Tag Archives: Something Good

Something Good

2 Replies

It’s Monday, and even thought Daylight Savings Time is kicking my butt today, I can still think of good things to share. Here’s the list:

Being Elmo.

I just got done watching this movie (it’s available on Netlix streaming), and it’s every bit as wonderful as everyone said it was. I teared up many times just from nostalgia: Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, the Muppet Show, Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.

image by tiffany terry

I love Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo, and his story. He knew at nine, when he first saw Sesame Street, that he wanted to be a puppeteer. He started making his own puppets and putting on shows, but was teased by other kids for “playing with dolls.” His brother, George, said “He’d faced a lot of opposition, but he just stuck with his dream, and he went for what he truly believed in his heart.” Kevin says:

There will always be someone saying to you that you might not succeed with it, you might not make any money with that. There’s always going to be some type of obstacle in the way. All of those things will go away if you really focus on what makes you happy.

When developing the character of Elmo in 1984, after many other puppeteers abandoned him, Kevin says “I knew that Elmo should represent love.” Oh, and he does! I was already in high school when Kevin’s version of Elmo appeared, not the target audience at all, but I loved him so much, still do.

Sam’s Two Year Anniversary.

Yesterday was the two year anniversary of the day we brought Sam home from Animal House Rescue. This picture is from that first afternoon. He can’t fit in my lap anymore.

“We’re Getting Another Dog” This I Believe Essay by Jeanne.

The reason we have Sam is because we lost Obi. Two other really great dogs passed on this week, Strauss and Jane, and a few others are struggling. I reread Jeanne’s essay from time to time, because she reminds me that:

I believe that getting another dog is a physical act of pure hope and resilience. It’s a statement that I can and will bounce back from the worst of it.

Getting another dog is believing in life and the real meaning of it. I can’t think of any other decision I have made in my lifetime in the name of love with such an inevitably painful outcome.

Getting another dog is an act of unconditional optimism. It’s seeing the goodness and being grateful for all the blessings.

Knowing this simple truth makes me appreciate all I have at this moment and makes it easier to face all the inevitable grief that is part of life.

Amen.

Sleeping Dogs.

Let them lie, because I’m not sure if there’s anything cuter.

Unless it’s a sleeping baby bunny.

Dogs Have Nightmares Too

You know how sometimes my Something Good posts are mostly about amazing women? Clearly today’s list is all about dogs. Saturday night, Dexter woke himself up from a dream and started barking. He was sleeping in the living room, so I went out to check on him. He still wasn’t quite awake and when I first came around the corner, he barked at me, and then immediately realized his mistake, lowered his head and started to wag his tail. His hair was standing up all the way down his back and after I pet him for a bit, telling him everything was okay, he followed me back to the bedroom and asked if he could sleep with us, just like a little kid who’d had a nightmare. I loved it, because he hardly ever sleeps in the big bed with us anymore, and I miss cuddling to sleep with him.

Handmade Root Beer.

My great aunt Magdeline used to make this for us. There’d be rows of dark bottles lined up in her dirt cellar, and it was so tasty. I had some yesterday at Coopersmith’s that wasn’t as good as that (how could it be?), but it reminded me how good it can be.

“Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye.

I love a good heartbreak song, and I’m really digging this one.

Sharing Appreciation, Kindness, and Love.

I’ve been on the giving and receiving end this week, and there’s just nothing better (other than sleeping dogs and bunnies, just to review). Kate Courageous posted on her Facebook page today “Someone left a note on my car that my bumper stickers ‘made their day.’ The fact that they left a note made MY day. #kindness.” This is how it works, you tell someone something kind, and they soften and feel the love, maybe even send some appreciation back your way, and you feel good having made them feel good, and it’s all good. We should do more of this.

Something Good

1 Reply

The Universe saying “yes.” This happens all the time, if you are paying attention. It happened for me today, more than once. Sometimes, it yells in celebration, and sometimes it’s as quiet as a whisper, and it happens more often when you are on the right path, doing the good work that is uniquely yours, following your calling, trusting your heart, knowing your hungers, being wholeheartedly yourself. It’s been happening for me a lot lately, and often when it does, I burst into tears. For so long I ignored it, told it to wait or even shut up and leave me alone, and all it wants is the very best for me. The love and wisdom that is available to us, all the time, can be utterly heartbreaking.

image by renaissancechambara

Leftovers. Thanks to the boy for this. I opened the fridge to make my lunch today and realized there were multiple options, so much that I felt like I was ordering off the menu of my favorite restaurant. He takes such good care of me.

Spring. Spring Break isn’t until next week, and technically according to the calendar it’s not quite Spring yet, but the warm weather yesterday and today, more daylight, and crocuses blooming say that it’s close. I ate my second breakfast today sitting in the backyard with the dogs, one of my all time favorite things to do, (I think it’s theirs too), and I can’t wait to do more of that.

image by Armin Vogel

Online classes. I feel like I have stumbled upon this magical wonderland of creativity and support, wisdom and kindness. There are so many classes available, taught by so many amazing women, and though I don’t really have this kind of time, I keep diving in. I just started “Blogging from the Heart” and “Telling True Stories” will be right on its heels. You, dear reader, can only benefit from me spending time immersing myself deeper into the practice of writing.

              

Live music. Last night, I saw Gregory Alan Isakov and Ani DiFranco in concert. There are plenty of bad things I could list about staying up late, standing in a dirty hot loud crowded space for four hours, getting shoved around and groped, having drinks spilled on you, but that’s not my point here. My point is there’s something good about hearing and watching music performed live. The force of sound vibrating in your chest, that bodily experience of the music. A direct and immediate conversation between an artist and their audience. Anything can happen, spontaneously, in the moment. You are trapped in the crush of humanity, screaming, dancing, singing, clapping, and sweating. There’s the potential for aggression but also the opportunity for compassion, for you to soften to those around you, the chance to be in the moment, feeling what you feel, allowing emotions to arise and dissolve, feelings evoked by a person opening their heart to you, telling the truth. This is all possible, mistakes, bravery and vulnerability, life and pure love.

Ani DiFranco, image by Julio Enriquez

Global Sorority. This is yet another fabulous Kickstarter campaign that I pledged this week. It’s a documentary planned by Tia Kelly & Loretta Cella. They explain it this way:

It’s our hope that these documentaries will be used not only to bring awareness, and aid the upward mobility of women and girls in developing nations, but also to be a learning tool in schools and colleges in the western world, offering a platform for discussion around women’s issues and also giving young women a starting place as to how they might connect and make a difference, in their own lives and in the lives of young women around the world.

As with the “Realizing Empathy: An Inquiry into the Meaning of Making” and “Danielle Ate the Sandwich Album” Kickstarter campaigns, I pledged because I wanted to see the final product, but also because I believe if the project is realized, the world will be a better place, suffering will be eased, and I am all in for that.

Color Me Katie blog. This blog is fun, sweet, colorful, and makes me so happy.

Kate, a 24 year old freelance photographer, actress, street artist and fun maker!

And finally, the tiniest-big dose of happiness and cuteness the internet has to offer: Dancing Baby Plover from Dou Dou Birds. Click on the image to see the other three views. The sum of four enables you to see the full measure of his little happy dance.