A Rose In The Road

Peggy Barry Bartz    Musician


 

Push Joy!

Today is the last day of my 49th year living on this planet earth. Tomorrow is just another day in the universe…yes?  Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the day I was born, arrived, flew in, and inhabited a soul…use whatever term suits you! I was born with just my birthday suit…and I still have it! It all works quite fine for me these days, and for that I am grateful. I have been taking care of it, and it’s taking care of me.

I have learned a few things in these five decades…and since I really do live and believe in letting your light shine...as Peggy, and as the very fun character, The Fairy Godmother Margaisa,  I am taking this opportunity to write some things out…perhaps my words may help you shine some of your light too.  I  don’t need gifts…I am all good with sharing mine with others, and all of you reading this are gifts to my life that I have already received!

 

Thank God I am not pushing daises; I am not pushing 50… (I am 50!) and  I am not pushing a product or a service. But I have something that I would like you to do…

Push JOY!

 

It is my opinion that collectively, we have to recover JOY in life!

I was just lucky enough to sit in the front row and hear Chris Gardner-The Pursuit of Happyness author and stellar human being at a conference last week at WSU. He has a new book…Start Where You Are. If I could buy you all a copy, I would. Yes, it’s that good. He gave out 1300 books to all the people who attended his talk at the seminars. He is a man full of joy. You can feel it, you can see it, and you can hear it.  He has learned a few secrets in his struggles and triumphs of life…and so have I.

I too, am usually quite full of joy. People keep telling me that…they call it energy, or light, or radiance, or spirit. I count it all joy. It’s from a source we all know…and we call different names. I have learned over time that it resides inside all of us. You just have to recognize it, and call it up! Program the word in your cell phone! It really is in your cells!  When you were a child…it was right in front of you every day. You lived joyfully. And then, as we think we “grow up”…we get busy, we get jobs, we get problems, and joy gets put in the storage room of our hearts. Wrong idea-wrong place.

We need it now more than ever!

 Life is incredibly amazing…it is full and rich with the dust of the stars that has been shaped into people, and trees, and flowers and bugs, and ants, and aardvarks and drums, and alligators, and rocks and mountains and rivers…and you!  One look at the unbounded ness of the universe can give you a whole new perspective on your life.

 

I also learned, the hard way, that there are people that are joy robbers. Stay away from them. I said yep…stay away!  It took me a long time to learn that lesson…I went through two marriages that almost completely dumped my joy truck.  However, there was just enough left on the bottom, and every day, and little by little it grew and multiplied…like yeast in dough.  It came in all forms- in smiles, in spoken words and signs and lyrics, in hugs and kisses and in random moments of total awareness. When joy is shared it multiplies!

Even people who say they really care about you can belong to the joy robbers club. These joy robbers lurk in the most unlikely places. Lots of them hide in churches! Beware…if the place you worship is not full of joy…get away!  Joy is not a feeling…it’s an attitude. You choose it! You don’t find it, or wish it, or buy it. It is not sold at Best Buy, Pottery Barn or Land’s End , or at the Mercedes Store.

Perhaps because music is integral to my soul, I can sense joy almost in a physical form.   A choir of voices can make me well with tears, as well as the first violin note or the cellist of the DSO.  A singer I know can do it with the first note of one his songs. The movie August Rush was the closest thing I have seen that explains how that seems to work…transcending all that we know with our regular senses.

 

Perhaps because I have come past the years when it matters what other people think of me, I can proclaim this out loud. Find Joy…Get Joy…Give Joy…Spread Joy!

In the big, wide and long view, all of us are just renting space on the earth for a while.  We plant ourselves somewhere on this big blue ball…and call it our space.  And then, people show up in our space.  I think that as time goes on, we may get somehow to pick them ourselves. Quantum Physics would support that theory perhaps. These people are what our soul needs for some great lesson to be learned. Even the joy robbers have a place…if only to remind us who to keep and what to toss.

I have some incredibly terrific, talented and blessed friends in my life. Perhaps I picked them, perhaps they picked me. It matters not...I am just tickled pink they are in my space! Among all those I count as friends are teachers, artists, musicians, financiers, bankers, nurses, authors, a Jester, a Wowie and a Gooch.  The book of my life has a lot of chapters, twists and turns, and fascinating characters!  So does yours!  How fun is that?

 

Take this day…and get, give, share, and find some Joy!

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Peggy

(always 26 in my heart)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Life in the Shoes of  a Fairy Godmother

     Crowns and Shoulders Knees and Toes 

    A rare and unexpected occurrence happened Saturday, Sept 20th at 3 pm at the Lake Orion Library. There was a scheduled event called Tea with the Princesses, and the guest of the day was coming into town for the very first time. Her name is Margaisa (Mar-gaze-ah) the Fairy Godmother! She is one very busy godmother these days, as there are not very many left in this time in history. 

    In case you forgot your Fairytale history, Fairy Godmothers are mortal (not of the Fairie Folk clan) but they do interface with them. They show up in time of need, for anyone who wishes for help- to lend advice, offer help and remind the person who needs them that they have all the things in their own hearts to do what is best for themselves, and that they are to help others.  Fairy Godmothers can offer assistance, cheer someone up, chauffeur when needed, cause ripples of laughter and write unusual letters, but they do not perform miracles, (she doesn’t swim), and they can’t make anyone fall in love with you!   They can help to point you in a new direction if you are requesting that!  This particular Fairy Godmother sings and plays the piano, and you may get to hear her sing if you listen up!  The Tea was  also an occasion for the princesses to have their picture taken with Margaisa.  

    She will likely be available in this area more often, as news of her arrival in this area is slowly spreading. She does attend birthday parties, christenings, anniversaries and other special occasions, where a bit of fun and encouragement is wanted, warranted and welcomed!  

  • Cantdecide
    Homicide, suicide, genocide and all those “cide” words which usually connote tragedy are words that are not pleasant. There is an equally unpleasant “cide” that inflicts millions of people. Cantdecide is its name. It’s for those people who can’t bring themselves to make a decision on anything…and usually no decision means something else (many times not the best choice) gets the answer by default. It’s a terrible affliction to be saddled with, and results in very many wasted opportunities for those who have it.
    Trips never get taken, words never get said that need to be spoken aloud, notes are never written, and people are left hanging because someone they know has Cantdecide.
    People who need to be told to “back off” “be quiet” “pay attention”, and “that is not appropriate” are never told, and they continue to inflict difficulties     on others.
                Gifts are just not purchased because Cantdecide takes over. If you have just one item on your list of resolutions this coming New Year, perhaps it can be the treatment of your Cantdecide illness. It would take care of a multitude of other things. That garage or basement would perhaps get cleaned and items donated to the needy. Love In the Name of Christ has a place for them, as does The Salvation Army or Good Will Industries. Books that you no longer will read can be donated to the Orion Township Library so that others can read and enjoy them. People     who don’t know your true feelings for them will be able to say they know now.  That woman or man you want to get to know better will at least be asked to have coffee…and you will know then if you want to waste more of your time in their presence. 
                One of the best cures for Cantdecide is to look at your age, and figure out how many weekends you have left in your entire lifetime. Count out that may pennies (assume you will live to 85 or 90…and then thank modern medicine for that number being quite high!)Put them in a clear jar or container. 52 pennies per year- that’s about one roll per year. Then every weekend, take out a penny.  The container will be less     full as time marches on…and you will see that making decisions is something that needs to be done. You may even decide to make a will. That is a document that really helps those who are left here after you leave this earth. They will thank you for helping with that tough task.
                Cantdecide is different than Wontdecide…that is even a worse affliction. That is purposefully self inflicted.  Cantdecide can be cured; it just takes a daily dose of mindfulness and awareness. Of course the fear of making the “wrong” choice figures into every decision, but trust me, deciding one way or the other is really     what leads to a cure. Every morning, make a list of things you need to decide (even one thing a day is a good place to start!) and do that one thing. You’ll be amazed at what you discover in that small act. And oh….one more thing. Decide to be thankful for having the ability to even decide to try this for one week.  And let me know how it goes.

More Information

 

Rosebuds: Ideas that are coming!

 

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