Of course ,this is redundant

My life philosophy is, "I never do anything I can get God or someone else to do for me."  Of course, God and someone else is redundant.

COW ANGELS

“Damn” I said to myself as I walked amongst the cattle lying beneath the fur trees west of the old red barn. “Son-of-a-gun!” I said as I looked at the dripping eye of one of my best cows.  She had pinkeye, conjunctivitis and her eye was nearly swollen shut.  If left untreated, she could become blind.

This cow was what is called, “An easy keeper”. She dropped big healthy calves and provided more than enough milk for her babies to grow up big, bright and strong. She required little feed or care. The problem was: She was a spooky cow, skittish and she kept her distance from me.

It was mid-July, about 1:00 in the afternoon. It had been an exceptionally hot, still July and the flies had been unmerciful. Even though I had ample dust bags hung around for the cattle to bump their heads against to protect them from face flies, this cow had allowed them to lick upon her eye and it had become infected.

I have treated this malady before. It is a simple procedure. I would run the pink-eyed cow down the squeeze chute, lock in her head, pull up her eyelid and squirt a yellow antibiotic powder into her eye, causing it to drip yellow tears. I had done this many times over the years and I had never lost an eye.


I was cursing because the cows and calves were away from where the squeeze chute was separated by a field of ripe fescue grass ready to be mowed and bailed. To treat this favored cow, I would have to move the whole herd through the ready to be mowed grass to the corral, cut her out from the herd and run her down the alley to the squeeze chute. To do this, I would have to destroy the ready to be mowed grass.


I walked the long way back to the house, leaving a path through the tall grass while wondering what I could do. I unlocked the pasture gate, closed and locked it and folded my arms upon the post holding the gate. I dropped my chin upon my folded arms and looked over the hay field to the red barn and the herd down under the trees.

What happened the next hour might sound unbelievable to you, I am sure, but it happened exactly as I will describe it to you. I closed my eyes and said, “Okay, cow angels, I need your help here. I want to help this cow that is a friend of mine and I cannot do it without you. If you wish me to help her, you have to arrange it for me. If I am not to do this, then don’t.” I opened my eyes, pulled myself away from the post and went into the house to have a drink of water.


I rustled around in the house for a while, checking my phone messages. I walked back outside, out of the garage, across the gravel drive to the gate. There, standing alone in the far, east side of the pasture is the cow with the drippy eye. All of the other cows and calves were still lying down under the fir trees, 200 yards away at the west side of the pasture. This cow was moved from the herd to stand by herself alone, up near the red barn.


I said “Man!” to myself and faded into the garage to the animal medicine cabinet. I retrieved the plastic bottle of yellow antibiotic powder and a black eye patch used on cattle with advanced conjunctivitis.

I stuck the powder bottle into my front jeans pocket, the tube of eye patch glue into my shirt pocket and slid the folded cloth eye patch into my back pocket. I unlocked the gate near the house and followed the grass trail I had made earlier over to the red barn. I walked slowly, knowing this cow was skittish and could bolt at any second.

She just stood there looking at me as I unlocked the gate. I said, “Hi Baby. I am so glad to see you here. It is all going to be okay, darlin’. Come on in here. I have something good for you to eat.” I walked into the red barn and cut open a bale of leafy alfalfa hay left over from the winter. I pulled the bale apart and dropped a section of it into the manger. “Come on baby,” I said,“Come on.”

She followed me like an old dog would follow a loved master. She dropped her head into the manger and proceeded to eat the hay treat. She looked at me trustingly with one open clear eye and one almost swollen shut eye. She was neither afraid nor skittish. I remember smiling to myself, “She acts like she is stoned.” (I am from the 60’s. I know stoned.)

I popped off the cap to the yellow powder, pulled up her eyelid and squirted her infected eye with powder. Yellow tears dripped immediately. She stood there as peaceful as could be. I pulled the folded eye patch from my rear pocket, uncapped the glue tube and spread it upon the edges of the patch. I pressed it upon the outside of her eye. I waited and scratched her forehead while telling her how wonderful she was. She ate. Her stomach gurgled. She was at peace and so was I.


I sat upon the haystack and watched. All of a sudden, she came out of her reverie. Her head shot straight up. She bolted backwards, throwing high her head and slammed out of the barn, heading towards the herd down in the west field.

  I sat there awhile and pondered what had happened. I wondered about heaven and here. I was told that whenever one asks for assistance to bless another, help always comes. I was told, “You cannot, not bless. You are only capable of blessing because of who you are and what you were created to be."

Blessing is the only natural profession of all people. When you dump your anger, pain, jealousy and fear onto others, you are saying, “Here, I care about you enough to bless you with my very worst.” When you extend your kindness, love, appreciation and happiness onto others, you are saying, “Here, I care about you enough to bless you with my very best.

It may be that the only reason we are here is to learn to bless other people, animals, things and ideas. It may be the only reason we are here is to be truly helpful. If we accept that this is our only function here, we can have all that heaven has to offer; Its power, glory, blessings and assistance.

And so my friends, you wish to be an “Outside Traveler.” You desire to go out “there”. I salute you for I have never had a desire to do this. You might consider as you travel about that your purpose of going “there” is to continue blessing the world with your best. You might consider that regardless of race, culture and apparent differences you will encounter, your only task is to continue blessing the world with your very best. If you decide to do this, every trip you take will be one of absolute joy.


I followed the grass trail back to the house and I smiled and I offered thanks. “This has been quite a day! Cows and angels!” As Dizzy Dean use to say, “Who would have thunk it?”

YOUR LIFE WORK

For those of you who have ever wondered or asked yourself this question, I share with you an experience I had asking this question.

“What is my life work?” I pondered. I didn’t have a clue; I turned to God for an answer. I tried to shake this question from my brain but it would not go away. I busied myself with farm tasks, counseling clients and spending time with my children but this sticky question hung on. I could not put it down or “shoo it away”. I wanted to know what God would have me do because I didn’t know.

I fasted, prayed and rolled this question over and over in my mind. I begged, pleaded, even groveled for an answer. I wanted to know because I felt so lost back then; I believed I was walking a pathless path to nowhere, with no vision or goals of anything meaningful or of value. Answers were withheld but I kept asking, even demanding to know and hopefully to hear and to understand what it was God would have me do. I needed God to give an answer that I might have purpose and direction.

 Finally, one afternoon while immersed in this question, I heard a Voice that said, “Would you please stop asking this question. Everything you do and experience is your life-work. So it is with everyone.”

That answer jolted me. Waves of insight and understanding crashed my mind. I laughed. I even roared out-loud and slapped my knee. I knew. I stormed into the kitchen because I was starving and thirsty. I choked down some food and laughed some more. “How simple” came into my mind. I toasted the Voice who shared this with me.

© 2010 Lory Misel

Shootin' the Bull

The other day I was "shootin'-the-bull" with a couple of people at a local restaurant. They were talking about what was happening in the news. They asked me what I thought. I told them that I don't watch TV news, read newspapers or listen to the radio. They were aghast. "What?" one of them barked. "How do you know what is going on in the world?" "Well," I said. "I just go outside and look around." They shook their disbelieving heads as if they were sorry for me. I smiled and loved their facial expressions.
"Would you like to know why I don't listen to or read this stuff?" I asked. (This was really a rhetorical question. I used to tell my sons when they were growing up, "I have never let your lack of interest keep me from telling you what I want to tell you.") And so, I pushed on with my resturant friends.

"We don't have 'news' in America. We have sensationalism. It is purposefully made, consciously, strategically offered to make us afraid. We turn on television and/or radio and we are bombarded with the reports of violence, murders, rapes, wars, disasters, corruptions with democrats and republicans, our government and on and on. We sit there and allow this insidious drek to filter inside of our minds and thoughts.  And without our awareness, we become afraid. We have 'numbed' ourselves to the levels of fear we are experiencing and maintaining by this insidious indoctrination." (By-the-way, this is why we eat, stuff ourselves as we watch TV and/or listen to the radio. This "eat" dynamic is a very primal way in which we are attempting to nurture ourselves to side-step or comfort the fears we are experiencing because of what we are watching and/or hearing.)

"I am sure you are begging for an answer to the question, 'Why would our pristine media moguls wish us to be afraid?' Well, sports fans, it is really quite simple if you think about it. There we sit, being made afraid and then "Bam"! We are offered commercials of all of this shiney, beautiful, necessary, youth-enhancing, techno-necessary, life-enhancing and worldly exciting stuff we need to buy. The dynamic of 'getting/buying' is salvation from the fear they have just made you experience.' First, they make us afraid and then they set us up to buy products because of the fear they have consciously led us into."

"The same is true with 'hate radio'. These announcers spew out vile ideas to make us angry. You see, anger is not really a primary emotion. It arises from fear and guilt but never-the-less, what they condition us to feel sets us up to buy their products."

"The way I see it is 'garbage - in, garbage - out'. If I allow this fear/anger garbage into my mind, then it has to come out; out in what I feel and out in how I begin to see the world. How can I have peace and happiness if I feed myself upon fear, anger and guilt?"

"This is why I don't watch television or listen to the radio."

My resturant friends looked dazed and didn't say much. I sensed they had to leave to go home and watch the news. I didn't mind because I planned to watch Everybody Loves Raymond because this program makes me smile.

© 2010 Lory Misel

SPIRIT FAMILIES

Photo:
Winter Evening at the Farm



Recently, I have been receiving numerous inquiries about Spirit Families. I am heartened that so many have shown an interest because a Spirit Family can truly be one of the many ways to help you on your spiritual path.

I have begun writing a book about Spirit Familes and the different types of Spirit Families.

I'll keep you posted as to how these writings are coming along.

I have my own Spirit Family that meets once a week and I asked them if they could write something for me to share with others that would help them to know what a Spirit Family means to them. Here is what one person has shared about her experience:

"Being part of the spirit group with Lory is something I almost can't put words too. What does it mean to interact with people in this way?...well, it's liberating.

This is a safe zone where discussion about what some might consider implausible happenings and experiences is uncensored and embraced. No one doubts the validity of what happens in these individuals lives aand the sharing of these experiences enriches all who participate. Intriguingly, though no discussions are necessarily planned, "the spirit' moves through and in us in such a way, that often times much of what each individual comes to discuss ends up connecting directly with what another has said or will say. Without subcribing to a particular faith, we bless each other by participating. In a quietly profound way, you come to realize that your perspective on life is changing by being a part of this kind of group.

To say more, might limit the individual impact and experience. So I will leave it at that."
Gay Santerre

© 2010 Lory Misel