February 2025 – Page 7

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing (Archives)

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“Some people aren’t who they say they are. Be cautious of the company you keep. Be careful who you trust.” Unknown

I’m back to where I don’t want to be but as I’ve said before, life has a way of throwing curveballs and when you get hit, you just have to go with the flow. Dating again is not my cup of tea and part of me cringes at the thought of putting myself out there but the other part says, “Grit your teeth, place a smile on your face and let’s go out there and do this!”

However, that is not what I want to talk about here. Sure going out to meet the “maybe” person of your dreams is a turn on but let me tell you, it is not as easy as you think. First, you have to navigate through minefields to get there. There are the good guys who somehow don’t fit the bill for some reason, in my case anyway. Then there are the control freaks whose only skin in the game is to take control of you. They show their true colors sooner or later and they are easy to spot and discard. Then there are the ones who could pass for your son and their mantra is, “Age is just a number!” Stay clear of them. You are not Mrs. Robinson or a member of the Cougar Club! At least, I’m not. Scammers they are aplenty. They lie in wait and suddenly you’re the best looking woman in the world, they’re in love without ever having met you and they want to whisk you away to wonderland and shower you with gifts but the problem with these losers is they’re looking to you to fund their dreams. Stay clear!

The ones I really want to talk about here are the wolves in sheep’s clothing. They come across as the nicest guys on the planet but beware. Things are not always as they seem with this breed. They seem harmless at first and might even appear to be your dream guy or your definition of a dream guy. That’s about where it ends. They are deceitful and often dangerous if things don’t go their way. The signs to look out for are these. Inconsistency is the name of the game for them. They are inconsistent not only with their words but also with actions. They lack empathy meaning they don’t give two hoots about your feelings, that’s the last thing on their minds. They also have a repetitive pattern of dishonesty. Oh and let’s not forget manipulation. They are masters in the art of manipulation.

They do all the right things at the right time. They show interest where interest was lacking before. They do invest a lot of time in you but the end game for these wolves is to get what they want and you don’t matter. They are not easy to decipher clothed in sheep’s clothing but the moment they sense they are not getting what they want, the facade drops and the wolf steps out. Once challenged, they bare their teeth and react in an aggressive manner. Vulnerability is easy to victimize so get strong and arm yourself before you put yourself out there. Don’t be charmed easily, pay attention and look beneath the surface and most of all trust your intuition. It will always get you to where you need to go.

“Be Careful who you Trust. The Devil was once an Angel,” Unknown

Here are some tips to help you along the way:

Take your time. You do not have to rush into anything.

Build your confidence, self-esteem can be daunting and that’s exactly what you need. ”Walk in like God sent you!”

Have very clear objectives. Wishy-washy is not going to do it here. If it’s a NO, then it’s a no.

Be honest about what you want and let it be known from the get go. No beating around the bush here.

Lastly,

Don’t give up!

Have an amazing day.

Some Great News?

I guess if I woke up one morning and I find out that I’ve won the lottery, now, that would be great news! Not a chance of that happening but if it did, I think I would go silent probably out of shock! Financial independence gives a false sense of security I think because there are other things needed to round off that security issue but “money” does help as we all know and no matter how much we have, we always want more, human nature I guess. So go silent first and then jump for joy!

If that is not in the cards, a call or text from publisher saying that the book is FINALLY ready to be published will probably do it. If I got that message, I would be over the moon. It has been a long long wait and patience is wearing thin but all good things take time as they say and I am trying to bite the bullet and not OVERTHINK as I usually do!

Will it happen? I’m not holding my breath but it would be a great surprise and one to my liking. Universe do your thing and the people responsible for getting the book out, you need to get moving!

Daily writing prompt

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

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Laughter is the Best Medicine (Archives)

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Experts say “that laughter might raise the pain threshold and improve glucose tolerance, have positive effects on the immune system, and lower blood pressure.” Furthermore, “it enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.”

However, humor can’t cure all ailments but according to the mayoclinic.org, it has the ability to stimulate many organs, it helps to activate and relieve your stress response and it can soothe tension. These are just some short-term effects. The long-term effects can improve your immune system, help to relieve pain by releasing natural pain killers, increase personal satisfaction and improve the mood.

A daily dose of laughter can do wonders it seems. So here are a few jokes to get you started.

Police Inspector: Why didn’t you report your stolen credit card?

Husband: The thief was spending less than my wife.

Police Inspector: Then why are you reporting it now?

Husband: I think now the thief’s wife has started using it.

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Two men were talking about their wives. The first man says, “My wife is an angel..” The second man says, “You’re lucky! Mine’s still alive.”

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You know you’re getting old when your wife says, “Honey, let’s run upstairs and make love,” and your answer, “I can’t do both.”

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Doctor: “Do you do dangerous sports?”

Patient: “Well, sometimes I talk back to my wife.”

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When a wife says, “Do what you want” – seriously dude, don’t do what you want. Instead, stand still and do not even blink.“

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And now for all the single men out there.

Dear Grooms, once you get married, remember that when you discuss with your wife, always get the last two words right. ”Yes, dear.”

Feel better? I am feeling much better.

Yesterday (Archives)

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Someone once said, you are NOT yesterday. True but the stories we tell ourselves, the narratives that we trap ourselves in sometimes tell us that we are. Yesterday does carry some weight because it helps to define who we are today. The memories of yesterday can mold or break us, it can teach us not to do the same things over and over again and more often than not, it gives us the strength to carry on. The truth of the matter is that we cannot rewrite history and we cannot go back and change the outcome of a story that happened and is now done with. Yesterday is just that, it was and is a part of our past and except for the revisits from time to time of well-kept memories, it is nothing more than that. It is a story that is finished, it has taken its final bow or curtain call and so must we by letting it go.

This is what I tell myself on the journey I am on. I can’t keep carrying yesterday on my back or like an albatross around my neck. The load is heavy and it makes me want to stop, turn around and run back to what was familiar even if that familiarity has the power to hurt like hell. The unknown before me is terrifying and anything is better than this right? What’s in front is shrouded in fog, it is dark and foreboding and forging through it takes superhuman effort but the small negative voice within me which at times roars like a waterfall tells me that I can’t do it! Take small steps, one step at a time, you don’t have to know everything, just trust and you will get there says this other shaky voice but there are no other options, moving forward is where I need to go.

Sometimes it is the boundaries we place around ourselves that trap us, that tell us that the imaginary world we live in is so much better than what is waiting out there. Sure it was painful but there was greatness too. It was filled with things I knew and cherished, in one word, it is irreplaceable. The stories we tell ourselves are the fences we place around us. Was yesterday that great? Did we embellish it like a Christmas tree to make it sparkle and shine when the reality is a different story? Do the stories we tell ourselves distort reality and yet it is the truth as we see it or is it because we want to see it that way?

Harold R. Johnson said, “We are all story. We are the stories we are told and we are the stories we tell ourselves. To change our circumstances, we need to change our story: edit it, modify it, or completely rewrite it.”

I don’t want to completely rewrite my past. I want to take the good parts with me, the bad parts I want to thank for teaching me lessons I would not have learned otherwise and the pain? Well, I want to leave that behind where it belongs. Enough tears have been shed, enough wishing that it could have been different has not made it less so and closing the door behind me and moving on is the way to go. The next chapter is waiting and yesterday is done with.

“Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and heart to a truly precious gift – today.” Steve Maraboli

Here’s to yesterday. You taught me lessons I didn’t want to learn but had to accept. You gave me memories I will forever treasure. You made me who I am today and for that I will forever be thankful.

Today is a blank slate.

Have an amazing day.

Lost Hobbies and Activities

Reading used to be a hobby I indulged in with a passion. I used to have my nose in books every chance I got but it is no longer the case now. I do miss the days of traveling without leaving home, of visiting faraway lands, of kissing princes who were not “frogs” and of living a fairytale existence. I reveled in “happy ever afters” and I let the imaginary world guide my existence. I loved it all. Then I discovered writing and realized that I could do the same and my world took off running and reading was put on the backburner. I still read but when I need to have my nose in a book, it is of the cookbook variety!

Jogging was an activity I thoroughly enjoyed. I remember meeting up with a group of friends at around 5:00 a.m. as we headed off for a three-mile jog. The world was still asleep while the group of us took off pounding the pavement all the time talking and laughing about nothing in particular. The joints were working fine then and “youth” kept us going. I gave it up in my 20s because I read somewhere that it (jogging) put too much stress on the joints and could cause problems later on. I decided to err on the side of caution and took to walking instead. It has been a safer choice and serves me well.

If I could, I would love to get back to reading but somehow I can’t. I don’t know why. I do miss those days but I guess time changes things and who knows at some point I might go back to it but just not right now. Jogging is done with. I can’t see myself doing that ever again. The closest I get to jogging these days is running on the spot but that too only for a few minutes at a time!

Time changes things.

Daily writing prompt

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

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Standing Strong (Archive)

Weakness is easy. It doesn’t take much to get us there. It could be brought about by the breakdown of a relationship or a situation in life that brings us to our knees. During these times, “weakness” will come around holding out its hands to us and more often than not we are more than willing to stay for awhile and wallow there in the darkness. Be very careful of weakness, it’s a false friend. It is inadequate, feeble, lacking in firmness and strength is not one of its attributes. Know when to let go and stand back up.

“We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it as not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Choose your lessons carefully if you don’t want darkness than don’t stand in it. There are things that happen in life that we have no control over but there are the ones that we know exactly what we are getting into. For example, the people we choose to have relationships with knowing full well that we are headed for disaster from the get go or the things we shouldn’t do and yet it beckons and we go for it ignoring the consequences or choosing to go into the lion’s den knowing full well what is awaiting us there. Choose to stand in the light.

“If you want the light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” Guy Finley

Not always easy I know. Being strong when faced with adversity is not always doable. Being strong when standing in the dark and faced with the unknown is scary. Being strong when all you want to do is throw up your hands is one of the hardest things to do. I learned my hardest lessons not when things and situations were at their best but when they were at their most difficult. The lessons we learn when we are at our most vulnerable are the ones that help us as we make our way through life and the ones that help to shore us up for the lessons to come. The ones that teach us we are not breakable but pliable and like that tree that moves and bends as the wind picks up, we too are fully capable of handling whatever life throws our way.

“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.” Bob Marley

Have an amazing day.

Candy Time?

I don’t have a sweet tooth so I stay away from candies, pastries, cookies and the like. I do like cheesecake, my one sin as I call it but I have a handle on it now so no excessive imbuing of cheesecakes either!

Living a healthy life is at the top of my agenda so instead of reaching for something sweet when stress hits, I put on my shoes and head out the door for 30 minutes of nature and that usually fixes my craving and all my woes.

If there is one thing that I’m into on those rare moments when I need something sweet, it is a special kind of chocolate with hazelnuts. It is made with no sugar, no artificial sweeteners and is low carb. However, it is expensive so I don’t reach for it often which is a good thing. Just to whet the appetite and a small piece at a time does the trick!

No fun? Well, it works for me and that “no sugar, no nothing chocolate” does taste great.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite candy?

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The Smackdown!

The “peacemaker” and Commander- in-Chief had this to say on Tuesday about resettling refugees outside of Gaza.

“I hope we can do something where they wouldn’t want to go back. If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza.”

Hmm….he forgot about the bombing that destroyed the infrastructure.

On Thursday, he had this to say:

“The Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region. They would actually have a chance to be happy, safe and free.”

Day dreaming is nice sometimes but the 47th president needs to understand that he is not the regular Joe on the street and what he says will and might have repercussions. It did. What’s that about Chuck Schumer?!!

The man who is used to jumping the gun and putting half-baked ideas out there did not reckon on the “fury” he would create in the Arab world through his thoughtless and “crazy” remarks.

Egypt and Jordan are strongly against any forced relocation of Gazans. They won’t be taking in any Palestinian refugees and Saudi Arabia is standing firm saying, “that Palestinian statehood is nonnegotiable.”

According to another source Trump’s suggestion, “has the potential to unleash revolutions and provoke state collapse in the Middle East.” Furthermore, this plan will not bring peace to the area. It will unleash a vicious cycle of violence for Israelis and Palestinians.

The smackdown is clear. The plan has nowhere to go but back where it came from. Talking without thinking, ideas that sound good at first glance but not well thought out AND “making the deal” is what this administration is all about but they are quickly learning that what the “new Messiah” has to say doesn’t always fly!

Keep Going (Archives)

I wrote this last year and things have changed but I am still working on the project, the project being me. There is still work to be done.

The path ahead is unclear. It is scary. It is often filled with obstacles which we have to cross to make it up that mountain. We find ourselves on our way and then we take a tumble and we find ourselves not back to square one but somewhere in between and that is where I am now.

The weekend was filled with uncertainties and all my good intentions seemed to have flown out the window. I thought I was doing so well only to find that being on my way, moving on from the here and now is a long process. It doesn’t happen overnight and neither does it happen in a few days, a few weeks or a few months. It is an ongoing process which involves falling, picking yourself back up and having the courage to say, “Here I go again!”

“When you walk in the fire, you start becoming fireproof.” Hiral Nagada

I spent the weekend looking for excuses as to why I CAN’T do this and that is often the case with me. It is easier to look for excuses than to move on. Fear is another factor which plays into my inner being and that little voice within, the one that acts like a little kid keeps tugging and keeps saying you are not capable of making it to the other side. However, there is this other voice which refuses to give up and if given the chance, it will become a deafening roar that pushes me to my limits and lets me know that there is strength, unbeatable strength within and all I need to do is stand back up and start moving. Just remember that it will get worse before it gets better it says and that is the truth.

It takes time, it takes effort and it takes hard work to get to the top of the mountain and there will be times when I will take a fall and land where I don’t want to be, lost in my own excuses of why I can’t move on. Acknowledge but don’t get too comfortable where you are. It is a no man’s land and you want better so stand back up and look towards that open door and go through it because failure is not an option.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” Mary Ann Radmacher

Also remember that failure is a choice, standing still is not an option and walking away from things that keep you from achieving your goals is the right thing to do no matter how painful it is. Let go of things which don’t serve you and make the commitment to keep going and you will arrive at where you need to be. My mission for this week is to keep moving, one step at a time and to keep going.

“No matter how bad things are right now.

No matter how stuck you feel,

No matter how many days you’ve spent wishing things were different,

No matter how hopeless and depressed you feel,

I promise you won’t feel this way forever.” Unknown

Here’s a story of hope. Last year, I uprooted a peony bush because it was growing too close to a fence and its growth was being stunted. I decided to move it to a smaller area where I thought it would thrive. There was a risk that it might not survive the process at all. All through winter, it looked like it had died. A week ago, I noticed that it was sprouting! Today, when I walked out the front door I noticed that new leaves were forming and it was budding and there were five buds on this tiny plant. Perhaps, it is a lesson from nature that even in the deepest darkest of times when we think all is lost, life is working its magic to show us that patience wins out and “better” is on its way.

If all else fails, remember that it is not Amazon Prime, the delivery doesn’t happen in one or two days!

IT TAKES TIME.

Have an amazing day.

I Need a Break…

I need a break from overthinking! It is a problem that I deal with everyday. No matter what happens in my life or doesn’t happen, I am in the overthinking mode! It takes hold and I bring different scenarios into the picture AND spend time working on solutions for non-existent problems!

It is a waste of time I know but at times I can’t control my mind. I call it the “monkey” because it hops around too much and runs the gamut without an okay from me! It also keeps me from the task at hand because I’m busy chasing it around! Perhaps, all or some writers have that problem. We are creative people and imagination runs wild, it does with me anyway.

I am reeling it in by concentrating on the here and now. This method works but not always because I love being in that imaginary world where the “monkey” has the upper hand. Walking helps and being out in nature definitely helps to soothe the mind and to calm it, meditation does too but it is constant work to keep it in check and it is tiring to say the least. So, I need a break from constant overthinking.

Daily writing prompt

Do you need a break? From what?

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