The Good Life

This morning I was reflecting on the fact that the common things are the most interesting.

The walking shoes that I just bought this summer - but are already dirty.

My jeans from Goodwill that are a bit too long, but fit great otherwise.

The sunflowers that only recently started to bloom on the side of the road. No one intentionally planted flowers on our road, but it seems there is always something there to adorn our walk.

The fact that our dog can run like the wind and is beautiful in her actions.

My co-worker was bragging about her half million dollar home the other day. I would not give up any of the above for what she has to put up with in her home.

This morning it felt good to be grateful for the common things in our life. I hope you enjoy the images from our rural good life.

Prayer Walks

During this summer, I started walking two miles with our dog before I went to work and before she went into the kennel for the day. During those walks, I moved my daily rosary prayer from the drive to work to the walking time. It seemed more spiritual to be praying in our lovely rural setting, rather than in the Honda amidst all of the other drivers who were commuting to work for the day.

Today's walk was absolutely beautiful. The low hanging clouds formed a blue and purple ceiling in the horizon while the sun was trying to peek through those clouds in the east. The cool morning air smelled of early fall and was crisp and clean in my lungs.

Today's prayer - the Glorious Mysteries - began with the prayers for faith and hope as we meditate on the resurrection and assumption of our Lord into heaven. The blue sky provided an clear invitation to open my heart to the gifts of the holy spirit.

As I strive to utilize the gifts God has provided, I write this post and commit to writing on a more regular basis.

People in your life

I have had many profound experiences with people in my life the last two days. Their experiences have had such an effect on me, which is interesting as there really is no direct correlation (or very little correlation) to my daily life.

1. My cousin, age 46, had brain tumor surgery - 16 hours - in September. He is now at home after going through therapy, spending time at my Aunt & Uncle's house, and is on the road to recovery. His wife put a blog on the website she writes for and the whole story is very vivid and emotional. Praise to God for his recovery.
2. I suprised the janiter lady who lets me into my office door every day as she said she was deep in thought. Her daughter, age 32, had blood in her stool and they won't be able to do the remaining test until December 2nd. I could see the worry in Sue's eyes, as she told me about her own colon cancer surgery in 2002.
3. My step-dad had surgery last week and although he came through the surgery well, his recovery and future quality of life are in question. My mother's caregiving is required full time and her strength and stamina are a gift to him. Who is caring for the caregiver?
4. One of the ladies we are working for just came back from a 4 week trip to Hawaii. I asked her how her vacation was, and her answer was, "I always say my last vacation was the best ever, but this vacation was the best vacation ever. We have already booked our 5 week vacation next year. I start my move to retirement by starting to work half time in November." Her spirit and enthusiasm for life was a boost to me as we talked about her life and the many gifts that she has been given (Fullbright scholar, studying in France, etc.,), I basked in the joy in her eyes as she talked about her rich, full life and her retirement plans.

People in your life. We are all so independent and yet so interrelated. And there are so many other people in my life that I am not mentioning that have their daily struggles and triumphs. What can we all do to help each other? I pray daily. My prayer life has become a great deal fuller and richer over the past few years, so I know that is enough for now.

Enjoy your today and be well.

A very good breathing exercise

The following is from my daily http://www.morningcoach.com/ e-mail. The breathing exercise is very helpful as you can do it anywhere if you do not have time to sit and meditate. Last night as I worked in the garden and my mind wanted to wander into negative thoughts, I did the breathing exercise to get back into the moment. I had a very enjoyable evening and today am in a much better frame of mind.

"The great Buddhist monk and teacher Thich Nhat Hahn spoke about how being mindful and keeping our attention focused, you will be able to gain insight into the object that you are focusing on, Thich Nhat Hahn shared a beautiful poem to help us focus on our breathing, the first word on each line represents the in-breath and the second word on each line represents the out-breath.

In, Out
Deep, Slow
Calm, Ease
Smile, Release
Present moment, Wonderful moment

If thoughts start to pop into your mind, just patiently start over again, eventually your skill will increase, and eventually you will be able to focus your mind on anything you need to gain insight into. The beauty of this simple practice is that it can be done any where, while we are driving, walking, or standing on line, use it anytime you are frustrated or impatient, it will pull your mind out of those non productive thoughts that are upsetting you and give you a moment of peace.

Please do not take my word for this, there is a line in the Buddhist text on training the mind in seven points that states” The meaning of this text should be known” what this means is that we can only truly know and understand the value something if we actually put it into practice, so as I leave you to your breath work, I will also now stop and breath in and out :)"

How I know that I am old

Today is Saturday - 6:36 a.m. My husband has already left to go bow hunting for deer. That leaves me home with the dog. How I know that I am old is that I am excited about this day and the opportunities it holds.
1. I have a new cost efficient laundry soap that I am trying out on the first batch of laundry / jeans.
2. It is still dark outside so I feel like I have gotten a head start on the day.
3. It is going to be a beautiful September day. Great for hanging laundry and cleaning out the garden.
4. The new tractor is here (as opposed to our other property), so I can use it to clean out the garden.
5. By the end of the day I will have a clean house, fresh whole milk from our friend, and dinner on the table. Happy hour is so sweet when that mix all comes together.
6. I am writing this morning - a goal I assigned to myself for the new year (2009) and I am back on task.
7. It is my friend's 30-19th birthday, so I am going to start a new batch of wine in honor of her special day.
8. The chicken house is already cleaned because I did it last night. We also got the little hens moved out of the back building last night - so again, it feels like we have a big head start on the day.
9. I feel good. The fact that I have no aches and pains is wonderful.
10. I realize that many people would look at the things I am happy about and see a lot of work. I feel grateful that I have a place to do these things, a wonderful day to do them in, a dog to keep me company and a husband that will be home for dinner.

All in all, I am happy that I am old.
Namiste'

Daily Newsletters

The following e-mail newsletters are worth looking at to see if they are of interest to you

http://www.morningcoach.com/

www.about.com (yoga newsletters)

and

http://everydaycheapskate.com/

It's good to have motivation or a different "thought for the day."

Ireland 2010

Today my sisers and I formalized our trip to Ireland. We will leave in 2010 for a 13 day guided tour of the entire ireland of Ireland. Lisa and I have been palnning for this trip since 3-2008 and today we told Linda about the trip. Is it now real and I am very excited.

My husband asked me to tell him the story about how we told Linda two times tonight. I gave him two different versions, highlighting different parts of the experience with each story. Isn't that how life is? We tell the parts of the story that we think is interesting to the person who is listening - but there are so many other parts of the story that are so much more interesting...