Feb:Full-Fledged Lunar Birthday Story Flowing From The Day Carl Became Anew

"A Feb:Full-Fledged Lunar Birthday Story Flowing From The Day Carl Became Anew" by: Kathleen (Kasper-Kat) Armstrong, (w)Holy Ghostwriter ? January 2, 2023, Rev 2 21 23, Rev 2 27 23 and Rev 2 28 23

Drawing From The Flow:

I began the Birthday Newsletter in January 2023. In ending the first newsletter, I noted the term "anew" and asked if anyone had an idea of what this may refer to. At the time, I was referring to a song you may know. In the early hours of the day, when reflecting on how all the strands of thought that came to mind during the last month (for the February newsletter) worked together to reveal this "flowing" thought (the theme I had chosen for February) a real life fable tale came to mind.

On Valentines Day, I reviewed various sketches contained inside "The Mindfulness Coloring Book" again, like I had done when drawing the picture for the January Newsletter. The idea wasn't to copy the artwork; the point was and is to reflect this flowing style of artwork. I've noticed, firsthand, that when one is mindfully allowing inspiration to lead you, you will find that pieces seemingly join together to create something that makes sense of the individual elements.

On the back of the sketch I had drawn, I noted the elements of the artwork that I had put together to create the picture shown above. Though you must look closely to see this, there is a flow between the two rabbits. This flow is found in a picture containing two swans that create a heart, when coming together. The bunny rabbits are found on another page containing a large number of eggs.

Knowing this year, has been noted to be "The Year of The Rabbit," I placed them together in the center of this sketch, with the flow between them, spreading outward to become a great delight.

An Introduction To A Real-Life Lunar Birthday Fable:

I've read that (to be specific) 2023 is said to be the "year of the water rabbit." The type of rabbit is chosen according to a pattern that was put together years ago, and is followed yearly by many Asian communities who celebrate what is known as "Lunar New Year."

What I know about bunny-rabbits; is that they have a long wrap-sheet when it comes to mating. The thought of this "prosperity" is what reminded me of yet another Christmas Fiasco I weathered years ago. Surprisingly, this was birthed in connection with the Woolworths Department Store, that was noted in the January Birthday Newsletter.

My real-life experience about the prosperity of bunny-rabbits (and other animals who have much to teach us about real life) took place when I had this great gift idea for my son, who wasn't quite three. Maybe, it's because I received a bunny one year for easter, that I thought to get a hamster for him for Easter. This didn't stop a family friend from trying to convince me to "get rid of the thing." She noticed that each time I would try to pick the animal up, it would hiss at me, and I had no clue how to get this hamster to behave nicely; except to pickup a pair of gloves to protect my hands when doing so.

She told me "If you're afraid to pickup that darn thing, how do you expect your son to be able to pick him up?" What a surprise to find that he managed the task far better than I. After a few weeks of having his new pet "Carl" live with us, my young son picked him up (after having given him the same name of one of my uncles, whom I had never told him about), and stuck his pointer finger in Carl's face, and declared "Stop that!"

From that day on, the hamster stopped hissing at us, when we would try to pick him up, until the Fall. That's when I noticed this horrible thing had happened to poor Carl; he had these large lumps growing on each side of his body. Some may call me naive, others may say outright ignorant; I was convinced that Carl had contracted some form of cancer.

I quickly called a vet, and described the situation at hand. I did indicate, that it would make much more sense if "Carl" was pregnant than having had cancer; yet, we had gotton Carl when he was a babe (only 3 months old), and he hadn't been around any other hamsters since that time. That's when I was informed that Carl, was infact, Carla, our very pregnant hamster.

(Graphic Warning: If you are young at heart, you may want to skip this portion of the story, and/or if you read this to a child, you may want to re-word this part of the story, due to it's graphic nature.)

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It wasn't until the bleak mid winter, that I began wondering WHAT we would do with the litter bundle of joy that we received that Christmas season. Nine, there were nine embryos, as best I could count that were born that day. One didn't survive; thus explaining why Carla (in her mourning) kicked the whole litter of babies out of the house.

Once again, I called a local vet to request assistance. "Whatever you do, don't touch the babies. You may be able to feed them with an eyedropper, temporarily, only if she smells you on the babies, she may eat them. You can take them out of the cage using a spoon, and then put them back using the spoon when you finish feeding them." He informed me.

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Good Lord, just what I needed for Christmas, the task of feeding baby hamsters every few hours with an eyedropper full of goat's milk. Fortunately, my task at raising these litter bundle of joys didn't last long, for I quickly discovered with the first drop of milk, that instead of drinking the milk, they were bathed in it.

"This will never work!" I stated when trying my hand at hamster raising. I proceeded to inform my young son, "We're going to have to scoop them up, put the babies in front of the hamster house, and hope Carla will take care of them. There's no way we're going to be able to feed them. They're too small."

We were completely unsure (for a good two weeks) how well things went for the young babes, after Carla noticed the babies were back in the cage. Aside from seeing her throw each child into the house, and hearing quite a commotion inside, Carla barely came out of her house to eat. She stuff a handful of food in her cheeks and return to her abode for hours.

Finally, we could see a few babies moving around, and that's when I realized; we no longer were proud parents of one fine hamstress; we had a whole litter of them. Back on the telephone, once again, I called the department store to let them know what had happened. Listening intently, they appeared to understand; and the person on the other end, let me know that the hamsters don't come with any warantees; furthermore, once the rodents leave the facility, they are no longer able to take them back, for they won't know if the animal has contracted a disease that will infect the others.

"What?" I exclaimed! When my son considered what names he might want to give them, I made it very clear that "There is no way we are keeping nine hamsters; one way or another, we will find a home." And that we did. Another pet store in the area curtly stated that they "only pay $2.00 a piece for hamsters."

Paid, we were going to get paid for them? Well, that might cover the cost of raising them, at any rate. They had a deal. A few months later, we brought all, but a couple of hamsters to the pet store. Trust me, if you see these little ones before they are ready to be sold, you'll understand how we ended up keeping a few of them.

This very true story is somewhat similar to the way believers come into being. Someone who loves us, must care for us when we are young, and a change must happen inside us, before our character changes; thus scriptures note that when this happens, we are given a NEW NAME, just like Carl. But that's only the beginning.

The next section of this Birthday Newsletter will reveal how this crowning achievement, a pasture with meandering waters, and flow work together to provide enlightenment about the way Wisdom Literature and the Psalms assist believers in understanding the wisdom being conveyed and knowledge needed to implement that wisdom in their relationship with God and others.

II: Passageways That Reflect The Effects Of When Water and Light Meet:

When beginning this series, there was a specific memory that led me to choose the word "perspective" and "flow" for the months of January and February: a "china doll" I had seen and was convinced I needed my parents to get for me.

Though we didn't eat out much, one place we went to visit (somewhat regularly) was this one Chinese restaurant. I don't recall much about the time we spent here; what I remember was the doll I noticed. Looking back, I can't help but wonder if it was that Small World, I visited frequently at the two Walt Disney Parks in the United States that led me to want to know more about people from other countries. Today, I can't tell you for sure what the color of her clothing was; yet what I do remember, is that it was a silk fabric like none that I had seen before, where we lived, or had I?

When I spent some time to reflect on what it might have been that drew me in, and led me to not only ask, but insist that I have that doll, I remembered the beautiful fabric. As an adult, I could see why I was lured into requesting this specific gift. Having spent every weekend going to the coast, I noticed the way things are reflected upon the waters; the sun, the moon, trees, each one revealing this beauty that is uniquely found when water and light meet to form a reflection on the surface. I realized in reflecting on this memory, that the surface of this type of silk has much the same effect.

You may have noticed that I included a title heading above the initial notes I wrote on how I put together the drawing I put together for this article. Drawing from the flow analogy, I should point out a few other things that weren't previously noted about this picture. Although the style was influenced by "The Mindfulness Coloring Book" I picked up at a local Barnes and Noble bookstore, specific elements were added to the drawing, that are LinkedIn with this flowing thought.

Noted previously, when learning more about the Yin and Yang symbolism and other Buddhist symbols, I was surprised when I had been reading what appeared to be polar opposite books, that seemingly worked perfectly together.

In "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg (A Christ centered book written by a minister who also obtained a degree in psychology) and "The Bullet Journal" by Ryder Carrol (a book written for those interested in a method of note-taking that incorporates mindfulness and is based on Buddhist traditions) I noticed a correlating pattern between two portions of their work.

In reviewing the 12th chapter of John's book, I had noticed a circular drawing that represented a "Well Ordered Heart." It just so happens that I was reading "The Bullet Journal Method" at the same time. It wasn't enough that the cover revealed this circular flowing image; in Part II of the book (The Practice), points to "flow" in a square diagram that is sliced into sections (like that orange I noted in the January Newsletter). The diagram was used to convey "conditions where flow is more likely to occur." (p177).

This is where I'd like to point out the knobs on the circular drawing I put together. Much like a nautical "captain's wheel," that helps to direct one's course, this also reflects a "dharma wheel" found in the Buddhist belief system. The angled sections are similar in style to the diagram in "The Bullet Journal Method," (based on the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD), yet, this was included to reflect another perspective: a life preserver.

There are far more details in this drawing some may find of interest including the Hebrew notations that were included; unfortunately, due to the constant difficulties in me getting online to write, I have made the difficult decision, to cease from adding to this publication, or publish more of my work at this present time.

I've noted multiple times the difficulties I've been dealing with, between health issues and outright attacks to my computer, it is for that reason, I have decided to stop this newsletter here.

My apologies go out to those who are not involved in the wrongful attacking that has been going on, whom I had hoped to honor, including my nephew and cousin whose birthdays are in February. Though I had plans to include notes regarding insights I had gained when I considered what I have learned from them, I regret to write, that I am at a point where it is unhealthy for me to continue with this ongoing battle of wills.