When I picked out my favorite fruits for this prompt, none of them seemed to be too thrilled about it! It was all I could do to get them to sit in the same bowl together, and the fussing and crying was more than I could take… so I just ate them!
I’ll spare you the visuals of the mess I made, but I will say that it was rather shameful… banana peels, mango skins, and a pile of those little green tops to my strawberries lay mixed into a pile of mango and peach skins. That’s all that remains in the bowl now.
Oh well! In honor of those that were lost, I baked some cookies to make it all better…
When I say shush, I don’t mean for you to shush. I mean for myself to shush… in answer to the prompt, of course!
As far as one small improvement that I can make in my own life, I would have to say that it’s listening more than speaking. Well, I might actually learn a thing or two, ya know?!
Oh, and I should probably start baking larger batches of cookies for everybody…
Based on the definition of what community is, or should be, my answer changes. For instance, if I were to look at this prompt with a literal and physical meaning, I don’t really have anything to answer. We just moved into our apartment after five years of wandering, so we’re just now settling in. While I intend to discover ways of becoming involved, I’m not quite there yet!
If the prompt is looked at from the angle of what do I do to be involved in this community, well, that’s easy. The definition gave two directions when I looked it up. One was the physical community that I live in, which I already mentioned. The other direction to consider is those of like characteristics, like science, art, politics, or, in my case, all things literature.
I suppose that this is where I spend a large amount of my time, whether I’m doing the writing… or the reading and commenting. Community! This is the one I pick. Why? Because I value all of you and I think that you care for me, also. Isn’t that what we’re doing here, as we connect with one another from day to day. I think that each and every one of us here on WordPress make efforts to be involved. We contribute everything from music, art, poetry, short stories, and many times, just our thoughts. In a way, we do live together in a sort of virtual community.
Here, as a show of good faith, I’ve spent the whole of the morning in my virtual kitchen just to bake enough cookies to feed this wonderful community that I call family…
With so many brands out there to choose from, how can I possibly decide. Besides, the answer will always change, depending on the cow.
For instance, color plays a big part in deciding what brand works better than others…
Notice how the white lettering stands out well against the darker fur in the photo above. Yet, if we change the coloring of the letters, things are far different…
Personally, it just makes the cow look naked! And it brings a whole new meaning to the question, “Does this color make my udders look too big?”
What about the shape… of the letters, I mean?
Just asking… for a friend, of course!
Finally, attitude plays a big part in how one carries their favorite brands…
Go ahead, tell her that you think cows with udders shouldn’t have horns like a steer… go on, I double dog dare you! See what I mean, though, attitude really does make that brand bling she’s wearing really pop!
I have more proof, in the whole attitude department…
If you have an unsure and confused look about you, it just really clashes with her choice of brands. Oh well, never mind. By the look on her face, I’m not so sure that changing the brand will improve much in her appearance.
Wait… I’ve the perfect idea for our brandless bovine!
See, I told you that cookies make everything better! Help yourselves to a cookie, or three! She’s been at it all morning so there’s a ton of cookies laying about.
Once upon a time, long long ago, we navigated with pencil drawings of whomever had traveled on the road we were on. It’s all we had to go on for directions…
Thank goodness we don’t have to rely on the old way of getting information, right?! Advanced technology now allows us to navigate, via global satellite telemetry, on our handy dandy cell phones… or even our car’s onboard navigation system.
Consider our personal journeys in life like navigating a map, of sorts. We start at point A (birth) and are given a map of life with a bunch of confusing scribbles on it. It seems like we’re trying to follow a map we can hardly read, in the hope that our directions will get us to our destination, safely and successfully.
When you choose what you consider to be your destination, then you’re able to choose your directions. You can decide to attempt travel, only using those maps that time can destroy…
Or…
Download an Onboard Navigation System… that’s what I did, and I haven’t gotten lost since!
I had to laugh when I saw this prompt, as it brought up a memory that had been lost to me… so thank you, WordPress!
I swear that I might have been born in the wild, because my earliest memories include riding bareback while still in diapers… ya, I have a mind like a steel trap!
Anyways, camping is something that came naturally to this girl, and so, I passed it on to my children. My daughters have been camping since before they were born, as I freely went camping during my pregnancies. When my girls began to grow, we began traveling with a group of about 4 or 5 other families during the summer months, camping and fishing throughout the great Northwest. From southern Oregon, across Idaho and into Montana, and even into British Columbia.
Needless to say, my family are avid campers, fishers, hikers and hunters! They weren’t always so experienced at this stuff, and it took a great deal of training and practice, especially in the bathroom department, if you know what I mean? I had three girls!
How does one raise a little girl to be a tough camper, and yet still be a little lady? Like I said, we traveled with a huge group of camping families, which meant cooking together, bathing in close proximity to others, and yes, using the restroom in groups, for security! With little ones running around, we grown ups thought it was easiest to make an appropriate code word, to signal our restroom intentions. If one needed to use the restroom, we simply said, “I have to go camping”, and anyone who needed to go, simply agreed to come along.
Now, this went on for nearly an entire summer before one of my girls finally asked, “Mamma, how come the grown-ups keep saying they’re camping and then disappear into the woods?” I explained that it was a polite way of saying that we needed to use the restroom, without saying it in front of others. She didn’t question me further, and seemed not to even understand what I’d said. About a week later, all the families gathered at our home to plan the next upcoming adventure.
There we all were, standing around my kitchen talking, when my daughter marches into the midst of the group and boldly announced, “Everyone, I need to go camping… that means I have to go poop!”
I nearly dropped the plate in my hands! The entire room went silent for a moment, and then erupted into laughter! All of the adults in the room knowing laughed themselves silly, while my daughter marched off to the bathroom. The rest of the day was filled with children running around the house, loudly claiming they needed to camp and then laughing about it!
It seems that anytime a person feels purpose in what they’re doing, productivity should skyrocket!
When you feel that what you do makes some sort of difference, even if it’s small, you want to continue the pursuit.
Are you workin to pay the bills, or is your job going to take you somewhere better, somewhere worth going?
Whatever your purpose might be… pursue it with all your heart!
No matter how small a thing, good or bad, God sees it… it matters… you matter to Him!
Each and ever soul on this earth was born with a purpose… a very special and important one! Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, and so is purpose!
I’m going to hijack this prompt, as it doesn’t fit with the person you see here, before you.
Truth be told, I am a take action junkie… which hasn’t always done me any favors in life!
Today’s prompt made me laugh to myself, since my problem isn’t in the NOT taking action department. My issue is recognizing when to STAND DOWN!
It’s taken many bumps, bruises, and bandaged feelings, in order to teach me when to step back… pump the mouth brake… take my hands off of a thing I think I know how to fix, handle, manage, recover and/or repair.
Sometimes, standing down is far better than taking action…
Perhaps, that might be considered an action, in and of itself. However one wants to look at it, I’m seeking to strike a balance between standing down and stepping forward into action.
Am I there yet… no! Am I going to give you any specific examples, as the prompt is suggesting? Absolutely Not! Why? Because we all have had times in our lives where we did or didn’t do as we should have. I just prefer to use my words to encourage others, rather than dredge up my past shame for you to read over your morning coffee, lunch, or after-dinner mints… how dreary would that be? Ugh…
Journey With Me! 