The last couple of weeks have been extrodinary. I have been relaxed, healthy, and no drama. It felt almost unreal. I made some plans and they all worked out. I fixed some irritations that have been pissing me off, like getting the wi-fi back on my camera so it could talk to my phone. This had not been working for a while and I just found other ways to download and move my pictures but it didn’t fix it. I just bitched about it every time I went to use it and moved on.

I started to realize how often I bitch about something, not fix it, and leave it there so I can bitch about it later. It’s not that important, so I throw it into the “bitch and fix later” pile. In the past that pile can start getting pretty big until it is overwhelming and it hits the “miserable and procrastination” pile. If I still continue to move towards the “fuck I hate my life” the pile grows and grows until all I am doing is bitching about every little thing.

I have learned that if I fix the little things as I go along, it helps to increase my feelings of gratitude. I start to be thankful for my patience to sit and read the instructions on how to reset my wi-fi on my camera. That little bit of time will make my life easier. When I get that great picture I can download it to my iphone and edit it right away. I can put it on my tv to see what it will look like enlarged. My heart swells with excitement. Wow I love my photography. I am now excited for spring and to get outside and take those long walks to discover more beautiful things in my world.

Don’t put off the little things you bitch about. Fix them. Resolve them. And get back to grateful. My sense of peace multiplied this week as I got rid of the little irritations. Now just for all the dog poop that melting snow has revealed. Maybe next week. LOL

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

It was a pretty great week. High School course is going great. All my kids and grandkids doing well. I am pretty well over my cold. Work has been fun. Social life is fun.

I love been happy and owning a low maintenance life. No drama. Just meditation and peace.

No triggers. No blog worthy flow. Maybe next week. 😂

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with easy.

Being an empathic makes it very tough on a person that has dealt with depression in their own lives. I tend to pick up when people have sadness in their eyes. They don’t even have to have a frown. It’s like I can sense that they’re unhappy.

The old me would’ve tried to get in there to root out the issue and continue to try to fix anything that was wrong. I would probably put my nose in where it doesn’t belong. Or try to help in a situation that I am completely unfamiliar with.

Today I am more apt to ask a friend, “How’s life treating you today?” It’s a question I ask a lot in greetings and is not unusual. What it does do is open a door, but only if a friend wants it too. If the answer is a solemn okay, I can return with, “If you need me you know where I am.”

My hardest is young children when they are sad. Hugs and cuddles can usually eliminate the sadness. They often don’t have the words to explain how they are feeling but almost all will respond yes when asked, “Do you want to be happy?” That’s when I can suggest something fun to do that they like. Most often, like adults, they just need something to distract them from dwelling on their sadness and to know someone cares.

My best advice? Be there if a friend or family needs you. Find a way to always assure them you are there for them if they need to talk it out. Be nonjudgmental and unconditional as possible. Trust and respect are foremost. You can’t fix anyone. You can be a good friend.

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

There are a few good friends and family members who know how much of a dreamer I can be. I love to believe that nothing is impossible if you really want it bad enough.

I do tend to see the sunny side of everything. My cup is always half full. I always pick kindness first. And I’m pretty damn sure that fairies and unicorns do exist.

To be perfectly honest, I have achieved most of my goals. And I’ve been able to watch my children achieve their dreams. I’ve watched my grandchildren start to find their way in believing in themselves.

A very good friend saw Peggy and sent me a picture, saying, “Hey Carol you always say that anything is possible!” I loved it so much that she ended up finding it online and gifting it to me. Since that day Peggy has seen a lot of stuff happen. Some good and some bad, but all of it working towards happiness.

Today as you go forwards, remember that all dreams can come true. Happiness is attainable. Just keep working towards it. When it feels like you’re being dragged back over and over again, remember that it is only part of the journey. The dream is at the end of the journey. The path to find our joy is often filled with rocks and struggles. But the ending is so worth it!! Pigs do fly if you really believe they can. ❤️

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

I love the sun and I love to laugh. When I cried I cried hard until my eyes were swollen shut. So here I am with skin hanging over my eyes and wrinkles from top to toe. But I love them because it means I survived. I haven’t had a super hard cry in years. But I have laughed and smiled a hundred times a day. I found this poem by Donna Ashworth and was driven to share it. Have a great day and smile lots!!!!

I have laughed.
Oh how I have laughed.
I have laughed so hard with so many wonderful people that I now wear the marks.
Mother Nature has engraved me as one, ‘who laughed whenever she could’.
I wear the tattoo of the joyful, and that makes me swell with pride.
How can I hate upon these lines when I remember the nights, the music, the dancing, the fun, the tears of laughter and the blindingly joyful light.
Give me a mark for every night I felt alive and I will show them to the world with pride.
I have laughed.
Oh how I have laughed.
I hope you have laughed too my friend.
And if you have not, start now.
It’s never too late.

Donna Ashworth

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

Like many other girls my age in the 60s I had the chore of Saturday morning cleaning. This was when every tiny little ornament, every little dust ball under a bed, and every surface had to be cleaned. We had oil heaters in the living room and kitchen and they drew in the dust balls. My Mom would get so mad because I would gag and hack from the dust. I know she thought it was just dramatics to get out of cleaning.

As I have said before, my mother was not a very sentimental person. At least she didn’t express emotions or any attachment to things. She was not that kind of person. She didn’t seem to have any outward excitement about certain objects or items. Although in her defense, I did discover that she did keep many things like vaccination records, report cards, and school pictures, and one broken ornament I had bought her as a child.

But then there was the White Elephant. I was always told to be careful around the White Elephant. I was told by my mom how much she loved the White Elephant. She had had it since her childhood, and she wanted to keep it forever.

My Swedish grandparents had lived in the north end of Winnipeg. A community much like today that has a very diverse immigration population. My grandfather worked as a carpenter building elevators all over Manitoba Saskatchewan, and Alberta. They owned a boarding house which was run by my grandmother.

My mom spoke so kindly about an elderly woman who lived next-door to them in the north end. She didn’t have much from what my mom said, but she chose to give mom one of her most treasured possessions, the White Elephant. The woman had been given the White Elephant by her mother when she was just a child. It has no other information, so I have no idea how old it is, where it was originally made, etc. All I knew was that my mother loved it.

As kids we never played in the living room. We didn’t take a chance that it would be us that broke the White Elephant. And a piece of the White Elephant did break and I still have the broken piece inside the White Elephant. I can’t remember how it got broken or when it got broken, all I know is that I didn’t break it.

I often ponder on what effect this elderly woman had on my mother? I know my mom had a very painful childhood at times. I sometimes think that maybe this woman made her feel special. And I have to admit that I too treasured the White Elephant. My children were always made aware to take care not to break the White Elephant.

If the White Elephant taught me anything, it was to treasure the people and moments in my life. The White Elephant may last forever as it gets passed along, but it is a thing. It is not a part of me. It triggers memories and not bad ones. That is all.

Keep and treasure your loved ones. For that is your true legacy.

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

I have always been driven to be able to replicate the beauty that my eyes could see, and the feeling that my heart could feel. If only one person has the same feelings looking at my photos then I have succeeded in sharing a gift.

Be it music, art, a novel, a poem, it must move all your senses. It must envelop you in it’s magic. All civilizations throughout history have performed ceremonies to elicit bravery, love, honour, and gratitude. We dance. We sing. We play instruments. We tell stories.

So my only wish for you today is to find those arts that make you smile and feel warm to the tips of your toes, or brings on the tears that have your heart tearing in a million pieces. Listen to stories and films that make you laugh until you cry and your stomach is sore. Move your heart and soul with beauty all around you. It’s there to comfort and feed you. To keep you strong in those moments when reality takes you back to the day to day struggles. Have that escape. You so deserve it.

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

Throughout history, man has been enthralled with the moon. Storytellers speak of spirits, monsters, true love, and tragedies.

Ancient cultures believed that the moon guided every part of their lives. The Aztecs built their cities based on moon phases. The pyramids in Egypt are related to moon phases. Stonehedge in England is based on the moon and sun.

I really didn’t notice how the full moon affected me personally until I started to realize that ever time I had full blown argument with my husband, I would jump in the car and go for a drive to calm down and de-escalate the tension. (I always drove safely and lived way out in rural East Manitoba.)

On those drives at night, I discovered there was always a full moon. My first husband had the ability to make me feel less. But he had a very bad temper, and as a peacekeeper it was my job to keep him calm. I started to realize that during the full moon, I was much more assertive on my opinion. I would voice my concerns. When I was told I wasn’t good at something or that I wasn’t doing something right, I would defend myself and my actions.

This would automatically end up in a screaming match with lots of tears lots of crying and not exactly being reasonable on either side. After my divorce, I really did start to try to be able to control those strong emotions on that full moon night.

Hell, even our menstrual flows are based on the 28 day cycle of the moon. So I may not understand the science or biology but I am as sure as teens get pimples, that the moon affects us somehow.

I will go along my day, remembering to stop, look, and listen to ensure that I am being reasonable. Because I find myself on more of an emotional edge it is up to me to ensure that I don’t go over it.

Many times my coworkers and family have heard the comment, “Please forgive me for I’m a little touchy and in the full moon insanity phase. I will attempt to be as kind as possible. I will hope that you will be as forgiving as possible. Love you.”

I’m off to mingle with humanity. Wish me luck. Happy full moon day!!

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

Today I have a choice. I can live with stress, pain, and anxiety or I can live with calm, happiness, and positivity. I am in complete control of this moment in this day. No one can control how I feel except me!

If things are going wrong for the people in my life, I can be sympathetic, but I don’t have to take on their sadness or stress level. In fact, if I remain calm and empathetic, I may actually be able to reduce their levels of stress.

So take this Monday, only one of the Mondays in this month, and in this year, smile and be grateful to be here at this time, and in this place.

You are making choices every moment to be happy or miserable. Make the choice that is the best for your heart and mind.

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.

Faith is the complete trust and confidence in something or someone. Some people have faith in an entity they have never ever seen.

Most people have a need to have someone or some thing that is much stronger than they are, and who can protect them and care for them. This post isn’t about religion. It’s only about faith.

A friend of mine sat at the side of her daughter after a horrific car accident. She kept saying over and over again, “Please be OK. Please be OK. Please be OK. I need you with me. Please be OK.”

She put her trust and faith in her daughter to make it through this. Some would say it sounded like a prayer and it very much did. But the prayer was to her daughter to fight to live. Her daughter survived.

A friend’s grandchild had been diagnosed with a severe heart defect. It was going to take surgery and medical expertise to have this child survive. The grandmother had a mass at her church in the name of her grandchild. A prayer chain was given the task of praying for this child. The parents went on Facebook, asking everyone for prayers for their child. They had faith that their God would intervene and guide the doctors to save their child’s life. The child survived.

Humans need to have faith in someone or something. Many of us are fortunate to have a life partner or friend that we have complete confidence and trust in. No conditions. No fears. They will always help us if they can.

I do work hard to have faith in myself. The faith that I can work it out, find a solution, and continue with my happy life. But like many other people when things get so tough, and I have no control over the situation, I often ask for God’s help.

Faith can affect governments, religions, wars, and individuals. I trust and have confidence in humanity. That one day faith will come to all of us, faith in each other and ourselves. Fear is the enemy. Faith is all about love. Have faith in yourself and the good in our world.

May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I be happy. May I live with ease.