 
...where thoughts areInpirational, yet Humorous 
 I think I'll set the fish bowl in here for now. I hope that silly cat doesn't try to eat the little fishies!
Don't Take Yourself So Serious!
My name is Gayla, NOT Gayle, like it is often confused with. I remember when I was only two years old, there was a little corner grocery store where my mother frequently shopped. The man who ran the store loved to call me Gayle because it got such a reaction out of me! I'd get so angry, stomp my little baby-size 2 foot, scowl at him, and shout, "MY NAME IS NOT GAYLE!" To this day, it disgusts me to no end when someone calls me Gayle and I'm 38 years old! I just figure if you're going to address someone, the least you can do is say their name correctly. My best friend, Cindy, calls me Gayle as a joke, but she's the only one who can get by with it. That's just how it is with best friends.
IssyMissy is the nick-name for Miss Issy, my alter ego. Don't ask me where I came up with that because I'd have to say I just happened to find it floating about in my brain. I hadn't been talking to anyone about it, so that means I just dreamed it up!
Miss Issy is a warm and friendly lady, helpful and compassionate, but she likes most to be light-hearted. After all, laughter truly is the best medicine for what ails ya. She is a gypsy-sort of lady who likes to think she can read tarot cards, palms, and see into her crystal ball. Now, in real-life I don't rely on that sort of thing, but maybe I was a gypsy in a previous life because I like to dress like one... or so my mother says. She is a wonderful lady. But more about my family in the DEN.
 
As you will discover as you take the time to read my essays, I have a very strong and definite working relationship with God. If your concept of God doesn't work for you, feel free to borrow mine! I would say the single most important lesson this life-journey has taught me thus far is:
 "DON'T TAKE YOURSELF SO SERIOUS!"
There was a time when I was oh, so serious about everything... life was serious, events and circumstances were serious, and everything others did and said was taken to heart. My daddy would tell me, "You're as happy as you make up your mind to be", which was utter nonsense in my immature perception and understanding of life. I thought he was cruel and uncaring for saying such a thing as that! All he had to do was take a look at my life and see what serious business it really was. (What self-pity!)
Through many heartaches which held me captive by the "Why-me's", I finally learned how to be happy in spite of everything and everyone around me. Yes, I make light of a serious disease called lupus, but why not? Try it... it'll set you free! I will qualify myself for the right to do so by stating the obvious: I have Systemic Lupus. In addition to that, my father has cancer; I just got divorced after many years of marriage, and I am the only person in my family to get divorced; I am a single parent of two; I am unable to work due to my physcial condition... doctor's orders; I am blind in one eye due to Optic Neuritis, caused by Vasculitis, resulting from Lupus; and my body is in constant pain. And, thanks to the miracle of steroids which (hopefully) preserve the remainder of my eye-sight, I have gained 20 extra pounds! But other than those minor details, everything is just hunky-dory in my life!
 I think that should suffice it to say that I have my fair share of "tragedies" in life, which brings me face to face with this choice: See them as tragedies, and worry and fret about them; or view them as teachers, affording me invaluable spiritual understanding and strength, while knowing they are not tragedies, but merely peculiar little inconveniences which disturb my self-centered desire for a perfect life tailored to my specifications. These are the very experiences which afford me the ability to be of help to someone else with these "problems". You see, while we don't get to pick and choose everything which comes our way, we are still expected to direct the show. But keep in mind, that doesn't include controlling the out-come, nor does it entitle us to directing anyone else's show. Life is a play within a play within a play... each of us actors in one another's plays, each bringing his or her own script, and directors of our own play and script. Unfortunately, most people want to direct the entire show, including each and every actor, but that just doesn't work. The problem is with this free-will thing we all have. And my will has shifted dramatically from the girl who was once so concerned about the serious things in life to the free-spirited gal who knows better than to waste a moment in such folly.
 For any of you who still take yourself seriously, I'll attempt to explain the point I'm trying to get across. Yes, the disease is serious, taking my medicine is serious, seeing my doctor regularly is serious, being helpful and compassionate towards others is serious, but..... I don't have to act serious about any of it. If you can't joke about your problems because they are serious to you, that only means you're worrying about things you cannot change. On the other hand, if it's something you can change, then get off your duff and do whatever needs to be done. Asking "why" and "how" , while thinking "if only..." will get you nowhere but buried deeper in muck and mire. It doesn't matter how the jack ass got in the ditch... but, how are you going to get him out?
The difference for me is, while there are many serious occurances in and around my life, they do not have control over my thoughts and emotions. I am the director and the circumstances of my life, such as lupus, divorce, unemployment, and single-parenthood just happen to be some of the stage props I have to work with. And in my theater, I try to maintain a comedy rather a tragedy!  ~~ by: Gayla Pledger ~~ Miss Issy (© copyright-1998) All Rights Reserved. If you would like to read the serious version of my personal lupus story, please click here:  I'm Really Not Crazy!
Though I am light-hearted and generally like to keep my mind centered on good humor, there is a secret place within my soul where the writer and poet resides. Behind the curtain awaits a heart laced with romance and sweet passion, yearning for the fantasy lover who can only be found on the other side of the mythical forests enchanted with fictional characters portrayed by mortal-men-turned-gods in their acting abilities. Alas! The secret of every charming man.
These men do not exist in real life, and so I keep this curtain drawn, safely concealing the tiny ballerina who dances only to the tinkling chimes of a music box. Trinkets and treasures of my spirit -- souveniers collected from different lovers over the years, each special in his own way, each adding another note to love's eternal song.
The First Poem...I would like to share with you was written after viewing the final episode of the "Tom Jones" mini-series. Ah, but love's sweet bliss created by screen writers ignites the fantasy of romance within my spirit....
"Heaven Swept"
Heaven swept through my door, lingering softly at the threshold of my soul,
Can you hear the yearning in my voice,
Who am I to think you would ever acknowledge me;
Ah yes, I am but a foolish old woman,
"Messangers of Light"
The sound of heaven, so soft and clear~ The genteel voice I heard was the soothing breeze, Crackling briskly through the foilage of autumn trees.
I was certain that an angel held my hand today,
I then beheld an angel smiling at me,
An angel came to drop a taste of heaven on my tongue,
As the days passed, the sweet aroma of heaven filled my senses,
Then the transforming angel reached gently into my heart,
and do not copy any of my writings without prior, written consent. If there should be any quote or piece of work you would like to use, I would be honored, upon these conditions: You must receive prior permission, you must use my by-line and copyright, and you must place a link back to my page. Thank you. ~ Gayla
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