Keep Calm And Write On

Growing up, my favorite cartoons were Winnie the Pooh movies, although I'm not sure 'favorite' accurately describes an obsession that followed me well into my twenties so far. Perhaps my favorite movie from the hundred acre wood is Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin. By far, my favorite song within the movie is the one linked above. "Adventure is a Wonderful Thing." My love for this song is mostly due to the morbidly hilarious attitude of Owl, who attempts to convince the woodland creatures that adventure is a wonderful thing, even while mentioning avalanching boulders and suggesting that they will experience great duress on the trip. Even his end salute to the group is horribly pessimistic "I salute you! And those who are doomed to never return, I salute you twice!" As I stand on the precipice of my next adventure I find myself split between the two attitudes of optimism and pessimism. I believe this will be a Grand Adv

Credit: EgudinKa for iStock via  Thinkstock No one likes to be taken advantage of. And unfortunately in this world, there are a lot of people who are out to get something from you. Credit card scams abound and people have by and large become far less trusting as a result. An unfortunate side effect of this though, is that we've stopped trusting people when they say they're hurting. "But you don't look sick" is arguably the most heard comment from people with invisible illnesses and chronic pain. It's also one of the most destructive and damaging comments you could say to them. (us). It's the equivalent of telling a young boy who loves wrestling that he doesn't look very strong. But if you did, (which is incredibly rude), he would probably sputter a little and pull out tapes of old wrestling matches. "But I AM strong, SEE?" Unfortunately, there's no cameraman taping my illness, providing me with video evidence to pe

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13   NIV Astonishingly, I'm fully functional at 7:30 and my caffeine hasn't kicked in yet. I'm sitting at my favorite independent coffee shop and actually eating my breakfast here for once. (usually my latte, bagel and I are flying down the road or installed at my desk for breakfast.) But is this being filled with joy and peace, overflowing in hope? Or is it better to pause, to thank God for all the wonderful things just in this little coffee shop, the volunteer baristas,(this is a unique place indeed) the wonderful coffee, and of course, the cinnamon crunch bagel. The old farmers in the back, talking, laughing swapping stories. The bright sunshine through the window, reflecting on the counter, making it look as though it's much warmer outside than it is.  God has brought all these things together today

Pause- a poem. Sometimes I sit here Drinking my coffee slowly hitting pause on life Sometimes I stand and I stare at stars above Taking it all in Sometimes I could cry with the frustration of life Then I know to pause I know to pause, reflect I know I will be better after I breathe some So I drink coffee I read a book, or just breathe. and clear my mind out To-do lists, away! Frustrations cease for moments Short moments, but still Now I feel better More like myself again, now I can be stronger I forgot I was never made to do it all Humans need to breathe. I am but human I am not superman or a robot. Too bad. But I am better built to stop and reflect on the things God has done. Copyright Shannon Meiers 2018 Originally Published in the Chimes, fall 2018