I feel it only fair to mention the blunt forms of descriptors here, but if they have to pick it up, then I want to call it out…
My husband and I frequented more public restrooms than I care to remember, while he drove a Semi Tractor Trailer for some years, and I was offended by the human capacity to NOT flush a friggin toilet… on a daily basis, to be quite honest. I saw things that you do not want me to share, some things that absolutely should have stayed in peoples own dirty bathrooms.
That person you are shopping next to, the one testing the ripeness of that cantelope… chances are that they did NOT wash their hands after using the restroom. How do I know this, you might ask? Cause I was in there and watched them walk right out the door with a strip of toilet paper stuck on the back of their shoe.
Without getting any grosser, I will simply say “We Salute You” to those unfortunate employees that will never get paid enough to pick up after numerous adult strangers that apparently were raised in a barn in the backwoods of some very remote Commune, and were never taught how to use the restroom beyond the age of 4.
In an attempt to help a guy or girl out, I am leaving you with a saying I have been using for years, most likely read off of a bathroom stall,
“May your life be like a roll of toilet paper… Long and useful”…
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Successful is defined as gaining or having gained success.
The actual word Success is defined as a noun, while Successful is actually an adjective. I decided to look up things on google because I wasn’t sure how to answer this morning.
The actual meaning of just the word Success is a favorable or desired outcome and or the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.
Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
I could have simply answered Walt Disney, since he built Disneyland up from no bigger than a fairground, to a dream come to life. But now that I have a clearer picture in my mind of what the prompt question is asking, I refuse to give this answer on the grounds that it is wholly unfair to anybody not on the list.
Absolutely everyone I know, has had some measure of success in their life, at one time or another. Who am I to pick one person over the other for todays answer? Who am I to decide whether my one friend is more successful because she delivered a healthy baby, or the other friend who finally landed her dream career. How superficial does WordPress think I am?
The prompt question also failed to clarify whether there was a number involved. Must we pick someone with only 2 successes or the one that has 8… maybe success came easier for the 8 person, than it did for the one who only sports 2?
As I understand WordPress to be simply giving us questions that offer an opportunity to write either outside the box, or sometimes pretty deep into the pond… I will extend some grace here today. I love to tease and jest over the choice of questions we see everyday, as this has become my style…
I could be flippant and sarcastic, but I choose not to…
I could be rude when I answer, but I choose not to…
I could just not answer, but I choose not to…
Why?
Because, no matter what the question is that WordPress poses for us each morning, it forces me to think outside my mental box which can be quite stuffy and suffocating, if I stay there too long without bringing in some fresh air. I fully enjoy the mental, emotional, and often spiritual stretching that occurs for me every time I answer a tough prompt question. This has truly become my morning brain exercise, before I dive into deep literary content creation.
So I have chosen to answer that I see the potential for success, in each and every soul that I encounter on a daily basis. I have witnessed it in the past in many, and seek to find it in whomever I meet in the future…
I was wondering why the frisbee kept getting bigger and bigger, but then it hit me.
Now it’s your turn… just pick your favorite off the web or make up your own. Try to find a funnier one than I found and share it in the comments. I know you got it in you!
I think it is not only on point, but actually quite funny if I do say so myself…
In my experience, they either need to be paid to be nice or are simply kind and loving people… the kind of kind and loving that arises from a source within that isn’t us, cause we’re MEAN!
So ya, faint hearts never won fair ladies as they say, because getting old is NO picnic! I feel like some explorer preparing to embark on a huge and daunting expedition.
I will say without a doubt, the care I am receiving with this new Eye Specialist is absolutely Stellar. It is an odd sensation to enter a professional medical establishment, and later walk out feeling good… in my personal experience.
I have had doctors tell me I was fine, I have had doctors lie to me, and I have had a doctor actually ask me to leave, and later sent me divorce papers from his office. He asked me if I thought he believed me, and when I said no he just closed his laptop, got up saying he was unable to help me, and walked out of the exam room.
While I realize that I may be a difficult medical case, that is NOT my fault! When did I drive down to the local Healthcare Department store, walk up to the Illness counter and order a Supersize on some Child Abuse… add an order of Mental and Emotional Trauma in the form of IBS, and also for my drink and dessert… please throw in Fibromyalgia, Arthritis and a Degenerative Disc thingy. Oh yeah, and can you throw in a side order of PTSD and Cataracts.
My point is, I did not ask to have things go wrong in my life, but I didn’t realize how many doctors would mishandle things, that’s all.
For whatever His reasons are, the Lord is prompting me to step out in faith and seek some care. If I am going to write to you everyday, waxing poetic about God leading and guiding us, I should probably practice what I preach if I am being completely honest.
Surprisingly, all my appointments with both the Eye Surgeon and my new Medical Doctor have gone quite smoothly. The X-rays came back and finally the Arthritis is clearly visible in both my pictures and in my bloodwork. Now I just wait for my upcoming appointment with the Sports Medicine Specialist. I have had this pain all my life, but was always poopoo’d by the professionals… “No No, everything’s fine, nothings wrong… it’s just your imagination.” Maybe things will play out better this time around… either way, I’ll go forward in faith.
The forward faith walking I will be embarking on, for my eyes at least, will commence on November 29th. Apparently, this particular day will be the start to a 3 week adventure package including but not limited to, 2 separate eye surgeries and 2 follow up appointments for each eye. But wait, there’s more… not just the 6 appointments are included, but an eye drop medication regime 4 times a day, just to add some excitement. Though it seems daunting to juggle all this in a short time period, I would rather do it all together than stagger the surgeries and have to wear a pair of glasses with one of the lenses popped out, for the weeks of waiting in between procedures.
I am considering the purchase of a pair of those cosmetic contact lenses… you know, the ones with like zombie eyes or vampire eyes. Maybe to break my tension of things, I could hand the doctor a pair of these contacts as they wheel me in for surgery, suggesting he place the ones I picked out ahead of time. As I will be pretty medicated by this time, perhaps I should rethink this, as I won’t be sober enough to stop the doctor if he takes me serious.
I’ve gone round the bend on this silly question, so I leave you with this… If you can do something or try something, do it with all your might, for tomorrow has no guarantees nor time to look back on WOULDA COULDA SHOULDA!
Well, I am off to a pre op appointment with the Eye Surgeon this afternoon… not that you needed to know this, but I’m going to tell you anyway. You are my friends and friends are supposed to care about what goes on in each others lives, so I tell you about things assuming that it is important to you. If it isn’t, well then, just play along for my sake.
Tuesday is ending up to be just Tuesdays Thoughts and Things, as I have had things fly sideways on that day of the week for nearly a month now. Just assume that it will simply be a writers grab bag day of the week, or maybe like a box of Chocolates… Forest Gump said it best, “You never know what your gonna get”.
I turned Wednesdays into a Laugh off Joke day, but no one is playing. Suck it up Buttercup, and get a joke in the comments! I am sick of laughing at only My Jokes… I mean, come on, I know I am funny but not THAT funny!
Live Novel Friday continues the story of Brutus so don’t fall behind.
This weekend continues the Note to Self series and also Live Wire so don’t miss out, and don’t forget the potluck afterwards on Sunday. After last weeks caramel kerfuffle, I have opted for a less mess kind of foodie affair this week… I still have a chunk of caramel corn in my tooth. Since it is pouring cats and dogs this week, I am going with a Comfort Food theme… please, for the love of all that is holy, will you give me some soup flavors for my homemade bread bowls.
For those who are interested, the next audio recording of My Truths is in the Lobby.
How many times do people say one thing and do another? We see it all the way from Government behavior down to the greasy fingered toddler promising they did NOT eat your French fry.
Obviously, my faith should reflect a clear picture of the principles I live by, but just in case you’re still not sure, it’s JESUS example!
From my earliest memories of life, I saw everyone around me behaving contrary to everything that came out of their mouths… from honesty to lies, kindness to cruelty, generosity with a tag, and the famous “Do as I say and Not as I do” Act of 1682! Some grown up idiot came up with this slogan shortly after they got caught doing something bad in front of a kid.
Of all the principles I can choose from to define how I live, it would be the life of Christ that has forever impacted my world. I just know that when I do and say as Jesus would, things turn out far differently in my life than if I reacted like the world does. Nothing has really changed since I was small in regards to human behavior. I am not even immune to this natural state of selfishness. We are born to sneak, cheat, lie, steal, and all the rest of our undesirable natural traits.
We are also blessed with a unique spirit, one that is unlike everybody else. This spirit has the ability to give love, kindness, generosity, grace, mercy and all the rest of our beautiful human capabilities.
I suppose that principles are what separate the wheat from the chaff, as the good book says. Humans are such creatures of habit that all one need do is watch em for a while, and their underlying “Principles” start to surface… if you get my meaning.
As this seems to be how things roll out in the big picture department, I want to ensure that what others see of me… isn’t me at all, but the One in whose principles I define my life by!
Since I like to shake things up and usually choose the road less traveled, I say we all should start living by and saying,
As the story of Jacob and his sons comes to an end, I am left with so many avenues of thought to wander down, and insights to ponder. I won’t even begin to attempt summarizing all of what went down within this family, nor will I attempt to answer any of the many whys that surfaced as I read of this families train wreck of life events. If I am unable to fully explain my own ridiculous series of life missteps, I most certainly won’t be successful in summing up things for Jacob either.
That being said, I will share some takeaways that formed within my mind as I watched things unfold for the whole of Abrahams family tree. Yes you did see me bring another player into this story, because remember that Gods promise to Israel began back before Joseph or Jacob even began.
How differently things would have turned out, had Abraham refused to walk Isaac all the way up that mountain… had he not been fully prepared to sacrifice his child, to the point of God having to stay his hand. I would like to say that I could walk that walk… til you asked me to pick up a blade.
How might it have played out, had Isaacs eyesight been better and the theft of a birthright never happened? I am so grateful that we serve a God who sees and knows everything we do not!
Leave it to say that I am simply grateful for a plan that God put in place way back in the beginning, as the doors to Eden were closed and locked behind Adam and Eve… forever!
God knew exactly what He was doing when He made that covenant with Abraham. God knew about the theft even before Jacob stole it… He was fully aware of the fall out. God saw all the ripples in all the ponds involved… before He ever made the promise to Abraham. That is a sobering thought. I also think it is comforting if you think about it. It continues to prove my point, in that God loves broken things… broken hearts, broken lives and broken spirits!
If we were all perfect and put together, we would never know we needed Him! We are human and therefore, creatures of habit… sinful habit. We would take for granted what has been done for us, and to whom we all belong.
God knows this about us, this habit of self over others… we were born with it, so there is no sense trying to figure out who to blame for our human nature, save one, in my opinion. Unfortunately, all too often we blame God when bad things happen to good people and visa versa. The only constant I can see is how God is always there to help us pick up the pieces and carry on.
Thankfully, even when we humans are selfish and unfaithful, He is not… as I see clearly in the story I have been following here in Genesis. If I know God the way I think I do, even if Abraham chose to disobey… God would still have made a way for him, for his children, for Israel, for you, for me and all of humanity.
I could go on for days about things still whirling around in my brain over this family and their part in our history, but I think it best you check it out for yourself, if you are still interested. As for me, I am off to the book of Exodus to see what lies within its pages.
I leave you with a song I thought would relate to our conversation. Take a listen and then be sure to stick around for a bite to eat before you leave.
If your teeth hurt, it’s your own fault! I said what the Theme was going to be today, clear back on Monday and no one stopped me… so here we all are with aching teeth and a lot of regrets! For the love of Pete, would someone stop me the next time I decide to do something we all will regret!
Journey With Me! 