Gami-isms

• Don’t let things that have happened to you in the past get in the way of you getting the future you want.
• Trust your true self, the one inside you that is not hurt by what others have said or done.
• Others only think they know, but listen anyway they might have good ideas.
• The way your life will go is up to you not circumstances or resources
• Accumulation is a powerful tool. 1 is a huge number when put together with others. Set a goal, a small one, one at a time and do it.  1+1+1+1=MORE
• Work like it is fun and play safely like it is work then all actions are pleasurable.
• Take reward in accomplishment not praise, compensation or goodwill.
• Your decisions (on an every minute basis) will determine your future.
• Emotional reactions only last until the adrenalin leaves your body.  Control your response until then.  Then act with your best intentions.
• Always do what is right not just easy.
• Remember that everyone is frustrated and demonstrates that frustration in the strangest ways.  Don’t think it is you.
• Always own up to your mistakes, blunders or stupidity.  Ask for forgiveness and really mean it.  Make restitution when possible or accept the consequences if necessary. 
• Don’t let what anyone says fool you, even leaders.
• Don’t be fooled by false demonstrations of affection that lead to you being exploited or harmed. Change as soon as you understand that is happening.
• There is no one else that will make your life better, because they are busy making their life what they want.
• Imagination is to solve problems not to make up stuff.
• Your mind is the most powerful tool you have.  Don’t waste it on thinking of things that will not get you the life you want.  Think and it will be.  Fill your mind with junk and junk will come out in your life to haunt you.
• It takes determination and focus to make a better life, but I know you can do it. 
• Love even though you are not loved; it will confuse them.  Watch their faces if you don’t believe me. You need to love more than be loved

Have a good life it is up to you now.

Anxiety is the physical response to a threat.  Look closely at what makes you anxious and resolve it and the body response will be gone.  When kids are little and get up in the middle of the night with bad dreams having them safely look at the monster and finding a way to defeat it let them go back to sleep.  So, what is your anxiety based on?  Or is it merely a body response to low blood sugar, digestion problems or not enough food energy?  Fix any or all of these and some of it will be gone.  Face the imaginary stuff and all of it will be gone.  Focus your mind on other things and you can go on with your life no matter how you feel.

Sheets

Today I changed my sheets on my bed. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but a few months ago I spent my discretionary money for new sheets. The 600 count ones that feel like silk. I sink into them like melted butter and fall fast asleep.

This would not be such a big deal if I expected to have such comfort. But since I have had my share of 200 count sheets, scratchy wool blankets or no mattress at all it is a real treat.

All my life I have been between poverty and the expectation of abundance. At times I have been so out of resources as to be sleeping in a tent on the side of the freeway. But, with always a since that there was something better I should have had.

I look back on the thunderstorm that drenched the tent forcing us out into the rain and the days wondering where I would be the next minute as a learning experience. Which, of course, it was, but did I need to learn to enjoy 600 count sheets by not having them? Maybe, I don’t know. But very often the lack didn’t let me enjoy the things I have at the time.

The since of expectation of abundance also made me envious of others that had more and ashamed of what I did have. This is a terrible predicament--half way in between and not happy with either.

But today I love my 600 count sheets, my garden that is makeshift chicken house of old fencing and used 2X4’s, and old wooden ladders painted bright orange, blue and purple and my house with the leaky roof, my dog that got fleas, my chickens that are not laying and that are sneezing, my trees that are dropping leaves all over the place and the beautiful pink fall flowers that are blooming in my bedroom doorway!

I barely can pay the price for this home, but while I have it I will enjoy the smell of the night blooming Jasmine, the sweet fragrance of the orange blossoms and the colors of the 40 roses that are scattered around my garden, the feel of the grass, and the smell of the rain. For today I will slip into my 600 count sheets and melt away to rest and dream of all the sweetness in my life right now, and let all the envy and contempt for not having, not doing, not living another life leave my soul.

I should have done this all along.

The Linen Closet Dilemma

Today I was looking for something. I went into the linen closet and looked on the shelf I thought it may be but it wasn’t. I went through everything looking for it but it wasn’t anywhere on that shelf but I did notice that this wood shelf did not have any shelf paper on it. Wood discolors fabric if left touching so I pulled everything off this shelf and put shelf paper on it. The other shelves did not have shelf paper on them either so I choose to do those shelves too. Everything went flying out the door of the linen closet onto the floor, neatly of course so I could put it back when I was done. Now, I had all that stuff from 5 shelves on the floor. There were two more shelves way at the top and I had enough shelf paper to do them too, but I had a big enough mess with the ones I had already done so, I went to get a cup of coffee. What I wanted was not on any of those shelves either. I had decided while getting the coffee to just do the other two shelves anyway. So, I went back to the closet and set the coffee on the counter by the door where I could get it and went about getting the stuff off those two shelves. A cute little mouse had made quite a mess all over those blankets! I was glad I was getting that cleaned up. I would need to wash those extra blankets though. As I turned around to get down off the ladder turned to get the coffee, hit the edge of the counter and off went the coffee all over the linen on the floor! I had coffee everywhere! All over the rugs, all over the blankets, all over the counter, all over the floor, everywhere. I just sat down and looked at the mess I had made. Now I would need to wash everything in that linen closet! So, I cleaned up the coffee, put all the stuff in a laundry basket and went into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee. It was going to be a long day. I still hadn’t found what I was looking for. What was it anyway? Oh, I will think of it later. It is definitely NOT in that linen closet though.

The Little Pumpkin's Dilemma

There was a Little Pumpkin that didn't get to be a Jack-O-Lantern. In disappointment the Little Pumpkin lay in the garden until the frost covered its leaves which had all turned brown. Looking around it could see the snails and slugs getting ready to crawl all over it.

In fear it trembled all night. Through most of November the days got shorter and the nights in which it trembled got longer. The rain came and washed its little orange skin and made it shine during the day. But, at night the frost came and turned the water into glistening ice crystals that shimmered and sparkled in the full moon light.

Then one day the Mistress of the house came out into the garden to clean up the dying leaves for the summer garden. As she lifted a large brown leaf she discovered the Little Pumpkin. "I guess you were hidden and because you were so small we didn't even notice you were under this big leaf."

The Little Pumpkin thought it was marvelous that it was finally discovered. But, Halloween was long over and there was no chance for it to be a Jack-O-Lantern. What would the mistress do with it?

The Little Pumpkin felt the warm hands of the Mistress pick it up and cut its dried stem off the leaf stalk. She tucked it into a basket then it felt the warm air of the house as she brought it into the kitchen.

She washed its little face, put it on the cutting board and brought out a big cleaver. "OH!" thought the Little Pumpkin. "What is she going to do with that!?" It remembered in the summer as it was hiding under that leaf that the bad little children of the neighborhood coming with sticks and rocks had chopped up the squash, watermelons and big pumpkins with glee leaving them for the dreaded snails and slugs to devour.

As the Mistress lifted the cleaver the Little Pumpkin trembled and with one blow it was in two pieces. The Mistress scooped out eh seeds inside. The Little pumpkin was glad because it saw her wash them off and put them on a paper towel to dry to be planted next year inn the vegetable garden. "At least they will grow next year and make new pumpkins." The Little Pumpkin sighed.

Next the Mistress put both halves on a cookie sheet and put them in a hot oven. It was much nicer in the oven than it was in the freezing outside so the Little Pumpkin just went to sleep. In about an hour the Mistress came, took the Little Pumpkin out of the oven and spooned out the soft insides into a bowel.
She poured fresh milk and broke nice big eggs from the chickens that had kept all the bugs off the Little Pumpkin all summer.

The sugar was amazingly sweet and felt like soft rain on the Little Pumpkin's pulp. It was contented that it was going to be something, but what? Certainly this was not the way to be a Jack-O-Lantern! Where was its shell? where were the nice big holes that made up a face? Where was the candle to light up the inside? This didn't feel right! The Little Pumpkin was really worried now. Maybe she was going to feed it to the chickens! "Oh no." it thought. "They wouldn't eat their own eggs." Then what was the Mistress doing?

Next came the smell of something so sweet and strange that the Little Pumpkin swooned at the smell. "What was that brown powder she was putting on me? It is heavenly." thought the Little Pumpkin.

In a moment the Mistress was mixing up all the ingredients and pouring it into several little pans with crust in them. She put the pans on a cookie sheet just like she had done to the Little Pumpkin and put them in the oven.

The heat was lovely and the smell of that brown powder was amazing. The Little pumpkin just closed its eyes, drew in a big breath of the smells, and fell asleep in the warm oven.

An hour later the Mistress came back and opened the oven. There were eager little faces looking into the oven. The children had come to see what she had made out of the pumpkin. The Little Pumpkin just cracked a big smile on the top and was so happy to see the nice children.

Now it knew why it had been left out of the Jack-o-lanterns at Halloween. Joy filled its little heart as it sat on the banquet table in the warmth of the dining room next to the big turkey. At last it had found what it was so posed to be! Pumpkin Pie! It had become the Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving dinner!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!