My wish for today

Hey everyone... it's been a minute... 
and it might be the mood I've been in lately, but today I wanted to say hi and I wanted to share.

Today I wish I could step into a picture and experience the scene. But maybe not a picture of my past. Those memories linger in my mind already and I don’t want to go back because memories are often tainted by subsequent experiences. Also going back in time might be painful - like visiting a moment with a loved one who is now deceased. I might not want to leave or leaving might make me sad and today I think I want to feel elation. Or euphoria. Or something like that.

You see, what I really want is to able to jump into a photograph of a location - like Glacier National Park in Montana and experience the scene. I want to step into the picture and experience the moment. Like a moment at Carnival or a moment standing under the waterfall at God’s Bath in Sonora, California. Or how about feeling the exhilaration of a late spring rain from atop a roof or a summer mist in the middle of a rain-forest? Or what about sipping wine from a little cafe in a winery in France.?Or imagine actually smelling the sweet fragrance of fresh roses in a huge rose garden or tasting an orange just picked from nature.

And there are many advantages. For example, you wouldn’t get lost. The picture would take you right to the spot you want so you wouldn't wind up in the middle of a volcano or the depths of the ocean - unless that is what you want (though why would you). Also it’s a moment in time. so you wouldn't get stuck there for years or hours, days or decades. You would get a few minutes and then you would return to the present. You couldn't get stuck in a time continuum and you wouldn't misstep and land in the middle of a wall or something. You would return from whence you came.

Ah, respite my way... or your way. What a way to spend a lunch break, right?  So today I imagining myself stepping into a picture and experiencing that picture for five minutes. Just enough to whet my appetite for some elation. And what about you? Do you wanna join me? You could experience some elation as well. Or satisfy a curiosity about a place or a thing. Anyway, that's my wish for today. What's yours?

LoVe SPReaDeRS

I am a light bearer, a love spreader, a joy sharer, a dreamer.  There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we truly content. We seek not so much to explore life, as to explore people. We seek to understand people - why they say the things they say, do the things they do, think as they think, feel as they feel. We start by exploring ourselves, hoping to understand why we do, say, think, and feel the things we do. By understanding who we are, we hope to begin to understand others.

We are earth lovers. We like to walk in the rain, feel the wind tangle in our hair, and the breezes tingle across our skin. We appreciate the beauty of a first snow, the smell of babies, the unconditional loyalty of pets, the sound of birds, the fragrance of flowers, and the serenity of trees. We fill our homes with art, music, flowers, books, and things that bring us joy. We are drawn by Mother Nature - taken by her power, her mystery, her majesty, and her unspeakable beauty. We are intrigued by forests and awe-struck by mountains. We are fascinated by the mystery of deserts, hidden caves, and obscure rivers. We are especially at home in large, lonely cities. We can be as mercurial as the weather in London, our emotions running deeper than the oceans of the world. Indeed, our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter; and finding someone we love to share our sadness with, and not feel shame, is perhaps one of the greatest joys we can know.

We are idealists who often feel alone in the world. We want so much to love and give and are often broken hearted by the response we receive when we open our hearts. Some of us have taken to hiding our light in fear of rejection. Some of us have stopped trusting our natural instinct to love - it is so often misunderstood.  But, we look out for those who are like us, long for those who are willing to understand and accept us, and rejoice when we find those who are willing to love us.

We are as simple as we are complicated. We are both hard to understand and easy to read.  Simply put - we seek joy and light, kindness and compassion, serenity and enlightenment. In ourselves, others, and  the world… just as we look everywhere for magical moments, the grace of blessings, and everything beautiful. Most of all, we seek love - love to give and love to receive. We want to live fully, feel deeply, and enjoy relationships that will encourage our light to brighten, and our love to flow..

For dreamers, light-bearers, joy seekers, and love spreaders…  for men and women who dare to ask of life everything good, loving, light-filled, and beautiful; I say - let us stand together and love. Let us trust and love. Let us bring joy and love. For when we do, our light shines bright, and our love can fill and change the world.

-- asd --

Are you expressing gratitude

I purchased The Secret, on DVD and on CD when it first came out some yeras ago, Over the yeras I have listened to and watched it many , many times and one of the things that always stands out is the reference to taking time to say thank you. 

It stood out because during several of the periods in my life when things have seemed rather hopeless... sometimes, before I lamented and complained, I would say thanks for the things that were going right. I figured it would only take a second and then I could get to the stuff really bugging me. Often, however, I would find so much to be thankful for, I would forget what I wanted to complain about.

The Secret recommends that you take time out each day to say thank you for all the things you are grateful for. When I started watching the DVD, I was at a low in my life and figured I would give it a try - it could only help. So I gave it ago. Today, I still try to find time each day to say thank you. Sometimes first thing in the morning, sometimes just before bed and sometimes all throughout the day. I do believe it has helped me to realize all the things, blessings, miracles, and magic I have in my life - even on days when things truly seem bleak. I still sometimes complain after my thanks, but more often now, I am filled with joy and happiness when I think of all my blessings.

So on this day, as we continue on our journey to a better us and a better world; let us begin to take time each day to say thank you for all that is in us and in our lives. Let us recognize the blessings, miracles, moments of magic , kindness and goodness in our lives and express gratitude.

In this vein, I am thankful for my family and my friends. I am thankful for all the children, older people, men and women in my life. I am thankful for my dog, my car and my home. I am thankful for heat, hot water, food and drink in my refrigerator, clothes and shoes in my closet, and the things of beauty in my home. I am thankful for all of my senses and my ability to walk and run, laugh, sing and dance. 

And, while I am at it, I am thankful for fireworks, trees, flowers, sunny and rainy days, cool breezes, and autumn leaves. I am grateful for doctors, teachers, motivators, protectors, healers, historians. I am grateful for farmers, artists, mentors, spiritual guides.... Really, once I get started, I could go on endlessly. The point is, we all have so much to be grateful for, if we would just take a minute to say thank you, we might actually experience a glimpse of heaven in our lives.

Let's all express gratitude for all of creation, including ourselves and start our days off with a joyful bang!

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."
--  Brother David Steindl-Rast (1926 - present) --