like.” Categories
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