A Fairytale or A Fable?

Once upon a time in a land called the '70's there lived a little girl. She lived in a pretty house with a stone front and a sun porch. In the house lived her Mother, her Father, her beautiful older sister and her aloof older brother. The little girl only wanted one thing. She wanted her very own fish.
She asked her Mother, "No!" her Mother said.
She asked her Father, "Ask your Mother," he said absently.
Her sister just ignored her. Her brother told her to just go get them.
The little girl had a friend down the way who had all sorts of great animals. The regular ones like cats and dogs, but she also had some more interesting creatures, like snakes, guinea pigs, and a skunk.
The little girl wanted fish in the worst way. She pleaded with her Mother.
Finally her Mother consented with the lovely sentiment of, "YOU'RE DOING EVERYTHING FOR THOSE FISH. YOU'RE CLEANING THE TANK. FEEDING THEM. I NEVER WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THEM AT ALL!"
"Fine," thought the little girl. "I will."

So she and her friend with many animals went to the pet store and picked out some aquatic beauties. The little girl got glorious rainbow fish and a translucent angel fish.
Her friend chose eels.

The little girl took care of her fish and fed them and cared for them and cleaned their tank. She never had to ask her Mother for any help whatsoever.

Then one day the little girl's friend was going on holiday. She asked the little girl to care for her eels. "O.k." she said, somewhat terrified. But she was a good friend. She took the eels into her home like they were her own. She put them in the tank with her fish.

The first day her visitors arrived she carefully put some fish food in the tank and trotted off to school. After school she ran up the stairs to check on her fish and the eel and her beautiful angel fish was missing. The eel looked smug.
The second day she left for school with a slight bit of trepidation, but having no other recourse, she went on her way. At 3.30 she came home to find one of her rainbow fish was gone too. Now the eel just looked fat.

The little girl did not know what to do. She couldn't ask her Mother, that was forbidden. She went downstairs and found her Father in the den watching Planet of the Apes, smoking a cigarette and drinking some Genesse Cream Ale.
"Dad?" she said.
Her father glanced up at her questioningly.
"Yes, it's just..." her litttle voice trailed off. "Well, I put my friends eels in the tank and now some of my fish are missing."

With that her Father stood up out of his wing chair. He didn't say a word to her. He just started walking. She followed him down the hall and up the stairs and into her room. He picked up her fish net, scooped up the eels, walked in the hall bath and flushed them down the toilet. Then he handed her the net and went back to his beer and his apes.

Shortly thereafter the little girl's friend came home from vacation. She ran over to her house to get her precious eels. The little girl had to explain what happened. She told the truth. The little girl's friend was very angry.
She exclaimed, "You better watch out! One days those eels are going to come up from your pipe's and bite you on the ass." then she turned on her heel and marched home. The little girl just stared down at the toilet in fear.

And the little girl has had Irritable bowel Syndrome since that day.

The End

I Pose This Question to You

Do you have a favorite book? A book you could read over and over again? A book you missed when it was done? I do. I could try and act somewhat intelligent and tell you my favorite book is The Count of Monte Cristo. I did love that book. It is one of the very few things I remember actually learning in High School (not counting how to forge my mom's name on notes for being late, sorry Mom, let's not speak of this.)
If I was in a humorous mood there are two contenders that I can think of off the top of my head. One being, "Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress," this was one of those books that made me just love the author. I l adore funny books that are true. Which brings me to choice number two, "Me Talk Pretty One Day." I'm sorry, if you can't laugh at David Sedaris telling the story of that time he was in the bathroom at a dinner party and had an issue in there, we just can't be friends. Click out now. You have no use for me.

As I could list book after book that I have loved. There is one that as I was reading it, as much as I couldn't put it down, I didn't want it to be over. I got nervous knowing I was getting near the end. I loved the characters in it. I bought it for my Mom, I gushed over it. Then I got really nervous, she is really smart and used to be an English Professor, I was thinking I oversold. When she told me she loved it to, I was so relieved. Let me tell you. I don't know why I enjoyed this book so much. I guess there was just something in it that spoke to me.

But now, here is my real issue. They have made a movie out of it. This could go one of two ways. It could go the way of Harry Potter for me, where the movie was beautifully done (to me) and it gave me specific faces to match to characters, wonderful details, fantasy becomes reality for those 2+ hours. OR, it could go the way of two books to movies that I loved the books and in the words of my high school facebook friend the movies "made me want to chunk in my mouth." The DaVinci Code and Twilight. Both just debacle's. Painful. Gut to the stomach.
What to do? Now, mind you, there is no release date. I feel I should prepare myself, do I (A) throw caution to the wind, keep my fingers crossed and pray they don't soil my favorite book or (B) just be happy with the book. Don't even watch the trailer. What would you do?

Ah yes, "The Time Travelers Wife."

Hey, Jen, do you like I used the word soil?

The Lotus

“And even if roses could be blue, only the lotus is free to float on the waters of the pond. And in the reflections of the water it can take on any color imaginable. And therefore shall the lotus be my flower of preference.”

This is a quote written by Bart (I don't know his last name) he is a Belgium film maker and a very dear friend of my friend Elizabeth. She sent it to me last night. I read it during of period of not sleeping at about 4 am. I think I'm in love with it.

Between that and a 6 hour yoga class yesterday with Sue it got me thinking about the lotus and the meaning of it.
You see the lotus symbol all the time in Yoga studios, on yoga clothes and all over the place. The lotus is not a religious symbol just as yoga is not a religion or based on any religion. Yoga is in religion. Religion is not in yoga. I just thought I would clarify that, is a common mistake people make. I actually had a really good friend once who wouldn't go to a yoga class because of her religion. It seemed odd to me, because yoga is union. To bring together parts of yourself that were really never separate.

There is no deity to worship in yoga. There isn't a clergy. There aren't any churches or places of worship. It's just yoga. There are so many things related to it. There are a million schools of thought, beliefs, practices. It is so personal and yet when you know someone else who is into it, there is a piece of you that totally understands them. It's probably how surfers just seem to "get" each other.

Anyway, although it is not a religion, I think the thing about it is, how connected you can feel with certain aspects of it. Certain belief systems that stem from the practice. To breathe is the most fundamental part of yoga. To be aware, to be present, to not judge, to be kind to yourself and others, to have compassion, the list goes on and on.

Today I connected with the lotus. Thought I'd share it with you. I mean, it is Sunday. (I'm winking at ya there.)


The lotus flower is one of the most ancient and deepest symbols of our planet.
The lotus flower grows in muddy water and rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable beauty. At night the flower closes and sinks underwater, at dawn it rises and opens again. Untouched by the impurity, lotus symbolizes the purity of heart and mind. The lotus flower represents long life, health, honor and good luck.

"We were talking - about the space between us all and the people -
Who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion never glimpsing the truth
Then it's far too late when they pass away.

We were talking - about the love we all could share
When we find it - to try our best to hold it there - with our love
With our love we could save the world - if they only knew

Try to realize it's all within yourself - no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you.

We were talking - about the love that's gone so cold
And the people who gain the world and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see - are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we are all one
And life flows on within you and without you."

Lotus flower: Symbol of Spiritual Unfoldment
By Swami Kriyananda