Love Dogs

I was at a meeting today and someone shared about their own spirituality and how they think they don't have any, and it prompted me to think of this poem by Rumi. I love me some Rumi. Almost rhymes with Joonie, too! ;-)

The whole point of this poem is that our sorrow, our pain...is what makes us cry out to God sometimes. Therefore it is not a bad thing, but something to be embraced. Our cry out is our connection.

LOVE DOGS

One night a man was crying,
Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said,
"So! I have heard you
calling out, but have you ever
gotten any response?"

The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.

He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.
"Why did you stop praising?"
"Because I've never heard anything back."
"This longing
you express is the return message."

The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.

There are love dogs
no one knows the names of.

Give your life
to be one of them.

Griefers Gone Wild....and what is God's will?

I know griefers are a part of Second Life. They are a part of Real Life. Anywhere you go there are idiots who think it's fun to cause trouble. Fortunately, most people are good and decent. Man, lately though it's been something else.....

A few weeks ago I got griefed on my own land. I gave the idiot one warning and he did it again so I AR'd his ass, resulting in a seven day suspension from SL. Lately though, we've had a rash of people griefing the AA meetings I go to in SL. Last week, they hit two that a dear friend of mine was chairing. Then this last Tuesday, I had a couple girls early in the meeting creating a distraction. They finally got bored and left. We usually do not eject or ban in this type of situation. It is AA and we believe that if someone is there, they are there for a reason, no matter what reason they think they are. It also can piss a griefer off and then they come back again with more friends, etc. The best policy is to ignore and mute them.

Tuesday, however, after the initial non-event, I had another guy show up and was doing the ol' drinking a beer with the falling down drunk animation. Usually I will just IM the person and ask them to leave or tone it down...basically inform them of our protocol and ask that they respect it. But, I didn't then. I saw that someone had crashed and didn't know if it was just SL or something else. We had a couple newcomers in the room and I did not want them to feel threatened in any way. So I ejected him and banned him right then and there. After he was ejected, I IM'd him and asked him what he was thinking, to which he replied with two question marks. I told him it was an AA meeting and that I had serious reservations of what he was doing in there with that animation, and that it was disrepectful to our group. He apologized and said he didn't know it was a real AA meeting. I told him all we required was a bit of respect on his part and he apologized and said we had it now. I took him off the ban list then and he went on his way.

What is God's will? In any situation, really? I had a friend give me a ration of shit about me ejecting the guy. Her point was that maybe he was supposed to be in that meeting. And I can respect that, I really can. But if I'm in a meeting, and pray before hand, maybe God was working through me ejecting the guy too? I'm not sure, to be honest. And I like it that way. Anytime I hear someone who is sure that they are doing God's will, I run the other way. Bad things usually happen about that time. The thing is that it was a difficult situation and I was there. It really pisses me off that someone who wasn't there is going to lay a judgment on me about how I handled it. And then to act like they know God's will in that situation? Preposterous. Not my shit though. I take up the mantle of determining what God's will is enough, and I don't want that job. Not qualified anyway, although it is fun to watch others try it on. Same results. Pray before hand and do what I think is best. Then, if I make a mistake, make amends and be done with it. Easier said than done, though...lol.

My Island Got Bigger!

I had two women tell me last night, "This is HUGE!!" *sighs* They were talking about my island. *sighs again* I purchased the land next door to me and connected it to my current land, making one big island now. I'm very excited about the possibilities here. It gives me more space and more prims. I've been very much inspired and influenced by my neighbor, Bev's, plot where she doesn't have a house. It's basically a big garden with a small open structure. It's very beautiful and that is what I'm shooting for.

I'm also looking at making some type of Zen or Magickal statement, possibly both. I'm thinking a garden with the four elements in their corresponding directions....maybe a zen rock garden somewhere. I had a friend who made a waterfall with a cave behind it, and that sounds cool. Many possibilities, and never enough prims to go around.

Anyway, last night much silliness ensued as my land was empty and Kimala came over. We raced shopping carts and Snorses and I even took a Fred Flintstone car for a spin. The Bedrockmobile didn't handle well though, and I ended up in Bev's yard. We laughed and went with the Snorses....they are slower and handle better...lol.

So, I'm excited to build something, but today is chore day...RL that is. Damn RL! Always infringing on my SL!!

Joonie is my leader, and I'll follow her wherever she goes....

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

LMAO!!

You Are A Little Snobby

And being a little snobby every once and a while is totally allowed. Because if no one was ever snobby, no one would ever try to dress up or look pretty. And while you do enjoy the finest things in life (that you can afford), you tire of superficiality. You know there's more to life than what's just on the surface.

Are You a Snobby Girl?

Is there a music snob quiz?

:-D

The Best

"I am in no mood in this stage of my life to have anything else."

Wow.....I keep going back to this statement. I found this nugget on Joonie's Blog

What an amazing affirmation. Reminds me of how often I can settle for less. I have a tendency to.....settle in to whatever I'm in, good or bad. Many times I don't notice until I'm out of whatever it is I'm into...lol. Hindsight is, indeed, 20/20.

And yes, this pertains to my SL, too. And that is because, although it is SL, it is real. Maybe not real in the sense that I am with someone in SL the way I am in RL. But it is real. My reactions and feelings and soul and defects are still present, whether I'm in the kitchen with Jen in RL or whether I'm with you in SL. It's all there, except our physical presence. And not to deny or denigrate the physical, it really is much less important to me than it used to be. I am a spiritual being living in a physical world.....or a virtual world. Obviously RL is more important for the simple reason that if I don't pay my tier, my avi is homeless. If I don't pay my mortgage me and my family are homeless...lol.

Anyways.....talk about a tangent...lol. In SL, this settling can take many forms. I worked at a club where I didn't get paid too well....tips were shit...for a long time. Now, I don't DJ for the money, but if I can work at another club and do the same thing for much more money and have much fun, why not? I stayed way longer than I should have, because I was comfortable there. And, I believe part of it also, was I was afraid to hurt someone else's feelings, and maybe I felt I didn't deserve better? The owner of the club (original) has serious people skill issues, and I didn't feel much of a loyalty to him. But things change, I'm out of there...and start a new Thursday night gig tonight. And getting paid extremely well too. :-)

The main thing as always is that this is an inner job. Once I truly feel that I deserve the best, I will expect the best. I will attract the best. I will discard what does not serve me well and what hurts me. And this starts within.

I have someone that I care about very much right now, and who treats me extremely well. So patient and understanding....and positive....lord she's positive. And I'm in no mood right now to have anything less.....

Shimmer by Shawn Mullins

Sharing with us what he knows
Shining eyes are big and blue
And all around him water flows
This world to him is new
This world to him is new
To touch a face
To kiss a smile
New eyes see no race
The essence of a child
The essence

He's born to shimmer, he's born to shine
He's born to radiate
He's born to live, he's born to love
But we'll teach him not to hate

True love it is a rock
Smoothed over by a stream
No ticking of a clock
Truly measures what that means
Truly measures what that means
And this thing they call our time
Heard a brilliant woman say
She said you know it's crazy
How I want to try to capture mine
I think I love this woman's way
I think I love this woman's

way she shimmers, the way she shines
The way she radiates
The way she lives, the way she loves
The way she never hates

Sometimes I think of all of this that can surround me
I know it all as being mine
But she kisses me and wraps herself around me
She gives me love, she gives me time
And I feel fine I feel fine

But time I cannot change
So here's to looking back
You know I drink a whole bottle of my pride
And I toast to change to keep these demons off my back
Just get these demons off my back

Cause I want to shimmer, I want to shine
I want to radiate
I want to live, I want to love
I want to try to learn not to hate
Try not to hate
We're born to shimmer, we're born to shine
We're born to radiate
We're born to live, we're born to love
We're born to never hate