Nature is beautiful.
No matter how cold and snowy winter can be, how long it takes for the green to grow through the remnants of winter, how hot summer can feel or how quickly the leaves change and fall, there is beauty in each day. Embrace it and enjoy every moment.
I am fortunate to be able to say that I am happy with my life. I enjoy my job and the people I work with, I love my little house and the privacy it affords me and I love living in Muskoka. Not everything in my life has been picture perfect but that awareness empowers me to alter the things in my life that are not working and follow the path that I envision for myself.
So many people I encounter don’t seem to have the same luxury of being able to say they are content in their own lives. They seem to radiate negative energy and the lessons that are presented in their lives become more of a burden than a learning experience. The “glass half empty” attitude fills the room and stifles any potential for that glass to be filled again.
With the impending shift in the calendar, the welcoming of a New Year and possible making of resolutions, we have to remember that we are not trees. We are not rooted so deeply into the soil of our lives that we are unable move and make a change. We are not permanently stuck in one spot for the rest of our lives, able to only move in one direction. We are afforded the freedom of being able to make a change in our lives whenever we feel the desire to alter our destiny. It may be a daunting task to uproot yourself and start over but, when you flip to the other side of that coin, what could be the lesser of the two evils? With change always comes doubt but happiness will always trump fear.
Give yourself permission to do whatever it takes for you to be happy. Put down some roots but if the place you have planted yourself smothers your potential for growth, dig up the roots, plant yourself again and start over. You have to give yourself the opportunity to flourish and, if that means beginning again in a different location, trust that your happiness is worth the effort and do whatever it takes to find that perfect place.
Plant your feet and blossom but leave room to uproot, branch out and grow.
Another Christmas has come and gone leaving us with more great memories for the scrapbooks in our minds.
My sister-in-law kidnapped my mom from her new home and Christmas Eve was spent standing in a sub-zero temperature to watch Santa Claus go by on the fire truck. This has been a tradition in our family since we moved to our small town in 1976. This year, however, was the first year that a Command Post vehicle followed behind the fire truck in case Santa became thermally challenged. I’m sure somewhere in his mind the Ho-Ho-Ho evolved into Ho-Ho-Holy S*&t it’s cold up here.
Once again we went, as a family, to church but this year there was no fear of having to don a Shepherd costume and stand in front of a crowd. Roles had been pre-assigned and we were able to sit in our pews and enjoy the performance. The three Wise Men this year were comprised of an older gentleman, a seven-ish year old and a stand up comedian, turning their show into a couple of wise guys and a very confused child! Hilarity ensued and our hearts were definitely light allowing us to forget the frigid temperature outside and the fact that the heating system inside the church couldn’t fight off the cold.
Christmas morning welcomed us with a beautiful sunrise and a temperature of -30C but nothing could slow the pace of gifts being exchanged and paper flying. Although we had decided a few years ago not to exchange Christmas gifts, my brother surprised me with a CD of my grandfathers dialect stories that had been converted from a vinyl album. It was an amazing gift and one that I will treasure. My nephews ventured off in their own directions, one wearing his new blue tooth headphones and the other jumping into a new book and devouring the words. My brother headed for the kitchen and, even after five cups of coffee, I still managed to squeeze in an hour and a half nap before enjoying the turkey dinner my brother and family created.
After pushing our chairs back to let the turkey settle, we listened to some of my grandfather’s stories as a family. My youngest nephew had listened to the recording so many times he could recite bits of the stories and my oldest nephew punctuated the end of a conversation with one of the best endings to one of the stories – “so long, fat ass”. His timing was impeccable and there may or may not have been some cheesecake remnants sprayed onto the tablecloth.
It was agreed that my mom would have another sleepover and, one by one, we began to assume something reminiscent of a reclining pose. My 13-year old nephew was a sitting duck on the couch when the tickling began. The musical sound of his laughter filled the living room and, after exhausting all my efforts, I finally heard the three words that every Aunt longs to hear – “Stop, I’m peeing.”
I hope you all had a Christmas celebration that will leave you with stories of your own to pass down over the years. May our hearts continue to be light and may we feel this same Christmas spirit throughout 2014.
With the barrage of holiday movies on television and the impending calendar date of the actual Christmas celebration just around the corner, the many images of Santa Claus, old and new, are generously scattered throughout our channel selections. Animated versions of the benevolent being as well as the portrayal of Kris Kringle by well-known actors give us abundant opportunity to delve back into that childhood fantasy that all of us once had.
Each portrayal of Pere Noel allows me to travel back in time and dip into the well of innocence I had as a child. It lets me live in a simpler time when life was less complicated and everything seemed magical.
Santa Claus embodies the spirit of happiness and giving. His cherubic face symbolizes unending love and perhaps it is that feeling of love that keeps the spirit of his message alive in my heart. Santa Claus may not have a genuine physical presence, or more feasibly the cynicism of my adult life disallows me from seeing that presence, but the true message of his existence still flows through my veins.
Perhaps the North Pole is that idyllic peace of mind I am wrapped in when I allow myself the child-like happiness that I inexplicably only allow myself to feel this time of year. Sure, I’m generally a happy person throughout the rest of the year but there is a more youthful quality to my happiness during the Christmas holidays that I wish I could capture and recreate on a more frequent basis.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He lives in our hearts and will continue to exist there as long as we believe in the magic of happiness.
I may have read one too many Dean Koontz novels or perhaps have seen more than my fair share of creepy movies. Whatever the case may be, the conglomeration of macabre tales has left a lingering doubt in my mind when it comes to hitch hikers.
I have never entertained the thought of sticking my thumb in the air and hoping that a random stranger would stop and let me into their vehicle. And on that same train of thought, I have never picked up a hitch hiker that I didn’t know personally. I occasionally feel guilty about driving by and leaving them with arm extended and a thumb reaching up like a beacon of hope. I even go so far as to not look directly at them, although I know full well that they cannot see the direction in which my ocular orbs are focusing.
Scenes from movies play like a slide show in my brain and I imagine the most innocent looking person taking hours to remove my appendages and build them into a sinister piece of art nouveau. It may be a warped interpretation but one that could salvage my digits and leave my body intact.
Although there is always the nagging doubt that picking up that hitch hiker will hold some sort of malice for me, I still feel the need, in my head, to explain why I will not invite them into the sanctuary of my four-wheeled haven. I constantly feel the urge to roll down my window on the way by and tell them that my turn is only meters away and that they will have a better chance of a full ride with another driver. Regardless of any guilt I feel for not stopping, I still avert my eyes from their general direction and carry on, alone in my car, to my destination.
I am not labeling worldly travelers nor am I judging those whose means of travel relies on a digit that many animals do not possess. I am simply propagating my existence in my over-active imagination and choosing to not share the sanctity of my car with a potential serial killer.
Best wishes to all of you that have the guts to be the hitcher or the driver that stops to pick up those wayward travelers. The neurons in my brain will always fire in the same way and err on the side of caution but for those brave enough to pick up or be picked up – thumbs up to you.
Today’s post will be short because I’m getting ready to head to the city to see The Tenors!! If you haven’t heard of these guys, they are a very talented foursome of Canadian singers whose voices blend to make absolute magic. You can listen to them here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E6-AYce-_M
Mondays are difficult for many, so if you are looking for a little escape and want some romance in your day – head over to see Edward Hotspur’s Romantic Monday.
Have a great day everyone and stay warm!! It’s -35C here today with the windchill.
I initiated a Toy Drive at the Lodge where I work and this is the first year I have taken on such an enterprise. Shamrock Lodge agreed to donate an off-season weekend for two as our way of saying thank you for donating to our toy drive. Family names who have donated to our cause will be entered for a chance to win and a name will be drawn on December 21st.
The first picture is round one of the toy drive which was overwhelming in itself. We delivered the first round of toys to the OPP Toy Drive last Saturday and made Natalie, the OPP officer, a bit weepy.
Today I went shopping once again with the generous donations that continue to come in from all areas of our lives. Friends, family, hotel guests and local residents have gone above and beyond to help us with our toy drive and make sure every child has something under the tree this year.
The next picture is only the beginning of round two. We are still collecting for another week and I am already excited about donning the Elf hat again and delivering the toys to their rightful destination so they can find their way into the hands and heart of a child.
I will definitely be making this an annual event!! Have a great weekend everyone and when you are out shopping, be sure to pick up that one extra toy and donate it to a cause that wants every kid to have a Christmas!!
If there is one thing the holidays should teach us, it’s to let our worries go. It may only be for a few precious days while we focus on the things that are truly important but if we can embrace that serene feeling while it is in our presence perhaps we can carry that feeling within us for an extended period of time and not have it fizzle out with the digestion of all that turkey!
Every year it seems stress increases exponentially around the Christmas holidays. The days that we get a reprieve from work are meant to be our “down time” but the pressure and time constraints of creating our own Hallmark holiday are overwhelming. The influx of family from all parts of the globe, the search and rescue mission for the perfect Christmas gifts and the attempts to give Martha Stewart a run for her money at the dinner table all compound to make the stress level reach its maximum capacity.
I had the Christmas Carols gently soothing my mood the other day and I took a moment to really listen and absorb the words. “Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, let your heart be light”. That was an “a-ha” moment as Oprah would say. That simple string of words had such a profound affect on me and I realized that it doesn’t matter if the presents I wrap look like my dog wrapped them. Nobody is going to care if I spend Christmas day in my pajamas and my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electric outlet. The holidays are for just being, not for being perfect.
Take a moment to ask yourself what the holidays really mean to you. Is your definition of Christmas a perfectly wrapped gift? Or is it the precious moments when you share a laugh or a hug? Let your heart be light and enjoy what the holiday is really meant to represent. If you worry too much about the perfection of the celebration you’ll miss the beauty of the holiday.
Small talk is an art form. It is the informal banter that covers no functional topics of conversation yet seems to fill the void of silence. People generally find dead air uncomfortable and prolonged periods of silence can be unbearable. Regardless of whether or not we know the person, something compels us to bring up some inane conversation and we generally state some very obvious rhetoric to pass the time.
Small talk is a social skill that some have honed over the years and others struggle with it on a daily basis. Perfect strangers may feel comfortable enough to talk about things on a more personal level but the bulk of small talk is made up of conversations about things as uninteresting as the weather. Who knew we all had such an obsession with meteorology?
Depending on where you are when engaging in small talk you can certainly make it more interesting than the state of the atmospheric pressure and relative humidity. It doesn’t have to become completely personal but you can lift the mood of someone’s day by having an intriguing conversation about something they weren’t planning to discuss with a stranger.
Make the first move and initiate some witty and enlightening repartee that will leave both of you in higher spirits. Compliments are always welcome and interjecting some kind words into your small talk will go a long way.
Don’t let your cartoon balloon of small talk remain empty. Fill it with something that will make people think and will allow them to leave your presence with a smile on their face. Be original and be appealing but most of all keep it simple and honest. You never know what new connections you could make by starting with an elementary bit of small talk.
You left so quickly. I didn’t have time to say goodbye and, in my misery and grief, I nearly lost you. But your voice permeates my dreams. The sound of your laughter echoes in my memory. Those idiosyncracies that used to wear thin are now the moments I cherish the most.
A rider may have fallen, but the ghost of you still navigates those winding curves in my memory. You will never cease to exist and, although I may have thought you were gone, you will always live on because I choose to remember you.
I hear your distant cry.
~
Written for the 100 Word Song Challenge – one of my new favorite challenges. If you haven’t tried this yet, I thoroughly recommend it!!
polysyllabic profundities 