Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
The art of listening, best taught by the family pooch –ears attuned to nuances, carefully weed throughhuman gibberish for words that resonate:treat, dinner, walk, cuddles… Those eyes challenge, invite compassionconvey a depth beyond understandingand when tone turns impatient,little paws retreat, as if words are blows. If only I could learn to listen,hear the workings of […]
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Augustine was the name chosenshould this new arrival be a girlbut as her mother labouredshe knew, with certaintythere would be no “ine” She is August, born in Mayesteemed and venerablea name fit for a leader –I can attest to her abilityto run the show – definitely rules my heart. (For Eugi’s Causerie Weekly Prompt: August.)
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Birdwatching for me is a meditative practice. It involves immersing myself in nature and finding a quiet place from which I can observe. I begin with a prayer of acknowledgment and gratitude. I ready my camera and then I listen. Each bird has its own song and variations. It helps me determine where I want […]
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She was quite eccentric, and visibly older than most of the students attending our program. I’d had five years between first and second year, so I guess she was drawn to my maturity. We both wanted to be teachers. After graduation, she went on to her Bachelor of Education, and I gave birth to my […]
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“Dear Grandma, We love you with all our hearts. We miss you and wish we couldtouch you and have sleepovers all the time. You are the best girlin the world and I love you so much and hate the coronavirus.” The note came in a homemade card, created and dictated by my four-year-old granddaughter. Touching […]
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Deborah, from AWISEWOMANSJOURNEY, offers daily inspiration, and one particular quotation struck me last week. I’m sharing it with you here as a focal point for the upcoming week: Strive to be uncynical, to be a hope-giving force, to be a steward of substance. Maria Popova Your response may use one, or none of the words. […]
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Sold! Next! Picture me surrounded by packing materials and boxes – I’ll be busy the next few weeks preparing for the move. Preparing for the next chapter. Some of life changes are abrupt, unexpected, and some, like our upcoming house move, are planned out. Either way, change is a given. The focus this week is: […]
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Lovers like to claim a song as their own, a symbol of their passion. This never worked for me – the only partner who declared a song ours – “Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong” – dropped me shortly after. I dated a con-man once who dubbed “La Vida Loca” as my theme song. […]
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There’s an old black walnut tree that stands on the edge of our new property. As much as I try to not think about the next house and focus on this one – keeping it sale worthy – I can’t stop thinking about that tree. Viewed from the back deck, it is a prime model […]
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“Don’t worry Grandma; I can go at a sloth’s pace!” my granddaughter once reassured me when I confessed that I can’t keep up. So, I’m a sloth. I like to think I’m more of an old tortoise: lumbering but steady. There was a time when I was the hare: fast, but not always winning the […]
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