Hi Folks:
Last day of the month, and that means it’s time for me to sort through the images I’ve made this past month and pick my favourite. I’ve actually started working on a book of photographs (details will surface somewhere down the road when I get closer to my goal), and part of that means going through, sorting out and editing about a thousand images in Lightroom so that’s been taking up a lot of my time. Continue Reading →
Hi Folks:
Well, since my absence from this area of our blog last Friday, in a way one could say this is last week’s ‘Being Green‘ post.
The phrase ‘A Hand Up, not a Handout‘ is a common one among those involved with programs around the world that help people improve their life situations, and in its own way it is a common thread running through all of them. There are many, MANY good programs around the world that are working in myriad ways, and while it’s impossible to profile all of them, I thought I’d mention a couple with the intent that these provide impetus for you to start your own search to find one that resonates with you. Many of these groups deal with food in one way or another, and while food may the most basic ‘green’ subject of all, the procurement of food is such a basic necessity that it can overlay other, larger concerns, like environmental destruction, deforestation, wildlife loss, etc. My own knowledge of this first came through a couple of friends who volunteered their time with a group called Plenty Canada. My friends and I have parted ways over the years, but at that time Plenty Canada was involved in a number of different projects around the world – from teaching farmers in Dominica to grow soybeans for consumption and sale rather than sugar for export – to installing wells and catchment basins for clean drinking water and planting fruit trees in Africa. I’m sure their work continues apace. Continue Reading →
Hello Dear Ones!
Mike and I just celebrated our 93rd Monthaversary (we were married in October of 2002) and we treated ourselves to a nice dinner out. Over the meal we found ourselves reliving the amazement of our wedding and honeymoon (a collection of stories in and of themselves!) and laughed about the challenges that had befallen us over this same period of time.
As events of our lives arose, and with each new adventure, we couldn’t imagine how we were going to get through this situation or that challenge, this drama or that letting go of something deemed essential in the moment. In other words, there were many times when we moved from one home or city to another with at least one of us kicking and screaming and being dragged by the hair from point A to point B.
We can laugh about it now! And we did exactly that tonight. We are both so grateful that our sense of humour stayed heartily intact over the years! We have grown spiritually as well – both individually and as a couple. As a result, this latest crisis of spirit that I have recently undergone, though devastating on its own, has been less traumatic than it might have been years back. What I can say is that rather than kicking and screaming like a toddler taking a temper tantrum the way I might have, I found myself going into a place of relative quiet. There was a sense of angst without the demonstrative component to accompany it. It was a peaceful crumbling into self – rather scary, actually. Continue Reading →
Hello Dear Ones!
If you follow our posts regularly, our entries this week: Mike’s -Â Being Green – Literally & Marcia’s -Â Marcia’s Meanderings – A Crisis of Spirit, you will already know that both of us have had our share of interesting challenges in the past seven days.
Then the following quote came through an e-mail from Eckhart Tolle:
One could say that going through loss is the great awakener. It is a potential opening if you don’t run away from it. What is usually condemned as ‘bad’ by the mind and the mind-made self is actually grace coming into your life.
We thought to use this as the foundation for this week’s He Says, She Says… post – “Resistance: Grace under Fire“.
Normally our Sunday posts present a ‘He Says’ and a ‘She Says’ view; sometimes contradictory, sometimes complementary, always unique. However, Mike is dealing with a rather large headache at the moment, so this week’s post is going to be a ‘She Says’ only.
Hugs,
M&M
Follow these links to read what She Says: Marcia’s View
Hi Folks:
It’s Friday once again, and normally that would mean today’s ‘Being Green‘ post. However, a few days ago a somewhat persistent bacteria decided to move in, and I’ve invested my time since then mostly in bed with all of the usual effects – fevers and sweats and general malaise. One might say I look a little ‘green around the gills’ as the saying goes. So, no post from me this week, but I do encourage you to continue living a ‘green’ lifestyle in all ways but this one!
Mike.
Hello Dear Ones!
Reflecting back to the AHA moments in my life – and there have been so very many of them! – I smile at the ‘Wow and Wonderful’ uplifting qualities of these incredible experiences. Each has revealed some aspect within or about me and opened me up to the potential for expansion toward a deeper spiritual growth. As each AHA arrived, so too came the joyous recognition that its arrival meant change, adventure, and amazing options …
… until this week …
Me – Marcia, the eternal optimist, the definitive Pollyanna – has gone through a radical, life-altering shift that has blasted a hole in my psyche and shaken my spirituality right down to its roots. A core belief was revealed through a simple statement that I made in general conversation. The listener asked me if I realized what I had just said, and repeated my words back to me. Hearing them from someone else and recognizing the validity of those words as having originated from within me, had me reeling in shock.
I have spent this entire week attempting to grapple with the impact of this far-reaching, gut-wrenching revelation. Even today – five days since that conversation – I am dealing with issues of anger, resentment, confusion, fear, and doubt – all directed at my own self plus at my Self, and yes, even at the Divine! Maybe especially at the Divine!
As is typical for me, there is also a positive bent to this situation. I am spending quality time focusing on the fabulous aspects of my current life, appreciating what is in my reality and all that makes my life precious. Though the words ‘attempting to focus’ might be more appropriate at times, I find myself reaching out for hope while the spiritual tenet of trust remains … elusive.
So while I have an agonizing ache within my soul, while there is a sense of loss and longing and emptiness sitting heavily on my chest, while I seek out the answers that I know are not out ‘there’ somewhere but are buried deep within me to aid me through this leg of my spiritual journey, I am going through the motions of living life with appreciation and joy. One moment I am feeling so overwhelmingly victimized by the recognition and impact of this ‘old’ belief. The next moment I am laughing as I see an adult running through the sprinkler, arms spread and face uplifted to catch the water droplets on his tongue!
For those of you who hold to the Law of Attraction, my dichotomy of rock-bottom low vibrational frequency of negative expression contrasted with the sporadic and less frequent yet very positive high vibrational frequency must have the Divine in a tailspin! Good! Maybe it’ll shake out a solution more quickly!!!!!
I’ll get through this. I’m strong. I’m a powerful, spiritual, multi-dimensional being who has the wisdom of All That Is within me. I merely need to open myself up to recognizing my answer – the solution – before I trip over it and fall flat on my face. Blessings be to my sense of humour … especially in spite of myself …
That’s it for today, Dear Ones!
In Light and yes … even Laughter,
Marcia
(Note:Â It was a tough decision not to express to you what this core belief is. The effect it has had on me is of more significance to me and potentially to you, Dear Reader. After all, my core beliefs will be different from your own. And yet it is my wish that something in my physical, emotional and spiritual response to its revelation may be of assistance to you should you ever experience such a crisis of spirit in your own life.)
Hello, Dear Reader:
We were trying to decide on a topic for this week’s ‘He Says, She Says…‘ post and were both surprised to realize that we’ve already written 31 posts in this category (plus one announcing the birth of our newest grandson). Therefore, rather than adding to the list this week we thought we’d provide an index to the topics we’ve already covered (in alphabetical order, no less). Enjoy!
Hi Folks:
Friday once again, so TGIF to ya! For this week’s ‘Being Green‘ post I wanted to reference a couple of articles I came across this week. Before I get to that, however, something more important… our son just finished school – again! His time at Royal Roads University is all over for him as of yesterday, as he’ll be graduating with a BA in Professional Communication. We’re very proud, as you may imagine, and since it was his idea to get this blog started, we owe him a debt of gratitude as well.
Okay, on with the show. I’ve written before about the (to me) often bewildering array of different (sometimes convergent and often divergent) ‘green’ classification systems, covering everything from green building to green travel – but it wasn’t until I came across the following article from the World Resources Institute that I had a clearer idea of exactly how muddy the waters are. The article, titled, “New Website and Survey Look Behind-the-Scenes at Ecolabels’ Environmental Claims” mentions 340 different ‘ecolabels’ around the world, spread over 42 industry sectors. The results for 328 of these ecolabels from 207 countries and 40 industry sectors may be found at ‘Ecolabel Index’. You may also read the full document here (.pdf): Global Ecolabel Monitor 2010. Continue Reading →
Greetings Dear Ones!
Lots of poetry to share with you today and I’ve decided to include two apophysis pics for you as well!
Hello Dear Ones!
The past few days have been a mixed blend of fabulous moments and reminders to myself that every moment can be fabulous if I choose it to be so.
Even the above statement is less a story I would want to tell others than one that would inspire either of us – you or myself! So rather than a new post on a less than relevant topic, I thought to include here a previous post that truly uplifted me when I wrote it, and then did the same today as I reread it … because I needed it! Here it is … my original take on our He Says/She Says topic The Stories I Tell Myself (copied here for your convenience): Continue Reading →
