Musical Mondays - Earth Song

Devastation is everywhere these days it seems. From the recent earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand to the floods of Australia. And of course still fresh in our minds and hearts, the triple whammy in Japan. An 8.9 quake which really you might as well call a 9 which in turn triggered the tremendous tsunami, which in turn caused the potential for a catastrophic meltdown at the nuclear plant.  (touch any of the links above to go to Global Giving)

It seems to be a constant occurrence these days. Is Mother Nature attempting to gain our attention? I wonder sometimes. Man has lived on this wonderful planet for many years and in the course of that time how good have we been to that which we call our home.

The other night as I was flipping channels in an attempt to find something "worth" watching, I fell upon the series "Ax Men" As I watched one of the men explain how all the "good" trees were no longer available for harvesting so they had to go up to remote areas in British Columbia to gather their prey. No they did not call it prey yet that is how I felt it to be. These areas could only be accessed via river transport and required the men to stay isolated for months. I watched as magnificent trees who had graced their stance for hundreds of years were taken down.

Granted I do know that wood is somewhat essential for some things yet I also know that so much of it is wasted. I see building built only at a not so later date to be torn down to make way for another. I receive tons and tons of "junk" mail daily only to toss it in the trash. I do not know about any of you but it seems that we are telephone book poor in my area. On a yearly basis we receive at least 6 to 7 phone books. The excess can be found stacked high in the lobby of the post office as well as weathering away in the many driveways which many are dropped off in.

Each time I see such sights I can only think of the trees who have to give of themselves so that we can have too much excess. One phone book is fine with me and if I do not know a number, 411 always works just as well. As for the junk mail (catalogues, advertisements, and just plain nothing mail) keep it. I am ashamed of the number of catalogues that grace my doorstep. Although I enjoy browsing through them I would gladly do without so that a tree might live a bit longer.

Then there is the concern about the ground water. I do not know if many of you take notice to this topic, yet it is a serious issue. I truly believe it is more serious than many realize. Water... simple water which is pure and clean and absent of deterrents is not as readily available as some may think. Man's desire to dig into the earth so that he might have more oil and/or gas than another has caused much of the water supply to become tainted. Then there is the run off that comes from the many factories that are built alongside our beautiful lakes and streams.

The nuclear issue at hand in Japan is a wonderful example of this. Sea water flushed inside in an attempt to cool the nuclear reactors, only to be swept back out to sea. I am not a nuclear scientist, yet I would think that some form of radiation would accompany that sea water when it did return. What will such contaminants do to the abundant water life and vegetation that is to be ultimately supported by this said water. We can see some of this impact from last year's oil spill in the Gulf as well as the many others that have occurred over the past years.

And to think I have only covered water and trees. I know that it is man's venture to keep striving towards perfection and a better life and/or a better gadget. Yet when will the cost of such a venture be taken into consideration. When will we take the time to look at what is happening to the simple things that surround us because of the bigger things that are happening.

I am planting a garden this year in a hope of having my own vegetables that I know will not be sprayed with pesticides as well as injected with hormones and what not. Yet what about the particles that float on the wind and eventually settle somewhere. What about the contaminated ground water that I will water my garden with. Yes I have a better chance of having a cleaner crop yet will it be 100% safe? Unfortunately, no!! The days of such a way of life are gone.

It is my fear that in time this world that we call home will not be able to sustain the abuse that man keeps inflicting upon it. It is my fear that man will look past the little things that when looked upon individually are not much yet when piled upon one another is a mountain of destruction.

It is time that we take the time to do what is right. The earth is crying. I only wonder if there are enough of us who can still hear her.

Musical Mondays - Happy Pie Day

I have never been much of a cake person, unless of course you are talking about a traditional birthday cake with yummy butter cream frosting. Of course my favorite is a tres leche cake which I honestly believe I could eat until I was swelled up like a tick and would literally pop if someone touched me.

A wonderful friend of mine once had one made for my birthday and it completely blew me away. It was by far the biggest cake I had ever seen. When she presented it to me it actually brought tears to my eyes. First because I grew up in a home where birthdays and such were seldom celebrated and second when I took my first bite I actually thought I had went to cake heaven.

But cake is not what I wish to discuss today. Today it is all about Pie. I honesty will say that I am much more a pie person than a cake person. I cannot resist the wonderful taste of fresh homemade pastry crust out of the oven. When I was young I worked in a small restaurant that was known for its homemade pies. I often would help the cook prepare them on Saturdays and remember vividly how any leftover pie crust would be rolled out and carefully cut into smaller pieces and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar for treats. The only thing that made it better was the occasional leftover coconut cream filling that you could spread over the top and enjoy.

Speaking of coconut cream, this is by far my favorite kind of pie. Homemade of course. Warm cooked coconut pudding filled with lots of coconut. A meringue that is at least 3 inches high, then sprinkled with more coconut on top and browned just right. Makes my mouth water just to write about it. Of course there are so many other kinds of pie that are just as good.

I remember my grandma's fresh apple pie. She was always one of those women who believed in a nice thick pie, not a thin meager one. A trait she passed on to me as well. Plenty of fruit and/or filling was always present in any pie she prepared. Her apple pie was always served warm with a little milk poured over it. Once again yummy.

Yet it was her Lemon pie that moved me more than any. It was a treat that often she would make just for me. She knew how much as a child I loved it. Just the right tartness and plenty of meringue. There are still times when I feel her presence and the faint smell of Lemon pie is in the air. It always makes me smile.

I could go on talking about pie all day as there are not any flavors I can think of right off that do not make me smile and wish for a piece. Whether it be custard, peach, cherry, or rhubarb, it is all a wonderful thing. So happy Pie day.

Ok I will admit it is not actually pie day but pi day. Pi as some of you may know is the ratio of circumference to the diameter of a circle. Yet with my love of math (which lacks in all areas) I had to place some positive spin on things. Thus I figure if I placed it with pie which I love to eat and music which I love to listen to... it had to spruce it up somewhat.... So sit down with a nice cup of coffee or tea if you prefer and enjoy the musical interpretation of pi (or pie as I like to think of it). If a slice of pie is readily available enjoy it also.

Note to ponder: March 14th is also Albert Einstein's birthday.. How fitting don't you think. A man with a mind above all of us... So I lift my cup and fork to you as well Albert. Happy birthday... enjoy your day along the string of time that I am so sure you exist on.

Musical Mondays - Love Hurts

Love Hurts

But sometimes it's a good hurt

and I feel like I'm alive

Most of us do not associate something that does not necessarily feel good with something that makes us feel alive. Yet how many of us have had a moment when because we loved so much we hurt, because we cared so much we endured when at other times we may not.

I am a hopeless romantic and have always like to think that deep down in 99.9 % of all people there is some good. Because of this view there have been many times when I have had my feelings hurt and have learned lessons that if I had been a bit more guarded I may not have had to learn at such a cost. Yet still I am not sure if I would go back and change my ways.

There was a time in this world when we could think such ways for the most part and did not have to worry about whether or not someone would take advantage of one with such a gullible heart. Maybe it was how I grew up in a small rural Oklahoma town. Everyone knew everyone and although there were things about this that drove me nuts, it had good qualities also. People spoke to each other when they passed. If someone fell on hard times, others helped them out and gave them support and encouragement. People waved at one another even when they did not know each other. It was simple hospitality and manners.

Such things still happen today yet it is obvious that it is not as prevalent as in the past. Yes it is a sign of the times, something that when I was younger I swore I would not harp on as I grew older. "When I was young one, this is how things were." Yet here I am doing just that.

Love Sings

When it transcends the bad things

Have a heart and try me

Cause without love I won't survive.

Yet when one finds themselves giving expecting nothing in return sometimes the reward can be a blessing ten fold. Yes it is hard these days to step out on that edge, to trust enough to take a chance that it will not necessarily blow up in your face. We want to believe that most of the time we can act upon our desires to do good and that it will not be taken advantage of. Yet each day we see evidence that there are so many occurrences in the world where some have done so and paid the price.

I have had many an experience where I took the step of faith and wished that I had not done so. Yet I have also had some where I was blessed by the outcome. Although I have to say that the ways of old I think are a thing of the past and more than likely things will get worse before they get better, I still do not find that a good reason to harden my heart. If we all succumb to that mindset then the world very well will only become a worse place to live in.

Yet if occasionally we seize an opportunity to help someone who is in need, we comfort someone who is hurting or alone, or we simply sit and listen without judgment; we may be amazed at the blessing we receive in return. Not only from the experience alone yet also from the gift coming back to us in return. Karma is a real thing

Listening to the radio over the weekend, an old favorite came on. "Love Hurts" by Incubus. It reminded me that love is not always that wonderful magical sweet and sappy thing. Sometimes it does hurt but sometimes that hurt is a good thing. And when it is good it can be wonderful. Enjoy the week ahead and take the time to stop and be there for someone. The blessing will come back to you.

Musical Mondays - Mistakes

Is there something in your life that given the opportunity you would go back and change? Would you go back and completely avoid the situation and treat it as if it did not even exist therefore making it no longer a part of your life? Or maybe you would go back and still interact with the situation only this time around you would deal with it in a different manner, hoping that the choices you make this time would have a different affect on the outcome. 

I have always thought this kind of thought is folly. Of course there are things that after the fact we all would like to possibly go back and have a do over. But then just as I told my son the other day, hind sight is always 20/20. It is easy to look back on a situation and have the exact interpretation as to how we "should have" dealt with it. We seem to forget that we usually do not have all the details in the beginning like we do in the end. We also seem to forget that there are usually always circumstances that have a way of clouding our eyes or possibly making our sight a bit rose colored. 

Still we spend a lot of time pondering on the what ifs and if onlys. I have times in my past that I will have to be honest and say that I wish they could have been a bit more happier, and less hurtful. I have experiences that I wish I would not have had to endure in order to learn the lesson that I eventually gleaned from them. Yet I know also that without so many of these "times" I would not be where I am today. I would not have so many of the blessings that I have. 

One may say blessings… what can you be talking about. Well for instance, my first marriage was not the best. Yet if I had not experienced it, I would not have my three wonderful children and all the wonderful things they have brought to me. I could even go as far to say that I would not have the blessing of my grandchildren as well. 

I guess I always try and see the positive in things. It drives some a bit crazy. I have been accused of being one of those overly sappy kind of people who don't allow those with "real" problems to just have their issues. Yet I myself have had my fair share of hard times. I made the decision a long time ago ( I think I was 7) when my alcoholic father had me cornered in the dining room. Everyone else had made their escape and I remained. As I attempted also to leave he stopped me and told me to sit. I obeyed his command. As he sat there and attempted to intimidate me with his harsh words and stare I returned his glare. Even when he threw a knife which landed next to my ankle, I continued to stare at him. I remember vividly telling myself that I would be the only one who controlled my happiness. Now although I made that statement with as much conviction as any 7 year old could I still had years to learn it fully.

Life is not always fun. In fact many times it can be down right a pain in the ass. Yet it is what you make of it. It is what you do with what you have. So do I think I have made mistakes? Hell yea I am sure I have and I am sure I still will. Am I asking for a second chance? Only to be 20 some again so I could go out and act crazy and have twice the energy that I have now. 

I have choosen one of my favorite songs for today. "Same Mistake" by James Blunt. Although it may not go along exactly with the way I feel it always makes me think on the subject. Beautiful words from a beautiful voice. 

I think Sophia Loren put it best when she said "mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."

Musical Mondays - Into The West

There are things through life that grasp us. They take hold of us in a manner that is hard to explain to those who do not have the wonder of experiencing them also.

To many these experiences are shared by many

yet to some they are shared by few.

In my opinion this makes the blessing even more special.

I have always been somewhat of a quiet person,
that is until of course you get to know me
 then some say I have a problem of not shutting up.
 This may be so, yet when it comes to myself and the life that surrounds me, I will admit that I do not share easily with those that I do not know well. I have become better at sharing my stories and such yet still the feeling that I may be looked upon as slightly daft lingers in the back of my mind.

I will say though that as I grow older in years,

this worry about what the others with differing opinions

may think of me grows less and less.

If only I would have known such wisdom

 when I was younger.

I would like to share some of myself with you today for Musical Mondays. Not that I do not share a little of myself with you each time I write,

it is just that today I may journey a bit deeper into the "real" me than I usually do.

I hold great belief and respect for that which the average man sometimes dismisses

due to lack of evidence or just the fear

that some may laugh at him because he claims to believe in something that most do not.

The Lord of the Rings is one of those things that touches me in such a manner. Yes I know it is a book written by Tolkien and it is said that it represents the world wars and such. Yet it is hard for me to believe that Tolkien being of the heritage and influence that he was did not have some feelings towards the unseen and that which is not fully known.

My favorite and perhaps most sad part of the story is when the time of man comes and the time of the elves and others comes to a close. Why is it that the two can't coincide together. The wisdom of the ones prior is so deep and so unlike the wisdom of man.

 Man wishes to build and grow and prosper

and does not seem to be satisfied or happy
 unless he does this.

Often in his quest
 he loses sight of what he may be damaging
in order to gain his prize.

Whereas the others
 think first of simplicity and the old ways.

Progress (or what is interpreted as such)
 is not always a good thing.

Take technology for instant.

We have become so consumed
 with possessing the latest gadgets to get us "connected"  

that we have forgotten the simply joys of life.

For some time I worried
about the fact that I did not "fit in".
 This is not longer a concern, at least not as big of one.
 I now count myself as blessed
to be able to still see the beauty of little things
 and the wisdom that many have to give us.

It can at times be a bit of a solitude life.

I am blessed beyond words to be able to live it.

I may not be in the fastest lane of life

but I most definitely am in
 one of the most scenic.

Today's song is "Into the West" by Annie Lennox. Annie has a way of putting such expression into any piece she presents and this is no exception.
 The lyrics can be found on my Musical Monday page.
Take a quiet moment to sit back.
 Close your eyes and simply experience.

Although it is a song which speaks of an end

it also speaks of another beginning.

Yet isn't that what each end really is;
 the beginning of something else.

Enjoy and remember:
it is still the simple little things
 that make this world keep turning.

Musical Mondays - There Is Going To Be An Uprising

For a while I have toyed with the idea of somehow incorporating music into my blog.  To be honest I thought seriously about creating a completely new blog yet the more I pondered on this idea the more I thought to myself I did not have the time to give it.  I am somewhat of a perfectionist and already with my sluggish ways the last couple months, I am being a bit hard on myself.  Thus I came up with the idea of Musical Mondays. 

I am always amazed at how powerful music can be.  It has the ability to say so much to so many and often different messages.  A good example of this is the song I have chosen as my first post.  I am sure many of you watched the Grammys last night.  I will be honest and admit that the only reason I was adamant on seeing them was that I knew Muse would be performing and rarely do I miss a chance to see them.  I was not exactly planning on doing a Muse song as my first entry as it is Valentines Day and I would think that a song of love would be a bit more appropriate.  Yet to tell the truth I am not much in a Valentine mood today and after I heard the bit that Glenn Beck did today on Muse:  Well lets just say that I had to take up for my boys. 

I know that I do not speak much on politics here at Mother Moon and that is mainly because it can cause a bit of a stir sometimes.  Yet there are moments when I feel that I must speak and lets just say this is defiantly one of them.  I want to make it perfectly clear that I do not nor will I ever watch Glenn Beck on Fox news.  I find his approach to "news" to be over melodramatic and a joke.  Yet when I was looking online today for any entries on Muse's performance last night a blimp on Beck's opinion was one I came upon.

Muse performed their song "Uprising" which speaks about the need and urgency for people (not just Americans) to stand up for what is right and just, especially when the "government" of the said country is not playing straight.  It is the perfect song for any revolution to have as their fight song. It speaks of  disgust with the strong arm of any government or bully trying to control the "little people".

What miffed me about Beck was his comparison in earlier times (about a year ago when the song first came out) of Muse and the Tea Party.  After he viewed their performance last night on the Grammys I guess they did not live up to the squeaky image he thought they should have.  My first thought was haven't you seen or heard these guys before.  One: I doubt they would appreciate being linked with the Tea Party and especially not with Beck himself as I would think he represents something they speak of so often in their politically charged songs.  Beck stated that unlike the Tea Party who wishes to restore the system, Muse calls for a revolution to take over the system. 

A fair assumption I guess, equating the song with the thought of revolution.  However, using Egypt as an example, they somewhat brought forth a peaceful revolution (as peaceful as they could) and in the end their government is in the process of restoration. 

Isn't that what restoration is?  If something has been built on for so long in a unstable manner, isn't it best if it is torn down at least to the solid foundation and rebuilt so that it will continue to grow in a healthy manner.  I could go on and on in regards to Beck and those similar who love to spout lots of pretty words and make references to things and color them so that those who do not know any better think they are so wonderful and true.  The ones who cry as if they are truly touched by the need to educate America on what we need to do to be the country that our fore fathers intended;  when in truth they really just want everyone to look to them as the savior. 

I am all for standing up for what is right, for allowing everyone to have a voice and also helping everyone to understand.  I have a problem with media who continues to pump forward a message that is created by few facts and largely by how they think it should be interpreted. 

 The "real truth" :  is it possible to really find it anywhere?  I do not know anymore.  I have found that reading all perspectives somehow helps to give one a rounded view and allows one to come to their own conclusion.  Yet even with that one does not know for sure if that is even right.  We can not simply go by what one view states.  We have to listen to all the voices and in the end allow our own hearts and own minds to come up with what we feel is just and right. 

In fairness to all sides I have posted the link to The lyrics to Uprising as well as to a link to Glenn Beck and his view.  I believe everyone has a right to their opinion.  There is also a clip on Beck's link of Muse's performance last night.  If you did not get a chance to catch it, I would watch it as it was quite entertaining as always.

In closing I will admit that this was a bit of a thorn in my side and something that I felt I needed to air.  I have never been much of a Fox News fan and well I guess the mother hen took over when they started to mess around with my boys.  Yet one of the biggest reasons I enjoy Muse so much is the passion that they integrate into their music.  Not only can it be heard musically via the wonderful craftsmanship of the musicians, it is also heard in the the powerful lyrics that they join with it.  Uprising is one of those songs that no matter what the cause one may be fighting for it makes you want to jump up and keep going until you reach the goal you are pursuing.