This is one of the sights on the Riverwalk… anyone know what it’s called?
On the Riverwalk
Even with evil intent April 6, 2010
I’d like to think evil doesn’t exist. I’d like to think evil doesn’t have a part in the world and that people only do stupid things, not evil things. Malice is really more just doofiness and vindictiveness is more just acting without thinking.
I’m in my early to mid-30’s now. I know better than that.
But what have I learned with age, like a fine wine or cheese, is even with evil intent, good comes out of a situation. If you look for it. If you sit there in a pity party and cry your life away, you’ll definitely have a heck of a time seeing through all that mess of tears. No matter how bitter, sad, twisted or dire a situation, it is NOT the end of the world. It is NOT the worst thing. If your heart is still beating, even if barely, then you’re still alive and you’re still going.
You have to look for the opportunities and for that flare of sunlight peeking through those clouds… and when you see it, grab it. Grab it tightly with both hands and don’t let go. Go for the good. Go for the positive. Things WILL turn around when you believe they will. You may not know how and it may not be how you envisioned or ever expected. But it will happen.
Even if it came about with someone else’s initial evil intent, God will bring the good.
GREAT NEWS: Dad jumps in freezing water to save baby girl
Even though it’s been all over the news, I had to share it here, too. Thank God for good news!!!
Quote to Share
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
–Albert Camus (one of my all-time absolute FAVORITE authors!!!)
My Photography: Lone Bluebonnet April 4, 2010
Since the season is almost over for them here in Texas, I figured I’d showcase our lovely state flower again.
One Bluebonnet
Woodenheadedness
I was once asked to define the term “woodenheadedness.” Is it even a word? I thought. Wooden head. Gosh, that could mean so many things. I looked down at my desk and tapped it gently. Knock on wood, I thought. For good luck, right? I never understood that. What would that do? Wood seemed more like a road block to me. Like something blocking the truth.
Like a way to say I don’t see you.
Woodenheadedness… If my head were made of wood…Would I be able to process life and thoughts and actions properly?
I think I would not be able to see that there is anything past my nose. It is just me. It is just what’s in front of me when I look in the mirror. There are no problems bigger than mine. No sadness worth more than mine. No troubles more troubling than mine.
I wouldn’t want to acknowledge that people around me can suffer as much as me, let alone more than me. I’d be like a big block of wood – porous to the fact that nothing is so big it won’t fade away. In my world. In my branch of the world. In my small wooden little world. My small little wooden head. My problems are huge.
Woodenheadedness seems to me to be the ability to be stubborn. To be negatively willful. To be set in your ways despite the best intention of others. The mighty oak that’s so sturdy it ain’t changing for anyone.
Woodenheadedness seems like a bad thing to me.
If I can’t see past my own nose… What would the world be like?
It would be me callously walking past the homeless woman on the street, not even acknowledging her existence. Not feeling a hint of sadness or guilt or shame at my prosperity – not realizing the fortunes and blessings I have in being able to be with a home as opposed to without – but to have a block of wood for the center of my head not allowing me to feel an ounce of compassion.
It would be me thinking “WHY ME?” when I have to suffer the consequences of any mistakes I have made. When I spent too much money and my credit card bills are sky high, when I didn’t take care of my health and now have to make tough life decisions, when I didn’t give it my all at work and got passed up for a promotion. I would be channeling my inner wood by bemoaning my ills when poor countries are joyously thanking that they’ve survived calamities and tragedies far greater than mine.
The woodenheaded would be the person who says to the depressed person “I can’t deal with your problems” and walks away from a friend when they need that friend the most. The woodenheaded says “I am better than you and cannot approve of your lifestyle” to the person who has trusted them with their truths and feels justified in their supposed morals. The woodenheaded says “I am saved and you are not.” The wooden headed is not a friend. Wood cannot survive fire. Wood rots when faced with mold. Wood cannot handle extreme conditions of all kinds.
The woodenheaded has no room for soul in their head. No room for anything but a big block of self. They cannot see past that damned wooden nose.
That is what I think when I wonder about the word woodenheadedness. The propensity to deny that the world we live in is greater than one’s own tiny little branch of a mind on the giant universal tree. Such a big, hard word to say, and it just about breaks your heart, doesn’t it?
****
ALL WORKS COPYRIGHTED. DO NOT COPY WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM AUTHOR.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
Great News: Newark Has Murder Free Month! April 1, 2010
I’m a Jersey girl. I for the most part, grew up in Northern New Jersey. Not Newark, but half an hour away. Newark is one of the highest rated cities for crime in the entire nation, unfortunately. Fantastically, it has achieved it’s first murder free month since 1966. This is a big deal!
Check it out!!! I am seriously very, very happy to hear this! 😀
http://globalgrind.com/channel/news/content/1495124/Newark-Approaches-1st-MurderFree-Month-Since-66/
Lifting Me Up 
Leave me some blog love! April 3, 2010
Tags: affection, beauty, benefits, blog love, comments, Depression, despair, Faith, family, Fiction, food, God, good times, Gratitude, Happiness, health, home, Hope, Humor, inner strength, kids, love, motherhood, perseverence, Photoblog, photoblogging, Positivity, power, Quotes, sarcasm, self-esteem, share the love, silence, sister, sisterhood, snuggles, spirit, strength, support, thankful, Uplifting
I love all the visits I see! THANKS for stopping by!
Let me know when you come by. Just drop me a line. I’d love to hear your thoughts or recommendations or anything you have to say. Don’t forget if you want to just say hi to me personally you can under the Antonia Blanca page, or if you want to leave some quotes or good news, do it on that page, or if you want to share what lifts you up, do it on that page.
Waiting to hear from my uplifting friends!