Awaiting its Arrival

It's no secret that autumn is my very favorite season.   I'm not quite about it.  

There is something intangible about this time of year that words cannot express for me. 

It quiets my soul.  It creates a peace inside my every bone that carries me through the day. 

 I can breathe deeper than at other times in the year.  

I don't know why.  

I am more aware of my feelings and thoughts and emotions and those of my loved ones as well.  

It draws me into a space that comforts me and soothes every worry.   

It delights my senses.  Apples. Cinnamon.  Pumpkin.  

I see more during the months to come.  I feel more.   

I don't know why.  

Fall is a time of renewal and contemplation; a time to brush away the old, 
tuck away the heat of the summer and breathe in the crisp vanilla air.  

I am ready for the change of colors.  

I am ready for wet streets in the evening as the mist comes across the peak.  

I am ready for the change of the season guard.  

I am awaiting its arrival at this very moment.

Awaiting its arrival...

  

my instagram of a bush awaiting autumn on my walk this morning

This Moment Is Enough

spirit awakens early to rustling of leaves

joyous time of thought fills my soul

wanting more, having more, needing nothing less than now

this moment is enough

the autumnal breeze though cool, warms my heart this day

open to the newness of change

this moment is enough

photo credit - google images

Action Is The Best Weed Killer

I went for another walk this morning and boy was it gorgeous out.  The air couldn’t have felt better.  The sprinklers were going and the birds were bathing in the arches of water in the yards.  A neighbor was getting a new sidewalk poured and others were walking their little ones to school.  I sat for a few moments on the bench at the park around the corner from us and just took in all the blue sky that I could.   I felt so at peace.

As I headed home the other direction, my thoughts began to turn toward the day and what needed to get done when a dandelion caught my attention in the corner of our yard. 

Uuughhh.   

The yard has been looking so good lately and it irritated me that it was rearing its lovely yellow head in my lovely green yard.

It made me think for a minute.

That little weed changed my mood for a moment. 

It irritated me. 

It made me realize I have work to do in the yard.  It was something that required my action and attention. If I just ignored it and let it be, it would eventually become fluffy and white and scatter all over the lawn and create an even bigger mess for me later on.  I needed to take care of it and not put it off. 

We all have “weeds” in our lives that need our attention.  Maybe the junk drawer is your weed and creates a tension in you when you can’t find the scissors over and over.  Or perhaps getting the oil changed in the car has been on your list of things to do for two weeks, but you never find time.  We all know where that story leads if it is ignored for too long.  Instead of a $39 oil change it becomes bad rods and bearings and engine wear and a bill of $659 plus labor and two days without your car.  All that from one weed.

As I came back into the house, I thought about that little weed and how it’s actually an opportunity for action.  Weeds require me to do something. 

I have several weeds growing in the yard of life as I type this and know that if I just clean out the front closet or straighten up the garage or balance my checkbook and do the necessary action on my part, the weed will disappear.  Action is the best weed killer there is and think I might need to get on my hands and knees and pull some weeds today.

Breathing Deeply

I love to walk in the morning right after I drop the boys at school.  It’s a beautiful time of day and find it sets me on the right track for all that lies ahead of me throughout the days’ events. 

It’s my breathe deep time.   

I’ve found that my day truly is calmer and runs more smoothly if I do this self-care practice.  It only takes about forty minutes, but it’s my forty minutes to think and ponder and pray and breathe and smile and fill my lungs with the freshest of mountain air there is.  I need this time to center myself and remember what my priorities are and make sure my actions mirror them. 

Everyone needs this kind of time to be alone and appreciate all that is ours.

The sunlight is perfect at this time and sparkles on the dew that covers everything. The sidewalks are wet from the sprinklers in the yards and the flowers are opening back up from a night’s sleep. I wish I could bottle up this time and open it whenever I need.

Once I’m home, I usually sit on the back deck and listen to the leaves and the birds and breathe in all that is mine for the day.

I hope this week you will find time to fuel your soul and center yourself before you’re off and running for the day.  Take that time to breathe deeply and remind yourself of all the beauty that is in your life right now and appreciate all the good that surrounds you.  

Here’s to breathing deeply and refreshing your soul.

The Art of Noticing

I’ve been pondering lately. I ponder in the car or in the tub or sitting on the deck.  I’ve realized you can ponder just about anywhere.  Pondering can be exhilarating or it can be a down right dirty task.  I’d have to say my pondering falls somewhere in between.

I’ve been pondering my skill set recently.  What am I good at? Am I an expert at any one thing?  Do I have skills others don’t? If so, what are they? What do you call my skills?  These are the thoughts I’ve been pondering of late. Pondering because I believe we all have a purpose and unique skills and it is our task to seek that purpose and go forth into the world and make a positive impact. 

I have many skills. I can be a leader and a follower.  I love to brainstorm and problem solve.  I thoroughly enjoy researching and finding answers.  I am a creative soul and love to dive into a project, but do better at duplicating a creative vision than developing one of my own.  Writing has become an outlet for me and delight in the satisfaction it brings my soul.  I can organize any given area, drawer or closet in the blink of an eye (but promise me you won’t look in my kitchen junk drawers, because you’d call me a liar.)  I am a great time manager and multi-tasker and can almost be in three places at once.  Really. I can.

These are life skills and I probably have many others I haven’t listed, but the one that continues to play over and over in my mind is simply….I notice things.  I am a Noticer.  Is that a real word?

Notice:  The act of noting or observing; perception or attention. Respectful attention or consideration.  To perceive with the mind, to detect.  To treat with courteous attention.

This is one of my strongest skills I’ve come to realize.  Now, granted, we all notice things, but I think there are different levels of observation.

There are the “ten feet in front of my face” noticers who notice the grandma in the grocery store shopping for spaghetti and has on a bright yellow dress and red shoes.

Then there are the “hmm…that was interesting” noticers who notice the grandma in her yellow dress and that she’s using a old calculator and nods hello to her as they pass but don’t think too much about it.

And then there are the “Noticers like me” who notice the grandma’s ankles are spilling out of her red shoes that are probably 25 years old and two sizes too small and her yellow dress doesn’t fit any longer and observe that she is opening and closing her wallet and continually counting her one dollar bills as she adds the amount of each item she’s just placed into her cart and tells her husband they won’t be able to have sauce with the spaghetti this week. 

This is the art of noticing. 

This is a skill, for lack of a better term, that I possess.  Is this a skill?  I don’t really know, but it is part of my every day life and being a Noticer gives me opportunities to act or not act.  The definition itself uses the word “treat” as a verb; to treat with courteous attention.  Most of the time, being a Noticer requires action, at least for me it does.

I could buy an extra bottle of spaghetti sauce and quietly ask the clerk to give it to them as they check out as an “item they must have forgotten” or I could just give them $2 from my wallet and tell her she “dropped them”.   I have an opportunity to act and can if I choose to do so. 

Maybe that’s why I enjoy writing so much.  There are stories to be told when you are a Noticer.  The little details that others don’t see become the thread that holds the fabric together and in an instant an entire yellow dress can be seen or not seen.

So, today, I have pondered and now embrace one of my life skills as an important one that others might find trivial.  To me, however, being a Noticer has given me great insight and at times such profound peace and am happy that I can add “The Art of Noticing” to my ever changing list of skills.