My friend Holly wrote the following as part of a facebook status update, "I am grateful that I can end my day on a comfortable bed. Isn't sleep a blessing?" I totally agree. And a good night's sleep is a real joy.
Many of you may know we have a new addition to our family, a 2 year old flat coated retriever named Sadie. She is a wonderful addition to our family and is the sweetest, most well-behaved animal companion Paul and I have ever known. Her only issue is she's terribly afraid of the dark. Due to my allergies, we can't allow her to sleep in our bed. It's been quite a challenge to get her to sleep on her own bed.
She and I have created a bedtime ritual (which is fairly complex and I won't get into it here). I also purchased a doggie/child safety gate that keeps her out of our bedroom but still allows her to see that Paul and I are there and haven't abandoned her.
All this to say, last night Paul and I were able to get our first decent night's sleep in quite some time. It was wonderful. To wake with energy, feeling rested and ready for the day is a true joy...and Sadie seemed to feel the same. This morning she was jumping and racing around the house, happy as a lark.
So now, for another night of joyous sleep (fingers crossed). Hoping the same for you.
What brought you joy today? (Isn't it nice to fall asleep thinking of the joys in your life?)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Not Keeping Up With The Jones'
Recently I've realized that I care way to much what others think. I'm constantly justifying my decisions and actions via mental self-talk. Who am I trying to convince? I already made the decision, and often have already taken the action. I don't need to convince myself.
Often my mind rambles about why I choose to live a more simple life and it really comes down to joy. I've been thinking quite a bit about simplicity lately and came across a great blog, Zen Habits: The Simple Joys of Smaller Living. I really enjoy reading the posts as it keeps me focused on what's really important in my life...and on what brings me joy.
One of this week's suggestions was to journal about what brings joy to your life or to keep something called a Joy List where you jot down these small joys as they happen in your life.
The mere act of jotting down the experience isn't so profound. It's the fact that by writing about these moments (as Zen Habits says), we give ourselves "the time to savor them when they occur or process and reflect on them afterward."
So, what simple joys have I experienced during the past few days?
Yesterday as my husband and I were driving to visit a friend who is terminally ill and in the hospital, my husband reached across the truck seat to take my hand...just to hold it gently as we drove along and chatted. I'm not sure what prompted him to do this. We hold hands often, but this was different. Perhaps it was the realization that we all only have the present moment. Perhaps it was the realization that our love brings us both great joy. The motivation really isn't important... but the memory of that act is. This simple act of holding hands didn't cost anything, didn't take much energy, and didn't take planning yet it was one of the most meaningful "gifts" my husband could have given me.
I'm glad I took the time to reflect upon it. I'm happy that it is the first item on my Joy List. I look forward to adding to it.
What brought you joy today?
Often my mind rambles about why I choose to live a more simple life and it really comes down to joy. I've been thinking quite a bit about simplicity lately and came across a great blog, Zen Habits: The Simple Joys of Smaller Living. I really enjoy reading the posts as it keeps me focused on what's really important in my life...and on what brings me joy.
One of this week's suggestions was to journal about what brings joy to your life or to keep something called a Joy List where you jot down these small joys as they happen in your life.
The mere act of jotting down the experience isn't so profound. It's the fact that by writing about these moments (as Zen Habits says), we give ourselves "the time to savor them when they occur or process and reflect on them afterward."
So, what simple joys have I experienced during the past few days?
Yesterday as my husband and I were driving to visit a friend who is terminally ill and in the hospital, my husband reached across the truck seat to take my hand...just to hold it gently as we drove along and chatted. I'm not sure what prompted him to do this. We hold hands often, but this was different. Perhaps it was the realization that we all only have the present moment. Perhaps it was the realization that our love brings us both great joy. The motivation really isn't important... but the memory of that act is. This simple act of holding hands didn't cost anything, didn't take much energy, and didn't take planning yet it was one of the most meaningful "gifts" my husband could have given me.
I'm glad I took the time to reflect upon it. I'm happy that it is the first item on my Joy List. I look forward to adding to it.
What brought you joy today?
Friday, April 2, 2010
'Feel Better, Move Better'
'Feel Better, Move Better'
Check out the April Issue of the Cedar Hill Physical Therapy Newsletter. This month's theme is Feel Better, Move Better with an article on anti-inflammatory food, links to yummy recipes and info on our upcoming cooking class, and a chance to win tickets to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers!
Check out the April Issue of the Cedar Hill Physical Therapy Newsletter. This month's theme is Feel Better, Move Better with an article on anti-inflammatory food, links to yummy recipes and info on our upcoming cooking class, and a chance to win tickets to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
November Haiku
Walking SticksSleek and sinuous.
My hand wraps round your body.
Let's go for a walk.
Fern
Aged tendrils curl in.
Skin thickens in the cold air.
Fern sleeps in winter.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
To Olivia
Renaissance woman, Bohemian child, Earth Goddess
Young spirit…old soul
A long way we go back
I’ve watched you play, smile, fuss, and give people that sideways glance.
Being, knowing, evolving.
Like a lock of your hair, your personality has curled around my heart and tickled my senses.
You are the seamstress who weaves love and light into the fabric of every day.
You are the baker who kneads us, but in reality, it is we who need you.
Lover of words…and your words love you back, Sista
Soothing the heart and invigorating the mind.
Rub your ideas together and start a fire. All you need is a spark.
Feed it with the fuel of anger and passion.
You see boundaries but you’re undaunted.
Climbing over fences, frolicking in fields and wondering why others don’t join you.
It is what it is…and so much more.
You can see past the surface and even past the depths.
The mist clears and I see your face
You smile, and then you’re gone again…but not lost.
Even when the fog of uncertainty rolls in, you continue to dance.
You make music with your father’s heartbeat and the melody of your mother’s spirit.
It rises from your depths, spilling over like bubbles, dancing lightly on my skin.
Dance the dance of the wild and free, the gutsy and the feisty.
Stand in the mud and the rain and embrace the cold.
I know you’ve fallen before, because I can see your tracks…and right beside them I see my own.
We’ve all been there, done that before…but you get up and keep going.
That’s what’s important.
You’re real, you’re raw
Full of life, real life, not that fake stuff.
Shout and cry at the top of your lungs… in joy, in passion, in frustration.
Renaissance woman, Bohemian child, Earth Goddess, My friend
Young spirit…old soul
A long way we go back
I’ve watched you play, smile, fuss, and give people that sideways glance.
Being, knowing, evolving.
Like a lock of your hair, your personality has curled around my heart and tickled my senses.
You are the seamstress who weaves love and light into the fabric of every day.
You are the baker who kneads us, but in reality, it is we who need you.
Lover of words…and your words love you back, Sista
Soothing the heart and invigorating the mind.
Rub your ideas together and start a fire. All you need is a spark.
Feed it with the fuel of anger and passion.
You see boundaries but you’re undaunted.
Climbing over fences, frolicking in fields and wondering why others don’t join you.
It is what it is…and so much more.
You can see past the surface and even past the depths.
The mist clears and I see your face
You smile, and then you’re gone again…but not lost.
Even when the fog of uncertainty rolls in, you continue to dance.
You make music with your father’s heartbeat and the melody of your mother’s spirit.
It rises from your depths, spilling over like bubbles, dancing lightly on my skin.
Dance the dance of the wild and free, the gutsy and the feisty.
Stand in the mud and the rain and embrace the cold.
I know you’ve fallen before, because I can see your tracks…and right beside them I see my own.
We’ve all been there, done that before…but you get up and keep going.
That’s what’s important.
You’re real, you’re raw
Full of life, real life, not that fake stuff.
Shout and cry at the top of your lungs… in joy, in passion, in frustration.
Renaissance woman, Bohemian child, Earth Goddess, My friend
Weeds
The following is an editorial written by me. It was originally posted as a two part article on weeds with my friend Paula McLean. I'll post a link sometime soon.
If the term weed is purely subjective and describes a plant that is considered to be a nuisance, then perhaps we, as humans, need to change our perspective on weeds.
Weeds are hearty plants. They pioneer disturbed environments. They protect against erosion. They feed wildlife. They even cure disease.
In our ongoing endeavor to control our environment, it seems humans try to obliterate anything just a tad bit unruly. If it can’t be easily controlled, then it is a nuisance. That is a scary thought to me. Does every yard have to look like everyone else's? Nice little plants in their nice little spots doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
Many of my neighbor’s yards are all the same dark shade of chemical green. They have very few birds who frequent their property because their chemically treated ground provides no insects for the birds to eat. The plants they have selected for their yards don’t self-seed (easily controlled), so they don’t provide a food source for wildlife either.
I once gave a nature journaling assignment to my students. They were to spend 30 minutes each day outside and write about what they observed. I had one student who wrote that he was bored because the only living things he observed on these outings were golfers on the golf course adjacent to his yard.
Our 1.3 acre property, on the other hand, is a proliferation of plants, beneficial insects, and wildlife. We’ve seen over 30 species of birds and at least 7 species of toads and frogs. With plenty of food sources and roaming room to go around, even the nuisance animals are more joy than problem. Rabbits come to our back door to munch on clover. A groundhog lives under my art studio and loves to scamper up and down the fallen tree trunks near the stream. Deer follow the stream during migration times on their way to the meadow behind our house. Raccoons play on the rocks in our backyard, swim across our little pond, and sometimes eat a fish or two. The fish spawn annually and seem to refill the pond with generation after generation of goldfish while our one large koi keeps watch over them.
Wild violet, wild geranium, cocklebur, rabbit tobacco, dandelion, pokeweed, mullein, red clover, St. John’s Wort, jewelweed, cleavers, and chickweed can all be found on our property…and yes, they are all considered weeds. They are all also medicinal plants with value greater than just their beauty (and they are all beautiful too).
As long as humans have cultivated plants, weeds have been a problem. What about before humans cultivated plants? Do we really have to have control over our surroundings? Isn’t control just an illusion anyway?
Let's see...what is the opposite of manicured, orderly, cultivated? Full, boisterous, wild?! That's just fine with me. At first look our property may seem unkempt, but if one looks more closely (and through new eyes) one can see a most beautiful landscape.
If the term weed is purely subjective and describes a plant that is considered to be a nuisance, then perhaps we, as humans, need to change our perspective on weeds.
Weeds are hearty plants. They pioneer disturbed environments. They protect against erosion. They feed wildlife. They even cure disease.
In our ongoing endeavor to control our environment, it seems humans try to obliterate anything just a tad bit unruly. If it can’t be easily controlled, then it is a nuisance. That is a scary thought to me. Does every yard have to look like everyone else's? Nice little plants in their nice little spots doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
Many of my neighbor’s yards are all the same dark shade of chemical green. They have very few birds who frequent their property because their chemically treated ground provides no insects for the birds to eat. The plants they have selected for their yards don’t self-seed (easily controlled), so they don’t provide a food source for wildlife either.
I once gave a nature journaling assignment to my students. They were to spend 30 minutes each day outside and write about what they observed. I had one student who wrote that he was bored because the only living things he observed on these outings were golfers on the golf course adjacent to his yard.
Our 1.3 acre property, on the other hand, is a proliferation of plants, beneficial insects, and wildlife. We’ve seen over 30 species of birds and at least 7 species of toads and frogs. With plenty of food sources and roaming room to go around, even the nuisance animals are more joy than problem. Rabbits come to our back door to munch on clover. A groundhog lives under my art studio and loves to scamper up and down the fallen tree trunks near the stream. Deer follow the stream during migration times on their way to the meadow behind our house. Raccoons play on the rocks in our backyard, swim across our little pond, and sometimes eat a fish or two. The fish spawn annually and seem to refill the pond with generation after generation of goldfish while our one large koi keeps watch over them.
Wild violet, wild geranium, cocklebur, rabbit tobacco, dandelion, pokeweed, mullein, red clover, St. John’s Wort, jewelweed, cleavers, and chickweed can all be found on our property…and yes, they are all considered weeds. They are all also medicinal plants with value greater than just their beauty (and they are all beautiful too).
As long as humans have cultivated plants, weeds have been a problem. What about before humans cultivated plants? Do we really have to have control over our surroundings? Isn’t control just an illusion anyway?
Let's see...what is the opposite of manicured, orderly, cultivated? Full, boisterous, wild?! That's just fine with me. At first look our property may seem unkempt, but if one looks more closely (and through new eyes) one can see a most beautiful landscape.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
