Merry Christmas to All.....

May your Christmas be filled with love, fun and laughter, family and friends, and did I mention love??

As we leave 2012 and enter our new year, take time to fill each space you enter with new energy and kindness.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Daybreak....

The dawn of each new day brings messages to our heart. Some are ones we can't wait to carry forward while others seem to carry a ton of weight. I guess the question is, how do we balance our self within each of these. Pensive thoughts are, at times, ones that end up giving us the greater joy. Often we keep them secret, thinking we cannot possibly bring them to fruition. But once we recognize them for what they are, letting go of their influence becomes easier.

Spiritual strength is born of weighty issues. Give them worth and acceptance. Then balancing becomes simpler and they lose their hold on us. In the mist of each new morning we can go forward knowing that clarity will follow.

Acknowledgement on our part brings a purpose....a reason. It is important to own these decisions because admission helps us understand ourselves.

Choose to live in a higher place within your heart. Figure out your own identity. Tomorrow's dawn will become easier.

A vacation to love...

A month in Maine! What's not to love...

The rocky coast with its gorgeous sunrises over the water, left me speechless. I woke each morning to them and each was different. Lobster boats left their wake as they motored by to inspect their traps, and I stood on my deck and watched. Books are written about this choice of work, it is not magical or mystical. It is hard physical work that lasts from before dawn to dusk. Many who do lobstering for a living have as many as nine hundred traps set out into the bay. They can haul about three hundred a day, thanks to the mechanics on the boats.

I spent the month doing many things, but most important was the work I did to regain my strength. I walked two miles a day and hiked at least another two. Recovering from cancer and chemotherapy is a very long road, but I'm on it! All the way.

Not one day went by that I didn't have a chance to meditate on all I've been given during my lifetime on this planet. Sitting, walking or hiking along the shore gave me strength for whatever is next for me. I will follow my path to its end, loving each and every moment.

Take a vacation from your normal life, it will give you new strength.

Coming fall.....

Fall is on its way, there is no doubt. My favorite pregnant doe from spring has had her fawn. Mommy eats from my feeding stations, while her fawn wanders by my cabin windows in search of new treasures. She is losing her spots now as we move toward autumn, and soon she will blend more with the foliage as it turns a rusty brown.

Each year at this time I yearn to leave on a vacation that will bring a different beauty than the one I view each day. One of majestic mountain ranges, ocean vistas, or slot canyons of the Southwest. Which one will I choose?

It will be Maine. Cadillac mountain, hiking, biking, sea glass hunting, or watching the boats come and go each day. I can hardly wait. Vacation is a little more important to me this time. I've battled my health issues and have worked hard doing it.  Now it is time to see if I can whip this tired body back into the strong active one that helped me win these challenges. I am alive. I have survived. And I will thrive with God's love for me.

If you listen carefully, you may hear me laugh and giggle in my joy from the East Coast of Maine. Feels like coming home each time I cross the border. Here I come, are you ready for me?

Change..

The workspace in my cabin was not exactly what I needed, so it was time for change. I came up with some ideas, and put them to use.

While I did that I realized the worth of making changes in our life. It is a good thing. Many of us complain too often that we need things to be different, and then we contuinue on doing nothing to make that happen. I think of Einstein's quote; insanity; doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. It makes me laugh each time I remember it. I know I'm guilty.

So, now I have a new desk arrangement. It looks out the back wall of windows. Fawns walk by daily, and birds feed from the feeder that's been here since I built the cabin. It has given me a new perspective as I do another rewrite on my upcoming book, From Scratch.

Think of something you need to change to make things better for you. And do it!

Tranquility...

Walking to my cabin this morning I heard the Pileated Woodpecker singing his song and it reminded me of one thing. Paying attention to each moment. Birds and wildlife do only what they know each day. All of their effort is put forward on the task at hand. Eating, singing, mating, flying or whatever. The lesson for me is to keep going forward. Effort. It's all about the effort I'm willing to give.

I've said this so many times to myself. Use continuous exertion in each task at hand, or I'll  fail at what I'm trying to accomplish. For instance; my health, writing, daily meditations and service to others all need constant effort.

One lesson for me has been to use this action in a calm way. Tranquility, like Cooper Lake just outside of Woodstock, NY. When I sit at its shore and look out over the water it steadies me, allowing my body to relax into the strength I own.

Yes, tranquility. Use it along with effort and it will make all the difference.

My cabin!

My writing cabin sits on its foundation from the stones in my woods. Hefting them into my small trailer was backbreaking work, but well worth the effort. Stone foundations are tricky to build! I still feel giggles in my tummy when I look at it, mostly because I think it's cute. But, more importantly, I think that piece of cuteness holds most of my dreams, meditations, and books yet to be finished.

Each morning I reach for the handle on its hobit-like door and hesitate for a second before I walk in. "What is my cabin going to give me this morning," I ask? Its love is always there, but each day has a different feel. It may be filled with dappled sunlight from the woods, or gray from the early morning mist. Too hot from summer's humidity, or too cold from winter's wind. With both air conditioning and heat I can make the changes accordingly.

What I can't change is the gift I'm given once inside. It may be tears, or a new chapter to my book. Joy, or the peek of a fawn resting among the underbrush. My cabin holds a mystery for me each day, and finding the key for that lock isn't always easy. I am challenged.

But it is perfect.

Susan Richards Workshop

Take a writing workshop!

On Sunday I came back from Woodstock, NY, and the Susan Richards workshop. Was it remarkable? Yes! Was Susan a good teacher for this group? She was a rock star! (Cliche??)

At her home, nestled in the Catskill Mountains, I grew as a writer and I grew personally. Susan laughed with us, cried with us, and gave this group of hers enough skills to last a lifetime. Susan did not hold back in her critiques and we'll always be grateful for her honesty. If my writing could be better in places, she helped me. If she liked what I had to say, she complimented me and helped me feel worthy of my work.

So, take a workshop. Do it. If I can, so can you. Five days of listening, growing, and getting feedback. Lynn and Michele, the two other writers in my group, critiqued my manuscript along with Susan. Their help was accepted, and it came back to me with caring and love.

Susan, you really know how to run a workshop! Thank you.

In the picture:
Michele, Susan, Me, and Lynn.

Reaching for the calmest part of myself...

Making my way home from the Princeton Jumping Horse Show in New Jersey this past weekend, I realize how simple my life has become. Driving on Peppermint Road, which is close to my home, I look at the serene field on my left and feel calm and cradled in such a setting. It gives me what I need each day to heal from the strains of life.

I try to live from the heart of my soul. My spirituality has always been at the center of who I am. On my three acres I can be still and uncomplicated, enabling me to live in clarity and conscious choice.

God's finest whispers fill every bird song I hear and I am thankful for each day. I experience euphoria by living without being limited by the judgment of others. We all have a finite time on this earth, and it is important that I learn to balance the gifts I've been given, and to take responsibility for the space I hold here.

I must challenge myself to do better in each moment, because I have the opportunity each morning to start again. To give of myself in a way that enhances rather than diminishes. What is genuine and what is lasting is who we are. 

Writing workshop for Sal!

Never have I gone to a writer's workshop! But, next month I will expand my world from chemotherapy treatments to writing workshop endeavors. Actually, I'm so excited to work and learn from Susan Richards, author of Saddled, Chosen By a Horse, and Chosen Forever.

It is a five day workshop in upstate New York. I feel honored to be a part of this group of eight, and I know in my heart I will become part of a new family. Hopefully, my blog writing will become clearer to those who read it. And, by the way, for those who do read my blogs, thanks for sticking with me.

As my thoughts of cancer disappear within the work I am given, it will be a healing experience.

How exciting!

Spring Rains...

In my area of Bucks County, PA, we've had fog and rain in the early mornings and late afternoons. It is a beautiful thing to see the rain help the woods come to glory, and the animals singing because they are so happy. Everything is fresh and green. Flowers are peaking toward their summer height and are giving us the gift of color.

I am pleased to be on this planet with all the new and living growth. I ask my spiritual self if I am making the same growth in my life here and now. I pray that I am, and I want to be the example of what it means to accept whatever we given.

Life is good and life is precious. Ask me and I'll share the love with you!

Spring Green...

It is time to lift the boats from their resting place and drop them gently back into their slips. Spring is here in full force, and there are many who anxiously await to climb back into their boats and sail away. Most usually there are winds that come in the spring to fill the sails as many make there way out to the open sea. What joy!

I do not have a boat any longer, but there is nothing like stepping into that Boston Whaler in the middle of spring. Chugging out through the bay and into open water made for a delicious plate of experiences. Now I envision them from memory as I sit in my cabin waiting for my cancer cells to die off, so that I may experience the fun once more. It will happen, I'm sure of that. I wonder what the larger picture is for me as I sit here awaiting the discovery of it.

There will always be a journey in our lives that we do not expect. I know there is something inside this detour that will reveal itself soon and I am ready for it. Finding the joy within will be my most perfect moment, and I can hardly wait!

Enjoy the spring everyone, it is here dressed in green and full of life.

Larger landscapes...

Year before last, during autumn, I stood on top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine. Looking eastward the ocean sparkled as if some ship had just sprinkled a load of diamonds on top of the sea water, and they rode the great waves causing the sun to reflect off them. It is a sight I carry within me at night, as I close my eyes to sleep.

I'm going back there soon, but first I must take a break to clear my system of the cancer that is robbing it of a healthy lifestyle. I long to sit in my cabin and watch the buds form on the cherry trees, while keeping an eye on the fawns and fledglings that newly arrive each day.

All of this is a process, a cycle. We are never sure of the outcome, but we are sure that we are carried on our jouney as part of the larger landscape. The one we rarely get to see.

I feel the quiet of new birth as it enters this world, and feel blessed to be a part of it. For, as I said, there is always something greater that we do not get to view.

As Rumi said, "Out, beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there's a field--I'll meet you there."

My cabin holds all of my secrets, and all of my dreams. If you open the door and peek inside watch out! One of these secrets or gems may escape and take you with them. But not to worry, all of them are valuable.

Feeling Blessed...

This is where I go in warm weather when I take a break from working. Sitting there in my woods I gaze at my deer feeding stations, the cutest writing cabin ever, and the blue sky peeking through the tops of the tall oaks.

I long to be sitting there again soon while I rest for a few moments between jobs. Recently I've had a blip on my radar screen with some medical issues, and it helps me understand how shockingly fragile we all are as we walk this planet.

We're blessed each and every day to be given life. And the loved ones that walk alongside us on our path, give us strength.

Hibernation...

February has its ups and downs weather wise. In my mind I see the ocean, sailboats, and lobster traps of a Maine shoreline. Ahhhh, it brings a smile to my face.

Coming back to reality I look outside my cabin window and realize that the animals in my woods have a break so far this year. Each day we're closer to spring and new growth on the underbrush and trees. The deer, turkeys, fox and other animals seem to sense the change that will soon begin. I can tell from the way they nibble at the tips of the brush, checking to see if the new buds have arrived.

It is quiet now, a time to look inside myself for indications of change. What have I learned that I can bring forward? With the few weeks left of winter hibernation I look forward to learning more, understanding more, and being grateful for the gift of life.

Beauty and Silence...

Two years ago I visited the southwest and had the honor of walking through slot canyons and Native American cliff dwellings. I feel grateful to have the memories of that trip tucked away in my heart.

I remember feeling quieted by the beauty of the slot canyons. The hushed silence as you walked through, arms outstretched to touch both walls at the same time.

The cliff dwellings gave me the same quieted sense. Complex in their structure, but simple in the lifestyle of those who inhabited them.

For me, winter brings that same feeling. A time of contemplation and hushed beauty. I work, write, and go through my days feeling quieted. Soon, spring will come and I'll be busy in a different way, but for now I'm content to be tucked in. It is okay to slow down and allow myself the pleasure of a quieter time, where beauty and silence are one.

Early January...

The holidays are over and Mother Nature seems to understand as she presents us with expected ice-encrusted winds. Savoring every delicious moment of the snow flying sideways by my cabin windows, I'm unable to describe a single worthy phrase of my exhilaration. This brittle nip of winter wind wakes the drowsing child within and brings me joy.

Blustery weather comes in with a vengeance and sends me scurrying to find warmth. A reminder that each day is blissfully unlike the next, holding its secrets tight.

Stealing a quiet moment, I throw out seed and a crust of stale bread to the birds who bring such beauty on a gray January day. And before tucking in at night, I spend a second or two under my skylight. The stillness, the stars above and the promise of another unpredictable day to come.

I am grateful for all of this.