FRIENDSHIPS IN UNLIKELY PLACES
Friendships can form really quickly when you least expect it. I made a new friend, a senior and never would have imagined we would connect like we did. The bonding was fast. We talked about foods, cultures and lifestyle. She told me about her experience travelling within Canada and all fifty states of the United States and how she hated the boarding protocol and being treated like a senior. She would much rather be treated like everyone else while boarding a plane. We laughed a lot and did silly things like wave at airplanes in the sky on that dark moonless night. Seriously! We shared silences too and they were not awkward. She revealed a flirty side when she talked about her husband and his amazing body. Oh my goodness! Then I think, wait a minute, flirting between spouses should never stop at any age. It is the life of…
THE STAIRS OR THE ELEVATOR?
Walking up a flight of stairs begins with the first unwavering step to get to the desired target at the top. Life does present stairways and elevators to reach our destination and choosing one over the other is a reflection of our desires and how we nurture our goals. Using the escalator is the easier and faster route up, but is it the best option, if one is trying to achieve fitness goals for example? Taking the stairs may be the better choice to nurture the goal of keeping fit. While the speed of the escalator may be pleasurable, it is not necessarily better. A young boy complained to his father about not reaching the heights he had hoped for, despite all his effort, and so wanted to quit playing football. The father encouraged him to keep seeing the goal. Keeping the goal in focus helps us appreciate just how…
NOTE TO SELF AND AN AHA MOMENT!
So I took this personality test. If you are curious and wonder about quirky traits that we as humans tend to have, then you are in good company. Yours truly is curious too. After responding as truthfully as I possibly could to the questions, I got the result and details about my personality. Being described as “creative”, “idealist and doer” was sort of endearing. Why dream and not follow through right? I sort of wondered about the description “perfectionistic”. Isn’t that like a scenario where one might always be seeking to get things right every time? The expression “there is something rotten in Denmark” implies that an ideal situation is not always possible and mistakes happen. Now that might be worth remembering. The personality test is fun to take and mostly accurate if you answer as truthfully as possible. Click the link below and maybe be pleasantly surprised at your…
Five Advice We Give But Rarely Use
I read about a man who loved to walk barefoot. Problem was he had diabetes and could get gangrene from an infected cut. He angrily threw out a pair of slippers he got as a gift when advised to use them, because he felt that was controlling and hated to be told what to do. As you probably can predict, one foot did get amputated. There is something about living on the edge that can sometimes be appealing to the human mind. We are such complex beings after. Without doubt, there are a lot more, but here are my list of five types of advice we give but rarely use, and maybe you can relate. Be On Time. Use Common Sense. The Easy Path is Not Always the Right One. (Oh how I wish it always was.) Listen, Really Listen Before Speaking. To Be Truly Excellent at Anything, You Have…
A WEEKEND OF GRATITUDE
Gratitude makes us happier and life is a gift, now it may not always feel that way sometimes, but why trust these feelings as they can be fleeting, right? So I had a weekend of pause about things that I am thankful for. No explanations needed here. I am thankful for blue skies, birds and time spent by the seaside. Oceans and rivers hold such deep secrets. I am thankful for the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Amazing how one can find beauty in the unexpected if you look. I am thankful for love, health, laughter, bath oils, oysters and fancy cuisine. What would life be without these? There are two ways to live. “One as though, nothing is a miracle. The other, as though everything is a miracle.” We have a choice? I think yes. Lastly, I am thankful for books and quotes like “God only takes…
WHERE DID REUBEN GO?
Three bricklayers were asked what they were doing as they tried to rebuild a church that had been gutted by fire. The first replied, “I am laying bricks.” The second responded with, “I am repairing a wall.”The third answered, “I am building a cathedral.” That last response! Enthusiasm shines through those words. He already saw the beauty they would create and bricklaying did not seem like work anymore. Talk about goals! Ever watched children playing outdoors? Do you feel their passion and energy in the way they engage one another? Makes me think I never want to do anything I am not excited about.That may just be the way to live life sustainably. Happy people tend to live longer. Yes? Are you able to mix passion, enthusiasm and work? Quite the skill to have right there and yes, perspective is everything. Selah! Ah, Reuben? A housemate’s cat and you should see…
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
Few things identify someone as much as a name does and sometimes we get to hear a sweet story behind the designation. After several miscarriages and a hard time getting pregnant, a man takes his wife on a much needed vacation to the Italian Riviera. On this particular night, there is a full moon and he asks his wife to make a wish. Nine months later, they have a child and call her Luna, after the full moon. Luna’s story inspires. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other…would smell as sweet…” William Shakespeare. Call a rose by any other name, the flower smells just as sweet. So much beauty and sweetness, you could never tell just by looking at the thorns. Flower power! Jesus endured a crown of thorns. His name inspires, so He says “follow me and I will make you.” Be inspired!…
OF TONGUE TWISTERS AND A BOXING GLOVE
When asked what makes us unique, we typically highlight our strengths, hoping to impress. Nothing wrong with showing off our strengths, however, we can be endearing and connect as humans when we are vulnerable. A boxing glove is ineffective and without a hand in it, it is weak!Put a hand in it, make a fist and punch the air. Now we see what difference the hands made to the power of the glove. Do you relate with the struggles of the boxing glove? It is vulnerable and has to find the right fit AKA the right human or be doomed, maybe. The hand -in- glove idiom making better sense yet? No man is an island! We connect when we dare to be vulnerable and given time make formidable teams. But it takes getting past the limiting fears.Yours truly struggles with the fear of rejection sometimes. Maybe you can relate and…
NOTE TO SELF: WHAT DOES DESTINY HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
Isaac and Rebekah. Esau and Jacob. A generation of smarts, it is almost uncanny. I made notes. Esau was a wild, love-the-outdoors kind of guy, skillful at hunting albeit a tad reckless with important things, he traded his inheritance for a bowl of lentil stew and had wives that made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah, his parents. Jacob was quiet, lived in tents, a family sort of guy, quick, clever and took advantage of his brother Esau in a moment of weakness. Makes me wonder, what is lost in moments of weakness and if perhaps we could make better choices. Ah, Rebekah had strategy! Her role in orchestrating the blessing in Jacob’s favour over older brother Esau was well thought out. Perhaps, she felt that blessing Esau over Jacob would mean endorsing a bad legacy of poor choices and taking important things for granted? Who adorns a pig with…