I have worked two 9 hour days this week but have gotten outside during lunch to walk. My recent sparks of joy are planning my mini trip to Florida around my b-day. My daughter and I will spend a couple night in Cocoa Beach. I am also looking forward to breakfast or lunch with my son this week-end. We are both starting to see the end of the tunnel to our new home soon.
I made my first foray into puff pastry this afternoon
by making a savory sweet potatoe strudel.
What an exciting thing.
I’m sure I will need to tune up the pastry part,
but it smells and looks delicious . . .
for Joy! ♥
I’m thinking about this through my senses to make a list.
Our forecast is for at least two weeks of rain so when I chose what I’d wear for my yoga practice and then for my work day I chose bright coral shades to bring some light into the day.
I’m going to improv class tonight and that always sparks joy and sometimes gut-busting laughter, too.
Past Me remembered to defrost some delicious mushroom soup I made a while back and so Me Right Now is having that for breakfast. I made it with four kinds of mushrooms and it’s really tasty (crimini, shiitake, porcini, and chantarelles my friend and her husband picked; they gave me some fresh and a jar of dried ones). https://www.loveandlemons.com/mushroom-soup/
I’ll go for some walks to break up a very long meeting (I can take the meeting with me on my headset) and look at spring flowers that will brighten the walk even when it’s raining.
Meditation is sparking joy and getting to join with people from all over the world let go makes me so happy! I love that the universe gives us the method to kill the false self and become the universe light and energy! What joy! 🤩
I get joy from listening to podcast episodes of Nonviolence Radio ( https://www.mettacenter.org/nonviolenceradio ) . There is a mental state of hopefulness behind many of these episodes that bring me joy, even amidst some of the difficult issues that they discuss. I got a little behind on listening because I was busy. I would like to finish listening to an episode today where they interviewed a musical group called Emma’s Revolution and played some of their songs.
Take a long walk outside & stay in the present moment. I will stay awake as I walk, to see & hear the birds who seem to have reappeared after a long cold winter.
Love & peace All….❤️🕊️
Menards piano players have been cut down to Saturdays and Sundays starting a couple days ago. I’ll only be working on Sundays 2pm-5pm now. I’ll enjoy my day off and spend some more quality time with Ngoc. This will also help me recharge my enthusiasm for piano. The days of higher expectations are behind me. Mental illness is the release in Asian cultures. Therefore, the days of also working on my skills to become a piano teacher my parents dreamed of me becoming years ago is long in the rear view mirror.
The word “spark” stood out to me in today’s question so I searched my journals for anything that contained the word “spark.” I found the two entries below in my 2019 journal. Just re-reading them sparked a smile and a little joy for me and so, I find it brings me a little joy to share them with you!
1. The Hindus say that the “you” that is not ego, is God. That instead of creation being an artifact, it is an expression of the whole thing—the fundamental ground of being, the reality that always was, is, and will be. As Alan Watt’s explains in his essay, The Drama of It All, there is no “cosmic boss.” He proposes that “…everybody, not only human beings, but animals and plants…are God in disguise.”
So the drama of a life is a play. The personality, in my case, Carol, is the actor in the drama and the creative force, the life-spark wants to direct me but I have to listen to the director. So if I can let this creative life energy flow in and through me, I will find that I have a reserved seat in the front row of the theatre. From this point of view, I can draw on the wisdom of the ages and experience the reality that creation is an on going process.
However, we tend to forget that life “just is” and so we create stories instead of having experiences. We do battle with life in our minds and carry the toxicity of this defensiveness in our defenseless bodies, crippling life’s attempt to bless us.
2. What supports me in exploring my feelings? How might this spark change?
When we learn not to attach…not to cling to one thing (even GOD) we find that we are attached (part of) every thing. This is a key realization when exploring one’s feelings. Why? Because, my pain is your pain. Your pain is my pain. My joy is your joy. Your joy is my joy. Whatever I project on my world, my world will return to me. What you project on your world will return to you. I might choose to buy into what you project on me; or I might be prone to project all of my feelings on you instead of owning them. To truly explore my feelings takes courage. It takes trustworthy sounding boards. My mentor used to ask me how I felt about something and when I would answer, he would say, “Carol that’s not a feeling. It’s a thought.” Eckhart Tolle in his book, THE POWER OF NOW, addresses this. He says, “It is important to separate one’s life from one’s life situation.” I guess we should ask ourselves what we think about our life situation and then ask ourselves how that makes us feel. Yes, a sounding board is important and so is the willingness to be vulnerable. Both spark the opportunity for constructive change
“…everybody, not only human beings, but animals and plants…are God in disguise.”
Alan Watts
I don’t feel that God is in disguise anymore
(for me) . . .
I see the Divine almost everywhere
with great reverence
and great love . . .♥
What an inspiring and wise post.
This is everything: “Whatever I project on my world, my world will return to me. What you project on your world will return to you. I might choose to buy into what you project on me; or I might be prone to project all of my feelings on you instead of owning them. To truly explore my feelings takes courage. It takes trustworthy sounding boards.” Sounds simple, but oh it takes ongoing practice. Thank you Carol.
I know,
dear Yram . . .
I hear it in your voice. ♥
2
Mary Mantei
2 days ago
Accomplish something new and different. I love solving a situation, creating something, etc. So today, I believe it will be making a couple loaves of bread that is of a new variety that I have not done before. 🩷
After it having rained all day yesterday, the skies are clear this morning, so I’ll definitely be getting outside with the dogs. I think I’ll take them to one of our favorite parks to walk and interact with others. They love taking a car ride, and it’s only a few miles up the road. And I love that it’ll be in the low 70s today… spring is definitely in the air, which sparks joy in me just thinking about it!
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I have worked two 9 hour days this week but have gotten outside during lunch to walk. My recent sparks of joy are planning my mini trip to Florida around my b-day. My daughter and I will spend a couple night in Cocoa Beach. I am also looking forward to breakfast or lunch with my son this week-end. We are both starting to see the end of the tunnel to our new home soon.
If you haven’t visited Kennedy Space Center you and your daughter should do that – pretty amazing.
Yes, I may have gone when I was younger with my parents but definitely it is very closed to cocoa beach.
I made my first foray into puff pastry this afternoon
by making a savory sweet potatoe strudel.
What an exciting thing.
I’m sure I will need to tune up the pastry part,
but it smells and looks delicious . . .
for Joy! ♥
I can be inspired by the wonders of nature; the Golden Ratio
Sandra, thank you for sending me to the dictionary re The Golden Ratio. I will likely see it on a regular basis now. 🩷
I’m thinking about this through my senses to make a list.
Our forecast is for at least two weeks of rain so when I chose what I’d wear for my yoga practice and then for my work day I chose bright coral shades to bring some light into the day.
I’m going to improv class tonight and that always sparks joy and sometimes gut-busting laughter, too.
Past Me remembered to defrost some delicious mushroom soup I made a while back and so Me Right Now is having that for breakfast. I made it with four kinds of mushrooms and it’s really tasty (crimini, shiitake, porcini, and chantarelles my friend and her husband picked; they gave me some fresh and a jar of dried ones). https://www.loveandlemons.com/mushroom-soup/
I’ll go for some walks to break up a very long meeting (I can take the meeting with me on my headset) and look at spring flowers that will brighten the walk even when it’s raining.
Maybe I’ll put on Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. They all lift me up in different ways.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NjssV8UuVA&ab_channel=StarRider8008
Bach’s Prelude Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major performed by Yo Yo Ma with a beautiful video celebrating humanity and our creativity https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=IE16B36Qet4l7–G&v=1prweT95Mo0&feature=youtu.be.
Pachelbel’s Canon in D performed on the original instruments of the time in which it was composed https://youtu.be/JvNQLJ1_HQ0?si=u0Eeqqj4IeSrXOyS
Thank you,
dear Barb,
for this musical interlude . . .
all favorites of mine. ♥
ps. I also enjoyed Chopin’s Mariage d’Amour
which followed Canon.
Witch spring coming, I can let the nice weather in my home. I love opening the windows and having fresh flowers on the counter. It feels so welcoming.
Meditation is sparking joy and getting to join with people from all over the world let go makes me so happy! I love that the universe gives us the method to kill the false self and become the universe light and energy! What joy! 🤩
I get joy from listening to podcast episodes of Nonviolence Radio ( https://www.mettacenter.org/nonviolenceradio ) . There is a mental state of hopefulness behind many of these episodes that bring me joy, even amidst some of the difficult issues that they discuss. I got a little behind on listening because I was busy. I would like to finish listening to an episode today where they interviewed a musical group called Emma’s Revolution and played some of their songs.
Thanks, I will check this out
Thanks for suggesting this! I’ll check it out.
A related site https://wagingnonviolence.org/.
A hopeful piece by Rebecca Solnit: https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/people-get-ready/
Thank you for sharing this site!! I will find it and listen!
Clear out the garden beds and turn the soil. Prepare the land for seeds, even if it’ll be a little while yet.
oh, yes, Drea!!!! I hope you get to do this today!
Thanks Carol Ann, me too!
Take a long walk outside & stay in the present moment. I will stay awake as I walk, to see & hear the birds who seem to have reappeared after a long cold winter.
Love & peace All….❤️🕊️
I did on my walk over the week-end!
I’ve been hearing the birds too, it’s such a sweet and refreshing sound to wake up to.
Menards piano players have been cut down to Saturdays and Sundays starting a couple days ago. I’ll only be working on Sundays 2pm-5pm now. I’ll enjoy my day off and spend some more quality time with Ngoc. This will also help me recharge my enthusiasm for piano. The days of higher expectations are behind me. Mental illness is the release in Asian cultures. Therefore, the days of also working on my skills to become a piano teacher my parents dreamed of me becoming years ago is long in the rear view mirror.
The word “spark” stood out to me in today’s question so I searched my journals for anything that contained the word “spark.” I found the two entries below in my 2019 journal. Just re-reading them sparked a smile and a little joy for me and so, I find it brings me a little joy to share them with you!
1. The Hindus say that the “you” that is not ego, is God. That instead of creation being an artifact, it is an expression of the whole thing—the fundamental ground of being, the reality that always was, is, and will be. As Alan Watt’s explains in his essay, The Drama of It All, there is no “cosmic boss.” He proposes that “…everybody, not only human beings, but animals and plants…are God in disguise.”
So the drama of a life is a play. The personality, in my case, Carol, is the actor in the drama and the creative force, the life-spark wants to direct me but I have to listen to the director. So if I can let this creative life energy flow in and through me, I will find that I have a reserved seat in the front row of the theatre. From this point of view, I can draw on the wisdom of the ages and experience the reality that creation is an on going process.
However, we tend to forget that life “just is” and so we create stories instead of having experiences. We do battle with life in our minds and carry the toxicity of this defensiveness in our defenseless bodies, crippling life’s attempt to bless us.
2. What supports me in exploring my feelings? How might this spark change?
When we learn not to attach…not to cling to one thing (even GOD) we find that we are attached (part of) every thing. This is a key realization when exploring one’s feelings. Why? Because, my pain is your pain. Your pain is my pain. My joy is your joy. Your joy is my joy. Whatever I project on my world, my world will return to me. What you project on your world will return to you. I might choose to buy into what you project on me; or I might be prone to project all of my feelings on you instead of owning them. To truly explore my feelings takes courage. It takes trustworthy sounding boards. My mentor used to ask me how I felt about something and when I would answer, he would say, “Carol that’s not a feeling. It’s a thought.” Eckhart Tolle in his book, THE POWER OF NOW, addresses this. He says, “It is important to separate one’s life from one’s life situation.” I guess we should ask ourselves what we think about our life situation and then ask ourselves how that makes us feel. Yes, a sounding board is important and so is the willingness to be vulnerable. Both spark the opportunity for constructive change
“…everybody, not only human beings, but animals and plants…are God in disguise.”
Alan Watts
I don’t feel that God is in disguise anymore
(for me) . . .
I see the Divine almost everywhere
with great reverence
and great love . . .♥
What an inspiring and wise post.
This is everything: “Whatever I project on my world, my world will return to me. What you project on your world will return to you. I might choose to buy into what you project on me; or I might be prone to project all of my feelings on you instead of owning them. To truly explore my feelings takes courage. It takes trustworthy sounding boards.” Sounds simple, but oh it takes ongoing practice. Thank you Carol.
Carol, the part about attachment reminds me of buddhism where detachment is 1 of the pillers.
I will enjoy all the simple pleasures my husband is lacking right now.
Such a tender time, Yram.🩷
Thank you……. it is very rough.
O goodness, YRAM, that sounds a little bittersweet. But a reminder to me not to take things for granted! Sending love to you and your husband.
Thank you. It is a rough time.
I too,
felt a little bittersweet about your post,
dear Yram.
Like Elizabeth,
I send both you and your husband
a little love . . . ♥
Thank you…. it is a rough time.
I know,
dear Yram . . .
I hear it in your voice. ♥
Accomplish something new and different. I love solving a situation, creating something, etc. So today, I believe it will be making a couple loaves of bread that is of a new variety that I have not done before. 🩷
I made my annual Irish soda bread last night to bring into work for a meeting today 💚🍀
One of life’s simple joys Mary M…………bread still warm from baking, with some butter.
It turned out well, Joseph, and it did tickle me to see those crusty, golden loaves sitting on the cupboard.
Enjoy!
Thank you, Drea. I did!
wonderful!
🩷
Yummmmm
Ditto!
After it having rained all day yesterday, the skies are clear this morning, so I’ll definitely be getting outside with the dogs. I think I’ll take them to one of our favorite parks to walk and interact with others. They love taking a car ride, and it’s only a few miles up the road. And I love that it’ll be in the low 70s today… spring is definitely in the air, which sparks joy in me just thinking about it!
Sunnypatti, it was 65 degrees in the Twin Cities yesterday. Ngoc and I went on a walk in the evening outside for the 1st time this year.
Perceive beautiful sunshine outside and enjoy warmth of springtime. Warm greetings to all of you who share and who visit here.