We’re watching lightening fritz through the sky and hammer the hills around us. This is Southern California and a lightening storm is a novel sight.
Eight of us Art Guild Girls are sitting outside on a stone terrace, next to a undulating golf course, having lunch. The sky may be full of danger but as I am soon to find, there is more emotional danger at the table.
We ‘girls’ range in age from 40 to 80 plus, years old. We are the President of the Guild, on down through the ranks to The Sunshine Girl, which is me.
We do all the work that keeps the art meetings happening in town, we bring the demo artists that perform for all the local artists once a month, we bring in money, award scholarships to High School kids, keep the Art Library going, put on art shows and etc. We deserve a lunch at the end of the fiscal year and I have finally convinced my Guild friends that we do indeed need one.
The ladies ask me to order the wine. I order a bottle of red shiraz named ‘Layer Cake.’ How can one not order something with a name like that? And, I order a nice chardonnay.
We’re having a fun time. Oh sure, one lady has to tell us a story about a cat that she took on a trip that kept disappearing and we have to follow that darn cat through almost every state in the union. I keep saying, ‘So did it all work out OK?’ and she keeps saying, ‘I’m not through with the story yet,’ and everyone rolls their eyes and takes another lick of ‘Layer Cake.’
We’re eating and drinking and laughing and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, this lunch was such a good idea. We are all so happy together.’ Suddenly, ‘Ardath’ who is lost in her 70′s somewhere, looks at me and says says in her high-pitched wavey voice, “Oh Venus..you have such a won-der-ful personality! You have a fab-u-lous per-son-ality!”
I’m grinning and thanking her, “Thank you Ardath, that’s so sweet, thank you..” when she adds loudly, ‘But, that’s all you’ve got!”
“Whaat?”
“Are you always this way?” she asks.
“Whaaat?”
Then, Ardath leans across the table and looks at me intently, as she shouts, “Are you Bi-po-lar?!”
“Whaaat?!”
My friend Loretta with the short dark hair, the woman who got hit by a truck across the street from The Gallery a few years back and lost her short term memory and her taste buds, verbally races to my defense.
“I’ve known Venus since she was a kid and she’s always this way! And, she’s not bi-polar!”
My Art Friends are all looking at the three of us and snickering.
I am shocked. What the ‘ell does Ardath mean? That she thinks because I laugh and cut up and have so much fun, that I must be shallow?
I think we need chocolate layer cake. Chocolate cake can cure anything. All the ladies think this is a fine idea and we order several plates of chocolate cake with fudge frosting that we can share.
They ask me to cut the cake pieces up and put it on all the plates that are being shoved at me.
It’s a good, gooey, runny cake and I slurp mine up and temporarily forget that I may be shallow or bi-polar and that I have a wonderful personality but nothing else!!
Geez. What a party.
Later, when I get home, I notice that I have chocolate smeared on the inside of my jeans from above my inner knee almost to the ankle.
How the ‘ell did that happen?
The next day I am still smarting from having a ‘Terrific Personality but nothing else” and I chew on the idea for a few more days.
Then, the answer comes to me. Many years ago, when I was in Montreal, a French speaking woman read my tea leaves. I was having some trouble deciding what to do with my life and I asked her, “Which of my talents is my best talent? Is it writing, or art, or building businesses, or making money?”
The woman stared intently into the cup, then looked up at me and said, “It’s none of those.”
She leaned closer to me.
“You have a terrific personality. You are your best talent.”
At the time, I thought, ‘What does that mean? What the heck can I do with that? ‘
She very kindly didn’t add that I had nothing else, but on reflection, I think that the tea leaf reader and Ardath were on to something.
Maybe it’s what we all need to hear. Just be yourself. Whatever that may be. Being yourself and being true to yourself may indeed be the best talent you’ve got. Your real and truest self can override shallowness, perhaps, and bi-polarity and anything else you’ve got that may not seem so great. How can you not love a person who loves and lives gaily and gladly with their own nature, whatever that may be?
Think about it.
I know some really odd people and even boring ones but by the very way they live their real selves truly, by being courageous and showing what they are and aren’t, they become unique, unusual and fascinating people.
So, here’s a drink of Layer Cake red Shiarz and a chunk of sloppy chocolate cake to all of us who have ‘wonderful personalities but nothing else’ except the courage to live our lives according to our real natures.
Hip Hip Hurray to us!
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MY MOTHER IS GOING ON FACE BOOK
(She doesn’t know it, yet. I have to run over and tell her…and teach her what to do. She tells me she gets lonely and Summer and I think it will be wonderful for her to have you all as Face Book friends. At almost 87 she is looking for a man, ‘with all his parts working’ so if you have one available, let us know! You will find Mom, eventually, under Margaret McWhorter. I will let you know when Summer gets Mom’s page put up. Won’t this be cool!
*PLEASE FIND ME ON FACE BOOK under Venus Andrecht..and my daughter is under Summer McStravick
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TELE-CLASS WITH VENUS AND SUMMER is June 28th, 2009 See www.flowdreaming.com I’ll be working on a wish especially for you and Summer takes you into a powerful flow dream
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SUMMER AND I WILL BE DOING READINGS TOGETHER ON MY ‘DEAR VENUS SHOW’ JULY 7TH, 2009
www.contacttalkradio.com My show is every Tuesday live at 1PM Pac/4PM eastern FREE ARCHIVES. iTunes, podcasts Always FREE READINGS on air.
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*WINNER OF THE FREE 15 MINUTE PHONE SESSION (For my Rates and info about the private sessions please see www.godisalwayshappy.com Home Page under ‘Rates.’
Winner: Gabriella Berger
Offer valid through June 15 th, 2009 After that null and void
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Tags: art, bipolar, cake, chocolate, friends, guild, lightening, lunch, natural, nature, party, personality, shallow, wine
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You know Venus, I have always adored people with bubbly personalities and I have heard feedback from others saying things like the bubbly person is flaky etc. I never agreed and just thought they were on a different vibration and simply couldn’t relate. I hope you take comfort in knowing that there are many of us out here who appreciate you the way you are, embrace you and wouldn’t change a thing!
Hello Venus.
I have been hit by the same lightening bolt. LOL Many times I have been “accused” of being too friendly…too happy…so funny that I had to be fake or shallow.
I’d keep that quality over any other strength that I have.
Love!
Dana
Hey Venus,
There are already two Margaret McWhorter’s on Facebook. How are we going to know who’s who?
I love your personality and you have one of the most pleasant laughs I have ever heard.
Keep It Up! The world needs all the joy and laughter it can get!
Love you,
Rebecca
Hiya Venus,
We have the Layer Cake Shiraz in Costco’s, in the Portland, Oregon area!
I can relate the to the “drive by fudging”. Our family has had a similar incident. More than 1 victim. On my stepson’s socks, inside his shoe, one the side of his shorts, my husband’s rear end (ha ha, good luck walking out with that), his front pocket and arm pit !?!?
You have a wonderful charm chica! and you have experienced more life and happiness, that people only read about.
Another fan possessing a tarnished reputation
Michele
VENUS HERE: Thanks for letting me know about the two margaret mcwhorter’s on face book. That is uncanny. We will have to use MARGARET L MCWHORTER…but i bet she is the only 87 year old Margaret McWhorter!
x0 venus
Oh, Venus. I so can relate. I grew up the friendly daughter. My family see me as the flake and black sheep, so I, of course, did too. Until all my Virgo was hit by Saturn, then I realized I just see things on a quantum level and they are still in their linear world, poor things. We’ll just sit back here and wait for them to catch up, laughing all the way. Here’s to us! The seers.
You mean the world to me Venus, and you have way way more than personality in my opinion. You are my teacher, when the student is ready the teacher is found, (or how ever that go’s.)
I just love and adore you Venus and thank you for all the wonderful things you do in this Universe:)
Love Ya,
Rebecca
I was once accused of being “fake”! “No one can be *that* cheerful ALL the time!!!! Well, if that’s crazy – I WANT me some of that!!! I LOVE the way you & Summer are together AND each of you individually – I ALWAYS get a wonderful lift when I listen to either one of you and hope you don’t change a THING!! Those people that have problems with you is not YOUR problem – it’s their’s. Remember what Dr. Wayne Dyer says “What other people think of you is none of your business”! And the Four Agreements: Don’t take *anything* personally! I love you and hundreds of thousands of your listeners and followers love you too – that outweighs any twits out there that don’t “get” you!!
Lightening indeed! You’re right that that is a very important, wonderful lesson for us to learn (I will read it again and take it to heart–our “selves” are all we really need, so true)… however… I am still a little vexed at “Ardath”! She sounds drunk and jealous to me. Maybe she’s the bi-polar one. Like you said, there’s nothing wrong with being a boring person if you own up to it; it’s these folks who heap sugar upon themselves to sweeten things up and just end up with a bunch of bugs and cavities instead.
Venus, you’re one of the deepest people I’ve ever known in my life. I’ve known a lot of gals (mostly in the 15-30 age range), and this may sound awful to say, but none of them have been anywhere near as deep or multifaceted as you.
First off, thank God it was not literal lighting you got hit by. Phew! At least we know your hair did not come out half white and you did not have smoke coming out of your ears. OK, so I watched too many cartoons as a kid and I remember them all
Secondly, even if you “only” had a nice personality, that alone would be a great quality. But as it is, you’re also very talented, you have gifts nobody else has and you use them for good, you you care about others (human, spirit and four legged, feathered etc), you are an accomplished published author many times over, you are a very successful business woman and the list goes on. Not only are you funny, you’re also smart and true to yourself. You’re close to your family which is something not everyone can do. You talk to strangers on the air, talk about not being afraid of public speaking! Is this lady kidding?!! I think she may not have known how to express herself and it came out all wrong. I can only dream of doing half the things you do, accomplishing even a little bit of what you’ve accomplished and having the courage to be myself instead of letting those around me threaten me. You’re a breath of fresh air and when I read you’re the Sunshine girl, I thought yup, I thought of that about you myself. It describes you perfectly. If I had the money, I’d talk to you all the time, I’d love for you to mentor me, you’re someone I admire and have a lot of respect for. You’re wise, you don’t hold a grudge (I believe that is so smart), you keep focused on who you are instead of focusing anything but positivity, and you’re not judgemental. You put people at ease. If we had more people like you, there would be peace and positive productivity in the world.
All the best, stay who you are, because you’re beautiful in every single way.
Elizabeth and Monkey (I might end up being known as the crazy cat lady who signs her whiskered companion in, but there is another Elizabeth lady on the board and I’d like to let people know she’s not responsible for the wacky comments I make sometimes, lol; besides, Purr-Purr is always next to me when I write so I might be channeling him in my comments, he he)
Sounds like Ardath doesn’t know you very well. Let’s not forget all of our good qualities – “we are spiritual beings having a human experience”, another Dr. Dyer quote I believe.
P.S. Thank you for including health tips in your radio show.
Hi Venus,
Don’t change! Not that you would. You are wonderful as you are. I’m willing to guess that your friend’s health and well being could benefit from being more joyful and finding more humor in life. And some people just don’t get it, which is sad. But I’ve got to tell you, the older I get, the more I just want to be around the people who DO understand that when we laugh at life and ourselves whenever we can, it’s a life more worth living…to me anyway! So too bad you don’t live closer, and sounds like this blog group would make a great celebration group too!
Cheers!
Venus,
You KNOW God is always happy…you named your website after that fact.
So if God is always happy, why shouldn’t you be? Why shouldn’t we all be?
Actually, let’s turn that into a statement, an intention:
I am always happy
If somebody doesn’t like it, that’s THEIR choice AND it’s been real nice seeing them…. NEXT!
Don’t mind me, I’m just happy!