An excerpt from my journal on: August 15th, 1993
We left home yesterday at 4 a.m. bound for Mitchell, South Dakota. We travelled on I-90 though Wisconsin to LaCrosse, then across Minnestoa and into South Dakota (Sioux Falls). Our final destination was the Holiday Inn in Mitchell, SD. The drive wasn’t bad at all. The kids were much better behaved than I thought they would be. Steve was more of a pain than they were. We stopped often to potty and stretch our legs. The hotel had a Holidome… a pool, a kiddy pool, 2 whirlpools, sauna, golf, hopscotch, ping pong etc. Steve fell asleep on a chaise lounge in the middle of lots of people. When the kids and I finished swimming, I decided to let Steve sleep so I left without to take the kids to our room to shower and dress for dinner. About 45 minutes later Steve came in the room asking why we had left him there to sleep. He was very embarrassed. He had farted in his sleep and woke up to a little kid saying, “Mister, you stink!” I’m still chuckling over it!
Right now we are 70 miles from the Badlands. We are travelling across prairies that stretch far and wide. .. lots and lots of grass with a few scattered bunches of trees in the low areas. This land has its own strange beauty. Not much to look at, but the rolling hills covered with grasses are very peaceful.
I think about the American pioneers traveling across this land in covered wagons. They must have been very courageous, strong-willed people. The discoveries of what could be beyond the horizon must have been very exciting. What a shock it must have been to come to places such as the Badlands. Things that we take for granted must have been so valuable then. Clean water, transportation, a clean body, enough milk to feed your children, protection from the weather. I wonder how many people died pursuing their dreams of new land and a new life. I wonder how many children died when their families tried to pursue these dreams. I assume that stress back then came from trying to survive. Today stress seems to come from trying to find happiness and contentment. Have we come too far that things (all of our technology and niceties) are beginning to backfire on us? It is easy to survive in today’s world. Should we be doing what is necessary to survive and then sit back and enjoy what is simple… instead of pushing to do and have more and more in an effort to find higher and higher levels of ‘happiness’ in a complicated life? Something to ponder.
Reflections on this look at the past on: Tuesday, January 12, 2016
I think this was a point of awakening for me. I had begun to see choice. We had come to a place of managing survival for our family. Before we had established that foundation, there didn’t seem to be choice. We were just putting one foot in front of the other to create the food, clothing and shelter that were necessary to provide for ourselves. Once I was on solid ground, I was able to see that I had ‘choice.’ This awareness was the beginning of a long journey of examination of my beliefs that I chose, the habits in life that I chose, and the spirit that I chose. This was the beginning of examining the belief system that I had inherited and created my life by. It was the beginning of my self-healing; the process of seeking awareness of my beliefs that were the foundation of my choices in life and aligning them with the Upper Realm.
We left home yesterday at 4 a.m. bound for Mitchell, South Dakota. We travelled on I-90 though Wisconsin to LaCrosse, then across Minnestoa and into South Dakota (Sioux Falls). Our final destination was the Holiday Inn in Mitchell, SD. The drive wasn’t bad at all. The kids were much better behaved than I thought they would be. Steve was more of a pain than they were. We stopped often to potty and stretch our legs. The hotel had a Holidome… a pool, a kiddy pool, 2 whirlpools, sauna, golf, hopscotch, ping pong etc. Steve fell asleep on a chaise lounge in the middle of lots of people. When the kids and I finished swimming, I decided to let Steve sleep so I left without to take the kids to our room to shower and dress for dinner. About 45 minutes later Steve came in the room asking why we had left him there to sleep. He was very embarrassed. He had farted in his sleep and woke up to a little kid saying, “Mister, you stink!” I’m still chuckling over it!
Right now we are 70 miles from the Badlands. We are travelling across prairies that stretch far and wide. .. lots and lots of grass with a few scattered bunches of trees in the low areas. This land has its own strange beauty. Not much to look at, but the rolling hills covered with grasses are very peaceful.
I think about the American pioneers traveling across this land in covered wagons. They must have been very courageous, strong-willed people. The discoveries of what could be beyond the horizon must have been very exciting. What a shock it must have been to come to places such as the Badlands. Things that we take for granted must have been so valuable then. Clean water, transportation, a clean body, enough milk to feed your children, protection from the weather. I wonder how many people died pursuing their dreams of new land and a new life. I wonder how many children died when their families tried to pursue these dreams. I assume that stress back then came from trying to survive. Today stress seems to come from trying to find happiness and contentment. Have we come too far that things (all of our technology and niceties) are beginning to backfire on us? It is easy to survive in today’s world. Should we be doing what is necessary to survive and then sit back and enjoy what is simple… instead of pushing to do and have more and more in an effort to find higher and higher levels of ‘happiness’ in a complicated life? Something to ponder.
Reflections on this look at the past on: Tuesday, January 12, 2016
I think this was a point of awakening for me. I had begun to see choice. We had come to a place of managing survival for our family. Before we had established that foundation, there didn’t seem to be choice. We were just putting one foot in front of the other to create the food, clothing and shelter that were necessary to provide for ourselves. Once I was on solid ground, I was able to see that I had ‘choice.’ This awareness was the beginning of a long journey of examination of my beliefs that I chose, the habits in life that I chose, and the spirit that I chose. This was the beginning of examining the belief system that I had inherited and created my life by. It was the beginning of my self-healing; the process of seeking awareness of my beliefs that were the foundation of my choices in life and aligning them with the Upper Realm.