Tag Archives: Gratitude

Jul25

Soul Mates

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“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.
A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master…”
— Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love
Jul16

The Value of Time

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Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.

M.Scott Peck

How much is your time worth? Having been a consultant that charged by the hour, a project worker who has charged by the job completed, a teacher who was paid by the school year regardless of hours worked, and a waitress paid by the satisfaction of the customer, I know it can’t be measured in terms of the clock or financial compensation

We can measure it in terms of achievements or projects completed. Maybe we measure it in terms of time wasted or opportunities lost?

I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately and how much I have left. I’ve realized how much I want to do and also that if I live to be 150 I’d never have a chance to do it all. Therefore, I need to get busy loving, seeing, doing and experiencing.

For me, the true measure of the value of time will be  how much joy was packed into every moment. How about you?

Time is an equal opportunity employer.  Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day.  Rich people can’t buy more hours.  Scientists can’t invent new minutes.  And you can’t save time to spend it on another day.  Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving.  No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.  ~Denis Waitely

Jun9

I hang with Adam Sandler…

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…and David Spade, and Kevin James, and the guy that look likes Newman from Seinfeld and might be, and even that cute guy from the Hunger Games.

Actually that is a bold faced lie, but they are  filming the sequel to the movie “Grownups” aptly named “Grownups 2”, in the very small town, where I live.  I, and the other 20,000 residents, of this town have gone varying degrees of star struck over the last month or so. Well, I, not so much. Honestly I’m just not that interested except for the fact that I find it really cool that with all of the places to choose from he has picked this town that I have come to love. The entire town has been taken over by this movie it seems. They have changed the façade of the middle school to look like the high school that will be in the movie. They have constructed buildings, closed roads and even took the high school girls softball team out to lunch. Needless to say it’s been every kind of nutty for a town that only has one way in and way out, for the most part.

So I was taking the extremely long way out of town because a scene was being filmed at a local baseball field when I realized that I actually feel sorry for Adam (I can call him that because we hang out, sort of) and for all of the other of huge stars that are in this movie. While the entire town was stalking them I was able to drive by the ocean and smell the sea air, wave to a policeman that was directing traffic, and then come to the beach to write a little. No one gave me a second look except for the cop who was about 12 and clearly thought I was flirting and was not impressed. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have the constant attention of the public. Bad days, happy days and all of the days in between there probably is always someone watching.

I enjoy my solitude. I need it and crave it like a drug if I am without it too long. Would I trade it for millions of dollars? Would I like to be within the circle of the rich and famous? Well, I thought maybe until today. But, I think I’m content to just watch from this side of the fence, and ofcourse lie about it a little.

Have a happy Saturday!

Jun7

I feel lovely today!

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Oh my, I am so excited to say that I was nominated for the One Lovely Blog award.

Now, to those of you who have been nominated for many awards the level of my excitement might seem, well, silly. I woke up my 16 year-old son before his alarm to tell him about the honor, which is clearly not wise. He gave me a high five or a fist bump or something that resembled swatting me away, I’m not really sure, and promptly went back to sleep. So I did a solitary happy dance, clapped a bit, and made coffee. I am having such a good morning!!

Thank you very much to http://spilledcookies.com/.  She’s smart and funny and has great insight (and terrific taste in bloggers) : ). Please take a look at her site, it’s worth the trip!

* In an effort not to bore you all to death with myself I will add that on 6/8/12 I was nominated for the Lovely Blog award for the second time by  Finding Beck . Smart, funny and a pleasure to read. Please go take a look.

The Rules for Award participation are:

▪   Link back to the blogger who nominated you.

▪   Paste the award image on your blog, anywhere.

▪   Tell them 7 facts about yourself.

▪   Nominate 15 other blogs you like for this award.

▪   Contact the bloggers that you have chosen to let them know that they have been nominated.

Resume blogging your regular posts.

  1. When I was about six years old I would write and illustrate stories, staple the construction paper together, and go door-to-door in my neighborhood selling them. I’m sure I was very annoying.
  2. I have four children ages 28-16. They are the absolute light of my life, even when they are intent on driving me insane.
  3. I have two Master degrees and a year of law school and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.
  4. I have recently switched to a vegan diet with the exception of fish. I can’t seem to give that up, so I officially and publicly apologize to all of the salmon I will eat.
  5. I am very excited about turning 50 this December. I like 50 and appreciate all of the very cool, interesting women who have made that birthday something to look forward to. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUECWLjPeSQ) I need to add Sheryl Crow to this list of fabulous 50’s.
  6. I have just recently started doing Pilates twice a week (see #5) and love my instructor. She challenges me to do things I didn’t know I could do. It carries over in my life. Thank you Alex.
  7. When I started writing this blog I published my posts so quickly, because I was afraid that if I didn’t that I wouldn’t, I would then have to go back in several times to correct grammar and punctuation. Now I just leave the mistakes alone. Anyone who reads it knows I’m not perfect already!

Now for the best part. I get to share with you some very talented, interesting people I have found and followed. Some of these people are so insightful and smart I only wish I knew them in person. Many of them have been given so many awards I don’t expect that they will have the time to repost, but I am enjoying the ability to pass thier blogs on to my followers. In no particular order:

aleafinspringtime
http://aleafinspringtime.wordpress.com

rheath40
http://rendezvouswithrenee.wordpress.com

Genie
http://geniespeaks.wordpress.com

slklesko
http://truthletsandthoughtbits.wordpress.com

Women in Wellness Project
http://rogersdeborah.wordpress.com

mimijk
http://karmatruck.wordpress.com

Rhonda
http://helpmerhondadotcom.wordpress.com

Cathy
http://cathysvoicenow.wordpress.com

The Truth Warrior
http://thetruthfulwarrior.wordpress.com

dianasschwenk
http://talktodiana.wordpress.com

Patti Clark
http://patticlark.wordpress.com

You Were Born To Succeed
http://youwerebornthatway.wordpress.com

elizabeth2560
http://almostspringdotcom.wordpress.com

healthdemystified
http://healthdemystified.wordpress.com

Niki Anandi
http://belletrist09.wordpress.com

payscough
http://goethesdream.wordpress.comWow, that was harder than I thought it would be. Please take a look at these sites. They will make you laugh and cry and more than anything they will make you think and re-evaluate your life, or atleast that is what they have done for me.Thank you.
Jun6

Feast on Your Life

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Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott
Jun5

Self-acceptance

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 Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.  ~Henry David Thoreau

I’ve done quite a bit of soul searching recently. I realize that while I crave security, I’m never unhappier than when I consistently know what tomorrow will bring. I always need to shake thing up. It’s always made everyone crazy, but at nearly 50 I’m starting to like that about myself.

I’ve come to accept that I am the sum total of all of my experiences. That all of the pain and love, the disappointments and the successes, the friendships and the betrayals, have brought me to this place and made me the person I am today.  I’m learning to love all of those things. It hasn’t come easily and sometimes it doesn’t come at all.

I continue everyday to strive to improve without losing the unique person that I am.  Embracing the frailties are just as important as taking pride in the strengths. I like that I’m a little quirky and that I see things differently than most people. I like that I’m usually the first person to try something new and that I jump in with both feet and tend to ignore the sign for the deep end of the water. Sometimes these qualities serve me well and sometimes they just make for a really entertaining story a decade after I recover from it. All in all, I’ll keep all the pieces because I’m enjoying the crazy ride of being me.

There’s a period of life when we swallow a knowledge of ourselves and it becomes either good or sour inside.  ~Pearl Bailey



Jun1

Gratitude

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In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.  It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.  We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.  ~Albert Schweitzer

I made the decision to begin blogging not just to express what was going on in my head but to hopefully gain insight through the comments of others and also their writing. I could have never anticipated how much I would enjoy this or the caliber and kindness of the people I have encountered on this site. Thank you all for your comments and just for reading!