Show me the Vision!

Winters in Dallas, Texas were cold and icy.  My favorite thing was to curl up with a Dr. Pepper,  bag of Fritos and a good book.  My father bought me a set of encyclopedias and I heard weekly how much they cost so I started at A and was working my way through the alphabet when I jumped with joy.  I found a Formicarium, an ant hill in captivity.  This meant that I could watch the ants and learn their behavior. 

How exciting.  I couldn’t wait.  I only read part of it and marched outside, found the biggest ant hill, dug it up and put it in Mother’s large turkey pan.  I put it next to my bed and was totally captivated watching them, eating cheese and crackers and I fell asleep thinking of names for them.  The next morning the dirt was there but the ants were gone!  I picked up the book and found that once you create the formicarium you must surround it with a moat or a body of water to keep the ants in captivity.  Wow!

I started dressing for school in the hopes I could get out of the house quickly before mother came in and I was dancing around the hardwood floor because I did not want to kill any of my subjects, they were having a marvelous time with the crumbs from my late night snack.  But, I didn’t get out fast enough.  Mother came in to say something and then went into shock. “Where in the Sam Hill did all these ants come?” She asked then she spied the Turkey tray.   Don’t tell me; please don’t tell me you brought them in the house.  NO!!!

Yes, mom, it’s a formicarium and I can watch them work and I just forgot to build the moat but I can do that ….I don’t think I ever finished that sentence.

“You mean you dug them up and brought them in?”  Now her hands were on her hips and that was the danger signal to me so I was moving out of that room at warp speed when she shouted after me,  “Formicarium, my hind foot you better get out of here before I build a moat around you” she shouted and I was running for the back door.  Wait till your father hears this story! She shouted as I closed the door.

From that day on the ant has been a major fascination for me.  Recently, I saw a documentary on research done to discover how ants are able to find their way back to their hill.  When they leave, they look back at the hill and they store a vision of the hill in their minds.  Then they go all over, if you have seen ants running around, they just go in all directions.  When they are ready to go home, they call up that vision and keep moving around 360 degrees until they lock in that original outline of the ant hill with the terrain.

That’s one of the most important discoveries for me.  I think that’s what we need.  A vision of where we are going in life. I want to see it, feel it and be part of it as well as having a vision to send up to the universal field.  It’s important to let the universe know what you want so they can change things for you to bring you the people, money or whatever you need to make that vision come true.

People receiving Academy Awards often say this was their vision.  Only recently someone said, “When I was 9 years old I would sit in my bath tub and see myself receiving an Oscar and here I am!”  It’s our vision that takes us to the next level and keeping that vision clear in our mind is how we reach that next “ant hill.”

No, my father did not scold me; he asked what I learned about the ants, outside, where mother could not hear him, of course.

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A Fish Called Buddy

My giant fish tank at the entrance to my house started a slow leak so I took on the job of draining the tank knowing that there were no live fish.  I put in a tube and began draining and as I got down to the bottom I found one of those beautiful black-fish-that-eat-the-algae alive and well! 

How did he live in the cold water?  I had no heater for a week and he lived through that and I never saw him.  Ok, I ran to the kitchen and found a large 3 gallon rice container and put him in there.  This was Saturday afternoon.

Sunday at 10am when Petco opened, I was there with fish-in-hand asking to rent a room for him.  You must have some empty tank or big fish bowl and I will pay you to watch over him. The manager said, “Just fix your tank; he can live for 7 days in this container.”    Ok, 7 days is what it took to create the world. Surely, this was enough time. 

Since I had him in the car, I started talking to him to allay his fears and mine too because I am not a “fix it” person.  Each time I try to fix something I seem to cause more problems. 

I called him Buddy. Day two the tank was dry enough to begin scrapping the mineral sediments and the old sealant off the fish tank.  He was swimming nearby and I talked to him about all kinds of things.  Like, how hard it is to ask people to read my 360 page second edition of the Art of Film Funding and give me a blurb.  Who has time to do that?  But, I need to get statements good enough to put on a book cover and this is how it is done.  He seemed to understand all this and kept moving to let me know he was still alive or to agree, I am not sure which.

Day three I applied the silicone to the sides with my nervous fingers.  I never saw the applicator top and the tank looked like someone with palsy had repaired it but all areas were amply covered.  It would take 24 hours to dry.  I filled the time with discussions with Buddy about the confidence I had when I wrote the book that now seems to have vanished. I explained how important it is to stay confident because marketing is the only way to get your information to your audience.  He kept moving around the sides and seemed to be listening.  Well, he was a captive audience, but there was more going on here. I just don’t know how to explain it.

Day four, the fish tank dried.  The stress was on.  Would it hold 50 gallons and not leak?  Suddenly, when Brianne carried the fish tank downstairs, I realized that Buddy would not be nearby and I began to miss him.  His fortitude gave me the confidence I needed to fix the tank and make a lot of “asks” from people in the industry for book comments.  Somehow, these things are related. 

Day five and good news; the fish tank is successfully repaired.  Buddy is in his clean home and most importantly, I now realize that he is not a black-fish-that-eats-the-algae, he is a courageous plecostomus, a living, feeling creature and my friend, Buddy.