Tuesday
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. (PL2022.4)
Oyashikiri
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. (PL2022.4)
Oyashikiri


These were taken yesterday, it was balmy, mind you I was bundled up with a very long coat, and Bogs* (boots that are made for Canadian winters, keep the feet warm to -058 degrees.) .. and layered “to the nines”. To do the Bog on days when the winds are whipping over the landscape, can be very refreshing. I enjoyed my walk, there was no one else around, There is something to be said about sitting on a bench in the middle of a snow covered Bog. The birds were huddled in the woods fluffed up, keeping warm. The one squirrel I saw was nuzzled in against a tree in the elbow of another branch. He had no interest in leaving the sheltered nook for a peanut.
When I got to the part of the Bog that leads back to terra firma, the wooden boardwalk that crosses over water, was snow covered, the winds had picked up enough that the dried stalks from the water plants .. whispered and sang as the spirited winds ran through them. Beautiful and serene.
The walk provided me with time for quiet reflection, any sadness was carried away by the breeze. Its cool caress as it gently brushed my cheeks, wiped the silent tears. Nature embraced me with the comfort I needed.
Your smile is what is needed
A smile invites happiness and cheer and is essential to energize others as well as yourself.
PL2022.3.
Ottawa is in for another snow storm, hello. another one, yes! and, it will only be the appetizer, mid week it seems a bigger one will arrive. Keep the snow shoes and skiis ready!
Oyashikiri
Where there is a will, there is a way!
Have you ever realized that you knew someone for years, and yet, in reality you didn’t know them at all.. Even tho’ that person lived in the same house, ate meals with you, shared quality moments with you (which at the time, you had no idea that the moment would have a lasting impression)… The age difference and the dynamics in the “family” setting were such that this (in your world at the time) was just someone you had to interact with … Many years later, and only after decades of living your own life did the realization of just what part that person played in the many complex pieces of your psyche … did you have an A-HA! moment. Sad really, he of course is long gone, but the replay of the moments you shared with him, are still very fresh in your mind,
It is like standing on the edge of a cliff, after trudging through a field of snow and finding that just below you there is the Atlantic ocean pounding into the rocky shoreline below.. you had not seen in from the road, but you had heard it. Leaving the car, you trudged through knee high snow and over landscape uneven and sculpted with unknown shapes towards the sound… It was fun, you were young, the adventure was a natural high. The sound of the ocean’s relentless pounding a call you couldn’t resist.
But the sudden abrupt end of the hike stops you short,, the drop is too far down, however the view, the moment is breathtaking. One you know you will never forget.
These two past experiences have stayed with me, both etched into my memory cells. Why, I have no idea, but I realized recently that the sum total of Me are the many moments I’ve accumulated in my life time. We just don’t know or realize how each moment we live will affect us, or come back to mirror for us, something we are living NOW.
My father did his best to impress on me the importance of being in the present and paying attention to NOW. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but I certainly have grown to realize just how valuable that lesson was. I was asked the other day,” if something happens to you, and a decision has to be made about the care/treatment you would want, what do you want?” there was no hesitation on my part, keep me from pain and just let me go. I have been blessed with having lived a 10001 lifetimes and more … I’ve known, and lived love, heartbreak, loss, and now I know contentment.
The world has become a very negative and unfamiliar place, threats, counter threats, fighting, only in the quiet of the woodlands do I find an ambiance of peace/serenity
It is my prayer/hope for this new year that there will be more peace to be found for everyone.
Discover each person’s unique qualities
When we approach people with respect, we can understand them better and see their special qualities.
Oyashikiri
https://youtu.be/56ChPB0_aYM?si=MOFAOIg5C-neef9h
you cannot take back moments lived

Another month begins.
Be a messenger of Peace
Always think “for the sake of others and society” and express yourself for the happiness of all people.
Oyashikiri
PL2022.1


It is not the colour of the hair, or the clothes you wear, what is important is the quality of the time you share when in each other’s company.
Compromise and hesitation tend to make things more complicated. Compromising and holding back your true feelings only serves to make things even more complicated. Always be true to yourself.
Let’s have a humble mind. Once you think, “that’s good enough,” you become blind to the opportunities to be more creative. (PL2015.30,2022.30)
Oyashikiri
Actions speak louder than words.
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. (PL2022.28)
I spent time with a small fierce falcon yesterday. He/she and I had a staring contest, he could have been as curious as I was. My cell phone capture the bird enough so a friend could identify it. I am using a picture found on the internet.
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere . Bird of Prey it is fast and goes after song birds and shorebirds. Falco columbarius
Countdown. New Year is knocking. “Shinnen omedetou gozaimasu” (新年おめでとうございます) —– Gong Xi Fa Cai May wealth and prosperity flow into your life this year!
Oyashikiri
Listening to music, while the rest of the world went about its business, you could enjoy quiet time with your favourite furry… be lazy… and simply drift into a musical reverie. Last night I realized that it is something I don’t do enough of. Somewhere along the way, I allowed my activities to overtake my ME time. It happens. On Friday there was an Etta James night at one of the clubs I sometimes go to, it was a blues night, she ( friend who Djs at the club) was playing a lot of “old” blues. A lot of the music brought back memories of another time. Put me in a reflective mood.
Last night I was enjoying a plate of big freshly steamed shrimps (butter garlic sauce) dipped in a spicy Eda dip, with a side plate of cold ginger pork dumplings, and a topping of sliced roasted chicken c/w tasty skin. (Eda-yummy is a spicy kale edamame dip) when I realized that I don’t indulge as often as I used to.
The new year (lunar) is fast approaching, the custom has always been to begin in the months of the outgoing year, to sweep away old cobwebs and prepare for new beginnings. This year I think I would like to rejig my thought process and start reintegrating more quality Me time. I don’t mean spending more time alone, I can do that anytime, I mean revisit activities and “hobbies” that give me pleasure and add to a rather routine existence.
For those who began the new year Jan.1.2025.. how has your year been so far, notice much difference?
I have long known it is not the quantity of times you do something, it is the quality of the interactions and time you spend in your day/night. In the last many years I have been working along side someone who is a musician and plays a lot of instrumentals, (no words). I have learned to “hear” and enjoy music in a different way because the music itself allows MY thoughts/words to be part of the experience. Not a song with words painting the “storyline” for me. Make sense? any comments/input?
Face each moment, each place with a fresh outlook!
If you handle a situation with preconceived notions or prejudices, your judgement will be clouded. Take on each situation with a blank slate, as if seeing it for the first time.
Think a moment, do you listen to music as a habit, is it inspiring, what role does music play in your life. if anything?
Have a great start to the week everyone!
Oyashikiri
PL2015.27

PL Precept # 19 Begin once you Perceive
PL Precept # 2 To live is to express One’s Self
Make today, YOUR Day!
Oyashikiri
Sometimes… we just want to ignore the world around us. Why not? Were you told when you were younger that sleeping all the time wasn’t good for you.. “the early bird, catches the worm” or to stop being so lazy!
Rediscover your “inner calm” your “quiet”. Quincy is very good at showing me “how” to reclaim my inner quiet. We forget, we plan, schedule, make arrangements to do this, that, and something else, sleep is something that our “body” needs. Our minds travel at speeds unknown to man… there is a constant chatter and bombardment of “sound(s)” .
Turn it off. All of it! Can you do it?
There was an owl sighting recently, a quiet country road became a parking lot. The poor creature was stalked, hawked at, and surrounded by the chatter and movement of humans all clamoring for a look.
Imagine your tired after a long day, you’ve had to soar the skies looking for your next meal. finally come the end of your day, you find a quiet place to rest your weary wings….. and what happens, you find you have a camera in your face, not one, dozens, flash bulbs going off, excited chatter .. car sounds, human sounds, they just won’t leave you alone, you fly off to another tree hoping for some quiet… awwww. your head falls, your eyes close, there is a gentle wind… AND … oh no.. they have found you again, is there no peace and quiet, what have you done to deserve this.
The owls plight is yours. your mind is kept so busy all the time, when suddenly your body and inner self want to rest…. the onlookers the curious, the unwanted intrusions keep happening. Time to evaluate just how much of the “outside” you let in. Time to put your SELF first. Has your creativity become repetitive, do you need a “break”. You are the master/mistress of your destiny…. There are ways to reconnect with YOU.
First you have to decide, enough is enough, and YOU and only YOU can make the changes needed to find your way back to “home”… Home=contentment… home is not a physical structure, home is where your “heart” is.
Be in tune with the feelings of others – Let’s start by trying to understand other peoples feelings. AND most importantly our own.
PL Precept # 15 All is a mirror
Follow Quincy’s lead… slow down, be gentle with yourself and others, and take a lot of mini naps, (quiet moments)