an invitation

While New Year's resolutions usually don't stick - people have good intentions that they cannot sustain - it is nevertheless nice that we have divvied our time interpretation up into segments and get this feeling of closure at the end of each year, and with it the sense of a fresh start.  

 Not only has 2018 been a challenging year for me personally, for the world too it has been quite a perplexing one, making me sometimes wonder if we are retreating in our human consciousness evolution.  I thought we were doing quite nicely there, perhaps not as fast as I would like it from an environmental perspective, lagging in other areas too, but all in all improving the human condition generally and slowly it seemed.  

 I would like to end this year on a positive note, and set an optimistic tone for the next one. "To become more conscious is the greatest gift anyone can give to the world; moreover, in a ripple effect, the gift comes back to its source," David R. Hawkins, who I referred to elsewhere, wrote in his 1995 Power vs. Force: An Anatomy of Consciousness.  "And," he continues, "any individual increase also raises to some degree the consciousness of everyone on the planet."  It's not so much what others do and think (and getting upset over that), it's what you do and think.  "What matters is what calls you, and to do that," Charles Eisenstein said along the same line in June during the The Space Between Stories retreat I attended.  

 In that spirit I would like to invite you to be just a little bit more You this coming year, becoming more conscious of your emotional needs.  When your own emotional needs are more fulfilled and better met, you not only help yourself but everyone around you. It raises us all up a bit.  Happy New Year!

wow experience

A Wow Experience is when you are completely in the moment, enthralled, getting a sense that you're connected to something bigger, and experience utter joy and meaning.    Wow Experiences go hand in hand with synchronicity and serendipity (see an earlier post on that).  We have probably all had at last one Wow Experience, and all we want is more Wow Experiences. May I please have another one of those?

A few weeks ago I had a Wow Day.  The people I met that day, our mutual missions, what we did, our synergies and conversations  - all seemed to be in complete alignment with the universe and with me.  The energy that day was just flowing, everything seemed easy and joyful, and as if things were exactly how they were meant to be. I was on Cloud 9.  

When you're at a certain energetic or frequency level you tend to have more Wow Experiences and Wow Days because you tap into a higher consciousness and energetic level. Better yet, once you’ve had some Wow Experiences you are able to look beyond yourself and create a Wow Experience for someone else, or perhaps offer an act of random kindness.  You have probably heard it said that people get more out of helping others than helping themselves.

Have you had a Wow Experience or Wow Day lately?   Would you like one?         

the bird tree

Because of the danger of bears we keep our garbage can strapped from March to November.  Once mid-November rolls around we can let go of the straps, and at the same time we go through the annual ritual of hanging the bird feeding paraphernalia back on the bird tree. 

The bird tree is a dead upside down cedar trunk, roots in the air as branched hanging device for bird feeders and suet cages, that my husband found in the woods a few years ago.  With great effort we had lugged it back through the woods and down the steep incline towards the house.  There we placed it in a planting bed exactly opposite the big window through which we look out into nature while we sip our morning tea. During the winter months, weekend paper reading goes hand in hand with bird watching, and while the rest of nature is gray-brown and dormant, our bird tree is alive and teeming with activity and color. 

Many years ago a bird lover friend talked passionately about Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Cedar Waxwings, names I found profoundly silly and contortedly long.  But here we are, trying to identify and name them, the Black-capped Chickadees, the Tufted Titmouse, the Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, the huge Pileated Woodpeckers who make a rare appearance, the Mourning Doves, the big Blue Jays and of course the beautiful Northern Cardinals, males in bright red uniform, females with a red beak and only subtle wisps of red here and there on their tan plumage.  The squirrels have of course found the bird feeders and hang upside down in acrobatic postures from the bird tree to snatch some seeds.

Live entertainment, a true reality show.

the souls of baskets

Baskets are everywhere in my house.  They show up as silverware and napkin containers on a dinner buffet, are used to corral bathroom countertop items, organize loose kitchen countertop stuff, hold keys in the hallway, serve as cachepots for plants, as paintbrush and pen holders, to set bread or crackers out, organize small office supplies, and besides the ubiquitous laundry baskets (not the plastic kind!) I used to throw the kids toys into huge baskets.  Baskets provide instant pseudo organization for loose items.

Baskets have been around for a very long time, and they have something earthy, authentic, almost archaic and tactile to them.  Unlike glassware or porcelain they are softer in feel and looks. I love baskets in general, but especially artsy and carefully crafted ones, in contrast to the more common and commercial kinds you see on sale by the hundreds in large craft stores.   Mind you, even those "commercial" baskets are all hand made, no basket weaving machine has yet been invented, as an interesting NY Time article on basket making states.  Someone sat for hours and crafted reed, grasses, willow branches or whatever local material, into these holdall containers.  A basket represents a deep connection between its maker and her surrounding ecosystem from which her material comes.  Baskets as an art form are the special ones, where you get a deeper sense of the craftsperson behind it.  More of the artist's soul flowed into her craft because there is more self-expression.    A few years ago, in Alaska, I discovered the beautiful baleen baskets, which were a little out of my price range to say the least.  Basket making as a true art form can be breathtakingly extraordinary.  

            But I enjoy my more modest treasures just as much because they add a certain raw beauty to the otherwise modern lines of my home and accessories.  Slight irregularities and imperfections can only be found in handmade objects and give them a sort of soul in contrast to the predictability of a factory made item. 

your WOW experience

A Wow Experience is when you are completely in the moment, enthralled, getting a sense that you're connected to something bigger, and experience utter joy and meaning.    We have all had Wow Experiences, and all we want is more Wow Experiences.

A few weeks ago I had a Wow Day.  The people I met that day, our mutual missions, what we did - all seemed to be in complete alignment with the universe and with me. The energy that day was just flowing, everything seemed easy and joyful, and as if things were exactly how they were meant to be.  I was on Cloud 9.  May I please have another one of those?

How about you? Have you had a Wow Experience or a Wow Day lately?

it's blowing

Now that our air-conditioning is finally back, the wind has shifted (that’s what Mary Poppins said - she was going to stay until the wind shifted). It's blowing outside and it's blustery, although day temperatures are still warmish, but the nights are all of a sudden much cooler, the days are noticeably shorter, and I switch the outside lights on much earlier now. The vibe is definitely shifting into fall.   Nice change to put something long-sleeved on.  

What I like so much about the seasonal weather differences is that it causes a change in the wardrobe (less white and bright, longer sleeves and tighter shoes), a change in cooking (less raw, more cooked), beverage (less rosé, more tea and cocoa) and food patterns (no more peaches and apricots, instead squash and late season tomatoes), a change in activities (done with beach and swimming, more hiking now), a change in overall mood (less bright and light, more melancholic and a bit dimmer).  And soon I won't have to protect my garbage can from the bears by strapping it shut, and the bird feeders can go back out, although that's still a bit away.

The seasonal weather changes make my life so much richer, so much more diverse, so much more interesting.   It’s like a new mini start, a bit of a new beginning, a creative impulse. I look forward to the winds blowing, pulling out my sweaters, cozying up with tea and a good book, or taking a long bath.  Here's to fall, which begins officially tomorrow.

wow!

Sometimes the beauty and perfection in everything only appears to us while observing nature.   Whether sparkly sunshine, feathery clouds, fabulous color combinations of a cloudy sky or sunset, feeling the breeze in your hair, or smelling the freshness in your nose.  

Nothing manmade comes close in intricacy, detail and complexity to these fleeting moments or sights.  And "coming close" is a pun intended because some of the intricacies don't show up until you get real close.  

It doesn't take an effort to see the intricacy of this bird feather's different textures, the breathtaking beauty of the iridescent color play in the sunshine, or even the amazing color complexities in this tiny piece of nature.  All it takes is a willingness to slow down and take the time to go deep and actually look and see.

peace and quiet please

When life has been busy I need some quiet time, some solitude.  Just me-time without interruption from others, whether reading time, puttering-around time, or staring-into-nature time.  I can't keep going all the time.  Down time, time with a minimum of mental stimulus, helps to integrate experiences and impressions.  I need to catch up with myself.  When I go too fast and don't stop and ponder I sometimes even get a headache or feel slightly dizzy, which literally tells me that my head is bursting full of stuff. 

We feel cultural pressure to be on all the time, to go all the time, to be on and smiling all the time, to be busy all the time. But it's making us frazzled and stressed, especially if all this activity is coupled with noise.  I love socializing, I love being with people, but I am a better person when I get down time in between.  Peace and quiet are really important.  Constant noise affects our health just as much as constant busyness, as The Scientific American explains.   We need respite.  We need a sanctuary.  

Take some alone time, some bath time, some journaling time, some gardening time, some meditation time for yourself, take a personal day off, and make it a quiet time.  It's good for your sanity, it's good for your health, and it's good for those who live and work with you because you'll be nicer, more collected, and more relaxed.   Here a related post - a new time culture - on taking your time back.

a bit of everyday magic

My life certainly doesn't only consist of wow experiences, and the mundane easily takes over if I don't look up every once in a while to smell the roses.  Actually, we need a certain amount of routine (see a previous post on that) for daily life to proceed smoothly.  But - we can make the daily grind a little less so by cultivating the beautiful and dialing everyday moments up by just a notch.  

What I mean by that is putting a bit of thoughtfulness, beauty, and quality into what I do every day.  Cloth napkins and nicely pressed clothes are such an example. Everyday dinner is a teeny bit more special by setting the table nicely and using freshly ironed cloth napkins.  I also like my clothes nicely pressed instead of the casually rumpled look.  It just feels a bit more special to put on a pressed shirt or pair of pants, and it attests to the care with which I treat myself.  It's really the little things that count - here an earlier post on it.

Fresh flowers or a few green branches bring a splash of color or a reminder of nature into the house; more so if they are displayed in a special vase.  Same goes for displaying produce that doesn't have to be stored in the fridge.  I love to display sumptuous amounts of colorful tomatoes or other fruit, or perhaps avocados and lemons in beautiful bowls.  

A breather between preparing dinner and work in the form of a glass of wine, perhaps even accompanied by soft jazz playing in the background, is a lovely interlude and gives those few moments almost a weekend feel.    And I like to start my day with lipstick and perfume, even on weekends, just because. 

How do you make everyday moments a bit more pleasurable?

your gift to the world

Imagine receiving a beautifully wrapped present.  You are undoubtedly delighted, full of hopeful and curious anticipation of what's in the package.  And when you open your beautifully wrapped present, and it's just the right thing, your eyes light up in joy and you break out in a big smile.  Wow!  You feel so grateful and fortunate.  What a wonderful surprise!

What if you saw your life as a gift? A fabulous chance, a miracle, an opportunity to experience this beautiful world.  Then your life couldn't possibly be drudgery, or hard, because it would be sacred and wonderful and miraculous, and full of sparkly "what ifs." 

What if you saw yourself as a gift to the world and to others.  In the form of who you are, how you are, how you do things in your own unique ways. 

What if you saw everyone you interact with as a gift to you?  In what they show you, the insights they offer you, the opportunities they bring to you, how they are and who they are through what they do in their interactions with you.

Then life becomes an endless succession of fabulous encounters and opportunities, full of meaning and magic and curiosity about what's next.  What are your particular qualities that make you a gift to the world?