Saturday, October 10, 2009

Adrift

Woman in Nepal carrying a heavy load

Usually, I pick a point on the horizon for my landfall, set my course, and steer my vessel to my destination. Except for the occasional storm, this seems to work very well. Lately, the seas have been tumultuous. I have had a series of shows for the past four weekends with children and their needs in between. Two weeks ago I went to Richmond, VA came home to Cleveland, got the flu, and had to leave four days later still suffering fever and chills to get to a show in Vienna, VA.

While I was gone, our family adopted an 11 month old black Lab. He's gorgeous. But my husband and I have never owned a dog in our lives and we have all sorts of things in our house that we don't want a dog to chew on. After several hours on the Internet learning about doggy separation anxiety, we have discovered that there are no Alpha dogs in our family. We seem to be an assemblage of lone wolves that make decisions by cordial negotiation. 'Pardon me dog, would you mind stepping aside so that I can get out of the door?'

I have also been dealing with a lost shipment to Nepal and insurance claims. Plus all of the legal and tax aspects of moving a business from one State to another. All of this while training a new employee and working very hard to get a shipment from Nepal before I leave for Virginia Beach, VA this coming Thursday.

Suddenly, I feel as if I am floating adrift in my life rather than steering my course. Some people, either by choice or circumstance, live their lives tossed from one event to the next. And I suppose there is a great lesson to be learned in acceptance. But for now, I choose to fix the rudder on my boat and get going again.

Forgive my absence. I will be back again soon.

12 comments:

  1. oh my, that allllll sounds quite challenging! I wish you health and vitality, it truly sound vital that you have your health! Odd how so many challenges can present themselves at once. Wishing you peace, grace and an alpha dog.

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  2. Hi Jeri,
    Oh dear, i seem to have that same problem! losing my rudder...
    i hope all things get sorted out in the most pleasing way for you, and that you get well quickly.

    take good care,
    lori
    p.s. i think floating around without direction only works really in perfect weather and in perfect situations. Not really realistic. we do need our rudders to navigate. I believe.

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  3. We have been a bit rudderless for a while now. Good luck with all the darn paperwork. That stuff really drains me. We will be here when you can find the time to say hi. Be well!

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  4. I do know those moments when everything seems adrift. Hang in there and keep your bow pointed toward that spot on the horizon! Hopefully this is just a squall and will pass soon.

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  5. So thrilling about the pup and less so about paperwork.
    You seem astounding busy and though in someways this must be good, I bet it's tiring.
    Please, please keep in touch.
    do hope your shipment arrives.
    Our puppy (see ewix2.blogspot.com) brings us great joy ....when not chewing expensive Apple computer wires.......
    much love

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  6. Good luck with all the things on your plate :)) We also adopted a puppy.. Life is fun but difficult.

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  7. Solving poverty has always been on my mind. I always thought it involved humanitarian efforts, exclusively, like the Peace Corps, IMF, UNICEF, etc., etc., but poverty is a more complex problem than that. From a socio-political perspective we see that historically those in power have sought to satisfy greed and a quest for power at the expense of the disadvantaged poor. The power structure has been male dominated for several centuries and taking just the conquest of the Americas, for example, by European adventurers, it is a dismal history of exploitation, destuction and slaughter. It's part of the male persona to seek power by andy convenient means, which resulted in the decimation of the Mayan, Incan and Aztec societies. I believe if world leadership were balanced out by a greater female representation there would be a more compassionate approach to international relations and commerce.

    Mainland China is being transformed from a third-world country into a major economic presence, simply by the reversal of its isolation from the global economy and many poor nations could benefit from the same process.

    Most of the opponents of the UN are reactionary thinkers who resist progress and view The UN as a threat to The USA and other wealthy nations owing to the fact that third-world nations have a voice where they never had one before and this upsets the status quo.

    Those factions ignore all the good the UN does to promote world peace and to fight diseaes and hunger.

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  8. Hello Kismet,

    It seems you have some strong feelings on a few topics. I agree that the UN as well as many other organizations are doing a great deal to promote peace and fight disease and hunger. These organizations are made up of human beings both compassionate and at times fallible. In the end our collective fate is born on the backs of each of us as individuals.

    As a mother of future men, I have great faith in their potential for compassion. Ghandi, Buddha, Martin Luther King, and Jesus Christ were all men after all.

    It is not that I don't think that women can be strong leaders, but I do wonder about the type of personality that aspires to become a World leader. The compassion that we seek is not agressive in its nature. Perhaps that is why we have had few women leaders and why many of the women leaders that we have had have been just as agressive as the men.

    My solution to world poverty has been to support peoples efforts to support themselves and to contribute as much as possible to their education.

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  9. Good luck with evrything Seems you are in the middle of a wirlwind. Soon it will be calm again and you can regain the wheel.
    Hope you have fun with your new doggie
    Arohanui

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  10. In the midst of a whirlwind, a dog enters the picture. I think it bodes well for everything you're doing. Feel better! Remember to BREATHE.

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  11. Holy cow! Hopefully the winds pushing you around right now will calm soon.

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  12. Hi!you have a great blog, with lovely pics and commendable posts!Keep Up!
    http://aspaceofonesown.blogspot.com

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