It has been a while since my last post, so I wanted to get back in the swing.

To me, this is a time to be grateful for all we have in this world, both physically, and most importantly, inside our hearts. The gifts we have are many if we take a moment to sort through them. Our homes, food, cars, are needed for shelter, sustenance, and transportation.

Our family, friends, partners, and pets, are what enrich our soul. This is the important piece in our lives. My Maine Coon cats, Kiva and Kodi, bring love that comes with no attachments. They love me fully and completely. They snuggle in bed with me at night, resting against my back or with their chin on my chest or shoulder. Purring out their love for me gives me reason to fight against any challenge I may have.

Nature gives me that same soft feeling. Watching the deer mate a few weeks ago from my cabin windows, or seeing the turkey and fox eating from my feeding stations together in harmony, allows my heart to fill with many different emotions. One of these is caring. Nature cares for us by giving back with gorgeous and outrageous sunsets or sunrises, or with autumn leaves the color of gold, orange, and red. Also, the animals watch out for one another. Deer huddle together for warmth on cold wet nights, turkeys pack together for being stronger in numbers. The toms and hens separate during the summer months and have their own packs, but in winter they group together as one.

Give some time to watching and listening and smelling the woods, flowers, and streams that are nearby. And for caring for your corner of the world. It will empower you. I feel I am stronger because of all these things.

Love all that is living. It will bring you strength.

Fun!

Over Labor Day weekend I drove to Western Massachusetts for a day to see an old country fair that I went to as a child. I was not disappointed. It held my heart as I watched three horse drawing contests, a fiddle contest, and walked the barns holding rabbits, chickens, sheep, goats, and other assorted cuties! Also, the folks selling maple syrup, honey, and products made from the area were a popular draw.

I've been trying to catch up on some of the things that bring joy and fun to my life. The fair is one of them. As I sat and watched these various contests, walked along the midway, and ate the various foods that were offered, I was transported in time. The fair is still very much as it was years ago, when I was a young. Some of the people from my childhood are not there any longer, but some still are. It was a lovely day and I'll go back yet again another year.

Doing things that come from your heart

is a way to bring happiness closer. I found that I need to spend more time on fun. It takes courage to do this, believe it or not. It's easy to get caught up doing things that we feel drawn to by others. But their fun is not always ours. Challenges occur in all of our lives, just as they do in mine.

I've found that in doing what my heart feels is important, whenever possible, brings me to a better place. I go to Nature to be surrounded and grounded by love. I never feel weak or lonely within Nature. Give it a try.

And as you watch an outrageous sunset some evening, you will feel the evensong. The song of evening, twilight, if you will. It brings a closeness between you and the Universe, and allows you to feel soft and gentle as you approach your night's rest.

This fair in the Berkshires helped me feel joy. My heart felt serene and secure when I left, and I carried the feeling of serenity home with me.

 We all have challenges in our lives. I just finished chemotherapy #7. A challenge for sure, but it is not going to stop me. If anything, it helps me fight for what is important to me. Joy is one of those feelings, so chemo #8? Bring it on!

Go out and do something heartwarming. It will change you!

In my backyard?

 Well, there you have it. For fourteen years I've been saying, "one day a bear will walk through here". Imagine my surprise as one of the largest black bears I've ever seen lumbered along right beside my deck last week. He looked back at me while I was taking photos with my phone, but never stopped walking.

He was majestic and cute all at the same time. His coat was black as coal and shiny. Healthy, I think. He was quickly named Barney, but hasn't been back for a visit...yet. I guess that's a good thing seeing I'd like to keep my bird feeders and deer feeding stations in one place.

As I watched him walk down the path to my neighbor's home, his natural strength took my heart. I felt his need to survive. I felt his need to find sustenance in the growing forest surrounding my home and other places he would travel to that day. But mostly, I found love in that strength. Love for life and how hard he would fight for it should he be challenged.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for me. I fight daily to keep cancer from growing more than it already has in my body. And in this fight I know it takes strength, along with love of life, to keep moving forward. Like the bear in my woods, I feel I have much to do yet, and I can't stop if my need to survive is too great.
And it is....

Changing circumstances that don't fit your life anymore...

 I have two Maine Coon kitties, both boys and both amazing examples of spending time in the moment. When I worry about the future, (crazy) or the past, (unchangeable and gone) I look to them for this reminder.We cannot predict or change either.

So, as I sit at my cabin's desk and look out to the misty day on my land I'm trying to think of only 'this moment'. What can I do in 'this moment' to improve myself, and take away the stressful things in my life? What action can I take to get me there?

What seems important is to choose one thing. One! And then make that change and see where it brings me. I may not care for what I've chosen, but it may turn out to be the best, or at the very least, a beginning. To sit and refuse to try something different is not an option. We'll stagnate that way. Moving forward in any direction is a positive step. Let's take one.

Remember Einstein's quote on Insanity:
"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Ha! We've all done this again and again. Now it's Spring! New beginnings and rebirth. If you think like me, that it's time to make a few changes for something new and perhaps more productive, look to your pets. They are sleeping, playing, or loving, in just this one moment of time. But they are always ready for the next thing to happen.

It's perfect!

Remembering and Growing

In July, 2012, I took a writing workshop in upstate New York. It was facilitated by noted author, Susan Richards. I was scared, but determined to grow as a writer, so I made the effort.

Now, almost two years later, I am still using the skills I learned at that workshop. But most important was my dedication. During that week I bought a bracelet. (It's important to know that I hardly ever wear jewelry.) With that purchase I promised myself to always remember what I learned, and to grow from it.

I am now zeroing in on the completion of a manuscript. Yes, it's the same one I worked on at the workshop. A year ago I sent it to an editor who read it, edited it, and sent it back with a memo full of vivid ideas on how to make it better. I reread the memo thirty-six times! Worked all late fall and winter on making the changes necessary to help the book tell its story. Now I'm going to send it back for another edit. I haven't given up.

My suggestion for wanting to feel a sense of growing and completion in our lives is to work longer than you ever thought necessary. If what you're doing feels important, go forward with commitment. Don't be tossed away. Never doubt yourself. These words of encouragement were given to me and now I'm giving them to you.

I use my bracelet as a reminder, and looking at it gives me a strength. I may not ever be the best writer, and I may not ever be a published author, but I will always remember to grow in whatever I choose to do in my life.

Spring, Nature, and the Higher Self...

Spring is three days away. Yippee!

I have a large woodpile waiting for me to split and I'm anxious to get to it. I don't like splitting wood in the cold, but I do relish the idea of warmth coming soon. When I do split my pile I feel the sun's strength on my back and I love it. Both the wood and the sun give me what I need to keep my self in tune with Nature and going forward.

On my wooded land I never feel lonely or weak, and I am given all I need for new growth and healing. That is what Spring and Nature give me every year at this time. I watch for green shoots to find their way above ground and for birds to begin finding nesting materials. As I look at the woodpile I feel the earth beneath my feet begin to awaken in perfect harmony to the sun's heat.

In meditation I thank the Universe for the seasons. They are outrageous and I don't want to live anywhere else but the northeast. Each season here helps me become stronger within myself, stronger in love, and more capable within.

I love this time of year!

Nature...

Someone asked me the other day if it matters whether or not I feed the deer, birds, fox, raccoon, and turkey that wander throughout my woods. I've been thinking about that question. Who does it matter to? The animals and birds, or to me?

Simply, the answer is both. It matters to the birds, turkey, deer, and other animals especially at this time of year. The ground is covered with snow and now a layer of ice on top of that. More snow is to come in this winter and what are these gorgeous souls going to eat? Yes, they do nurture themselves in many ways, but does it hurt to supplement their diet with corn, bird seed, and suet made by me? Many opinions, both for and against, have been shared about feeding wild animals. My feeling is why not! If we can help sustain them by adding a little supplement each day, I am honored to do so.

And does it matter to me? Yes! Nature and all souls are so giving in every way. Seeing their beauty inspires me, teaches me, and helps me to understand how we are all One. We need each other to survive this life. Trees give us shade, winter's dead-fall wood and therefore warmth as we burn, beauty in their leaves both in summer and in fall, and strength as we watch them stand tall under the harshest conditions. And birds, deer, turkey, fox, and other animals that share their woods with me? I view them as I would my friends. Loving, caring, and asking for help on occasion.

Yes it matters that we pay attention to the lessons of Nature. And yes, it matters to me as I watch them run with joy to my feeding stations on my property. They know me and I know them. They do not fear me. Nor I them. They wait with patience as I walk toward them with my feeding bucket every evening at dusk.

My whistle lets them know they are safe with me. The same whistle each time I feed, the one that they know so well.

What an honor to be a part of this exceptional beauty.

Christmas is history and my kitties are missing their favorite hideaway. We have all welcomed in 2014 and are now deciding what we'd like to accomplish in these next twelve months.

My first intention was to get back into my writing cabin. I'm in it now and it feels exciting to scratch one thing off my list. So on to the next.....

I have a writing goal of completing another edit of my memoir, From Scratch. In my cabin I have all I need to make this happen. In my heart I want to accomplish what will give me worth as a writer, and working on this edit is important in order to make that happen. A dear friend who has published many books advised me to go forward with commitment, and not be tossed away. And so I will.

Go forward, or go forward with commitment. Quite a difference isn't there? I'm choosing the latter!