Movie Magic

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It is interesting to have been writing this blog for over ten years…a type of musing, historical and personal narrative of stories woven into my life. The crazy thing…the almost maddening thing is that my posts I get the most traction, the most views, the posts that I hope will make a change in even one life…all leads to “Lessons learned from Movies.” My top ongoing posts are movie lessons. I think it is very interesting, but so is trying to find lessons…any lesson from a movie.

Perfect example. I don’t usually just sit around watching movies, but the other day I was drained and just needed something to entertain my weary brain, so I scrolled movies. I came across Chris Evans (think Capt America, Knives Out…) and his directorial debut movie, “Before we go”. It looked like a slow, easy watch with possible interesting characters. I hit play.

It was definitely one of those slow moving movies that I thought, “Will there honestly be ANYTHING to learn from this movie?” But despite little content, I was able to find a few nuggets and ideas to play with and work off of. So, here we go. I think, with some very creative ingenuity you MIGHT be able to find at least SOMETHING from a movie that could be construed as a life lesson held within the corners of the movie magic. Movies are stories and we humans LOVE storytelling. We love to see characters evolve, struggle, fall in love, fight, come out stronger and live better. It is magic. It is hope. It is emotion. Movies do have a magic that I hope we will always seek SOMETHING to walk away with that may guide us to a little better part of ourselves…and ultimately to a better life or at the very least a lesson learned.

The story premise: Two strangers stuck in Manhattan for the night grow into each other’s most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives. -taken from imdb

[Now, if you are planning on watching this movie—there MAY be a few movie lines, topics, images or possible spoilers fyi]

The Pay Phone turned time machine: There were a couple points in this movie where the characters talk about turning back time, what they would do differently, what different questions they would ask, what conversations they would have with their past or future self…etc. I thought it was a cute scene with a playful idea for anyone to try.

FUN Exercise: A few options—go find an old landline phone at a thrift store or antique shop OR better yet… take a friend and go find an old payphone and ask yourself some great questions: Have fun with it! Take fun selfies and make it a memorable life exercise. [Pretend you are on a phone call with your younger self] What would you tell your younger self? What advice would you give them? What choices would you change? What friends would you keep or let go of? What did relationships teach you? What is one of your greatest life lessons you have learned so far? What is something you would tell them to do? What is something you would tell them to never change? What could you do today or within the next six months that your future self would be grateful for?

“Sometimes you just have to make the choice and jump.” -Brooke This could be used with so many life occurrences. You jump to fall in love. You take a big leap in changing careers. You have to choose who you want to spend your life with & jump together. You make a choice and jump to change life direction and have a family. Every choice takes a leap of faith of some kind. Whether you leave the comfort of where you grew up, go off to college and make new friends, leave the country for a masters degree, fly to Asia to finalize a deal, change your routine by adding a dog to your life, eating differently because of your personal health risks…the list goes on. There are choices and big jumps you have to make all the time. Choose wisely to live your best life.

“Ive got to be grown up. I need to be okay with not being okay and that sucks.” -Nick I don’t care who you are, EVERYONE feels like this at various points of their life. In reality we all have these younger versions of ourselves within that carries around fears, anxiety, regret, childhood wounds, insecurities…as adults we are told to handle it all! Grow up! Be okay! There are experiences, days, situations that you may fall apart and not be okay or ready to handle. Be gentle with yourself. There is enough out in the world fighting against you—don’t you beat yourself up too. Be kind to that little part of you that is afraid, that doesn’t feel equipped to handle life on occasion, that wants to run and hide, that may be having an off day and needs your love and care. It may be a day that you don’t feel okay and that sucks…and that’s okay. Take the day. Recharge. Regroup and show up better for yourself and those around you. Find that part WITHIN you that will refill your cup of what YOU need. Don’t seek external things to help you feel better. YOU FEEL what you need and do that.

“I heard you play. You loved it.”- Brooke. “I kinda feel like it doesn’t love me back.”[his trumpet playing] -Nick. I think we can all relate to this on some level. We may have things we enjoy doing or creating and may be talented in some areas, but maybe not enough to feel warranted as a professional or able to do it as a profession. Maybe I can just relate because I LOVE creating—children’s books, plays, art, writing, photography, etc. I have tried and tried to get articles published, taken writing classes, talked to professional book agents, sent proposals for photography projects, connected with other play writes about ideas…on and on my list goes and it doesn’t ever seem to go anywhere. One project after another. I get lit up by ideas, projects…but sometimes I definitely don’t feel like it loves me back…because it seems to go nowhere. BUT, I continue on. WHY? Because what is life without our creative dreams? Where is purpose if we don’t seek it and exhaust our efforts in our endeavors. BECAUSE when we finally make it…a sweet gift of determination and action will be beautifully unveiled and presented within the loving patience of an undaunted life. May we hold firmly to that resolve and continue forward in creation and hope.

“The point is..so what. I don’t need to know my future—Im going to live it any way. You have to believe it (a psychic reading) to make an impact.” -Brooke. I have always been intrigued by psychic powers and their gifts and abilities. I am somewhat of a skeptic, but I also believe that there are people who definitely have gifts to share with the world. Why not someone who has very strong, intuitive gifts. It is an interesting idea for sure. It takes me to the movie, “Big Fish” where the main character in the movie had a psychic show him how he dies, so his entire life was lived full out without a worry or care or fear because he knew how he died. He became the very best version of himself because nothing stopped him.

This is an interesting idea—how would you truly live if you had no fear, you knew your future, you had an idea of what would happen in the future, etc. Just this morning I was talking to my husband about our life and where we go from here. Where do we think our daughter will be in six months, what we should plan for in the next year, the possibilities, the options, the outcomes, etc. I literally said, “I wish I had a crystal ball” haha. Would that REALLY make a difference? Does anyone actually know what is going to happen—-no. They are going to live their life any way. You could have a crystal ball or a psychic reading and you may get a glimpse of something…but not everything. You may see yourself happy in a new house in connecticut but a month later you get a health scare. You may be (like my neighbor) who is happy and has three houses but just got the news of breast cancer. Things happen no matter what & you still live it anyway!

This just made me think of another psychic reading situation that my daughter’s old boyfriend had. His family had been in a terrible car accident & he lost his father and sister when he was 3. His mother survived a 10% survival—she was lucky & he was blessed to have her in his life. He told me that his mom believed in readings & had one done on him when he was younger BUT never told him what the reading said. I cannot imagine what that created in his mind. Why wouldn’t she tell him? Was she afraid? Did she know something that he shouldn’t know? We will never know, but I know it could make you question, wonder, worry…BUT, HE still has to continue living. He hasn’t stopped because of the unknown or the tragedy that befell his family.

You think you are trapped but you actually have choices. You are just afraid to look at them. -psychic. How often in life do we create our own stories out of fear and make up some crazy scenario that we are trapped and have no choice in life. Our mind can create and imagine and catastrophize and snowball. Life truly is what we create, choose, and ultimately make. It is what we choose to focus on. We can see the good or bad—it is what you focus on….you will find it. so, doesn’t it seem reasonable that IF you FEEL trapped on any occasion that you would seek to find some way out of any type of trap. Right? You have options. Maybe you are afraid to look or find them.

But what if those things that really matter—those choices aren’t up to me? -Brooke YOU always have a choice. YOU live your life. Even if there are other people involved in your life—YOU ultimately have a choice. That is freewill.

You can’t allow the people you love determine how you love. -psychic guy LOVE is an individual thing. In any relationship—it is two people who come together to create a life and loving relationship together. TWO people coming together. That still holds each individual in the relationship a responsibility to love and be loved. To bring the love you are capable to the relationship. To become better in loving yourself and then another. BUT, YOU cannot allow the people you love and care about to determine or expect you to love a certain way. YOU bring, carry, share, determine, and allow your LOVE to be given freely from YOUR heart. Not someone else’s.

There is no perfect. There will always be struggle. You just have to pick who you want to struggle with. -psychic guy. LOVE THIS!! This is one of the truest statements. No one is perfect. NO relationship is perfect. People struggle period. It is a gift to have someone in your life that you get to lovingly and willingly struggle with. That is a great relationship. One that lasts. When you are able to care for someone enough to sit through the struggle and be there for them no matter what—that’s love.

Is it possible that you could meet someone that’s perfect for you but you are committed to somebody else. -Brooke

If you’re committed to someone you don’t allow yourself to find perfection in someone else. -Nick. I thought this was a beautiful statement in the fact that IF you truly are committed to someone—no one else matters. There will be beautiful people who catch your attention or you may wonder what if’s about this or that of someone, but in the end, your heart knows. Your heart has another level of commitment that doesn’t change, wonder or engage in any other possibility. Your heart holds true for that one person that means so much.

We love who we love. It can suck. -Nick
This can and does happen. We fall hard and it falls flat on another. That can suck.

How could a night be the worst and best day of your life.  -Brooke
That is life! The journey is full of ups and downs, experiences that change us, people we encounter and wonder at length about their stories, people who come into our life with a lesson that changes us, strangers that smile with connection, fears that catch us off guard & seem to slow us down in the chase of life, WE get to have the best and worst days on so many levels….it is a ride. It is a life well lived on any occasion.

I think we both had some things we’d been putting off for way too long. -Nick
We all have things that may haunt or hinder our progress. We may procrastinate and put things off. Just be honest with yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror. What do YOU need? What do you feel you are putting off? What are you not being honest about? Is there someone in your life you need to let go of? Is there a hard conversation you need to have? Ask yourself some hard questions and begin. Stop putting things off. Life is too short.

God. Why is it that any one decision always seems too small to be the biggest decision of your life.-Nick. Small decisions all add together to make the whole sum of your life. So, it makes sense that every choice, every conversation, every judgement, every line crossed, deed done….creates your life. There are not small decisions. They all have tiny paths that lead to bigger destinations. Choose wisely the seemingly small decisions that will have a bigger impact than you can imagine. Life is in session. Live it. No regrets.

Have you ever had a feeling… and just knowing somewhere in your bones that somebody was going to play a major part in your life? -Brooke. Ask yourself this question. Look at your life and begin to notice the various people who stand out and why. Take some time to genuinely thank them for being such a major part in your life. They are the main characters who support and love you. They make your life what it is. That is worth a sincere moment, letter, card, convo of thanks, right?!

And at the end of the night, you’re gonna want to say some things, but don’t. Don’t ruin it. It’s nothing she doesn’t already know. Just give her a kiss. Wish her good luck. And, uh… thank her. Thank her for showing you that you can love more than one person in this life. -Nick I do believe that people can and do come into your life for a reason—maybe its a story they need to share with you to help you through a turning point in your life, maybe its a text that someone randomly sends that brings you peace for your day, maybe a relationship comes and goes to help you know you are capable of caring for someone…we are all connected and share in emotions, a look, a sincere hug, a needed smile, a word of encouragement, a promise of a better life, an inspiration…we can all love and be there for one another in a time of need. Whatever that looks like.

In finalizing this post—I would definitely say, that even though a movie may not seem to have a whole lot of wisdom from a distance. smile. smile. I FEEL I was able to find some good lessons. There are gifts in everything—if we simply look…we will find the magic.

Peace. Love and Light to you. -H

DON’T WASTE LOVE

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DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT ANY LOVE.

“I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

I have been all alone from my little tribe and my heart FEELS it. The above line sings deeply to where I am in my current life situation.

“I had something to fight for, and I was fighting for the love of my life. I couldn’t give up or give in—not now. Not after all I’d been through—all we’d been through.” ― Shanora Williams, “100 Proof”

My sweet husband has up and moved to Montana to financially support our family and our hearts have desperately missed one another. It is funny how the heart grows fonder and you wish and you long for the love you miss. He is my best friend and we often find ourselves talking about wishing we were doing this or that together. We don’t have that co-dependent kind of love, we just sincerely enjoy our time and friendship together, so our hearts definitely long to be connected.

“When two people are meant for each other, no time is too long, no distance is too far, no one can ever tear them apart.”

“Falling in love is easy, but staying in love is very special.”

My daughter fell quickly in love with a French exchange student who invited her to France for four weeks this summer and that is where she is. She has been with him 24/7 and having the time of her life. They seem to be falling in love more and more every day. That says something for my daughter—she usually is tired of anyone after 3-5 days. I genuinely wondered how it would be and if she would be headed home early. This morning she called me in tears, “I just saw his beautiful, new apartment he is going to be living in. It is going to be his new life and I will not be in it. It makes me so sad.” I felt the deep love and connection she was feeling and I broke down in tears too. Love does that. You want those you love to be happy. That is what she followed up her tears with, “I want him to be happy and I am so happy he has a wonderful place to live, its just hard knowing I won’t be here to drop by or live this life with him.” “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” —Robert A. Heinlein

“I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.” —Roy Croft

“A successful relationship requires falling in love multiple times, but always with the same person.”

LOVE does that to people—-it connects you so deeply that when your hearts are apart—in some sense they do break. They break open to a different type of love—a love that realizes how deeply you are connected to one another. Its as if you are able to see the current love you have from a new angle and see that it is immeasurable. Love keeps growing and changing and longing to be felt more and more. “My love for you has no depth, its boundaries are ever-expanding.” —Christina White

I am trying to look at this time as a gift for my life, to ensure that I never take the love we have for granted. It has made me step back and notice the complacency we were tripping into on occasion. We took it for granted that we could walk the beach every day together and now its only a week out of the month. It is true—you don’t truly appreciate what you have until its gone. Don’t waste LOVE.

“She knew she loved him when ‘home’ went from being a place to being a person.” —E. Leventhal

I was talking to my brother on the phone and expressing to him how quickly time goes by and how his kids will be grown before he knows it. I shared how you can understand it on an even deeper level by thinking about how many days he sees his kids per week and calculating that until they are on their own. It gives hard numbers that are hard to minimize. My brother then joked, “So you get to see Jonny 12 more times this year.” My heart sank at the thought. It did make me ponder the reality and how sad that truly is. What if I only get to spend lets say 11 days a month for six months–that is only 66 days. That is incredibly sad. We only have this one lifetime together. How do we NEED to spend it!? We NEED to be together! You don’t genuinely appreciate the time you have together until something like having to move to Montana makes you truly ponder. It has made me genuinely see that HE is my home. I think many people just get use to their regular routines and the love falls flat or becomes part of the scenery and is not center stage in their life. It gets lost in the weeds of carpool, work, routine, kids clubs, obligations, etc. Love needs to be noticed, to feel seen and appreciated to continue to grow. It is like anything–it needs to be watered and sprinkled with the necessities and nourishment to thrive….

I just laughed in my head at the thought that just popped in—The funny movie with Kate Hudson in “How to Lose a guy in 10 days” where she gives him a “Love fern.” It is just like that!! It needs to be loved, watered, taken care of, put in some sunlight and talked to with great care. That is how love is. I think we just get by with love and don’t take the necessary steps to help it flourish.

DONT WASTE YOUR LIFE WITH NOT LOVING THE WAY LOVE NEEDS…DEEPLY

“The regret of my life is that I have not said ‘I love you’ often enough.” —Yoko Ono

Remind yourself of the gift love is. Not everyone gets a glimpse or a chance to share in love, so if you are so lucky—take a chance, play full out, fight hard for love and never give up. Keep working at it and give so much that you become exhausted in LOVE. No regrets.

“Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.” —Bertrand Russell DONT be cautious in LOVE. Time zips by and will leave you standing there wondering where life went and where the beautiful love that your heart longed for exists. Take every risk in love, dance at every occasion, pray to the heavens for doors to open and seize the opportunities before they are stolen from you and you miss it! DONT WASTE LOVE. Your happiness depends on the love you can learn from and the wisdoms that it will freely give your life. It is a precious treasure to not take for granted. Seek to find it and never use caution—only deliberate passion and discovery when it comes to finding LOVE. It may be hiding, but you do all you can to find it.

My very FAVORITE thought on LOVE…When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too. -Paulo Coelho LOVE changes EVERYTHING for the better. BELIEVE that. LIVE that. JUST LOVE.

My husband and I will find a way. Our LOVE is deep but it is still hard to be apart. We have to have the faith that LOVE WILL FIND A WAY and EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT…FOR LOVE. it will. LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING FOR THE BETTER…

But, for all of you who have LOVE lying next to you or can share a kiss anytime or give a simple hug or can go on a walk together today…GO DO IT. DONT WASTE LOVE. I cannot tell you how many times I just want to hug my husband or hold his hand…DONT WASTE the LOVE you have in front of you.

“You can’t just give up on someone because the situation’s not ideal. Great relationships aren’t great because they have no problems. They’re great because both people care enough about the other person to find a way to make it work.”

“If you want a relationship that looks and feels like the most amazing thing on earth, you need to treat it like it is the most amazing thing on earth.” -your tango

“A ‘perfect marriage’ is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other.”

“True love is rare, and it’s the only thing that gives life real meaning.” —Nicholas Sparks

“True love stories never have endings.” —Richard Bach

So, there you go. DONT WASTE ANOTHER MINUTE ON THE LOVE YOU HAVE. CHERISH IT. DISCOVER IT. NOURISH IT. FIGHT FOR IT. and above all else…JUST LOVE DEEPLY with your WHOLE HEART. You have this ONE LIFETIME. BE WITH THOSE YOU LOVE. CHOOSE LOVE. NO REGRETS.

xoxo. -Peace, Love and Light to you. -H

I will take the WISDOMS. Thank you.

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“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.” -Rumi

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi

This is the tricky thing about life, getting to that point where you feel as though you are actually grasping the lessons that life is offering. ‘OFFERING’— like a silver platter that holds intimate, personal notes and details of learning for your best life.

Oh, how I wish that I could have a magic, silver platter that would offer a new life WISDOM, daily. I really had to sit and think about this—-would I rather have wisdom or a lesson? To keep things in perspective we are given lessons daily, so the real gifts would be a daily wisdom, right?

“Knowledge comes from learning. Wisdom comes from LIVING.” -Anthony Douglas Williams

I am going to deep dive into the internet, ask friends and family and share what I can uncover from a deeper, wiser place. haha

I do believe that to become wiser we must EXPERIENCE life. I am a big believer in the deeper, more meaningful stuff that gives life the real richness. Experiences create that. -H

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“”Every person that comes into our life comes for a reason; some come to learn and others come to teach.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery Are you listening? Learning? Loving? I was at the grocery store this morning and I noticed a nice looking, well-groomed man who was walking around the store parking lot with a small broom and dust pan. I was getting into my car when he was within a small distance. I looked at him, smiled and said, “I bet sweeping is kind of like a nice meditation.” He smiled, “I am grateful I get to do this. I have been working for the man who owns this property for 13 years. We have so much to be grateful for. Gratitude is a wonderful thing. The world needs more of it.” I replied, “Absolutely. He is lucky to have someone like you who cares and takes pride in what he does. Have a beautiful day.” He warmly smiled and said, “you as well.” It was a short but sweet interaction that made me stop and reflect—if this man can find such gratitude in a simple sweeping job, what do I possibly have to complain about?—I am reminded of a speech by MLK that said, “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.” I LOVE that! In whatever you find yourself doing, at whatever crossroad, whatever age, whatever destination—find purpose and give of your best in all you do. There is great wisdom in that!! -H

“If I asked you to write a list of all the things you love, how long will it take for you to write your name?”

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” – Omar Khayyam

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of god, which is why we call it the present.” – Bil Keane

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ― Gautama Buddha

“The meaning of life is to give life meaning.”

KARMA

NAMASTE

“Know thyself” -Socrates

“Just do it” -Nike

Make your life mean something to YOUrself.

“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” -Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Brothers Karamazov)

I like this…Why do we tell and insist that people, “Have a great day!” Maybe we just need to begin with the small things and be grateful, instead of setting ourselves up for a necessary expectation of an ENTIRE day being great!! haha. Maybe strive for a peaceful morning or what about a nice afternoon and then …take your day, your job, your life moments and appreciate the small wins of a healthy breakfast that you had time to enJOY. Maybe you buy yourself flowers just because. Maybe say thank you that you had a calm, loving conversation with your daughter or that you were able to take the time to see the sun rise or set. Take the time to notice all the little things that end up creating a truly great day.

What’s one piece of wisdom or advice that has stuck with you throughout your life–— When I was a boy 7 or 8 years old, and I’m 76 now, my grandfather, “the most important man in my life at that time and beyond,” told me that there was a treasure chest up in the attic, and that whatever was in it, I could have! So I went running upstairs to the attic and found a box, right where he said the treasure chest would be! So I opened it, and much to my surprise there was nothing in it! So I went back downstairs and told my Granddad, “I found the treasure chest but there wasn’t anything in it!!! It was empty!!!” He said “I know son. That treasure chest is just like life, if you don’t put anything into it, you won’t be getting anything out of it.” At the time, my little boy brain couldn’t process the data! So my Grandad got us some graham crackers and milk, and we ate and drank milk and had a really good time! And here at 76 years old, I can still hear my Granddad’s voice! “That treasure chest is just like life, if you don’t put anything into it, you won’t be getting anything out of it.” 
That’s as far back as I can go with regard to shared wisdom that stayed with me throughout my life. Great question! And thanks for that trip down memory lane.

And I have a tip for anyone reading this that is fortunate enough to be a Grandparent… You are some of the most precious people on the Planet Earth, please pour into those grandchildren, they love and need you, and they will NEVER forget you. -Harold Lindsey [taken from Quora]

Steve Jobs last words according to close family was “oh, Wow. Oh, Wow. Oh, Wow.”

Some of the last WISDOMS of Steve Jobs, billionaire, dead at 56:

“I have reached the pinnacle of success in business.” In other people’s eyes my life is a success.
However, aside from work, I’ve had little joy.
At the end of the day, wealth is just a fact I’ve gotten used to.
Right now, lying on my hospital bed, reminiscing all my life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth I took so much pride in, has faded and become meaningless in the face of imminent death.
You can hire someone to drive your car or make money for you, but you can’t hire someone to stand sick and die for you.
Material things lost can be found again. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost: Life.
Whatever stage of life we are currently at, in time we will face the day the curtain closes.
Love your family, spouse, children and friends… Treat them right .
Cherish them.
As we get older, and wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or $30 watch both give the same time
Whether we have a $300 or $30 wallet or purse, the amount inside is the same.
Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car, the road and the distance are the same, and we reach the same destination.
Whether we drink a $1000 or $10 bottle of wine, the hangover is the same.
Whether the house in which we live is 100 or 1000 square meters, loneliness is the same.
You will realize that your true inner happiness does not come from material things of this world.
Whether you travel first class or economy class, if the plane crashes, you go down with it…
Therefore, I hope you realize, when you have friends, brothers and sisters, with whom you discuss, laugh, talk, sing, talk about north-south-east or heaven and earth,… this is the real happiness!!

An indisputable fact of life:
Don’t raise your children to be rich.
Educate them to be happy.
When they grow up, they will know the value of things and not the price. “

The six best doctors in the world are sunlight, rest, exercise, diet, self-confidence, and friends. Maintain them in all stages and enjoy a healthy life.

“The only constant in life is change.” This acknowledges the fact that change is inevitable and encourages us to embrace it rather than resist it. It reminds us to be adaptable and flexible in the face of challenges and uncertainty. -Julie Moraa (Quora)

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” – Albert Einstein 

Tibetan Value: “The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.” – Tibetan Proverb.

“Life is what you make it.”

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” -FDR

“Your mind is like the sky – Dark clouds, storms, sunshine…It all comes and goes. But the sky, it’s always there. Just watch. Just observe. It will pass.”

“Don’t fear death or dying. Fear never having truly lived.”

“Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle.”

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

“Happiness doesn’t have to be chased…it merely has to be chosen.”— Mandy Hale

“You are either growing or dying.”

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I was trying to figure out how to make sense of something I just couldn’t understand. Here is what I asked a man. “Will you teach me, or show me the point?” The man’s response, “I could present all the help required and with a little practice, you’ll learn it word for word.” “If you memorize it, you’ll know it.” “If you experience it, you’ll see the bigger picture and the wisdom will be yours forever.” -Leon, quota

“The one who whines, never shines.”

Do something, learn something, try something to become a little better each day.

Read. Read. Read. Don’t let socials, television, tech steal so much of your one, brilliant, quick life.

“The important things in life, aren’t ‘THINGS”

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with Compassion , gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

“If you judge people, you have no time to LOVE them.”

Another person who I have always read and listened to is Richard Branson. He wrote a very inspired and WISE letter for a book to help with mental illness. Here is a great link with the letter and details https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/richard-branson-says-you-should-do-3-things-to-achieve-more-happiness-in-2018.html

Hope this list of WISDOMS finds you well and you can take note of some of the ideas that may inspire, change, guide you to further wisdom for your life. So many great guiding ideas.

Make each moment YOURS…seek and find the WISDOMS you need for an even better life.

Peace. Love and Light to you. -H

CHEERS to Paulo Coelho

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The ALCHEMIST…Cheers to one of my ultimate favorite books of all time. I constantly give this book as a gift to people. I wanted to remember specific details and quotes of what I deeply loved about this book to gift with a copy for my daughter’s current French boyfriend. I found a great blog that gave some great highlights. Enjoy this read and her great highlights of the book https://begreatglobal.com/why-we-love-the-book-the-alchemist-and-you-should-too/

I also watched a wonderful interview with Oprah and Paulo–I loved hearing the story of how this small book was a hidden treasure that took many years for people to find. This little book has a story of its own…Paulo had it published for the first time over 25 years ago & it did not sell, so the publisher told Paulo he was done with the book. Paulo had written the book in two weeks & knew that it had something to share with the world, so he did not give up on this book. He had faith that doors would open & his book would find its way into the world. He found another publisher who was willing to take a chance on a book that had already been published and had few sales.

25 years later, over 65 million copies, and the most translated book…The Alchemist has won over the hearts of the world. Thank you Paulo. Thank you for a sweet gift that has touched many.

I then heard about Paulo’s book, Hippie [based on part of his life] & I wanted to find some highlights that people shared online. Here are some great quotes I found…Quotes from, Hippie—I gathered from different places on the internet that I thought were worth keeping. Take a note. There is some good stuff! ****my take on the book quotations****

Everyone slept beneath the stars, more time than not jittering with cold but grateful to be able to look to the sky, and know that they could speak with the silence, sleep in the company of angels they could almost see, cease to exist for a few moments- even if it were only fraction of a second- as they felt eternity and infinity all around them. ****Stars just have a way of making everything around you limitless. The blanket of dark hues with the scattered twinkling diamonds seems to hush and humble any question of a greater existence. The divine space within you is awake.****

May God give you … for every storm, a rainbow, for every tear, a smile, for every care, a promise, and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh, a sweet song, and an answer for each prayer.****This is just a beautiful, simple prayer****

Energy is to be found in the tiniest things man encounters in his path; the world is the true classroom, the love supreme knows you are alive and will teach you all you need to know.*****’the LOVE supreme’—I genuinely LOVE this thought. It surrounds you like a warm embrace. It can calm and acknowledge something greater that will be with you, teach you & carry you.****

Years pass faster than you think. Take the risks now when you still have your health and some courage. ****This is an incredibly true statement. Time is a funny capsule of the minutes and moments of life, but as you look back the skew of various things is warped and can easily boggle. For instance, When you have a child, the years seem to go slow, but also speed up very fast. My daughter is grown and in college, but in an instant I can feel like I am right back to those moments where I am holding her in my arms when she would cry or struggle. My daughter just returned from six weeks in New Zealand. I asked her if it went by quickly & she replied, “yes and no.” Time tricks us in to a lull and before we know it, life spins by leaving us breathless with an indispensable awe of how quickly life goes by.****

Those who wish to learn magic ought to begin by looking around them ****There is magic everywhere to be held, appreciated and noticed. Once you begin seeking awe, wonder, and magic…you will find it in the wisp shaped clouds, the silk, soft touch of a rose petal, the whisper of love from the lips of someone you adore, the details, the sounds, the textures, the patterns and timing of this one, beautiful, mysterious life. Simply Magic.****

The worst killing is that which kills the joy we get from life.****JOY is that beautiful, three-letter word that just makes you smile in trying to fully understand its incredible life existence. It is held in the tiny things that make life feel better. It is the feelings we get when we just smile to ourself. It is the grander feelings that make life worth living and I fully grasp this thought of ‘How we could allow anything to come into our life that would kill our JOY’—to KILL JOY that is the lowest form of existence. Without the high-end energies of Love, Joy, Happiness…all the positives in our world that awaken our true nature, our highest self—all that we would be left with is the broken depths of who we are meant to be. Without JOY there is a deeper death within that will be harder to heal. Life smiles in JOY. Life cheers in JOY. We should fight for our JOY and not allow anything to kill or take away that JOY light we have within.****

But he’d just have to figure it out- life is all about figuring it out. *****I completely understand this. I feel like much of my life/marriage has been a lot of ‘figuring it out’ and learning to be flexible—like a palm tree, able to sway and move with the directions life takes you. It can be a beautiful place IF you can actually begin to find and focus on the possibilities, the wonder, the newness of ‘figuring it out.’*****

This chaos was beautiful, it was the font of life, it was how he imagined the universe beyond that place- and also within himself. It was a beauty that wasn’t the fruit of comparison, or prayer or desires- simply a way of living a long life ****I just fell in awe of the way he strung these ideas and words together, ‘the font of life’ or ‘a beauty that wasn’t the fruit of comparison.’ Wow. To have such beautiful visuals of a simple world of beauty without comparison seems out of reach with all of the social media woes. We are living in a chaos of social bubbles, likes, trends…on and on. I appreciate and am taken to a space of beauty that is found in the simple silence, a prayer, a simple life, a font of life that is refreshing…not ‘refreshed’ on my computer. It makes me step back, pull back from the norms and expectations of society and seek a place of simplicity.****

Dancing transforms everything, demands everything, and judges no one. Those who are free dance, even if they find themselves in a cave or a wheelchair, because dancing is not the mere repetition of certain movements, it’s a conversation with a Being greater and more powerful than everyone and everything. To dance is to use a language beyond selfishness and fear. ****I sincerely LOVE dancing & moving my body. There IS a freedom there and when you can get yourself, your mind, your body, your judgements to a place that has no care or reason to shy away from the confines of society—freedom will be found in every movement, breath and exhilaration that comes from the higher connections that seem to radiate like a sky full of twinkling, sparkling stars. There is brilliance in dance.****

Then seek the truth. Seek always to be on its side, even when it brings you pain. There are times when the Truth goes quiet for long stretches, or when it doesn’t tell you what you want to hear.****Truth does have a way of bringing an honest conversation to anything life will put on display for you to live and learn from. Even in the pain, the lessons bring about a depth of humility, emotion that cannot ever be given on a normal day. Those moments of sincere honesty, the corners of the heart that need to share or the emotional cracks that seem to break open—bring another level of growth. It is like the flower that has to grow through the hard, bitter soil to reach the sunlight. We too must be unearthed and free to feel what truth we authentically need for our highest life.*****

The more we allow the world in, the more we receive- be it love, be it hate ****On many levels it is also a choice. Love or Hate is on two ends of any given spectrum of emotion, relationships, thoughts, attitudes, actions, feelings….in everything we do. It is either from a space of good or bad energy—the two opposing spectrums of this big, beautiful life. Love or Hate– it is a choice in all we do.****

The outer self, that which you believe yourself to be. is nothing more than a limiting place, a stranger to the true self. This is why people have such a hard time listening to what their souls are telling them; they try to control the soul so that it does exactly as they have already decided — their wants. their hopes, their futures.****These shells of a body are just the external, not the internal soul that lives from a higher existence and seeks to be guided from a holy place within this world of material wants, needs…things. There is a deeper need that our true self yearns for and whispers to us to be free. Free of the material necessities that are just made up to dress up our worldly existence. The real truth will be free when we go within and find the deeper desires of our blessed, authentic natural, higher, best selves. This is who we need to be seeking–that beautiful, sincere connection to our divine.****

The only things she cared about were solitude and beauty, direct communication with God, and above all a safe distance from the world that she already knew all too well and that no longer held any interest for her. ****I can understand this space. Sometimes all I want to do is walk out in the sacred beauty and calm of all that nature holds. There is a stillness and peace that seems to BE when the world and the people in it can carry chaos, confusion and emotional turmoil. Nature is a natural in seeking God or a higher place for yourself. I can walk in the still confines of my soul and all will seem to be well..bettter.****

Some of these Hippie book quotes from medium article https://medium.com/illumination/31-lines-from-hippie-by-paulo-coelho-a9f810d8bb7d

I hope that you found something in these Paulo Coelho quotes and my personal thoughts & perspectives to be of value for your day. There are so many places and people full of beautiful wisdom. Seek it in all you do and have it enrich your life to the fullest.

Peace. Love and Light to you today. -H

HEALTHY BOOST

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I have been researching and reading and listening to some incredible HEALTHY HACKS…

Here are some of my favorites that I am excited to share

HAPPINESS HACKS

From the book, “Happiness Hacks. 100% Scientific! curiously Effective!” by Alex Palmer–fun book full of researched happiness hacks and facts.

Seven (Hours) to a Long Life: How long should you sleep to live a longer life? data from 1.1 million men and women aged thirty to 102 and found that the best rate of survival was among those who slept about seven hours a night.—they also said “skip the sleeping pills”

Take 8 day vacations–“Researchers found that feelings of health and well-being increased right away during vacation, then peaked on the eighth day, where they remained until the eleventh day, after which the enjoyment levels faded out. From this, the researchers suggest that eight days is about how long it takes to let go of concerns about work responsibilities and stress—but before feelings of homesickness or restlessness set in.”

Drop the “not enough time” excuse—it is an excuse. “Most people over the years give the major reason for not participating in leisure activities as ‘not enough time’ However, we should distrust this explanation and more often than not treat it as an ‘excuse.’ In our time-use studies, we have found that when people say they don’t have enough time..they are watching three to four hours of television a day. Time constraints do not really seem to be the issue, rather its a question of priorities.” -Roger Mannell, Distinguished Professor, University of Waterloo

Connect with Nature–“People who describe themselves as more connected to nature–who see themselves as part of nature, also report more happiness–more positive emotions and purpose in life…its not that people who live in rural areas, who are surrounded by nature, are off-the-charts happy compared to people in cities. In cities, the people who find themselves near parks where there are some trees, these are the people who are happier. The little things matter: parks, gardens, even bird feeders.” -John Zelenski, professor of psychology, Carleton University

–even just looking at nature can improve your mood. Get outside. Head to a park. Buy a plant. Set your office up by a window.

Feeling down? Turn on some lights–or at least turn them up. In three separate studies, researchers at the University of Toronto and China’s Sun Yay-sen University found a correlation between people’s feelings of hopelessness and their perception of room lighting.

Reduce, Reuse and Smile—Going green is not just good for the planet–it has also been found to put those who do it into a better mood. The Happiness Research Institute of the Danish Ministry of the Environment found a link between behaviors that benefit the environment and individual happiness. Those who instituted household practices such as using recycling bins, composting, or even installing water-saving faucets & energy saving appliances reported an uptick in their level of happiness.

Rent or Buy? A study done in the UK investigated whether people were happier renting or owning their homes. The survey results showed that homeowners were just as likely to list money as their biggest concern. It also found that people renting a room or a detached house were more likely than those who owned their home to believe they had a good work life balance. Not only that, renters reported enjoying relaxing at home more than homeowners, who tend to put traveling as one of their primary keys to happiness.

Ten minutes is enough–Researchers sought out to answer “How much exercise is enough to feel better?” Feelings of confusion, fatigue, and negative mood improved after just ten minutes of exercise. After twenty minutes, only feelings of confusion improved. After thirty minutes of sustained exercise, none of the negative moods saw further improvement. Of course, exercising for longer has plenty of physical benefits, but the researchers concluded that exercising in short, ten minute bursts a few times a day is enough to provide immediate improvements in mood.

Drink more coffee–Spanish researchers following almost 20k people over a decade found that those who drank at least four cups per day had a 64 percent lower risk of dying—than those who never or almost never consumed coffee.

Take a social sabbatical: Danish researchers did a study & asked over 1,ooo subjects to stop using Facebook for a week. The Facebook quitters described feeling a big increase in their concentration, decisiveness, enthusiasm and more.

Snap a Selfie: Researchers took a group of people and separated them into three groups. The first group was instructed to take a smiling selfie each day. The second group, was told to take a picture of something that made them happy and the third group was to take a picture of something they thought would bring happiness to another person & then send the image to others. Researchers studied various measurements of the subjects moods & found an uptick in all three categories in their happiness levels. Their reasons varied: Their smiles became more natural over time, while those taking photos of things that made them happy said they became more appreciative of the little things that brought them joy in life. Those taking pictures and sending them to others reported feeling more connected to the people to whom they sent the images & felt a reduction in stress. So, turn your cell phone into a happiness booster by snapping a smiling pic of yourself or something you like once a day.

Understand that your work should not be about the paycheck: Good rule of thumb–80K is enough. After $75k you hit a happiness plateau. Those making millions may be able to buy nice things, but they don’t enjoy a higher level of happiness.

Other little things: Get a savings jar, move closer to work (commute time can get you down), Turn off the TV, Get a pet, Get some flowers, Grab some nuts, work out with friends, Talk don’t text over long distances, Know that texting kills your GPA, Get plants….there are so many happiness hacks. Go grab this book and learn about ALL the studies that have been done to help bring happiness.

HAPPY HORMONES HACKS: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/web-stories/easy-tips-to-hack-happy-hormones/photostory/108181003.cms

HELP for BUSY BRAIN

BUSY BRAIN CURE by Dr Romie: Heal the Root Cause: Gain insights into the interconnectedness of ADHD, anxiety, and insomnia, and how brainSHIFT reverses these symptoms. She even has brain tests to help you score and see what you need on a personal level. So GREAT!! https://drromie.com/busy-brain-test-resources/

So, What is Busy Brain: Busy Brain manifests in a number of different ways. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

  • Low energy when you wake up
  • Energy dips throughout the day
  • Can’t focus without caffeine or stimulants
  • Feeling anxious over simple tasks
  • Can’t shake worries out of your mind
  • Racing thoughts at night prevent you from falling asleep
  • Waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to get back to sleep

A Busy Brain is a pattern of neuroinflammation caused by chronic stress and burnout. Busy Brain manifests as a combination of anxiety, adult-onset attention deficit disorder (ADD /ADHD), and insomnia.

you’re chronically stressed and burned out and you think this is the norm. And what happens is you’re stuck on the cycle of needing stimulants all day; coffee, energy drinks. If that fails, doctors are overprescribing stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin. Some people need it, but not everybody. And then you’re anxious all day. So then you need wine or alcohol or a prescription sedative, like a sleeping pill or anxiety pill, to take you off.

And it’s making it worse. So “busy brain”—and clinical terms for the clinical folks listening—is a specific pattern of neuro inflammation, inflammation in the brain. And what I call the “busy brain center,” the limbic system and the hypothalamus that’s disturbing the circadian rhythm, the biological clock of the brain, and you’re stuck in the cycle of difficulty focusing and anxious thing all day, and you’re wired and you’re tired and you want to fall asleep and you can’t shut down racing thoughts when you go to bed at night, or you wake up in the middle of the night thinking, “Ooh, I’m wide awake. Let me just get a load of laundry done

Here are some of her TIPS: brainSHIFT #1: Digital Detox

What if I told you that one simple change in your evening routine could dramatically improve your sleep? If you struggle to fall and stay asleep, it’s a sign that your brain is overstimulated.

One of the leading causes of this is exposure to digital devices before bed. The combination of blue light and the dopamine hit you get each time you hear your phone ding is a recipe for sleep disaster.

The Solution is Digital Detox
Follow these steps for 1 week and pay attention to how your sleep changes during this time. For better results, extend the practice for 2 weeks (and keep it going for life!).

  • 30 minutes before bedtime, put away all your devices (phone, tablet, computer, and TV).

Replace device time with a calming activity.

  • Replace device time with a calming activity.
  • Light a candle and spend a few minutes longer on your nighttime hygiene rituals.
  • Sip a cup of herbal tea.
  • Write down 3 things you’re grateful for today. 
  • Read a book (but not on your Kindle!). 
  • Take a few quiet moments to connect with your partner, child, or fur baby.
  • If you find this easy, extend your digital detox time. If you can start 2 hours before bedtime, you’ll be amazed at how much your sleep will improve.

Some of her other essentials in her 8 week program

Step One TAKE her BRAIN TEST https://drromie.com/busy-brain-test-resources/ & get your score.

Step two is SLEEP CHALLENGE in chapter 11 (in her book), we have you download the seven-day sleep challenge: This is based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and integrative medicine. And we give supplement recommendations. The whole idea is no matter what’s going on in your world, I want you to reset your sleep-wake cycle, your circadian rhythm, to the best of your ability.  That you’re sleeping well, getting restorative sleep and just even psychologically prioritizing sleep. 

What you are watching: even if you’re watching something that makes you laugh, it’s still waking you up. So if you’re watching something that garners a positive experience, which is typically pure comedy, which is very rare to find—most of them are still laced with darker themes and this that can raise stress hormone levels. Even if you’re watching a comedy, you’re laughing and it’s boosting dopamine and adrenaline. Wonderful during the day, but at night, all of a sudden you got energy now. But so like, that’s the issue. But you know, most people are watching like CSI crime shows. And here’s something amazing that mindfulness literature teaches us is whatever you’re watching.

So even if it’s a horse race, let’s say, your subconscious mind is immersed in that thinking you’re in the middle of the crime scene, that you’re in the middle of the horse race. So your brain is reacting. So while you think I’m distracting myself, not relaxing, watching this, you’re actually creating a busier brain for yourself. So in the seven-day sleep challenge, we walk you through picking activities and we have a list on the website of our “evolutionaries,” we call them, some of their favorite activities, things. What feeds into the airport traffic control tower of our brains that all of us can control is what we see, what we smell, what we taste, what we hear, and what we touch. So we actually ask you to make a ritual to calm the senses down.  (-brainymoms.com interview)

DO the Digital Detox [above]

She has more steps in her book—go check it out.

4 Lessons from Yale’s Happiness Course:

Savor: Savoring is the deliberate, post-activity act of looking back on what you did, and taking time to appreciate it.

Invest in temporal things: invest in experiences. A referenced study by Dr. Leaf Van Bovenfound a negative correlation between spending on material objects and mental wellbeing. Yet spending on experiences was shown to have a significant and positive correlation to mental wellbeing — do to their openness for “positive reinterpretation” over time.

Recognize the GI Joe Fallacy: happiness takes work, not just reading about how to attain it.

Make healthy comparisons. Remember how the things and people you love could have easily not been here. -taken from https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/story/4-lessons-from-yales-happiness-course-193609143.html

What Would Oprah Say: Happiness in five words: ‘Do something for someone else’ [inc mag]

8 DIMENSIONS OF WELLNESS:

Occupational therapist and researcher Peggy Swarbrick defines wellness as “a conscious, deliberate process that requires being aware of and making choices for a more satisfying lifestyle.” It is marked not by the absence of illness or stress, but by the presence of elements like purpose in life, joyful relationships, and satisfying work and play. 

Back in the 1990s, Swarbrick began developing a version of the “wellness wheel” model that many educational and health institutions rely on today. That model identifies eight interconnected dimensions of wellness: emotional, physical, intellectual, environmental, social, spiritual, financial, and occupational. 

The EMOTIONAL dimension “involves the ability to express feelings, enjoy life, adjust to emotional challenges, and cope with stress and traumatic life experiences,” per Swarbrick. 

Emotional Self-Care Practices

-Mindfulness meditation: There are tons of free videos and apps that make mindfulness accessible. 

-Jot down how you’re feeling first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed to get better at connecting with and expressing yourself. Not a fan of writing? Try voice journaling. 

-Listen to an audiobook of your favorite story or novel from when you were a kid. This one is just a great way to feel warm and cozy and reconnect with your inner child (and it’s perfect to pair with a bubble bath). LibriVox is a free website with thousands of public domain audiobooks to stream or download. 

The PHYSICAL dimension–It’s important to move your body, eat nutritious foods, minimize harmful habits like smoking, and keep up with preventative health care measures. 

Physical Self-Care Practices

-Develop a nighttime routine. Good habits are key when it comes to overall wellness — and creating a nightly ritual before bed can help you lock in those seven to nine hours of slumber every evening. Here are 23 tips to get started. 

-Sitting a lot? Start adding short bursts of activity to your day.

The INTELLECTUAL dimension— It should come as no surprise that keeping our brains sharp is part of cultivating overall wellness. Lifelong learning is tied to decreased cognitive decline and increased memory, according to the University of Cincinnati. 

Intellectual Self-Care Practices

–Discover an educational podcast. 

-Check out these brain exercises to help improve memory, cognition, and creativity.

-Pick up a new hobby: Try one of these 31 suggestions.

The ENVIRONMENTAL dimension— Swarbrick defines environmental wellness as feeling physically safe, living in safe and clean surroundings, and having access to clean air, food, and water. It applies to both our “micro-environments,” like our homes and offices, as well as “macro-environments” — our cities, states, countries, and the planet we all live on. 

Environmental Self-Care Practices

-Tidy up: Scrubbing your tub may not feel like self-care, but a clean house is associated with improved mental health. Here’s a 20-minute cleaning checklist. 

–Have houseplants? Touch base with them. Do they need misting? New soil? Not only does tending to your plants help keep your home beautiful, but spending time with greenery is good for you. 

-Pick up litter around your neighborhood (and get some fresh air while you’re at it).  

The SOCIAL WELLNESS dimension–Social wellness, as defined by the eight dimensions model, “involves having relationships with friends, family, and the community, and having an interest in and concern for the needs of others and humankind.”

Social Self-Care Practices

-Write a longhand letter to a family member in another state or country, or find a new pen pal to start exchanging snail mail with. 

-Video call a friend: Texting and liking each other’s posts on social media are great for keeping in touch, but sometimes you just need to see someone’s face.  

The SPIRITUAL realm of the eight dimensions model is all about finding balance, purpose, and peace. That may be through belonging to a religious community, participating in cultural traditions, or simply engaging with the natural world.

Spiritual Self-Care Practices

–Create a mantra for yourself to repeat when times are tough. This writer is partial to author Glennon Doyle’s famous motto (and the name of her podcast), “We can do hard things.” 

-Connect with nature in whatever way you can — maybe it’s going skiing or maybe it’s just sitting by a window and reading a book. Tip: Get a fresh sense of perspective by checking out the views on a high elevation hike or rooftop restaurant. 

–Take a virtual museum tour. 

The FINANCIAL dimension–a sense of financial agency and security is important to wellness. There are many free budgeting tools available that can help with the elements of our finances we canexert more control over, like spending and saving.

Financial Self-Care Practices

–Do the 100 envelope challenge.

-Set your financial intentions by identifying and prioritizing your goals. 

-Donate: Feeling like you have that agency over your finances can also be achieved by giving back and sharing with those who are less fortunate.  

The OCCUPATIONAL dimension—the occupational dimension is not solely concerned with career. Rather, it refers to occupying your time with meaningful activities, whether that’s employment, volunteer work, or playing a role in helping care for loved ones. 

Occupational Self-Care Practices

–Find a volunteer opportunity that you can take part in weekly.

-Declutter your desk (or, if you’re feeling more ambitious, your laptop).

-Cook a meal for people in need in your community.

–8 Dimensions of Wellness taken from Nice News https://nicenews.com/health-and-wellness/8-dimensions-wellness-self-care-practices/

I hope you will find those little things that will help with your overall Well of Happiness. We must constantly be filling up the reservoir of what our soul needs. May you find all the resources you need to flourish. xoxo. -Peace, Love and Light to you. -H

Did you live with Passion?

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I LOVE this Serendipity movie line…Greeks didn’t write obits when someone died. They asked one question—Did they live with Passion?

My daughter is on her first world adventure across the continent & I can honestly say that she is doing her best to live with Passion. She hiked to a waterfall, had a kava ceremony, ate pineapple and watermelon from a local market, visited a Hindu temple, yelled ‘Bula’ to children in the villages she passed through out of her taxi window, took a shower in an outdoor, stone alcove, walked the beach & found her first puffy sand dollars along the shore. It was a day to remember!! She then woke up & the first picture she sent me was her with a headlamp, “heading out in the dark before sunrise to find treasures!!”

What is passion to you? What gets you out of bed? My daughter’s friend stayed in bed and missed the beautiful sunrise…missed opportunity! What gets you up and lights you up?

The definition of Passion: strong and barely controllable emotion

This is an incredible word to describe my daughter—she has this on varying levels of emotion 😉 She had her boyfriend on the phone as she found her first Fijian ‘puffy sand dollar’ and he just laughed listening and watching her on FaceTime get soo excited and barely able to control her enthusiasm and strong emotion. She gets lit up and excited about so many things. That is a great trait to have.

Passion is energy. Feel the power from focusing on what excites you. -Oprah

This goes along with the whole ‘what lights you up’ thought process. Follow those things that stir your soul, that add a little zest to your life, things that make you feel energized, get’s you up and excited to follow the energy that is a strong guiding force.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, compassion, some humor, and some style. -Maya Angelou

I had a friend give me a sign that has this quote on it. I love the whole idea of not merely surviving, but thriving…living…doing… with PASSION! I don’t profess to have any style—I am my own style. I wear black, usually patterned, slimming yoga pants and a black tank. I wear fit flop sandals and usually a hat of some kind with sunglasses. I own who I am in that!! I don’t have to think, I just do ME. But, I try to live with the compassion and humor part as well. Seeking it all with thriving on my mind. How can we thrive? Chasing the PASSION. It ignites and fuels…it creates barely controllable emotion. smile. smile. That is exciting!!

Think of a time that you got soo excited about something…anything…what was it?

Passion is your joy, it is the essence of who you are. You have to unwrap it and find it. — Jackie St. Onge

The essence or the nature of who you are is found in the passion and joy of your authentic self. You have to look at it like a gift you were born with, but the only way to open it, is by trying on those things in life that bring you joy…passion…that excite or ignite you. Then, the gift will be revealed. You have to shake it, listen, tumble, turn it, be still with it and allow the gift to slowly be opened in due time. SURPRISE!! Life may guide you to the very things you need to become your best version. That is where the passion lies…within… hidden in the essence of YOU.

“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” — Denis Diderot

Its like a soulful alignment, a good vibe, an energy that seems to be able to take you to a whole other level of ideas, creativity, a higher awareness of what can be. That is power. That is passion.

“Develop a passion for learning.”  — Anthony J. D’Angelo

This is a WIN for me. I have a need and desire to input information. I feel like I have been creating, collecting, reading, learning, doing…a definite passion for learning. There is so much out there to see, hear, read, write, create, inspire, educate, elevate, etc. It is a non-stop wishing well of good things. Learning opens doors to new ideas, it ignites a fire that conspires to be started, it challenges our brains on different levels, It is the beginning of most creations. It is the spark that runs wild with passion. Learning takes you to places and shows you new possibilities or ways of thinking or imagining.

How to find and chase YOUR PASSION : Think about activities or interests that get you EXCITED. What do you enJOY doing? Think about your STRENGTHS. Look at subjects or things you love to share or teach to other people. When you are in conversations—what topics do you like to share or talk about? On the flip side—look at things, topics that seem to drain or suck your energy.

Needless to say there are soo many things out in this beautiful world to be excited, intrigued, curious…about, that it makes you spin sometimes. At least for me. I can have multiple ideas, things to write about, places I want to see and explore…the list goes on. I mean, ‘Who knew there was such a thing as a “colorist”—a person who is great with colors and can be an expert on creating the right feeling for a house with specific colors. Who knew!?! There are people passionate about soft corals, making dog biscuits, hiking waterfalls, quilting for a cause, doing yoga with goats, thrifting for treasures, stargazers & just regular things like gardening or sports…the list is endless. There are experts out there with such passion for soo many things. It is amazing!! So, have fun chasing what gets YOU excited and lights you up! LIFE IS THE PASSIONATE ADVENTURE!

Here are some ways to help…

CREATE: I say…create. In creation you find that special something that seems to whisper inspiration and fill you with focus, energy, direction, excitement…you just go…you flow. You create with passion. It is part of your true nature. Take some personal time each day, week, once a month (up to you on your time schedule) to create—whether you take a creative class, pull out creative journal prompts, write daily writing pages, take photos daily, build a sand castle with your kids, build a shed or a sauna…the list is endless of the creative possibilities—the point is to just create! Take the time to allow those deeper internal guidance systems to engage and lead you to the creative pursuits that stir passion.

ON YOUR MIND: You are excited or passionate about something when it is continually on your mind. Notice if there are specific ideas that keep popping up in your mind. Maybe there is a business that you are curious about. Maybe you keep finding yourself humming a certain melody that is a song idea trying to come through to you…There are so many ideas, creative longings, nudges from random places (think books you are drawn to, videos that pull on your imagination and call you to create, etc) Notice different things that play on your mind.

FIND YOUR FLOW: It is easy to find a rhythm or flow in doing something you are passionate about. Time seems to go by quickly and there is an ease. You have this natural energy and synergy that seems to ignite your thoughts & you feel as if you could keep going and going without a care of time. When you fall into the flow of passion…creativity is even easier. It is remarkable.

WILLING & WANTING TO LEARN MORE: When you are interested in something and want to learn more–there is a reason. You are drawn to a subject, style, hobby, interest…when you are first curious to know something, you become almost obsessed on some level to find out more. You want to get your answers, to learn what makes something so interesting…to practice, to try, to find out the beginning, to become more knowledgable. Think about it. When something peeks your interest…you want to jump in, swim a little deeper, see what’s under the surface and find out more. That is the natural path to finding one’s interests and passions.

BOTTOM LINE–YOU DO KNOW: In reality, YOU DO KNOW what you are drawn to & what possibilities COULD light you up. There may be a tiny grey area of complete knowing until you TRY it on for experience, but if someone asked you…could you be interested in working with doctors to find a cure for something…could you enjoy washing elephants at a sanctuary in Thailand…could you get excited about knitting hats for the homeless…could you see yourself writing a book…could you possibly enjoy detailing cars…could you see yourself flying an airplane…could you get excited to teach and train therapy animals…the list goes on. There are limitless opportunities to try things to see if they get you excited or push your passion buttons. BUT, you have to ask the questions, try them on and see what is a good fit for who you are and the kind of energy and passion that is created.

EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN: How do you REALLY know what you like, are interested in, get excited about…can be passionate about…IF you don’t get out of your comfort zone, try various activities, see and feel those things that create a spark and fire within. You need to explore the opportunities beyond. Its like a trip—you can stay in the safe harbor of the known or you can get out and feel the wind, dive under water, look at the stars from a new perspective, eat something you have never seen before, touch, feel…go beyond to find the real shiny stuff that might excite you that you never noticed or experienced. Get out and TRY things, explore, and find those unknown places within.

Great stories of people who followed their passion: A few stories of people you may have no idea about, their passions and where it took them.

From Inc online : https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/here-s-how-to-turn-your-passion-into-a-fortune.html. My personal favorites from the article…Jim Koch: A Harvard Business School graduate and consultant with Boston Consulting Company, Koch took the Austrian beer recipe that had been in his family for generations and used it to launch Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company). With Budweiser, Coors, and Miller now owned by foreign companies, Boston Beer Company is now the largest American brewery.

Yvon Chouinard: An avid climber, Chouinard bought a second-hand forge and began to make his own equipment. Ultimately he founded Patagonia, a manufacturer of high-end outdoor clothing that did $600 million in sales in 2013. [There is also a great documentary about Yvon’s partner Doug & Kris Tompkins who did North Face–who have literally saved so much of the natural landscape of Patagonia–great watch https://youtu.be/yJL-OAPBDa8?si=emTsKGSueTTUl-nD] Talk about Passion & Purpose. Wow

Wendy Kopp: Kopp turned her senior thesis at Princeton University into Teach for America, a $229-million-a-year nonprofit organization that places graduates from some of America’s top colleges and universities as teachers in challenged public schools.

Kevin Plank: A football player at the University of Maryland, Plank designed shirts that could wick away sweat, and convinced his former teammates who went on to play professionally to try his product and share it with their teammates. The company that resulted, Under Armour, had $2.3 billion in revenue in 2013.

Here is a link to a list of other people who followed their passion! https://vocal.media/motivation/10-remarkable-people-who-turned-their-passion-into-profit-inspiring-tales-of-success

Sincerely hope this post helps you follow, seek, chase after the passion you need at this point in your life.

Peace. Love and Light to you today. xoxo -H

Power to the Ladies

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I genuinely appreciate stories of women who can rise from their tough beginnings in life to show up as the incredible examples of determination, drive, perseverance and purpose. We need these stories to help push us along to become our best! History is sprinkled with such stories…here are a few I was able to find.

Coco Chanel aka Gabrielle Chanel

Some may struggle with Coco & the way she lived her life with multiple lovers, drug use, socialite parties, rumors, drama…but this was a strong woman who came from nothing, struggled through life and had a conviction to make a rich life. She lived on so many levels. There will always be critics of any story, but I believe you can always find the good in any story. She had true love, heartache, emotional wounds, rejection, abandonment, but she was able to rise from the broken pieces that were her life to create a legacy to be remembered. You have to respect this woman and all she did.

“Elegance is when the inside is

as beautiful as the outside.”

So much history: Chanel has done a beautiful job sharing the history and stories of Coco Chanel https://www.chanel.com/us/about-chanel/the-history/1910/

I watched the movie about her life—-Lessons learned from the movie Coco Before Chanel

“Fashion has two purposes: comfort and love. Beauty comes when fashion succeeds.”

Her Style: I think one of the greatest things she did—she gave women freedom from the tortured (corset) fashions of that era. She re-created the fashion world into something that women could live in. “I make fashion women can live in, breath in, feel comfortable in and look younger in,” she said. True to her word, Chanel’s signature little black dresses, stretch jersey garments and mannish tweed tailoring were all created to liberate ladies from the restrictive apparel that had dominated in the early 20th century. -scmp.com

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”

It was a sad beginning. Her and her 2 sisters, Julia and Antoinette were dropped off by their father to an orphanage around…11-year-old after their mother died of tuberculosis & she stayed there until she was 18. The family—which eventually included six children—lived in poverty while moving throughout the French countryside. After her mother died in 1895, 11-year-old Gabrielle Chanel was sent to a convent-run orphanage in Aubazine.

Her last and longest childhood home was in Brive-la-Gaillarde, a bustling market town in the Corrèze department. Gaillarde means spirited, aptly for the young girl who showed such spirit when she’d grown up. -tatlerasia

She wanted independence and created her own life: Coco Chanel began working as a seamstress in her teens, and she opened a small millinery shop in Paris about a decade later, in 1910. In 1912 she established a boutique in Deauville, France. Her practical, elegant designs attracted influential women, and Chanel was soon heading a thriving couture house. “My life didn’t please me, so I created my life,” she said. -britannica

‘What really interested Chanel was influence,’ says Chaney, author of Chanel: An Intimate Life. ‘She wanted power, but not for power’s sake. She wanted what power brought, which was independence.’ -Tatler

“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different”

Power of influence & the people around her: After working as a seamstress and a cabaret singer – it’s thought that one of the popular songs she sang in Moulins gave rise to her nickname Coco – Chanel met Etienne Balsan, heir to a textile fortune, who established her as his mistress in his chateau at Royallieu. It was Balsan who, in 1908, introduced Coco to her English lover, the polo-playing playboy Captain Arthur Edward ‘Boy’ Capel. ‘He was my father, my brother, my entire family,’ Chanel later said of him. Educated at Beaumont College, Berkshire, and then Stonyhurst, Lancashire, Capel was the dashing son of a rich shipping merchant. ‘He was one of the most important people in her life, if not the key person,’ says Chaney, who was the first biographer to have access to Capel’s personal papers. It’s generally accepted that the inspiration for many of Chanel’s most iconic designs – including the CC logo, the design of the No. 5 perfume bottle and her use of unconventional fabrics such as jersey (previously used for men’s underwear) – all had their roots in her affair with Capel. Her lover channelled money into Coco’s first shop selling hats and within months Chanel’s exquisitie creations were being featured in national magazines. Soon, Chanel opened a boutique, again financed by Capel, in the fashionable resort of Deauville, followed by one in Biarritz and then a store on Rue Cambon, in Paris.

Edward ‘Boy’ Capel died in a car accident, in December 1919. ‘His death was a terrible blow to me,’ she said later. ‘I lost everything when I lost Capel He left a void in me that the years have not filled.’ Yet Chanel busied herself with work and, after several months in mourning and then a trip to Italy with Misia and her husband, she returned to Paris ready to live again. Following an affair with Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich – who introduced her, in 1920, to Ernest Beaux, the man who helped her create Chanel No. 5 – she embarked on a long relationship with the 2nd Duke of Westminster. -tatler

“You were born an original, don’t become a copy !”

She was unapologetically herself in all she did: Whether it was the boyish style clothing she would create, the muted tones she would wear, the mood swings, the independent attitude—she was her own woman. She was never going to be tamed or cornered into a life she did not desire. She truly did create the life she wanted. She could have married many men, but she had decided early on in her life to not marry anyone. She was her own woman.

In 1921 She creates the first perfume (No 5) by a fashion house. She wanted to create “A woman’s perfume with a woman’s scent,” with over 80 scents to create the essence she desired. It becomes the number one selling perfume in the world. So many firsts to ensure the test of time. She has had 100 years of celebrities from Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt…the list is endless of the faces behind Chanel.

Few designers are as revered as the iconic Coco Chanel, one of the most influential designers of the 21st century. Now considered by many to be the first modern perfume, Chanel No. 5 is as recognizable and enduring as Chanel’s most famous clothing designs, and the designer herself. -history

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“Freedom is believing in yourself”

-Margarete Steiff

Margarete Steiff contracted polio when she was just 18 months old, which meant that she would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. 

However, this spirited and courageous young woman was not going to let her life be defined by her disability. She learnt sewing and tailoring and soon became a very skilled seamstress. She started up her own small business, initially making ladies’ and children’s clothes, but soon diversified into other products. 

Little did she know, when she was working on a little felt elephant to be used as a pincushion, that she was laying the foundation stone for the international company of the future, Margarete Steiff GmbH. -BearGarden

The following timeline is from the steiff website:

The Margarete Steiff felt goods factory is founded
On 3 March 1893, the toy factory is registered in the commercial register as “Margarete Steiff, Filzspielwarenfabrik Giengen/Brenz”. Our toys are presented for the first time at the Leipzig Toy Fair. Margarete now employs 4 sewers and 10 home workers

1895 Harrods sells first Steiff products
Our first foreign business relationship with Harrods, London, is established.

1906 The Steiff bear becomes the teddy bear
American President Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was “Teddy”, played a major role in the success of the Steiff bear and in giving it its name. He refused to shoot a helpless bear tied to a leash during a hunting trip. As a result, he was portrayed by cartoonist Cliffort K. Berryman in the Washington Post along with a small bear. This is the best publicity for our Teddy Bear, the Teddy Boom begins and our Steiff brand achieves worldwide recognition.

1907 Teddy Bear Boom
Steiff produces 1,700,000 toys and 973,999 teddy bears with 400 employees and 1,800 home workers!

1909 Margarete dies
At the age of 61, Margarete Steiff dies on 9 May in the presence of her family as a result of pneumonia. After her death, the company is continued by her nephews and the toy and plush range is further expanded.

Her work went on and still continues to this day.

I first came across Margarete’s story when I was looking at teddy bears on eBay and came across the Steiff brand and wondered why they were so expensive. I then found a small Steiff elephant that is missing the ear tag, but I excitedly purchased it and now look at that little elephant as a great reminder of her story and know its history. I think of this woman who created the elephant as a pincushion & from there a larger, magical toy elephant that would transport children to far away lands. There is a history in this brand, as well as a beautiful story about perseverance, purpose…a woman who started out just sewing and then began to create toy gifts for friends and family. Her business began small, but she created with her heart and big things happened.

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I hope these stories help you see…From you heart your destiny will fulfill your purpose for this life. Follow where it leads you. There is only one you…one story that is all your own, so follow your heart and fulfill the gift you were meant to give. These women were great examples of finding their own freedom and living from that place to pursue their greatest purpose.

Have a beautiful and blessed day. Peace, Love and Light to you xoxo -H

So many beautiful ideas

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“Things are beautiful if you love them.” -Jean Anouilh

There are so many beautiful ideas to pick from in the incredible life we get to live. We must find the beauty in the symbols of nature with its delicate details that beg us to notice or the intricate symmetry and equations that make up a simple shell and the divinity that is found in the smallest creations. We must love the beauty of flowers, the ancient wisdoms and continued celebrations of their meaning and depth. We must allow ourselves to appreciate the cultures from distant lands and find the sweetness in their words and stories. There are so many beautiful ideas…if we but look to seek, find, appreciate and love them. I sincerely hope you can find something you need here within these ideas. Peace. Love and Light to you. xoxo

“Just like the lotus we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.” – Unknown

Lotus flower is a beautiful symbol and I appreciate how Alex and Ani jewelry describe it:

The lotus flower has an otherworldly beauty that has the ability to transfix us. Its translucent petals seem lit from within, and it rises from murky waters to emerge untouched by any hint of the mud they’re rooted in. Small wonder that the lotus is often seen as a symbol of purity.

When people think of the lotus flower, they often think of a variety of ancient cultures, including Egyptian and Chinese history. In fact, for centuries, the lotus flower has been central to a number of beliefs and religions. 

If there were a timeless flower, it would be the lotus. There are lotus seeds in existence today that have been germinating for over ten centuries. An aquatic plant, these water beauties can expand up to ten feet horizontally. The lotus can grow anywhere from about three to six feet or higher with leaves that can span a foot or more.

And, even though the lotus grows from the mud, its fragrance is like the flower – sweet, delicate, and floral. The color of their petals can range from purest white to understated cream tones to vibrant jewel colors.

The lotus has a unique cycle, opening with the rising sun and closing its petals as the sun sets, submerging itself under the water to emerge clean and “reborn” each morning. But, what may even be more remarkable about this flower is its durability. Its seeds are able to create new plants even after thousands of years and the plants themselves can survive under many harsh climatic conditions such as being submerged under ice or blooming under extreme heat. While they prefer certain soils, these seemingly delicate flowers can thrive under a number of soil conditions. And, once mature, the lotus plant can live a long time with some species approaching the century mark.

I have always had a deep connection to the story of the lotus. It is an incredible symbol of growing through the dark. Finally seeing the sunlight after a storm. Being able to awaken after a loss or heartbreak. In the darkness is where the real growth begins. The lotus is a beautiful reminder to such moments. There are so many lessons of resilience, strength, struggle, power… from this simple, elegant flower. May you look at the lotus in a new light.

“There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” -Leonard Cohen

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. It highlights the big, broken, beautiful imperfections rather than hiding them, and can make the piece more beautiful than before. A lovely metaphor for embracing our flaws.

‘Mono no aware’ is the Japanese philosophical root of it: Literally translates as ‘the aha-ness of things.’ The simultaneous sadness and joy at realizing the impermanence of life and objects. It is rooted in duality of actively being, bearing witness to the ‘being’ of other people, things, yourself, your feelings and experiences while having the knowledge that people, things and experiences do not last.–reddit, supercoolmaniac. ‘Mono’ means ‘thing’ or ‘things’; ‘aware’ means ‘feeling’ or sentiment, and the particle ‘no’ indicates something an object possesses. So mono no aware signifies the deep feeling or pathos of things, the powerful emotions that objects can evoke or instill in us. –school of life. Mono no Aware 物の哀れ (moh-no no ah-wah-ray), which roughly translates as “the sensitivity of things”. It refers to an awareness of the fragility of existence, an appreciation for it’s beauty and the gentle sadness of it’s passing. Well, I found a few variations of this idea, but I liked the overall meaning of “the sensitivity of things” because I can genuinely relate to this idea—and how things can come, go, be of value, be taken away and having the true experiences of it all. The almost, ebbs and flows of life and the things held within it. But, I also like the idea of ‘the aha-ness of things’—all beautiful ideas that make you stop, ponder and evaluate the power of ‘things’ in our lives. Where do we place the greater values? It makes you stop and think or to have an aha moment of what’s important. All good things 🙂 [see what I did there. haha]

Ikigai is the action we take in pursuit of happiness. It can be defined as the ‘feeling of being alive now and/or individual motivation for living.’ The pursuit of happiness has been written about, talked about, movies made, fables and folklore shared….forever. But, I think that is because it is a very important concept that cannot be written off. We need to be seeking daily those things that help us feel alive, right now & build on that daily in our overall pursuit of a life full of happiness.

Shinrin-yoku is Japanese for “Forest bathing”—I LOVE this idea of seeking to find a healthier balance by spending time in nature.There is science that even backs up how just seeing green spaces [even an image of nature] makes us healthier.

“The Whole Universe is based on rhythms. Everything happens in circles, in spirals.” -John Hartford

Spirals symbolize a variety of meanings like creation, change, evolution, cycles of life, the universe and our journey within it, the connection to the divine, expansions of divinity, the gradual way to the center…I genuinely think the depth of such a simple symbol is a beautiful reminder of the constant changes that life brings and our own way of finding a deeper, more meaningful and rich center for our lives. Every symbol, meaning, reminder…is a personal perspective and an opportunity to take what you want to hold to for your own unique guidance and inspiration.

“Seashells wash upon the shore like

smiles from the sea.”

Seashells can be a symbol of love, protection, creation…An open shell can provide a powerful metaphor for the transition from dating to intimate love. When we first meet a potential romantic partner, we often try to present a strong, beautiful exterior. Yet lasting love may require opening ourselves up to reveal the vulnerability and tenderness inside.

In Asia seashells are symbols of prosperity and good fortune. In other cultures they were worn or carried to bring good luck, protection, to ward off evil spirits and protect one from negative energy. For many American Indian groups seashells symbolize birth, renewal and creation.

This is a very thought provoking angle about shells, “With their birthplace being the salty ocean, each shell has been grown following a pattern of sacred geometry.” -thespiritofwater.com to think about the very creation of each shell pattern and the intricacy and perfect symmetry, angles, details, chemistry, etc. It is so humbling to look at any simple shell like that and not be in awe. Wow. That is nature for you—it seems there is always some sort of amazement and divine power at play.

Here is a link to a bunch of seashell quotes for your enJOY ment https://dpsayings.com/seashell-quotes/

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the mind.” -Luther Burbank

Flowers have long been a universal symbol of so many beautiful meanings. Whether its the lotus or a rose there are a variety of flowers celebrated and sacred. In Hawaii, the lei is a cherished symbol of hospitality, love, and friendship.  In Japan, they have Cherry blossom festivals to celebrate the lovely, quick fading blossoms as a reminder of the impermanence of life. In Mexico, Marigolds take center stage hoping their vibrant colors with bring back loved ones during their Day of the Dead celebrations. In Ukraine, Sunflowers are given as a symbol of loyalty and are often exchanged between couples to show affection and commitment. Lavender brings calm & is often associated with romantic gestures. In Chinese circles, the peony represents wealth, prosperity, good fortune & are often included in weddings as a wish for a happy and prosperous union. In the western culture, red roses are a symbol of passion and love. [-some of the ideas here were taken from Medium article] Flowers are the sweet petals and fragrance of the wild places, the romantic gestures, the memories of lost loved ones, the wild flower walks you took as a child, the fragrant hint of a lovers cologne, the natural beauties that take us to so many places in our lives. Take some of these special meanings and gift them to someone you care about. Flowers are one of the sweetest gestures we can share. Bring someone a smile with a sunflower or a handpicked bouquet from the garden. Flowers share your care. Spread the love.

Ohanami literally means “flower viewing” and it’s used to describe gathering to enjoy and appreciate cherry blossoms. In Japan, cherry blossom viewing is a centuries-old tradition that is grounded in the idea that nothing is permanent, not even beautiful flowers. This is also known as Hanami. -MS*

b love . share kindness . b happy . do GOOD .

find the BEAUTY . enJOY the PURE LIFE

Pura vida: It means ‘pure life’ but has come to symbolise the simple, cheerful and care-free lifestyle the country is known for. It urges Costa Ricans (also known as Ticos) to not sweat the small stuff, to slow down and focus on what’s important. *.  Cheerful and care-free—those words remind me of my daughter, who happens to wear a shell bracelet by a company called Pura vida, so this is soo fitting and symbolic of a ‘pure life’—which my daughter, Kate means ‘Pure’ WOW! wonderful. LOVE that!

Niksen from the Netherlands, means–the art of doing nothing. This concept takes having a break to a whole new level. It’s about listening to your body and knowing when you need to recover and it’s a great idea for relieving stress. -MS* Take a moment today to STOP and do NOTHING.

Friluftswiv Norwegian “free air life” Coined relatively recently, in 1859, it is the concept that being outside is good for human beings’ mind and spirit. -treehugger.com. Who can argue with this concept!! Being outside is so good on so many levels, both physically and emotionally.

Lagom is a Swedish word that translates to “not too little, not too much”. Mainly, the Swedes are focusing on a balanced lifestyle. Sweden is well-known for their philosophy on moderation. Employees work six hours per day and are given the opportunity to pursue their passions with the extra time. This sense of balance reduces stress and anxiety and produces more joy. While it may not be possible to work a six-hour day and maintain your employment, there is something to be said for pursuing a balanced lifestyle. [taken from Genietraveler]. To see a culture that strives to give balance, especially through limiting their work hours per day and then giving them more time to pursue personal interests—brilliant!!

Craic from Ireland is all about having a good time with friends. -MS* Friends + Good times=priceless

Tri hita karana: from Bali has its own three pillar approach to a good life, elegantly named tri hita karana. A three pillar principle, meaning ‘three causes/ways to happiness’, it is concerned with three relationships: parhyangan (the relationship between a person and God), pawongan (the relationship between a person and their neighbours) and palemahan (the relationship between a person and nature). The trick is to find a happy harmony between all three*. It is a beautiful idea when a culture can have such an awareness of the greater needs and meaning within a life well lived. LOVE.

Greek Meraki: Meraki, which literally translated means ‘essence of ourselves’, is a concept of doing something with unbridled creativity and effort.*. I think if we could all ponder the deeper meaning of this idea and genuinely take a deeper look at the essence of who we are and what we want to contribute to the world, the world would awaken on a higher level with more of us fully moving towards the unbridled passion and direction of our inner selves. I strive for that!!

*these ideas: https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/travel-blog/life-concepts-around-the-world

Entrückt, Germany: Being entrückt is about being lost in thought and in your own mind. It’s about forgetting everything around you and daydreaming, being absentminded or even meditative. It’s about being calm and quiet and enjoying time alone. -MS* [Marieskelton.com]. This sounds nice.

Estrenar, Spain: This is about using or wearing something for the first time. Think of the soft fluffiness of a new pair of sweatpants, or the whiteness of a new pair of socks, or the great feeling of wearing a new top on a night out with friends. -MS* Everyone loves new or even clean sheets, new socks, the confidence something new can create. It is a little bit of something great!

shh . “naps are nature’s way of reminding you that life is nice, like a beautiful swinging hammock strung between birth and infinity.”

-Peggy Noonan

Siesta, Spain: the idea of taking a 2-hour break in the middle of the day for a siesta, or nap, may seem preposterous. But this practice has been proven to relieve stress and recharge your mind, leading to greater happiness and wellbeing. -MS*. LOVE THIS. the power of naps can do great things and could possibly change the world for the better, right!? How can we implement this everywhere? haha. Who doesn’t LOVE a good nap? It begins with YOU. Take a good nap. xoxo

Flâner, France: is to stroll or potter around. If you’re in a rush, it’s not flâner. Instead, this means to take your time leisurely walking and observing the world around you. It’s about having no purpose. -MS* I was talking to my daughter’s friend who is an exchange student from France and he was explaining the meaning of this word—it was more of a ‘person who wanders and has no purpose.’ He was saying that in France it is not a great meaning, but then as we both talked he explained it further as ‘a well off person that seems to wander around wherever they want to go.’ We both laughed and said, “actually, I wouldn’t mind be a well off person who could wander and enjoy wherever they want to be in the world.” It was a fun understanding of how perspectives can vary–in any language. haha.

Lumineuse, France: to describe a person or place of light. This was another word from our French friend. He shared it is a beautiful word to describe someone that is a bright light, radiates sunlight.

Tetu, France: No matter what you are not going to change you.

Azart, Russia: Seeking the zeal of life. Finding passion and excitement – often from activities that would make many other cultures feel uncomfortable. Think about scary movies, or sky diving or rolling around in the snow after nice warm sauna. -MS*. Pushing your personal limits and within those outer boundaries finding the zest or zeal within the excitement. We all jump on many levels when we take any leap that is out of our comfort realm. It is always a good thing!

Keyif, Turkey: In Turkey, Keyif is all about practicing the art of quiet relaxation and living in the moment – like mindfulness. It’s about savouring the simple moments in life, spending some time alone and resetting. -MS*. I appreciate the idea to savor the simple moments, to take a moment and sincerely settle into feelings or environments or the quality time with another and especially the alone time with ones self. That is a beautiful thing.

Ubuntu, So. Africa: Ubuntu is practiced by the Bantu people across Africa. It’s a concept of common humanity and oneness. Think “I am because you are.” It acknowledges the power of togetherness and community. -MS*. I sincerely appreciate those cultures who have such a strong desire for togetherness and community. To see and celebrate our connection to one another, that idea of I am because of who you are—that is a greater gift to any community.

LIFE IS TOO BEAUTIFUL TO MISS

There are SOOO many beautiful ideas, words, concepts held within our world. I hope you can find some here that made you think, ponder, smile, and want to live the incredible practices and beliefs…I will keep posting all the beautiful things I can find. Life is too BEAUTIFUL. LOVE THAT. PEACE. LOVE and LIGHT. -H xoxo

A 1 year goodbye

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“The loss of a brother or sister is not small, unimportant, or invisible. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I call sibling loss ‘the loss of a lifetime,’ because who else do we expect to have relationships with that stretch our entire lives?” -Lynn Shattuck

It has been a year today since I got a call from my parents & they told me my brother had died. I was with my sweet husband driving down Hwy 101 in Oregon & I could sincerely not believe the conversation or loss that would forever change my life. I cried and cried. I was not sure where to go or what to do. I was alone with my husband in another state away from any family. I wanted to get as close to heaven as I could to make sure my brother knew I was thinking about him. We drove to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse and climbed a small mountain that looked out over the ocean. I had never experienced such wind, but we pushed ourselves to the top & as I looked out over the vast ocean view all I could do is cry, throw my hands up like a bird & face the wind. I stood there talking to my brother like a prayer. “Scotty, you had always wanted to visit Oregon. You have always loved the rain. I know you are looking down on me right now. This is for you…enjoy this view.” It was such a beautiful way to think of him. To feel so close to the sky & have a huge, vast ocean view below. It was humbling and memorable and forever.

It is definitely a ‘loss of a lifetime’ because you think of all the things you miss together, the conversations you could have had, to see his face or hear him talk about his first grandchild that was born this year and to know how excited he was to know and love him. It is a bunch of emotions and feelings of want, need, wonder, wishes…but in the end I have no control or idea where or how my brother is. All I can do is blow kisses to the wind, talk to him when I am alone or wonder what he is doing. I can look at old pictures or ponder memories, but its like a faded story that seems to lose a little more of the details, the almost hazy blur that sneaks in when you try to think of a specific smell or detail. Its like you slowly forget about someone you loved so much. It is heartbreaking. No matter how hard you try to hold on. Life continues without someone who was always supposed to be a witness to my life, a sibling, a friend, family that knows and loves you no matter what…why? because you have a history together and your bond is unbreakable. It is hard to lose someone like that!

I love you, brother. Wherever you are I hope you FEEL nothing but LOVE. You deserve that peace. xoxo

Divine?

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” You are not less divine. Divine is not somewhere outside of you. When you see Divinity everywhere, you see it in you as well. You are part of the Divine.” -Sri

All of these images I have taken to help me remember the wonder, beauty, divine essence that is in our every day. How can we not go outside and be in awe, when we see the incredible details that are put into every single moment of every day. I am always surprised when I see the dew drops so delicately balanced on a blade of grass or the lines of ferns that intertwine and roll open with such intricate patterning or the hues of sunsets, rainbows and rays of brilliant light. It is awe–inspiring. I am always falling in love a little more each day with the artistry that is life as a whole. There is growth, light, dark, perfect timing, seasons, struggle, balance, change…in all things. It is what makes everything beautiful.

Living on the coast has made me see a whole new perspective. When I first arrived on the Oregon Coast I watched the ocean and its energy seemed so angry, so intense, and it genuinely scared me. I walked the beach for awhile with certainty that the waves were trying to reach me to pull me into its depths. So as it would get closer I would quickly run away from it.

As I walk the beach every day, you begin to see the rhythm, the constant change, the ongoing struggle of the shore holding tight to the rising tides and currents. You see the sand literally moving and creating cliffs that were not there before. You walk over huge trees that were thrown and rolled onto the shore. You watch the sanderlings, I call them “sand darling” birds rush in and out of the waves as the water moves and glides in back and forth. It is almost like a dance with nature. There is a definite timing. The waves seem calm one day and the ocean looks like a lake, followed by the very next day, it may seem violent and turbulent, full of white foam and churning waves. It is a constant, ever-changing flow. I have learned to see and appreciate the beautiful changes and to not fear them. You begin to understand the timing and I now look at the waves as if they are trying to kiss me. I smile as the waves come closer.

There is a divine timing in all things. I sincerely believe that.

Last weekend we heard word that the Northern Lights were possibly going to be seen down throughout the states and my husband and I got very excited. We knew we needed to take the opportunity to seek out the experience. Our daughter was at a camp with 50 kids through her college about two hours south of us, but we told her about the possible light show.

It was just about midnight and we headed out toward our ocean spit because we knew the light pollution would not be as bad and we may get to see something.

Just then my daughter sent us a beautiful image of a purple/hot pink hued sky with a silhouette of trees and water. It was gorgeous. Her text, “Did you see that?! LOOK” I paused and could not believe the images, I responded, “What!! You got those??” I half believed the images that were so full of color and brilliance were being seen. Her response, “YESS!!”

By this time we were at the spit and our sky looked like there were wisps of white movement but not the incredible color that was coming through for our daughter. I quickly replied, “When did you get those??? Did we miss it??” She then called us and explained that you can’t actually SEE the lights of color unless you put your phone up to the sky and take a picture. Then the colors can be visible.

What!? I thought. What a crazy concept, but sure enough, we put our phones up to the sky and caught the color. It was amazing. It was so fun to point and shoot and see ocean waves with beautiful hues painting the sky. It was so magical. We just kept clicking pictures for an hour or so. The images changed with light and dark or varying in color. It was a once-in-a-lifetime sky and we were doing all we could to capture the magic of it. What a wonderful time!!

It makes you stop and ponder the divinity that is all around us. We may see the details in nature, but there is also a whole other extension, dimension, existence that plays all around us. There are miracles, magic, vibes, energy, starlight….there is so much divine power that whirls and encircles us that we sincerely don’t know very much about. I would definitely rather believe in the brilliance that may not be seen but is there helping run the greater light within my life.

May you begin to believe and see the glorious magic and divinity all around you.

Peace, Love and Light to you. xoxo -H

WANT MORE TO LEARN ABOUT… natural miracles or divine masterpieces to learn about…Monochromatic (one color rainbows)–I actually got to experience a beautiful white monochromatic rainbow that was created by the ocean mist here in Oregon. It was a massive arch rainbow of white over the ocean—very cool. Some other things I read about: Cave of Crystals in Mexico contains some of the largest natural crystals ever found: translucent gypsum beams measuring up to 36 feet (11 meters) long and weighing up to 55 tons. Caño Cristales was found in 1969 by a group of cattle farmers. The river is commonly called the “River of Five Colors” or the “Liquid Rainbow,” and is noted for its striking colors. Sea Path in Korea: Every year, the water level in the sea located between Modo-ri of Euishinm-yeon and Heodong-ri of Gogun-myeon falls due to a neap tide, creating a long sea trail that is 40 meters wide. Jindo starts the sea trail festival when the sea has parted and the pathway reaches its greatest width. In Indonesia Kawah Ijen Volcano buns blue. Catatumbo lightning Storms. Essentially a 10 Hr lightning storm with tons of lightning flashes, like several per minute. The Doorway to hell in Turkmenistan. Giants Causeway in Ireland: The 40,000-odd basalt formations at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland Rainbow Mountains of China

Who knew… there were Arctic Snow Chimneys, Ice Volcano, Hawaii has a “green flash”, “Light Pillars” look incredible, Rainbow Eucalyptus trees, Green sand beaches (apparently there are only 4), Frost flowers, Sailing stones, Lenticular clouds look amazing, Hessdalen lights, apparently rains diamonds on Neptune and Uranus, , Ice circles—these remind me of the large air bubbles that occasionally show up in various places in the ocean & that reminds me of the beautiful water rings dolphins make, –(Thank you Reddit on some of these), Dolphins also have names for one another, Trees communicate with one another through their root system, Spider rain, Moonlight makes certain things grow faster. Some whale frequency sounds can travel over 10,000 miles…

ALWAYS more to learn about. LIFE IS SO BEAUTIFUL.