Dandelions are Beautiful

Thinking about it recently, on how much of an impact the books "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "The Catcher in the Rye" had on so many people in their younger coming of-ageness, including myself. These books told stories of introversion, and alienation, reaching out to "young adults" in a whole other channel, as opposed to the cliche' football hero/cheerleader lovefest. Did these two books impact in a positive or negative way? Personally, I feel like it fed the pain-body in those who were susceptible to such a relation, creating a separateness from the rest "I'm different, that's just not me, they just don't understand". Yes, the questioning is all apart of the coming-of-age process. The question is, is that healthy? Instead of just being, and enjoying moment to moment the small things in life, so many young-adults are just going through the motions to get by just another day. How tragic, their youth is invested on fear, and worrying; as opposed to love, enjoyment, and gratitude- completely throwing them off of their life's track's of the journey of finding their life's purpose. Reading and identifying with like-books and like-culture creates a comfort zone and feeds the invisible justification of being a victim, using blame as a reason to compensate for their irresponsible actions, carrying into their future careers, relationships, and belief of who they really are. If not aware of these things, it becomes a cycle, and some people never do become aware of these things. So next time you come into contact with a child or young adult, maybe give a small compliment on what you see that they're doing right, words that they do not here very often, you may spark the inner Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Steven Spielberg, Dr. Oz. Some of the people whom believe their duty is to guide them (ei: occasional teachers, parents, coaches) unconsciously give critiques on what not to do, or point out what they're doing wrong- in hopes that it will make a difference. It's not their fault, they mean well, but by pointing out what's wrong will only bring feelings of incompetence and failure. Which, might I add are really illusions, and do not exist, only when we believe they do.

Magical Munchies

At the top of a mountain somewhere in Switzerland, was a small village named Sycamore Village. It was a small village of ten or so families, there was only one store, and that was the local general store owned by a very friendly husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Beezly. A young women in her twenties, Annabelle, would always stop by to pick up eggs, bread, and milk, and she would also drop off as a gift, her magical cupcakes. These cupcakes were not magical by a magicians standards, but when people tasted these cupcakes, they would send sparkling sensations to their taste buds. Annabelle loved to bake. She didn't use a recipe, formula, or measuring cups. Everything she made was by instincts, straight from the heart.

"A dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of this, and handful of that!" She never used a timer either, she would go by the aroma that wafted out of the oven, into the kitchen air. "The almond smells just about rightly baked, yep, these are done!"

Every Friday afternoon, was Annabelle's favorite time to bake. After baking the cupcakes, she would pack the cupcakes up in something she built, called a cupcake cart, which resembled a shopping cart, but had larger wheels and a weather-proof covering so she could deliver the cupcakes rain, snow, or sunshine; and she would deliver them to all ten families living in the village's door and give a batch of cupcakes. The families would wait eagerly looking out their windows as she came closer and closer to their door. Knock, knock, kn-

"Annabelle!! We've been waiting for your cupcakes all week!! Last weeks were so delicious! Thank you!!"

As she went to deliver the cupcakes to the local general store, she noticed Mr. and Mrs. Beezly weren't there anymore. A women wearing high heels, and a gray pant-suit was behind the counter, that now had a marble finish, with a handy dandy new high tech cash register. Annabelle also noticed all new floors, wall tiles, freezers, fridges, and shelves were installed.
"Excuse me?" What happend to Mr. and Mrs. Beezly?" Annabelle asked the women behind the counter.

The lady replied, "They sold the store to me, Oh- you must be the cupcake girl! Listen, I was in the city last week, and someone had a cupcake baked by... well, you, and let me tell you, those are magical! Hi, my name is Janice Williams, owner of the "Grocery Land" food chain, all across the world. We are known for our exquisite bakery department, with baked goods made from our very own secret recipes. We are looking to totally makeover and re-vamp our bakery department, with more edge, more flair, more... modern! Grandma's baked goods are so so yesterday! In today? Fresh, new, and vibrant baked goods, very much similar to... well, your cupcakes. Mind if I sample one of your cupcakes once more?"

"Ughh, sure, yes!" Annabelle replied.

"OHHhhh WOWW!! OHHH WOWWW!!! Whoaa! Those are amazing!! Listen, I will give you one-million-dollars, plus a lifetime worth of groceries, if you redesign, and create our new bakery department's baked goods menu and recipes.

Annabelle was in awe, "Wow! Really? That would be wonderful, then I can bake all of the cupcakes that I could ever imagine, and bring even more joy to my friends, family, so the answer is... YES!"

"Wonderful dear, you start tomorrow, I will send you a limousine that will transport you from your home to our baking lab in the city. What I need from you, is tomorrow come in with prepared ideas and recipes, so tomorrow we can bake, then taste test, and make decisions."

"Wow, a limousine?!!" I can't wait! I'll see you tomorrow!", Annabelle cheerfully replied. So Annabelle went home, on her walk home she went from extremely happy to thinking, "Wow, this is a lot of responsibility". " What if they don't like my baked goods?" "What if I let them down?" "I'll be so embarrassed if they don't like my baked goods", "Am I ready for this?" "I don't have any training, do I have enough experience?" "What if my baked goods are so bad, that they put the entire Grocery Land chain out of business?! So many people would be out of a job, all because of me! I'd let everyone down, including my friends and family!" "Oh no! What if I am successful, what kinds of responsibilities will I have?" "What if I don't have time to make my family and village friends their cupcakes? Will they be mad at me?"

Annabelle suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She had such an amazing opportunity, but she didn't see it that way. So many thoughts cluttered her mind. She suddenly felt so scared, dizzy, almost like she was in a fog. She knew though, that she had to prepare ideas and recipes for her first day tomorrow, so she went to her kitchen got out her ingredients, and then thought to self "I'm hungry", so she rummaged through the fridge and had a snack, she wasn't satisfied with the snack, so she made a lasagna dinner, after the lasagna dinner, she still wasn't satisfied so she made fudge brownies, after all that- she was still hungry, but not for food. She was hungry for safety, she wanted to know that Janice Williams, and the rest of the world would love her baked goods, but she just didn't know what was to come the next day in the bakery lab. She was now mad at herself, because she felt sick to her stomach, and she ate some ingredients that she needed.

Annabelle procrastinated preparing recipes for the next day. She would go into the kitchen to bake, and think, "This just isn't my style, I don't use recipes, I can't bake under pressure!" She would then go to take her mind off of the baking, by checking her e-mail, playing video games, and daydreaming. "Wow, a lifetime full of groceries! I'm going to bake like crazy everyday!! And one-million-dollars!! Wow, I'm going to put half in the bank, buy a cottage in the country, buy an apartment in New York City!! Also a lovely place in Paris, perhaps? Wow! Maybe I'll open up my own bakery!!

Before Annabelle knew it, the time was four in the morning, and the limousine was coming at six in the morning. Mad at herself now, because she knew she was only going to have an hour of sleep, she decided to just go to bed.

"Beep, beep, beep!!" Annabelle's alarm went off bright and early an hour later. She woke up exhausted, "Today is going to an interesting day... let's hope I can survive it," She told herself. I have nothing prepared. How did I let that happen?

The limousine picked Annabelle up, and dropped her off to the top secret bakery lab. Janice Williams greeted her, "Hello dear... welcome. And this- is the bakery lab-. This will be your office where you can organize your recipes, and over here- is your kitchen, I have all the ingredients you will ever need, but if just by any chance, there is anything you will need, you can press this button-- on your very own concierge will come, and get you whatever you need! So, I need seven muffin recipes, eight cookie recipes, fifteen cupcake recipes, six brownie recipes, and twelve pie recipes, all by 6PM. Understood?

Annabelle gulped, "Yes".

Janice Williams left the room, and as she was leaving she said, "Good thing you had yesterday to prepare!"

Annabelle put her apron on and just stared at the kitchen. She froze. The feeling of dizziness, and nausea came back again, she thought "There is no way I will be able to do this". She started one task, and then got distracted and would start something new. "Think, think, think!" She thought. But no ideas came to her mind. She paced the kitchen with sweaty palms and thought what am I going to do?" Before Annabell knew it, the time was 2PM, then 5PM, and as the minute hand stuck, it was 6PM. Janice Williams rushed through the door. "Okay dear! Show me what you got!"

Annabelle, sadly replied, "Nothing".

"What?"- Janice Williams could not believe it.

"I'm sorry, but I have nothing done".

Janice Williams was furious. "You're fired Annabelle. "

Annabelle went home and cried. "I failed. I let everyone down." Annabelle stayed in her apartment that night, tossing and turning as she tried to goto sleep. Weeks and weeks passed by, Annabelle, stayed inside feeling sorry for herself. Her phone was ringing off of the hook, letters were pouring into her mailbox, they said things such as "Annabelle, we miss you" "Annabelle where have you been? I've been craving your cupcakes". Annabelle did not bake ever since the Food Land incident. She tried, but just could find the heart in it anymore. It saddened her, she lost the joy in baking. One day, she received a knock on her. Ding-dong. Annabelle opened the door, and no one was there. But, there was a box in purple wrapping paper with a bow. So, Annabelle, opened the box up quickly to find a note. The note said, "You are a person of dreams, desires, and passions to share, you are not the wounded part of you. You must get back to doing what you love. Remember, love the process, not the payoff. One thing to know, Annabelle, you said you were afraid of letting people down, how about doing it for you? Doing it being you enjoy doing it. Afraid of failure? well guess what? Failure is a gift, an opportunity to learn and grow from it. If you don't take risks, you will die anyway, except only half the person you were meant to be. People will always have negative things to say, and accept it- it is what it is. Remember, you like to bake, but you are not your cupcakes, you are so much more. You are not your negative thoughts.

Something clicked in Annabelle, to where she thought to herself, "I could either sit here and waste my life away, or I could pick myself up, push myself, be productive"

Once Annabelle dropped the concerns of what others thought of her, things started to flourish- she wrote down this time her recipes, and sold enough recipes to companies, that she was able to save up to open up her very own bakery. Her bakery outsold Food Land's baked goods, which led them to go out of business. Annabelle, then bought Food Land, and gave it back to Mr. and Mrs. Beezly. Annabelle's bakery, Magical Munchie's, became a phenomenon across the country, and the tiny village of Sycamore, become a tourist attract, reducing the taxes for the village people. Annabelle then married the owner of, Dulishish Donuts, they combined their businesses, and together they lived a sweet, happily, ever after life.

Folktale Friday: "Mohemy Minds Mute"

This is a story of an average human being, five fingers, five toes she was aged somewhere in her twenties. Her name was, Mohemy. She had a good head on her shoulders and a healthy heart. Everyone around town seemed to adore Mohemy. They would say things about her such as "I love Mohemy! She's so fun to be around!" "Mohemy is so full of life!" When people would tell Mohemy this, it made her feel good, but she never knew what to say, so she would smile politely and reply "thank-you so much!" Mohemy loved being around people- in fact, when she was around people she would get so excited, and wanted to show some sort of gratitude of spending time together, she loved bringing smiles to their faces. At the same time, she wanted them to stay, and feel comfortable. She associated feeling comfortable with people, by talking. She thought "if we have a lot to talk about, then we will find something in common, and then we will have a connection!"

So it was a Friday night, there was a town event, Mohemy put on her best dress, and arrived with a smile. At arrival, she extended her hand, and introduced herself to the guests, "Hi, I'm Mohemy.... scared for an awkward silence, she would talk about the first thing she noticed about the person. ".....uhhh I like your tie!". The other person was flattered at the least. She would charm people, and talk a mile-a-minute. When she ran out of things to say, she would make another observation and talk about that-
" I feel like I know you from somewhere- do you work at the coffee shop on the corner? No? Oh, okay, I really love that place- they have blueberry coffee! It's so good! Blueberries are good too! Did you know they're high in antioxidants? You know what else is high in antioxidants? Green-tea and!.... KETCHUP!! Yes! Ketchup! I was surprised when I read that! It's in something called Lycopene, I believe... but I prefer salsa over ketchup- it's more natural, and it has less sugar! and she would go on and on and on- she chatted with just about everyone at the event, except there was one person who she did not talk to- and that was the boy whom she had a crush on. He seemed like the life of the party, chatted with just about everyone there, he was the only one whom Mohemy was intimidated to talk to.

That night, she went home- and was sad for some reason, so she took a night stroll to the local park, and sat under her favorite tree, it was a weeping willow tree with long, soft oval leaves with colors ranging from various shades of green to a blueish, yellow color. Just then, out of nowhere came a face from the weeping willow tree. Mohemy at first was scared, but she felt a sense of familiarity of the face.

"Hello Mohemy, I'm Master Omnicient, the "wise weeping willow tree", why so blue today?"

Mohemy needed someone to talk to- so she replied, "I went to a town gathering today, and even though I connected with everyone, I still feel so disconnected, I'm lonely".

Master Omnicient replied, "Mohemy, did you make an effort to talk to people? Get to know them?"

---"Yes! I talked to every single person there! I had great and long conversations!

"Yes, but I asked if you got to know them", Master Omnicient said.

Mohemy replied, "Yes we talked so much, there wasn't one awkward silence moment!!"

"Ah ha! If you don't have any pauses for silence, you aren't truly listening to the other person! You're so in your head thinking about what to say next! Silence is the real harmony to connecting with a human being. Harmoney of the heart. Chit-chat is clutter of the mind. Clutter that has been saved from the past, and needs to be cleared out. Only silence will you be in the "now" present moment. You my friend, have something I'd like to call, "the disease to please" and "fear of the unknown". As long as everyone else is happy, you are too, or so you think. And fear of "What if we don't connect?" My friend, the truth is what will bring you closer to your destiny. First, love yourself. Your flaws, for you are human. You are protecting- take off your carnival mask, and reveal you, for you- yourself are a miracle. Your mask is not you, it is false. Bondings made with this mask are just that- false. The relationships are just a mere illusion. Remember, you will never know the next moment in life, accept it. So live in the now by listening and embracing the silent moments, for only then- will you find words with meaning."

Something clicked inside Mohemy, "Oh... I thought the way to knowing someone was by communicating?"

-- Master Omniscient replied- "My friend, silence is communication, communication of the heart, communication of just being there- verbal communication is lovely too, remember, there is more than one way of communicating, slow down the mind, breath, and simply just "be".

Just then Master Omniscient's face disappeared. A rattling noise from the bushes came about, and appeared was the guy at the town event, whom Mohemy wanted to speak to, but was too intimidated to.

"I come here to think too... I heard everything", the guy said.

Just as Mohemy was about to explain herself, the guy went on to say,

..."I saw you at the town event, and I had no idea, you felt that way-

Normally, Mohemy would talk in defense to justify any actions that may have revealed any sort of vulnerability that may of altered one's view of her being a "strong" young lady. but just as she was about to speak, she paused, took a breath, and replied, "It's true." Just that. Not- "No- well, usually I- but and plus I wasn't feeling that good, and you know how you feel when you only got this many hours of sleep, so-..."

Simply, "It's true."

Just then, the guy replied, "Wow, I felt the same way, I just didn't know other people did, thank you so much for sharing that" "I felt so uncomfortable with silence, that I tried to cover it up, by talking a lot, but I would still go home feeling so alone. I would ask myself, why do I care what these people think of me? I never really understood it, until just a few moments ago, when I realized you can only give away what you have, and I didn't have acceptance for myself. I hid everything, people would assume were "flaws".

Mohemy suddenly did not feel so alone. For once, she did not make a connection on an exterior observation, but from something within.

"Hi, I'm Donato, by the way, I really thought you were cute, and I wanted to introduce myself, but I'll be honest, I was kind of intimidated by your bubbly presence."

That night Mohemy and Donato discovered a key to a door in their life that was locked for so long, all due to fear. They found a new kind of communication, one that was real.

Written by: Amy Jans

Dress-Up, Dress-down, Just Wear One.

So I decided to wear a dress today, and always, always you get the question "why are you dressed up today?" And I couldn't help but giggle inside, because really, I was more comfortable than an over-sized man sitting in a recliner. So I decided to put together a list, of why dresses are sometimes better than jeans.


Top 10 Reasons Why Dresses Are Sometimes Better than Jeans

10. You can ballet plie' so much easier
9. No elastic waistbands!
8. When you run, you feel like you're a victim in a thriller movie, just because you never plan on running in a dress.
7. You can trick people into thinking your pregnant by pushing your shoulders forward, puffing your stomach out, rubbing your belly, and walking on your feet like you just walked the Revlon for Cancer Walkathan. Fishing for compliments wearing makeup and heels is trite and overused I must say! Now fishing for observations, that's technique.
6. You can go bra-less and not look like a ho! Fuck you, not my fault this dress has awkward fitting criss-cross-halter-like-spaghetti straps!
5. No pockets! Wearing cargo pants is like an open invitation to hold random people's chap-sticks. No excuse this time! Looks like you're going to have to hold it, maybe then you'll remember how chaffed your lips really are, and quench your lips that are screaming "i'm thirsssty, rub that stick of wax on meh".
4. If you sit indian style, tuck your dress under your feet, you look like you're in a sleeping bag pouch. (If it's long enough)
3. Going to the grocery store wearing pants is a chore, going to the grocery store in a dress is productive!
2. Taking time to plan what pants you want to wear is time consuming enough, let alone worrying about what shirt to wear! With a dress, it's all-in-one! Why do you think parents love onesies so much? Minus the snaps of course!
1. They just are

Flight Write

Options of self occupying of five hours: voyaging the internet, taking advantage of the WiFi on an airplane- ... just because I can or... taking the five hours all to myself indulging in uncompleted projects? Final decision? Alternating between reading a non-fiction, and staring out the window to let my mind wander, of course!

Say you spilled ketchup on your favorite pair of pants- what would you think to yourself? Thought number one: Ughhh ketchup of course you would have to smother the fabric of my one and only favorite pair of jeans! Or, option number two: Whoops, at-least it wasn't bleach! Chances are, you wouldn't think either of those two, but what I'm trying to get at, by lollydallying around with words: do you look at the glass half empty- or half full?

Oh really? Yes, really! Throughout the past few years, realizing how your outlook on one simple thought "like vs. dislike", can really, well- change your life. Looking at things, people, places, events, ect- with a dislike vibe, is a scarcity mentality. We look at those things, in terms of what it lacks. Why do we invest our energy on the lacks instead of snacks? Are you a victim of the "only me" syndrome? "If only I had..."? That is what type of energy you are admitting to the universe- and that is what you will get back. Expecting to find happiness, by things "going right"- is only temporary. You are the person who decides is things are "going right" and you are the person who decides what is "right".

Think about everything we have- water, the sun, the blue sky... a spiral notebook. Give thanks. Send love, and it will return. Have you ever felt like you failed at something? What were you focusing on? What you did WRONG! Failure does not exist, but only opportunity to learn, and better yourself. Lastly, believe that whatever it is, that you desire, believe that you already have it, us humans are "more more more" machines, good and bad- good- it drives us; however, bad because we will always, always- ALWAYS want more more and more- where is the authentic happiness if we're always striving, and never arriving? Proof: remember when you were a kid, watching Saturday morning cartoons- and you witnessed a colorful, vivid, and enchanting commercial that some marketing major devised with every intention of getting an "I want that" response from every one in the age group the commercial was pitched to? Perhaps, that toy went on your holiday wish list, or birthday list, and if you were born after 95'- I'm assuming there is a Toys R' Us gift registry it went on. You would dream about the toy, picture it sitting in your bedroom with the access of holding it in your own very two hands. You finally get the toy, play with it- and then- you're done with it. Well- small or large items on your adult wish-list will have the same effect, unless if you really start to appreciate what we have without it.

If we stop focusing on what we don't have, and appreciate the things that have entered our lives, we are on a path of growth and fulfillment.

We're Not Talking About Vin Diseal Here....

ICANN the non profit corporation that coordinates internet naming systems such as .com, .net., .edu, ect- approved an internet domain ending for the porn websites. They really have to invest in a high tech virus scanner, as they're worried the website will be hacked and convert children's websites such as Disney.com to Disney.xxx. 110,000 websites are already pre-registered, the head of one company who will remain disclosed, quoted, "yeah yesterday was full of registrations, after I pre-registered my company for the .xxx domain name, I pre-registered my daughter for her ballet class". The changes should take place in 2011, online. They tried doing the switch forty years ago; however, no one knew what the internet was. They would change the .com to .xxx, as a way of easy filtering, so if you find your favorite website doesn't exist anymore, simply just change the .com to .xxx.

Neglected Passages

Yuck. Four months just blew by without writing here, somebody hand me some AquaNet, to get an extra strong hold on some self-discipline. We could all use some of that, right?
What is going on with writer's block, and a fear of writing, what in the world. Well, bad writing, is just plain bad writing, but it does not define how you are as a writer. You see the gold is there, you just have to dig for it. So here I am, a little leprechaun on a voyage for my own pot-of-gold. There would be no value to the gold if it was sitting right above ground, on a platform, with a gigantic arrow in neon lights floating right above, pointing to it. Point being, sucky writing, or sucky anything, is all apart of the process of getting what you want,

I guess we can say we always want more, more, and more- but we don't want to go through the obstacles of getting it, why? A fear barrier, perhaps, so we would rather not do anything at all, to prevent from failing. Well, wake up- failing is great. And there is no such thing as failing, but only opportunity.