Heart and Soul

Photo Credit:  godidwlr at morgueFile.com

For the last month or so, I’ve been thinking about Barbie’s hair.  Daily.  Weird?  Yes, I agree.  But, please let me explain.  My six-year-old daughter received a Hair Stylin’ Barbie Head as a gift for her birthday.  She loves practicing pony tails, pig tails, and braids on Barbie and has all sorts of hair clips and bows for her.

It’s fun to see both of my girls styling Barb’s hair (that’s what I call her…).  I always wanted one of those styling heads growing up, but I just settled for fixing my Mom’s hair all crazy.  (Thanks, Mom – smooch!)  Anyhow, the Barbie head was a little unstable on its own, so we needed a sturdy base to attach it to…you know, Barb gets tangles and needs some extra attention (and hair yanking) every once in awhile.  So, my daughter thought a perfect spot would be to tape it down to the counter in our bathroom. 

So, this is why I’ve been thinking of Barbie’s hair…daily.  Barb greets me with her always perky smile and random hair-dos…every morning.  She’s never in a bad mood.  Never tired or grumpy.  Never judgmental.  Always happy, that girl. 

My husband asked me how long Barb would remain a permanent fixture in our bathroom.  I didn’t have an answer for him, because honestly, sometimes I like to surprise the girls and fix Barb’s hair.  I love to see their giddy smiles when I do!  So, quite frankly, I’m getting used to Barb.  The head did give me a scare once or twice in the beginning when it was dark and I forgot about her being there.  But, we’re past all that now…thankfully.  (hee hee)

However, it does make me ponder about the things that influence us and how what we see everyday subconsciously hangs around in our minds.  I don’t think I ever gave much thought to Barbie’s hair…until now…until I was reminded of her every single day.

Reminders can be a good thing.  Some of us have notes, Bible verses, or inspirational quotes stuck to our bathroom mirror and other places that we regularly look – maybe on a desk, as our screen saver, or by our night stand.  I think it’s a great idea.

I’m attracted to reminders that bring comfort to body, mind, and spirit.  I am passionately drawn to things that inspire me.  Most of my Pinterest pins are those of inspiration.  I’ll share a few of the recent ones:

“Until you are happy with who you are, you will never be happy with what you have.”  (Zig Ziglar)

“Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction.  Break the habit.  Talk about your joys.”  (Rita Schiano)

“Until God opens the next door, praise Him in the hallway.”

“All you need is less.”

“Have you prayed about it as much as you’ve talked about it?”

“Sometimes God calms the storm.  Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.”

“Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.”

“At the end of the day, the only questions I will ask myself are – ‘Did I love enough?  Did I laugh enough?  Did I make a difference?’”

Comfortable thoughts.  In addition to thoughts, there are also three comfy shirts I wear that my son just loves.  I’ve had the shirts forever and I usually find myself wearing them around the house.  I think he loves them because they are ultra-soft to hug (since the material is about three washes away from disappearing entirely) as well as because when I wear them, it is usually a time of carefree timelessness for our family (thank you, Matthew Kelly for that awesome term) and he loves that.

There are a few other quotes that I’ve written down as personal reminders: 

“Admitting our weaknesses is ironically a great source of strength.” 

“Children don’t always listen to what we have to say, but they can imitate us just perfectly.” 

“When parenting, respect is not the same as popularity.”  (Matthew Kelly)

Since the Barbie thing, I’ve realized how important it is to surround myself with the right reminders…the tiny reminders that bring me hope, comfort, joy, faith, peace, and love amidst the comings and goings of my day.  One of my very favorite paintings is the raw beauty found in Morgan Weistling’s portrait called, “Kissing the face of God.”   Take a few moments to read the short description under the painting in this link.  You won’t be disappointed.  I have a Christmas card on my kitchen counter with this picture and I find daily inspiration when I glance at it.  I always smile.  Always.  Motherly love at its greatest. 

I also enjoy the Christmas photo cards scattered all over my refrigerator.  I keep them there the whole year.  How often do we make a trip to the fridge?  Pretty often if you live in the Kallus household.  So, I have an opportunity to think about my friends and family and the pictures remind me to say a little prayer for them each time we open that door.

I received another reminder of something very important.  Oddly enough, the reminder was found in some black spray paint.  Our parish priest, Father Gabriel Bentil, showed us his recent new-to-you car purchase.  It was a small black Toyota car (can’t remember the model, but that’s not important…).   He said that there were several scratches on the hood that he wanted to cover-up after he bought it.  So, he did.  Himself.  With black spray paint.  Matte finish.  Oopsie.

He went on to explain that it’s not important what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside. (He’s right on so many levels…a Toyota engine probably will last him through thousands more miles…and a loving heart will last much longer than our looks).  A great reminder of the importance of heart and soul.  And, that was also the take home message in a recent homily of his…a simple prayer to say each day…”Lord, help me to be more loving.”  Perfect.

How many of us watched the Super Bowl?  For the commercials?  (slowly raises hand…)  Which commercials were full of heart and soul?  The ones that immediately come to mind are Dodge Ram, Budweiser, and Jeep.  So heart-tugging, weren’t they? 

The 1978 speech that Paul Harvey made at the National FFA Convention, coupled with those magnificent photos, grabbed countless hearts on Sunday evening (and not just the farmers’ hearts either…).  Marrying into a family of farmers and knowing many more, it truly struck a chord that hit me at my very core.  “So God made farmers”…I love it…thank you, Dodge Ram, for that reminder.

The fashion dads at Doritos along with the speedy Skechers fella definitely made me smile, but which commercials won’t soon be forgotten?  The ones that touched our heart and soul.  Period.  That’s what we remember.  Those are the reminders that stick.

This week, I hope to strategically place the right reminders around myself.  Will you join me?  As for Barbie, I guess she can stay for awhile…well, as long as she keeps smiling and maintains a positive outlook regardless of her “do of the day!”  Dig down deep, Barb…dig down deep.