Only A Mere Woman

          So Lent is basically here.  Either there was an extremely short period of Ordinary Time after Christmas, or there is truth to what older folks say about time passing more rapidly the older one becomes.  Needless to say, I'm a bit unprepared for it to arrive tomorrow with Ash Wednesday, though I have been thinking about its arrival for a little while now.  My usual approach to this time is rather minimalistic and unadventurous:  giving up something that I do enjoy, but never really adding some work of mercy or spiritual endeavor to my everyday life.             Such an approach has "worked" for me so far, but my growth this year has left me feeling a bit convicted in regards to my lack of fervor.  I have come to the realization and understanding of some certain things God seems to think I am ready to do, but I am stalled at the gate, afraid to move forward, yet knowing deep in my heart exactly ...

         "People" confuse me.  Half the time I loathe them, the other half I am fascinated by them.  In my general dealings with others, I have found that "people" as a whole, or part of a group, are usually rather lousy, disgusting, stupid, and rather repulsive - an unfortunate annoyance that cannot be avoided.  Separate a "people" from the nasty herd, however, get to know him and all of a sudden he becomes an "individual" - nice, smart, interesting, intriguing, with barely any semblance to the "people" creature to be noted at all!  Such has been my long-standing perception:  "People" stink; "individuals" are cool once you get to know them, even if they come from a group of "people" who stink.             The key thing to note here is that "people" stay "people" until a level of personal knowledge has been met.  Thus the "people" one passes in the street remain so, even thou...

          There are two "lives" within me, warring for dominance.  One is much older, and therefore holds much sway; the other is younger, but in no way less strong.  "Adventure!" cries the one; "Home and Hearth!" calls the other.  Home and Hearth was chosen, young though it was, but Adventure still held a place of honor.  Honor was not enough for Adventure, and many a long and painful battle was fought between the two, with Home and Hearth slowly, oh so slowly, gaining advantage and control. Yet Adventure continued to have hope - there may yet be a day when some may be realized.  Thus Adventure submitted to Home and Hearth, or so it was thought.  One day, Home and Hearth presented Adventure with a potential reality so great that Adventure was terrified of complete annihilation.  Such a thing could not be permitted!  So Adventure has once again taken up arms against Home and Hearth, leaving me torn and bloodied, trapp...

          More often than not, I believe people who are undergoing a hard, difficult time in their life, just need someone who will listen to them, without trying to fix the problem.  I know I do.  Many times in my life would have been easier to handle if I could have found someone who would just listen to what I needed to say, at the very least pretending like they understood what I was going through.  Unfortunately, the most common responses are:   "You should try X, Y, Z; maybe that would fix it for you - that's what I would do!" or  "This is supposed to be one of the happiest/most exciting/ best/(fill in awesome superlative here) times of your life!  Why don't you just suck it up and enjoy it?!?"  Neither one is very helpful, especially when all one wants (more than likely actually  ne eds ) to do is talk, and be heard.             In  a previous post , I wrote about the th...