Our Internal Roadmaps

If you believe Abraham Hicks, then we are attracted to ‘like’ things in our life. We are living magnets – our thoughts manifest our activities in life; our experiences are manifestations of our inner desires – subliminal as they might be.

In Psychology Today, an article referenced our ‘love map’ – a predefined laundry list already embedded in each of us which shapes whom we are attracted to:
“Among the myriad forces that sculpt our romantic choices is what I call your 'love map,' an unconscious list of qualities you begin to build in childhood. Your mother's wit and way with words; your father's interest in politics and tennis; what your siblings like and hate; the values of your friends and teachers; what you see on television. All your childhood (and adult) experiences shape and reshape your template of the ideal romantic partner.”

So, do you agree with this? True it seems that all our life experiences shape our psyche, but how does this theory support then, say, divorce, career changes, other life-altering changes?

PhotoHunt: Thanks

Many ideas come to mind - giving thanks for all the things that make life complete -family, friends, nature, beauty, kindness, faith, love, etc. But I've chosen a very basic idea - life. I give thanks to life - pure, simple, everyday, breathing, baby-fresh life. Amen.

A Loss

My friend lost one of her best friend this week - her ex-husband. You can empathize and sympathize and be present but wonder if that is ever enough comfort? It's the tumultuous well of sadness you feel when someone you love is so grief-stricken.

Joan and Tommy had a unique, maybe a contemporary, relationship. Although divorced and living all aspects of their lives apart, they still remained best friends. His death was unexpected and much too suddenly for Joannie. She had recently undergone foot surgery and he visited her daily to spend time with her while she was immobile.

So for Joannie, my dear friend:

May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong. ~Chief Dan George

Much love.

The Color of Yellow

The Color of Yellow

And what does it feel like?" we asked.
"Well, " she said,
leaning over to us like a secret,
"it feels like a gust of wind
blowing inside your heart.
It feels like bright yellow paint."

~ Monique Duvall, The Persistence of Yellow

One of my favorite flowers - plumeria - can't you smell them?

Oscar Hangover

In tribute to glorious Hollywood:
a quote from Audrey Hepburn:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.

Never throw any one away.

One more for Trekcapri

I promised this photo of the Alhambra's 12 lion fountain.

From Jeff Shapiro, Secrets of Sant'Angelo:

"Precariousness gives life an appetizing poignancy, don't you think?

PhotoHunt: Warm

I'm dreaming of a chair in the warm sun. This was taken in 2006 - Naples - Florida that is!

I captured this meme from Annie, Churches in Venice,

The things I've done are marked with an asterisk. *

*Started your own blog
*Slept under the stars
Played in a band (in kindergarten)
*Visited Hawaii
*Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
*Been to Disneyland/world
*Climbed a mountain
*Held a praying mantis
*Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
*Visited Paris
*Watched a lightning storm at sea
*Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
*Had food poisoning
*Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (well-I've been but could not walk to the top)
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
*Had a pillow fight
*Hitchhiked
*Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
*Built a snow fort
*Held a lamb (Thank God for Girl Scouts)
*Gone skinny dipping
*Been to a Broadway show in NY
Ran a Marathon
*Been in three states at once (actually 4 at 4 Corners)
*Ridden in a gondola in Venice
*Seen a total eclipse
*Hit a home run
*Been on a Cruise
*Seen Niagara Falls in Person
Visited the birthplace of your Ancestors
Seen an Amish community
*Taught yourself a new language (haven't been successful but 'tried')
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
*Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
*Gone rock climbing
*Seen Michelangelo’s David
*Sung karaoke (and you don't want to listen)
*Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
*Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
*Gone deep sea fishing
*Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
*Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
*Kissed in the rain
*Played in the mud
*Been to Grace Kelley’s grave in Monaco
*Gone to a drive-in
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
*Taken a martial arts class
Swam in the Mediterranean Sea
Visited Russia
*Served at a soup kitchen
*Sold Girl Scout cookies
*Gone whale watching
*Gotten flowers for no reason
*Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
*Saved a favorite childhood toy (my children's - not mine. Xmas ornament, tho!)
*Visited the Lincoln Memorial
*Eaten Caviar
*Pieced a quilt
*Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
*Been on a speeding motorcycle
*Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book (helped edit one)
*Visited the Vatican
*Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
*Had your picture in the newspaper
Read the entire Bible
*Visited the White House
Killed and prepared my own meat
*Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
*Sat on a jury
*Met someone famous
*Joined a book club
*Lost a loved one
*Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
*Been stung by a bee

This was fun! Avellino (my ancesteral home), Paris, Africa, China, Jerusalem are high on my list to visit. But, looks like DC and London will be first.

Sonnet XVII

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Get on with It

There is nothing for you to go back and live over, or fix, for feel regret about. Every part of your life has unfolded just right. And so, now, knowing all that you know from where you now stand, now what do you want?

The answers are now coming forth to you. Go forth in joy, and get on with it.
~Abraham Hicks

May your day be filled with warmth and inner sunshine.

Ka'elele leo 'ole o ke aloha.
(The voiceless messenger of love.)

Tashmoo, MV

Tashmoo Cove, Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard


Tashmoo, a Wampanaog name, is a regular boat trip in the summer. West Chop light is the beacon to mark our route. This cove hugs you with its simplicity, serenity and beauty. My sister and I joke that this house on the water suit us fine! Diving off the end of the boat is a family tradition – now being carried out by the youngest.

PhotoHunt: Nautical

Cape Cod - mais oui! It's a short distance from Falmouth Heights to Martha's Vineyard. So,on a warm summer day, the water races are a common thing. The Wiannos are a Cape Cod design inspired boat. Generally a good racing boat and good for kids to get their sea legs wet.

The lighthouse in the way to Woods Hole from Falmouth.

I Can feel it

Spring is getting close! (Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe)

Italian Films

I began created a home dvd library, stocking it with movies made in Italy. Romantic or suspense movies are my primary focus …Godfather, not soo much.

Would like to expand my library. Have any suggestions for other movies? This is what I have so far:

A Good Woman
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Dangrous Beauty
The Italian Job El Postino
Life is Beautiful

He's Still the One

Follow My Bliss at http://followbarbsbliss.blogspot.com/ inspired me to write this tonight as Ty and I celebrate our first Valentine's Day together in over 30 years. (Yup, not a typo.)

We met in our early 20s – wanderlust for me. I ended up on Oahu after travelling cross-country with a friend and met up with other friends living in Kaneohe. Ty is Hawaiian, living all his life on Oahu. Ty and I worked for the same tour company in Hawaii. To say we didn't hit it off initially would be underemphasizing our initial disdain for each other. Yet somehow things changed, and we began dating each other off and on for about a year.

A trip home to Boston for my packing to move permanently to Hawaii proved the test of our relationship. My dad's stroke, Ty's resulting visit to Boston, the differences in the pace of our lives, attitude, and cultural habits were amplified by our immaturity. It was disastrous for our relationship. With little discussion resulting with no commitments made, our relationship just laid in limbo. Ty returned to Hawaii and I stayed in Boston. Except for one phone call to say 'goodbye' did we not speak again.

Fast forward almost 30 years later with a fax I sent him to ask his assistance in recommendations for my sister's travel - of course with a brief intro ‘hi-how’s life been for you over the past 20 something years’ - really with no other motive behind the request just to inquire how life was going for him. Four months later I received an email from him.

For over a year we re-connected via email and got to know each other again about our disparate lives. I had married and divorced, had two children and pretty much stayed in the New England area. He continued working in the tourism business, never married nor had children. It was apparent that each of us was in a ‘good’ place in time to become reacquainted. And so it goes. After many emails and frequent flyer miles to Hawaii and Boston, our home is now in Boston together.

Something to be said about a mature love. It’s the right time, the right place. Happy Valentine's Day!

Teaser Tuesday - a day late

TEASER TUESDAY

Taken from Fizzy Thoughts
http://fizzybeverage.blogspot.com/2009/02/tuesday-teaser.html
•Grab your current read.
•Let the book fall open to a random page.
•Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere
between lines 7 and 12.
•You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your
“teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations
if they like the teaser you’ve given!
•Please avoid spoilers!

Here’s my Teaser:
You should feel how my heart races? And it’s that way the entire night, every time I almost drop off. Shock, shock, shock! (Secrets of Sant’Angelo by Jeff Shapiro, p 181).

Letter Meme = Taking the plunge

To participate, all you have to do is ask for your letter, and voila...you will have an instant topic to post about.

Girasoli (http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/girasoli/) gave me letter ‘p’. Here’s my 10 items.

1. Pizza – I’m Italian – how could I not love pizza? Although ‘pasta’ generally wins over pizza.

2. Photography – one of my many hobbies. Helps keep the creative light within.

3. Psychology – A college major. Also enjoy reading books dealing with this topic.

4. Parochial School – elementary and high school

5. Palmer method – see #4.

6. Poi – a staple of Hawaiian people – something my fiancé misses most about his homeland. I can’t bring myself to eat the purplish starchy acrid paste – sorry.

7. Patriots – I’m from Boston – how could I NOT say this one. Also brings to mind ‘Paul Revere’.

8. Peanut Butter – slowly becoming my favorite snack – good for protein, fiber – a metabolism boost when exercising.

9. Pam – my sister’s name.

10. Pikake - favorite scent of the Hawaiian Islands - that and 'plumeria' - always reminds me of stepping foot on Oahu for the first time.

Thought for today

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
-Paul Coelho

(Photo courtesy of Boston Globe - Westminster Dog Show)

How Well Travelled Are You?

Girasoli's blog (http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/girasoli/) made me do it ---

How Well Traveled Are You?

Your Travel Profile:
You Are Extremely Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (100%)
You Are Very Well Traveled in the Western United States (68%)
You Are Well Traveled in Canada (60%)
You Are Well Traveled in Southern Europe (60%)
You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Southern United States (38%)
You Are Mostly Untraveled in Western Europe (14%)
You Are Mostly Untraveled in Latin America (7%)
You Are Untraveled in Africa (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Asia (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Australia (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%)
You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%)
You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%)
You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%)
You Are Untraveled in the Midwestern United States (0%)
You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)

OK-The Northeast is no surprise; Asia has been on my list except for the many current health precautions. So, maybe Africa - no, there is too much civil unrest; Ditto for Middle East; Australia - now there's one I could do BUT I would have to leave from Hawaii otherwise it would be too long a flight; Ditto New Zealand; UK and Eastern Europe - not so much, until the euro declines. OHIO here I come!

Quissett Harbor

On a map, Falmouth is the place with all the little 'finger's near the elbow of Massachusetts which is Cape Cod. One of these tranquil almost secret harbors is Quissett. A delightfully refreshing sail on a summer's day from Falmouth's Harbor to Quissett. One shot was taken from the water, the other from the shore.

Longing for Summer

It's the doldrums of winter on the East Coast, a prolonged winter which I and everyone else in our circle blames Ty for disturbing the coastal karma and upsetting the balance of winter and summer with his relocation.. But, I digress..

This weariness, coldness and the anticipation of the next photohunt's subject, nautical, which is near and dear to my heart, got me reminiscing of my Falmouth time...where I spend most summer weekend days.

About 45 minutes into my summer escape by car and crossing over the Bourne bridge, the smell of salt air is like a sedative for all that is good.

Here's where I spend my summers -Falmouth and on the water. Clamming and quahogging in the mud at low tide. In my very young days, we spent every summer at the Cape (not Falmouth, but Dennisport) and my uncles would quahog and clam and bring home brimming buckets that my grandmother and aunts quickly stuffed, baked and steamed. Mmmm- I didn't realize what a treat this was then.

Quality time is spent at the beach. Here are a few of Falmouth's beaches along with the dock and Falmouth harbor. It captures the beauty of this shore.

PhotoHunt: Bridges

The Lenny Zakim bridge, that spans over the Charles River from Boston's North End and connects to Charlestown, is probably the most gorgeous hunk of steel and cables in the US, IMHO. It's creation was part of Boston's Big Dig Project (yes, finally completed) and is in the place of what Bostonians knew as the Bunker Hill Bridge. It's where Paul Revere crossed the Charles in his 'British are coming' charge. It's known as the world's widest cable bridge.

For those familiar with the North End, the picture that has the water is located now on a bricked walkway from Faneiul Market to the North End (in front of where Martinetti's Liquors used to reside.

In anticipation

of the PhotoHunt this Saturday, I am posting 'bridge' photos that did not make my No. 1 Cut. I have a 'thing' about photographing bridges. The first is taken from a boat entering Nantucket Harbor (it might be hard to see but a small walkway bridge connecting the road; probably one of my most interesting places to visit Spain, the old road into Toledo is beside Nantucket; and last (but not least) is Italy, Casel Sant'Angelo.

When is Home, HOME?

Most of you know that Ty moved from Hawaii to Boston in June. After 7 months, is Boston home? We have this discussion frequently. I mean, yes, physically the move has been made - lifetime items have been shifted through, boxes shipped, territory in a home has been mapped out for personal, private space.

But, there is an entire psychological component to one's thinking that prepares the psyche to imagine a place as a home. Is it when you know all the local ad jingles, or when you can find your way in an unfamiliar place, or when you secure a driver's license from your newly-adopted state, or gain permanent status in your job? Is it ever really home?

The adaptation seemingly has gone smoothly for him. Not sure I could have handled it so well. I was in Hawaii for over two years and came home to say "goodbye" to Boston to move everything out to Oahu permanently and didn't do it. A number of factors entered into my staying in Boston but it was a tug of mind for me.

So, when is home HOME?

25 things about me meme

My daughter, thinking she was being funny, 'tagged' me in Facebook to this meme. I did it and this is my poor excuse for tagging 25 more people.

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people, then click publish.)

1. You don't really need to know 25 random things about me. There's probably something more interesting for you to do.
2. I have a huge cat named Ronan and inherited another cat from my daughter.
3. I live in Boston but would rather be in Hawaii if it weren't so far away from the East Coast.
4. If I could I would travel the world.
5. I wouldn't change anything about my life.
6. I actually enjoy cooking.
7. My favorite season is summer.
8. Of all the cities I've visited in Italy, Sienna is my favorite place.
9. I prefer Maui to Oahu.
10. I am still young at heart.
11. I am doublejointed.
12.I'm a capricorn.
13. Poison Ivy is not my friend.
14. I keep 'to do' lists.
15. I used to love the Cherry Ames RN as a kid - never became a nurse tho.
16. I took glider lessons.
17. Dark chocolate is best.
18. My sister taught me to sew when I was 12.
19. I was a cheerleader in high school for one and only sports team - a girl's basketball team.
20.Have learned it's more important to 'do' rather than to 'have'.
21. I love to garden.
22. I like modern design.
23. I had legionnaire's disease.
24. I generally stand with both my legs and feet together.
25. I am deeply grateful for my family and friends.

The Alchemist

"The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil in the spoon."

I had this book on my shelf for a while - part of a reading group in work - but never got around to reading it until this week. Why did I wait so long to read such an inspirational novel - with a blend of wit and simplicity, it's an easy read but truly moving. It's so important to listen to our hearts.

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho

Six More Weeks

Ahh- another six weeks of winter~

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Can I last another six weeks with this weather? Do you remember the movie, Groundhog Day? When some one mentions that movie, my kids still joke about my experience. In 1993, while I was in graduate school and at the time teaching to fulfill one of my requirements, as well as working part time as a tax paralegal, having a cold and being a full-time mom, I took them to see this premier.

Having over one hour to spend in a movie theater, I feel asleep. Every time I woke up, the same (or so I thought) frame was showing in the movie. I thought I had entered a state of delirium…..

My kids will never let me live that one down..
(Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe)