Status Talisman. . .

Or Stratus Talisman?

ALOHA!

Beauty in all it's forms

heals me.

"Those disabled from work - the aged,

 and invalids -

 have a well-grounded claim

 to care from the state."

Otto von Bismarck, 1881,

 proposing a social insurance program.

"An onion can make people cry,

 but there has never been a vegetable invented

 to make them laugh." 

Will Rogers

"Clothes make the man.

 Naked people have little or no influence on society."

Mark Twain

"The pine stays green in winter...

 wisdom in hardship." 

Norman Douglas 

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We are designed to look for faces

and patterns in behavior.

We interpret the actions of others

without even realizing it.

What we "see"

seems as self evident

as sports teams do

when they are winning.

But leads can be lost;

Momentum is always shifting.

Don't remain moored

to past patterns, habits,

automatic responses.

Cleanse your windows of perception.

Invite a few "what ifs"

to the party.

Get 

tipsy

with the real possibilities

that a shift in attitude

can begin.

O Lord

grant me the wisdom

to discern between

whole, healthy habits,

and stultifying routines -

Help me to be more able

to swim in the cataract of abundance

that surrounds me.

Amen

Bonus Tip:

We assume that our friends

or partners

are making a decision,

or sending a message,

when they are simply on auto-pilot

(as we are).

Remembering that they

are as lost & searching

as yourself

Allows compassion

to blanket and quench

the hot coals of hurt

in cool,

sparkling,

joyous

purity.

      Warmly, cloudia