February is said to be heart month. Valentine’s day is the 14th. Will you remember to say Thank you! will you tell someone how much you appreciate them… as a friend, a family member, even a passing stranger? On the radio I heard an old time radio program.. where the husband forgot to get his wife a valentine and of course the whole show was about how he redeemed himself. It was a comedy, never-the-less… it is a shame that we have to put aside one day a year to tell a loved one/friend that we care and appreciate them.
WE are blessed in life with friends, people around us who care, maybe not in the way you would like them to care, but they do care…
Open up opportunities by being proactive
Opportunities don’t just come knocking on the door. Use your enthusiasm and energy to bring good fortune your way.
With the lunar new year not far off… I let my thoughts drift to another place and time… in my youth, I dreamed of being able to wander the grounds of a monastery high in the mountains. I knew I would feel at home .. looking out into the distance… hearing the soft chanting of the monks… the sweet smell of incense and sandalwood wafting through the air. I never made it to China but my Mom and sister did… . no their interests were not mine… but they did get to explore and bring home memories of a land that was very different from the world we knew. My time abroad was spent in Japan.. smiles with a soft stirring in my heart as I recall the cherry blossoms… and the rice fields as i wandered and took in life in Japan. I loved it there, but I missed hearing English and French, oui, je suis Canadianne …
We can’t always do all the things we want to… but we can explore and take in the world around us, every day there is something new to discover. We need only look around, and reach out, be open to try something new, something different, try something you have never done before. It’s a thought, think about it.
Once upon a time .. we used an expression, “arm chair traveler” have you heard it? do you know it’s meaning? Now I am an “internet buff” I use different platforms to explore my interests. In person, travel to far distant places is no longer a possibility for me, I’m just not interested in airports, long lines, customs, politics.. I simply want to enjoy life and the pleasures available to me. I am thankful for the experiences I have had, and the many wonderful people I’ve met along the way…. now I make no apologies for making time for ME… my interests, my joy at being able to explore places via the creative efforts of others.. I am learning and appreciating the talent and skills of creative minds that impact my world in a positive way.
I discovered I like being happy. I like sharing that happiness… and if it isn’t what others want who are in my space.. I move on. simply said. life is to be enjoyed.
Always express yourself for the happiness of others as well as yourself.
The happiness of those around you can lead to your own happiness. Cultivate a heart to always wish for the happiness of others.
Bitter cold yes… wind chill had it between -38 and -35 depending on who you were listening to on the radio. Did I care.. no… the air was frigid, Time stood still. The birds came to eat, but they were not going to hang around…. I went back to the car to warm my hands before going back to do the suet. I don’t wear gloves, it makes it too awkward to open the suet cages. I brought some lettuce leaves and I had some soya sprouts left over.. I took them further into the bush, closer to a big fallen tree… and half buried it so that rabbit could still find it… I included an offering of rabbit pellet food…. being he/she is wild they may not be interested in the pellets.. but I left them anyway.
When it is as cold as it was, there is a crispness underfoot when you walk over the snow… I could feel the icy fingers of the wind as it found a way to my bare arms under my sweater sleeves. I didn’t have to explain that I wouldn’t be lingering… After putting out the food, and giving the jays extra peanuts… I got back into my car to warm up. I knew I would be stopping to capture the pictures you see above.. the woodlands are so beautiful with the sculptured snow on the out stretched branches.
Winter is a beautiful time of the year, right now the Winterlude festival is on in the city. If you are near, and can make it to where the ice sculptures are… you are in for a treat. It is cold yes, but you can dress warmly, the ice castles and winter ice slides, the skating on the canal, all make for an winter adventure that is exciting and rewarding…, After the fun of exploring all that is being offered .. you can sit with a hot chocolate, or a beaver tail, and simply bask in the wonders of life.
LIFE IS FILLED WITH MOMENTS, SOMETIMES HAPPY AND AT TIMES INCONVENIENT. IT IS IMPORTANT TO FIRST ACCEPT EVERY SITUATION AS IT OCCURS AND TRY TO ACCEPT AND UNDERSTNA IT FOR WHAT IT IS.
Touring and exploring the countryside in Holland. The Dutch estate .. see below.
Let’s Pray for World Peace
The path to World peace will open up with each person’s prayer for peace.
PL2023
Oyashikiri
The Dutch estate – Estate with the renowned Utrecht villa and De Vecht teadome. Now it is the residence of journalist and writer Angelus van Engelen. Everyone is welcome to come and have a look, visit the villa or take a walk through the park and along the canal. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Earp/190/179/1184
It is not often I allow myself the luxury of picking these delicious delights up, but after last night I felt I deserved something special. If anyone knows what the country of origin is for these tasty morsels I would appreciate it if you could let me know. I came across them about a year or so ago, there was a package on sale at a local specialty food shop … I thought why not… I was feeling adventurous.. I was not prepared for just how much I would enjoy them. I suspect they are laden with calories.. so I don’t allow myself the luxury, especially when prices have gone up so much. I eat them cold right out of the packaging. (they are found in the fresh food deli section .)
What happened last night. Grief,, sorrow, delayed reaction to the loss of my precious Canaille.
Canaille was a Porti (Portuguese Water Dog) who stole my heart the moment I met her. She and I bonded like nothing I had ever experienced before. We went everywhere together, she was my constant companion, My husband graciously allowed her to sleep with us, he knew there was no parting us.
When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer with only a very limited time to live, I rushed home to get documents they needed at the hospital and get personal items he needed. When I got home, she was having a stroke… I rushed her to the vet… and… well… you know the rest… it was a devasting day for me, but I needed to move forward. I never had time to properly grieve for her… Then recently a friend sent me pictures he found on an old disk I had given him… the above picture was what he sent me… Its been 8 years but the blinding grief, hit me so suddenly it was like it happened yesterday. We can’t go back, life moves on… but …. the hurt, the sorrow, the stabbing reality of the loss …. has shaken me to the core.
Life is fleeting, please… don’t squander time with loved ones… cherish the moments you get to hold them, share time with them… when its gone, there is nothing left but the memory.
Today’s message..
Offer your services instead of expecting from others.
Take the initiative to do what you can to help others. Understand their needs and act swiftly.
PL2020.14
Although the tongue weighs very little, few people are able to hold it. (God’s little devotional book)
Good day everyone,… my tuning forks arrived.. missing from the picture is the rubber disc used to tap the forks on. (you can find info on Tuning Fork healing via. internet /or AI) I didn’t have time when they arrived to have a proper look, so it was bedtime before I took them out and had a look at what arrived. I sat back and played them all. Enjoying the white vibrations from the various forks,.. It was pleasant .. I look forward to really working with them… I mention this because… I slept this morning till mid morning.. I usually wake around 4, 5 a.m. Today it was almost 10:30 a.m. when I woke up !!! NO outing to the woodlands, or to feed the crows… I am usually on the road between 7 and 8 .. no later.
You can become more attentive with prayer
Live your life with a prayerful mind so that you can be more attentive and make the people around you that much happier.
So many time I see kindness, passers by moving aside when they see you are carrying a heavy bag of groceries, wait patiently while an elderly person is crossing a busy lane in a parking lot, or a mother with children is wanting to move the children along when they are blocking an aisle by being “children”. What I don’t see, is a nod of thanks.. or even a smile that the kindness happens/happened.
We are all living in a world that has become indifferent to the hurry up attitude, or demanding schedules that keep us constantly on the move. I know… life gets busy, life happens, and we all have deadlines or places we have to be. Many of us function at times on auto-pilot, it happens. May I take this opportunity to ask you… myself included in this reminder… say thank you more often, and smile, nod, recognize that we are not alone trying to maneuver in this hectic day to day of modern living. A smile can change someone’s day…. even if is for a moment.
Your enthusiasm, will pave the way
Your enthusiasm will fuel your efforts and creativity, and will spread to those around you, driving new developments.
PL2019.7
Smiles and laughter can be a balm on an “off” day.
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.