Poor Decision Making – Sunset Observer #31, by Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture | @MDWorld

April 18, 2014 Whitney Farmer 2 Comments

Follow  Whitney at @farmer_whitney (Twitter/FLICKR) or farmerwhitney (Instagram)

Mia the Sun Conure pulled out her feathers.

Not all of them: Just the orange ones that she could reach. Maybe she heard that Orange was In last season. Now she looks like she is wearing a little Ricardo Montalban “Star Trek: Wrath of Khan” fluffy vest.

She must have thought that it was a good idea because she tried to ‘help’ Roxy the Sun Conure during their last playdate. My Sis and Bro-in-Law intervened, but not before Roxy was outfitted in a pattern resembling a tie dyed t-shirt, colors swirling over what had been smooth orange plumage that had covered her white meat.

Mia and I are in a battle of wills because what she really wants to do is lay eggs like she did last year and which had almost killed her. Her body say, “Nest!”, but all of the condos she uses around the house are devoid of building materials. So she turns herself into Home Depot.

She doesn’t understand about global warming or why we have no rain. All she knows is that she wants things to be different.

This is why women get break-up hair and tattoo shops are flourishing. Everyone who is asked would say that – hypothetically – they would rather leave a skid mark on the highway than go quietly into that night. But if you don’t end up dead you end up with road rash which becomes a visible scar. Past decisions then become public conversation. Even good decisions can leave scars. Poor ones most assuredly will.

There is a time lag between changing our minds and the visible world shifting. We may have decided to get in shape and have been hitting the gym responsibly for the last six days, but there is no proof. In fact, the only evidence that is evident in our present is a spare tire/muffin top that we have brought with us from the past. Our baggage screams against our future, but it deceives. We change before it shows.

Hearts and minds can change in an instant, and practice turns change into habit. This was a topic of conversation last night. Regarding sin, I probably will sin today. But I choose not to PRACTICE sin. I will not choose it again and again in order to get really good at being bad. I don’t want to be an excellent liar, or remarkably cruel. And just like a body that gets stronger and changes shape slowly over time, my soul is doing this. My old clothes don’t fit me anymore. Over time, they have become less and less comfortable.

But in the in-between time before the visible world displays what the invisible world has been cultivating, my posture needs to be that of a farmer: The seed is planted, and I believe that it will grow. My efforts of breaking up the soil, enriching it with compost (which is nourishing material that comes from death and decay), choosing seed that holds promise, watering it enough to drink but not drown…Then I wait.

Not very long ago, it caught my attention in the stories about Jesus that – after the resurrection – there were scars on His side, hands and feet. Raised from the dead, but scars remain. For all the right reasons, I believe that the stories are true. And if true, why the scars?

Because scars can tell an important story…if we are brave enough to handle the scrutiny.

Quote of the Blog, from CCRs “Proud Mary”:

“Left a good job in the City

workin’ for the Man every night and day.

But I never lost one minute of sleep

worryin’ about the way things might have been…”

NEXT WEEK: Reflexion…

Photo of Proud Mia, from my cell phone.