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Ya Gotta Wonder!

The Global Cowgirl Blog.

We live in a world that’s rolled off its nut. There’s a whole lot going on out there that makes me want to shout, “Ya gotta wonder!”

Being a ‘proof-is-in-the-pudding’ kinda gal, I think it’s time for all of us to look at the political puddings we’ve been serving up…and eating. If the state of the world is any indication, our Liberal and Conservative puddings are pretty rancid. Ya gotta wonder if these political puddings have reached their expiration date and need to be thrown out.

In the Global Cowgirl Blog, I’m sharing what makes me want to shout, “Ya gotta wonder!” The outrages and nonsense that get up my nose in today’s world. I’ll raise questions that leave me scratching my head. And I’ll have the occasional solution (sometimes wacky and comical) for the problems that have us putting up our dukes and swinging at each other.

I welcome your reactions, comments, and chidings. And sharing what makes you want to shout, “Ya gotta wonder!,” too.

Sunny McMurtrey – Global Cowgirl, Storyteller, Interviewer

Friendship Over Politics

Posted on December 21, 2020

It’s been a tough, stress-fraught year for most of us. Not what we imagined as we belled-in a Happy New Year on January 1, 2020.

All the disagreements about the Election and voting fraud, and Covid-19 and isolating for the Holidays and wearing masks have us ending the year with lots of relationships, as well as the fabric of the country, pulling apart. But it doesn’t have to be this way. My friend Celeste and I decided to look deeper into what matters in our lives—something beyond the news headlines and politics:

It’s the middle of the night. I’m cross-eyed with claustrophobia brought on by the “coziness” of my hotel room in Montreux, Switzerland. Heaped atop this emotional dysfunction is a heart-twisting panic attack. In the morning, I’ll be coaching a group of hardheaded, recalcitrant do-gooders who believe their mission to save the world excuses all manner of rude behavior. I’m alone, with an ocean between me and home. All in all, I’m in a pretty negative space.

Time to phone a friend—Celeste. We are each other’s lifelines when our roads get rocky. More specifically, Celeste (and her husband) is my ask-the-universe-for-help lifeline.

While it’s the middle of the night for me, it’s not too late to call Celeste where she lives in The States. I know I can call to share my angst and ask her to send me a prayer. She does. Within moments I’m fast asleep. Released from the misery I’d been buried under moments before.

I later tell Celeste she needs to pitch a big tent and share her unfettered connection with prayer with the whole world.

In today’s political climate, Celeste and I are unlikely friends. Our political posts are so far apart, we often laugh that folks might think one of us is a spur-booted Texan always ready for a range war and the other a Californian blissed out on sunshine and waving a placard for a “socialist” America.* But Celeste and I never let politics ruin a beautiful friendship. When I die, it’s Celeste who’ll tie up the loose ends of my life and take my ashes wherever I want them thrown on this earth. I trust Celeste with my life—and my death.

*Never let a stereotype influence who you think stands where on any political issue.

A Holiday Wish: I hope Compromise (with a capital “C”) becomes the country’s new battle cry for charging into the New Year 2021

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Feel free to comment below or leave a comment on the Global Cowgirl Facebook page. Also, check out my book Stories from a Global Cowgirl… “Don’t Put a Cat on Your Head!” Available on Amazon

Battlefield of Peace

Posted on December 14, 2020

Burnside Bridge, Antietam National Battlefield Washington County, MD

“Peace on Earth” decorates Holiday cards every year. “Peace be with you,” is spoken with a handshake (before Covid-19) in countless houses of worship every week during services. Soldiers around the world hope to live to say, “I’m going home,” when their tour of duty is over in the battlefield where they have been sent to fight for peace.

When I want to experience the possibility of Peace between humanity, I go to a Civil War battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD:

Peace. Countries around the world search for peace with guns and megaweapons drawn. We have even got war colleges dedicated to developing new ways to fight for peace. All of this done in the hope of achieving this elusive human yearning.

While my own life is full of vexations, frustrations, and anything but peace, I’ve found a place where I can feel and even “see” the peace I ache to experience all the time.

Ironically, the spot is on a battlefield where the bloodiest single day of fighting in American history took place. September 17, 1862. The Civil War’s Battle of Antietam, near Sharpsburg, Maryland.

Antietam Creek ran red with the blood of Union and Confederate soldiers. Over twenty-three thousand were killed, wounded, or missing.

There is a bridge that runs over Antietam Creek—Burnside Bridge. When I stand in the center of the bridge, I see a delicate cloud coming up from the earth, blanketing battlefield (,) and creek. Within the cloud’s mist swirls a Light not of this world. Looking into the mist, my mind and body go calm. All worries evaporate. The air is pure, and with each breath, I am filled with the cloud’s peace. I see the misty cloud and feel its serenity every time I stand on Burnside Bridge.

There is something else. I sense the presence of the soldiers who died here, Union and Confederate. There is no rancor between them. Each body released its soul, and these thousands of souls made a peace among themselves that is beyond our understanding here on earth. They rest in harmony at Antietam.

I return again and again to Burnside Bridge to feel the unfettered peace that stretches out to enfold and caress its visitors, no matter the horror of our personal or political battlefields.

Lesson: I believe Peace is the state we come from, and Peace is where we return. Purpose determines outcome. When Peace is our true purpose on Earth, then we will have it. The proof of our purpose in anything is always in the pudding.

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Slim! Down! Fast!!

Posted on December 7, 2020

You thought this was going to be about losing weight, right? Well, it kind of is. It’s about losing all that extra weight your home is carrying around from all the things you keep stuffing into it. Ask yourself, “Will anyone I know be happier if I keep all this stuff?”

Here’s my thought:

My Ode to Less Stuff

I’m living in a tiny apartment furnished with dumpster-diving treasures. Two mangled wicker chairs needing a bit of debugging and a rusted metal table with an equally rusted matching chair. I sleep on an air mattress in a bare bedroom. And there is no svelte, smarty-pants TV. Mine is a stocky, remoteless reject from a friend.

I do spring for a lighted palm tree that stands alone in the center of the living room. Come Christmas, I deck the tree out in festive bling. Not wanting the palm to be alone for the Holidays, I invite some special friends to keep it company. A flock of plastic pink flamingos stand one-legged around the tree. Red and green Christmas mufflers wrapped round their long necks.

Why the skimpy furnishings? Two years before, I’d sold all my belongings—a home and thirty years of collected treasures—and headed for graduate school in London, where I would likely be the oldest student. Once back in the US with a deflated bank account, that lighted palm, those dumpster discards, and the inflatable mattress were all I could afford. It was glorious.

Now, back in the chips, I have “stuff” again. Proper stuff that needs dusting and polishing. Enough kitchen stuff to overflow a dishwasher. A willowy TV that snaps to attention when I give it verbal commands. And, at Christmas, in the center of my posh digs is a traditional tree piled high with stuff I’m giving to family and friends.

I’m sure these same folks thought I was off my nut when they saw icicles and baubles hanging from the lighted palm tree surrounded by a flock of plastic flamingos, but I can’t remember when I’ve ever felt merrier at Christmas. And the greatest gift that year? Simply living with very little “stuff.”

Note to Self: May just celebrate New Year’s by clearing out some “stuff” to make room for more “happiness.”

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Full-Body Smile

Posted on November 30, 2020

There are times that can make even a global cowgirl want to say, “Calf rope.” The upcoming Holiday season in the time of Covid-19 is one of them. That spikey blighter has taken all the “dancing and spinning” spirit right out of the Holidays for a lot of us.

For my first official “Global Cowgirl and Friends ”blog post, I’m offering this gift for putting some dancing and spinning back in your heart during the Holidays…or for anytime you’re feeling a bit low about life or yourself.

This surefire way of bringing a smile to your whole body and letting you light up a room—even on your darkest days—is a bit of magic I learned on the sunny side of sixty when I was accepted as the oldest student in a Master of Arts program at a internationally-acclaimed drama school in London.

By the way, I managed to do that with no acting experience. So, the next time you decide to look down on yourself and say you can’t do something, remember, not everyone sees you the way you do. Just go for what you want and see where you land.

Here’s the exercise:

Every time you walk through a doorway into another room, imagine the room is full of people giving you a standing ovation.

Do this when you walk into the bathroom. Bedroom. Going from the living room into the dining room. Into the kitchen. Hear the roar when the garage door opens or when you visit the supermarket.

Don’t forget at work: Entering the building. The elevator. Your office or cubicle.

And especially when you’re going into a difficult meeting with someone (or a group of folks) who gets up your nose and you’re anticipating a battle.

Notice the smile that comes from inside when you imagine that applause. Feel your body stand taller and the muscles around your mouth turn upward.

Consciously and consistently do this for two weeks, whether you’re feeling happy or sad. After that, you’ll be like one of Pavlov’s dogs. Every time you walk into a room it will unconsciously trigger the memory of applause, and you’ll break out into a full-body smile without thinking about it.

*This exercise is going to change the way you see the world and the way the world sees you.

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Global Cowgirl and Friends

Friendship Over Politics

Battlefield of Peace

Slim! Down! Fast!!

Full-Body Smile

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