Spiritual fine tuning.....

Spirit has given me 2 weeks to do some fine tuning. I have been home sick for 2 weeks and this time has been one of spiritual and physical health reflection. I've run a gammut of emotions with this illness from being frustrated with it to being grateful for it. That's my spiritual side clashing with my human side. That is a lesson in and of itself. Learning to balance those two aspects of our personalities. It's easier somedays more so than others. The biggest lesson is that when I am given these times to reflect I really need to follow through with that which I resolve to change or alter. So many times once we feel improved we easily let go of or forget all the reflecting we did and carry on just the same as always. The only thing with that is that we may find ourselves ill again in the future and reflecting again on all the same things. Why do the work twice? I need to get it right.....or at least partly right :) the first time. After that I can work on new things when given the chance and maybe Spirit won't 'put me down' by getting sick and forcing myself to have that time alone. So I continue to learn and am grateful and thankful for that. Lessons learned from inside of an illness.

Autumn Fruit Jam.....

I wanted to make a jam but summer was busy and it is now late in the canning season. I then found this recipe that took fall fruits and mixed them to make a delicous sounding toast or english muffin treat! It is a combination of plums, apples and pears with a hint of cinnamon and ginger. So this was my morning project and I think it turned out pretty good. I will need some tasters from the family I guess to be sure!

Autumn Fruit Jam

living large..........

What is it that we really see around us or inside of us? Is what we see the truth or do we simply make it look like our truth and then accept it as that? We are really good at pretending to believe something when in fact we know that it is not the 'real deal', but in an effort to protect ourselves we go for it. It's our easiest choice. This behaviour is how we course through our days and it allows us to stay safe in the falsity of the situation or the belief. It's easier to pretend our way through life than get real with our life.
 I have done this in the past and probably still participate in it now until I quickly realize what I am doing. When you have the awareness of the 'reality' of the situation, your conscience then much more easily and quickly picks up on it and then you can have that inner dialogue with yourself as to whether you choose what's right or what's wrong. We have become so brilliant at letting ourselves believe something when in fact its either not true or is only a mere representation on what is true. We play along. But it serves us in so many ways. Is it easier to believe a falsity than the truth? It must be because we do it all the time. So why is 'real' life so hard to accept? What makes it difficult? Maybe in part because we let others determine what is 'right' or 'wrong' in our lives or societal lives? We have moved our beliefs towards letting others be in charge and then we give ourself permission to be a victim to that. Really? A victim? Maybe a victim of ourselves because can you really blame it on someone else ?We like to feel safe and all of this lets us stay safe. To venture out of our safe world and get real is often a deal breaker for many. It's like 'rocking' our own boat. Who wants that. Well, it's most often the only time that things will make a difference in our lives. Stepping outside of our safety zone is scary and since we have lived inside of this for so, so long its very foreign to us. So we stay safe and our growth is squelched. We accept unconsciously that we have to live this way, but yet at some point we turn inward and wonder why our lives are unfulfilled. Sometimes we just simply settle for less than we need to and believe that this is OK and that this is what our life is destined to be. How sad this is. Of course we don't need to live 'large' lives in terms of possession, but we need to live large in terms of authenticity. I think that until we look around us and ask ourselves if we are really in charge of the life we are living then we aren't really sharing who the 'true' us is. Once you decide to be 'real' and let the rest of the 'unreal' fall away you will feel a sense of relief come over you. The pressure of always being 'on' is lifted and we can live that authentic life we deserve. Listen closely to your inner voice to see if all is well with you. Everyone arrives at a different time. And that's simply OK......I just want to meet you there......

Namaste............

quote......

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

~The Buddha~

a new week.....

I have been on holidays for 3 weeks and it has been wonderful. We spent 2 weeks on an amazing vacation in Italy and we truly created the time of our lives. It was 'a little bit of heaven'. We returned with yet another week off which was well needed for myself in terms of the jet lag and time changes. It seemed that I needed at least that much time to get back on track.

Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving dinner with my children and as always it was a treasured time. My family is not many in numbers but the love we share is on a large scale. For me it is always a special time when we are together so it was a nice way to end the holidays.

So today I'm back to my work at the hospital and I remain to be on abbreviated hours and we will see how that goes. I had a difficult situation at work a while back and I am still working through that at my workplace. It will be fine. The vacation away was a great healer in that regard.

Fall is in the air and yet the temperatures have been marvelous. Our days right now remain warm and balmy. I am good with that and yet the crisp fall air that is very likely on its way will be welcomed also. It will beckon soups and stews and warm, cosy blankets to wrap up in in front of the fireplace. For me that conjures up a smile and contentment. Throw in a good book and I'm all set.

This week I'm excited to be going to see my dear friend Mae Moore perform a benefit concert in London. It will be great to see her again. And, I will be spending the evening with a great friend Cathy so it's wonderful all around.

Yesterday we got tickets to go and see a new play at the Grand Theatre about Julia Childs titled "Mastering The Art". I love everything about her so I was thrilled to see that this play was going to be performed at the Grand. I'm excited!! Cooking is something that I'm expanding lately and she of course is the best! I can't wait to go and see it. It will be awesome!

Our newest family member Cooper is adjusting well to our home and Abby is doing her best to welcome him in the house. It's fun to have 2 furkids in the house! Well....at least that's what I'm saying today.

Happy Monday to all.............have a great week!

the giving of thanks......

It is early morning on a Sunday and it is the day that we set aside to acknowledge the gratitude and thanks that we observe in our lives. This is the day that we 'publicly' allow ourselves to feel thankful. For me it is a day that we get together as a family and give our thanks, but I make sure that each and every day of my life I do the same. Someone might think that that is a bit over the top and do we really remember to give thanks each day? Well, for me it is important that I do that. I cannot take for granted all that I have been allowed or given in my life. Each day does present itself with many things that I am grateful for and the challenge sometimes is being thankful for those things that are not always a positive or good thing. Even the struggles that we have are something that I can be grateful for. That took me a long time to understand, but I'm finally getting to the point where I am accepting of that. I find my lessons in life are mostly presented to me as a challenge and the gratitude comes along when I can see the gift in it. So yes, I am grateful each and every day.

Today is a day that we share our thanks 'together'. It's a day where we can come together with friends and or family and celebrate all that we have in our life. Today is also a day of 'giving'....where we can give of ourselves and be grateful to have the opportunity. Give of yourself and expect nothing in return.  Give of yourself because it is the right thing to do.Give because you can....simply give. It will make you feel good and raise your spirits. It helps a person to feel well....and that is also something to be thankful for.

Every day take just a moment of it and be thankful. Even if its just for the simplest of things. Even if its just for having that 'moment' in time. Gratitude doesn't only apply to the 'big' things. It's about everything.......find your gratitude and acknowledge it every day. Don't let it slip to the back of your mind. Keep it right there out in front and let it do the work it knows best. It will raise your awareness and bring peace to your whole being.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are here with me today.......thank you for sharing these words together. Blessings to all.

a saturday in october.........

Wow.....a busy summer has led to a busy fall so far. We just got back from a trip to Italy and now back to real life with a newness. It is farmers market morning here in town and since I haven't been for a couple of weeks it will be fun and interesting to see what is on the farmers tables. I hope to pick up some flowers for my kitchen and maybe some 'scented gratitude leaves' from Melinda at the Holey Stone Faerie Co. I also need some soap from Nicole at Spatopia and she has a new product this week that I think will make a great stocking stuffer for my girls (yes, Christmas is on my mind!). And I might consider a basket of peaches to make into some jam. Otherwise, its Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada so I do have to pick my turkey from our friends Cathy and Gary(organic of course) and get all the fixin's ready for our family dinner. The pumpkin cookies made with agave are already to go and the ice cream is in the freezer. All of what needs to be done for our dinner will be carried out with love and that will be felt at the dinner table. I always look forward to having all the children over and having family time. It is important to me and it helps us all stay close and be that family unit that is so often lost in society these days. It is a small part of the bigger part....the micro and the macro......that will promote connection in a world of disconnect. OK......this feels like its turning into something bigger than I meant so I will get back to the topic at hand.

Yummy!

A holiday weekend, my last weekend off before returning to work after 3 weeks (it's been wonderful!) and family time. It's also our first weekend with our newest family member Cooper! He is a stray cat that has been visiting us all summer and as the weather is starting to turn cold we decided that he needed a permanent home and we opened our doors to him. His transition is going well in terms of our other cat Abby so that is great. We have been grooming Abby about Coopers arrival for weeks now and I think it helped ! I will share a pic of our Cooper......

What's not to love :)