Lightening Up The Burdens of the Heart . . .

"I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering, surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy."
~Louise Bogan

Think of yourself as a garden. Each day, being grateful, helps to til the soil of your soul. We plant simple seeds, seeds of harmony and peace, which root themselves deep into the earth of who we are, and our everyday existance. The flowers which grow inspire us with courage . . . both for ourselves and for our loved ones, the courage to make it real. Patience and beauty blossom around us and we are happyl Not only are we happy, but . . . we have found joy. A huge wellspring of joy which not only refreshes us, but renews and nourishes us. We have found our bliss, our place in the world.



"With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things."
~William Wordsworth

I have been lucky enough to walk amongst the daffodils that Wordsworth wrote of so beautifully and to spend some time in Wordsworth country. It is indeed very beautiful up there. A beauty we can all share in by reading his very beautifully penned words. He was able to see into the life of things through the power of his mind's eye, and he was able to share it with each of through the power and beauty of his well penned words.

Seeing into the life of things is an important step in being able to find true joy, the joy that is there for each of us to take hold of, instead of the pathway of struggle we so often tread upon . . .



Seeing into the life of things involves learning to live in the hear and the now . . . the present moment . . . letting go of the past, which we cannot change . . . and the future which has yet to appear. We have to stop telling ourselves that the worst is going to happen, and believe and have faith that the best is going to happen. If we move forward, always expecting the worse . . . I believe we become somewhat of a self fulfiling prophecy and we "will" it to happen. We become the authors of our own misfortune. As we struggle through each day, moving from one crisis to another, allowing circumsance to batter and bruise us, we have forgotten that we always have a choice. We can choose to expect the best things to happen to us . . . instead of the worst. We can start to look at the glass as being half full . . . instead of half empty. We can stop all the drama in our lives and learn to trust in the flow of life and the goodness of the spirit. We can be the authors of our own happy endings.

Make today truly the first day of the rest of your life . . . the first day of the best of your life. Take a leap of faith. Tell yourself that today you are going to let go of the struggle and embrace the joy! Claim all the blessings that this day . . . today . . . has waiting for you to discover. They've been there every day. They'll be there every day. They've just been waiting for you to discover them. In doing so I believe that you can change the spin of your universe so that it now spins on an axis of pure joy . . . for. . . lets face it, although bad things can and will happen to each one of us, in the midst of all that joy, how can misery and despair ever hope to gain a foothold in your life again???

Just my thoughts for this morning.



I don't think I know anyone who is not fond of roast potatoes. Their crispy brown outsides and creamy insides just go perfectly with anything and everything. Heck, I'd even eat a plate of them all on their own without anything else at all, I love them so much. Here's a potato you will love even more . . . crisp and lemony . . . with a subtle herbiness that keeps you coming back for more.



*Oven Roasted Lemon and Herb Potatoes*
serves 4
Printable Recipe

Crisp on the outsides and full of lovely flavours, these potatoes are like the royalty of roast potatoes. Their flavour is truly amazing.

4 to 6 potatoes, quartered (you may peel or not as desired)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced

pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease a large baking tray with deep sides. Put the quartered potatoes into a large bowl.

Combine the melted butter, oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and toss them together so that the potatoes are well coated.

Spread the potatoes evenly into the baking pan, making sure that you leave some space in between each one.

Roast for 20 minutes. Take them out of the oven and give them a good shake, turning them over with a spatula and spreading them out evenly again. Place them in the oven and roast for another 15 minutes. Repeat the shaking and turning. Roast for a final 15 minutes, until they are golden brown and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Serve hot as an accompaniment to your favourite roast!



It's Spag Bol, but not as you know it, over on The English Kitchen this morning!