like it or not

As I continue to study and practice complementary medicine, like-interested individuals who are not always classmates, students or patients steadily cross my path. There are two thoughts going through my head as I jot down those words...

1) Note -- I used the term like-interested rather than like-minded intentionally. I have come to understand that some people I meet are interested in the work as am I. However, we are so far from thinking about it the same way, not sharing any ideas, approaches or thoughts that are at all alike; rigid thinking with no original or creative thought keeps them from being able to expand on the knowledge acquired, which baffle me. 2) The universe will send us those we need to meet, be they classmates or others elsewhere who are on a similar path finding us not by accident. This just happened to me and I know we've connected in order for me to deliver this message -- it is not written that those we are called to serve be just like us on the surface...who knows what beautiful spirits await your gifts and what gifts await you.

Look beyond yourself. Without judgment, notice those around you and…

keep your peepers open!®

mindful ear

My large television stopped working a few weeks ago. After 17 plus years I guess it was tired deciding it had provided me with time well beyond its extended warranty. Still, I was not too thrilled with its sudden, well come to think of it, maybe not so sudden expiration. The picture did fade to black one day, which really served as my warning I just failed to heed. So there it sits, dark and done, no more movie nights when it, the couch and my chocolate colored blanket will nurture me if I am not feeling well, the last indulgence of guilty pleasures finished without me even knowing that I had been engaged in a farewell showing. Yet I have not been quick to replace my old Sony. Instead, I find myself doing something my grandmother used to do with us when we were wee ones and that is putting on music, sitting still on the couch, and LISTENING to every nuance. I can’t describe the exhilaration felt when I reacquaint with emotions that surface as note follows note on tunes that are embedded in me. I am taken back to my days as a DJ knowing exactly which songs by different artists with varied styles should play in succession to create a good flow so I pull and play the sequences satisfied that I haven't lost my ear. I suppose this is a form of mindful listening, one that requires no response unless you just can't sit still once the rhythms, words or something hits you...happens to me all the time. I just love it when that moment comes. I get up, start moving, lose track of time, returning only to get happily lost again when moved by another old or new favorite.

Don't wait until the TV breaks to take a break for a music marathon; it truly does soothe the soul so turn off the other electronics, turn up the music and...

keep your peepers open!®

way right

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone 

can start today and make a new ending." - Maria Robinson

Many of my close friends are embarking on new beginnings with their careers. As we converse about all that is happening, I often hear the words, “starting over,” which makes me flinch. We are much too seasoned with deep-rooted wisdom to be starting over is what I automatically say because in actuality, wherever we are every bit of our past is right there with us. Nothing goes away and I for one am taking credit, responsibility, owning all that is me, proud that I’m still standing despite the blows, grateful for all the hands that helped me up, celebrating the many victories, nodding to the defeats.

All that was gets us to this present place and space in time. The moment you take the first step as you fork right, you are merely continuing the life journey hoping that indeed, it is the right way. Should it not be, I suggest you don’t “turn back” but instead pause, regroup and continue forward or fork left this time. In other words, no matter the way you choose, it is right at that particular time; something you need to know awaits you on any given path, so...

keep your peepers open!®

bud time

Couldn't believe we had a full on snow storm earlier this week and boy was it piled high! Though it looked light and fluffy, that stuff was heavy, resting on tree branches for hours after the last flakes fell.

Let's hope that was the last of the late season storms and we’ll see no more of this.

Ah yes, there are signs of spring!

Bring on the buds and…

keep your peepers open!®

baby talk

For almost 14 years, I have worked in a pediatric hospital. It wasn't until last week during a mindfulness session that I began to really contemplate the infants who come into this world, their time here predestined to be brief.

Somehow, a discussion that started with the question, “What grounds you?” found its way into a myriad of connected tangents; something that was shared awakened thoughts put safely away probably the first time I was faced with a baby that was going to die. All day I was needled, stitching words in the back of my head until a small poetic blanket quietly unraveled on the page.

baby talk©

what is the message of a baby born to die
a tiny body pushed into an abbreviated life cycle,
outside the womb with a finite number of days ahead
the circle of life measuring a circumference as small as they.
why have they arrived, what did they come to say
with words never to come forth from sweet puckered mouths.
fluttering lashes speak quick tongue
staccato fists whisper against the air
a cry to forever scribe our heart.

each one not here to stay
to tell something before they go...
                                                       listen.

and....

keep your peepers open!®

natural fun

downloading and editing photos sometimes reveals fun surprises...tic tac toe anyone? :)

as you move about this world full of wonder, stay young in thought and heart, delight in the unexpected and...

keep your peepers open!®

awe

For many years now, I have read a daily inspirational passage each morning from any number of 365-day books collected over time. As 2014 ushered in, my instincts told me that this is a year of change, which prompted me to explore something different; a couple of books found their way to me that keep readers focused on one passage for an entire week or introduce a new lesson to add to the ones covered in weeks prior. I have kept a gratitude journal before, however when it came up in a reading, I decided to take myself deeper, seek things that I have never or not fully acknowledged before. Here are a few from the month of February …

• melodies of life

• the sound (sans sight) of a good surprise
• the final period on a good idea
• life stories with connecting threads
• passages that speak to my soul
• sound of a flock of wild geese landing in unison on a pond at dawn
• nature speak
• being the only driver on back roads traversing countryside that is new to me
• awakening, opening, releasing, beginning
• awe

That last one, finding gratitude in awe, was something I reflected on for awhile. Much like staying open to growth and continuing to learn no matter my age or what I know, moments when my eyes are wide with wonder, when I feel genuinely surprised in a good tingling goose-bump sort of way, and am just amazed beyond belief are quite energizing!

I love the feeling of awe, had never really stayed in its moment long enough to fully and completely taste, touch, see, hear, and smell it, let it work its magic on my spirit, imprint itself all over on my soul, give it a proper nod…have you? So next time awe is before you, settle yourself and…

keep your peepers open!®

PS…more photos taken at The Boar’s Head…my pre-dawn walk (I can still feel the exhilarating chill of that hushed morning) and time on my balcony presented many awe-some moments!

mute

Taking a time out today, so enjoy the quiet and…

keep your peepers open!®

flower power

The words “flower power” took on a new meaning the other day an hour or so after I plucked one luscious little hyacinth from a large arranged bouquet. Violet blue with a fat olive stem, it looked quite nice in the glass cylinder, was a perfect touch for my desk. So enamored was I with this tiny jewel, I got out my camera; my nose began to twitch. I snapped and wrinkled my nostrils…could it be? A potent perfume, bold without apology was taking over the air space in my office and yes, it was coming from my acquisition! As much as I hated to do so, I had to remove the offender from the immediate area placing it outside away from my door; it continued to grace the larger office space with not only its beauty but also with its natural fragrance. Even as I write and gaze upon the photographs, the heady scent of the hyacinth is still with me.

“Though she be but little, she is fierce” - Shakespeare.

Indeed, there is power in the small and I'm not just talking about flowers, so think about it, recognize and…

keep your peepers open!®