sky

the sky has always been a symbol of spirituality for me. the space beyond our world makes me feel part of something bigger. i love the light of the moon and staring up at a sea of stars. sunlight has become more important to me in recent years. lately, clouds have been catching my attention. i'll sit and just watch the clouds go by - they are quite a sight through our 10 ft high windows.

i imagine that God looks like the bright sun breaking through clouds. even if you don't believe in God, i don't think you can deny that this world we live in is a beautiful place. so, when your mood needs a lift, look up. if it's a gray day, think of it as the universe commiserating with you. you are never alone. nature is all around you.

i'm in good company with this thought:

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be ...Anne Frank

new environment

it's been a while, partly due to the fact that my husband and i moved. we had lived in a suburban colonial house w/ a lawn and no sense of community. we now live in a high rise apartment in a city working on revitalizing itself. we live a block from a riverfront w/ lots of things to do. there is a college campus nearby. we are 2 of over 600 residents in a building that was once a factory that built victrolas. i haven't met our neighbors yet, but i look forward to it. it is exciting to live here.

another great thing about our new home is the design. we have 14 foot ceilings. every room faces south and we have 10 foot windows to let in that great sunlight. you know how i feel about sunlight. it is a very happy place to live.

now that we're mostly settled, i hope to do more writing.
sending lots of positive energy out to all!

our earth

i always feel like a recycling 'meanie' - nagging everyone to put waste in the right place. i also nag about conserving water and turning off lights. well, april 22 is a day when i feel like a recycling 'goodie.' earth day is celebrated every april 22, though i have friends who say every day should be earth day.

i'd seen a couple commercials about 'earth hour.' i just read a bit online and included the links here - to the right. important info: turn off all your lights from 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm on saturday, march 28.

just a friendly nag to help our earth.

avoiding confrontation

do you ever pick a fight with a loved one when you're stressed? it's odd though. if we're so stressed, why do we add a confrontation to an already difficult situation.

i always think about what i'm going to say and ask, "is it helpful? do i expect a positive change? or will i simply vent a frustration and create more unpleasant feelings?"

today i found myself asking those questions. my husband did something that made me angry. i thought that if i didn't tell him, the anger would eat at me. then i thought, "what's done is done. i don't need him to change anything. adding my anger now will just create more stress." so i vented by writing a letter. i still want him to know what bothered me. now, i can let him know at some time after our current stressful situation ends.

i expressed my feelings and avoided a confrontation. our day will be at least that much less stressful. see if you can ask yourself those questions the next time you're angry. you could make your life a little more peaceful.

point of view

a couple of months ago i watched a movie called "vantage point." it told the story of an event that took place in 30 minutes. you saw the same half hour from 6 people's vantage points. it brought me to an interesting realization. no 2 people live in the exact same world. our personalities and experiences give us each a different foundation of understanding the world. so even if we spend time together, our perspective of that activity is colored by our past.

for instance, bill and i watched a movie about a father dying. at the end, bill was sad, but i felt more resolute about having important conversations with my dad while i can. there, our activity was the same but our perspectives were not.

i'm not sure what will come from this realization. i hope it will help me be more understanding of people. trying to see things from another's perspective can help us get along. that can make the world a better place. that's my goal.

grateful

i just watched a movie about love between men and women and between parents and children. i have to express how grateful i am to have been given the wonderful kinds of love in my life. i am loved by parents, family, friends and my husband. i can think of any person in my life and feel one kind of love or another.

i am most grateful to my mom and to my grandparents for showing me that i am worthy of love and for showing me how to love. i watched their interactions with myself and others. i listened to what they said. i felt their love and so adopted their ways of giving love to those around me.

today, my life is filled with love. i hope i make my friends and family feel the same way.

while it is a different kind of love, i send loving thoughts out to humankind. the world needs as much love as it can get. i hope that everyone tries to give as much love as they can.

love

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.--Buddha

in the new year and always, treat yourself lovingly.