Ant Hills

When I feel neurotic, or sad, or scared, or insert-yucky-emotion-here I get a good kick in the ass from my grandfather.

What does he say?

It only takes one sentence for him to slap me back into the reality that everything is not a big deal, and it is pretty damn easy to be happy most of the time.

“Rachel, we are all ants and all we can really see is the top of the ant hill.”

Sometimes I wonder what he means, and why he always seems to talk in metaphor. It’s like having this Yoda in my ear that can only be understood half the time and the other half I am left standing there muttering “huh?”

Sometimes I take this to mean that we can really only see what is slightly in front of us instead of the big picture. Sometimes I take this to mean that all people being equal parts of the puzzle, none of us are as important as we think we are, so self absorption is futile.

Most of the times I take that statement as if we really know so little, and can see so little, then from a universal perspective, we are ignorant.

From that I see that ignorance is truly bliss and although sometimes I don’t understand my grandfather I absorb the information anyway and if we know nothing, we can’t worry about anything…joy then is the only way to go.

The Art of the Gift

I somehow have gotten the reputation that I like expensive things. I do. I really do. Not because they are, in fact, expensive, I just tend to gravitate towards liking things I cannot afford. Frustration follows.

However, when it comes to giving, money my friends is never an issue.

The best gift I have ever gotten was a very nice gift. I wear it everyday and it is a necklace, which aside from being two of my favorite gem-stones, means something very sentimental (gush).

The second best gift I have ever gotten cost about five cents. This gift was a letter. I am pretty sure the cost of one piece of paper, plus the ink and the envelope costs so little one could find the money to pay for it in the sofa.

What makes both of these gifts special? They were given from the heart.

Take note: gifts are awesome and gifts are important. Gifts show someone you care, that you are thinking of them, that they mean something to you, that they would be sad with you not around. All of this is wrapped up in a package that seems to say a whole lot.

However, lately I got to thinking about women and how sometimes what we think and what we want gets misinterpreted. We say we want a gift or a random act of kindness and one automatically thinks the only thing that will do is a new car or expensive shoes.

Gifts and money are not mutually inclusive. Gifts and giving are. The only thing that matters when it comes to a gift is giving it for the simple thought and meaning behind it is the real gift. Sometimes that gift may be big and sometimes it may be small.

Homework: Make a gift using five dollars or less of materials. Give it to someone on a day that otherwise means nothing. Watch what happens.

Lesson #1

When I feel neurotic, or sad, or scared, or insert-yucky-emotion-here I get a good kick in the ass from my grandfather.

What does he say?

It only takes one sentence for him to slap me back into the reality that everything is not a big deal, and it is pretty damn easy to be happy most of the time.

“Rachel, we are all ants and all we can really see is the top of the aunt hill.”

Sometimes I wonder what he means, and why he always seems to talk in metaphor. It’s like having this Yoda in my ear that can only be understood half the time and the other half I am left standing there muttering “huh?”

Sometimes I take this to mean that we can really only see what is slightly in front of us instead of the big picture. Sometimes I take this to mean that all people being equal parts of the puzzle, none of us are as important as we think we are, so self absorption is futile.

Most of the times I take that statement as if we really know so little, and can see so little, then from a universal perspective, we are ignorant.

From that I see that ignorance is truly bliss and although sometimes I don’t understand my grandfather I absorb the information anyway and if we know nothing, we can’t worry about anything…joy then is the only way to go.