Tea River

I finally did it!

 (actually it was completed before Easter and is soon to be hung for all to see)

High flyers

When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

  ~ Henry Ford

Sitting in the garden after work listening to an unusually high level of plane activity overhead, made me think of this quote. Sometimes life can seem against us and however hard we try we don't seem to get the breaks we believe we deserve. Then out of those period of struggle, comes a sudden uplift of air that gives us a refreshing feeling of freedom and enlightenment. This feeling is as contrasting as a summer meadow to a dank dark wood. There is a freedom in the joy of feeling life is moving on again and this 'lightness of being' is enchanting, as perfect as flight itself. The struggle to get air born is behind us and we can look back at the vapour trails in our wake. 

To think that good people should not have to go through such times of turbulence is I'm afraid to say nothing more than romantic folly. There is a fight in us all that has to be won. I am reminded of this other quote which I like very much:

Good people are not those who lack flaws, the brave are not those who feel no fear, and the generous are not those who never feel selfish. Extraordinary people are not extraordinary because they are invulnerable to unconscious biases. They'll are extraordinary because they choose to do something about it. 

~ Shankar Vedantam 

There is nothing special about the struggle one person will go through in a lifetime, we all meet our demons at one time or other. It is important that we keep fighting and never give in, because the good things in life don't go away they are only temporarily obscured from our view. It is also very important that we celebrate and enjoy the good times when they roll in. Making the most of what is given to us now and to strive to be extraordinary in your ordinariness.

A Vision of Woman

MEDICINE WOMAN Listens to the needs of her truest self and wisest voice. 

Trusts and respects herself with tenderness and grace. 

Heals in the present by walking through her past. 

Believes in herself and her enduring inner strength with a divine awareness. 

Imagines her goals and moves toward them using her resources and creativity. 

Celebrates her years believing her inner and outer self is beautiful just as it is. 

Loves herself and values the friendships of other women in her life. 

I always think this is the time of year for new beginnings. New life is springing up everywhere and the promise of summer calls our inner beings to celebration. All this sounds very 'Earth Mother' of me, so I thought I'd find a quote of wisdom that seemed to match this tone. 

Sometimes life doesn't seem so full of promise
and it is then that we should listen for the truth or our inner voice. Then we need the courage to find ways to trust again and to heal our old spiritual wounds. 

This quote also tells us of the importance of really believing in and loving oneself and truly caring for others. It is important that we keep getting up each day reimagining the future and celebrating the passing of time and not to fear it or desperately try to change it. Because that will only lead to exhaustion for body mind and soul. The beauty (and trick) in life is about accepting where we are at the start of this and every new season and embracing that moment for what it is. Not to be regretful of the past or focused so much on the future that we fail to see the wonder in the now. 

I'm off for an Easter break be back posting at the end of April. 

Two for joy!

Two Swallows does not a summer make,

but these two birds mean my picture for Gracey's Tearooms is all bit done!!

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Some more wise words from Karen Salmansohn

I think it is very true that some decisions are easier to make than others. Sometimes it can seem an impossible ask to decide between one state of being and another. There can seem no clear winner in the choices we have to choose from. This is why I like this reflection by Karen, because I think the trick to resolution is to choose an option that will move you forward, however small the distant and even if the end game is still obscured from view. As Deepak Chopra says  'All great changes are preceded by chaos.'