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I heard the same warning when I was a child. Watching too much “Bonanza” or “Star Trek” would make my eyes fall out. A warning, given at a time when we only watched TV at night, perhaps for an hour or two.
Oh, the tales we hear when we are children.
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Growing up in a small village in the mountains of Austria, I was raised Roman Catholic. We went to church on Sunday, because everyone else went to church. My grandma carved a cross on the back of every freshly baked bread loaf before she cut into it, and we bent our heads down before we ate, to either quietly say grace or give others the time to do so.
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If there is a heaven and IF my husband is considered to be invited, I know exactly how the first heavenly conversation will go:
A duet made in heaven? One could think so, considering Elvis died in 1977 and the Christmas Duets was released in 2008.
Some things can only be said in pictures and metaphors. They are the language of the unconscious, transmitting preverbal wisdom directly into our hearts and souls.
Some will be familiar with Milan Kundera’s book, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. It’s a great novel, an international bestseller. The author made me think.
I met her when she was in her late 80’s and fell instantly in love with the fragile-looking, stubborn, old Lady, who happened to be our new neighbor.
One of our dogs started barking at her through the fence, just a few days after we had moved in. I was ready to scold the dog when I heard the old lady talk to it. “It’s nice meeting you too. You are just saying hello to me, aren’t you.” Our dog, a shepherd-chow mix, stopped barking, sat down and the two had a conversation. One talked about her flowers, and the weather, our dog listened. From that day on they always met on the fence line.
We are supposed to be back to normal, but I don’t feel normal. Do I ever?
I sleep like a rock, wake up tired and feel congested, but other than that it seems we are ready to move on. I haven’t dressed in two weeks. I mean, yes, I have covered my body with clothes, but pretty much jumped from one pajama to the next. “Leopard is the new black” is my favorite one, it’s so cozy and soft, I want to be buried in it if I would want to be buried to begin with.
“We are surrounded every day by the wonders of life, wonders beyond comprehension that we simply take for granted. I decided that day that I would live my life—not simply exist. If I died and discovered heaven on the other side, well, that’d be just fine and dandy. But if I didn’t live my life as if I was already in heaven, and I died and found only nothingness, well…I would have wasted my life. I would have wasted my one chance in all of history to be alive.”
― Allen Eskens, The Life We Bury
Of course, I know about the “Rainbow Bridge.” It’s a cute story that is supposed to cheer us up when we lose a furry friend, but until today I didn’t know there was a second part. The second part is for rescued animals and rescuers.