nobody really even cares about the windows of joy do they?

Did I miss something, again ...

We always enjoy each other's company in cyber space,

Merry Christmas, sundog!

Sometimes, there really isn't a lot of joy in the world. Or here, for that matter.

really




i mean it




don't try to stop me

nowhere did i see a post this morning "oh i can't wait for the window of joy"

or "i haven't seen the window of joy, i sure hope everything is ok"

i could be dead in a roadside ditch somewhere & no one would know the difference... or even care

I was getting ready to post about the lack of the window of joy today. I sorely missed it, since it's rather a crappy day today. :-(

And of course we would care. Caring about sundog...that's our middle names.

it is the sabbath after all

christmas

~William Shakespeare~

Hi

(((((((((( :hug: ))))))))))

The mother of excess is not joy but joylessness.

~Friedrich Nietzsche~

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."

I hope you are successful in your efforts, though I tend to think your struggles are why you limit the window of joy and suffer the frustrations you do when the window is not as celebrated as you might like.

Don't you just love the quotes of authors and philosophers? I suppose we are all in search of joy and the truth and that is why we search for quotes that help us express what is in our hearts. Sadly, as of late, this quote seems to be the most apropos given the atmosphere of our society.

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.
~Arthur Miller~

Good luck in your endeavors and may your truly find peace and joy.

your posts in my threads have become increasingly aggressive.

i do not know what i have done to you or what you think i have done to merit this aggressiveness. i have exchanged no dialog with you outside support threads that were dedicated to your post katrina struggles.

you know nothing about my personal loyalties, trust & honor in this world. you have taken no time to ask me about them, yet sit in judgment of me from the room of a message board which is often dedicated to humor, satire & laughter. are your judgments based on hearsay from a third source? they are certainly not based upon any dealings directly with me.

i wish you the best. tragedy & hardship in life can either make us either more bitter or more magnanimous individuals. personally speaking, i have chosen the latter.

there are many people that warm my heart on this message board, regardless of where they sit on the social spectrum. i have no intention of containing or censoring that affection.

one of the greatest gifts in life is spiritual resilience. that is my wish for you. no matter what happens, the world cannot bury your heart.

if you wish others to follow in your shunning of me, that is your perogative... if those are people i care for, then that is also ok.

i choose to state these things out in the open, because operating from the shadows & dark corners of pm's isn't my style. never was, never will be.

one of the bottom lines in life for me is unity. it always has been, it always will be. this is the one thing that keeps me coming back to this good place.

no matter what shit life throws at you, keep a smile in your heart merh.

take care :)

And please try to practice what you preach, no matter what life throws at you, keep a smile in your heart.

I have not shun you, it is you that has shun me and others. The odd thing about this forum is it allows us the chance to review our immediate past. We leave a trail for others to follow, a history of our actions and our inactions.

I don't operate in the darkness either, I have been truly forthcoming and have openly asked for your support and you have refused or simply failed to respond. Even when I remove the controversy from public view and have tried to deal one on one with individuals those communications are freely shared with others and conclusions are drawn. What I find remarkable is that many lay the blame of dissent and angst at the feet of others while they partake in actions that they have accused others of doing. And I ask you the same thing you ask of me "are your judgments based on hearsay from a third source? they are certainly not based upon any dealings directly with me." Go back and see how and when you stopped communicating to me. See the choices you have clearly made based on hearsay and rumor alone.

My struggles are for me, but not just for me, my sharing of experiences, my opening my heart in these threads is not just for me but for the other survivors of Katrina that don't know of this forum or that don't have the strength to be heard. My struggles are also for those that have stood by me and have given to me when they didn't have to give, I mean, after all, they were simply casual acquaintances on a message board. I know the truth behind much and actions do speak louder than written or spoken words.

My posts have not been aggressive unless you view them from a defensive posture. What is sad is that I see many striving to find the love that was once here and that has been chased away or betrayed by those that search for it the most.

Have the friendships you need and find the love you seek. May you be as blessed as I have been by the friendships and the love that have helped me and continue to help me find hope.

peace to you

Grotesque gastro-gymnastic faux joy coming from you just made us all a tad bit in need of some antacid.

Perhaps you could find a happy-medium between deep depression and the "window of joy" - how about the ventilation flap of satisfaction? As it requires less effort on your part, it could be left open permanently.

:rofl: ventilation flap of satisfaction... :rofl:

:-)

Perhaps the "small table fan of contentment"? :-)

The porthole of peace. :hi:

You are even meaner to him than you are to me! All I was gonna ask was if the windows of joy were double glazed.

Apparently, I really am the nice one.

Khash.

But then that goes without saying.

I don't believe in being nice.

I am sometimes good, or lovely, or charming, or sweet - sometimes horrid, hideous, grotesque, mean &c. - but never EVER EVER nice.

once

:yoiks:

I was lovely - and I still am from time to time. :loveya: :hug:

:hug:

Get a room, guys! I'm off to sweet-talk swimboy.


Khash.

khash! :nuke:

You can't steal both TJ and swimboy, you greedy bastard!

Besides, I thought you were mine too.

I'm gonna tell progmom on you! And you know what she's like!

Khash.

timeshare :evilgrin:

OK. So when you get TJ, I get swimboy and vice versa, And when neither of us are too busy, I get you. I can work with that.

It just looked like you were taking all the goodies for yourself.

Khash.

I haven't seen it today, I hope it's okay....


:silly:

I don't think I have access to that window--I'm askeered out of my wits possibly filing for bankruptcy and hoping no one sues me. I am feeling too needy and may suck the joy from the window!

:grouphug:

Does that count?

you are absolved

...so I can hear the birds. :)


Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-emily dickinson

:hug:

i love you too. :hug:

And I am being very honest.

I hope your devotion to sundog and he to you can help you both appreciate the loyalty many of us have for others. Though some may see my friendships as "casual acquaintances", I know in my heart how deep and true my friendships are. I know how blessed I am to have the friends I have and I know the hearts of the friends, for they have shown their true selves in the giving and not in the taking.

I know that when I called and was in need of a friendly voice on the other end of the phone, my friends have taken the time to listen and have not blown me off. Their offers of support were not just words typed on a screen but were true efforts to help and offers of comfort.

I know that the offers of help when I lost everything I owned were not empty offers but were true gifts of love and friendship. Many gave when they didn't have it to give, many gave gifts of substance so that I could be sustained - so that I could eat more than MREs and the food offered by the food kitchens of charities and many gave gifts of comfort and love just so that I didn't feel alone.

Do you know what it is like to have lost it all, every stitch of clothing, every morsel of food, every material item that meant something to you? Look around your house and see the memories of your life, the mementos of your youth, the reminders of where you have been, where you came from and how far you have gotten. Then think about losing all of that in a flash, in an 8 hour span of fear and torment, torment because you cannot stop the forces of nature, you just have to pray that you will live and can help your family survive to see another day. As you sit in your chair before your computer, imagine losing that chair and computer, finding only smashed pieces of what they once were when you finally find what is left of your home.

Imagine the faces of your 2 and 4 year old family members as they cling to your neck as you hold them out of the raging storm waters, trying to get them to safety high above the flood waters and out of the winds that are destroying all around you. Imagine coming down from the safety you had found to find nothing but rubble and debris and imagine thinking that maybe you would be better off if you had let the waters take you. I mean, you have nothing left, the future cannot be seen and in that instance all that is around you is destruction and hunger. No food, no water, no shelter, nothing. Imagine, if you will, what it is like to try to call out on your phone and find that you can't reach a soul, you try for minutes, that seem like hours to reach someone on the other end to let them know that you are alive and to reassure yourself that there is civilization beyond the destruction, that there is hope. Now imagine what it is like to finally be able to get through to friend (or as some have called that friend, a casual acquaintance) and imagine that friend taking the time to help you regain your composure and sense of life and hope. Imagine what it is like to hear true joy in the friend's voice as they learn that you have survived and imagine how that joy blankets you in love and safety. Imagine the friend making you feel like you mattered, that their is hope and that you are not alone. Imagine the laughter the friend shares that helps you cry the tears of fear that have engulfed you because of what you have been through.

I celebrate your friendship with sundog and am glad you have such a friend. We all need friends and it is the friendship of many here that has helped me when the nightmares shake me from my sleep, when sleep doesn't come easy, when I need a cyber hug or a laugh and when the red tape of my life drains the hope from my heart.

I am indebted to many that post and/or once posted here. My life has been full of turmoil and they have given me support, brought me laughter and given what they can to help me get beyond the devastation to a place where there is hope.

I hope you can understand that and appreciate the loyalty and the devotion I have for my friends. I pray your friendship with sundog and your love for one another is as rich and as fulfilling as the friendships I have with many that post and/or have posted here.

i really don't want to argue... it doesn't do anyone any good

sorry for the hell you have been through

peace

to them. :shrug:

No one suggests arguments. Often fear of enlightenment and the truth can easily be portrayed as not wanting to argue.

question still not answered and it continues ....

I know every day how fortunate I am. And your experiences, and the experiences of others who struggled through Katrina and its aftermath, have weighed heavily on my mind. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you for your kind words. Sundog and I are very lucky to be friends... as are many of us here who have made long-lasting friendships.

:hug:

You know what I mean.

Celebrate your friends and celebrate the joy and love that others find in their friends and with their friends. Let the spirits of others fulfill you, don't seek to own them or what they have. Be you for the sake of you and not at the cost of others.

And I try to understand that others' lives are theirs to live. I have been judged enough in my life to know that judging others is a horribly destructive thing to the soul. I see it in the lives of those who stand in judgment of others... and in their children's hearts... hate only festers and generates more hate in the world. We should all live striving to see the good in others and opening ourselves to love.

Truly, I wish you peace and happiness. You won't believe it's sincere I think, but it is.

Peace.