Happy Birthday, Simon

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”  -Isaiah 41:10

Happy Birthday, Simon!

We had a jam-packed weekend, and we still get to celebrate you!!

Thanks for consistently showing up for our family! We get to experience this world because of all your hard work and dedication! Your efforts show through the smiles on our faces even while the world is lit up by chaos. We choose you!

Eye Level

“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” -Henry David Thoreau

I miss being a kid and just hanging around outside looking at bugs. We even collected them and put them all in a hole just to watch what would happen. I was more of an observer in that situation. I’m a bit too squeamish for all that. Playing, learning, and figuring out what we would try next.

Now as adults, it’s so easy for us to get caught up in everything else but the things that slow us down and ask us to quietly observe. Taking quiet moments is a small commitment to yourself. Giving yourself little gifts of observation can be just the moment you need in the middle of it all.

There’s no right way to accept nature’s invitation. I think the most important thing is that you find little moments to appreciate.

It’s My Birthday

I’m bringing a lot with me into my 40s! Mostly maturity, boring nights, and a lot of candlelit baths. I’m literally just happy to be alive. I didn’t really plan to be here at 40, but the best thing about making plans is finding better ones! I mean, what’s the best that can happen at this point?!

Here’s some of my favorite parts of today:

I shared a huge piece of chocolate cake with Simon! It was so big that I had to take some home.

Saw a flick “One Battle After Another” – I liked it.

And checked out the cutest little library with my Sala Rosie. We read an Alice in Wonderland pop-up book and tried to build a car out of Legos. Success!

Thanks for being part of my journey. 😀

Why Do You Write?

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” — Oscar Wilde 

This is why I write. I write to learn more about myself. I write to learn how I can better understand those around me. The more I accept the details about myself, the easier it is to accept those around me. The more I am a friend to myself, the more I can be a friend to others.

Accepting yourself in fine detail is a sure way to find peace.

Why do you write?

Natural Hair

“I love my hair because it’s a reflection of me, and me is beautiful” – Zendaya 

It took some time to grow my perm out and learn to love my natural hair but here I am 12 years later with my curl wild and free.

The truth is there have been a few times I sat in my hair dressers chair and confessed that I wanted my hair chemically straightened again. She was very encouraging and said she’ll be there there to help me with my hair when I need it.

Any other person woulda took the money and made a perfectly acceptable part of me slide back into the status quo category.

She didn’t. And I think that’s the perfect reason why women need women. They welcome the parts of us that society can make us feel are hard to love.

Peace is Yours

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without” — Buddha 

There was a time when I thought the good life filled with peace was for other people. People who were better at life than me. I’ve come to realize quite a few things about peace since then.

First comparison isn’t the whole picture. If someone presents peace but steals yours, then no they haven’t found peace.

Peacefulness should draw peacefulness. If you can sit in peace you’re welcomed there.

Second peace is yours to claim. It’s a gift of humanity. You get choose how much peace you welcome in your life. Don’t want peace, don’t welcome it. Want it, then learn to sit with it.

And to conclude, you are and always have been worthy of peace. But in this world, it means you must train yourself to find peace. Once you find peace, you get to show those around you how they can best respect your peace. Both can be challenging.

Peace is always worth the effort.

What’s your favorite peaceful place?

The Inexpressible

“The mediator of the inexpressible is the work of art.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The inexpressible. What is it that can’t be expressed? What is it that stays put so that you may live on as if it never happened? That’s what I want to know. What buried itself deep into those folds that you call brain and left you silent without a word to describe it? Sometimes they leave a smell or a shape. It’s worth digging into.

Good Morning

“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” ―Buddha

I love to start out the day reminded that today is a new day. Thank goodness I get a new day to try again, to be softer or louder, or maybe nothing more or less at all.

Life tends to keep us feeling overbooked. It makes us feel like we’re behind on everything. What’s most important, though, is that you are up to date with yourself.

  • Don’t get behind on what your body is asking for.
  • Don’t ignore what your soul is begging you for!
  • And definitely keep that mind in check.

Most of us were taught the Golden Rule: treat others as you would treat yourself, but a lot of us really need to start treating ourselves as we would treat others. We put all these other things above our own needs.

Are you feeling born again this morning?