The Colloid Base

One of the things that we do to not feel uncertain is, we create consistency in our lives, and we hold tenaciously to our pattern of consistency. And that could be anything, from when we have our meals, when we go to sleep, when we watch television, when we read, when we take a bath, all those kinds of things. Or how I hold a fork or how I kiss someone. It’s really interesting because we’ve got all these strategies that basically are supposed to bring a sought-after result, and all the strategies are layered, one upon the other in our lives. We do this so that our lives are predictable, and we’re not confronted by massive uncertainty. And for most of us, we’re not confronted with that until we’re breathing our last breaths, and we suddenly realize, “Oh my God, I’m dying.”

Now another aspect of this wildness, and I’ve been heading us this way, is change. Now we’re going to go to the Vedas, and in the Vedas we have ‘Shiva’. Shiva’s action has been translated by our wonderful British translators as ‘the destroyer. It’s more than that. It is ‘Shiva is change.’ And again, if you look at Shiva, Shiva is kind of wrathful.

Shiva’s not a particularly friendly looking deity.

Shiva is change without propriety. It’s change, it is wild change. And so we have the picture, or the stature of Shiva dancing, with the fire around him, which is the fire of the end of the Universe. It is the all-consuming fire in which we all turn into ash. And Shiva is dancing in it.

And the key of this image is that change is happening. The fire is the transformational aspect of physical manifestation of change. So what we’re dealing with is that the Wrathful Deity, first of all, is wild, that it has no propriety, that it’s not going to make adjustments for us because we’re really a nice guy, or we wear the right clothes, or we say the right prayers.

Let’s file this one under the heading of random musings and observations, or what I like to call “things I’ve noticed along the way so far.”

Of the many things we tend to forget about in our fast paced culture, two of the most important are how to play and how to rest.

Even if the grass is greener on the other side it’s still got to be mowed.

Like most men, one of my biggest emotional needs in marriage is to be and feel appreciated. It took me a long time, almost too long, to figure out that in order to be appreciated, I had to do a whole lot more than just show up.

It’s much easier to raise a child than to repair an adult.

Exactly when did fast food become so slow?

Most women simply need to be told frequently and shown often that they are loved.

Just about every kid I’ve ever worked with faced the challenge of a “personality conflict” with a teacher. Of the many ways to handle this challenge is to look at it as good practice for adulthood, when the exact same thing will happen in the workplace.

When it comes to adequately expressing emotional pain, the English language falls terribly short.

People who complain more than their share are usually trying to tell someone how very much they hurt.

There are lots of folks who are in a relationship because it’s socially acceptable, while being committed to something else in their lives.

Can someone please explain to me what could be so important as to be worth risking your own life and the lives of others by running straight through the red light at a busy intersection?

Some people enjoy the defining and re-defining of a problem much more than solving the problem.

Whether you look upon the things you do every day as a burden or a privilege determines whether you do them grudgingly or gracefully.

How is it that couples can be involved in a nasty loud heated argument and when the phone rings they stop and answer it with a pleasant hello? We seem to be more willing to talk pleasantly and kindly to an unknown caller than to our spouses.

It never ceases to amaze me how creative we are at complicating our lives.

Here’s a quote I recently came across that hit’s the emotional bullseye: “Being cared about is something so desperately needed in this depersonalized world that people will crawl across a thousand miles of desert to get it.”

In the wake of all the recent school violence, those asking “how could this be happening?” are asking the wrong question. A much better question is “What are we going to do about it?”

If you are blessed enough to still have elderly relatives and aren’t regularly “picking their brains”, then you are really missing out on a great source of experience and wisdom.

Most depiction’s of marriage/family counseling in the movies or on TV embarrass me.

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” … When he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived” (Genesis 45:27b).

What a thrill Jacob must have experienced when his sons told him that his beloved Joseph was alive and when he saw the wagon that was to take him to this long-lost and cherished son! Kindness such as Joseph’s becomes the very food and medicine to initiate strength and action.

“When he saw the carts,” his faith was renewed and his heart recovered. Even his old character is revived: “And Israel said, `I am convinced!’” V.28. When his son had died, so he thought, Israel died, as well. Now the anguish of those years since Joseph’s disappearance and its purpose is to be made clear. God’s objective is accomplished, and it is merciful.

How many of us are discouraged and waiting for our wagon-load of graces? One of the greatest lessons in the story of Joseph out of a multitude of illustrations is his perseverance in his own sorrows, and his graciousness to others in the midst of his own cart-load of cares. If we are troubled, it might help us to send another a cart–a card, a word of love, a hand that lifts–for their cares.

Yet another joy here is knowing that God does not leave us in our burning desert alone without provision and protection. We would starve to death if it were not for God’s graces: His wagon-loads of promises to transport us beyond our meager selves to His land of the best. Faith in the probability gives us the ability to go on. Sense sees the reality of the vehicle of faith, and the faith propels us forward to grasp the cart-load of mercies that our Father so willingly tenders to us.

Ah! we thank You, Father, with full hearts!

BONZA BOTTLER DAY is any day when the date and the month have the same number. Bonza, I’m told, means “excellent” or “really great” in Australian, and there’s some suggestion that “bottler” means the same.

Bonza Bottler is a “just because” kind of holiday, started a decade or so ago by the late Elaine Fremont who believed the world needed more holidays. On BBD, we are called to let loose, just for the joy of it, and Ms Fremont’s original wish was that we celebrate without alcohol or other artifical stimulants. Celebrate using just our natural ability to be joyous — even in hard times, letting this part of ourselves play out . . . come out to play. Think of Snoopy, dancing madly to music maybe only he can hear. Think of Shrek and Princess Fiona, giggling and roughhousing as they walk through a field.

Wicki, our Boston Terrier, is a great believer in “just because.” She loves to wrestle with Dudney, our 12-year-od cat, and we, in turn, never tire of watching the two of them pouncing and leaping and rolling around. Dogs and cats are not supposed to play together — their styles are too different, says Conventional Wisdom. But for nearly 4 years now, cat-dog play has been a regular and delightful aspect of our family life.

If they can do it, why can’t we? Play, that is. Just because. Take time out from the Tasks of Life, step aside from our accustomed ways of being, and Celebrate. Why? Just because. May you enjoy your own Bonza Bottler Day. This month. This week. Why not today?

Maureen Killoran, MA, DMin, is a Life Coach with a passion for helping people connect their strengths with their vision. Maureen offers dynamic individual and group coaching, work team empowerment training, teleclasses, and a free monthly e-zine, “Seeds of Change.” Her articles are published on over 89 websites, and have been translated into several languages. don’t miss her latest e-book, “Spirit Tickling: A Workbook for Curious Souls” http://www.spiritquestcoaching.com