Treasures of Tunnel Chatter

written by

Jeannette Zink

July 24, 2016

I’m losing you … can you hear me … we are going through a tunnel … hello … hello … ah, there you are … what did you say … wait, we are going through another tunnel … hello … what did you say … I thought you said something about ‘hate’ or was it ‘ate’ … here we go again … talk with you on the other side …

The sad thing about picking up the tunnel conversation on the “other side” of the tunnel is that it more than likely does not get any better than the one you were having while "inside" the tunnel. That’s the way of it with us human type.  We really are very poor listeners and even more challenged in the art of interpreting what we think we just heard.  Why is that, I wonder?  Could the answer be entwined with the 24-hour chatter going on inside our very preoccupied brain? The beauty of our rhythmic, poetic and sometimes prosaic words are continuously being lassoed by the demons we play company with on a forever looping Ferris wheel of taken the wrong way words, disjointed sentences, or by the short hand speak of social media.

You have probably seen it, and just decided to ignore the proverbial “staring-in-your-face” signs … you know, the blank gaze after you have made what can only be classified as the most profound statement, the disconnected context in a dialogue exchange, the sudden need to check text messages, the glance away so as to escape the next spoken words … the signs are always there for us. The trick is to follow those signs through the next tunnel and come out the other end with an awareness that the interruption was just a pause not a forever dropped line of communication … end of conversation … silence, as if our words were chopped apart by a foreboding dark passageway and never to be mended by that promise of a light at the end of the tunnel.

It occurs to me that perhaps the tunnel chatter is precisely the language we should adopt when faced with uncomfortable conversations. The phrases … I’m losing you … Can you hear me … What did you say … Wait … Talk with you on the other side … are the saving grace stop gap words that could aide our unease in navigating the choppy waters of feelings, emotions and human interactions … a means to wave a yellow flag and slow down the verbiage train to avoid the unintended destructive wreck of a conversation. One that may result in a life-changing relationship detour when years from now this exchange may never be remembered, but will forever be felt.

The next time I talk the language of tunnel chatter or experience the frustration of a difficult conversation, I am going to employ the secrets of tunnels. Hit the pause button until reaching the other side of a tunnel vision conversation … breathe between tunnels … and pick up my chosen words on the other side when hopefully the light is shining brighter and my thoughts are viewed from a clearer perspective – one that takes in to account the person waiting at the other end of the tunnel chatter.  Silence is golden at times, but love and respect for each other is a lifetime worth of tunnel chatter.

Peace, my kindred spirits.  Travel with love and may you find value in the treasures gained from tunnel chatter.

You may enjoy visiting my blogs:

https://jeannettesartandstories.blogspot.com/

https://doodlingwithwordsbyjeannette.blogspot.com/

Thread of Hope

written by

Jeannette Zink

Between the numbered days of life and death weaves a single fragile thread of hope for all that is good in the universe.  The day, when this thread is broken and the mournful clarion bell is sound, our tears cascade as a fine mist across the early morning shores of our sorrows. This is that day.

The global soul now a community of grief and the wounded heart forever touched as a family of one.  It is on this day that our tears must turn to grains of strength, our amour and shield of destruction be placed in respite, and our measured days resolved to join hands in crafting a passageway whereby the entry token is a valued coin earned by acts of love and respect. This is that day.

This is that day. This is that day. This is that day … woven with a thread of hope.

Peace and love, my kindred spirits.

You may enjoy visiting my blogs:

http://jeannettesartandstories.blogspot.com/

http://doodlngwithwordsbyjeannette.blogspot.com/

Playing with Questions on Thursdays

(an Adalyn Grace story)

written by

Jeannette Zink

Adalyn Grace is certain of three (3) things and one (1) thing more on the rating scale of a maybe. Adalyn Grace knew without hesitation that a wish could be caught with the blink of a star because she had chased after many a starlight wish and had successfully caught every single one.  She knew dreams took flight on the whisper of a bee’s wings … there goes one now! But, the one thing Adalyn Grace knew with profound assurance was the magic in Thursdays – the day when her questions all came out to play. However, Adalyn was less certain of the necessity for the answers to her questions. So, she ranked answers a maybe … and, that became a subject to be questioned on one of her magical Thursdays.

Another reason Adalyn Grace enjoyed Thursdays was because this was the day she would visit her Aunt Mae Bea. They had so much fun exploring all the questions that Adalyn Grace had saved up for this special day.  Aunt May Bea would listen very carefully to all of Adalyn Grace’s questions, and help her to sort out her three (3) most important questions for each Thursday’s visit.  Aunt May Bea was big on PRIORITIZING!

Today is Thursday and Adalyn Grace has so many questions twirling inside her head!  She can hardly wait to start exploring her questions with Aunt Mae Bea.  But, before Adalyn Grace can even begin to ask her questions, Aunt Mae Bea has a question for her.

 

“Adalyn Grace, said Aunt Mae Bea, I am going to take a trip to Antarctica in a few weeks, and I need for someone to watch after Maisee Beezee, my pet bee.”  “Would you be interested in caring for Maisee Beezee for me?”  “We know from our studies that Antarctica is the only continent where bees do not live. Maisee Beezee would not survive if I took her with me.”

     

Now, that is a QUESTION, thought Adalyn Grace.  “Do you think I am old enough to take care of Maisee Beezee?” asked Adalyn Grace.  Aunt Mae Bea smiled and told Adalyn Grace that she was absolutely certain without any hesitation that her precious Adalyn Grace was more than ready for this task.

“I have so many questions, said Adalyn Grace.”  “What if I make a mistake and Maisee Beezee flies away and never returns?”  “What if she doesn’t like me since I’m not you?”  “What if Maisee Beezee gets sick and I don’t know how to care for her?”  “What if I get sick and I can’t care for Maisee Beezee?”  “What if …”

Aunt Mae Bea put her hand up as if she were a big red stop sign.  “What are you trying to say with all of your questions, Adalyn Grace?” “Your questions are really good questions, Adalyn Grace, maybe we should search out the answers hidden inside your questions. The answers are just as important as the questions.”

“You are right, Aunt Mae Bea, said Adalyn Grace.”  Let’s search for the answers.  “Now, I am certain answers are just as important as all of my questions!” said Adalyn Grace.

Maisee Beezee buzzed with happiness that Adalyn Grace would be caring for her.  “See, Adalyn Grace, Maisee Beezee is absolutely certain without any hesitation that you will do a splendid job of taking good care of her!”

“I am absolutely certain without any hesitation that I will be able to take care of Maisee Beezee!” said Adalyn Grace.  “No question about it!” said Aunt Mae Bea with a twinkle in her eye.

“Questions are fun and help us to learn,” said Aunt Mae Bea.  “Answers are a question’s lifetime companion … like the prize inside the gift of each question.  They need each other just as we need them to help us make our best decisions, Adalyn Grace.”

“Thank you for believing in me, Aunt Mae Bea.  I love you.”

“I love you all the way to Antarctica and back!” Aunt Mae Bea said as she gave Adalyn Grace her best ever hugs and kisses.

Maisee Beezee buzzed and buzzed with joy, as if to say … What another fun Thursday this has been!!!

Hide and Seek … Seek and Find … or something like that

written by

Jeannette Zink

I have searched high and low for something … that something I’m not even sure of; but, that does not impede my search for this treasured something, which makes for an even greater challenge for that which I seek. After reading this opening sentence, it takes me back to my studies of the great literary salon of Gertrude Stein and the 1920s Paris … Rose is a rose is a rose. 

Nonetheless, this search of mine must continue until finding the very thing I’m in search of; and, that which will most definitely and completely brim with satisfaction upon the something’s great discovery. This prized token, hidden just around the fringes of the age old game – Hide and Seek, cloaked in mysterious riddles and annoying rhymes, will make its appearance in due time – or so believe the precious of innocent mind.

Perhaps, I will stumble upon this allusive something as I peel back the corners of each maybe this or casually remember a maybe that in the musty old forgotten archives of yesterday’s memories.  If only to stay the course, no meandering here and there, I tell myself, and you will find that which you seek.  Right, that is the thing to do … stay the course.  Don’t think so much; just let things happen, just let that thing you pursue reveal itself … that will be the something you were chasing after, but were never formerly introduced.

Seeking has magical powers. It never has a need to map out an itinerary for the adventure and discovery awaiting each undisclosed journey. And should you inquire of such a schedule, please be prepared for a most unpleasant exchange between reason and whimsy.  I know this for a fact, as I once packed logic in my bag for one such excursion, and soon learned the high price charged for the extra weight of this rational reason of reason. Whimsy is so much lighter and travels for free, not to mention all the laughs and light-hearted fun. Seeking with whimsy is my new found travel buddy -- together we search for the thing I do not known for that which I seek … that something.

I heard Pope Francis say one Christmas Eve Mass to not seek God, let God find you.  Stopped me in my midnight daze and caused my mind to start blinking neon lights of enlightenment. Then I started to think about other familiar analogies … love finds you when you least expect it, a child conceived just when you had given up all hope and opted for adoption, finding a missing object after years of searching (seeking) … you may have your own gems to add to this lot.

It was also about this time when it occurred to me that the merciless search for the worrisome something may be my quest to find the missing brick-and-mortar of my life, the bits and pieces that were tossed aside over time for the sake of a career. Yes, my life is good, but there is definitely room for improvement … for instance, where did I drop off my soul and spirit in exchange for success? Could this be my problem? I am the one doing the seeking; I am the one carry the load; I am trying to lead this search party.  Maybe I am the problem!  It’s not an “I” kind of job this seeking and finding business.

 

As this Proustian remembrance creeps back into my mind, as if the missing clue in a Hide and Seek game, I begin to wave a mental “aha” flag of discovery.  This restlessness of mine, always seeking the mighty something, may have finally washed onto the calm shores of a cool breezy revelation. The arid unquenchable thirst for that something may have finally met its match, and now I rejoice in the relaxed arms of content while making room for this weary seeker to be found.

During the lull between now and until then, I play with the whimsy of this lifetime game of Hide and Seek and cast my energy around the unexpected joy of each new discovery.  Just maybe I will find the very something never intended, but were destined to be found all along. Probably the reason I could never really appreciate my seeker’s kaleidoscope of poetic somethings … the seeker must first learn it is far more rewarding to have been found. As for that unquenchable search for the undefined something, I wonder how that thirst got there in the first place … maybe, a bit of whimsy or perhaps the power of our Finder.

Peaceful journeys, my kindred spirits … travel with the lightness of whimsy, the heart of a seeker and the wisdom to provide room for the grace of our Finder … and that is something wondrous!

The Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”  

Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

You may enjoy visiting my blogs:

http://jeannettesartandstories.blogspot.com/

http://doodlngwithwordsbyjeannette.blogspot.com/