Thursday, February 7, 2013

Healing


Blogging Friends.... Sigh!! I have caught cold. Yes, again!! I only enjoyed one week free of feeling "under the weather". One freakin' week!! I am counting. This cold's symptoms seem different from my last one. Somehow. At least this time, I do not feel as though I'm constantly drugged, sans any over-the-counter medication!! I am also, I'm fully aware, still lagging behind in reading/commenting on your Blogs!! Not okay with that. I will have to fly through and happily "make the rounds" very, very soon!!

I love quotes!! I always have. Quotes are interesting. They're motivational. They are glimpses into an individual's soul. It matters little to me whether or not I even agree with the speaker of a quote. Because, after all, anybody can create one!! What matters to me is whether or not I feel the quote. Whether or not I can relate to it. I have been reading this wonderful memoir entitled: "Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected" by Kelle Hampton. She has a Blog which I frequent. And, yes, I am behind in reading it!! She also has two equally beautiful blond-haired little girls, one of which was born with Down Syndrome. Nella. Sweet Nella. The other day, while reading Kelle Hampton's book--about accepting and loving her Down Syndrome little girl--I came across this quote: "Healing is a bit like watching a flower bloom. You don't really know when it's going to happen, and despite the fact that you might be sitting there in front of barren ground attempting to will a bare stem to blossom, it doesn't happen on command. No, it is gradual. Like time-lapse photography. And as you are sitting, waiting, pleading for growth, you eventually begin to forget that you are waiting until suddenly, days later, you look and behold... a bloom.". This quote!! Mmmm, this quote!! It so poetically reflects exactly how I lived well over ten years while struggling with self-acceptance regarding my learning disabilities. My unwanted learning disabilities. How I have bounced back and forth like some pressurized air-filled tennis ball against a wiry racket from self-acceptance to plain stubbornness. I like being different!! No. I wish I were normal!! How so many who I am in close proximity to--family, friends--told me that I am beautiful. And I did not listen. Why, God even tried to use Rose--herself being born different--a mutt, my Beautifully Unique Mystery Dog!! But what I needed was healing. And, I did not realize this until reading Kelle Hampton's quote!! Then, I sat in our local movie theater, being entertained by "The Avengers" last May, and--after all those years--and Tony Stark/Iron Man said: "You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a... terrible privilege.". Then, suddenly, I looked, and beheld.... A bloom. A bloom, which, like our cat mischievously biting off my Mom's orchid buds, I severed. Repeatedly. And, like Mom's orchid, my bloom has always returned!! Every time. "It's a... terrible privilege.".
 
So, I wrote Robert Downey Jr.!! Now, all I need is boldness, an address, and courage!! Tons of courage!! Writing his letter was--surprisingly--the easy part!! I simply acted as though Robert Downey Jr. were a friend, or some crazy, eccentric far-away Uncle. Wouldn't that be fun?! Yet. Still freaking out!!   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 comments:

Ziggy Stardust said...

I have also been fighting a cold for the past few weeks. I can't seem to shake it. Don't worry about not visiting, everyone gets sick or just needs a break sometimes. That is a beautiful quote. Being different can be so much more interesting and challenging then being normal. We are all different in our own way. What is normal anyway??

Anne and Sasha

Mary Lou said...

Anne and Sasha....
Thank-you for the comment!!
"Being different can be so much more interesting and challenging then being normal. We are all different in our own way. What is normal anyway??"? I love that!! And. I love you, Friend!! ;-D
Hey. Can I put that quote on the side of this Blog? I need to see it every day!! ;op

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

Great quote. You should put it up somewhere so you can read it when you're feeling down....like with a cold...yuck.

XXXOOO Daisy, Bella l& roxy

Unknown said...

We hope you send the letter. Remember nothing ventured, nothing gained. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly

Mary Lou said...

Daisy, Bella & Roxy....
Thank-you for the comment!!
Great minds think alike!! I intend to put Kelle Hampton's quote someplace where I can see it. On the side of this Blog, actually!! ;op

Mary Lou said...

Molly....
Thank-you for the comment!!
As I said, all I need is a TON of courage and an address!! "Nothing ventured, nothing gained.".... ;op

Sketching with Dogs said...

Hope you feel better soon.
I have just started with one and it is setting my asthma off :(
Lynne x

Mary Lou said...

Lynne....
Thanks for the comment!!
You have asthma? Same here. Chest colds make me codependent to my inhaler!! ;op

Tweedles -- that's me said...

I hope you feel better too.
With blog- there are no rules- just post a post when your heart is ready to talk,,,,
when it does not feel like talking or its sick- then I know there is a time to be quiet... and that is important too.
love
tweedles

Mary Lou said...

Tweedles....
Thanks for the comment!!
You are so sweet, Friend!! Yeah, writing for my Blog while sick is crazy. This I admit. But, writing also keeps my sanity!! ;op

Soggibottom said...

:-) x x x

Mary Lou said...

Freya Rose Blossom....
Thank-you for the comment!!
I appreciate your " :-) x x x " gesture!! ;op

troutbirder said...

Thanks again for stopping by and wishing you well....:)

Mary Lou said...

troutbirder....
Thank-you for the comment!! ;op

Ruby said...

That is a great quote! It reminds me of one of my favorite passages in the bible from Pilippians 3:12-16. There is no use fighting against the past or wishing the present was different. That will not bring about anything positive. We must look to the hope we have, and cling to that.

"Not that I have already obtained this or mam already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained."

Mary Lou said...

Ruby....
Thank-you for the comment!!
"There is no use fighting against the past or wishing the present was different. That will not bring about anything positive. We must look to the hope we have, and cling to that.". This is a message that I am gradually grasping.... ;)
Good verse!! Thanks for sharing, Friend!! ;op