Wordless Wednesday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5c39PZFQ4&feature=player_embedded

(I'm not techo-savvy to embed this correctly into the blog. But I did want to give thanks to East Coast Wahine for bringing this to my attention.)

My Gift from the Sea

I confess - I pilfered a book bought as a stocking stuffer for my daughter. It's Gift from the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh. I read this book over 25 years ago but still cherish her encouraging and self-reflecting meditations. Her passages brought me comfort while going through a painfully emotional divorce. Her words today bring inspiration and reminders of my life's priorities: "To live in grace" as Lindbergh defines "inner harmony, essential spirituality which can translate into outward harmony". Lessons learned from the shells of the beach - the art of shedding (physical, hypocrisy) and simplify. Ah, my mantra these days - 'less is more'. Simplification of my outward life is progressing - inwardly, well that's another chapter.


When we start at the center of ourselves, we discover something worthwhile extending toward the periphery of the circle. We find again some of the joy in the now, some of the peace in the here, some of the love in me and thee which go to make up the kingdom of heaven on earth. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

No Resolutions

except one. Mindfulness. I have been thinking how to celebrate the new year with something that resonates with me now and in the future. I thought about the words: reflection, patience, compassion. Although each connotes many emotions and actions which could be a topic of self-improvement, it was mindfulness that incapsulated the sentiment I was seeking. So, taking the time to notice things as they are or sometimes seeing things with a different lens is key for me in 2010.

May your new year be filled with all the wealth of happiness and healthiness you seek. Over and out for 2009.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Photo courtesy of internet.

A Mash Up

Family calls but I wanted to post for Wordless Wednesday and Gratitude Friday:

Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor to measure words but to pour them all out, just as it is, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away. -- George Elliot


Buon Natale and Mele Kalikimaki everyone in my blog world!

Though the weather outside is frightful

... It does make for a white christmas! (But it makes me miss Hawaii even more.)

PhotoHunt: Fast

as in fast food - Hawaiian style. I mentioned my love of signs - all kinds of signs. This neon sign seemed like a throwback to Old Hawaii when I saw it a few years ago. LikeLike is a highway in Oahu that traverses north to south, but the drive 'inn' is not on the Likelike and is not a drive through restaurant anymore. But, I do like the idea of this sign - saimin and all!

Gratitude Friday: Love

I am grateful for the love of family and friends. My life is overflowing with the warmth and care of these people in my life. Best to all my blogging friends.

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new
world is born. ~ Anais Nin

Wordless Wednesdays

The light of the candle, during this season, reminds me of the hope of peace. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all.

PhotoHunt; Undesirable

The rack at the Tower of London, a fortress and later a prison. Many a fair maiden, knight, and even a few queens met their fate here. The reigning monarch sent "undesirables" (dissenters of the Crown) to the Tower for a permanent stay at the Tower. Sir Thomas More was one of many who experienced the torture of the rack at the Tower before being beheaded in jolly 'ole England.

Gratitude Friday: Books

More specifically, books by Pat Conroy. I fell in love with his writing with The Great Santini, which lured me into reading The Prince of Tides. His new book, South of Broad, does not let me down. His artistry and the images he paints with his words are masterful. Who else could describe the his father's love of stars as "love songs written to him by God"?

Quote for the Day

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make.
Something you do. Something you are. And, something you give away. ~ Robert Fulghum

Wordless Wednesdays

Doesn't the moon seem larger and brighter in a winter sky?

Smile

..you're on candid camera! Have a surprisingly fun day!

Quote for the Day

Shadow and Light


How does
a part of the world
leave the world?
How does wetness
leave water?

Don’t try to put out fire
by throwing on more fire!

Don’t wash a wound
with blood.

No matter how fast you run,
your shadow keeps up.

Sometimes it’s in front!

Only full overhead sun
diminishes your shadow.

But that shadow
has been serving you.

What hurts you,
blesses you.

Darkness
is your candle.

Your boundaries
are your quest.

I could explain this,
but it will break
the glass cover
on your heart,
and there’s no fixing that.

You must have
shadow and light source
both.

Listen,
and lay your head
under the tree of awe.

When from that tree
feathers and wings
sprout on you,
be quieter than a dove.

Don’t even open your mouth
for even a coo. ~ Rumi

PhotoHunt: Curved

Both of these photos were taken in England. The first is a rower on the Thames, under an arched/curved bridge. The second, well, what can I say - curved lines of a spider's web. PS: Sorry I haven't been blogging of late - life seems to be a little hectic at the moment. Hope this week is better. Enjoy your weekend - we are getting our first forecast of snow.