Category Archives: Goals and Dreams

Goals and Dreams, Health and Long Life, Spiritual Well Being, Travel

The Rail Chronicles,June 11, 2009

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Been there, done that.  The first event of the train trip came less than 15 minutes out of the station – delay for maintenance workers to get out of the way.  Been there, done that.  I am used to train delays for maintenance, passenger train delays for the freight trains (who own the railway) and delays to change crews when crews have been on the rails longer than the union allows (due to aforementioned delays).  A mere three years ago this would have been a new and unique experience for me.  Since that time I have made several rail trips from Denver to GJ, GJ to Denver, GJ to Glenwood Springs.  Even with the delays, I continue to enjoy train rides.  Trains have plenty of legroom, luggage storage, and big windows.  The overwhelming plus for train rides is the freedom from driving.  This freedom; to write, daydream, think, crane my neck, be an armchair traveler and really reach the destination; is huge.

Ruby Canyon- I have not been here or done this before.  In his best tour guide voice the conductor tells us we will be following the Colorado River for the duration of our ride from GJT to SLC today.  The Colorado River ends just 40 miles short of the Pacific Ocean after providing showers and filling swimming pools for the populace of Southern California and trickling into Mexico.  Ruby Canyon is aptly named.  Red rocks flank the Colorado River and make this evening trip well worth the effort.  We pass at least three different groups of river rafters who have made camp for the night on the opposite banks.  Some totally ignore us.  One group waves; but none of the groups have any sense of obnoxious tradition, thus disappointing a group of 40 something, female sight-seers from Chicago and points further East.

co-dependence, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, The Petty Pace

Toilet Paper Recovery

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We have nothing to fear but fear itself!  So speak the great American leaders. Being of the plebeian variety, my motivating thought has all too often been:  I have nothing to fear but embarrassment.

Just as one never attempts the possible in order to avoid failure; I avoid embarrassment at all costs.  I plan, I plot, I educate myself. I think things through, I consider the logical conclusions of my actions. I do my laundry, press my clothes, maintain a regular sleep and grooming schedule; all toward the goal of “having it all together.”

It is important to me to do the right thing.  Lately I began to question my motives.  Am I doing the right thing out of a noble, altruistic heart?  Or am I constantly doing the right thing in order to show others how it ought to be done? To prove that I have it altogether? To avoid, through super human effort, mistakes; or, heaven forbid; embarrassment.

I had a wonderful time Wednesday night.  Philip and I took an impromptu mother / son night out and viewed Star Trek. After the screening, I hit the ladies room (as is my custom); we struck a fast pace toward the car, all the while in conversation and critique of the movie.  The gas gage pegged at empty so I decided to fill up on the way home rather than chance a late arrival at work the next day.

We found an after-nine, discount gas station and commenced the filling and window washing.  From the shadows near the air compressor I heard a male voice call, “Miss.”  I ignored him.  Coming a bit closer, he hailed me again, “Miss, excuse me, Miss,” From the corner of my eye I saw a young man in his twenties, with garish henna hair and sideburns stepping toward me.  Was he going to ask me for money?  Directions? Quickly I looked to see where Philip was.  In the car, talking on his cell phone. “I hope he is paying attention to what is going on out here!”  I thought as I looked up. “Oh, Miss, there is something about to fall out of your pocket!”

(My pocket?  Do I have pockets?  If I reach for my back pockets that draws my attention and effectively ties up my arms.  And this guy is approaching me.  Where is his friend?)

Keeping my eyes on him, I reached behind with my left arm, my strong right arm at the ready.  Nothing.  Then I reached behind with my right arm,  my left hand free,  and grasped it – the 18 inch strip of toilet paper- as my informant faded back into the shadows and was gone.

I am now recovered from my laughter – and my false assurance  of having it all together.

Character, Emotional Health, Family, Goals and Dreams

Happy Mother’s Day to Me!

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Happy Mother’s Day to me.  I am of all women, most blessed.  I like my three grown (nearly grown) children. I like who they are.  It is fun to be with them.  They are people of character and responsibility or budding responsibility; creative, witty, sensitive, thoughtful, articulate. I am looking forward to spending time with them this Mother’s Day; and with my 3.4 grandchildren.

Did they choose the career path I would have chosen for them?  Who can say?  I was not foolish enough to decide who they were to become or to micromanage.  I did know from the day they were born what they were:  they were treasures.  That is what they remain to me to this very day – TREASURES.

Character, co-dependence, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, Health and Long Life, Spiritual Well Being

Back to Square One

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Recently someone tried to convince me that starting over is never a good idea; it just doesn’t work. Essentially she was saying that one needs to just stay in the pit one has dug and continue plodding, maintain the status quo of the circumstances and people one finds oneself with. I understand the Biblical principle behind her adamance to never start over (Peter’s example of a sow returning to wallowing in the mud, or Paul’s question as to why the Galatians were returning to the weak and beggarly rules they started out with which led them from the school master to grace).

I also dislike being bumped back home or to the hospital as much as the next person playing Careers or Monopoly or other reality games. While I understand the necessity to refrain from continually running away and starting over, I have found that retracing one’s steps is often beneficial to ascertain why one went to the kitchen in the first place, what one was thinking of, desiring and wanting, before allowing oneself to be distracted by outside urgencies or circumstances and the daily stresses of life.

So, pardon me, if, in my mid-life quest to be all that I can be and all that my Higher Power asks of me, I decide to return to square one, a mile marker with clear directions.

Though it appears to some that I am starting over, I am actually still standing expectantly on the beach waiting for the next big wave – not just any wave, but a true quintessential pipeline, something I can ride all the way into port; “or be content to sail with God the seas,” as Emerson penned.

Character, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, Politics, The Rules, Uncategorized, Wealth and Fame

I Can’t Be Miss America

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Dear Readers,

I am taking a poll.  It is multiple choice.  Please answer A, B, or C.

I was never crowned Miss America or Miss USA because:

A)  I do not look like a Barbie Doll

B)  I have an opinion, but I am inarticulate and cannot express that opinion

C)  I have a traditional opinion which differs from yours

Dear Reader. why do you think I, your very own Eine Feisty Berg, was never crowned Miss America?

Character, Goals and Dreams, Spiritual Well Being, Uncategorized

Big Ideas to Live By

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For the last three years or so this list has been hanging around my desk, on my bulletin board, pasted to my fridge-you get the idea. Just some key words to encourage me and keep me moving forward in anticipation:

My Apple Tree Philosophy – Just Plant It!

The Basket Philosophy – gather up the pieces that none be lost

Mom’s Taxi – Be about the business of getting people where they need to go – including yourself.

Learning is Exponential – Every bit of knowledge integrates and facilitates mastery of something seemingly unrelated.

The Apple Tree philosophy has to do with one’s tendency to say, “Maybe I shouldn’t waste time and money planting a tree, I probably won’t even be living here in 5 or 6 years when the tree bears fruit.” Just plant it!

Sometimes the experiences of ones life seem fragmented, little bits and pieces of unrelated stuff.  Gather them up, every experience is useful and has purpose.  Maybe you will end up with 12 extra baskets full of good stuff as in the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitudes.

I love my kids and I love being part of getting them where they need to go.  I’ve been doing this for over 30 years.  Most recently I realized that I also have a responsibility to get my self where I am supposed to go.

Almost daily I experience the sensation of some new bit of knowledge creating a metaphor that applies to several other areas of comprehension. May I never stop learning; never stop believing that each puzzle piece I pick up has an entire puzzle somewhere out there, and may I always have the eagerness to keep searching and thinking and learning.

co-dependence, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, Health and Long Life, Religion, Spiritual Well Being, The Petty Pace, Uncategorized

Voo Doo Prayers

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Voo Doo Prayers; I hate them. I refuse them. They release way too much negative energy into the world through thoughtless, selfish, controlling words. You know what I mean. Voo Doo prayers go something like this:
Dear God, please make Jane trip and skin her knee right here so I can help her up and be her hero.
Dear God, please help Joe’s plane to have mechanical problems so it never leaves the ground because he shouldn’t be going on that trip anyway. Dear God, do something bad or scary in John Doe’s life so he will have to call on God for help and know that I have been right about God all along…….
How much better it is to pray a recovery style prayer, “Dear God, please give Jane, or Joe, or John, knowledge of your will for their lives today and give them the power to carry it out.” Oops, I forgot to ask God to keep me in the loop and tell me what his will is for Jane’s life – how will I ever know to pray heartily for that will and what I can do to make sure Jane does that will (are you smiling?).
Voo Doo prayers; I hate them, I reject them. Someone has been meddling with my car and my computer with voodoo prayers. I reject them. Onward, straight into the wave of what positive and good (tho sometimes hard) things God has for me.

Character, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, Spiritual Well Being, The Petty Pace

Some things……

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Last Thursday I caught a ride with my office mate to pick up my car at the garage (new clutch-thousand bucks).  As I buckled in I attempted to put on my sunglasses and found they were missing a screw. The temple came off in my hand.  Being in somewhat of a hurry and distracted by the necessity of giving directions, I stuffed the temple in my purse and balanced my sunglasses on my nose.  This proved fruitless and I hopped out of the car at the garage clutching my purse and loose glasses.  In order to drive home in the waning sun, I wore the spare sunglasses I keep in the car.  Later I dumped my purse out and searched for the temple to no avail.  On Friday I checked the floor of my office mate’s car.  Still no temple. I was disappointed.  Sure it was just a cheap pair of fashion shades, but, they fit well and it had taken me several months to spare the $14.00 for something a little nicer than the castoffs I had been wearing.

Saturday I did some shopping for necessities of existence.  On the way home, I  chanced to drive past the garage and on a whim, I swung into the deserted parking lot.  There on the pavement was my missing temple.  I rejoiced as I returned home. I felt very blessed to find what was lost.

Later, when I took out the glasses and optical screw driver to complete the repair, I was concerned to find that the parts did not line up and slip into place.  A closer look revealed that the temple had been run over and the connecting piece bent.  I tried to pry it gently, but, my optical experience told me that the odds of righting it without ruining it were very slim.  I was sad.  “God,” I said, “You gave me back what was lost and it brought me a lot of joy, but it is useless and it is probable the only thing I can do to help will instead break it beyond repair.  What is your purpose in even giving it back?  What is going on here that I need to learn?”

Very swift came the answer:  Some things just cannot be fixed.

Will I try?  You bet!  But, I will not think less of myself if my efforts fail.  I will be at peace.

Goals and Dreams, The Petty Pace, Uncategorized

Well, its like this….

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Well, its like this; my readers are so busy on facebook, they never read my blog and comment anymore. But, the real reason I haven’t posted in awhile is that my computer is gasping and needs a bit of maintenance…so, I have to surf and write on borrowed computers. Will I fix my computer? Oh, yes! All it needs is a good cleaning and a couple of fans and maybe a new router. Right now I am recovering from a new clutch and a couple of seals for the car. OBTW – Yay for me. My savings account lasted a record four months before being decimated to pay the mechanic.

Character, Emotional Health, Goals and Dreams, Poverty, Uncategorized

The Love of Riches

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Some people will do anything for money.

Others will do nothing for money.

A third group will do anything to get something for free.

The first embody the scripture wherein Jesus said, “The Love of money is the root of all evil.”

The second, in their extreme response (or excuse) to avoid evil, would not think of committing any motion resulting in the evil of money. These two seem to be extreme poles of response to the making of money. The need and greed that comes from not having any money may result in a third, more insidious and extreme response:

Some people will do anything for free; free money, free belongings, free food, free ownership.

“Give me neither poverty nor riches…Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you…or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor [you].” Proverbs 30:8.

“People who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction (I Tim 5: 9)”

So, too, all that wait dependently for others to give everything to them for free.