Soul Carving

  "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson I am a contradiction. Spontaneous and thoughtful. Energetic, yet reserved. Dreamy, though realistic. Bubbly, but at the same time, grounded. I'm sure most of you have felt the same way at times. It makes for some interesting inner dialogue. And it's not about good vs. evil - I'm not referring to the light and dark in each of us. Just the simple quirks of personality which make our lives interesting, though sometimes irritating. You see, I'm not philosiphizing over moral issues so much as attempting to choose the best of the many good things that are at my fingertips. In this information age, the vast opportunities we have can be both a blessing and a curse. Friday is open. Should I take the kids to that new indoor playground to let them release some of that pent-up winter energy? Or maybe we could spend the day inside building a pillow fort? Oh...

  "I don't want to be somewhere else anymore. Not waiting for anything new to happen.  Not looking around the next corner or over the next hill.  I'm here now.  And that's enough."        The above quote is from the movie Shadowlands , one of my mother's favorites. Anthony Hopkins portrays C. S. Lewis in the love story between him and his wife, Joy Gresham who is terminally ill. Mr. Lewis, or Jack as he is affectionately called in the film, says that this is his kind of happy - complete contentment with the now. Sounds good to me. Yet, not so easy to come by.        I'm sick. Not terminally ill - thank heavens. But what started out as a raspy sore throat has developed into a rousing cough and red swollen eyes with a profuse goopey discharge. I feel so toxic - as if others will get sick just from looking at me! I really don't have time for this. Not with homeschooling t...