Rilke

" ... and for the rest, let life happen to you. Believe me, life is right, in any case."

I wish I knew exactly what it is about those simple words.
As if my soul has been waiting, as if written for me.

boom
There they be.

A gentle nudge that stirs something within
& how they stumbled into my life is pretty fantastic too.

A comment to a status.
A person taking the time to relate, to care.
A new friend.
An understanding.

These words come from Rainer Maria Rilke and can be found in the book 'Letters To A Young Poet'.
Written long before you or I were sitting on this planet, they say what I feel and feel what I say.

The struggles.
The hope.
The heartache and faith.

I know I'm a sucker for inspiration but, this guy has uncovered a hidden something in me FOR SURE
& I just can't stop thinking, I'd have never found them on my own.
They found me
& little did she know when she asked if I'd like to borrow her book, she was placed on my path for reasons beyond my comprehension.
Talk about perfect timing !

WoW

The point I am trying to make on this beautiful, new today ?
If something inside of you whispers,
coaxes,
suggests to do ? 
Do.

For yourself.
For another.
Just Do.

That voice, those people are given to you for a reason.
So if you hear it, if you feel it.

Do.

 " ... and for the rest, let life happen to you. Believe me, life is right, in any case."

I'm glad you followed what you were being told, Rainer Maria Rilke.
You too, Hilary.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Zinged

I get that you have found a nice, new place
& I understand why you wouldn't want anyone or anything intruding into your space.
It's quiet.
It's shaded. 
It's hidden from the hustle and bustle of the world.
It's a perfect spot, if you ask me.

But, um, you didn't ask me because you're a wasp
& that comfortable coziness you've been calling home ?
Yeah.
That's my recycle bin
oh & that hand that soooooooo ! irritates you each and every time it opens the lid ?
uh, yep.
That'd be mine
& ouch.
You got me again.

I wouldn't call them stings, 'cause I've been 'sting-ed' many times and I very much know the feel.
No.
This is more of a zap, a zing.
A definite warning to stay away
OR ELSE.

Or else.

Hmmmm.

That's where we have a teeny tiny, itsy bitsy problem, Mr Wasp.
You see, I'm kinda sorta a recycle freak
& I pretty much need to use your new digs ALL THE TIME
So why you had to pick that specific spot is somewhat unfortunate
& just WHY ??!? you need to get SO ANGRY is completely beyond me.

All I'm doing is opening, tossing whatever needs to be tossed and moving on.
You on the other hand have an attitude, fella.
MUST you be so agitated, so consistently, uncompromisingly irritated ??
geez
This would be a whole lot easier if you'd lighten up.
We could coexist.
We could share.
We could ...
ah
never mind.
I'm thinking you just want to be angry.
It's your thing, your M.O.
& I'm quite certain some inhabitants of Planet Earth can relate. 
But, what a bummer.
It's so much better on the bright side.

So, yeah.
We're going to have to figure this out, Grumpy Pants, because I can't be walking through my days worrying about you and your internal combustion issues.
I'll have you know, I can handle my share of zings but, this is getting ridiculous.

All I ask is that you tone it down a bit, a notch.
Can you pleaseeeee just turn the madness down one, simple notch ?

I, in return, shall remain calm.
I'll be composed.
I will tolerate and try.
But, just so you know, Patience has it's eventual way of zapping too.

zowie.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Thanks, Kids

I have spent a good portion of my life around children.
Caring for those little ones is a career choice I have always loved and never doubted.
It is what I was meant to do, to be.

Babysitting, daycare, preschool.
Watching the nieces and nephews.
Raising my own
& now, those perfect grandsons of mine  ...
Yep.
I adore them all
& I truly treasure each moment spent with every child in my care.

The innocence and wonder of youth will forever fascinate me.
So honest.
So amazing.
Enjoying the world through those fresh, little eyeballs will never, ever get old.

You feel so happy that you want to run around a tree ?
Burst into song just because ?
Dance, dance, dance... ! ... to whatever gleeful melody is running through your brain ?
Children hand us these spontaneous delights daily

& children approach each other all the time, become instant pals because they just happen to be the same height.
With a simple 'wanna play?'
Boom.
Friends.

No inhibitions.
No judging.

Pay attention to the children of the world, Grownups.
I am convinced those little people carry every answer we will ever need.
To go through life so open, so loving, so carefree.
Yep.

It's priceless.
It's beautiful.
It's an Every. Single. Day. Gift.

Thank You, Kids.
You have taught me well.

:)

I Am My Feelings

For The Birds

I call them 'things' but, I guess I could also say events
or situations
or happenings.

so, um
THINGS always seem to happen to me in threes.
As if begging to be acknowledged, they gentle nudge until I become aware of their presence
& then ?
it's a self induced knock upside my head.

DUH !

HOW did I not SEE this before ?!???

gaaaaaa.

! ! ! ! ??? ! ! !

Anyways, threes.
THINGS always happen to me in threes.

Except for birds.

I could offer a mile long list of bird stories.
In fact, looking back at my archive of blogs, I have written about birds quite often.

Hee Hee, my cheery little mystery that happily brightens my days.
The woodpecker that works ever so diligently on my big, bald tree.
The geese that taunt me on my walking trail.
The hawks that continue their summer courtship with their high pierced screech and daring dives.
The ducks.
The robins.
The cardinals and herons.

Seems birds are continually fluttering in and out of my life,
which is way cool !!
but, it wasn't until the teeny, tiny, sparrow type cuties entered my space that I really, REALLY woke up.
Because this time, it happened in fours.

Four times, suddenly and out of nowhere, these wonderful critters appeared with a burst of energy and beauty and danced their glorious dance for, above and around me.
It's true !
They hovered.
They included.
They enveloped me in their awesome waltz
& It. Was. Magical !

Four. Times.

I've never, ever experienced anything quite like it !!
so of course, I thought, SIGN
This just has to be a sign !!
& you better believe, I googled !

Soul searching.
Peace.
New beginnings
are the repeated words that opened these eyeballs to those fabulous creatures.

Yes.
Yes
Yes
&
Yes, little birdies, you now have my undivided attention with your most amazing head's up.

I cannot wait to see what you and Nature deliver next.

! ! ! ! !

Note to Self:
NOTICE.

:)

I Am My Feelings

 




  

Catching Sunsets

Good Morning !

As I sit here one finger typing this blog of mine, I am watching a gorgeous sunrise.
I type. I look up.
I type. I look up.
I don't want to miss the beautiful morning show.

I think I've made it pretty obvious to anyone who reads these daily rambles, I am an enthusiastic fan of our sun's entrance
& I know I'm lucky.
I can stop everything to enjoy this sight.
I have the time to sip my coffee and observe things.
But, I also know that I've missed a lot too.
Busy, busy.
Just too darn busy.

The good news is, I'm noticing now.
YaY.
Every morning is a brand new awesome.

But, what about those sunsets ?

A few years ago, Youngest Daughter told me of a woman she knows who never misses one.
This gal would literally stop what she was doing to watch the setting sun.
Daughter's friend had made a promise to herself
& what started out as a concentrated effort to catch the sunsets, became a very natural part of her day.

I find that amazing.
It's such a spiritual commitment !
& when I first heard about the woman who chases sunsets, I thought 'I'm going to do that toooooo !'
& I did.
For about a week.
Then I got sidetracked, or forgetful or lazy.
Or all of the above.
I fell back into my habit of eh.
I'll do it tomorrow.
Tomorrow, tomorrow I love you tomorrow
& when I did happen to experience a sunset, it was from a glance out the window
& a muttered 'ooooooo that's a good one ...!'

Well, I'm happy to report I'm back.
Again.
I've adjusted my walking time to catch those sunsets
& if I'm not at my beloved park when the sun makes it's exit, I'll stop where I am and what I'm doing to watch.
It's my concentrated effort promise to myself.
I AM going to acknowledge
&
so far so good.
It really, really IS worth the halt, the anticipate, the look.

Sunrises and sunsets are such a gift.
It's a 4th of July burst of color ! ! every single morning, every single evening.
(errrr, give or take a few)

It's beautiful !
It's  happy !
It's wonderful !
&
It's there.
Waiting to be noticed.

:)

I Am My Feelings

Four Hours

'How much time do people spend on their mobile phones in 2017? Quite a bit.

Over 4 hours a day means we spend over 1/6 of our days on our phones!....'

I read those Hacker Noon words just yesterday

& it kinda blew my mind.

FOUR HOURS ???

Naaaaaa.

They must be talking about someone else because they most definitely cannot be referring to ME.

No.

NOT meeeeeeee.

Well.

Ok.

I've been known to do my fair share of texting and googling and emailing and Pinterest-ing and fitbit-ing and...

hmmmm

Maybe they do mean me.

yikes

But as someone who has very recently stepped away from Facebook ?

I gotta tell you, that time does make a difference

& I SWORE up and down that it would not be noticeable !! because hey now,

I never checked it all THAT much.

It was a minute or three out of my 24 hours. TOPS

& nope !! you better believe, I won't miss it at allllll.  

Welp.

It's been ten days 

& yep

It's been an adjustment.

Seems I spent a lot more moments on the 'book' than I thought.

oops

& surprise !! I've been finding all kinds of things to do with that extra time.

Purging and shredding are my  biggest go-to.

I have boxes and papers and THINGS that have been oh so patiently waiting to be sorted for years !!

& somehow, NOW, I have finally found the time.

YaY

But, I've also refocused my focus to nature and stuff.

There is quite a wonderful world outside and every little everything seems to be wanting my attention now that I'm committed to paying even closer attention.

It's AWESOME.

Like the bee that's been buzzing around my back door or the funky looking clouds this morning or that woodpecker 

oh and the deer !!

FIVE, count em !! FIVE bucks were in my back yard last evening.

Nature is bursting it's very best out these days and I'm absolutely LOVING IT !!

So yeah.

Four Hours on my mobile device, daily ???

Well, errrr, ok ...

I'll admit to a solid two.

But, little by little by little I'm determined to trickle that number down.

Because what I've been viewing in the ten days I've been without Facebook makes me wonder what other joys I've been missing all along.

So watch out World because I'll be looking up up and UP from now on and FOR SURE

& I seriously cannot wait to see.

yeah.

WOW

:)  

I Am My Feelings

 

Noisy Love

<sup>There's usually just one.
One steady, strong, beauty of a hawk perched on the tippy-top, fragile branch of my big, bald tree.
He faces south and he waits
& waits.

But lately, he has company
& now, I've been so very interestingly informed by Google what I thought was a HE, in fact, is a SHE.
Seems the female is the larger of the two
& YaY
I've just learned something new on this brand new today.

SHE is usually so quiet though.
Just minding her biz, stealthily doing her thing but I gotta tell you, the minute HE came into her life ?
um, well, things have been a bit noisy out there.

It's been going on for over a week now
& what I initially thought were seagulls hanging around the back yard with their squawking kind of squawk has turned out to be these two hawks.
From dawn to dusk ...</sup>

The cry of the red-tailed hawk is a two to three second hoarse, rasping scream, described as kree-eee-ar,^[27] that begins at a high pitch and slurs downward.^[32] This cry is often described as sounding similar to a steam whistle.^[5] The red-tailed hawk frequently vocalizes while hunting or soaring, but vocalizes loudest in annoyance or anger, in response to a predator or a rival hawk's intrusion into its territory

& get this ... ! ...

 During courtship, the male and female fly in wide circles while uttering shrill cries. The male performs aerial displays, diving steeply, and then climbing again. After repeating this display several times, he sometimes grasps her talons briefly with his own. Courtship flights can last 10 minutes or more. Copulation often follows courtship flight sequences, although copulation frequently occurs in the absence of courtship flights.


Yes.
That's what's been happening and is happening on these premises as we speak
& I feel like a way too snoopy neighbor but, I can't help listening and I can't stop watching because they are so darn noisy and it's SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME !!

& I am way beyond thrilled that these two creatures have found each other and are courting on MY TREE.
Seriously.
How special is that ??
& the thought that little, bitty, baby hawks might be somewhere in my future ??!?
ohmygosh
That must make me a distant relative or something, right ?
Right ??

Nature
Golly how I adore Nature !

So, don't mind me Mr and Mrs Hawk.
I won't mind your noise machine as long as you don't mind my much too curious eyeballs peering out my back window
Oh & that big, bald, beautifully different tree where your courtship began and continues ?
Consider it my wedding present
& 
those darling kids that will someday be sitting high up top of those branches too ?

They can call me Auntie.

weeeeee.

:)

I Am My Feelings