This morning when I read the Writing 101 challenge for Day #2, “If you could zoom through space in the speed of light, what place would you go to right now?” my response was immediate. I burst into tears! I wanted to go to Amritapuri, India, the location of Amma’s main ashram. (Amma, a humanitarian and spiritual leader, is often called the Hugging Saint since she has embraced more than 34 million people worldwide.) It didn’t matter to me in the slightest that Amma is in the United States now, I wanted to go to her ashram in India. Continue reading “A Place For Me!”
Thanks for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award
I was very excited to be nominated for the Very Inspiring Bloggers Award by Nichole Davis. Her blog Triumphant Wings: My Life with Lupus and Antiphopholipid Syndrome is a place where she shares her journey with two serious chronic illnesses. I particularly appreciate her powerful poem Lost. The poem Lost touched me to my core. Nichole also shares her beautiful photographs on her blog.
Here are the guidelines for the award:
- Thank and link the amazing person who nominated you.
- List the rules and display the award.
- Share seven facts about yourself.
- Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
- Optional: Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.
7 facts about me:
- I have either driven through or lived in every state except Alaska
- I’ve been to India 24 times
- I have a 36 year old daughter and a 39 year old son. They both live in India.
- I was a terrible cook when I raised my kids. They grew up on very simple meals with a lot of frozen dinners thrown in. I practiced a lot of new recipes before they visited Seattle a few weeks ago. It was fun to surprise them. Better late than never.
- My children will take their dad, my ex-husband, to the Tetons and Yellowstone in July. It is a trip that is on his “Bucket List.” He has asked me to come too. I have some concerns about the altitude since I deal with high blood pressure, but I’ve decided my blood pressure is enough under control to join them for part of the trip.
- I was once called for jury duty soon after I started a new job. I was chosen for a trial that lasted for 3 months. I thoroughly enjoyed serving on the jury, but my new employer was very unhappy that I hadn’t attempted to get out of it.
- I took my children to see Prince when they were preteens/teens. I loved his Purple Rain album then, and still do. The song I like best on that album is “When Doves Cry.”
The 15 Amazing Blogs I Nominate:
A Year Without Buying Plastic
Because I Can
Counseling TidBits
David Kester
Healing Beyond Survival
It’s a Lonely Place
Maria Brinkley
My Plastic Free Life
Open Hearted Musings
Remind Your Mind
Seasonedsistha2
That Indian Minimalist
The Relative Cartographer
The Terry Tutors Blog
The Zero Waste Chef
I would also like to thank breakdown chick at Labeled Disabled, Florence at Meanings and Musings, Dream Cloud Diaries, cronechronicler and Macs Moments for nominating me for this award at a later time.
Writing 101, Day One: Unlock the Mind
Blogging University’s Writing 101 course starts today! Every day we will be given an writing assignment and a twist. We can choose whether or not we want to do the twist…. and we can choose whether or not we want to publish what we wrote during that day’s assignment.
Our first assignment: Continue reading “Writing 101, Day One: Unlock the Mind”
1966: The Beginning of a Grand Adventure
As some of you know from A Surprise View of My Past, I was recently gifted with digital copies of slides my father had taken during my childhood. Since I left home when I was 17 years old, I had never seen most of those photos before. The only childhood pictures I have are all in black and white, whereas the slides my brother sent me were all in color. Since I have very few memories of my childhood, I viewed them with great interest.
When I read today’s The Daily Post Writing Challenge: Snapshot Stories the three pictures of me leaving home for college came to mind.
I had been unhappy at home for as long as I could remember. For three years, I marked off the days on a calendar; each day a day closer to the time I would leave to go to college.
An Early Morning Walk
I decided to do something different today. I would take a walk, let my feet go where they wanted to go, but carry my Android in my hand. I would take a picture whenever I felt led to do so. In my mind was a song I wrote many years ago, but this time the words were “Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning to you.” I sang that song throughout my half hour, six-block walk. Here are the results of my experiment! (You can click one of the pictures to make it bigger or turn it into a slideshow.)
Written for The Daily Post Weekly Challenge: List Lesson
A Complaint Free World
I have been disturbed recently by the amount of negativity that I have allowed to creep back into my speech. In my assessment, I am complaining entirely too much. While I haven’t felt well and I’ve been under a lot of stress, complaining certainly doesn’t help and it isn’t the way I want to be in the world. Then last night, I read this week’s writing prompt from Traces of the Soul. Oliana asked us to write about negativity, both our own negativity and the impact of being around others who are pessimistic and see a glass as half empty instead of half full. Continue reading “A Complaint Free World”
What a Difference Knowledge Makes!
I’ve lived in the same house for more than 40 years. There have always been rhododendrons in front of the house. They grow so fast they easily cover the big front windows. What the good of having plate glass windows if you can’t see out of them? Continue reading “What a Difference Knowledge Makes!”
Struggles with Conflict – Part 2
On April 17, 2014, I wrote a post called Struggles with Conflict. That turned out to be the second most popular post I’ve written. After reflecting some more about the topic, I decided to share some techniques you might find helpful when you are faced with conflict.
When someone is very angry with you, if you start defending or explaining, you may make the situation worse by giving the person more ammunition to use against you. While the problem may need to be discussed in depth, a positive outcome is not likely when one or both parties are escalated. In those cases, consider using one of the techniques I list below. That may be all that is needed. If not, then you can always set a later time for a serious discussion. Continue reading “Struggles with Conflict – Part 2”
My Spirit Led Journey
May 19, 2014
I am not a meditator, but yesterday I found myself having the opportunity to practice a form of walking meditation that had occurred spontaneously to me many years ago. I had decided to take a brief walk in my neighborhood. As I began the walk, I realized I was entering an altered state of consciousness. Strange as it may seem to those of you who are reading this post, I decided I would allow my feet to decide where I would go.
As I looked down the street, my vision became more and more tunneled. I had the sense I was entering a long walkway covered on the sides and above by flowering trees. Continue reading “My Spirit Led Journey”
Reflection: What Would/Should I Do?
Oliana from Traces of the Soul has started offering a weekly writing prompt. This week’s prompt Silent witnesses – Bystanders asked:
“What are your thoughts about bystanders who get involved, those who watch and for various reasons do not help, speak out or get help? Write a poem, a story (fiction or true) about a situation related to a bystander or witness of some form of offensive behaviour.”
When I read Oliana’s prompt last night, my mind went immediately to December of last year. My children and I were in India when we received a phone call Continue reading “Reflection: What Would/Should I Do?”
Living, Learning and Letting Go 