Pawprints From Space

The little guy showed up one day in late May/early June. About six months old give or take according to his size and overall kitten demeanor. Cute little face that looked so much like Bonsai's had at that age and him gone only six months. It seemed this little guy had been sent to me by Bon. Sadly, I couldn't save him as I had Bon's pregnant mama (Baby) and therefore Bon and his siblings.  No. Buddy - so named because of the way he followed me all around the yard, my little buddy - used all of his nine lives at once.  Who knows where he really came from? Probably dumped (or his mama was) in the park a few blocks away. He didn't know how to play, how to interact with humans really only that I seemed nice and fed him. Wasn't too keen on being picked up unless it was to show him something interesting (such as the bird feeder). But he was learning. Every morning he had breakfast on my deck and then we'd play chase the stick with a willow branch. I c...

So what do YOU want to be when you grow up?  I have no idea either.  I should since technically I am in the midst of that dreaded condition known as "middle age". But nope, I haven't a clue. I've had a variety of jobs since turning 15 - delivered newspapers, worked retail, clerical work in a legal office, broadcasting.... yadda, yadda, yadda. Through it all I still haven't found my "calling". Which begs the question.... is the concept of a "calling" a myth? A lie we tell ourselves? Do we strive to reinvent ourselves because we can't find our "calling" or because we are just plain bored? I'm not bored. That much I do know for certain. I'm too busy to be bored. Burned out maybe. I am not happy with my life whatever the reason. Work isn't as satisfying as it should/could be. Eight years ago (nearly nine) I embarked on a new path - set out to find a new career. And I found one. I was excited. I was...

Not all of us were part of "the" clique in school. Some of us weren't part of a clique at all. We were loners, geeks, nerds... those odd kids in the corner, at the end of the lunch table. We were the fat kids, the scrawny kids, the unathletic kids. The brains, dorks, creeps... the outcasts. And we developed a sense of self-doubt to go with our awkwardness. And that doubt still lingers... Of course the "in crowd" had its own version of self-doubt. Hiding behind the popularity, afraid that someone would notice how scared they were underneath and how not "perfect" they truly were. And that doubt still lingers... We all have periods of self-doubt. For most of us they are fleeting. But for some, perhaps even many self-doubt is a constant companion. But let's not confuse self-doubt with low self-esteem they aren't the same thing and don't always hang out in tandem. Psychology Today - like many publications on the topic - blames the paren...