Moonstruck Tinsel

A Lucky Man

2010-11-10T09:08:00.000+01:00

I'm visiting my mother and I'm meeting a lot of relatives that I rarely meet otherwise. It's always an amazing experience to meet them and to listen to their stories and this time I've heard a story that I want to share.

This man had an accident where he fell and landed on a knife that went straight through his wrist. Unfortunate, you might think, but he was lucky because he did not cut any important parts and could pull the knife out, still use his hand, and without bleeding to death. He bought a boat and renovated it but when he put it in the water it started taking in water. Once again he was lucky because the boat did not sink. He had a large glass screen fall over his head and while it cut him badly he was still lucky because it did not decapitate him. These are only three examples from a long list of things that had happened to him but you get the idea.

He's such a classic example of the thought that I live by, "How you look at life determines what your life will be like". Looking at the good and lucky things in life will get you a happier life even when things don't happen as you had hoped for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry,

show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile."

There are two ways of spreading light:

2010-10-31T22:54:00.002+01:00

... to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
~:Edith Wharton:~

If you think you can, you can.

2010-10-29T22:49:00.002+02:00

And if you think you can't, you're right
~:Mary Kay Ash:~

Opportunity is missed by most ...

2010-10-27T22:46:00.000+02:00

... because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
~:Thomas Alva Edison:~

If you don't like something, change it.

2010-10-25T22:41:00.001+02:00

If you can't change it, change your attitude.
~:Maya Angelou:~

Each of us literally chooses ...

2010-10-23T22:39:00.000+02:00

... by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit.
~:William James:~

Faced with the choice between ...

2010-10-21T22:35:00.000+02:00

... changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
~:John Kenneth Galbraith:~

Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey.

2010-10-19T22:21:00.001+02:00

It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.
~:Captain Jean-Luc Picard:~

Be not afraid of life.

2010-10-17T22:19:00.000+02:00

Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
~:Henry James:~

Happiness is not so much in having as sharing.

2010-10-15T22:13:00.000+02:00

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
~:Norman MacEwan:~

Be glad of life ...

2010-10-13T21:57:00.000+02:00

... because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look up at the stars.
~:Henry Van Dyke:~

Love the moment.

2010-10-11T21:51:00.002+02:00

Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.
~:Corita Kent:~

Life is a succession of moments.

2010-10-09T21:53:00.001+02:00

To live each one is to succeed.
~:Corita Kent:~

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:

2010-10-07T21:47:00.002+02:00

It goes on.
~:Robert Frost:~

We are here to add what we can to life ...

2010-10-05T21:43:00.002+02:00

... not to get what we can from life.
~:William Osler:~

To live is the rarest thing in the world.

2010-10-03T21:41:00.000+02:00

Most people exist, that is all.
~:Oscar Wilde:~

Love life and ...

2010-10-01T21:37:00.001+02:00

... life will love you back.
~:Arthur Rubinstein:~

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands ...

2010-09-29T21:34:00.000+02:00

... because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy; because we will always want to have something else or something more.
~:David Steindl-Rast:~

Ninety-nine percent of all failures ...

2010-09-27T21:31:00.001+02:00

... come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
~:George Washington Carver:~

Keep love in your heart.

2010-09-25T21:26:00.000+02:00

A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.
~:Oscar Wilde:~

Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you ...

2010-09-23T21:24:00.000+02:00

... they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
~:Bernice Johnson Reagon:~

Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do.

2010-09-21T21:21:00.000+02:00

Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one, your life is what you're making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities.
~:John C. Maxwell:~

The tragedy of life is not that man loses...

2010-09-19T21:18:00.000+02:00

... but that he almost wins.
~:Heywood Broun:~

Luck is...

2010-09-18T14:12:00.003+02:00

... believing you're lucky.
~:Tennessee Williams:~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you heard of Richard Wiseman and his research on luck? If not then it might be worth looking him up.

For those who don't want to follow links and read any deeper I'll post:

Professor Wiseman's four top tips for becoming lucky:

* Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right.
* Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine.
* Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well.
* Visualise yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call. Luck is very often a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Life is what you make of it.

2010-09-17T21:16:00.000+02:00

Always has been, always will be.
~:Grandma Moses:~

As we express our gratitude...

2010-09-15T21:11:00.000+02:00

... we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~:John F Kennedy:~

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.

2010-09-13T21:09:00.001+02:00

I want to have lived the width of it as well.
~:Diane Ackerman:~

Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be.

2010-09-11T21:03:00.001+02:00

Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope.
~:Tom Head:~

When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard,"...

2010-09-09T21:00:00.001+02:00

... I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"
~:Sydney J. Harris:~

Negativity breeds negativity

2010-09-07T13:07:00.023+02:00

You are responsible for your own life and your own happiness. It’s obvious and still people don’t get it.

Being negative and saying or doing negative things will affect your life negatively and that includes the negative things you do to strangers or the negative things you say about people that can’t hear you. You know what you are doing and your soul is injured by it, no matter if it’s just a thought or if you really act it out.

The way you paint the world with your thoughts, acts and words is also how you paint your own soul.

The negative things in this world will enter our lives as soon as they get a chance, it can’t be helped, but we all have a choice when it comes to what we do with them. We can let the negative things rule our lives or we can take responsibility for our own lives and do something about it.

I’ve made the choice to cut away negativity when ever I can. This means that I give people a chance to change and that I have no problem cutting them out of my life if they don’t. It also means that I have very little contact with some of my very close relatives because their negativity is pulling me down to a place where I don’t want to be.

When you silently curse someone you are placing that curse on yourself. Every mean thing you say will reflect back on you and it doesn’t matter if you were the only one that heard it.

When you waste someone else’s time you are also wasting your own time. Time has great value in today’s society and it’s really rude to waste the time of others, and you lose time too, time you could have used for more positive things than making people frustrated.

When you ignore someone and fail to listen to what they say you also fail to listen to yourself. People that fail to listen to others often fail to listen to their own “inner voice” (their moral compass or their inner conscience if you so wish) even when it’s screaming at them, and then they complain and sometimes blame others when things go wrong. Take the time to stop and listen.

When you take someone or something for granted you become blind to the needs of others as well as the needs that you have. You can take that last cookie/towel/thing because you want it and you know that no one will tell you no if you ask for it, but, by asking for it you show the others that you understand that they might want or need it too. By asking you also show that you understand the value of it and you get to think about how much you truly need it or not since there is always a chance that the answer will be no.

Stand by your word. We all make mistakes and we all have the right to change our minds and if that changes something you have already said or promised then you need to make it clear and explain yourself without making excuses. Knowing that you will not or cannot live up to your word will bring negative energy down on you; it simply eats away at your soul.

I heard somewhere that letting negativity into your life effects your hormones and makes the levels of negative and depressing hormones rise in your body, that in its turn can give you other physical health problems. How you act and how you treat others are also making you ill. If the things that you do are making you ill then it’s a clear sign that you shouldn’t be doing it. (Examples: here, here, and here.)

The strongest power in your life is your inner power and if you let it break you down then the destruction will be total.

Picture that ^^^ By looking in the mirror and calling yourself ugly, or by putting yourself down calling yourself a looser you are actually destroying your self in the most harmful way ever. By calling someone else names, by wasting someone else’s time or being disrespectful in one way or the other you are harming yourself in ways that no one else can.

It’s not easy to change a behaviour that you have had for a life time but it can be done, one step, one thought and one plead for forgiveness at the time. One thing that is very important is to know how to forgive, not just people around you but also yourself. Some things are easier to change than others; the main thing is that you shouldn’t give it all up because you are having a bad day. There will be a new day in the morning and you will have a new chance, don't let it slip away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wrote the text above 2 years ago and I've decided to post it here because it feels just as important to me today as it was back then.

The word "happiness" would lose its meaning...

2010-09-05T20:54:00.000+02:00

...if it were not balanced by sadness.
~:Carl Gustav Jung:~

Your outlook on life...

2010-09-03T19:59:00.000+02:00

... determines how your life will treat you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How I look at life is a daily choice. It's so easy to get caught up in the bad things that happen and making the choice to see the good things among the bad is something that I have to stop and do on a daily basis.
My husbands health problems took a turn for the worse and then my father became seriously ill for the first time in his life. My husband has become better again but my father died last month. People around me has commented on how well I have handed the situation and some have even gone as far as saying that they wish they could be like me. It's not easy to see the good things among the bad but it's a choice just like any other and I keep telling them to try it out.

Don't complain about the bad things that happens, cheer the good things and use them as fuel when you resolve the problems that have occurred.

A single flower...

2010-05-25T12:27:00.000+02:00

Life is changing and I'm changing with it, things that had my full focus are now often banished to the outskirts of my mind. This blog is among those things. My husband's health condition is not getting any better at this point and my own health problems are flaring up and causing me problems. The great thing is that summer is finally here, the grass and trees are turning green and there are flowers in my garden again. The flowers are mostly weeds but I don't care about that, they are still beautiful. =)

I still think of "you" the readers and the writers of the blogs I usually read and I wonder how you are doing. I don't have the time and energy to look you up as it is right now but I do wish those of you that sees this the very best and I hope that your lives are moving on in the right direction.

Have a nice day now! =)

Make one person happy each day ...

2010-04-06T12:35:00.000+02:00

... and in forty years you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time at least.

~Charles Wiley~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making someone happy also increases the chances of them then going on to making someone else happy. Ripples on the water multiplying infinitely.

Love is the ability and willingness ...

2010-04-03T12:25:00.000+02:00

... to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.

~Wayne Dyer~

I like living.

2010-03-30T12:11:00.000+02:00

I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

~Agatha Christie~

Every day is my best day;

2010-03-27T12:46:00.000+01:00

... this is my life; I am not going to have this moment again.

~Bernie Siegel~

Remember that not getting what you want ...

2010-03-24T12:52:00.000+01:00

... is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

~Dalai Lama~

When you look at the world in a narrow way, how narrow it seems!

2010-03-21T12:06:00.000+01:00

When you look at it in a mean way, how mean it is! When you look at it selfishly, how selfish it is! But when you look at it in a broad, generous, friendly spirit, what wonderful people you find in it.

~Horace Rutledge~

Believe that life is worth living ...

2010-03-18T12:03:00.000+01:00

... and your belief will help create that fact.

~William James~

Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world.

2010-03-15T12:49:00.000+01:00

For, indeed, that's all who ever have.

~Margaret Mead~

One day...

2010-03-13T18:21:00.002+01:00

My husband came back home last week. He's well enough to be nursed at home from now on and it's really nice to have him around even though it's a bit more stressful too.

They say that it's in time like this that your friends are tested. I know where I have my friends already and where we stand, but something has truly surprised me the kindness and help we have gotten from people that we barely know and from strangers. Most amazing of all is the person that has shuffled the snow that covered our front yard. It was a mammoth of a task and it must have taken a lot of time, still we never saw who did it or when.

Things are slowly turning back to normality again and I hope to be back to reading blogs as well as blogging myself soon. I do think about you all and wonder how you are doing.

Slowely but surely.

2010-01-29T15:09:00.003+01:00

My husband is getting better by the day now and we hope to have him home from the hospital before the end of February. It has been two tough months but I've also found that the way we look at life also helps us in situations such as this, there has been many laughs too in all this seriousness. =) Give us another couple of months and all will be back to normal... or at least close to normal.

Hope Abides

Hope abides; therefore I abide.
Countless frustrations have not cowed me.
I am still alive, vibrant with life.
The black cloud will disappear,
The morning sun will appear once again
In all its supernal glory.

~Sri Chinmoy~

Happy New Year! (2010)

2009-12-31T23:54:00.000+01:00

Fill your heart with new hopes, reach out for new opportunities and celebrate the New Year!

I wish you all the best!

Happy New Year! (1431)

2009-12-18T12:48:00.002+01:00

May your new year be filled with peace happiness and joy.

This is the beginning of the new Islamic year.

Some things are so hard to say.

2009-12-07T18:25:00.002+01:00

I keep shaping the words and rewriting them in my mind still I have no idea what to type.

My husband is very ill at the moment and has been for much longer than we thought. It's one of those slow and creeping things that is so easy to brush off as "nothing new or serious" and we still don't know exactly what it is and how bad it will be in the end. He has been moved to another hospital that has better equipment and more specialists and I know he's in good hands even though I can't get there to visit him.

I've been going on as usual for days now, trying to push my worries and emotions to the side. "The show must go on." I have people who need me and rely on me, I have the kids and every thing else to look after. This is not the time to go "soft and emotional".

Two things keep spinning in my mind, first there is the future that we (my husband and I) have joked about so many times.

The two of us together at the old people's home, sitting side by side in our wheelchairs while holding hands to make sure that the other is still close by. Our eyesight and hearing isn't that good anymore and holding on is the the best way to know where the other is.

"What day is it today?" he'll ask and squeeze my hand.
I'll squint my eyes and look at the general direction of the window and answer with much determination, "Woodpecker. Crows are grey."
"Grapes? I can't stand the seeds," he'll shake his head in the way he always does.
"Of course you can't see, your glasses are dirty," I'll reply and pick his glasses of his nose to clean them for him and then I'll put them back on the nose.
My nose, because by then I'd forgotten that they were his and not mine.

The other thing spinning in my mind is a memory.

We had visited my grandparents and then in the early morning the next day we got the call. Grandpa was dead. I don't know how we got there or how long it took but I remember my grandmothers sad eyes. She was standing in the kitchen gently touching the back of my grandfather's chair and she said, "I guess you know. My best friend is dead now."

My husband won't die of course, I've ordered him to live and I'll kill him if he breaks that order. =/

You don't marry someone you can live with,
you marry the person who you cannot live without.

~Unknown~

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

Never measure the height of a mountain,
until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was.

~Dag Hammarskjöld~

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch ...

2009-12-07T12:45:00.000+01:00

... a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

~Leo F. Buscaglia~

Letter Writing Day

2009-12-07T12:11:00.000+01:00

Handwritten letters are becoming more and more rare theses days take the time to keep them from extinction one letter is worth so much.

Three keys to more abundant living:

2009-12-06T12:42:00.000+01:00

Caring about others, daring for others, sharing with others.

~William Arthur Ward~

"What Is Success" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

2009-12-05T12:31:00.002+01:00

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

When one door closes, another opens...

2009-12-04T12:24:00.000+01:00

... but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.

~Alexander Graham Bell~

The best advice I've ever gotten. =)

2009-12-03T12:54:00.000+01:00

Just eat it. There's plenty of time to be skinny when you're dead.

Some people show off their beauty because they want the world to see it.

2009-12-02T12:49:00.001+01:00

Others try to hide their beauty because they want the world to see something else.

~The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants~

December

2009-12-01T12:53:00.001+01:00

It's Universal Human Rights Month. Simple and basic rights that many of us take so much for granted that it is hard to picture not having them. All other observances this month fades compared to this simply because of its importance and because there are people that dream of the rights that many of us have.

You told me I was beautiful,

2009-11-30T12:45:00.001+01:00

It meant so much to me,
But when I looked into the mirror,
There was no beauty I could see.
I asked you why you said that,
I asked you why you lied,
Then you told me to look closer,
Because I'm beautiful inside.

~Beckie Hammer~

International Day of Solidarity With The Palestinian People

2009-11-29T12:42:00.002+01:00

Sometimes the bullied escapes the claws of the bully only to become a bully by them selves. That's pretty much how I see Israel and the conflict with Palestine. What they do is no different from what the Nazis did during WW2 and the hate that was at work then has simply changed its shape and name to live on in Israel today.

I don't think of all the misery ...

2009-11-28T12:39:00.000+01:00

... but of all the beauty that still remains.
~Anne Frank~

Until you make peace with who you are ...

2009-11-27T12:36:00.001+01:00

... you'll never be content with what you have.

~Doris Mortman~

Life is full of beauty.

2009-11-26T12:25:00.001+01:00

Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.

~Ashley Smith~

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.

2009-11-25T12:59:00.000+01:00

There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.

~Jawaharlal Nehru~

Walking with a friend in the dark ...

2009-11-24T12:38:00.001+01:00

... is better than walking alone in the light.
~Helen Keller~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My best friend and I used to go for long walks in the dark when were teens, not only to get some privacy when we shared our secrets but also because the dark was a friend too, a friend that would never tell on us.

An Award!!! =)

2009-11-23T14:35:00.001+01:00

I'm as happy as a kid in a candy store! Thank you so much Lizzie!

1. Thank whoever gave this to you
2. Copy award
3. Post it in your blog
4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don’t know
5. Link 7 new bloggers
6. Notify winners of the award with a comment on their blog
7. Most of all - Keep being awesome!

Seven things about me:

1. I'm born and raised in the taiga and I'm still deeply rooted there even though I moved away some 20 years ago when I met my husband.

2. I had my first art exhibition when I was 15 years old and my largest art project is a 4 x 2.5 meters mural. ... then I got married and had children and art is something I do when I have time over... and that's not often.

3. I'm very interested in genealogy and local history and I spend a lot of time digging for information. I've traced my roots about 500 years back in time by now and I'm trilled over every little detail that I learn about my ancestors and the lives they lived.

4. I'm so scared of snakes that I automatically make a run for it when I see one on TV or in a magazine.

5. I was just as passionate about my love for nature when I was a kid and I was 6-7 years old when I joined protests against nuclear power plants and deforestation. I also managed to convince my father to pay for my membership in Greenpeace at that time.

6. I always have enough food at home to feed a small army. The "hunter-gatherer" in me can't stop dragging things home to make sure that we won't starve even though I logically know that I do have enough at home. Luckily our sons often have "small armies" of teenagers visiting and the food helps me feed them all. (There seems to be no bottom in some teenage boys.)

7. I can't speak English. I read, write and understand it but every time I try to say a word it sounds as if I have a bag of nuts in my mouth and the words doesn't come out as anything English at all.

I pass this award to

Deepak Acharya
R. Ramesh
Tantra Flower
Onkar Keida
Desi
"My Microcosm"
Wendy
Maurizio
Aviral
magiceye
Silly Girl
Aparna
Daanish

What can I say... maths is difficult. ;o)

Eat a Cranberry Day

2009-11-23T12:16:00.000+01:00

Having a sweet tooth and diabetes is a really bad combination at times. What saves me are dried berries since a few dried berries is just as satisfying as a big bag of candy to me. Cranberries and blueberries are among my favourites and they are also supposed to do good things for your health.

I really want to push for eating berries as well as fruits instead of candy simply because I see the processed sugar people eat in large quantities as one of the major health threats today. Not only do we get it in obvious sources but the ones that produce our food hides it in products where you wouldn't think of finding it, if we let them. Smoked ham with extra sugar anyone? Or how about potato salad or that fibre rich müsli that is supposed to be so good for you? They even make candy and sodas extra sweet in some countries because people are so used to the sweet taste that they need more of it these days.

Oh, and if you do buy dried berries and fruits, make sure they haven't added extra sugar there too. I've had a really hard time finding dried berries and fruits without added sugar (and/or oils) until I found a local organic dealer.

Game and Puzzle Week

2009-11-22T12:43:00.002+01:00

We're a geeky family and we love Dungeons and Dragons type games. Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Anvil of Dawn, Lands of Lore, Might and Magic ... oh sweet memories. We played Warcraft too but I've never learned to like the World of Warcraft and the online gaming thing, it's too time consuming and it's too stressful for me.

I do play games online but no the kind where you interact with others, the Room Escape games keeps me occupied now and then and the Quest I-poon... annoyingly addictive. I don't tell my kids about it though, they are smarter and faster than me when it comes to solving them and I don't want them to know how slow I really am.

Or oldest son has started to make his own DnD games now and I'm really flattered that he turns to me for suggestions and ideas. I doubt that he really needs help but it's nice to be asked anyways. He also says that he'll steal the fantasy novels I write and hide one day and use them to create world for his games, and make a lot of money on it. ... that's a bit disturbing since I thought no one in my family knew about those novels... but it's not surpricing since I hide them in my computer and he knows all about computers and he uses mine all the time.

I think it's time for me to play one of his games to see what it's like instead of just getting glimpses of it now and then. If I like what I see I'll let him pick one of my fantasy novls to use, if he promise to not tell the rest of the family that it's mine.

Life is a process of becoming ...

2009-11-22T12:39:00.000+01:00

... a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.
~Anais Nin~

Beautiful Day

2009-11-20T12:50:00.002+01:00

Every day is a beautiful day but some days you need to squint your eyes and use a bit of your imagination to see it. Most of all you have to want to see the beauty or you will be bound to miss it.

This is a day to take the time and look around and appreciate the day and the beauty in it.

Homemade Bread Day

2009-11-17T12:44:00.000+01:00

Making bread isn't among the best things I do, I'm better at making cookies, but I keep trying. I guess this as a good a day as any to make a new try...

Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day

2009-11-08T12:22:00.000+01:00

One word; Chilli!

Well it's the first thing that comes to mind, I love chilli but my family don't eat it.

To make something that my family will eat too I'd probably have better luck if I make one of the recipes that Deepak has shared with me. Indian food do fit requirements of "Bold and Pungent" when compared to what we usually eat.

Basic beauty lies in the way a woman walks ...

2009-11-08T11:58:00.000+01:00

... it is health and an attitude to life.
~Nancy Astor~

Truth hurts...

2009-11-07T12:22:00.000+01:00

... still the pain of hearing the truth is so much easier to bare than the pain you feel when you discover that you have been lied to.
~Kadri Luik~

Let your heart guide you.

2009-11-06T12:16:00.001+01:00

It whispers, so listen carefully.
~Land Before Time~

Never mind searching for who you are.

2009-11-05T12:07:00.001+01:00

Search for the person you aspire to be.
~Robert Brault~

All but Death, can be Adjusted ~

2009-11-04T12:50:00.000+01:00

Dynasties repaired ~
Systems ~ settled in their Sockets ~
Citadels ~ dissolved ~

Wastes of Lives ~ resown with Colors
By Succeeding Springs ~
Death ~ unto itself ~ Exception ~
Is exempt from Change ~~
~Emily Dickinson~

How wonderful it is ...

2009-11-03T12:44:00.000+01:00

... that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
~Anne Frank~

We do not grow absolutely, chronologically.

2009-11-02T12:36:00.001+01:00

We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.
~Anais Nin~

Look For Circles Day

2009-11-02T12:06:00.002+01:00

People will find those things that they have on their minds and see them all around. If you've paid attention to the subject line here you will remember circles and see them all around you.

This can be fun and it can be a curse, I'm really not interested in peoples shoes but a friend of mine told me that she study peoples shoes when ever she's waiting in line at the store. Every time I stand there thinking that it is taking a lot of time I remember her and the shoes and before I know it I'm studying peoples shoes. Now I'm hoping to give back by having her see circles the rest of the day. <-circle!

There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving ...

2009-11-01T12:33:00.001+01:00

... and that's your own self.
~Aldous Huxley~

November

2009-11-01T12:21:00.000+01:00

As always there are many illnesses that has their awareness month Alzheimer's, AIDS, Epilepsy and different types of cancer are on the list. Something that stands out is Pet Cancer Awareness. Our pets also get ill and it's tough when they have been your best friends for years. My beloved cat got cancer and died many years ago and I still feel sad when I think about it.

It's also Family Stories month and Novel Writing Month and once again I'm thinking that I have to write down all those old stories that my family and relatives have told me before I forget them.

Have enough sense to know, ahead of time...

2009-10-31T12:13:00.001+01:00

... when your skills will not extend to wallpapering.
~Marilyn vos Savant~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... and if you don't have the sense you'll learn through trial and error like I did. Now days I either paint the walls or pay someone else to do the wallpapering.

A friend is ...

2009-10-30T12:53:00.000+01:00

... someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.
~Jim Morrison~

A hero is ...

2009-10-29T12:44:00.000+01:00

... someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.
~Bob Dylan~

What sunshine is to flowers ...

2009-10-28T12:58:00.002+01:00

... smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
~Joseph Addison~

Too rough

2009-10-27T23:25:00.001+01:00

A little girl asked her mother, "Can I go outside and play with the boys?" Her mother replied, "No, you can't play with the boys, they're too rough."

The little girl thought about it for a few moments and asked, "If I can find a smooth one, can I play with him?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just had to post this story since it reminds me of growing up as the only girl in the neighbourhood. When ever I wanted to play house Indians or space cowboys destroyed it, my sand cookies were turning into grenades and putting flowers in your hair was an invitation to get your braids pulled. If I had only thought of looking for a "smooth one" to play with.

Tell a Story Day

2009-10-27T12:24:00.002+01:00

The Tell A Story Day in the US was in April but the Tell A Story Day in the UK is today, being open minded about such things I see no reason for not enjoying them both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dawn was closing in, embracing the world we were in, soon the night would turn to day again. We were sitting by the lake, talking while the fog rolled over the water and the loom cried in the reed. The passion of your hearts were lifting our dreams, turning them into flames that kept us warm. That is what it is like when you know every path, every rock and tree. That is what it is like when you are where you are supposed to be.

We were doing fine down by the coast, life was good but still it was lacking, life was treating us well but we still felt unhappy. Deep inside of us, we regretted that we left, even though we never had much of a choice. We kept thinking of moving back, but somehow we ended up staying one more year. That is what it is like when your life sings a different song. That is what it is like when you cannot be where you belong.

Once every season we escape from the cage with no lock of chain and with singing hearts, we travel north again. For a brief moment, not enough time, we go back to the place where our lives began. The remaining amber coals of the fire fades, reminding us that we are old now days, old and faded, weathered and seasoned. Rooted in the foreign soil by the coast, free, but not where we are supposed to be.

~:Kadri Luik 2009:~

What most people need to learn in life ...

2009-10-26T12:40:00.000+01:00

... is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

If we limit our dreams to the things that we think that we can achieve ...

2009-10-25T12:38:00.000+01:00

... then we are really robbing ourselves from finding our true potentials.
~Kadri Luik~

It is a curious thought ...

2009-10-24T12:45:00.000+02:00

... but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.
~Agatha Christie~

I find hope in the darkest of days...

2009-10-23T12:14:00.000+02:00

... and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
~Dalai Lama~

Happiness is not something ready made.

2009-10-22T12:13:00.000+02:00

It comes from your own actions.
~Dalai Lama~

Be kind whenever possible.

2009-10-21T12:09:00.000+02:00

It is always possible.
~Dalai Lama~

Better do a good deed near at home ...

2009-10-20T12:49:00.000+02:00

... than go far away to burn incense.
~Amelia Earhart~

Evaluate Your Life Day

2009-10-19T12:12:00.000+02:00

A day to stop and reflect and meditate over how your life works and where it is heading.

Being a navel gazer by nature I really like this kind of thing. Reflecting, analysing and playing around with possibilities in my mind to find the best way to make the changes that will move things in the right direction. This way of doing things has brought many good changes to our lives since I've found ways to save money as well as bring the family together that way. What can be done to help me get what I wish for, what am I willing to do and what way is the best way to do it. It's amazing how the little things can make such a huge difference in the end.

The trouble with organizing a thing ...

2009-10-19T12:02:00.001+02:00

... is that pretty soon folks get to paying more attention to the organization than to what they're organized for.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In January I decided to make sure to make my life better organized, today I realize that this quote is so true. I'm still not better organized but I'm better at organizing. =/

When the first baby laughed for the first time...

2009-10-18T12:51:00.000+02:00

... the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl.

~James Matthew Barrie (Peter Pan)~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is truly something wonderful and "magical" about the laughter of a child. I've read that children laugh about 600 times a day and adults laugh about 30 times, it's sad to think that we lose a bit of the magic of life simply because we grow up.

Freedom From Bullies Week

2009-10-18T12:25:00.000+02:00

The topic of bullying is close to my heart and I've spent many days of my life pondering the subject. Why do some people feel that they have the right to treat others so poorly? How can bullying be prevented and stopped? There are no easy answers of course but that doesn't stop me from wondering about it.

I'd like to see myself as the one that stood up for the bullied ones but when I take a close look at myself I see two sides. I've practised what I preach for sure, I've talked to the loners and supported them when the bullies roared their ugly heads, I've been in support groups and I've taken the time to try and help in any way I could. But ... I'm not always a nice person. There's that new girl in school, she really rubbed me the wrong way and I said and did some really nasty things simply because I didn't like her and her opinions. My friends pesky little brother is another of my victims. I disliked him greatly and I'd push him into thorny bushes and stinging nettles when ever I got a chance. I'm certain that if you could talk to either of them they'd be able to tell you what a horrible bully I was and perhaps still am.

Now, someone might feel the need to be polite and try to comfort me by saying "I'm sure it wasn't that bad", but the point is that that's exactly how bullies justify what they do, "it's not that bad" or "they deserved what they got". Some words, some actions that seems small and trivial to you might hurt for a life time for another person.

The girl from school works as a journalist now, I've read some of her articles and I still dislike her style and her opinions. Some things never change I guess. The pesky little brother has left the country and is now working as an investment banker. From what I've heard from his father he never comes back to visit and I'm wondering if I'm one of the reasons why.

I've also seen bullying at its very ugliest and it ended with the victim committing suicide. My friend and I did all that we could to help that victim but what we did simply wasn't enough. The memories still haunts us two decades later and we keep asking ourselves and each other, what else could we have done?

Today when most people have computer and internet access it's easy to search the topic online and get information, support and advice and I do hope that people remember that. I also hope that people realise that this is not simply a "kids" thing, this can happen to adults too. The internet with all its twists and turns can be a good place to find caring people to talk to when everything else is a mess.

The greatest disease in the world isn't medical.

2009-10-17T12:36:00.000+02:00

It's being unwanted, unloved and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases but the only cure for despair is love. There are those who are dying for a piece of bread but many more are dying for a piece of love. Share it everyday.
~Grey's Anatomy~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the great things with love is that it doesn't cost you (money) to share it.

Slow down and enjoy life.

2009-10-16T12:19:00.000+02:00

It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
~Eddie Cantor~

We come to love not by finding a perfect person ...

2009-10-15T12:02:00.000+02:00

... but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.

~Sam Keen, from To Love and Be Loved~

Beginnings are usually scary ...

2009-10-14T12:01:00.000+02:00

... and endings are usually sad, but it's everything in between that makes it all worth living.

~Sandra Bullock in "Hope Floats"~

A person who knows how to laugh at himself ...

2009-10-13T12:36:00.000+02:00

... will never ceased to be amused.
~Shirley Maclaine~