I am recovering from a urinary tract infection. While I was reading articles deciding how I wanted to treat the infection, I found several referring to the emotional state of being "pissed off" and how it may be related to the infection. At first I thought I really wasn't angry about anything and moved on to other articles.

But, this morning, all of the anger has surfaced and I wonder which piece or pieces may have contributed to the infection...

This post is really a warning to others to NOT purchase an American Water Heater. You have to look close because the one we purchased a year ago has a Whirlpool label on it. And, if you look in the owners manual everything says Whirlpool. But when you start working on a warranty issue, you will quickly discover you are speaking to "American Water Heater" and their India-based telephone call center.

In June of last year, my boss let me know they would be downsizing my job. It meant fewer hours at less pay. With that conversation, I joined the millions looking for employment. In the beginning, I was positive I would get a job quickly. I have a solid background and a good resume. Ten months later, it's not always so easy to maintain a positive attitude.

We watched the movie,Talk to Me, last evening about radio and television personality, Petey Greene. I was taken back watching the scenes of what occurred when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. I would have been almost ten years old at the time and I don't remember anything about the shooting. I have very clear memories of President Kennedy's funeral five years earlier, so I know it wasn't a matter of not remembering something at that age. It made me wonder what the worst form of bigotry is - looking down on someone or simply pretending they don't exist.

In meditation this morning, I prayed for guidance for my life. The question came, "What do you really want? What do you want guidance for" I had to stop and ponder because I didn't have specific answers. I do know I seem to find glimpses of the way forward in my life and then I get distracted. So the real question is what am I passionate about and what do I want to create in my life?

My entire life has been colored by a need for perfection. For years, I believed I could somehow please everyone. Slowly, I discovered that wasn't possible. I started living more from my heart and less from the need to be perfect and have my life look perfect. There is an eerie connection between perfection and control. I think Bree on Desperate Housewives exemplifies this. In order to have everything perfect, we must exert control over every aspect of our lives.

How much money do we, as a nation, spend on lawn maintenance, trying to rid ourselves of weeds. Dandelions, clover, and other small weeds creep across the lawn no matter how many chemicals we spray on and bindweed and other weeds crawl up fences, hedges and beyond. What if they were trying to speak to us? What if their persistance comes from a message of healing?