Well I wrote this post at work, but I am now home so the following sentence is no longer valid. :)
I'm at work. It's odd working for a place that encourages browsing and utilizing the internet when the last company I worked for frowned on it. I am getting settled into my new job. So far it's going well. I still think the look on people's faces that come over from linkLINE and see me open the door is priceless. One guy dropped off a computer and an invoice and was so eager to tell everyone he saw me that he made me sign and date the invoice! hehehe Too funny.
Depeche Mode: So most of you know I'm a fanatic when it comes to Depeche Mode. Well Monday (the 25th) they had a screening of their "Live in Milan" dvd in selected theaters. I had asked Rachel to go with me a while ago but I had forgotten about it until I went to Bailey's birthday party and one of my sisters friends asked me about it. Apparently newly rekindled fanatics that they were, they missed out on the latest concert and wanted to go see the screening. So we made plans to go together. Rachel ended up being sick all day and couldn't make it. It ended up being my sister and I and her friends Erika, Sondee and Jessica. I wasn't sure what to expect. I had never been to anything like this. It was hard to stay seated. But once they got to "Just Can't Get Enough" a few of us (yes, even myself) got up and got into it. Shortly after that song ended and everyone was back in their seats the security came in!!! Until that moment I thought it was just a dead crowd, but then I realized that they actually expected us to watch it like it was a movie! What the heck!? hehehe It was still fun but definitely no comparison to the real thing! I did enjoy seeing David Gahan on the big screen in high definition though. ;)
North Carolina: I am going to North Carolina from October 7th - 16th! I seriously can NOT wait! I have missed my nieces and nephews so much! The last time I was there was in November of 2004 I think. (Here are some links to pictures from that trip.
Family Pics,
Landscape Pics and
Outer Banks Pics.) And with a new camera and a beautiful state I really can't go wrong. :) Unfortunately I will not be paid for this time off so I have to make sure to schedule my finances to work around it. But to me its worth it!
Weight Loss: I had so much turmoil in my life over the last month I'm quite surprised I haven't gained a ton of weight back. This week I'm back on track and extremely motivated! My friend Rachel and I have decided to encourage each other to try to lose weight over the next few months. I lost my initial 20 pounds in about 3 months without putting too much effort into it. I hope to achieve the same. I would like to lose another 20 pounds by Christmas. And honestly I know I can do it. I am still getting used to my schedule at work but I think it should be easy enough to bring some gym clothes with me to work and go to the gym a few nights a week. I do plan on continuing with the DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) but I was noticing that the weight was coming off unevenly. I lost so much more weight in my lower half that I know I need to focus on doing things for my upper body as well, and of course the middle. hehe
I'm still amazed at how different clothes are fitting. I have been wearing more of my nicer clothes to my current job. Not because it's required but because I am trying to feel better about myself and looking good is a step in the right direction. Either way, I have a lot of shirts that have hung up in my closet for years! Example: the shirt I'm wearing today has been in my closet for at least a year possibly two and it still had the tags on it. The reason I never wore it was because it was a little snug and I never felt comfortable enough to wear it. I put it on this morning and it's almost TOO big! This shocked me. I hadn't realized I had been so heavy for so long. Its things like this that make me feel motivated to continue. Honestly one more size down in my pants and I'll be as small as I was when I first started working at linkLINE and was feeling pretty good about myself. I have two more sizes to go to get down to my smallest when I felt the best about myself. To put that into perspective, I've already gone down two pant sizes with just 20 pounds! What will another 20 pounds do for me? :) I can't wait to open up the bins in the garage of all my smaller clothes. It will be like having a whole new wardrobe!
Bonsai Tree: I have decided to buy myself a Bonsai tree. My friend Jason wrote a blog and at that moment it was exactly what I needed to hear. It was quite amazing the concept behind his post. He talks of a higher power but I place that higher power as Jesus Christ. It's quite an awesome symbol. For everything that has gone on in my life over the last few months I want the Bonsai tree to be a reminder, a symbol, of what God is doing in my life.
Anyway, scholars, wise men, and such would go up into the hills or somewhere in nature to be at peace, to reconnect, what have you…
Well they would come across these wonderfully gnarled, old trees, ones that you could tell that all that Nature could throw at it, she did, and still twisted and warped, dwarfed, and what have you this tree was still there.
Showing strength. Strength to withstand anything that came its way. To take the winds, that would eventually die down, the drought, anything and still stand and grow.
Those that would go and see this were absolutely fascinated, and fell in love. They wanted the view for themselves everyday. Well you can’t just pull something like that out of the ground and walk it home with you, not back then anyway, just my thoughts.
So what they did instead was take a branch or seedling and plant it in very ‘thin’ soil. Soil that was very course, and didn’t hold nutrients or water very well. In this environment they would add just the right amount of water and nutrients to keep the tree alive and growing. While at the same time trimming and binding the trunk and branches to bring about the look, most of the time on a very small scale.
This process would take years, and a steadfast devotion to the vision of the outcome. If only we had that kind of attention span in America now huh? LOL we’d really be in some trouble, might not be using fossil fuels anymore even… hehehe but that’s another story.
Back to what it made me think of, what if we could be like the tree itself?
No what if we are like the tree itself?
Something greater than us trying so hard with Love and devotion to help shape and prune us into something absolutely stunning and beautiful?
What if?
…
And all that we do, thinking we are in control is nothing more than needless branches that are attempted to be pruned off… But they just grow back…
And if we just let go to this power, this Power that is greater than ourselves in this body? And just grow, let this Power to shape and take care of the ‘big picture’ as it has a whole lot better view than we do.
I bet our lives would be a whole lot different for most. I bet most peoples ‘problems’ would quickly fade with little or no struggle.
Those that are taking who knows how many pills for those emotional problems… Those fretting over HIV, or cancer, or you name it. What would happen there? I believe that if one were to truly let go. That this higher Power would do exactly what it has wanted to do and prune them away…
But we hold these things so close to us when we are told we have any said condition. When you hold it close it’s like the bonzi craftsman trying to prune an ugly branch or trunk that is too close to the root system and will disturb the whole tree, killing it.
We have to no longer choose to give it energy and allow it to fall away from the ‘root system’ to no longer hold it so close. No longer talk/complain about it all the time. If one can’t be thankful for it’s removal before it’s removed at least take all attention away from it… and see how quickly it withers, and gets pruned…
What if you were like the bonzi tree? What could you imagine happening in your life?
The bolded part was the part I needed to hear at that exact moment. A lot of the time I sit there and ask myself "why, why is this all happening at once?" or "ok I can understand but why does it have to be this way or that way?" So this post was impacted my perspective and I want to keep that perspective and I think having the Bonsai tree on my desk would be a reminder to keep the right perspective. If you would like to read the entire post
Click HereAnyways, if you read through this whole thing than thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it's long winded but I felt the need to share.
Labels: Bonsai Tree, North Carolina
posted by Charity at 9/27/2006 09:32:00 PM 
