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Altruism

Altruism

Compassion, generosity,neighbourliness –
Kindness, charity,benevolence
Public spiritedness

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Quiet, continuity, steadfast, centered

78 degrees under bright blue skies, thoughts of fat scallops, abalone, and king size shrimps, sitting on a bed of fresh Udon noodles, ready to be tossed with a ginger garlic and soy dressing.

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School house needs to be cleaned out and ready for the winter feedings.

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Reminder to myself. > need to pick up a drill bit for my dremel so that I can drill holes when making little people.  Little people and  “happy cards” are ambassadors for the ‘share a smile ” campaign I’m doing.

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Which seasoning to use in my morning bowl of veggies, mushroom and egg?  Then now that the car is back, I guess I run errands, Yup, if I can time it right, Costco will be on the list.  Oh hum….its Friday…  let me share one more moment with you.  I met this man back in the late 70’s, backstage after a show at the then Montreal Forum, I enjoyed his energy then, and today, he still has me wanting to dance.  Funky Friday everyone, Shake it.

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Share the LOVE, share a SMILE,  Make each and every moment count.  Love you all.  Blessings, big and small =^_^=

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Carrots and life

Carrots and life

If ever anything would always be the same, one would think it would be carrots. Huh uh, not so, now when you go to purchase carrots, you are faced with a selection. I find little finger size ones, for snacking on and vegetable trays. I read an article about how they are processed, and now skip the little carrots and go for the family size carrot. =^_^= That said, at this time of year, you can get some P R E T T Y big sized carrots. The other day i found a carrot that was so big,I think with patience I could have stuffed it.
In the warmer months, I love to simply walk around snacking on a raw carrot. the natural sweetness is refreshing on a hot day, and the crunch is second only to the crunch of a fresh radish.
Interestingly enough, I found that the carrot taught me a lesson in life this past summer, actually it was just a couple of weeks past. One should never take our carrots for granted.
I found myself downtown in between meals, I was walking around the market when I was struck with a craving for a crunch. conveniently I was in the market, so walked up to a stall and picked a box of coloured carrots. the packaging was just like I got today, you can see how inviting they are,
For those of you still not educated (yet) in the lure of the carrot, there is a different taste albeit subtle to the “designer” carrot, vs. the good old farm variety. To my taste buds they are sweeter, with a lighter lingering taste of carrot that is teasing on the palette.

Now skip forward to later in the week when hubby and I found ourselves on a back road in the countryside far from the maddening crowd but with working farms. My crunch craving hit… what to do.. “oh look” I cried out, Hubby well used to my outbursts, slowed the car and took the lane way that advertised Fresh veggies and Pumpkins. In earlier posts you saw pictures of the pumpkin and squash displays.
With no radishes in sight, I headed for the carrots. Yes there was one basket left. Greedily my hand reached out and in the blink of an eye I was at the cash. Recognize the symptoms, we do this in life, we want something, we get something, we don’t really inspect, or take in the whole picture, we just act.
Now what could be wrong, or go wrong with freshly picked carrots from a working veggie farm. thank you for wondering/asking. A lot. Ms city here, used to buying carrots in the grocery stores, fresh produce markets had not anticipated or thought about the real home-grown carrot, that comes to you straight from the ground. It was encrusted in dirt, good old farm soil, I was traveling in the car .. I didn’t have running water to clean it with… nor did we have the dogs with us, so their fresh drinking water was not with us.
How badly did I need to feel and hear that crunch.
I dipped a clean tissue in my drinking water.. and rubbed. That dirt was caked on, but with purpose and dedication, I managed to get most of it off. I crunched into that carrot like it was a jewel from the ground (which it was). I lived to tell the tale, even discovered that I did recall in the long last memory cells, that carrots don’t come all sparkling clean from the farm with out someone washing and packaging them
A reminder on how much we take the food we eat for granted. At first my citified mind wanted to cry out loud, how can that farmer not know to clean the vegetable before putting up for sale. thank goodness the other part of my brain, spoke up, it was me, it was my spoiled city self that was not being grateful for the opportunity to taste a carrot “really’ fresh from the farm, and the lesson that, life and the food we get should not be taken for granted either.
I now have a greater appreciation for what I find in the stores, the journey they had to take to get there, and I don’t begrudge the money spent for the quality of goods I get. We need to take time in life to appreciate the bounty that we have available to us.   God provides.

I used carrots today to give variety to the potato oven fries, presented along with the potatoes, were carrot and orange beet slices. Yummy, I toss them in a virgin cold pressed olive oil with seasoning before putting them in the oven to roast.

With the veggie baked fries, we are having sliced pork (Pork is my cold weather meat) stir fried and simmered in a buttered (light) curry sauce.

Eat your carrots they are good for your eyesight.

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photo -Q

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Temple in Japan

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Could I travel back in time… I can close my eyes and imagine standing outside this temple gate when it was still new on the earth.  How big was the original foot print, would the daily activities of the monks have been so public to tourists and strangers.  Japan is a land of history and that history contains many temples.  There was an activity in the part of the temple that I would really have loved to explore, alas, it was not to be.  To get to this temple, my friends took me through a restored and maintained part of “old Japan”

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Yes, I’m back in Canada, but a part of me is still in Japan.

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The doorway beckons, there is more for me to explore and discover.  If you missed it last time, this is one of the things that I am really missing, the great abundance of good food.

I’m sure there are great Japanese restaurants here in Canada, but they are few where I live.  My version of what I’d like is no where close to what is available in the many many restaurants in Japan.

I was so busy living the moment and taking in all the sights and sounds, that my camera was dormant in my purse.  Eat, take a picture, the eating won out. =^_^=   Choices, we all have to make them, they are a constant in our lives.  We are still preparing for winter here, Husband has scheduled the car for the changing over to winter tires, and the car tune up, we are thinking of getting our flu shots, and on it goes,

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Like fireworks dazzling across the night time sky, I send out loving blessings to each and everyone of you.

Have a great Tuesday!

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sunlight thru the shade

sunlight thru the shade

The other day I talked of how light and shadows can draw us in, create a picture that catches our imagination. The first snowfall will also change the landscape. We are so fortunate to have the 4 seasons to delight us with their differences.

Does this picture tell a story?

The camera allows for one point of interest to have many looks.

“Care enough for a result, and you will almost certainly attain it. “   William James

It is the experience of living that is important, not searching for meaning.  We bring meaning by how we love the world”  Bernie Siegel, M.D.

Life is Art… every day gives us new opportunities.

TAO > Put forth your effort with no thought of gain……………….. non anticipation

Photo buffs share your links…

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Some days are better then others.

Some days are better then others.

Some days require more attention to one’s personal needs..
We find ourselves dealing with emotions that are not always wanting expression.  Suddenly they are in your face so there is no escape.
Life is full of accumulations of small moments.  Each moment has full impact, if you are living in the moment.

Does it seem that everyone you meet or interact with just adds to your gloom.  Meet your day, head to head.  Make it your own.  You are the author, the writer,the artist, YOU decide how you want to “play”

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Could it be that events and people in your life don’t seem to be “real”  Are you “out of step” or are they in a different “play”

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Your life is your own, your very own work of art……. Life is Art. you get to decide if you cut corners, if you do, it is your life you will affect,  you decide  whether you live in shades of gray, or whether your world will be full of colour.  We can’t always control events that happen in our lives, but it is our decision, how we react, and assimilate the energy around us.

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It may take some doing, but with determination, quiet meditation, you can find balance in your day.  One must know unhappiness/sadness to appreciate and treasure the happy moments.

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I found my creativity in SL yesterday, the virtual world this month is full of haunted places to visit.  By end of day the colour was back … I was relaxed.

Blessings -Today and Always                           MAKE TODAY                                   YOUR DAY!

photos- SL -by Q

avatar makeups – Style by Kira,           hair, Vanity Hair, Pixivor black >                       sarouel pants by [Bubble} >                       top by Ruxy >shoes,Dakota

url for   DarkDhama Haunted Manor     http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Benten/80/216/29

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Shadows and light

Shadows and light

A photographer, I’m in love with shadows and light, they can do amazing things to an otherwise ordinary “picture”
How we perceive our lives is also often coloured by the “shadows and light” in our minds.

Take time very day to “view” your ” situation” in various light, shading, and angles, the complexities of life can be awesome, or dreary, it is all in how you “view” them.

PL teaching > Let’s be Simple and Straight Forward with Our Expressions. If you hold your feelings in, you will always be filled with worry. Always make efforts to express yourself freely so you can live with a clear state of mind.

Good Morning Everyone! Bring the LIGHT into your life, start your day with a SMILE

photo -by Q

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Appreciation

Appreciation

One day follows the next. With the cooler weather, now when you are walking around downtown, the outdoor patios are taken down, the street huskers have gone inside, and the market vendors are dwindling down to the the last of the ” die-hards”. People are hurrying rather than lazily taking in the day, and some are already bundled up warding off the cold.
We can look out at the world or we can participate.

Mishirase > Divine warning, in the form of an illness, a misfortune, an accident, pain or suffering

PL teaches about “Mishirase”, which appears in our lives in the form of illnesses, injuries, hardships and natural disasters.  These Mishirase that could be considered unlucky, are in actuality, warnings given by the “Universe” to show us that we are  having a poor understanding of the “material/info” that we are being given, thus, we have difficulty expressions our “true” selves.  God may be showing us that we are overly attached to our own thoughts and are expressing ourselves “unnaturally”

Human beings are born with the ability to experience pain so they can avoid pushing their bodies beyond natural limits.  If you bend your finger too far back, you will experience pain,  a warning that to continue to push your finger past the point of pain would result in a broken finger.  In the same way, the “pains” we experience in life are “reminders from “God” that you are pushing something beyond what is natural.

Who belongs to the face that is looking out, or back at you?  In Canaille’s picture, you see her, you can tell she is a dog, if you look really hard, you can see Velcro in the background.  But the picture is of Canaille, its a face, who is she, and what does the face tell you/us.  I ask only because I have been faced with seeing the face that looks back at me every day.  Does the face you see, really tell you about who a person is, or was.  Yes I say was, because in life, whether we want to or not, we are constantly changing, some changes we orchestrate ourselves,  others are made for us.

For instance, can you tell when you look at me now that I was one of the first “Eurasians” (not even a term heard today in 2013) in television back in “my day”… I was a model, it was live TV, we had to run off stage and change behind a (barely private) screen.  My hands opened and closed a weekly show, each slice of bread was a credit.  I was Miss Jade East, somewhere there is a photo to attest to that.  Media was different back then. I’ve written for magazines and journals that are simply non existent now.  Too short for the high fashion runway, I was also considered too short for the assignments in the fashion houses, however my “look/beauty” was exotic for that time/period.  I was too young to know that I was part of a ground breaking era, television was new and exciting business to be in.  I simply lived it.

Living in the moment has been a super huge blessing in my life.  When one lives in the moment there are a lot of advantages in life, we live the moment and we move on.  Because we appreciate each and every moment, often the past is really “history” for us, and when we look back at what was, or what “personality/character” was playing the leading role, it is often with interest and curiosity, much like watching a rerun on television.

While out with a friend, she took a picture of me and later sent it to me.  That was weeks ago now, I’ve actually looked at it a few times now, each time I look at it, I wonder who I was on that day.  I look familiar, but I can’t say for certain it is me.  Yet physically it is, I’m sure Christianne didn’t snap a picture of a stranger that happened to be in her space at the time..

When I read the Pl teachingLet’s first Accept and Appreciate Things as They Are.  Even when dealing with someone you don’t like or when you are facing an uncomfortable situation, take a moment to first accept whatever comes your way.  There is always something that you can learn from these situations.  I take a look at Canaille’s picture, and of the one Christianne sent me, and muse out loud to you, hmmm is this woman really me,  Can I accept and appreciate all the “things” she is to me?  A good meditation for me today.

Thank YOU for sharing this moment with me… sigh, OK, I’ll post the picture of me.  why not… I have to stop hiding from the face that other’s see.

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Drat haven’t found or learned how to make the picture smaller when I load it.  (see the part of me that wants to control is being over ridden by the Power that IS..)

UNBOUNDED BLESSINGS – now and always

photo of Canaille – Q

photo of Q -Christianne M  (Kemptville)

Did you know?

If you rub a potato on your snow goggles before you start your descent, do it when you get on the ski lift.  rub raw potato over the goggles, and your ride down should be nice and clear.

Out of silver polish, take a few potatoes and boil them up.  Remove them from the water and save them for another use.  Put your silverware in the potato water, let it sit for about an hour, then remove the silverware and wash.  Tarnish should be gone.

One more.  Use slices of raw cold potatoes over your eyes, to make the puffiness go away.

Calorie free uses of the multi- purpose  potato.   smilePencil

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/66639269459829037/   come on now, click on the link, let me take you to a different place…..

Lessons can be learned through awareness.  If you think of the hardest thing for you to do and how much you resist it, then you are looking at your greatest lesson at that moment.  don’t let resistance stop you from making changes.  Observe yourself, watch how you resist, then go ahead anyway.  Here are some non verbal clues, of how our actions often show our resistance…   Changing the subject  >> Leaving the room >> Going to the bathroom >> Being late >>> Getting sick >> Procrastinating by doing something else, doing busy work, wasting time, etc….

Then of course there are the verbal clues – “I’m waiting for the stars to say it’s OK….>>>>>>> This is not the right environment >>>>> “they ” won’t let me change >>> It’s all “their” fault.>>>> how many more can your fill in here.

Oh and let’s not forget the self concepts >>> Too old >>>>Too young >>>> Too fat>>>> Maybe its just all too much >>>> and if we are honest with ourselves, there are the delaying tactics, denial and fear.  Truth is… the  process begins the moment we begin to think about making a change.

TAO ..The only constant in life is change …

PL .. Have the courage to take the first step. break free, start something new… believe in yourself and take the first step…

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Travel on past the line of trees…

Have a great day, set your mind free…

Good Morning everyone!  =^_^=   one potato, two potato, three potato, four.…  Give me a hug, and I’ll want more!   Now to church I’m going, I’m out the door!

picture 1 is from Pinterest,  Picture 2, was taken by Q

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Challenge yourself with New things.

Challenge yourself with New things.

Choose to be loving, positive and affirmative.
Allow yourself to feel and express spontaneously the love of God that dwells within you
Life is interesting, we are always encountering unknown or new situations.
Don’t be afraid of failure, proactively challenge each new situation. Give complete awareness to “Divine” direction.

Realize the perfection that is within you, give expression to it as faith, hope,wisdom and understanding. Know that God is directing you, healing and enriching your life in a myriad of ways.

Claim your freedom by knowing that through God’s spirit within you, you will have the strength and wisdom to live a life where you can proactively meet each new situation with confidence.

Practice being spiritually aware.

In our travels yesterday we discovered this pumpkin farm,  It was unexpected and a delight to explore.  Let  your unique SELF shine through.  Bring colour into your world, enjoy the diversity and challenges life throws our way,Allow your Creativity to radiate the potential that is on stand-by, waiting to be utilized, expresss yourself.  LIFE IS ART…

AND have one of your best days ever. humming “love is in the air” =^_^=   GOOD MORNING everyone!

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photos – local colour -Q

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Japan, aspects of

Japan, aspects of

Now back home in Canada, in the middle of Nature’s awesome exhibit of her Fall colour palette, I find myself drifting off to memories of my all too brief time in Japan.
Japan had never been one of my travel destinations, so when I decided to go, it was pack up and go, no research or prior reading was done on the country, their customs, attitudes and behaviors.

For instance, I had no idea that in Japan public toilets did not supply paper towels, or hand dryers. I would have known to bring with me my own handkerchief.

Western tradition, we say “Ladies first”… Japanese tradition is “you first” the other person is placed on a higher social level than oneself… BUT… interestingly, going through a doorway, the senior male is expected to lead the way, and on a crowded train or bus, there is not need for a man to give up his seat, no matter how many packages or children a woman may be carrying. (social expectation)

When invited for lunch, a visitor usually leaves by 3 pm. while for an evening meal, visitors do not stay any later than 8 pm, even if encouraged to stay, the polite response is to leave. Host and family will often even go as far as the transit station with their guests. At the least, they will all stand at the door wishing the parting guests, safe journey etc.

The Japanese language is rich with special ways to express gratitude  ie..
O-machido-sama deshita, -Thank you for waiting.
Go-chiso-sama deshita – Thank you for the meal.
Go-kuro-sama deshita – Thank you for going out of your way
O-tsukara-sama deshita -Thank you for your hard work.

Think how often we hear or say Thank you in our daily lives.

What I did experience and loved was the underground streets (Chikado) (areas of shopping) that are built in conjunction with major subway stations (train stations) in the larger cities, ie. Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya in particular)

Every eating place (shokudo) and resutoran (restaurant) has an outdoor display cabinet that contains shokuhin sanpuru, (life size plastic replicas of dishes being served in that location). I understand that in most cases, what you see outside is a very close duplicate to what you will actually get in the shop, down to the number of slices and size of portions.

I came back home with a yen for more of the fabulous food offerings I had while in Japan.No, this taste delight has not been satisfied. I will have to continue in my searching. chances are I’ll do better in a larger city, i.e. Toronto. If you have any suggestions, please send them along to me.

In PL we say…. Saying Thank You creates a heart to heart connection.  If you don’t put your thoughts into words and actions, you will not be able to express how you truly feel.  By expressing your gratitude in words, you can really get your feelings across.

Blessings to you all, now and forever

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