safety pins and a rubber band

The contents of my pocket today, along with a couple of receipts and 7 dollars, however the later seem inconsequential.
I've come to the realization that it is only the fears that I create and imagine that keep me 'safe' and prevent my true nature from being available for the world to see and for me to enjoy. If I imagine myself to be a safety pin there is a possibility that my world could expand. I could close myself, and prevent anything from penetrating that seal or I could open myself and still have the protection of the sharp penetrating point on the end :-) Why do we feel the need to 'protect' ourselves? Fear. Fear of imagined pain or remembered pain. In either case,I realize I am simply wrong in projecting that onto the world, or imposing that on myself. You see, for as much pain as there is in this world, there must be an equal amount of pleasure ~ knowing one certainly means knowing the other. From this moment on, I will open all the safety pins I find before I put them in my pocket. With each painful jab of the open end I will remember that at any minute I can close myself off or I can be open to new experiences which undoubtedly will not be as painful as the jab of a sharp pin! So, here's to finding more safety pins...
Ah, the rubber band. I began a rubber band ball a couple of years ago. In part this began as something to do with all the rubber bands I accrued as part of a job I had, but most probably the reason was because it gave me something concrete to note just how much I had accomplished on a weekly basis-not to mention the entertainment factor when things got slow or boring. Early on in that endeavor I had fancied I'd be a Guinness World Book entry. It grew to about 6 inches in diameter. I've discontinued making it, my dream of being in The Guinness Book squelched, yet I still put rubber bands in my pocket. Habit. The thing about rubber bands that make them so appealing is that they streeeeeeeeeetch. They stretch, they give, they open, and when you've finished manipulating and playing they return to their natural state. There is room, and a hell of a lot of it, for things to change, for things to open, for things to be stretched beyond what you could have thought. I am certain we all have had this experience of feeling a certain 'change', I am certain we've all felt as if we were 'stretched to our limit', felt 'open' to an experience, and undoubtedly have 'bounced back'. Pick up a rubber band and play with it. See just how much you are able to do with it, and notice that when you lay it down, it is still a rubber band. There is much to be learned from this simple practice.
I thoroughly enjoy the fact that with the simplicity of everyday pocket contents we can find a parallel meaning within our lives. If you look at an object, pick it up, play with it, put it in your pocket if it appeals to you, and notice that everything has meaning. Everything can somehow be related to where you are in your life and where you are going. Never stop exploring, never stop looking for meaning, never stop being amazed~at the positive and the negative. Without both, there would be nothing.

Magical Thinking

What's wrong with it? Absolutely nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
If you knew me as a child you'd most likely remember a loner, a shy kid with little to say. I preferred the company of animals, nature, and books. I still enjoy the company of those things yet the reasons have changed. I was, in my mind, a pessimist by choice. I had considered it this way: if I looked at life in its worse case scenario, than my chances for disappointment were proportionately lowered by my degree of pessimism. It seemed to work. As a matter of point, it did work....then. Growing up we had very little, to want more didn't give us more it only gave us thoughts of what we didn't have. The immaturity of my thought processes served a useful purpose but eventually lead to the more "mature" process of 'magical thinking'.
Magical thinking, in this instance, doesn't relate to faeries, mythical creatures, or utopias. It relates to how you view the world and how you perceive the events that transpire. If we view the world as a magical place, as it is, it becomes that way. We can choose to view the world as a place of goodness, a place of opportunities, a place of sharing and giving. Or not, we have every right to view the world as we please and feel as we do about it. I am finding that we truly are what we think.
This morning I've nothing in my pocket, not a penny. I can leave the house feeling empty, poor, and without, or I can leave the house feeling thankful I've all this room in my pocket to put the things I find on this day. It may not be anything of physical substance or physical value such as a penny or a stone but today I will go out and I will find something of value. It may happen to be something I've read, something somebody relates to me, or something I find silly that makes me smile. Magical thinking leads me to believe that, and it's going to be another good day.

Penny In My Pocket

This blog idea came about during an experience at a diner not too very long ago. Tamar and I were finishing up our meals when I reached into my pocket and pulled out its contents. Holding out to her in my outstretched palm were 3 pennies (1 of which was hardly recognizable as a coin), a nickel, a large orange paper clip, and a used matchstick. We spontaneously began laughing...laughing so hard that tears rolled down our cheeks. With so little in my pocket I felt blessed. Blessed for the company of Tamar, blessed that we are able to appreciate the little things, blessed that in another pocket I had the money to pay for our meal.
It isn't unusual for me to have an 'odd' assortment of items in my pocket at the end of a day. Pennies I find...yes, I retrieve each and every one I see on the ground after ensuring it is 'heads up', at times kicking it over and again to get it into that position. Small stones are a favorite pocket filler, as are notes, nickels, and of course...paper clips.
To share the good fortune I find daily I thought I should begin a blog. To make sure I share through a blog is the work of Tamar. Without her, I would be blogless.