Is it really all good?

       

I am a bookworm.  And a music lover.  Not a musician, but a lover of music.  (I leave the musicianship to our 3 very talented littles.)  As a youngster, I would race to the public library and spend my time lost in adventures.   I have my own library full of books in my home now.  OK, maybe more than I should have all over the house, but the very old vintage ones with those wonderful spines are very decorative, and they are my absolute faves.  I haven't read all of them, either.  Most of them I have acquired at used book sales, and I have posted before about the ones with that lovely script handwriting of old, claiming ownership or gifting a book to a new owner.  Yes, Old Friends for sure.  

Now as I curl up with a book, currently A Force for Good by Daniel Goleman, to try and distract me from tragic news that arrived earlier in the day, I peer at my piano and notice the old barnwood sign made by a friend that reads, "It's all good".  Yet, it really isn't.  For my heart pains for a tragic loss of a young extended family member who died much too young.  We didn't know him well, but it hurts just to know that his immediate family unit is totally numb.  

And we go on. 

Not being able to focus on any reading, I turn on the tube which doesn't get much use because there really isn't anything good on anymore, except for the cool stuff on National Geographic or the History channel.  And I click through channels only to hear more bad news.  Tragedy all over the place.  There has to be something good going on somewhere in the world in which we live.  But why don't we hear or see any of it on TV?  Has society gone so far off the rails that it must tune into such dark and negative and painful sufferings of humanity for entertainment?  How sad!

So, I call it a day, cuddle up to my wonderful husband of 29 years, close my eyes and go inward to tap into the glory of my awakened soul which keeps me in tune.

I realize that I am only one.  And I wonder sometimes if it is possible for just one person to make a difference in this life where there is so much chaos and strife among our fellow man.  I am strong. I am hopeful.  And I am determined.  So yes, I will go forward with my radiant light, in hopes that someone who is in the dark will see it, and understand that they are not alone.  Most of all, that there IS light, even in darkness.  

 

I am grateful for all that I  have.  And I urge all of you to practice compassion wherever you may go.  One simple act can make all the difference in the world to another human being.  Help me to keep humanity from destroying itself.  For then, yes, it will be ALL GOOD!

GK...REST IN PEACE!

More Snow...really???

Waking up to more snow on April 4th is not what I had in mind as little # 3 has to trek through the mountains to go back to school.  Of course, if she hadn't been playing around all weekend, she would've listened to the 'rents and gone back before the snow started!  But heck, what do we know?  We are just the PARENTS, who know nothing!!! 

Poor geese are soooo confused!

Of course, after her white-knuckle driving experience that took her much, much longer than normal, she has arrived safely back on campus...just in time to go to work!  Don't ya just love it???

 

So, take a stroll around the pond with me...but bundle up, cause Baby it's cold outside!

THINKING SPRING....REAL HARD!!!    ALOHA!  

April Foolishness

Well, if the snow had come on April 1st, we would have laughed a little more.  But here on April 3rd, it is soooo not funny!  The poor daffodils were caught off guard and the temperature plunge back into the 20's and then into the teens is not what we had in mind after the 60 - 70 degree days of last week.

The high winds are bringing down alot of dead branches that we are using in the woodstove, keeping us nice and warm through this early spring freeze.  The birds are confused, and I did not hear a peep out of the spring peepers last night. I hope they burrowed down deep into the leaves in the woods to survive, for their sounds were the true welcoming of Spring.

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

 Author: unknown Linking up with LauraI HEART MACRO

JUST BE!

“As you breathe in, cherish yourself. 

As you breathe out, cherish all Beings.”

- Dalai Lama XIV

There is a great convo that started over at Kat Eye Studio about living your life with creativity and doing fun things, while juggling the daily routine of seemingly endless obligations.  And if there were more hours in the day, we would just pack that much more in, to try and compensate for the "lost time" of not really getting anything accomplished at all.

And to that I say, "To each his own".  We all live different lives, but not really.  We must recognize that in spite of our differences in cultures, belief systems, geographic locations and more, we are still ONE as humans BE-ing.  It is the be-ing part that seems to get tangled up along the way by our own inner turmoils and demands, or by the external forces that are thrust upon us as individuals.

We put more pressure on our own selves, by way of the EGO, as much as others do upon us for their own expectations of us.  They have no rights over us as individuals to do that.  So, just BE who you are!  Go inward, find your true authentic self.  Not what you "think" you should be.  Nor what others think you should be.  And I say this all the time, "If we could just get out of our own way!"  Well you can!  With the practice of mindfulness!

We are each created in the perfect image of our CREATOR.  So put your uniqueness and creativity out there, at your own pace, in your own space with your own spin and JUST BE!

IT'S ALL GOOD!

Lost and Found

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.

                                                                                                   ~ Harriet Ann Jacobs

It is the springtime of our awakening.  You are no longer lost...you have been found! We must go inward, get out of our own way, and pull out all that is lovely within our souls.  Nurture this, feed this, for this is the essence of our true being, of all connectedness in this life.  It is our duty to share this inner beauty and bring it about in others.  

We are one.  Born of the same life force.  No matter where you live, no matter what your beliefs are...

WE ARE ONE...THIS I SAY WITH CERTITUDE!

And ALWAYS, ALWAYS GIVE THANKS!

"As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you, than there is wrong with you"

~  Jon Kabat-Zinn

Linking up to Our World Tuesday

Darkness to Light

"God wears himself out through the infinite thickness of time and space in order to reach the soul and to captivate it.  If it allows a pure and utter consent (though brief as a lightning flash) to be torn from it, then God conquers that soul.  And when it has become entirely his he abandons it.  He leaves it completely alone and it has in its turn, but gropingly, to cross the infinite thickness of time and space in search of him whom it loves.  It is thus that the soul, starting from the opposite end, makes the same journey that God made towards it.  And that is the cross."

                                 ~ Simone Weil, "Gravity and Grace"

Breathe

In times of worry, we must stay focused on all that we have, and express gratitude for it, because worrying really has no useful foundation for creating a positive outcome. So why bother?

"There isn't enough room in your mind for both worry and faith.  You must decide which one will live there."  - Unknown
 

Strength comes to us when we need it most through those we love, and those who love us back.  And this includes Divine Love, which has been bestowed upon me, and for which I express my deepest gratitude!  I am blessed!

Spirituality and the Desert Experience

When recently asked by a dear friend to participate in a book discussion, I was hesitant, because the book topic was spiritual in nature, and this is a topic that can be very personal.  Especially in regards to the practice of any type of organized religion.  And this particular community of "worshipers" I discovered, are mostly strangers to me. 

But not wanting to let my friend down, I agreed, knowing full well that with this book, Spirituality and the Desert Experience, by Charles Cummings, I would not be able to just sit idly by on the sidelines while others preached to me about what they believe it all means.  Especially from a religious standpoint.  The topic of spirituality is very near and very dear to my heart, as I have lived through a desert experience, or what I refer to as the "dark night of the soul" and have come out on the other side full of light, and much more wisdom about my own spirituality.  More importantly I realized that I had been fooling myself for a very, very long time. 

Deepak Chopra quotes,

"To make the right choices in life, you have to get in touch with your soul.  To do this, you need to experience solitude, which most people are afraid of, because in the silence you hear the truth and know the solutions."
 

And this is so true.  For when getting in touch with your soul, you are connected to the true life source that is within all of us.  Yes, we were all born with it as humans.  It is the BE-ing part of humans.  From the moment we take that first breath.  It is the part of each of us that is directly connected to God, Spirit, or whatever you choose to call your ONENESS with the almighty Creator of all things.

It is when we let the external forces of humanity define us, which society demonstrates in many ways as essential to our happiness, that darkness creeps in. We are somehow deemed unworthy, or not as good as others if we don't have this, or don't do that.  And this is exactly how we lose our way, because this plays to the ego, and the ego kicks in to demonstrate its ability to fight the true essence of our very be-ing, which is being overshadowed or buried by this negative force of energy being thrust upon us by those external forces.

We must go inward and tune into that life source that connects all things throughout the Universe. The mind babble that is incessant will dissipate if you realize that you are not what you do, or what you have.  If we can only get out of our way, inner peace will come to the surface, and you will be free.

For I am not to be defined as a wife and mother...that's just what I do along with the job that I absolutely love.  And I always express my gratitude for all of which, I, my ego self, must participate in with my human-ness in the material world on a daily basis.  No, as I go about my busy-ness of the daily routine, I have at my disposal,  my true essence, which shines bright and keeps me in tune with God.  And it is up to me to radiate this light, so that others who may not even realize that they are even in the desert, or darkness, can see my spark and tap into the same life force through me.

Seek and ye shall find, for the truth will truly set you free! 

You Can Do It

Yes, we can all create BIG MAGIC!  There are so many obstacles that present themselves to us on a daily basis, and we seem to get so caught up in the day to day grind that we forget we have the power within us to skirt those obstacles and bring forth amazing creativity.

With so much turmoil making its way through our society, it is up to us to maintain an order of peace that can only come from within.  We must each do our part to communicate throughout humanity the many positive aspects that are at the ready in order to make positive changes within our own communities through our very own creativity.

As Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book, BIG MAGIC:

 

If we can just get the hell out of our own way, the sky is the limit!  GO FOR IT!  

You just may surprise yourself!

Winter's Art

As I complained about not getting any snow in the last few storms, people said to me, "Be careful what you wish for!"  And so it is...while we did not get nearly as much as neighboring towns or even states, we did finally get to see the beauty of a winter snow fall.  

Winter's Art

Winter is a poet who,

    in quiet meditation, 

                       writes of mountains blanketed

             by white precipitation.

   Winter is an artist, too, 

            and softly draws the scene

                of stillness in a frozen pond

           against a silent screen.

Winter's a musician,

       and if we're listening,

                                     the grace-note of God's love is played

                           which no one's voice can sing. 

                                                                                                ~ Frankie Davis Oviatt   

Thanks for stopping by!

      

Ukulele Madness

SUMMER STRUMMIN' AT TWO CROW COTTAGE

Hand painted by Sandy "Rosebud" Scarano

Well since we did not get any snow, and I do mean zilch, nada, none, and all around us here in New York, everybody else did, I am putting all my ukuleles to work with some island strumming, in hopes that it will come.  I know, be careful what you wish for, but I like the snow, so this is kind of like a SNOW DANCE on ukulele.

Love my Martin C-1K uke.

Now Martin here, is my performance uke.  I belong to a Ukulele Group that goes out and about to bring smiles and good cheer to the nursing homes in our area....for free!  We also play at the local hospital, the annual Toys for Tots Drive with the US Marines, Relay for Life fundraisers, and on occasion at a couple day cares.  It's great fun and, though Martin is the go-to uke at performances, I haul 3 others out to hand out to the residents so they can try their hand at ukulele madness.  And they love it!

Hospital lobby gig!

I first laughed when a friend of mine brought me a ukulele to try, because I had no idea what to do with it.  He just told me that it was an extra one that he had lying around so, I thought I'd give it a go.  Well, I gave his uke back to him, wondering why in the world you need more than one ukulele...
 now I have 6!!!  3 sopranos, 2 of them painted with a beautiful island scene, 1 tenor, 1 vintage Avalon Banjolele that was my Father's and Martin!  I invested in Martin, because if I was going to engage in an activity such as strummin' a ukulele, I was going to get a good one to make sure I was giving it my best shot.  The bottom line here is, my Mama is born and raised on the beautiful island of Kauai, and what better way to honor her, and my island family who I got to visit not too long ago, sending back a new tenor uke from Honolulu.  And I wear Mama's picture, every time I head out to play!

Nursing home gig!

There is a great new revival of the ukulele.  Give it a try.  I promise you, it is reasonably priced, quite easy to learn, even I CAN DO IT!  It will surely make you smile:)  And hey George Harrison played the uke!

 Jammin' with Kara at A Spirit of Simplicity.
Stop by and say, "ALOHA" 

Empty Nest...again

The three "littles" have all gone back to their respective domains to conquer a last semester in college; to take on a new job; to teach other people's littles to sing in harmony...and as their Mother, as much as I still cry when they leave, as much as I worry about them driving in snowy weather, or just driving at all anymore, I know that worrying is draining me of my intense spirit that normally soars. 

So I have turned this day's worries into an empire of strength as I haul more wood in to keep the fire burning, so hubby doesn't have to when he gets home in the dark.  Since the cold winter wind has died down just a bit, I can walk in the woods to gather the remains of the fallen branches for kindling without fear of getting knocked out or crushed.  

And I am warmed by the lingering sound of the laughter of bonded siblings, the leftovers from the "baby little" who loves to cook, and the forgotten clothes in the washing machine which means only one thing... SHE'LL BE BACK!!!  And when one comes home, they all come home to be together, if only for a day!  I love our family!

And when they open their suitcases and bags and boxes to unpack, I know they will smile a BIG smile for the love notes from Mom, their fave cereal, tea and various surprises, and they will each remember the magnet that was sent with them upon their first departure from the homestead that reads:

HOME IS WHERE YOUR MOM IS!!!

 

 

Old Man Winter

From winter's past...

 Normally at this time of year, we'd be down by the pond watching a few kids playing hockey, or just enjoying the beauty of the still falling snow. 


After an unusually warm Christmas Day here in New York State, we've had some frigid temps, but today back to rain...again.  More rain.  I love the rain...but not in January!  So, I will sit by the fire and watch the rain, envision the snow, and delve into the "simplify" mode for 2016 and purge a few more "things" from the homestead.

Or not...perhaps I will just cuddle up with my work in progress crochet blanket that is quite large already, but just not finished.  I leave it there on the love seat with the yarns still attached to pick up and work on as I crawl beneath it.

Or not...perhaps I will just wrap myself up in it and read more from the book that I just got,  Spirituality and the Desert Experience.   A ukulele friend brought this book to my attention and asked me to join a book discussion with him and some friends.  Well after reading the General Introduction 4 times, I finally agreed to press on and dig in and grasp the full intention of its journey into the desert.  A place that I believe I have already been...

You are welcome to join me on the journey...

New Year...New Word

   

 Well with 2015 ending in a whirlwind, I find that I truly am blessed, which I already knew.  Last year we did not get to celebrate the holiday season due to a tragic illness with my daughter, which almost took her precious life.  We are grateful each and every day that she is now well and we made a good time of it this year, checking things off of her bucket list, like standing in 3 states at once on New Year's Eve day, playing the lottery with the numbers from a fortune cookie, right up until New Year's Day when she pulled out a roman candle to set off at midnight!  SWEET!

And now, as the days roll on into 2016, I find myself flustered at all the hoopla that went into decorating, cooking, baking, etc, for the Christmas season.  Mostly trying to find things that have gone by the wayside while running around like a nut to train stations and airports to drop off and retrieve the "littles" who are all grown up now with lives of their own away from the homestead!

I NEED ORDER IN MY LIFE!

And since it has all come and gone in the blink of an eye, I do not want to take it all down and pack it all back up again.  It's just too pretty.  But it is time.  It is time to pare down. 

So, my word and mission for this New Year 2016 is SIMPLIFY!  

I have wood burned it into a piece of cedar shake snagged from the Little World's Fair and I have begun the process.  Keep it simple...keep it real!

IT'S ALL GOOD!

Hanging out with Kara today, who has the Spirit of Simplicity down...stop by to say "HELLO"!

A Million Thanks

Handmade cards for the troops!

Recently, a few scout troops, college students, families and individuals joined me in a letter writing campaign to show our support for the brave men and women who serve this great land of ours.

It was a wonderful way to get involved and to remember just how it is that we are able to live the FREEDOMS of the AMERICAN DREAM!



And may you have much Peace and Love and Joy as well as Happiness and GREAT HEALTH in the New Year of 2016!

Winter Warmth

When old man winter decides to grace us with the windy chill in the air, that can only mean one thing...snow is coming, it is time to load the wood stove!

Thankfully, we have an abundance of wood fuel this year just in case we get dumped on and faced with the bitter below zero temps.

However, with the warm days and an expected 70 degree very unusual Christmas Day, the wood pile gathers strength for its intended use as HEAT, just as soon as the temp drops.

It's a beautiful day, as the fog and light rain provide us with a beautiful backdrop for the much cooler glow of Christmas lights.  They are mysterious and glorious rays of light to attract you to your very own light within.  Remember the little song, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."

Well, find your light and sing that song...it's the most wonderful time of the year, and I am very happy and grateful to be celebrating it this year with my AB FAB family and friends!

So here's to you and yours...from my own winter warmth!    With much Love, and Peace and Joy!

Peace On Earth

I am blessed with an online blogger friend who very often sends me these beautiful hand made cards through good old fashioned snail mail, with such great quotes and sentiments, and I wanted to share the one I received today.  From Deborah at Temenos of the Blessing Light.

"Among other wonders of our lives, we are alive with one another, we walk here in the light of this unlikely world that isn't ours for long.  May we spend generously the time we are given.  May we enact our responsibilities as thoroughly as we enjoy our pleasures.  May we see clarity, may we seek a vision that serves all beings, may we honor the mystery surpassing our sight, and may we hold in our hands the gift of good work and bear it forth whole, as we were borne forth by a power we praise to this one Earth, this homeland of all we love."
                                                    - John Daniels

So, at this time of year, look within, and may you find the peace.  

A great big MAHALO to Deborah for including me in your journey of Peace and Joy and Love throughout the Universe.

Aloha