tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post5057883376445853277..comments2023-10-11T03:49:53.934-04:00Comments on The Gold Puppy: TodayReya Mellickerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-24527083802267996992011-05-23T08:06:19.271-04:002011-05-23T08:06:19.271-04:00Thank you, Val! I too am a fan of Steven's com...Thank you, Val! I too am a fan of Steven's comments and Steven's blog. He is so smart, so human. I learn from him every day.<br /><br />I learn from you, too, Val - whenever you're close enough to a computer to post. Love and thanks to you.Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-71735846824645323492011-05-23T04:03:30.685-04:002011-05-23T04:03:30.685-04:00it is strange how a single comment, even a glib on...it is strange how a single comment, even a glib one, can have impact. I suppose if it resonates with you then it will stay long after the person of influence has forgotten what they said. Its so random but i guess these are all challenges that we set ourselves anyhow.<br /><br />As you know i am an avid follower of your blog, and I am fast becoming a follower of Stevens comments on your blog. how is that? After i have read yours, i look for his response. its like a yin yang thing and just fantastic. Thanks always Reya for bringing out the best in us allValhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16060531713032236270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-1921892294355010512011-05-22T20:00:20.761-04:002011-05-22T20:00:20.761-04:00Potatoes are a good thing!
Whitney what a perfect...Potatoes are a good thing!<br /><br />Whitney what a perfect message!<br /><br />Tom: your kids are GREAT. I met some of them, remember?Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-56617661365388599212011-05-22T14:50:40.190-04:002011-05-22T14:50:40.190-04:00Passed down to me from my great-grandmother Ellen,...Passed down to me from my great-grandmother Ellen, of County Sligo, eight years old in the famine year of 1847--"Pick up that little potato--you might be hungry some day and wish you had it." Helping my dad dig potatoes, I thought it meant "Don't be lazy; don't waste food." Later, I thought it meant "Work hard, and plan for the future." <br /><br />Now I wonder if it wasn't a barefoot Irish girl's way of saying "Carpe diem!" Anyway, I'm always glad to have potatoes.Rebecca Claytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06494730619850791609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-132918086535629472011-05-22T11:55:56.027-04:002011-05-22T11:55:56.027-04:00My father's most commonly repeated phrase-I sw...My father's most commonly repeated phrase-I swear it one day may be what we choose as his epithet- is "Life is Choices."<br /><br />It's taught me about personal responsibility and accountability. I'm the one in charge here, if my life isn't what I'd like it to be then it's up to me to change it.Whitney Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07766231420593480962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-702745854102442922011-05-22T11:04:45.097-04:002011-05-22T11:04:45.097-04:00hmmm. i guess my kids have developed a very strang...hmmm. i guess my kids have developed a very strange sense of humor, but i don't know if they're in any way prepared to live in This worldTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948978798395906663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-626048236694718612011-05-22T04:58:00.818-04:002011-05-22T04:58:00.818-04:00love the way you talk with images.
really beautif...love the way you talk with images.<br /><br />really beautiful peonies :)AMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104600174286589032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-42436506799402439592011-05-21T23:04:47.506-04:002011-05-21T23:04:47.506-04:00I am glad that you can be happy now, as I obviousl...I am glad that you can be happy now, as I obviously see from your writing and photos.<br /><br />I doubt that a parent would truly want to burden their child with guilt forever. No! Your loving and clumsy father only wanted you to know that the world is not always a perfect place and that you must help it to be better. You became a healer, Reya, and your parents are so proud.Kerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15281288495129054688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-51187264648936849262011-05-21T22:16:04.858-04:002011-05-21T22:16:04.858-04:00Steven I wish everyone listened to you! Yes about ...Steven I wish everyone listened to you! Yes about suffering. I willingly suffer for all kinds of things - my lusts, for instance. Yeah. In order to evolve, it's well worth it. Yep.<br /><br />We had a spectacular Rapture day in DC today. It was BEAUTIFUL, people were cheerful, it was lovely all day long. Hmmm ...Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-43286055578432064202011-05-21T21:40:06.566-04:002011-05-21T21:40:06.566-04:00well reya, world's ended today, but not ours! ...well reya, world's ended today, but not ours! there's qualities of suffering and suffering doesn't have to be a bad thing if you know why you're suffering and how it contributes to some other goodness or someone else's goodness or a greater goodness. consider for example the suffering that inhabits the space between who you are, and who you wish to be. that could be good suffering if it's placed inside real work that leads to becoming or regaining the person you are intended to be. i can look at the crap and travail of my own life and see my work as a result of all of that against the perspective of it leading me to the very good people of my life, to the very good things of my life, to the future becoming and i can say hey thankyou so very much. really thankyou!!! stevenstevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14132104804524716898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-10925417726737186222011-05-21T21:11:17.058-04:002011-05-21T21:11:17.058-04:00Meri - ha!
Jo, I doubt seriously that you've ...Meri - ha!<br /><br />Jo, I doubt seriously that you've made many mistakes in this arena. You are very conscious about what you do and don't say.<br /><br />I worked through what my parents did and who they were. They loved us, and ... oh yeah ... they were seriously imperfect. But there are percs, such as the fact that I DON'T have a weight problem. Well done, papa!Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-72526163853705034072011-05-21T20:04:07.870-04:002011-05-21T20:04:07.870-04:00It's a pretty amazing responsibility, raising ...It's a pretty amazing responsibility, raising children. We want to encourage and enhance self-esteem without creating grandiosity and narcissism; we want to promote compassion but with appropriate boundaries so they aren't taken advantage of; and the list goes on and on. I tried not to generate neurosis in my children. . . and likely made myself neurotic in the process.Merihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07024443046207501650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-84762727816242407302011-05-21T17:05:02.218-04:002011-05-21T17:05:02.218-04:00"Try your best to be a strong, kind, and lovi..."Try your best to be a strong, kind, and loving person.<br /><br />Do all you can to develop and use your gifts to better the world.<br /><br />Be grateful for your strong and healthy body, despite what the outer shell looks like.<br /><br />Seek the sweetness, if not happiness, in each moment."<br /><br />I suppose these messages are really what your parents and parents around the world are really trying to convey to their children. Like everyone else, I'm sure I'm guilty of muddying up these messages occasionally with my own ineptitudes. <br /><br />I can say without reservation that it's SO much easier to keep these messages simple with our grandchildren! I wonder why that is?<br /><br />It sounds as if you've done a lot of forgiving for your parent's shortcomings. That is the real blessing for all of you. <br /><br />You know how much I love that peony photo, right?Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14937847762010497687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-59715026661954895412011-05-21T15:34:12.919-04:002011-05-21T15:34:12.919-04:00"if the world were about to end, this would b..."if the world were about to end, this would be the perfect day for it."<br /><br />Love this line! It isn't 6 PM here yet, but so far, no earth-shattering quake. We did have a thunderstorm a while ago...<br /><br />I'm with Maya Angelou - we do the best we can with what we know and when we know better, we do better.<br /><br />The peonies in the first photo are gorgeous!Paulinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555472024981357622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-6550531564425366132011-05-21T14:33:08.740-04:002011-05-21T14:33:08.740-04:00Steve it is SO GREAT to see you here. You, too, Ca...Steve it is SO GREAT to see you here. You, too, California Girl.<br /><br />I'm relieved to know that the cult kids are just as saavy as other kids who seem to know everything. Have you noticed? Thanks.<br /><br />My father meant well - I guess - but there are so many ways to encourage compassion. Cursing us to eternal suffering unless we somehow saved the world, created rather unfortunate results. I don't blame him.Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-65521762542413871272011-05-21T13:47:34.332-04:002011-05-21T13:47:34.332-04:00The only article I saw about those kids quoted the...The only article I saw about those kids quoted them saying, essentially, that their parents are crazy. At least some of them seem to know what's up.<br /><br />That saying of your Dad's is quite touching, actually. I'm sure he wanted to develop in you a sense of the suffering of others, and a need to help ameliorate that suffering.Steve Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11684120060438252945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-18979579442066004742011-05-21T10:55:30.982-04:002011-05-21T10:55:30.982-04:00Let us not even embark on what our parents did to ...Let us not even embark on what our parents did to us.....<br />Not a good day for it, under the circumstances!<br /><br />Yes, what parents say has a HUGE impact<br />God knows what I've uttered in error.<br />However, yes, the sun is shining beautifully<br />son and grandson arriving any minute<br />sending much love, dear ReyaElizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03964291132366262298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-17324399706542353432011-05-21T10:52:56.701-04:002011-05-21T10:52:56.701-04:00Yes, we are capable of greatness, each in our own ...Yes, we are capable of greatness, each in our own way, but it does require perserverance. I wonder sometimes if I've taught my children the value of said perserverance? I don't see it in them yet, at least, not the way I'd like to see it. <br /><br />Parental POV: worrying about their future. My sons are in their early twenties and still very confused about which road to take. One is graduating college this month. The other doesn't want to go back. I keep telling them to take either road and explore because they are young, unencumbered with relationships, debt, etc. It's hard for them to trust that faith. I went through it myself when I was young. I thought I was supposed to know what I wanted to be, yet I did not.<br /><br />I am very lucky. I have two well-mannered, kind hearted, generous sons who are a delight to those who meet and get to know them. They embody the most important things in life: charity towards others, friendship and love.California Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12582691517303132274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-12045672937133922622011-05-21T10:04:01.207-04:002011-05-21T10:04:01.207-04:00I don't get it either. I have my moments, but ...I don't get it either. I have my moments, but most of this experience of living a human life is really good.Reya Mellickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13076092659507965666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607471777855707790.post-7545029603470901752011-05-21T09:26:43.186-04:002011-05-21T09:26:43.186-04:00we all, in our own ways, have to overcome our chil...we all, in our own ways, have to overcome our childhoods. My father would tell us that we could do anything we wanted and yet what we wanted to do was never good enough. Well, my sister and I anyway, my brother is a high achiever. <br /><br />I've never really understood the idea that life is suffering and we must escape from the wheel of life. I know there is suffering in the world but there is also great happiness, beauty and love.ellen abbotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00535475792150335186noreply@blogger.com