The Solitary Joys Of January

Winter’s hold is tight in January, as the house creaks and the furnace hums. 
Outside the trees are frosted with ice that sparkle in the sunshine. 
The sliding door protests and needs extra encouragement to open. 
Topaz, my thirteen-year-old Sheltie passes through to brave the
frigid landscape.  The morning doves scatter with her arrival,
but soon return to continue enjoying their breakfast feast.
The crisp morning air tickles your nostrils as the snow crunches underfoot.
The cold seems animated as it rouses Topaz to quickly return to our cozy,
warm home, bringing along winter’s fresh scent.

The cold of January is such that one must live in the moment. 
The stillness outside resonates throughout the house. 
It brings with it a time for reflection, when life slows down after
the holiday who-haw flurry.  January, my time to renew emotionally
and to restore some order to my house. I tear apart cupboards and make
room for the clarity that sparseness brings.

You’re coaxed to your kitchen with calls for comfort foods,
cooking spicy savoury stews, tomato sauces, casseroles,
chicken pot  pie and the like. You find yourself craving
sticky sweet deserts like butter pecan tarts, apple pie, and banana bread. 
The aroma of baking these delights fill your home to perfection.

Yes, the solitary joys of January, where days are shorter and nights are long.
A time where I curl up with my stacks of magazines, ponder over the memories
evoked by perusing photos from the past year and drink in the inspiration it evokes. 
It’s a time when I yearn for comfort through the tranquil seclusion that winter brings. Now, for some peaceful musings in front of the fire, while enjoying a
steaming hot tea and the sweet desert fresh from the oven.

ღ Hεlεɳa ~.^

Lady Topaz

 

My Sheltie has dedicated herself to me.
At night she sleeps in my room, always close by. 
In the morning while I journal and enjoy my morning tea,
she lays beside me,.  She is there now as I write this.

If I shift in my chair, she raises her head.
If I stand, she does. My life is her business.
Topaz thinks it's normal to come everywhere with me.

We are joined at the soul.
She doesn't understand why I would
want to do anything without her.

This Devotion isn't something I've earned.
It's not because I am good...it's because she is good.  
I am the center of her world. She reads me like a book.
My moods, my health are felt deep in her bones.

Topaz will never break my heart, unless she leaves me.
Her love and devotion is ever present, unless you refuse it.
She fills me with endless love and Joy. Even her eyes smile when I return home. 

Dogs are a treasured gift.
They trust you unless you teach them not to.
Dogs offer us so much without asking for anything in return.

I am eternally grateful for Topaz coming into my life.
My Little Fur Child

ღ Hεlεɳa ~.^

Choices

With this blog, my intentions are to step outside of my comfort zone of living to please others, in the hopes of finding like-minded friends and writers who seek to share ideas, ponder choices, and explore inspirations. I appreciate all comments on my blog (positive or negative) as a means of encouraging an ever-evolving dialogue.

In the past, I would allow myself to become paralyzed by what others thought of me. I would literally shut down and suppress the life of my choosing, therefore, living the life that people expected of me. I realize now, making choices that others did not like or understand, will not result in my destruction nor will my world crumble and fall. Free will and free choice are gifts we have been given that allow soul growth, so that we do not remain stuck in the quagmires of the past.

As I revealed in my previous poem, "Old Friend", I would spread a blanket under the favourite tree of my childhood and write with total abandonment. I experienced the contentment of expressing my true, uninhibited feelings with no concern of being corrected or judged. This total freedom of choice always centered and calmed me, allowing me to process my emotions as well as my own truth.

Every day spirit speaks...inspiration arrives presenting us with even more choices. Our bliss echoes through our choices as well as our feelings. We must remember the value in dreaming our own dreams, as we follow our heart's true calling.

It is not up to us to control others' thoughts or assumptions, as we try to understand them. They, too, have the freedom to make their own judgments and choices. We can choose how we react to others' choices and interpretations through our attitudes and questions. May we grow in love, in forgiveness, and in wisdom, as we ask for the strength to make the right choices...ones that benefit the whole while bringing the healing we seek.

Daydreaming

Can daydreaming be ego driven?

Can it be our great escape, perhaps because we cannot accept the present, or does our countless imaginings inevitably separate us from the here and now?


When does daydreaming take us too far?

Can it take us too far or does it benefit us to practice in our minds eye all the things we would like to do or try.


Quite possibly if we were to spend our entire life experience daydreaming, then we may never accomplish anything.  However, if we were to use our imaginings as the amazing tool that it is, it could be the most unanticipated way to rehearse for the real thing. 

If you can imagine it, you can do it! Yes?
If you  really want to and believe you can, then you will.

Daydreaming can be your greatest friend or your worst adversary.  Just dreaming and never doing, traps us in a mind prison. It can banish us from a world of endless possibilities or it can teach us to reach for the stars.

“Lets go star gazing.”

✰ Đrɛam ✰ Prɛparɛ ✰ Đo

Enough

Is too much of anything harmful?
Is finding the right balance the true secret of a positive and fulfilling life experience?
When is enough, enough?
And does wanting more only leave us emotionally and physically exhausted?

More food, more wine, more money, more this, more that, more and more stuff!  Yikes!

I Have Enough!

We know that more and more food creates obesity,
but I have come to learn that more and more stuff
creates a kind of stagnant dissatisfaction and more money
only allows opportunity to get more stuff! Phew!

I Have Enough!

Curbing our appetite, not only for excess food,
but also for more and more unnecessary things,
allows for peaceful surroundings.
I recall when we prepared our house for sale,
I cleaned out closets, emptied cupboards,
put pictures away,  knick-knacks out of sight,
and cleared off  kitchen and bathroom counters. 
As our home became more and more empty,
I became more and more relaxed.
By putting everything out of sight, not only was housework easier,
I actually enjoyed doing it!  Even now as I write this,
I remember how calm I was.

I Have Enough!

So is less, really more?
I think we know the answer to that question.

We have been in our new home for two years now
and yep you guessed it…We have acquired more new stuff!
More scrap booking stuff; more garage stuff; more kitchen stuff;
more and more new and different stuff!  Ugh!
Yes, we fell back into the trap of confusing our wants over our needs.

“Oh, but I need it!” “No, you want it!”

I Have Had Enough!

So what is the solution to the never enough attitude?

Having that occasional favourite treat or new toy
should be enjoyed, however having them every time, 
all the time will make the whole experience become dull.  
Not to mention those goodies that we love so much,
will begin to hold us hostage to only the “wanting.”

Then pretty soon, we eat and shop so much,
that is no longer exciting, no longer pleasurable. 
The act of eating and shopping becomes a guilt ridden
mind-numbing habit. Buying new things or eating our
comfort foods all the time, takes the shine off what should
be a wonderful pleasurable experience.  Over indulgence
turns enjoyment to boredom real quick.  It no longer leaves
 us fulfilled. It just leaves us “Full.” Our pleasure gets lost
in the all consuming never ending eating and wanting,
all in the name of trying to re-capture that first blissful hit
of flavour or the high from the very first purchase.

I Have Enough!

Getting  back to celebrating our meals through daily rituals
and starting to pay attention to the ritual of mealtime is a beginning. 
We have lost touch with the gratification that food allows us. 
We must begin to show gratitude for this life sustaining miracle.
Have we put aside the daily mealtimes rituals and lost our enjoyment
 for food all through a means to be thin? Why, we may have even
made food the enemy, blaming the brownie instead of our over
indulgent choices.  Our own appetites are unrecognizable.
True hunger has become a stranger which resides back in
our childhood memories. By celebrating our meals through
ritual, our well being and enjoyment for food will return.


Our mind is always saying more!
Our bodies are screaming, I have enough!

©  Hεlεɳa ᏇђίԵε

Chasing Happiness

How many of us are truly happy? Do we find happiness outside of ourselves? What makes you happy? Do we sometimes confuse happiness with things we acquire? Do we spend our entire life chasing after happiness, when all along, we have always had it right within our grasp?

Happiness is here right now, just beneath the surface of each of us. It is ever present in nature as she surrounds us with early morning bird songs, as the sun rises to meet the day; or as the rain falls, cleansing the earth then leaving pillow-soft clouds in our sky. Happiness finds us when we let our guard down with uncontrollable laughter, or when we make harmless, spontaneous choices.

Children make those choices all the time. Choices are effortless to children. With no agenda, they react to a what now? matter-of-fact attitude. They meet each day with thoughts of "why not"? They have an in-the-moment, yes we can, go-for-it curious anticipation. They skip, colour, play games, run, sing, shout, and laugh...all with spontaneous enthusiasm. Even when they falter-- they cry, feel the pain, then get back up and carry on. They accept and continue to be “happy”. Children have no timetable, no schedule, no deadline to meet. They just allow what is, living moment to moment, until we teach them otherwise.

When we lose our childlike, in-the-moment excitement, we move from place to place, project to project, job to job, acquiring all sorts of toys along the way... trying to find the “Holy Grail” of happiness. Can chasing happiness become an imaginary means to an end? Are we misguided into thinking we will find happiness outside ourselves?

Happiness is within our very Being.  It’s there now, hidden deep inside, like a secret,
residing alongside our childhood enthusiasm { memories }, not gone but somehow forgotten. What we need is to find the courage to allow happiness back into our present day moments. Let laughter be a conduit to help manifest happiness back into our day-to- day life experiences. We must stop chasing happiness. We simply must choose Happiness.


“You’ve always had the power, my dear”
~ Glinda The Good Witch of the North
~The Wizard Of Oz

© Hεlεɳa ωђίԵε 

Leaving A Trace

We seldom ever see beyond our own reside.
The wonders that surround us are too often held inside.

Writing creates focus and allows us the space to find our authentic selves.
You can be transformed by the many insights you will discover by keeping a journal.  Our unedited script from within is no longer held hostage by mind chatter when we enter the safe haven of  journaling.  Getting to know yourself  through writing is truly a wonderful adventure. A gift to ones self.  By filling the empty pages with our innermost opinions, expectations and stories along with the simple details of everyday life, creates focus and connection to life itself.  Putting pen to paper takes you on a quest, a journey of the self, that will reveal who you truly are.

Putting my thoughts down on paper, helps me figure out how I feel and this has helped me make meaningful changes in my life.  The written word exposes our deepest desires and our greatest fears.  It enables us to see things with clarity, so that we may continue on our way.  Everyone can realize this, simple by leaving a trace.

Helena ~.^