The Sweet Scent of the Ocean

And how I adore it. The reason that I love the scent of the ocean is because it reminds me of so many colorful memories that awaken my senses to a myriad of visions. One of the distinct visions I tend to return to quite often is when my family was living in Australia. It is quite easy to return to the way we spoke down there and especially to a time when I was walking freely and was clearly hit on by several nice looking gents and their mates. I was asked by one of them if they could take my picture and to say that I was flattered is an understatement, so the story goes...My father found out that this fellow took many pictures of me and he turned three shades of red through his tan. In fact, the Australian sun is quite strong and through this intense sun we all had fabulously dark skin. This led more to my father's incorrect perception of what was going on because I had such a striking tan. My father was new to Australia as well and was feeling the need to "bond" with his daughter but had no idea of how to do such bonding. The timing of this unfortunate event was after my father and I had gone for a long walk in the sand. It was so beautiful there, the sand was sparkling gold strewn across the landscape. Perhaps the timing was such that my dad just misunderstood the importance to me of being an up and coming or curious teenager who was really sowing my oats in a new place with lots of attention. My father was getting irritated at the interest that was being paid to me and wanted to reel me in. To do so was to put the reigns on me and he enlisted my mother to support him. Both my parents were in a startled position, kind of like the deer in the headlights, because to them this was how Marilyn Monroe got started. To me, it was positively ridiculous. They threw out a mile's worth of wonderful pictures because of their fear of me ending up like Marilyn Monroe. Ha! :) What a compliment that was! I wish that they would have just let sleeping dogs lie and let me be flattered. Oh well. I lived to tell the story such as it is.

My other thoughts about the ocean are that it is such a wonderfully peaceful place to be, where I can open up my mind and let the sensual relaxation caress my body. It thereby leaves a kiss of the lasting sunshine and I feel blessed to be able to wear the sun's striking color on my skin.

My Mother, God's Little Angel

I would like to write a little about the woman who brought me into this life, especially considering that her life is seeming that it will be shortened by the attack of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We never know how long our life will be, nor do we ever know those long searched answers to our most intimate questions. While this makes me feel a heightened sense of sadness, I know that's the way that God made this Earth work and thus we need to live with what the Maker set out before us. I try not to be engulfed in the sadness but in the gladness for having ever known her (my mother). And had I never known her obviously I would not be here to tell the story.

My mother unfortunately took up the terrible idea of smoking while she was in her 20s and it continued on into her 50s and now she's paying the ultimate price by her realizing that this may have cost her her life even though she has had a really long go at it. She has certainly brought in her set of tears but she also has enlightened my life with a lot of laughter and good fun. What more can I say to my dear mother but that I want to say thanks for the good times as well as the tough ones.

I'd like to share a funny story about Kitty, my MOM. She loved to dance, and oh did she love to dance. In fact, my mom was dancing with a gentleman and having a very fun time at it. She danced right off into not a puddle, but a mini pool of water. And to say that she was intoxicated is probably pretty close to correct, however I wasn't there and I'm only here to tell you the story which I find kind of hysterical if you know my mother and her antics at times. She was wet from head to toe and I don't think she was terribly embarassed because of the level of intoxication that she enjoyed that evening. It took my mother a few years to tell me the whole story and I'm sure that I only have part of it correct, however as she tells it it was uproariously funny and so things were very often when my mother was around.

Another fun memory of my mother is how she loves to cook the most horrible things. Namely, everything from gizzards to liver to brains to the most putrid cheeses to anything that particularly smells beyond hope. And then she would eat everything raw. And that is the way that my mother liked to raise me. Even on Halloween she made me eat liver before I was able to go trick or treating. Oh yes this is my mother. There are many more stories about her that I would love to share in future blogs. So stay tuned! :)

Freedom is the Eternal Luscious Flower of Life Given to Us from God

The necessity to find freedom-whether it be mentally or physically-either way I believe that it's a necessity to dream of or to be realizing it. What is freedom to me? Freedom to me is the most empowering feeling and I think when I feel empowered or maybe when we feel empowered in our daily lives, we feel we can do most anything. Feeling efficacious is the feeling of being effective in your life and it goes hand in hand with freedom. Efficacious also might bring in the thoughts of empowerment; to be able to think and do and in other words feel very confident. It is the idea of mastery over the environment or the abilty to solve problems with grace, comfort, and ease. I feel very effective in that I can be, do, and have anything I set my mind to and therefore I am.

Vacations are a Necessity, not a Luxury

How many of you have been to the redwood forest or vacationed in Disneyworld? What determines the most fun place to vacation? Have any of you, as I call my "readers", ever dreamed of sailing on a big ship for a honeymoon or travelling to the Greek islands or fantasized about going to Tahiti or luxuriating in the Bahamas? I am lucky enough to have traveled to many far off places in my lifetime, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about a few of them because what's more fun than sharing wild and crazy times in far off places? Don't you think?

One of the most incredibly fun places I've enjoyed visiting has been the Pink Sand Beach in the Bahamas. WOW! It was a sight to see for sore eyes because it was like sailing off to a place in a very far off land that I never would have imagined existed. The beauty was incomprehensible if you can imagine seeing a pink sand beach right before your eyes that would just about knock your socks off. When it turns to dusk, it even becomes brighter pink, I would call it nothing short of incredible and anyone who has been there would likely say something similar about the Pink Sand Beach.

There were many moments that stand out in my mind as being kind of over the top if you will. On one of the side trips that we took we went to this area known as Atlantis and it was fabulous. You could swim through a shark's cave literally by swimming through a thick plexiglass tunnel with sharks swimming around. I actually went snorkel diving in crystal clear shark infested water by myself with many sharks around! The water was very shark infested and I was not aware at the time that I was swimming with a couple of Tiger Sharks! Thank goodness I did not know because I think I would have been freaked out had I known how many and what kind of sharks were there. But it was beautiful, and I had a BLAST. On top of everything we were told that we were swimming on top of ocean that had multitudes of shipwrecks in the past. Very exciting.

On the dining end of things, we got to eat some lobster and deep fried groper that were to die for. They were so divine that I find it difficult to even describe the taste of these lobsters. The quantity of beautiful food would make you head over heels to ever have an opportunity to go there. Just the lobbies in Atlantis were breathtaking because the colors are exquisite and part of the lobby ceiling was painted in Renaissance style painting. There was gold dripping from the bannisters and the delight in my eyes was clearly easy to see.

There are so many lovely tales and wonderful memories I was able to walk away with from the best vacation I have ever had in my life. I will never forget my trip to the Bahamas and how incredible this world we live in really is with all the beautiful things there are to see and do in this world.

It's a Bug's Life After All

What do you think about the livelihood of a mosquito? Personally, I feel that mosquitos were a mistake. They only rarely prove to be of limited value, however I'm sure that there are those eensy weensy no-see-ums that love to eat them. Maybe spiders might be included in the list of bugs that aren't necessary for the planet's survival and therefore not necessary for me and maybe even you. I would gladly include black widow spiders on the list of unnecessary creatures. Not only are they creepy but also are they known to be deadly. They are especially scary looking do to the fact that they have the red hourglass body which seems to be common with deadly creatures. What we absolutely should include is one of the truly unnecessary creatures of the ocean-the blue ring octopus and the stone fish. The blue ring octopus' venom is powerful enough to kill humans of which there is no antidote available. The stone fish is particularly creepy in that it occupies the oceans of some of my most favorite places. That would include the wonderfully gorgeous Tahiti where I was particuarly freaked out by walking on or stepping on the venomous stonefish.

What value do mosquitoes have? In fact very little, or probably none, according to me of course. Because for me, mosquitos are a waste of good larva. After all, one should not waste good LARVA. We all know that "waste not want not" and even the bugs have to fall into that category. Yuck! I understand that all living creatures are part of God's creation and that they are intrinsically part of the complex food web which envelops the planet. However, they very often sting me and bite me and cause me to itch and scratch uncontrollably. Eek!

Look For Your Rainbow

Perhaps this may not be my most humorous blog, however there are many people that may very well benefit from the words I am about to say. I feel that the subject of pain is an important thing to write about as I have some great information to share about this topic and after all I'm here to write important thoughts that will help some of my readers. For perhaps some or all of my readers, it will be a gift I can share; pain and how I have learned to deal with it. There are times when I believe that I can not go on dealing with the level of pain I have been given, however in fact I can and I must, and therefore I will. I have been told many times I am a trooper and I guess that is a correct estimation of who I am.

Who I am is actually a lover of many things. I love life, I love people who have the art of giving laughter to the masses, perhaps like comedians or entertainers. And those happen to be the people who offer a pathway to pulling onself up by the bootstraps and uplifting themselves to a higher place where the simplicity in life that includes love and laughter and cherished memories, etc. live. Frankly, I believe there is always a way to feel happy again and there are many ways to find those simple yet funny places inside oneself. Make up a happy song and make it your own.

I am hoping that I am helping the few people who do need to learn to deal with pain. I'll itemize a few things and let me know what you think.
1. Control your mind. Watch where your mind drifts and make a conscious effort to not dwell on the negative but instead focus on the positive.
2. Make use of your happy friendships. In other words, the people that bring you joy. Concentrate on what gives you joy from the people you hang out with. Be sure not to hang out with the Debbie Downers in life. After all, they're only there to show you the negative side of life and what you need to do is be light hearted as they will always help you to find that bit of joy that is always there if you look for it.
3. Find a source of medication that works for you, whether it be herbal or pharmaceutical.
4. Laughter is truly the best medicine. Do your best to make light of every situation as much as is possible.
5. Pray to whatever God you believe in.

What I am talking about here is chronic pain. There's a lot of people who have chronic pain, so this is a gift to anyone and everyone who suffers with fibromyalgia to peripheral neuropathy (I actually have peripheral poly neuropathy). It's not fun but I have learned to live with it and find joy at the same time. If you're dealing with the kind of pain that cancer sufferers deal with, I emphathize with those of you who have tremendous pain like that but I do believe that these methods will help. Please know that I learned to have a full life and to laugh heartily about most things in life. I've triumphed over great adversity and now I hardly give it a thought. Please feel free to contact me via email at tarabrock@hawaii.rr.com.

Be True to Yourself

Be true to yourself. I think it is extremely important to always be true to God first and yourself second. I believe it is so important to firstly concentrate on your happiness meter. In fact ask yourself the question of, "how happy am I appearing today". Even if you're not feeling terribly happy, at least fake it until you make it. It is one of the most important things that you can do for your own personal happiness, is to behave as though you're already there. And all of a sudden people will respond to you differently. In fact, if you behave as though you're already there, then by golly you're halfway home by just believing in it. And believe so hard that you make it so. These are such simple words but if you learn to live by those words and truly make them yours I believe they will work.

I don't think all of this is simple to do, but it is so worthwhile that poets write about believing in oneself and actors employ the use of happy words. Walk as though you have a spring in your step and a glow about yourself. And suddenly people will begin to notice something a little bit different. They may not be able to name it or even say it, but all of the same people will notice a subtle change. Maybe it's a twinkle in your eye or a gregarious smile you are wearing. Show your glow and people will notice your joy and they'll feel your warmth. It's not that I'm so perfect, but I am certainly working towards that happiness goal because it works and everyone knows that it's more fun to hang out with people who are funny or light-spirited. Something to think about-try the idea of thinking about your favorite comedian and see if you can't employ the humor of someone like Seinfeld. Everyday things are funny and that's what Seinfeld capitalizes on; simple humor is often the way he draws people in. All in all, the essence of what I'm getting at is that just like Bobby McFerrin likes to whistle his tune, "DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY", employ the same attitude because attitude really IS in fact everything. Wising you joy, love and lots of laughter, Tara.