Happy Independence Day

Words Matter

I was listening to the Lee Greenwood's Rendition of God Bless America and thinking about today,  I  do not wish to live anywhere else in the world and yet there are days that are truly discouraging with our current President. I find myself having a mix of strong emotions every time I get a news link to a new tweet or simply another disparaging head line. I also know that reacting with such strong emotions continues to perpetuate where we are. Words and our emotional reactions matter.

Trouble talk v. troubling talk

Frog Clearing

Debra Tannen states that
"Troubles talk is a conversation where women share their moments of frustration and irritation but without expecting a solution. Men, on the other hand, find it very hard to listen to such talk without wanting to help, and provide problem-solving".

Part 2- Heron's message

Digesting Life

Right after I published the blog post, I glanced outside of the window again and saw a great blue heron with an 8 inch fish in its mouth. The herons visit the pond frequently but I have not seen one swallow a fish whole.

Integration at last

In the midst of change

My last blog talked about slowing down as we move into the next stop on our life journeys. I have certainly slowed down and was amazed to see that my last post was in April. Since then, I have taken the time to continue  reconfiguring my life in all ways. I am changing  my work, my clothing style, my painting style, my relationships, my health, and my way of communicating . I am in the midst of creating a clean slate. It is overwhelming, exciting, refreshing, stimulating, scary and wonderful.

Slowwwwww Downnnnnnnnnnn

squirt the squirrel

Today, I am sitting outside on this glorious windy, sunny day in Florida. I am watching the pond behind my home as  the wind picks up and  blows the tiny, crisp leaves on my patio, as  the water moves in bumps and starts, the birds fly in and out and the sea creatures poke their heads out.

Jumping into the unknown

Yesterday, I was sitting and doing my taxes at the computer. All of the doors and windows were open and I heard a distinctive noise of  something moving quickly over the grass. I looked up and it was a foot long turtle moving towards the water. It reached the cement embankment ,  hurled itself over the edge
and fell with a splash into the water. By the time, I reached the pond, it was several feet from the shoreline.

Noticings and Real Change, Beginning Now

I took this photo of the back of a tombstone in a very old English  cemetery. I posted it on facebook and received over a dozen comments on what people think that they saw.  I saw the image of a dog sitting down, someone else saw a camel, a bear, and a priest etc. We often  rely on others to tell us what we see in our world.  We listen to the "truth" about politics, economics, cancers, climate changes.