Chinese Lanterns, celebrations, happiness, they are such a joyful plant, I have the little lanterns at the entrance to my home, and in the house. I know fall is not far when they begin to show up, their happy colour peeking out from the green leaves. There is a lot of unhappiness in the world these days – share a smile, spread happiness – be open to listening – the only constant in life is change.
Think “now is the time” Instead of “it’s no use now” don’t give up by thinking it’s too late. Tell yourself that there is more that can be done.
Perfect Liberty 2022.7
Always and forever
Is Chinese lantern plant edible?
The fruits are edible and suprisingly, are higher in vitamin C than lemons. Care should be taken though, as all other parts of the plant are poisonous. The plant also has a long history of medicinal uses.
Don’t let circumstances sway your decision. It does not help to overthink things. Sometimes we just need to make up our minds and move forward.
Perfect Liberty 2022.6
Be in the present – Belong …. practice mindfulness…
“Love is not something we give or get; it is something we nurture and grow.. a connection that can be cultivated between two people only if it exists within each one of them.
Every morning, as you all know .. I am out in the woods having my time with the birds/wildlife at one of the many NCC green spaces. There are two that I go to on a regular basis, where I feed during the winter season… with the big storm we had, everyone has had to adjust. (including the animals) The chipmunks are busy gathering. We’ve had a few mornings now where the nip in the air is refreshing. The chipmunks and squirrels are battling it out with the blue jays for the nuts and peanuts in a shell that get distributed when I do my morning round. These little critters can pack a lot of peanuts in their cheeks making their cuteness even more adorable.
Take action without thinking too hard. No matter how hard you try to foresee the future, you really don’t know how things will turn out.. Do your best and see how it plays out.
Num has just returned from a trip home to Thailand, he shared some amazing pictures which over time you will get to see some of my favourites .. but please indulge yourself, visit his Instagram to see some of the amazing shots he got while there. the next picture of his, was taken during one of his early morning strolls.
Thailand – good morning – by NumOttawa
Your smile is what’s needed. a smile invites happiness and cheer and is essential to energize others as well as yourself.
This is where I spend a few minutes each day weeding… pulling out the growth in that one area .. slowly the small birds, the nuthatch, chickadees .. are coming to see if some offerings have been put down, The Doves love cleaning up the “floor”… the blue jays are back watching for me to arrive… have even caught sight of black birds .. the wild turkeys are of course still around, they had several months of little to no traffic.. now the cars and humans are returning.
Let’s have a humble mind. Once you think, “that’s good enough,” you become blind to the opportunities to be more creative.
It is not fun to be stuck in one place. Instead of being captured by what’s in front of you, strive to broaden your horizons.
Perfect Liberty 2022.28
I picked up a magazine the other day to put in the bag i was putting together for the charity shop, I saw that I had a book mark on a page. ID your strengths… I must have been going to revisit the page. I had had good intentions.. date of the little magazine was 2021, January.
My eyes lingered on the one block on the page of strength, the issues was January so it is when everyone is looking at challenges we faced in the previous year and what lessons had we learned etc. It is an interesting list. I’ll share it with you.
Appreciation of beauty and excellence ……………. Kindness …………………. Leadership …………
Bravery ……… Love……….. creativity ……………… love of learning …….. curiosity ……… perseverance ………..
To cope with current problems, it helps to reflect on past successes .. and we are asked to look at what inner resources helped us to do this. Apparently psychologists call our “superpowers” signature strengths. is that a cape billowing behind you? Mine is tattered and torn in places, colours are faded,, but I won’t be trading it in soon…. I earned every wrinkle and stain… you?
Praying before taking action changes the outcome. Have clear wishes and do your best. Then something new will open up for you.
Perfect Liberty 2022.27
Enjoy the process and savor it. the feeling you have when you’ve seen something through to the end is awesome, but the true joy lies in the actual execution of the plan.
Sometimes prayers are answered in a way that you don’t expect. Life has been busy, so busy that until it took its toll on me and I simply had no choice but to stop and unwind… I had no idea how brain fogged I was getting. We get busy, and we get into a routine of “doing” .. it is not until a friend mentions to you that you are always on the go. A friend actually was telling me that her friends were always telling her she was always traveling, and she didn’t necessarily see it that way, she saw herself as a stay at home person.
hmmmm. a little “bell” went off in my head. I was one of her friends who IF I thought of it, would think she did travel a lot. So when another friend said to me, “you are always on the go” I actually heard him, it wasn’t just words coming at me from across a room.
So… when a friend send me a link to pictures taken while he and his wife were on a travel vacation, I innocently opened up the files and WOW… OMG… this picture caught my attention, it literally screamed at me… if I was to visualize my inner thoughts and what was or has been going on in my gray matter, this picture said it all. Why? I don’t know.. it just drew me in, it captured my attention.
From my head to my toes, this picture could be an abstract picture of my emotions – all consuming yet not tangible. My life is so full in some ways, so content, so rich, so vibrant, yet… there is a part of me that seems to be simmering waiting to erupt.
Nick and Mel traveled through some very majestic territory.. they were exploring Yellowstone National Park… Some of Nick’s pictures were just too much to take in, I think it was the impression of the vast geography that they were experiencing, it was something that would be so totally mind blowing first hand. Thank you Nick for sharing, you gave me something that opened doors to possibilities.. more for me to think about .. LOL as always your sharing brings happiness and a smile
Make Today a memorable day. Let’s try to put our whole heart into whatever we say or do. as our unique signature.
Perfect Liberty 2022.26
Why I am so pulled in by this photo.. I have many thoughts on that… one of the PL Precepts is
When you get stuck – take a step back. when you are able to see things objectively, your viewpoint will change and you will receive new wisdom
Perfect Liberty 2022.23
Watching the birds. Yesterday as usual I spent time in the woodlands, just being there, listening to the birds, and taking in the silence. In the countryside, you catch a glimpse of the birds, but you don’t get to see them, just being themselves. A glimpse here and there, they might fly past or be perched on a wire or branch in a tree – but they are not up close and personal.
Since I installed a bird feeder station outside my living room window.. I have seen the birds daily and often. I get to see the mother bird feeding her youngster.. while it perches on a branch beside her, she dips into the feeder, than leans over and feeds it ..its mouth open waiting.. wings fluttering to balance. She is teaching it where to get the seed and how to balance on the feeder. I watched fascinated because behind on other branches patiently waiting for her to tend to her young, two adolescent starlings were waiting to be not at the feeder she was at but on the one the little one was balancing on. Not far from them was a couple more mature Starlings … they too waited for the mother to finish feeding and leave before they beelined it to the feeder they wanted, pushing and being aggressive.
The bigger birds push each other, shove and peck when they want something … yet when Mother bird was feeding her young one, they waited. The mother and baby were sparrows, so different and certainly not of the size of the Starlings.
I’ve noticed Blue Jays now come calling, as well as woodpeckers, cardinals and even pigeons. Yes, the squirrels come calling too. It will be most interesting to see, as the weather changes, who the visitors will be. As time goes on, I will also be able to see more of how the birds are in the community that has begun to take shape in my front yard. the Saskatoon Berry , the Cherry Tree and evergreens are always resting places for the birds.
TAOIST Life is Art (Perfect Liberty precept #1)
contact info.- via blogs
--- there are two energies, Yin and Yang = ONE
---to have balance we must live each moment
of our lives.. with Makoto (sincerity)
The only constant in life is change. I am grounded in the reality of Living.
This is true, in all worlds. RL or virtual. I am me and only me.