Space to Think

When something's eating on my mind

And just won't go away,

I can't seem to let go of it,

It's there throughout the day.

It affects my mood, makes me a grouch

But, it's nothing that you said,

It's whatever this crazy thing is

That dwells there in my head.

Don't take it personally, just give me space,

I'll work it to the bone

But, the best advice I can give to you

Is just leave me alone!

There are times when we just need to be able to think through the things on our mind.  Those times affect our mood and our attitude.  Some would tell you it is best to talk them out with others; that is probably good advice, but at the end of the day, if it is my decision to make, after getting input and talking through my reasons, I still have to be the one to think it through and make certain it is the right thing to do.

Nope, nothing going on that causes me to be in that kind of mood today, I just ran across the image of the Scissor-tail Flycatcher in a Honey Locust tree and it made me think of those times.

A Lonely High Place

It has seemed like a long week. I headed for Kansas on Monday and worked there for a few days before working my way back south. I had numerous good sales calls which should have me fired up but for some reason it just hasn't been that way. I think I need to go find a high place and sit awhile.

Sometimes I have the need to climb a hill and just sit and stare off into the distance. That probably seems strange to most people but there are plenty of others like me. You find them in National Parks or on river banks or on horseback. They generally feel comfortable alone. They need space. They need time to think.

It seems sometimes
The clutter in my head
Needs airing out.

Those are the times
I find a lonely place
And sit a think.

Perhaps to say I think
Is a mischaracterization
Of what I do.

A better description
Might be to say
I spend some time just being.

For those of you not familiar
With what just being entails,
It is the opposite of doing.

The best thing about just being
Is that the clutter in my mind
Gets organized

And my thoughts become clearer
Until the peace that enters in
Allows me to hear God.

Who Are You When You're Alone?

Who are you
When you are alone?
Are you the same person
That you are when with others?

Do you step
Into a different world
Where you sing
At the top of your voice?

Or do you sink
Into a "woe-is-me"
Attitude of self-pity
Because you are alone?

Do you indulge yourself?
Do you read?
Do you watch TV?
Do you work on some project?
Do you brood?
Do you pout?
Do you do anything at all?
Do you just sit and blog?

Who are you
When you are alone?
Why are you not the same
Around others?

Perspective

Between Pampa and Perryton in the Texas Panhandle is a long stretch of native grassland. It is part of the area that burned in the big fire last year. The summer rains though, helped the grass to recover nicely.

I enjoy the drive across that stretch because I like to watch for the antelope. I count them. I guess it's impulsive behavior, but I always count to see how many there are that I can spot from the highway as I pass by at 70 mph. Today I counted 24 of them.

Almost any time of year I will see them. They are usually scattered in groups of 4 or 5 up to 15 or 20. I think the most I ever remember counting for the whole stretch was a little over 50 of them.

That stretch of grassland makes it easier to imagine what it must have been like before this country was settled. The buffalo trails of history have been replaced by the cattle trails of today, but otherwise, I suspect it looks the way the earliest settlers saw the Plains.

The Panhandle was one of the last bastions of the Plains Indians. The last Indian battle in the Panhandle was fought in 1876. That was only 131 years ago. This is a young country.

I think that recent taming of the land is evident in the people of the Panhandle. It is why they are friendlier and more ready to lend a helping hand than people in many parts of the country. It is because of the generational memory of the survival behavior of the pioneers that settled here. It is the memory of 10 miles to the nearest neighbor; helping each other with the round-up, or the harvest; the loneliness of the women, mid-wiving because the doctor was two days away, and the rare trips to town for supplies.

The wide-open country produces good people. It seems that it is where folks are pressed together in cities that most of our country's problems occur. I think God made us to need a little space. Sure, we need each other and we seek each other's company, but we also need to be able to get away by ourselves where we can commune with our Maker. I suspect the Pioneers found it a lot easier to depend on Him when there wasn't anyone else around to depend on.

I imagine that most people are a little like me and need some "alone" time every once in a while. Maybe that's why I enjoy that lonely stretch of highway. It helps me to keep things in perspective.