Today's thought from Hazelden is:

To have one's individuality completely ignored is like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown out as one blows out a light.
--Evelyn Scott

We need to know that we matter in this life. We need evidence that others are aware of our presence. And thus, we can be certain that others need the same attention from us. When we give it, we get it. So the giving of attention to another searching soul meets our own need for attention as well.

Respectful recognition of another's presence blesses that person, ourselves, and God. And we help one another grow, in important ways, each time we pay the compliment of acknowledgment.

We're not sure, on occasion, just what we have to offer our friends, families, co-workers. Why we are in certain circumstances may have us baffled, but it's quite probably that the people we associate with regularly need something we can give them; the reverse is just as likely. So we can begin with close attention to people in our path. It takes careful listening and close observation to sense the message another soul may be sending to our own.

I will be conscious of the people around me. I shall acknowledge them and be thankful for all they are offering me.
From: Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey


My perpetual calendar had another train of thought:

Giving and doing for others is good,
but once in a while you have to stop
and take some time for yourself.
If you give too much of yourself away
without refreshing your mind or replenishing
your soul, eventually what you have left to give
won't be enough. Take time.


I think the whole thought process of early this morning was about autonomy. You can be apart of a couple and be healthy as long as you realize that each is a different person with unique wants and needs.


There was no school today. I have no idea why. I reported as I normally do at 7:00, not having watched the Snowbird or listened to the radio. It was not until another teacher showed up some time later that I learned that we were either opening 2 hours late (according to the radio) or not having school at all (according to the TV). I continued to work in my room. I'd been there over an hour and a half when the principal, who had driven in from another county, announced on the intercome that school had been cancelled. By that time I was one of three or four who had shown up. I left.

My inner voice had been nagging me for a while to take a drive into Franklin. I had ignored it because it seemed like a wasted trip. I'd been thinking about a certain book I'd seen several months back. The thought was put in my head two weeks ago when the deacon suggested that I need a book of prayers that divided the day into hours. So, when it was announced that school was cancelled I drove to Barnes and Noble. I was a little put out with myself for doing this because I reasoned that the book would most likely be gone. However, when I got there, I saw that there was, in deed, one copy left. I looked around for a little while so that the hour long trip wouldn't seem so silly. But I could not find anything in the entire store that I wanted to buy other than this one book.

On the way home this song popped into my head. I'd heard it before and the romantic in me had applied it to a certain person but today, it sort of applied to myself and my search for God. Oh sure, I'd still like to apply it toward someone but I think it would be a wasted effort.


If You're Not The One

As sung by Daniel Bedingfield


If you're not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you're not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?
If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call
If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all

I never know what the future brings
But I know you are here with me now
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don't need you then why am I crying on my bed?
If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
If you're not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don't know why you're so far away
But I know that this much is true
We'll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
And I wish that you could be the one I die with
And I pray in you're the one I build my home with
I hope I love you all my life

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

'Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
'Cause I love you, whether it's wrong or right
And though I can't be with you tonight
And know my heart is by your side

I don't want to run away but I can't take it, I don't understand
If I'm not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I could stay in your arms



When I returned home I found that one of the assistants had called here twice, wanting to know if there was school. I attempted to call her back but there was no answer. So, I lay down and took a nap.