Divine Lunacy Rants on a Soap Box...

For those of you who are into FaceBook, I just wonder if you have noticed the over abundance of cliches and platitudes being posted.  What ever happened to putting something real down? Making a comment about what is going on in your life?  What is all this about?

I can't for the life of me figure this out.  I love a good saying as much as the next person, but really.  Can't we just say something from our own minds?  And if you feel that you must quote someone, can't you find anything more profound than something you might read on a box of Red Zinger Tea?

Why not open your mind and your heart and see what comes out?  Maybe you have something to say that will help someone else that day.

And what is with all the game things?  WHO CARES???  I don't.  I want to see what is going on in the lives of my friends.  Where have you been lately?  What have you been doing?  Share a picture or two.

Ok.  I'm climbing down from my soap box now.  I just had to get that off my chest.

So, I'll say good night for now and sweet dreams.

Keeping it real,
Viscountess Babbles On

Divine Lunacy enjoys a quiet Sunday morning...

I'm sitting here with a cup of hot tea (green tea jasmine), and listening to the quiet morning. I don't hear any lawn mowers or engines revving; none of the usual Sunday morning busyness that I so often hear at this time of the morning. Maybe people are sleeping in. Maybe they are savouring the beautiful weather we are having right now. Whatever the reason, it is blissfully quiet. Right now, I am savouring the quiet and thinking of the wonderful time I had yesterday with two of my friends. We had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (a salad bar place). We talked and laughed. There was nothing earth shattering about it. No great revalations took place. No one dropped any bombshells. Just a mutual sharing, caring, and laughing. It was nice. Now, before you say, "Nice? That's it? Nice?" It was. And sometimes nice is better than FANTASTIC! Or PERFECT! Or, even, GREAT! And that's what yesterday was.

Divine Lunacy Writes a Letter

One of my Facebook friends posed a question...along with a C and W song...If you could write a letter to your 17 year old self, what would you say. I've been thinking about this off and on all day.

So here goes:

Dear 17 year old me,

Yeah. I know. You don't believe that you are receiving a letter from your future self and that's ok. Time will prove who I am. I just hope this letter will help you make better choices than I did. First, I want to tell you that you need to cultivate a personal relationship with God. I know you like to go to church and do church things: prayer meeting, Friday night vespers, Sabbath afternoon studies/concerts, Pathfinders, etc. etc. That is not enough. You need to get to know God one on One. That is what is going to get you through what is coming next. In a couple of years, you are going to meet a guy and you are going to build your world around him. He's going to have those dark brown eyes that you find hard, if not impossible, to resist. He is going to break your heart; not just once but over and over again. Let me stop and say this right here and now. Maybe this will help you walk away from his brand of poison. You are worth so much more. He is going to be verbally and emotionally abusive and if you listen; if you drink his brand of Kool-Aid, you are going to be paying the price for years to come. Ok. If you do give in and get involved with him then let it go when it is over. Don't bury what you feel for him or your pain in that deep inner vault. Give it over to God and let Him handle your pain. Understand that God said no for a reason. Trust me, this guy comes back into our life in the future and leaves another trail of broken heart crumbs. And is he screwed up? Is the Pope Catholic? Girl, you will come to realize that God did you a favor getting that man to walk out of your life. And don't build a fortress out of weight to keep your heart from being broken again. That fortress will turn into a prison and it will be one that you will spend years (not to mention thousands of dollars) looking for a key to unlock it. Let me tell you something about yourself. You are funny. People love your sense of humor. You are talented. Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Meryl Streep? They've got nothing on you. And hey, bonus, despite the fact that you never made Lindaires, you will record a CD. Bottom line, kid, you are worth your weight in gold. And right now, that would be a lot of money. Don't sell yourself short and don't let your broken heart steal any joy from you. As for a prince charming? There may never be one in your life, but that is ok. I am having the time of our life as a mature single lady (We are 52 as of this writing). Most of all, that great capacity you have for love? Share it with yourself once in a while. You deserve it.

I love ya, Kiddo,

from 52 year old me

FRACTURED FAIRY TALE...a story of heartbreak, loss, and recovery

Once upon a time, there was a young princess. Her life long dream was to find her prince charming, get married, have babies, and live happily ever after. One day, it seemed as though her dream had come true. There he was: A prince in fatigues. He was tall, dark, and handsome and best of all, he chose her! She fell in love with the young prince almost immediately. He seemed everything that she had longed for. And he loved the King. He enjoyed spending time in the King's house, studying everything he could about the King so that he would know him better, and participating in activities that would be pleasing to the King. The princess could hardly believe it and felt blessed that this noble prince had chosen her. Things were not always easy between the prince and princess. The prince would sometimes abandon the princess for another fair maiden. Seeing the prince with the other princess broke her heart. The princess would wonder what she had done to displease the prince. When he would return to her, she determined to be even sweeter, kinder, and more loving to him so that he would never leave her again. But somehow, it just never seemed to be enough for the prince and the princess blamed herself, weeping into her pillow, her heart breaking. Then one day, the prince announced that he no longer wanted to be with the princess and that he was moving far away. He treated her with great contempt and she was heart broken at his cruelty. A nobleman and advisor for the King, told the prince that his behavior toward the princess was not pleasing to the King and the prince relented. He talked with the princess and promised he would stay until she returned in a week's time so that they could say good bye. The prince broke his promise and left before she returned and her heart was broken once more. In her pain, the princess became angry at the King, blaming Him for her pain. She decided that she wanted nothing to do with the King and His Kingdom and left. She wandered in a wilderness, searching for happiness and never finding any that was lasting. One day in her travels, she returned to a place dear to her heart; a place that had nurtured her as a teenager and taught her about the love the King has for all His children. She felt the King reaching out to her and she grabbed His saving hand. She returned to the King and to His Kingdom. A year passed. During that year, the princess did something she had not done before. She began to get to know the King on a personal level. She began to have a true, personal connection with Him. And it was wonderful. There was only one thing missing: a prince. She began to beseech the King to provide her with a prince. Lo and behold, the prince that showed up was the one she had loved so long ago. He was unhappy. He had married; he had three beautiful children that he adored. However, his happily ever after was eluding him. There was conflict and strife between him and the princess he married. He sought the princess that he had known so long ago. For a time, both were happy. The prince had nearly made up his mind to leave the wife-princess so that he could be with the princess from long ago. The wife-princess did not want to lose the prince and so presented him with a stallion. (The prince had wanted one for a long time, but according to the prince, the wife-princess had denied him a stallion.) He chose to stay with the wife-princess. The long ago princess was once again broken hearted. She cried out to the King asking Him, "Why?" For months and months, she cried out to the King and never got an answer. Still, she held tight to Him and did her best to trust Him. One day, she realized she couldn't take the pain anymore; couldn't take the confusion she felt. So she cried out to the King, "Please take this. I can't handle it anymore. I'm cut to ribbons and bleeding; it's killing me, this pain. Please take this." And ever so quietly and gently, the King spoke to His princess: "Now, you are ready to know. But first, why did you come back to Me and to My Kingdom?" And the princess replied, "Because I love You and I want to do the things that please You." The King asked, "It pleases Me when you follow the rules I have set for you. Rules that help you to live an honorable life befitting the princess that you are. When you don't, pain comes. Not because I am punishing you, but because you turned away from what keeps you safe from such pain." Slowly, but surely, the King brought the long ago princess to the healing she needed. She no longer felt a romantic love for the long ago prince, only a desire that he and his wife-princess should find a way to forgive each other; to find a way to forgive the long ago princess, and find their happy ever after. Years passed. In that time, the long ago princess still cried out for a love of her own. She continued to build her relationship with the King and continued to study everything that she could to learn more about the King and the love He has for her. While she was reading a book on that very subject, she came across something that changed her life. It was a book about the plans that the King had made for each prince and princess. In the book, she learned that the King's dreams for his children are even more amazing than the dreams they have for themselves. To truly be in the King's will for her life, the princess found that she needed to surrender all of her dreams to the King and then wait upon Him to see what he would return to her. There were big dreams and small, easy enough to surrender to the King. But her dream of dreams was the most difficult to surrender. It took time to completely surrender it, but she did. And when she did, a great burden was lifted from her and her heart became light with happiness. The long ago princess has left her dream of marriage with the King. She waits patiently to see if He will return it to her or not. She has not lost hope that He will, but she no longer allows it to be the focus of her life. In letting the dream go, she has been freed to enjoy the moment she is living in right now. Then a new wrinkle developed recently. The long ago prince found the long ago princess in a country called FaceBook and requested friendship from the princess. She thought long and hard before deciding yes. You see, the long ago princess knew that the long ago prince was in that country, too. She had discovered him on another friend's list of friends. However, she left him to his life and did not contact him. The long ago prince had said all he wanted was friendship and the princess had confirmed that was all she wanted, as well. For some reason that completely escaped the long ago princess, the long ago prince didn't take too kindly to that and began to accuse the long ago princess of bitterness and anger and unforgiveness. The long ago princess was confused by the prince's tirade for she had truly forgiven the prince in her heart and in front of the King and held no grudge against the long ago prince. It saddened her that the long ago prince's marriage was beyond repair and that the prince and wife-princess had parted ways. The long ago prince said he felt he must withdraw his request for friendship because of his perceived bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness in the princess. She was puzzled, but seeing how the long ago prince felt, maybe it was for the better. The long ago princess hopes that the long ago prince will find the happiness that seems to elude him. She hopes the surgeries and other things he is doing for his self esteem will be good for him. She hopes he will have a good life. She hopes he will find peace: for his heart, his mind, and his soul.