JOHN'S COURTYARD

This is the doorway to the secret entrance of my house,through the looking stump.

                Well it is Monday and the week has begun again.  I did manage to roll over another leaf.  The cold is waning but man was yesterday a dog.  I did like the dogs, laid around and groaned.  Used some the Jewish mother’s home recipe for colds ate some chicken soup.  Don’t know if it worked but it tasted okay going down.

                I pick up magazines of all types.  There are some that hit the trash after the first page.  Some are really slick and look good but nothing inside.  A couple are pretty good.  One is an alternative lifestyle rag that has stories at times of general interest. 

                The one I read yesterday had an article about narcissism and the problems associated with and how it leads to problems.  I have been accused of being narcissistic so it caught my attention.

                They noted how many people today are wrapped up in themselves and others are there to help the self centered egotist look good.  Hum, an image problem.  They pegged the generation of the 60’s as the beginning and how it has burgeoned since then, the overweight, the materialist, the fancy dresser and talker and the list went on.  Materialism is how they measure self, the more stuff the better they feel their image is, what.

                The lover of self sees most things as objects and that includes people.  How many friends can they collect, I know him, I know her and the list grows to look like something.  They noted that lots of people on the internet social networks fall into that category.  People on the social networks are so in love with themselves they miss the point of relationships.  Then if one is a people collector they lose sight of interacting with others.  They stated that when someone is so in love with themselves there isn’t much room to love anything else.

Narcissism is complex but when I look at the materialism I can see people wrapped up in themselves.  They view others as an aid to them or a hindrance.  It also explains why there are so many failed marriages, love of self leaves no room for the family, self comes first.

Those of you on the various space networks do feel any of the narcissistic tendencies from others?  Biggest thing I see is the large networks.  I pare my down at times if there is no interaction.  Yet for some to be in the background is there way of socializing.  The other thing I see is the collection of gadgets.  I saw a bumper sticker that read, “He who dies with the most toys wins,” the materialist’s journey to the coffin.

 As people collect things they collect people to be used and abused.  Watch shoppers how they buy things that will be gone but at the time they satisfy the want to accumulate. 

It was an awakening story of how we tend to mess up our own lives.  I’ve had to rethink my relationships with others over the past few years and this brought that back to the fore front.  How do I interact with people?  There are so many struggles in life and I ask myself am I helping that person or am I making a mess of things.

A few good relationships are better than crowded stadium of onlookers.  To be intimate and caring is not easy.

Oh well been cooking beans all day, will divide into portions for different dishes.  Chili sounds good, try some rice for burrito’s or baked beans.  Mix in some molasses and honey or barbeque.  Darn getting hungry.

Had some snow this past weekend, started Sat. eve and went thru Sun. night.  This morning was clear and blue but cold, high of 45 F.    Electricity went out for a time Sat. night.  In the country the lines are not buried, they are on utility poles so very susceptible to ice buildup and wind.  It was a local circuit that popped.  Across the street there was light the other direction was dark.

It wasn’t too long because the house had not cooled down much.  It bothers me because on a real cold night pipes freeze real easy.