Illusion Part Deux

Welcome to a winter wonderland! Having spent three days off the grid in Stagecoach, Colorado, I am now completely relaxed. For this, I have to extend sincere thanks to one of my best friends and the mother of my godson, Kimberly. I can impishly say I didn’t even get out of my jammies and warm fuzzy slippers one day as the sky lay down ten inches of snow. Neither did my godson, and much of the day was spent playing with trains, batman, and blocks. The boy, who hardly sat still, focused his energies on evading a nap and I, at times deceptively, worked on avoiding any viewing of Bob the Builder. We have watched both Madagascar movies, and Kung Fu Panda three times…I don’t know how his mother does it! Seriously though, I wouldn’t trade it for the world! Admittedly, I still have a lot to learn about kids. Directed at Julie: yeah, logic doesn’t work so well with three year olds either… ;)

Before heading up to the Steamboat Springs area, we spent a couple days in surprisingly warm and sunny Denver, the highlight of which for me was Casa Bonita. Casa Bonita is notorious for its substandard Mexican food, but sells itself on its dinner show. It has an elaborate cliff diving pool surrounded by “jungle” and lights, as well as a haunted cave, puppet shows, etc. What makes it special to me is that when I was a kid, my folks would pack me and my sister into our little two door Honda hatchback and make the LONG drive from Lawrence, Kansas, to Sun City, Arizona (God have mercy), to spend the holidays with the grandparents. Along the way, our tradition was to stop in Denver for dinner at Casa Bonita! The same show (and apparently the same food) is now being enjoyed by my little man! Kinda cool…J

Okay, just when you thought you would get off easy, I am going to devote some time to the conversation started in my last post: reality vs. illusion. My friend advocates illusion--this time, let's talk reality. I find it hard to believe that life is just a series of illusions we create for ourselves, if only because what do you call those moments between our created illusions. I am of the belief that there is such a thing as reality, but that it takes courage and strength to live within it. Reality is not an easy thing to face, because it means acknowledging how our perceptions can disagree with the perceptions of those around us. It requires taking responsibility for our actions and how they truly affect others. My friend, a brilliant psychiatrist, says that you can't really affect others unless they choose to be affected. The reality is, you don't know who chooses to be affected by you. You can be under the illusion that no one is affected, or that it doesn't matter, but that is not reality. Ah-ha! See, they are different, reality and illusion...It takes a degree of integrity to acknowledge reality, take it into consideration, and STILL build your own happiness (which assumedly was the goal of your illusion). Living in illusion might be easy but does not seem to take much courage...So, have some cajones, a vote for reality from me...;)

And from Great Falls, Montana, I bid you goodnight...