Gentle Reminder.........

My husband (of 26 years...yikes) and I left this past Friday night with a weekend get away plan.......Disconnect to stay connected!

With Life wildly busy and chock full of things to do, we decided to sneak away for a weekend of very limited technology...no nonsense talk about all we have to do for our upcoming events or discuss decisions we need to make regarding emptying the septic, how damp the basement is and if anything is growing down there or the hole that has been in the dining room ceiling for over 6 months from when I jumped up to see if the "spot was still wet from the upstairs bathroom leak" and my fingers poked right through....who knew I could jump with such great force! 

Leaving those and all similar topics aside, we headed out for a weekend by the water to share in relaxation and connecting!

Full length conversations, reflections of years gone by and sharing dreams and future plans, along with laughter, sunrises, reading for hours and yummy food...started to work their magic.

We felt stresses drift away and a peacefulness wash over us, offering a sense of new energy to bring home with us. Now that's a souvenir! 

As the trip came to a close, I was reminded that all that we enjoyed is also at our fingertips at home. OK not the ocean...but the disconnecting from technology and each curling up with a book, chatting about "fun stuff" and   limiting conversation of all that is on our TO DO lists from time to time (I will try and stop jumping, so that should help)

Make the effort too Dear Readers and feel the benefits it provides. It makes the mundane and day to day feel just that bit easier to handle and perhaps the sink full of dirty dishes won't make you shout from the roof top "for the love of all things human....am I the only one who knows how to use the dish washer!!!!"  Or is that just me who gets cranky sometimes??

Strength In The Darkness.............

Sometimes beauty is in front of us, like these heartfelt sunflowers I came home to. With their punch of color & promise of happiness each time I look at them, I smiled and gave thanks.

Beauty and Blessings are not always this easy to see, and I feel the searching during times of darkness can truly reveal the breath of life we are so needing to find.

Words of encouragement to family, friends and you Dear Readers who may need a reminder that the Blessings are there..and for now if you need...you can use this sunflower and the promise of times getting easier and you feeling stronger because of it and being reminded of how strong you truly are!

James Taylor Wisdom.....................

As summer winds down here on the East Coast (by the calendar anyway...not by the forecast) I think about what I accomplished and didn't the past couple of months! 

In the "not so much" category was housework... which is fine by me, because quite honestly summer and housework should only be in the same sentence if separated by the words "not a priority to me".

So this morning, to kickoff Labor Day weekend I decided to do just that, a bit of labor, for an hour. I cranked 'ole reliable James Taylor and got to sprucing up the place.

My take away from the task was much more about the music and much less about what I was doing. 

JT's words resonated and spoke to me...once again!

My favorite for today was the line "the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time, any fool can do it....."! How great & true is that!?!? If you'd like to give a listen, here is a great version on YouTube: 

Take a moment Dear Readers and think about how you can make it part of your own life. Make choices that enhance your days.

Let the house work, or whatever your "thing" is, go from time to time...listen to your heart and make happen all you can to create a Lifetime of enjoying the passage of time.

It's a beautiful way to Connect With Your Life!

Thanks Mr.Taylor..words to live by!

Sprinkles A Must ..............

                                  It Starts With A Dream.........

Recently had a great conversation with a friend! I explained my theory of filling parts of your days/ nights/ weekends, whenever you can.... with things that feed your soul and adds purpose!

As a result it makes the things you don't want to be doing....work, errands, housework, you name it, a bit more do able.  For example while at work and wanting to be doing something else, I have started shifting my thoughts and taking a portion of my earnings and designating it for goals. Gives more meaning to putting in time at work, knowing a piece of it has a bigger meaning than just paying bills of now.

So for me, of late, it has been daydreaming and goal setting my future filled with a bit of entrepreneurship, touching lives and artful endeavors with my live in artist in residence, I love calling my husband!

My thought is this...whatever I want to do with my life needs to start with desire...sprinkled with daydreaming, believing, planning and a notebook to capture it all. From magazine clippings, to spewing ideas and capturing them in words, to saving money along the way....I'll get there...and either way, the process is a whole lot of fun and more what it is about!!! 

So get to sprinkling Dear Readers. It's a great way to Connect With Your Life! 

Get Lost...............

       Make it a point to get lost in the clouds ........

Lost in a dance....

Lost in a kiss......

    Because when we get lost......we can really find ourselves!

Patio Pleasures..............

Getting unstuck this morning!

My previous post spoke of getting stuck in our lives! In order to "snap out of it" we need to make conscious choices. Now I'm not talking overhauls...that's a whole other direction (that I mentally play around with and will write about at another time). 

I'm talking about small tweaks to our day that makes us smile, adds levity to the mundane and brings a bit of joy to both ourselves and others....we are just more pleasant to be around. 

Today I made a choice to get up a bit earlier to sit on the patio (after smiling in bed with my eyes closed and committing to making an effort today...which only makes sense if you read my previous post) 

That 15 minutes on the patio, feeling the coolness of the day (expected to hit 90 degrees today) watching a tiny brown squirrel jump from tree to tree and a bunny eat my perennials (REALLY bunny??? ok....happy place....happy place) allowed me to be in the moment and provide something for me to draw from later in the day.

Find your little somethings, Dear Readers! Feel the moments of joy they can bring...The choice is yours!

Finding Change.......

Taking a ride..to change the scenery

There are many ways to get stuck! In mud, in a situation, in traffic or how about stuck in a zippered dress in a store changing room that you really thought you could squeeze into?!... No! me neither on that last one!

The STUCK I am talking about today is..... in Life! That's me every once in a while! Hadn't originally realized it on my own, but in fact I was.... stuck in the routine of my days, just going along and not hearing the whispers. The whispers of gratitude and inspiration go missing, so I had thought....in fact they were there all along!

During one of these times a Dear Friend said to me "you're stuck"! and it resonated a big 'ole Cher in Moonstruck moment..."Snap Out Of It"!!! (see that clip here)

Dear Readers, we all get stuck and I believe we all have the ability to ease those times....I have found incorporating simple tips into my day, the stuck times are less frequent and the less stress is greater! Worth a try?   Here's one I like... smile upon waking in the morning (ideally before opening your eyes) feel that quick moment of silliness and commit to making an effort to approach things differently today! 

Throughout the day, allow yourself to take four seconds to decide before something bothers you. Consciously decide... is it worth it?? Letting it go will deposit "change" into your emotional bank to draw from. The more you deposit clearly the more you have!

In my next few posts I will share suggestions for you to consider adding to your Life! Together we've got this ~  Connect With Your Life!

Cheers!
Maria