NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

Have you ever found yourself looking at a well-known and familiar phrase and suddenly having it presented in a new light? That is exactly what happened to me not long ago. The phrase in question is ‘God helps those who help themselves’, a phrase I have long been familiar with. Hadn't I heard it quoted frequently to uphold the Protestant work ethic which stressed the value of hard work, thrift and self-discipline? It was used to uphold the belief that while you should help those less fortunate, that ‘God’ preferred you to help only those who were also helping themselves, and this didn't include the unemployed or those on welfare.  Not being overly familiar with the bible, I had always assumed that even if it wasn't an exact quote from there, it was at least a modern paraphrase. So when I heard it said that the phrase was not biblical, my ears perked up and I became intrigued. In looking up ‘God helps those who help themselves’ in W...

Have you ever noticed the huge disparity in the sizes of women’s purses?   They can and do range anywhere from the tiniest one that will barely hold a driver’s license to a backpack. The tiniest size can work especially if you can ditch your phone, tissue and other necessities in the suit pocket of your escort. Backpacks work for students and young mothers going out on outings with myriad small children. What sparked this blog was when I made the comment that I had an umbrella in my purse and now it was too heavy. Someone said,”An umbrella  isn't  heavy. What are you talking about?” And I had to admit that, no it  wasn't  the fault of the umbrella so much as the weight of the umbrella being added to the weight of all those other necessities [wallet, driver’s licence, cell phone, tissues, lipstick, pills, bandages, wet wipes, sunscreen, etc, etc, etc. ] that were already there. And  isn't  that a good example of what often hap...

‘August 13 is designated International Lefthander’s Day by Lefthanders International. It was first observed on the 13 of August, 1976 … Lefthanders comprise from 7 to 10 percent of the world’s population.’ [Wikipedia] Welcome to ‘Lefthander's   Day '. It is scary to realize that only a few hundred years ago, I would have run the risk of being burned at the stake for witchcraft. I live in a world where I preferred things that squeeze out or pop off. I hate containers where you have to turn that wheelie-thing to get the contents out! They so seldom, if ever, include an arrow showing you which way to turn that wheel … and so I never know if I’m ’right’ or wrong’. I live in a world where I consistently put the cards on the ‘wrong’ side when playing bridge and have even been known the deal the cards around the table the ‘wrong’ way!  One of the blessings of the digital age and computers is that I no longer have an indelible ink stain on the side of my left...

I have just realized that that as this is my 52 nd posting on Nudgings and so it marks the end of one year. I started out a year ago for a perfectly selfish reason: I needed to challenge myself, to clarify my thoughts, to explore them and see where they went.  So a huge thanks to everyone who has accompanied me on this journey, to those I know and to my Facebook friends who I have never met. You have made this last year exciting and worthwhile. Your comments, whether shared online with everyone, or privately with me, have often led me to somewhere new. I began this journey, just like most journeys are begun, with some trepidation. I wasn't  sure I wanted to put my thoughts out there for everyone to read. I wasn't sure that I could write. I wasn't sure that I had more than one or two musings to share. When asked at that time why anyone would want to read my blog, my answer was that I had no idea! Now I might reply that my musings attempt to ...