Rowing My Boat

Posted on September 21, 2026 by Pat

Free old row boat side — Photo by Connor Scott McManus on Pexels.com

Just living this life every day is like rowing a boat. Sometimes you have calm waters and other times it’s turbulent. I think it’s always been that way down through the years. Each generation has had their own set of waters to traverse depending on whether you have a destination or not. Maybe, you just want to sit there in your boat and be still in calm waters. There are times when that’s all you need.

Hubby and I got into a conversation yesterday morning after watching the CBS News Sunday Morning show. There were a couple of interviews the journalists facilitated that prompted our discussion. Like before, there are many of these instances when we watch or read something that prompt our talks, and this one was no different. But seemed like after our talk I wasn’t finished with it yet and more thoughts and ideas kept running through my head and heart. So, here I am sharing them with you and by no means have I arrived at any kind of conclusion. It’s just thoughts and questions I was pondering. Some of those“What If’s”, I talked about in an earlier post.

One of these interviews was with the retiring Smithsonian head, and the other interview was with a Democratic Kentucky Governor, hopeful to be running for the presidency. When asked difficult questions, both had good answers, from my perspective, and it’s what prompted the discussion hubby and I had.

We’re all good at pointing out the good things we like and especially the others we don’t like. But, if it’s different and we don’t like it, we’re also good at giving our opinions on how wrong it is. Even to the degree of being downright dismissive or sometimes demeaning. Then we justify it as passion.

The discussion hubby and I got into was: “why do we always have to point out what we agree or disagree with when others say and do something different we don’t like?” Why does there have to be one side or the other and make judgments on that, as if we’re excused when we think someone is doing something much worse than what we do?

And – this is where my mind kicks in with questions and starts pondering – “aren’t we all accountable for our thoughts and actions – or is that just reserved for the person who is different?” What’s good and what’s bad if everything is one? Don’t we need the contrast of good or bad, black and white, to see where we need to go, where to row our boat? Even when you row a boat, you need the resistance to get you moving. Why does different, negative or positive, have to be bad or good and just be a part of the whole?

Now, I understand there’s an extreme for which you have to make distinctions on what is harmful or not. Sometimes the dark is dangerous, and the light can be so bright it’s blinding and you can’t see. But when that’s the case, it’s up to me to move away and position myself in a better place.

I guess what I’m trying to realize here is that differences are needed, even important, and when we feel threatened by them, maybe what’s needed is to recognize that we feel uncomfortable and try to understand. We don’t need to make everyone think like we want or be the same because it would make our life easier. It’s the differences that create flavor and beauty – salt and pepper, woven tapestries.

Maybe, the reason it gets more difficult to understand is it’s to make us dig deeper and look in another place for answers. We can both be different and still coexist together – in fact, maybe that’s what we’re supposed to learn how to do. I know you need cooperation to do that, but it needs to start somewhere. Allowing ourselves to be a living piece of art floating up and around melting together, flowing with each other being more dark one time and lighter at other times in constant change. (Sounds crazy – huh?)

As you can see, I’m still pondering these things and makes me wonder why it’s so hard to get along with one another, especially when there’s opposition. I think when we run into problems is because we try to make others do as we like and believe like we want.

We’re complicated beings and make it so difficult to live in harmony not just with ourselves but with other beings as well. Just beat each other into conformity is the illusion we have that it will make everything in the world a much better place. I would venture to guess that if we ever accomplished that, it would still not be enough, as our egos would still need to be fed and want more.

Whatever it is, we’re all in this together no matter how you look at it, and I don’t believe we’ll get out of this without our own personal day of reckoning where our soul is compromised, and we have to make hard decisions. Like a mother finding herself pregnant with another child, she’s unable to feed, or a new VIP instructed to give orders to move ahead on projects he never thought he’d sign up for. Your head is demanding you to do one thing, and your heart is quietly urging you to do something else. I guess, then, it would be easier to understand when we witness what someone else is going through on the reckoning of their circumstances.

So, here I am, out here just rowing my boat (and venting a little). Sometimes I’m still and in neutral waters and other times I’m rowing like crazy to some distant shore. I’ll let you know if I arrive or not – but, could it be, that it’s not the destination so much as it’s the journey? If you’re still with me, thank you for letting me pen my thoughts, crazy ideas, hopes and dreams.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

What If?

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Pat

What If? – Miracles Photo – By Pat Ruppel 2026 – Gemini AI Generated

Come – take a short journey with me. I have to let you know, though, that I don’t know where I’m going. I have no idea what this will end up being, but I’m wanting to write something different – mix it up – one step, one word at a time and get a little serious. Are you ready? Can you stretch those thoughts, preconceived ideas, and walk along with me?

We’re living in chaotic times right now. None of us needs to be told how severe things are. Everyone sees it, feels it, like you can’t get away from it. What can you do, now, if you’re not right in the middle of an emergency and have to respond? What if – we stepped back, took a different approach, and attempted to see things differently like what’s suggested in this Ram Dass video below, “What If Everyone Woke Up Tomorrow Thinking Differently”. It would change the world.

It’s part of a lecture he gave February 27, 1992, titled, “The Web of Human Caring” in St. Louis, Missouri and an interview he had with John Seed, an Ecologist from Australia, talking about rainforests. If things were as disturbing and chaotic back then, how do they measure up now, and how can we realize the urgency of it. It’s like the same old problems exist, even though many years have passed since his lecture. I wonder why and what it’s all about?

The only thing that has changed is time, and that won’t change either when we no longer have a choice, or we decide to do something about it. It doesn’t have to be that way, and we don’t have to let it get that far? But what keeps us from hearing such urgent messages? Maybe, like Ram Dass says here, it’s because we’re comfortable, attached to what we have, and think we have to give up what we want to hold onto.

I have to say, as I’m writing this, my hands are shaking. I’ve felt that before and know it’s the energy stirring inside. So, there’s something going on within me that’s trying to get out – express itself, and I’m out of my comfort zone in an unknown place. I have to work through it and hope I do it justice because it has to come through me before it can get there.

This is not something I usually write about, but it’s been compelling, keeps presenting itself and won’t let me drop it. I don’t want to deliver a post on doom and gloom because I know there are possibilities, What If’s, and there’s still something we can do, and I believe in miracles. But it takes a shift and an open mind to dare to explore the What If’s. We are not alone in this and when we’re ready to take the leap, get serious and move to take the first step forward, we are met with an invisible energetic force, something like Patanjali talked about centuries ago:

**Patañjali** (150 BC or 2nd century BC) lived in the 2nd Century. He was an Indian. He wrote the first grammar of Sanskrit language.

We came into this world as a vibrational little being equipped with everything we need, only we haven’t tapped into our biggest resource, our inner guidance system – our sonar, so to speak. We stumble across it sometimes and think, “Oh, that went great!” But it doesn’t seem like we truly, consciously recognize it or know how to use it.

The world, as I see it, is what we have created down through the centuries. It’s the compiled products of our collective minds, discoveries, wants, dreams, desires – good and bad. And, when it turns dark and ugly, we always try to correct it by changing the products instead of looking internally and working on that. What If, we decided to do that and look inside for the problem and change it by thinking differently, like Seed suggests.

That is where walking down a different path, thinking differently, or choosing to consider a different way, is critical, especially in the times we are living today. (Note: Here is a popular Rumi quote that is a loose, contemporary, interpretation and reconstruction by translator Coleman Barks rather than a literal translation of a Persian text):

Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), commonly known as Rumi, was a Sufi mystic, poet and founder of the Islamic Brotherhood known as the Mevlevi Order.

No, doesn’t make any sense at all, like Rumi says, but I want to go to the place he talks about that’s beyond what we see and what’s going on in the world. We keep going around in circles, generations after generations and getting nowhere. It’s the definition of insanity: where you keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But I think to break out and go beyond, we have to be willing to look past the world and take another path.

I know I’m bouncing all around here and not making much sense. But stick with me. It’ll begin to get clearer. There are miracles yet to be revealed beyond our wildest imaginations, if we would change our focus and not listen to what’s in the world (products), but instead hook up with our inner sonar. Move forward exploring and discovering with a vibrational inner guide, one that prompts, nudges to look here, check this out. It’s what’s been happening to me lately. Maybe I’m beginning to think differently.

Look at this post. I have no idea what I’m doing but the words keep coming. What is that all about? I just had a thought for a subject, “What If?”, and nothing else. Even in the featured photo, I had no idea. What can you use as a photo for “what if”? Then, I was nudged to look in Google photos and saw a photo that grabbed my attention, but not exactly, then thought maybe I could create something in Gemini AI (new to me too), now that I have an idea for what I’m looking for and can give a description of what to create. And voilà, that’s the photo above.

I know these small examples don’t compare to the seriousness of what’s needed in the world today, but it’s a start in a new direction and even, in some cases, they’re supernatural. It shows up in different forms: maybe words come through and you put them to paper, maybe it’s an intuitive voice, or something visual drawn to your attention because you’re attracting it from the energy within you. I don’t know, but it’s not a fluke. It’s real. We have to learn how to get quiet and tune in in spite of all the noise and chatter going on around us. Just by asking yourself a simple, “What If?”, can get you started. Consider the possibilities?

Something like this in a short poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), English poet and essayist:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic movement in England.

Can you imagine that? Do you think it’s possible? I do, but it doesn’t happen in the traditional way of thinking. Stay with me, please.

Years ago, one summer evening, everyone was in bed and I was up late, meditating, and there was a full moon in the sky. I was sitting on the floor in the dark looking outside the open, sliding screen door at how pretty the white puffy clouds were in the sky, illuminated by the bright, full moon.

There was one particular white, puffy round cloud that I paid close attention to. And, as I kept watching, it moved closer to me and dropped lower in the sky ever so subtly and gently. It seemed just above the treetops, and it was getting closer and closer to me. It seemed bigger and bigger, as it moved and looked as if it was coming right at me, like I was attracting it. It scared me and was eerie and mesmerizing all at the same time.

It kept coming, as if it would float just above the house. I had never seen anything like that before and I can still remember the awesome feeling of it to this day. That’s how powerful and miraculous possibilities are, What If’s, and yes being open to looking at something different can make things happen—even change—just like that.

There is a quote I treasure and used as a mission statement for a talking stick circle I was a moderator for over 25 years ago. It’s by Ram Dass in his book, “Still Here” and it says:

“When there is true surrender and service between people, the roles of helper and helped, and the boundaries between those in power and those who are powerless, begin to dissolve.”
Ram dass – “Still here”

I’ve tried over the years to really learn what true surrender is. That seems to be the key word (true), and surrender is not something you submit to or forfeit. It’s internal in this context, and I’m learning it’s when you decide not to be in charge and work in harmony with the inner force within you, and that is true surrender. When that happens and you get out of the way, you bring it out into the world, then all the rest of this quote follows – service, roles, boundaries – and they start dissolving and you witness it.

Some shifts and changes started happening to me in January of the New Year 2026 and before. I haven’t mentioned it because it’s still a work in progress. Here we are more than halfway through this year and through my own personal experiences of inner guidance, I’ve witnessed some gradual, and pretty powerful miraculous events in my life.

That’s how I can tell you that this is real. I’ve been living it. Some highs and some lows, but that’s how you learn and grow. I’ve been working on a 40-day/40-night journaling project that I was prompted to start back in December 2025. It’s in the editing stages now of some 107+ typed pages of those daily journaling notes of 40 days. I don’t know where it’s going or what I will do with it when I’m finished. I’m just following the inner lead to do this project.

I believe there are still things we can do in the crises we’re living in today, and there’s something unique in you that’s just waiting to come forth: gifts and talents maybe you never thought you had that you could use and apply in a different way. And, if we ask, get quiet and be still, the message will come, that vibrational inner guidance. You may not see it right away and may take a while before it shows up, as it has its own timing. But, when it does it’s up to you and me to see what we can do with it.

I hope this post will stir something in you, even if it’s to wonder and consider the possibilities – What If’s.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

A New Year 2025

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Pat

Here we are at the beginning of another New Year. I wish you love and peace around the world. May we be kind to one another and the offer of hope far and wide.

God bless you.

Here is Kenny G – Auld Lang Sune (Millennium Mix 2010)

Pat at the ‘ol Kitchen Table

Goodbye 2022

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Pat

Earth space universe globe Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com (https://www.pexels.com/photo/earth-space-universe-globe-41953/)

So, here we are, on our trip around the sun, near the end of another year on this glorious blue ball we call earth. This time each year we reflect on the past 12 months, while also looking to the new year with hope and expectations. Just like every day, we get to start over again, fresh, each year trying to get it right.

I’m imagining, like you, we’ve all had our share of ups and downs in 2022. Some more than others. But, as I move along in these golden years, I’m reminded to look at them differently and take on a different perspective. I’ve learned to ebb and flow more freely these days through whatever unfolds. I can’t say it’s easy, but I feel grace in it. Grace that seems to match however great the need. I’ve read a few times that with God there is no order of difficulty.

“Bring your mind inside your heart and the world will not trouble you.” ~~ Mooji

Throughout the year, I’ve seen neighbors challenged with cancer, friends dealing with death, family at crossroads with life choices. I’ve been there and I’m trying to be there for them while the world appears to be unstable in these times. But it’s not that it hasn’t happened before. When the next time comes around and similar events pop up, I think what I’ve learned is we get another chance to do it differently that hopefully will put us on the right path for how this life works.

Something else I’ve learned is not to automatically react to life situations but to pause to notice what I’m feeling in the moment. If I pause long enough, instead of reacting, maybe another choice will present itself. Amazing, how that happens to work out more often. And I’ve also discovered that if health issues show up, I can look to the inside for answers as well as work with my resources on the outside.

From Rainier Maria Rilke in “Letters to a Young Poet”:
"I want to beg you be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves. The point is to live everything. Live the questions and now perhaps you will find them. Perhaps you will then gradually without noticing it live along some distant day into the answer.”

Life is beautiful in all its many shapes and forms. You can’t get it wrong. Even the lowest parts are gifts that put us in touch with what’s important and force us to look for something beyond our reality. Laugh, cry, get mad – but feel and embrace all of it, instead of react, and you’ll find it will take you to another place. Be kind to yourself in that place and you’ll remember who you are. Then, you will begin to know your path.

We’re just passengers on this living blue vessel, as it keeps floating on course no matter what is happening — steadily ticking along. We will be at the end of our journey before we know it and events and challenges can help us make changes that really count. It’s a beautiful life and it’s a beautiful journey.

Happy New Year, my friends, and God bless you on your next journey around the sun.

Pat from the ‘ol kitchen table

To Everything There Is A Season

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Pat

Merry Christmas everyone and wish for you a loving and happy New Year in 2022! I hope you have been well this year and, in spite of perhaps some ups and downs, life has been good to you. Here we are and to everything there is a season and this is the time to celebrate life and each other.

It has taken me all year to write, and I wanted to connect with you before the year ends. For me, it’s been a good year and I hope it has been the same for you given the challenges and obstacle courses we’ve had to maneuver. For me, it mostly has been a year of reorientation to regroup from 2020, the pandemic and the world in general.

I’ve found myself more in observation mode wondering where my place is in it all and I haven’t, until lately, found the words to write. There has been a feeling of ebbs and flows each day, as they unfold, not only in my personal life but in the lives of those around me and beyond. I have sensed a shift, though subtle, and notice the changes in me and my life as I practice love and being in the present moment.

How do I put into words what is going on in my life and throughout 2021? And how can that mean anything to you? I won’t attempt to catch you up in it all in this one post. But, in the past year-plus, we’ve had babies born in our family (our first great-grandson) and 2 great-nephews born to our niece and niece’s daughter – babies, such a fresh addition to life, joy of innocence and hope for the future.

We’ve also had loved ones and distant friends die while others are challenged with health issues. Life keeps nudging us along on this ride and we’re high one moment and then it gets messy the next. All the while, I feel we’re not alone.

But then, what better time than at Christmas is there to reflect and feel the spirit of love. The season gives us that opportunity to pause in our busy lives and take time to write a card or call a friend. It draws us closer in attempts to celebrate longtime traditions, though different, that still have meaning for connection when we haven’t had the time nor felt the need any other time of the year.

There is a strong stirring of spirit this time of year and a holiness, if you can quiet your mind long enough to hear it. I believe this time of year people want and try to be kinder in the midst of annoyances, cancellations and Covid restrictions. The expectations we put on each other are high but so is the spirit of this season to help us remember what is important. Just pull yourself away from the party or TV show and step outside one of these evenings and look up in the sky. Breathe in all the awesomeness and beauty that’s always there waiting for us to notice.

God bless you – everyone. I’m still here and wish you love and joy this beautiful Christmas season and a New Year full of new adventures and surprises.