A new direction - well sort of - a test

I am switching to what is my most recent work - A compilation of steps 10,11, and 12 into one book.
This will be a bit different as my photos are now often span two pages and I do not know how they will work on this page. You will probably have to click on the image to enlarge it.
The text is sometimes a bit difficult to read as it is on the image - but I am working on it.
Stay tuned

Bounty abounds.

These photos were taken yesterday
a day so nice I did not find the time to
convert the next book
for display here.
Today the rain is back
maybe, but other things
may intrude.

A brief rest between books

The pace of one a day exhausted the books for which I had appropriate files for posting here
I will convert some more soon but until then I will post a couple of photo from Shelley's marvelous garden.

A new act begins when you change the scenery

Given the same cues
the actors will
repeat the familiar lines.

Remember the famous line
from Shakespeare
Exit stage left.

Sometimes you have to wait

For the tide
to come in,
for the current to ebb,
for the lumber yard
to deliver
the two by four.

You don't have to wait
to stop digging
the hole -
it is probably deep enough
already.

Because you are personally involved

The line between
help and enable
can be a bit fuzzy
especially
when manipulation
comes into play.

If you are still reading this book
you know what I mean.

Why is it we think we are the only ones

who are facing this situation?

Thinking this
isolates us
and provides
an ideal environment
in which to grow shame.

And this is exactly
what we don't need.

Getting dragged under

does no one any good
especially you.

Sometimes there is no clear path

This buoy marks a shoal
and tells you
Go left
or Go right.

It has a light
and a bell
to help you
avoid running into it.

When in doubt look for flashing red lights
and don't go there.

Funny though - how some of us seem
to be drawn to them.

Sometimes it's better to go fishin

Get away from the situation
before you get pulled in
over your head.

Finally, something it is safe to be right about.

Some will say
"I'm not the one who needs to change,"

Isn't that similar to what they
are saying to you?

-

Changing yourself
starts out seeming
impossible
but becomes
much easier
as you fight it less.

Hard to believe.

This had to be
because
they weren't listening,
so I'd repeat myself
until they agreed or walked away.

This part gets more difrficult.

Being right
used to be something
which came to me naturally.

Being right was
a foundation of my self.

My being right
made
some other people
wrong.

They left.

Will power is over-rated

Especially when
it is your will
on someone else.

Sometimes the door seems to be closed

But often a ray of light filters in
around the edges.

Our expectations of immediate
enlightenment
smiting the one
barricaded inside
do not come to pass,
but we can not see the seeds
we have planted
and must be content
to let them grow
in their own time.

Sometimes your wisdom,

profound as it may be,
doesn't seem to
get to its intended destination.

After repeated attempts
normally peaceful folks
start to consider
the "two-by-four upside the head" option.

That does not work either.

If your wisdom
ends up making you angry...?

If only they would listen...

"They" rapidly expands to include
everybody.
I, for one, am still trying to
understand
how the Obama administration
could have missed
the opportunity to
have me ( or you for that matter)
serve as a high level advisor
on most everything.
It is a puzzle.

Maybe there was a data entry error
and they didn't have the right number.
Maybe I should write and let them know...

There is very often a good reason behind the impulse

and this section is not talking about
those occasions when
a helping hand
can lift someone
from
a rut.

It is a matter of degree.
(something we are not very good at discerning)

But when the rut
becomes a canyon
through which a raging river rushes
you need decide how far
your arms can stretch
and if the load can indeed be lifted.

Control is over-rated

Being in control
often requires
contravening laws
of physics
and nature.

Being in control
requires
you to
always be right.

Being in control
elevates you
to the rank of deity
have you passed the
qualifying test?

Being powerless does not come easilly,

It goes against our nature
which tells us
to fix,
correct,
improve,
and, some might even say,
control.

For now, put down the tool belt,
you don't have a screwdriver large enough
to fit whomever it is
who so desperately needs tightening.

In the beginning...

There is a ratio -
the sooner powerless is understood
the fewer times
you head-butt
a granite boulder.

I have come to know
granite
well.