Author: Madeline Lund

Creative writer and life observer, working on my own timeline now.
Current Events, Reason to Believe

Pblilius Syrus

Madeline Lund
Pubilius Syrus

The ancients are often overlooked today.  No, I’m not talking about grandma and grandpa!  I’m talking about the first century BC.  There was a young slave–captured in Syria and brought to Italy.  This young man’s obvious gift for wit and his quick intelligence made him so popular that he gained his freedom and won a prize from Caesar in 46 BC

Syrus is best known today as the author of some 600 +/- sayings.  Some of which are quoted often—even now .  The sayings were like the punchline of the small vignettes called mimes (not silent) that were performed before thousands of adoring fans in competitions like the pop star contests we are used to today.  The purpose of these mimes was to instruct in an entertaining way.

boat in calm water
North Sea

Perhaps my favorite of all his sayings is this one:  “Any one can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” Pblilius Syrus

I have family members who make a living on the water.  It is an outdoor life, an active life, a hard life but a rewarding one.  This current situation probably mirrors our ancestors who lived in Scandinavia and spent years exploring the seas and we like to think they found the land of North America 500+ years before Columbus.

When you are on the water, there are things you can control.  And there are very big things you cannot control.  Wind, waves and weather are those really big things.  My son on the Great Lakes likes to say “most people enjoy the gentle rocking of Lake Michigan” and adds a bit of a secret smile.  My daughter on the blue water always reassures that she has her survival suit–the one that inflates when it hits the water–always at hand.

Dealing with those really big things can be very hard but heading into the wind and keeping the tiller still so the vessel continues into the wind is required to ride out the storm.  That will take courage and strength, knowledge and skill.  I guess that is what we all have to do when the big trouble comes.  Head her into the wind and keep her there.

Our founding fathers knew this important truth too.  They built-in ways for the tiller to be attended to and the ship to be kept afloat.  Over time we have had to demonstrate our courage, strength, skill, knowledge repeatedly.  Today is not really any different.

Today is our time, our turn to step up to the challenge.  The big trouble, so much out of our direct control, demands us to make a choice.  We can curl into a ball and hope the disaster will disappear or we can take the tiller and head into the wind.  Muster the courage, strength, skill and knowledge that each of us has to offer.  Face the big trouble enjoy the “gentle rocking” with a secret smile–remember the ancients and steer  the course into the wind!

Just Because

Puppy Spring

Madeline Lund

This spring has been about puppies.  We lost our 16 yr old dog about a year ago.  A German shepherd that disliked men and was very protective of women.  He was chicken-brained in his later years due to  strokes, blindness and arthritis.  But the hair!  Shedding and all the clean up that goes with it…..

My daughter and I decided that we both wanted a large dog—smart, good with kids and older folks, and most importantly no shedding.  The answer was a standard poodle.  We overcame the initial objections of the men-folk in our lives by choosing a breeder in Montana that uses the dogs for carting, hunting and companioning outdoor sports.  We scoffed at the pictures of the show cuts and the pretty pink bows.   In the end, we planted our feed and stood our ground.  The dogs, one male and one female (litter-mates)born on Halloween 2010 arrived in February.

We did not separate them to begin with.  My daughter—bless her!—kept both until they completed potty training.  We took the kids to puppy classes and learned more about our breed.  The men-folk (most at-least) came around.  We got the girl permanently.  Both puppies are a true joy!

If you know the breeds, you know that shepherds are very vocal—noisy even.  Poodles are very quiet.  No doubt these traits are grounded in their original purpose—for shepherds to herd animals, keep predators away and for poodles to hunt, or point to the prey for the hunter.  It was unnerving at first.  We put tags on her so that she would jingle when she walked Puppyor moved around so we could tell where she was.  That is when I noticed the springing.  Yes, I said springing!

She has a spring in her step that is charming and fun to watch.  She springs into the air and does a 360 rotation when she is play fighting with her brother.  She waits patiently while I fill the food bowl and then springs into action when I give the release command.  She plays fetch with herself by letting the tennis ball roll off the steps into the yard and then springs after it to grab it and go again.  Last time my husband mowed, she was pretending to square-off with the mower, springing this way and that in order to intimidate the machine.

That’s the enthusiasm I want and really only have at times.  I want to spring into action, obviously relishing the task, playing with the ideas and ready to do a 360 rotation if need be.  When I do that, I am happier, more engaged in whatever the activity is and dare I say it—more successful in the outcome.  It’s that relaxed confidence that this is going to be great!—whatever it is—that gives us the spring. So, I’m giving myself the release command to train myself into that springing everyday.

Interestingly enough the actual command is “Relax!”.

Just Because

Did anyone say focus?

Madeline Lund

Focus.  That is what I need today.  My head is everywhere–the difficult conversation I had with Mom before I left the house, the weather report proclaiming heat index in 3 digits for Friday/Saturday, and the last story I heard on NPR as I arrived at the office about how a state/city should attract new jobs.  Talk about “fruit basket upset”!

I am relieved to have had the talk with Mom about the stuff (all precious to her) that she hasn’t seen in over 4 years in a storage locker in the town she used to live in about 2 hours away.  She is pondering that during the day today.  I had to tell her she can’t afford to keep it anymore and she should donate the usable items to others that can use them.  I have been putting this off for a really long time–not wanting to rock the boat.  Now that it is said I feel better but she fells worse.  But I can tell she see’s the logic in it.  Dad used to say:  “Don’t confuse me with logic–I’ve already made-up my mind!”  No doubt where she’s at, trying to make herself agree.

The weather report for the holiday weekend is daunting.  I was thinking a nice breeze, drinking coffee or wine in the backyard and reading a book.  Since we cannot make the weather (yet?), I will simply have to adjust.  See how the logic is trying to overcome the emotion??? Hummm….

Jobs, jobs, jobs–how sincerely we talk about it and how little seems to be getting done!  Listening intently to the economists and trying to understand what they are saying is becoming more than an idle pastime.  What is the right path out of this forest?  I’m sure they are trying to communicate the path but it isn’t coming through the emotional trees in front of my face.  Can’t think of folks more logical than economists (except for maybe mechanical engineers!:)) yet we cannot seem to get past the jumbled feelings that come with uncertainty.

Like I said–focus!  Anyone who has listened to TV, reads magaList cartoonzine articles or organized a family into a routine knows some of the keys to focus.  Stay grounded, make lists, and develop a schedule.  These are just a few of the abundant hints. Then why is it so hard?

The pure logic of it is dragging/pulling me  kicking and screaming into starting a list……

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Here and Aware

Madeline Lund

Never dreamed I’d be here, but I’m glad I am! Saw an interesting quote on the web a while back by James Thurber, the American writer best known for Walter Mitty.  He wrote: “Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.”  What are you aware of today?  What made you aware?

For me, it is the little things–sunshine, smooth traffic, good coffee–

Coffee mug
Mmmmmmm....!

in this regard I am pretty easy to please.  The ordinary every day passage of life is pretty fascinating when you stop to think about it.

I try not to carry the baggage from the past–it just weighs me down and holds me back.  That is hard to do because life can be hard too.  I also remember waking up one morning about 3-4 years ago thinking–I am done being afraid of the “them” that the TV wants us to be afraid of.  It was a very liberating feeling!  Yes, everyone gets afraid at times.  When there is a health scare.  There’s too much month left at the end of the money.  Your kids are out later than they should be. etc etc etc……. But if we give that full reign then we make our own world very small indeed.

So I am lifting my mug of hot creamy coffee to say–Hey there–I’m looking for a bigger world, one that keeps me curious and excited to haul it out of bed in the morning.  Part of the purpose of this blog will be me trying to stay aware.  I invite you to share your awareness and I will share mine.  Have a lovely summer day!

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Hello world!

Madeline Lund

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