All Things Nice . . .

 

 

(source)

How will Heaven ever suit

All of human kind,

Sailors would be lost I know

If they couldn't find

A good ship headed out to sea,

Sails all set for blowin'

With sailor folk for company

And white caps showin'.

How would farmers ever take

Joy in anything,

If they hadn't fields to sow,

When it was comin' spring.

If in the garden of the Lord

Weeds would start to grow,

Old men would be lost I'm sure,

If they couldn't hoe.

An' women too, at harvest time,

They'd just itch to take

Off their spangled wings and gowns,

And set some bread to bake,

And make a few good apple pies,

For thresher folks to eat,

And sit in wide old rocking chairs,

And grouch about their feet.

How would young folks pass the time

Without fun and laughter,

Goin' to parties all dressed up,

Talking' about it after.

A little boy without a dog

Would feel just awful queer,

If he had loved one very much

when he was here.

And so I think the good dear Lord,

Would be sure of known'

Just how homesick we would be

Without things growin',

And he'll make a place for us

Never more to roam,

Where every soul that goes from earth,

Will feel to home.

~Edna Jacques, Wonder

Aunt Hattie's Place, 1941

I sometimes wonder how it is that Edna Jacques got into my head and picked my thoughts.  Almost every poem she wrote in her lifetime resonates with me. With thoughts and feelings I might have had at one time or another.  Poetry is a beautiful thing. Words are beautiful things. They have the power to touch your soul in wondrous ways.  Great is the artist that can string them together in such a way as to tweak the human heart and experience, like peering into another's soul.  I think it is a divine art . . .  a talent . . .  how grateful I am for the wordsmith's in my life and how they have enriched my days in so many meaningful ways.

 

(source)

And once the storm is over,

you won't remember how you made it through,

how you managed to survive.

You won't even be sure

whether the storm is really over.

But one thing is certain.

When you come out of the storm,

you won't be the same person 

who walked in.

That is what the storm is all about.

~Haruki Murakami

One thing which I have learned over the past 25 odd years, maybe even longer (but that's how long I have been really paying attention), is that every storm ends and the sun always appears.  Sometimes if you are really blessed there will be a rainbow.  That scripture about weeping in the night and joy coming in the morning?  Its true.  All we have to do is to hold on and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Faith . . . it can direct us in the right direction, and help to put wind in our sails.  It can help us to rebuild our lives, brick by brick, stone by stone.  Winds, doubts, trials and the pain of other people's choices  . . .  these things can tear our lives apart. I know this to be true, but I also know that every dark tunnel has light  waiting at the end of it. 

 

I am who I am because of the storms in my life and the ways I have chosen to handle them.  To rebuild my life once the storms have passed, has shown me who I am and can become. I like who I am.  I would not be that person without having experienced the hard times. Are the storms over? Probably not, but with each one that comes along I become stronger, better, more capable. More beautiful.  And the cracks in my life, they have always been healed and knit back together with seams and stiches of Gold.

 

(source)

A cup of tea and good conversation go together like peas and carrots.

Studies indicate the #1 way 

to show love for someone is to listen to them. 

What air is to the lungs, listening is to the soul.

~Hank R Smith

It is so easy to just tune other people out. I sometimes find myself doing it.  I appear to be listening, but my mind is really somewhere else.   It's wrong. Shame on me. 

All people really want in life, aside from love, is to be heard.  By others.  To know that someone cares enough . . . to know that someone is willing to take the time to validate their feelings and that someone is listening.  Really listening. This sometimes can take great effort. Especially when it is someone who seems to drone on about the same things each time you talk to them.  Listening is not  always easy. It takes selflessness, but it is a gift you can give to others.

How to listen to people so they know that you care:

1. Get rid of any distractions. Phone. Television. etc.

2. Face them. Engage their eyes. Open your ears.

3. Engage their heart with your heart. Empathize. Sympathize.

4. Don't be too eager to offer an opinion or a solution unless first asked.

5. Look at things from their perspective. See things with their eyes. Walk a mile in their shoes.

6. It is not your job to fix, or to debate. Let them have their opinions. It is only your job to listen.  And to care. Sincerely care.

 

Dare to be Different

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

~Dr. Seuss

Being unique matters. I am proud of being different. Of now bowing to the sway of every public opinion that blows my way.  I am not afraid to stand up for the things I believe in. You can do that and still honor and respect other people's belief's.   The way to change the world, or at least your little corner of it,  is to dare to be different.  To not run with the herd.  To break out of the mold. Being different can make space for creativity in a way that nothing else can.  Sometimes it may mean that you are standing on your own, but alone is where your uniqueness and creativity can thrive.  When you look at all of the successful people in life it is easy to see that the one thing that they have in common is that they dared to be different.  To sing, dance, paint, create, write, etc. in their own individual unique and beautiful ways.  Dare to be different.  To be one of a kind. That's the only way to stand out from the crowd.  Celebrate the you that is YOU!

There is a special strength that comes from non-conformity. 

 

(source)

I am an early riser. I have been an early riser for most of my life, getting up and out of bed as soon as the sun shows its pretty face.  Early morning is like a jewel, an opal, glowing and soft and cool, with a hint of the warmth of the day's fire ahead in it's depths. 

It holds a breathless perfection . . .  a lucent air laced with the silver of bird song and the scent of roses.

Breakfast on the patio would be a lovely thing I think as I watch the resident hummingbird breakfast in the flower bed, flitting from bloom to bloom to bloom and then he is off as quickly as he has arrived, his leaving a quick blur, hum and zip across the yard and away to who knows where.  If you blinked you would miss it, he is gone so quickly . . .

I can smell someone's toast.  Why does toast smell so good???  Especially when it is someone else's??  It smells warm and yeasty, buttery and toasty  . . .  the only thing that smells better is if it is accompanied with the smell of frying bacon.  Home sweet home  . . . 

Sunday mornings were always our bacon mornings growing up. Mom always made bacon and eggs for breakfast on  Sunday mornings. I could easily forgo the eggs, but the bacon  . . .  I could never forgo the bacon.  I would enjoy it on toast upon which I had spread a thin layer of peanut butter.  Nirvana could never come close to what that tasted like on the tongue.  Crisp, buttery, creamy, salty, smoky  . . . the memory is making me hungry and so I must flit away now like the hummingbird.  My sister and I are off to the shops this morning  . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *Sounds of the wind

and sounds of the sea

make me happy just to be.

~June Polus   ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Lemon Drizzle Cake.  A recipe adapted from The National Trust Book of Baking.  Probably served at one of their many cafe/tearooms across the U.K.  You just know it is good, all lemony and delicious, moist and tender with a lovely sugar crust on top.  Delicious. Very nice.

I am not sure if I will have a chance to write much on Monday morning. I have my appointment for my car early in the day.  I will be so happy to have it back in safe running order!  I hope that you have a lovely weekend, filled with lots of nice things and love.  Be blessed and don't forget!

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And I do too!