The Intensity of Life's Intentions - In memory

It's been very difficult to even think of writing in this blog for the last few days. The horrific incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School left me and millions of others in shock, tears, overwhelm and anger. It truly is unimaginable, but we don't have to imagine it, because it happened and has happened before. Our focus as humanity must now be on figuring out how it might never happen again....

Human acts always spring from intention. We have no idea what the intention of young man was. We could spend, and probably will spend thousands of hours trying to figure it out. What we do know for sure is that the outcome of his intention was devastating beyond words. I know for many, especially for those directly impacted there is and will continue to be a need to understand the intention. I hope they find peace and an ability to grieve fully, in private, away from the eyes of the world. This much I know for sure we, all of humanity, owe them.

I found myself overwhelmed with emotion as I watched a few moments of the news. The mixture of emotion was suffocating; the heartbreak for the families; the compassion for the caregivers, the awe for the public officials who were being bombarded by the media in the midst of their responsibility to investigate and inform the families of the deceased. My anger rose to a high I have not experienced before as I watched a reporter ask the Governor of the State, "What it was like to tell the families of the deceased that their child or loved one was among the dead?" I could see the pain and hurt in this man's eyes as he attempted to keep the tears from falling. I found myself wondering why he needed take on this responsibility for the benefit of the media when clearly he needed to be with his loved ones and someone who could help him to begin to process the trauma he had just experienced. I know that politicians and public servants take an oath to serve, however I can't imagine that they ever contemplated that the oath included the need to "entertain" curious minds with the details of such a travesty. I kept asking myself why? Why do we need to know?

I think I understand that the curiosity comes from a place of fear. For others it may stem from a place of purposefulness; the facts will help us to ensure that it never happens again. For yet others I believe it truly does come from a place of unacceptable greed; the need to be the first to release the facts, to sell more papers, to gain more viewers. I don't believe that all media is bad. It has it's purpose in the world, and it does inform, educate and assist, and in many circumstances prevent catastrophe in many ways. It is however, incomprehensible that the local authorities in this small town had to publicly state that any media or individual found to be harassing any family members of the victims would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That this is even an issue just breaks my heart.

We will never truly know why...and we will continue to feel helpless and wonder what can we do?

I believe part of the answer and responsibility lies with each and every single one of us. No matter how far away from this small town we are, we can begin right now to make a difference. We can hold with intense intention love, compassion and humanity for each and every person directly and indirectly impacted by the outcome of this negative intense intention.

But even more powerful is the commitment to hold this same love, compassion and humanity for all human beings we meet each and every minute of each and every day. Our ultimate goal as human beings is to love. I truly believe this. When we remember that we are truly all one, we come to the realization that we should never leave the presence of another human being, child or adult, man or women without having touched them with grace. This can be as simple an act as a smile, a friendly greeting, a positive comment, or it can be as deep as a listening ear, a healing touch, a comforting word. We simply have to begin to realize the impact of not being acknowledged as a human being. It is so devastating.

Many authors have written about the impact of a positive behaviour. The 5 to 1 rule theorizes that we need to commit 5 positive acts in order to neutralize the impact of one negative act. Then the theory of 20 to 1 proposes that if we wish to stay in a space of positive energy we should be committing or exposing ourselves to 20 positive forms of energy for every negative energy we experience each day. This is a very simplistic interpretation of a rather complicated theory, but I know that if I have a day where the majority of energy I have been exposed to is negative, I feel that deeply in my soul. This is why I have become a media avoider. Unfortunately despite the unlimited number of positive things happening in the world each and every minute of each and every day, the media chooses mostly to bombard me with the endless details of every negative thing that happened that day, and then they do it over and over again, to the point that you almost cannot avoid it, even if you try.

I have always connected to the words of Mother Theresa, who stated that she would never protest  against something, as she felt there was more power in being for something. The something I am for is more love, compassion, caring, understanding and humanity in the world. I try every day to practice the following:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

This is a very difficult challenge but I believe humanity is up to it. It happens not in the great things we accomplish, but in the little things we can do each and every minute of each and every day; by being sure that our words are always kind, that we acknowledge every person we meet, that we listen, that we take time to comfort, that we seek first to understand, that we know our neighbour, that we watch out for every single child whether or not they are ours, that we do not gossip, that we do not judge, that we complete a single act of generosity each and every day, and most importantly that we acknowledge the value of every human being on the planet. These are not acts you will read about in the newspaper, nor see flashing across the screen of your television. They are however, the acts that are indeed balancing the negative energy in the world. 

So to me the greatest gift that those of us who are asking, "What can I do?" in the aftermath of the  Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy is to begin immediately to commit and count your positive energy deposits into the world each and every day. Literally ask yourself as wake up each morning, what 20 positive energy acts will I contribute to the world today. To me this is the greatest way to honor the lives and souls of all those lost last week. As their families grieve, let us give them their privacy and instead of sitting in front of the television hour after hour trying to figure out why, let us each be sure we are adding to their healing, and the healing of all humanity, by bombarding our own little piece of the world with kindness, caring, compassion, understanding, joyfulness, and love. 

I will close with another Mother Theresa quote: 

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." 

So with great intensity, I will continue to go out into my small corner of the world and add my drops into the ocean of humanity one small kind, caring, and compassionate act at a time. 

Until next time my friends...

What to do with the extra hour or two?

So what exactly should a women do with the extra hour or two she finds in her life due to waking at 5:30 - 6:00 a.m. every morning whether she wants to or not? And what's up with that anyway? Women and their sleep issues. When we are teens we want to sleep in but can't because there is a mother lurking somewhere that is yelling, "Get up! Are you going to sleep your entire life away?". When we are in university and we want to sleep there is a paper, or an exam, or a part time job that eats away at every weekend morning. Then we hit the years of baby bearing and we can just well forget it as there is just no sleep anytime, anywhere! Well, maybe when we are standing in line at the bank, or at the motor vehicle department, or perhaps as we walk the grocery cart around the grocery store. Now I think I know how that $12.99 frozen dinner got in my cart! Then when the kids grow up every single weekend morning is eaten up by sports tournaments, dance practices, community volunteer work, and the husband who wants a little sumpin, sumpin, in the early morning hours before all hell breaks lose. Then you find yourself empty nested, and you get all excited because your time is your own and you just can't wait to sleep in. However you're now 12 year old dogs have aged bladders and they demand that you let them out for an early morning pee, now or you will be truly sorry.  Eventually you get the dog's pee schedule re-adjusted by staying up until midnight to let them out for that one last pee.  You are feeling that finally the magic of dreamland between 4:00 and 8:00 a.m. is soon to be yours, because all demands are now gone, your life is yours to do with as you wish, hubby is content, and you've have no early morning demands; guess what happens? YOU START MENOPAUSE! And no matter what you try, how late you stay up, how exhausted you are, the eyelids just simply pop open and the sleep gene malfunctions and you find yourself awake. No matter how hard you try to go back to sleep, it just ain't happening and you finally give in and learn to love the silence of the 5:00 - 8:00 a.m. zone.

So now, the question becomes what to do with that extra hour or two.

Shall I lay here and think,
Hoping that I just might sink,
back into the land of sweet dreams.

Should I turn on the light,
Crack open the book to right?
Hoping to get lost in the latest great theme.

Should I put on my clothes?
What to wear heaven knows.
Hoping today I won't burst through the seams!

Shall I wander downstairs
and put my but in the chair?
Attempting to write another blog stream.

Should I clean up the kitchen,
as last night there was no ambition.
Try to make it sparkle like a bright sunny beam.

Shall I do some exercise,
As I know it would be wise?
As I wish to stay limber and lean.

Or perhaps I will simply remain
horizontally going insane
trying to capture that unattainable dream.

For it seems that to sleep to my hearts content
Forever will be my relent.
So into the day I shall go full steam!

(Okay so I certainly did not inherit my sisters art for rhyming, but ya gotta give me points for trying lol.)

So had a wonderful moment last night. After a long day of cleaning and putting up all of the Christmas decorations, I sat in my chair and took a walk down memory lane. I was searching through all of boxes and enjoying all of the treasures accumulated over the years; gifts from kids, special pieces bought to share joy with the little people in my life, homemade christmas tree ornaments, and stuff you know you should have thrown aways years ago, but you couldn't. I savoured the wonderful feeling of anticipation for the night my girls will come home and we will once again traipse around Truro hunting down the perfect tree, enjoying some hot chocolate, driving around to see the christmas lights and then home to decorate the tree. Now don't get me wrong some years there were some rocky points, it wasn't always christmas card perfection. But I would not change a single thing. These memories are so precious to me. I love my house all decorated for Christmas. I love laying out the manager scene, hanging the stockings, and placing the beautiful snow globes around the house. Then to top off the evening I went to enjoy the Truro Dance Academy Christmas Spectacular. What a show with such amazing talent in the director, the youth who sang and danced and acted their way through this wonder-filled christmas story. Ahhhhh, all in all an awe-filled day!

So I discovered another new artist this week, shared by a friend on Facebook: Rodriquez, a new documentary about the life of this mysterious artist from the USA  has been nominated for an Academy Award this year. Rodriquez was from the USA but famous more so in Africa. Thanks to my friend Nodi from Africa for sharing the link. Very interesting story attached to this artist. Search you tube for songs. I think you will enjoy.

So the virtue for this week upcoming will be: 

I think I could write a month's work of blogs on this beauty. And oh the closing affirmation! If only we all could find more patience within ourselves; children, parents, friends, lovers, rulers, decision makers, each and everyone. I know for sure that more patience from humanity would mean less wars, less frustration, less anger, less consequences of rash decisions, less debt in the world, and more understanding, just to mention a few benefits.

It will be interesting to watch and see where I will called to patience this next week, where I will see that it is needed in the world around me, and where I will see it being practiced so I can have the opportunity to acknowledge it. I know for me being patient to put up my Christmas tree will be hard, but I also know that the joy I will feel in having my time with my family to do it will allow me to live fully in the moment of the night to come. Surprisingly being patient also allows me to let go of past frustrations about having to wait, and it enables me to live fully in the present moment of enjoying the walk down memory lane mentioned above.

 If only people would/could accept things that they cannot change with humour and grace. This is so one of my favourite qualities of my husband. I don't know how many times in our 30 plus years together his patience has enabled us to live, love, and laugh our way through challenging times.

This past fall I lost my full time job very unexpectedly and had to learn a whole new kind of patience as  I searched for work, waiting weeks to hear back from potential employers, and balancing the worry, wonder, and anticipation of it all. When I did call on that patience it really did help me to be fully present to the moments of my life, and keep my peace.

I had a really funny thought about an invention I would love to be able to make. I was sending my pictures of my doggies with their Xmas sweaters to my daughters. I love how my dogs can send love and comforting vibes across the miles to my girls. I would love to be able to temporarily teleport them to their homes. There is nothing like the comfort of your dog, when your day is not going well. Come to think of it, teleporting would be so awesome for everything. To be able to be right where we need/want to be right in that moment. Wow. Obviously it would need a door bell system, for advance notice and an approval system by the person you are wanting to visit. LOL.

I have been having fun finding and sending off the weekly care packages to my girls as well. So far they have received a Hobbit Writing Pen, a pair of Snowman earrings, a Christmas Advent Calendar, and fridge magnet. So much fun, can't wait to go shopping to select the next few weeks.

Sent my mommy  her first  card of thanks. She called and actually said, "Don't know what I did to deserve that?" Can you imagine! Such humbleness. What a beautiful women my mother is. I hope she truly knows how she has touched the hearts of so many, and planted the seeds of love, life and joy in her children. I love my mother so much, and I am so looking forward to sending her something each week to let her know just how much.

On my throw away list, I did find some stuff in those christmas decoration boxes that I intend to donate to a local charity for their yard sale tables. Out with old and in with new... well not quite. I was a very good girl this year at the Christmas sales and I kept my commitment to not bring home any new decorations this year. Loving the commitment to simplicity rule these days.

So I want to talk a little bit about the 50 Fab Adventure - 50 reasons I love myself. I wondered if I should have this on my list. I found myself wondering if others would think it was ego driven, or kind of weird that someone would put that on a list that would be blogged about publicly. I have to confess it has been a bit of struggle to find the courage to identify these things and write about it. I do consider myself to be a women who love herself. If you asked me that as a question I would definitely have answered yes. But when it comes to actually answering what it is you love about yourself, then it becomes very personal, and very challenging. Once you get past the superficial items like, "I am a nice person." "I am a kind person" (not that these are not important qualities) then you have to actually identify behaviour you do that makes you that. So to write about that in a public forum is a bit uncomfortable and for me scary. Learning about what it means to really love yourself, involves looking deep inside, and being able to express the character you see and to believe that you truly have that virtue and that you love yourself for it and are grateful for it.  So this part of the blog is going to be interesting for me, challenging for me, and yet also a practice that helps me to achieve yet another item on my list; 50 things that scare me! I would really encourage each of you that read my blog, to take on this practice as well. As women (which I assume many of you are) we often depend on others to reflect what is good about us. It is time for us to stand up and love ourselves! Each and everyone of us, makes a huge difference in this world, and there is only one of each of us, so special, so unique, and so beautiful. Own it Girlfriends!

So for this week the thing that I truly love about myself is my tolerance. I really believe that I have grown so much with this virtue. Now reaching fifty I find myself tolerant of so many things that used to drive me to the edge. My tolerance has enabled me to be free from judgement, which serves no purpose in this life. It allows me to appreciate the great diversity of the human spirit and the world we live in. It helps me to have patience and to be forgiving when it is required. It enables me to accept those things that I cannot change in my life with grace and humour. It helps me to embrace the pain as well as the joy in my life. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." Carl Jung.  I am thankful for the gift of tolerance it broadens my horizons.

Well until we meet again ... oh and by the way, I have figured out what to do with that hour or two. Spend it blogging my friends with you!!!

Money Money Money and a little bit of compassion

What an intriguing context it is. For most it would appear to bring joy, relief, comfort, food, shelter, and support. For many it is simply a means to an end, and for many it is an end in itself. Some want to have it, to purchase things, some want to store it away for a rainy day, some want to give away, some want simply to turn into more money. Sometimes we are happy when we have it, other times we wish it didn't require so much of our time, energy, and mental thought.

Moving in the fabulous fifties, it certainly takes on  a new intensity as we start to think about whether or not we will have enough of it to take as far in life as possible. What a journey it is to try and sort out that madness. Literally for the last three weeks my husband and I have been trying to figure out what to do with the money that has come unexpectedly from losing a job, gaining a severance, and having to make decisions about pension plans. We have had to talk to so many different people, and the information is so complex, and the decisions so complicated. In the end we just decided that there is no "right" thing to do, it really comes down to what feels the best for us.

Money is such a strange creature. It has been around for a very long time, and is prominent in almost story, movie, conversation you see or hear these days. It is all about who has money, who does not have money, who won money, what's happening with money on the global markets, how much things cost, who spent how much on their wedding, or how to manage your money. Money, Money, Money.

And the quantity of money has become almost unimaginable. Just this evening the news reported that the Royal Bank of Canada had billions in profits. People compete on talent shows for millions of dollars! Do you remember when games shows used to give prizes of $500. Now it is a million for most. Actors and actresses making millions of dollars for a film, young men and women turning into billionaires before they hit the age of 30. We actually have millionaires under the age of 20 now due to the earning power tied to the Internet.

And yet we still have countries where people work for a dollar a day, where thousands go without food, water, and shelter. This is indeed one of the most complex questions facing humanity today. Why some have so much and others so little.  Do we ever think that there could be a more humane distribution of the worlds wealth? It is truly something I pray for every day and hold in my hearts deepest desires.

So tonight I count my blessings and despite the incredible headache I have had for the last three weeks I am so grateful that I have the problem of trying to decide what to do with my "money".  However having said that, i also give thanks for all of things in my life that have absolutely nothing to do with money! These are the most precious.

Now how about the next animal on the extinction list- the Northern Right Whale (just to completely change the subject lol).

The most endangered of all the world’s whale species, the northern right whale (Eubalena glacialis) numbers around 350 individuals that travel the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the US. During the whaling days of the 19th century, the right whale got its name because whalers considered it the “right” whale to kill, as it not only was full of valuable whale oil, but it floated after it was dead, which made it easy to handle and process. As a result, it was driven to near extinction. Although the right whale is now protected, its small remnant population continues to suffer losses due to entanglements in commercial fishing gear: Whales drown after becoming wrapped in nets, lines and other equipment. Global climate change, which can affect the availability of the tiny crustaceans on which right whales feed, may prove to be another serious threat to their recovery.

So perhaps a bit more "money" could be spent trying to save these magnificent creatures so that our children's children will not have to go to a museum to see one. I have to say, I was really shocked to find out that there are only 350 of these amazingly beautiful mammals on the planet today. I do recall being in Newfoundland with our family and going on a whale watching tour. We did see whales that day, but I cannot remember if they were right whales or not. If they were then I guess I should consider myself very lucky to have seen and been that close to a creature that is in fact so rare.

Was searching for the next great speech to review when I came across a you tube video of the speech given by Charlie Chapman in a movie called the Great Dictator. The link to the video is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2WJd5bXFg

I guess now I will have to try and track down the movie LOL. The great speech speaks to the true virtues of humanity and how we must utilize our gifts to make a better world. Got love that!

Love this new artist I found on you tube - John Lee Hooker(1917 - 2001

Highly influential American blues singer song writer and guitarist. He started his life out as the son of a sharecropper and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally a unique brand of country blues. Hope you enjoy the link..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmk2lsLsa0

Well that's all for now my friends, other than to say, today I saw compassion, in the hearts of my daughters as they were there for each other, on Facebook as others supported a friend through the loss of their dear pet, and  certainly heard the need for it in the world in the great speech above. I hope that humanity will be able to find the compassion to ensure the protection and return in greater numbers of the right whale. I truly do believe that the world would be a much better place (not that it's so bad now :-)) if we could all find that special part of our heart that feels compassion for another and listens by taking action to reach out, to care, to comfort, to seek to understand.

So until we meet again...

Just when we think we know someone...

I just love it when I discover something new and wonderful about a person in my life. Last week my sister Tiena sent me a link to a site that has all of her poetry on it. She invited me to read it, and read it I did... the entire thing! About an hour later, I had cried, laughed, wondered, reflected, recalled, remembered, experienced compassion, sorrow, joy, overwhelm, amazement, and love. I thought I knew I my sister. We are very close, we are all close in my family. Little did I know the depth of the beauty of her soul. A discovered a whole new voice, and a talent that I had an inkling of, but never really appreciated until having the opportunity to see it all together in one place. I sure hope she keeps writing and posting. For your enjoyment visit http://tienaweina.blogspot.ca/. I didn't think it was possible to love my sister any more than I did, but I have a new sense of deepened appreciation for the way she sees the world, her incredible faith, her divine way of rhyming... and I love her so! Thanks for sharing this very personal journey with me Tiena and now the rest of the world!

There were many poems that I enjoyed, but one in particular stood out because it related to one of my Fabulous 50 Adventures on my list: Contemplating on 50 meaningful life questions:

How Come?

How come so many people are rich,
While so many live so poor?
How come so many have to do without,
While those who have a lot get more?

How come people can be so happy
While others are feeling so sad?
How come so many can find peace
While others will stay mad?

How come so many people think they are right
While others try to prove them wrong?
How come so many people feel so weak
While so many can be so strong?

How come some people can learn so quick
While others try and can't succeed?
How come some people will try to help
While others can't see the need?

How come some countries are so abundant
While other countries must seek constant aid?
How come so many must work for so little
While others are so highly paid?

How come so many will choose righteousness
While others choose crime and will stray?
How come some will leave their hometown
While others will choose to stay?

How come there are such vast differences
In this world of ours, we ask ourselves how come?
What can we do for peace love equality
the answer is in all of us
each and everyone.

I found myself wondering why I spent so much time in the first half of my life wanting to be right. Now that I have reached the age of 50 I seem to have a new found wisdom which guides me to just let it go! There is no need to be right anymore. I guess this is because I have come to realize that there really is no right! Just different versions of a personal perspective based on our own life experiences. I also no longer feel the need to continue in a conversation with a person who does feel the need to be right. Here is something to try the next time that happens. If the person is really insisting that they are right, just stop and tell them, okay you right, in your world and your experience the facts all lead to you being right. And then just let it go. Watch the expression on their face! It is almost guaranteed that they will continue to try and convince you that they are indeed right. It is then it becomes obvious that they really don't care about whether or not they are right, it is really just the need to continue the tension between the two of you. There is a wonderful book called "The Untethered Soul". It speaks to this issue so beautifully, and also the book Oneness. Both were journeys given to me by beautiful friends. I hope you might take the same journey and discover  the way to no longer needing to be right.

Cooked a new recipe on Friday night; straight out of the August Sobeys magazine. It was a wonderful spiced and honey glazed pork chop. I guess I went to the August edition as I was still recovering from the snow on the ground, and not feeling ready to let go of the summer season. I gave serious thought to cracking open the ice sealed BBQ, but opted for the oven instead. The recipe was a bit complicated but they sure tasted good, and I only had to make one trip to the grocery store for the ingredients.

Also visited a place I have never been before today! It was Cherrywood Lane in the Dartmouth. We had the pleasure of visiting the new home of my sister in law and her daughter. They are starting a new adventure of their own, by moving in together. I am sure the two generation family will have some glorious moments with nanny just across the hall each and every morning. It's a beautiful home and one that will be filled with love and joy and laughter, as two young grandsons get to share the same roof with their mom and dad and nanny! I truly do feel that when we began to separate the generational households, we lost so much. I still recall evenings watching the Waltons and wishing that I could have had the pleasure and joy of having my grandparents live under the same roof as our family. So much of life's wisdom is lost across the miles, and between the distance of separate abodes. I wish them well on their journey.

Today I also added another item to Fab 50 Advent #12: by finally learning how to use the two finger, one finger, system on my Mac tracking pad! It was pretty funny when the young gent at the Apple store was looking at me like I had two heads when I just couldn't get it. When he finally said, you use two fingers when you want to do the equivalent of selecting a drop down menu - I was like, oh right, now it makes sense! Which these days seems to take a bit longer than usual... thanks to good old menopause.

Tonight I also added another item to Fab 50 Advent # 25 by watching "It's a wonderful life".  I think I have watched this movie over 30 times! And I still love it. Isn't funny how even when you know the full plot, and the complete ending, a special movie can always move your heart once again, anyway. I always love watching this movie while wrapping Christmas presents.

I had a major brain wave while just about to fall asleep the other night... I was thinking how am I going to interview 50 women over 50 about their perspectives on life before and after 50? This was gonna take a great deal of time. I rarely leave my home (tied to a computer for work all day, and then time spent blogging and on Facebook (lol).  I needed to figure out a very efficient way. So I have a strategy which involves sending out an email to 50 women over 50 and asking them to answer 50 quick questions and hitting reply. I would love to capture these thoughts; serious, humorous, mysterious, and all, and then write a book. So if any of you would like to receive the email please let me know. I will finalize the questions this week, and then send along. You will then have two weeks to answer and send back. :-). Who knows perhaps some of you will enjoy the writing so much you might even start a blog of your own.

I was thinking about this weeks virtue of compassion, and it was interesting to note a video make by Ellen DeGeneres and posted by a Facebook friend of mine. She is speaking of the issue of bullying and sharing her wishes, her concerns, and most importantly her compassion for those who have been or are being bullied. This is truly a women of integrity and the purest compassion I have seen. If only we could help the bullies in the world to understand that they too have compassion, and that there is a way to awaken it. I believe that helping these bullies to find meaning in their life, and to believe that they can make meaningful contributions to society is a beginning. For so many of these bullies there is a lack of compassion, caring, understanding, consideration, etc. And when you add the anonymity of social media there is also a complete lack of human connection which results in disassociation with the human spirit of the individual being bullied and their own soul. There is a wonderful reporter from the Chronicle Herald who is doing a series on the issue and I am appreciating her efforts to try to show all sides of this very complicated issue. Funny though isn't it, it's not really that complicated:love one another and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Where oh where does it all go wrong?

Also another not for profit for Fab Ad #2 - Of course it was the Salvation Army Christmas bowl. This is such a special project and it gives me great joy each year to drop that loose change into the famous red bowl. Think about how long that bowl has been a part of Christmas. I am so grateful for those volunteers who stand along side it, with smiles and friendly Christmas cheer.

...oh my the moon was so beautiful tonight! Took my breath completely away.

and on that note, I think I will lay my head down to sleep.
Until we meet again my friends.

...After a wee bit rest

Well how quickly a week passes. I guess the time of year seems to make the days and evenings all blend together and before you know it, December is just around the corner!  I was beginning to feel a wee bit guilty about not posting for six nights, but then I realized that I get to decide when and what I will post! LOL. That's the beauty of blog. There is no deadline and the topic is totally mine.

Part of the reason I am delayed in posting is that I had a jammed packed wonderful weekend! Friday night I had the privilege and joy of hosting five of my nieces and one of my nephews. This tradition started about 11 years ago and has now become a full weekend adventure to which I look forward to with great anticipation. It seems to grow a little bit bigger each year. This year we started with arrival on Friday evening with each of them getting mix their batch of gingerbread cookie dough. The flour was flying, the mixing spoons clanking, the ginger and cloves emitting their glorious odour! After clean up we all headed to the Town Christmas Tree lighting ceremony and fireworks. Then back home to make special Christmas crafts for moms and dads. This was followed with Arnold's Christmas movie and then the infamous made up story routine with cousin Abby. ...and what a story it was, all crafted from key words, places, numbers, names and animals provided by each of the kids. This year was a fabulous journey of Evan Blake and the special peppermint Christmas Candy. It included magic toilets, a beyond bananas amount of candies, special sleeping dust and an incredible Kangarooooooo.

This brings me to last weeks sacred space. I have to say that sitting there watching these beautiful children so captivated by my amazing daughter, and her incredible stories, was definitely spending time in a sacred space. So special and forever imprinted in my memory bank of special moments.

Story Time with Abby

Twas the night of Gingerbread Cookie day
When all the nieces and nephew in bed did lay
With teeth brushed and the movie and snacks complete
It was time for Abby's Story, unique and a very special treat.

Eyes were all focused, and lips were all sealed
As they awaited with pleasure the plot to be revealed
Each was asked for their special addition
To help bring the story to fruition.

Then Abby her magic began to spin
As each item was masterly crafted within.
As giggles and laughter filled the room
as the story emerged and continued to bloom.

Evan Blake was the hero and Christmas he saved
with magic Kangaroo pouches and Christmas dust sprayed
transporting flushing toilets and mysterious trees
all covered in peppermint candies instead of leaves.

In the end Evan Blake no more candy did he take
And nieces and nephew could no longer stay awake.
So with smiles on their faces and visions of candy peppermint dust in their heads
They all settled down nicely snuggled into their beds.

Virtue Pick for this week:

I love this Virtue! And the timeliness of it coming forward is so appropriate. As we enter the holiday season we thing a great deal about what we are truly devoted to. For me spending this past weekend with my nieces and nephew reminded me of how devoted I am to spending time with them. They bring such joy to my life and such wonder and awe as I watch them grow, and begin to express their souls and their personalities. I don't know how many times this past weekend I found myself just stepping back and feeling so grateful for their presence in my life. And when the parents joined us, and my mom and step dad, I also knew that planning special times to bring my extended family together would always be a devotion of mine. For as the final quote above states: "I am grateful for the gift of devotion. It makes me fully alive." Every year as I sit exhausted wondering if I can keep up with pace of youth and family gatherings, I know that somehow as the month of November creeps up the following year I will totally forget the messy house, the tired bones, and the complete exhaustion and with total joy and glee dive in once again with the plans for the annual gingerbread cookie party/craft time/sleepover annual event.

So what exactly are we devoted to in our lives? I am hoping that we each are devoted to things that have great meaning to us, and that bring us joy and gratitude. As the card above says, 'discernment is the first step in discovering what is worthy of our devotion. I hope that I and you will be to discern what calls to us so strongly that we cannot resist and that we know it is truly ours to do. It's interesting to think how much time in our lives we spend doing things that we must do, that we feel obligated to do, that other's expect us to do, that are just the easiest and therefore the first thing we do. I am thinking however that all of these things can eat up our precious time, and that it is very important for us to discern our true devotions so that we guard that precious time and be assured that we are fulfilling our life's purpose and not that of another. To ensure that our heart is full and bursting with gratitude rather than resentment, frustration, and regret. So tell me my friends, do you do what you love and love what you do? I am getting closer each and ever day, but it is truly a hard journey. I had an amazing conversation with my daughter the other day and I told her that I was having a very difficult time making a decision and I could not figure out why. What we discovered at the end of our conversation was that the struggle was due to the fact that this decision was totally about me, I no longer had to factor in my kids, my work, my husband, my other obligations. I was totally free to do what I wanted and that was very unknown territory to me. So entering the fabulous 50 years, there is a totally new bonus, I get to deeply discern to what I wish to be devoted and .... It's all about Me!" Oh la la, isn't that exciting.

So looking forward to the Holiday Season and thinking this is a great time to learn how to say some holiday greeting in French:

So I wish you a merry Christmas becomes Je vous souhaite un Joyeux Noël. Isn't that beautiful? And my very favorite "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me!" becomes  et Que la paix soit sur ​​terre. Which brings me to the next song lyrics I wish to learn:

Let There be Peace on Earth: Enjoy the you tube link to Vince Gills version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPH4LRASWbo

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

So to end today's blog I am so excited about tomorrows... my Sister Tiena writes beautiful poetry and I discovered in reading her blog that she wrote one all about meaningful questions in life. So I am going to write about that poem and some of the questions she posed. Stay tuned...

...and with that I will leave you with the next book on my list of new author's to read. I am about half way through Pema Chodron's book, The Places That Scare You... fabulous and would really recommend. http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Places_That_Scare_You.html?id=DRkSAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y

... until we meet again my friends. 

I am Woman Hear me Roar!

(Helen Reddy and Ray Burton)
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to
I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

For full lyrics go to: http://www.lyricstime.com/helen-reddy-i-am-woman-lyrics.html

What a great song! Fab 50 Ad #12 - Going to learn the words to this song. Every time I am with a group of women and that song comes on, the whole room just rocks! The spirit of woman enters the room and sisterhood stomps its way onto the scene! 

It is interesting to note that Helen Reddy wrote that song in 1975 during the international year of the woman. The idea for the song came to me after reading the famous Speech (Fab 50 Ad # 19) by Ernestine L. Rose - Address on Women's Rights written in 1812. This rather long but simply amazing and articulate, as well as incredibly courageous, speech ends with the following quote: 

"But she must do it, or she will ever remain a slave, for of all tyranny that of superstition is the greatest, and he is the most abject slave who tamely submits to its yoke. Woman, then, must east it off as her greatest enemy; and the time I trust will come when she will aid man to remove the political, civil, and religious evils that have swept over the earth like some malignant scourge to lay waste and destroy so much of the beauty, harmony, and happiness of man; and the old fable of the fall of man through a woman will be superseded by the glorious fact that she was instrumental in the elevation of the race towards a higher, nobler, and happier destiny."

Had me thinking of the photo I saw of Hillary Clinton on the news last night shaking hands with some foreign diplomat, looking very tired, on the other side of the world, trying to bring peace and positive diplomatic relations in a world of utter chaos. We have a come a long way baby since that speech of 1812. 

I love a post I found at the end of the speech by Julianna Weisgarber · University of Northern British Columbia

"You don't have to look into history to see women's strength, although it is certainly there. Ask any adult woman about her life. Women survive the most horrific things in this world and overcome a constant deluge of attitudes that tell them that they aren't moral enough, strong enough, interesting enough, attractive enough, skilled enough, and smart enough, and live in cultures and societies that repeatedly tell them they don't matter. From male brutality and violence to being less valued than their brothers (or embryos), women in all countries still live in a toxic environment. But they continue to grow, learn, push forward and achieve their goals, often changing the world in the process."

I decided to google how many political women leaders we have in the world today. There are 20 Female world leaders currently in power. Check out http://www.filibustercartoons.com/charts_rest_female-leaders.php  if you would like to see the list. But then I found myself wondering about the question posed during the recent Presidential debates. A young women asked the candidates to describe what they would do to ensure equal pay for equal work. Neither candidate answered the question! They spoke of all of the support programs they would put into place for women so that they could in fact go to work, and stay there, (all great things) and then of course Biden made his now infamous statement about the "binder full of women" he now had, but not one word was said about proposing legislation that would make it illegal to pay a man more money for the same job, if both the man and woman had the same qualifications. Hmmmm seems like us women still have some work to do. 


Well that's all for tonight, kind of a heavy topic, but chin up ladies 
remember 

We are  woman, hear us roar!
In numbers too big to ignore,
And we know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause we've heard it all before
And we''ve been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep us down again! 


I do have to say though, that if I think of all this in relation to the virtue of mindfulness, it certainly does make me grateful for the rights that I do have now as a woman, earned with great pain, hardship, and passion by all of those women who came before me. I am so happy to be able to come and go as I please, speak my mind, wear what I want, yell when I want, have relationships with whom I want, raise my children they way I want, vote and for who I want, debate in public, apply for the same jobs as a man, and heck even decide I don't need a man to survive or be loved (you go Ellen!).   

So on that note, until we meet again... 

Keeping the mind young

Dr. Oz and Miguel Ruiz both believe that a sure fired way to keep our minds young and to prevent Alzheimer's is to challenge our minds to learn new learns and to force our brain to shift the way it is used to doing routine things. So yesterday I switched my watch from my left arm to my right... lol. I can't tell you how many times today I looked at my left arm to see what time it was and then thought, geeze what did I do with my watch? Then I would remember that I put it on my right arm, have a good chuckle, and then struggle to lift the sleeve on my right arm with my left hand to see the face of my watch. I sure hope this does lead to a re-energized brain as I am was sort of feeling like I was losing my mind a few times today when I keep looking at my left arm to find the time.


The so intelligent men, Oz and Ruiz, also say that forcing your brain to learn new things helps to generate new brain cells and keep us young. So today I had the opportunity to really test this theory. I had to learn all about the multi functions of google chrome, google drive and google mail. After three hours on the phone with my tutor, I think I have finally cracked the code. It sure was a test for this middle aged menopausal brain. The real test will come tomorrow when I attempt to apply all that I learned today. Here's hoping! The good news is that I can knock off another Fab 50 Adv # 12 - learn 50 new things. So that's two on that list. I learned how to set up and populate a blog, and am now a google master (well here's hoping :-)).

So time to write a little poem for this week: (Fab 50 Ad# 9)

Middle aged Modern Social Media Momma

She's a women with a mission,
wanting to establish her social media position.
She's created a blog,
working her way through the technical smog.
Through fear, confusion and frustration,
She will get her posts to the nation.

She's floundered her way through Facebook
posting comments, links, likes and photos she took.
She's a master at searching and poaching
other's beautiful and meaningful postings.

She has boogled her way through google,
mail, calendar, drive, and links,
hoping to keep above water
treading with care to avoid a nasty sink.

A profile on Linked In is created.
Is there value, it's to be debated.
The inbox now overflowing,
with emails from those I am unknowing.

Yet to come is the world of Twitter
Can she conquer it or will she be a quitter.
Then there is Pinterest, jumping ahead of the rest.
And Lord knows what will be next.

Onwards and upwards she climbs,
Knowing that its only a matter of time,
Before she's completely out of her mind!
But the whole world will be aware
and will have watched as she worked her way there!

Found a new place in Victoria Park that I had never  been before today, while Sid and I carried our sorry little behinds up several flights of stairs. After yesterdays walk we were stiff and sore, and then crazily thought it would be a good idea to do the walk again, only this time backwards, meaning that we had to walk up several hundreds steps, instead of down several hundred sets of steps. When we reached the top there was a trail we had taken before, so seeing this a way to achieve yet another Fab 50 Ad # 5 (50 places I had never been before) off we ventured. Discovered yet another beautiful part of the amazing Park.

As I made my list today of supplies I need for the annual Gingerbread Cookie party with my nieces and nephews this weekend, I found myself thinking back over the past 10 years or so of doing this fun event with them and my daughters. I was looking back through photos the other night trying to find good ones for my memory album, and I cam across the photos of the very first time we did this with our little nephew Brennan and nice Katie. I think they were just 2 and maybe six months. We took an amazing photo with the four kids on the couch with flour on their noses. Since that time we have had at least ten gingerbread cookie parties since that time growing in numbers to about 20 people and a gazillion amazing memories. Now my grown girls can't wait until it is time to start planning again. The event now includes a sleepover and a Christmas craft session, a potluck supper, and then off to the Santa Claus Parade.  One of my favorite parts of this annual memory time is listening to my oldest daughter Abby do 'made up story time' with all the little ones sitting attentively, and laughing hysterically as she places their kooky characters, places, names, etc into the story. This one will definitely be an entry in the memories scrapbook. (Fab 50 Ad #22).

Well time to sign off for tonight with a tidbit about where I came into contact with the virtue of mindfulness today. There were several posts on Facebook today about being mindful of those who are in times of trouble and worry, and taking the time to hold them in our prayers, thoughts, and intentions. These are very powerful mindful reminders of the good in our own lives, and how quickly it can all change. Watching Ellen today I realized what an incredibly mindful women she is; seeking out those who do good in the world and taking the time to thank them, and reward them. God I love that show and that woman. Also as we walked through beautiful Victoria Park, I was very mindful of how fortunate I am to live in a town where such a amazing treasure is available to me right in my back yard.

Enjoyed adding another recipe to Fav 50 Ad # 8, chicken with mushrooms in white wine sauce! (Recipe from Sobeys!). Very  yummy and not nearly as challenging as the won ton soup!

So with that I will say I love you all, whoever you are (already over 900 visits to my blog, even though I don't know who) in the next language on my Fab 50 Ad # 27 - Japanese: One of the most popular phrases in any language is probably, "I love you". In Japanese, "love" is, "ai （愛）", and the verb form "to love" is, "aisuru（愛する）". "I love you" can be literally translated as, "aishite imasu （愛しています）". "Aishiteru （愛してる）", "aishiteru yo （愛してるよ）" or "aishiteru wa (愛してるわ,female speech)" is normally used in conversation. However, the Japanese don't say "I love you" as often as people in the west do, mainly because of cultural differences. I am not surprised if someone from Japan says that they have never used this expression in their life.

To date I have ticked off at least one item for 26 different Fab 50 Adventure items. Just saying... boy is this fun! 

So until we meet again...