Somedays

Sometimes we are so busy looking for the extraordinary that we lose out on the ordinary everyday experiences that brings us the most joy
Like the fact that we woke up this morning
Some of us did not
That we get to see another day
Some of us did not
That we get to go out and do life all over again
Some of us did not
That there is so much joy in the everyday - the fact that we breathe in and out so we are alive
We can see
Hear
And feel
Some days we are so busy trying to be important that we overlook the important events that are happening around us every single day
That the earth continues to revolve around the sun
That we have good air to breathe
That gravity keeps us grounded and gives us dimension
That we have access to our full senses
Some days we want to be the most clever person  around that we forget to be clever and live in the moment
To be grateful for the moment we find ourselves in
Whether it may be dark or light
Because each moment is helping us to be the person we are
To enjoy the rain that comes to nourish everything
Followed by the sun to warm us again and to dry away the rain
To help the plants to grow
Providing food for us to eat
Water for us to drink
Some days we are trying too hard to be rather than just being
Rather than just standing in the sun and observing the beautiful flowers, the birds and the bees
Rather than standing outside at night and looking up at the vastness of the sky full of stars
At the clouds passing by the moon
At the place we chose to live out our human days
Some days we want to be so perfect that we end up doing nothing and then wonder why the day has passed us by without accomplishing anything
Forgetting in order to know perfection, we have to to know failure
That perfection is fleeting because we are human and prone to make mistakes
It is these mistakes that help us to know whether we are on the right track or not
Allowing us to know when we seek perfection all the time, we stunt our own growth
Some days we think we know it all only to discover that we know nothing
And that fact should not surprise us nor should it frighten us
Because in accepting we know nothing
We open ourselves to learn more
To experience more
Rather than believing there is nothing more to learn
Nothing more to know
We understand everyday brings us a new experience
A new way of seeing things
If we don't blind ourselves by believing we know it all
When in fact we know nothing
Some days all we need do is say to ourselves as my quote of the days says, " I am in the perfect place at the perfect time. I am always safe."
And if we do, we will realise that we are always where we are meant to be
There is no need to over analyse anything but to accept we are always where we are meant to be
We need not worry about what is happening over there
All we need do is concentrate on the here and now
Safe in the knowledge that it matters not what life throws at us because whatever it may be, it too will pass.
And the experience will only stand to make us stronger and more learned.
So on those days when we are struggling to begin, all we need do is just begin and let whatever is meant to unfold unfold. Because we can never expect life's bests when we are not giving it our best. When we choose not to be a part of life's rich tapestry, we lose out on the everyday gifts that life brings to us
Particularly when we are too busy looking for the extraordinary rather than relishing in the every day ordinary gifts that come our way

Nature is one of our greatest teachers

When we look at nature. Really study it and see how toads find puddles of water and sit in them - wherever they may be. As my husband found Mr. Kingpin, our resident toad, happily sleeping on one of our front steps in a little puddle of water just right for him at 5 am this morning. Not a care in the world. Happy as could be to be sitting in a puddle just big enough for him. Enjoying his new spot after all the rain.
How cats come from places that cause them stress to find new homes, as did our neighbor's cat, Sally, who left them to come to us because she no longer felt it was her home anymore. And no matter how hard we resisted her and would not feed her, all that happened was that she licked her fur off to let us know she needed a change. Needed somewhere else to go. Her stress getting so great for her that she was nearly bald. Our neighbor compassionate enough to take Sally to the vet and the vet telling her she needed to let the cat go. To let her come to our home. None of us believed the vet at first. How could a cat be stressed? Nonsense we all thought. But here we are some 3 months later and Sally is full of fur. Her fur not only  completely back but glossy too now that she has moved in with us. Left the place that no longer served her and come to the place that does. Even if it is only stone's throw away from where she used to live, she knew this was her home. So she kept coming until everyone realized this was where she was meant to be.
I look at her sometimes and feel envious of her because she does not feel guilty for leaving what was not right for her. For letting go of what no longer served her. Not with any malice because when she feels like it, she saunters back down there and spends some time because she knows she did what she had to do to make life right for her. And because she did she is thriving rather than suffering.
When we study nature and see that we are not meant to be in places or with people that stress us or do not give us what we want, we discover that life always provides for us if we are willing to adapt. Willing to change. Willing to let go of whatever no longer serves us. And trust the Universe will guide us to where we need to go. To be.
Life is always trying to point us in the direction we need to go. Away from the negative. Away from all that drains us to the place where we will find peace. Understanding peace is only with us for as long as we allow it to be with us. As long as we surrender to it and let go of all the negative that is constantly seeking us out.
When we study nature, really spend time in it, we observe that it is constantly changing to prepare for the season it finds itself in. My Poinciana tree that was once vibrant red is now all green because it has shed its red flowers and is now ready for Fall as Summer has passed. And soon it will be less green when winter comes through.
When we really study nature we see that it is constantly changing and adapting to the time it finds itself in; so why are we so resistant to change? Why are we so concerned about what others may think when we crave change when it is our lives and not theirs. When it is none of our business what they think about us because it is our lives not theirs. Particularly since those who make it their business to be in other people's business have no business of their own because they are always busy being in other people's lives, they neglect their own. Or they are fearful of who they really are so they spend their days trying to destroy those who see it is necessary to change in order to thrive.
When did we become so beholden to a life that does not serve us? To a life that keeps us chained to a place that is like a prison for us rather than taking our clues from nature. From watching the animals and trees that we think are less clever than us; but in reality are more clever than us because they do what they have to do to survive and to thrive. Constantly changing to suit the changing environment around them. Recognizing that if they remain stagnant, they will die off.
Shouldn't we take our cues from nature and adapt and change to find people, places and things that suit us rather than eat away at us until we have no fur left like Sally? Wouldn't we rather be like Sally and find the home that suits us? Or like Mr. Kingpin and find the puddle that is just right for us? Nature is always giving us clues about where we ought to be -and it's up to us to take off the blinders and be who we are meant to be. Shutting out the naysayers because if they were doing what they were meant to be doing, they would be happy for us rather than envious of us.
Nature is one of our greatest teachers if only we would see it for what it really is, we would be much happier people and certainly much more content...

The only battle we are ever fighting

The only battle we are ever fighting
Is the battle within
There is no battle
Without
Unless within is not sorted out
No one can make us feel anyway
Unless we carry the feeling inside
No one can take anything from us
Unless we give it to them
No one can make us feel inferior
Unless we carry inferiority inside us
No one can belittle us
Unless we feel belittled within
No one can hurt us
Unless we are hurt within
No one can tell us we are
Something else
Other than who we are
Unless we are something else
Within
Unless
We have been pretending
To be something without
That is not us within
The only battle we are ever fighting
Is the battle we allow in
Because we never assessed it from within
Because we never went within
To find out why the without
Hurts us
Belittles us
Takes from us
Makes us feel inferior
Afraid or Scared
Because the only battle
We are every fighting
Is the battle within
The greatest battle we will ever fight
The only battle we can ever win
Is the battle
The battle within

Lesson from the pouring rain

Rain.  Relentless rain. Pouring so hard on my roof, I thought it would come through. All night long. Not letting up. Lighting flashed. Thunder rumbled. More rain. Hard rain. Washing away the residue that need not remain. Flooding places that needed to be cleared out. Showing where the blockages were.

Waking up this morning to yet more rain. Rainy Monday morning. Not a good way to start the week with a gloomy rainy morning. But then when I thought about how I came home on Saturday after doing errands and got out of my car to be greeted by the beautiful gift of nature, I remembered why I needed to be grateful for this rain. Everything in my yard looking so lush. So green. So abundant, I felt so blessed. So privileged to live in such a beautiful and abundant place.
I thought about how I stood for a moment taking in the varying shades of green. The shadows cast by the trees. The light pouring through the leaves. And I was in awe. In awe of the sight before my eyes. Filling me with such appreciation for everything that has happened to allow me to stand in the spot I stood on Saturday. Thinking about all the rain that has come this year to allow everything to be so lush, so abundant, so full. Thinking if there is such a place as utopia, I was standing in it.
I was in such awe that I took pictures of the place I live. Took pictures to remind myself of the magic moment I was experiencing. Of the time when the place I take for granted often because I return to it every day made me realise just how fortunate I am. Just how blessed I am to be able to call this place my home. This place where birds sing just about every day. This place where there is greenery that casts shadows and light filters through the canopy of trees that almost look like rainbows  sometimes. This place where I leave and come back to every single day. And I am glad I did take photos to capture that moment because it was that moment that is shifting my thoughts from doom and gloom about the rain that seems to not want to let up to pure gratitude for it being here.
For it is the rain that has allowed my avocado trees to be fully laden. Has allowed my yard to look like the Garden of Eden. Has given me pause to realise that the downpours we get in life are helping us to grow into the people we asked to come here to be. It also allowed me to not fear the thunder storm last night because I knew it had come to help clear the air as do all storms; even our personal storms.
So I am shifting away from thinking about the gloom of the rain this morning to gratitude for its coming. For without the rain I would not have had the magic moment I had on Saturday. The moment where my life stopped me in my tracks and asked me to see, to really see where I am in my journey. To really appreciate this place I call home. To see the beauty I walk past every day for the first time. Sending chills up and down my spine.
Allowing me to know in this moment, for all types of weather, I am truly grateful because it is the changing weather that allows us to appreciate the sun, the abundance and the peace that comes when the rain, wind and storms are done.
Happy Monday everyone. Here's to another week to make the most of all that comes our way because it is where we asked to be so that we can get to where we are going. Remembering sometimes to stop and appreciate from whence we have come to appreciate the place we are standing. Namaste

Capturing the essence of who we are

Capturing the essence of who we are
Not forgetting why we came
And who we came to be
Capturing the love that exists for us all
The colors we see in the world
The love we feel in our hearts
Life is meant to be lived
To be explored
To be a mystery
So that we are constantly
Renewing
Challenging
Growing
And finding our way
It is not meant to be black and white
And often it will be grey
But some days
We see all
That is meant to be seen
When we give ourselves the space
And time for the fog to clear
Allowing us to see
All the clarity in the world
When we stop

Just stop

And listen

Listen

To the music of our hearts
The rhythm of our beat
The universal song
That connects us all
To the place we all belong
The place from which
All hope springs
The place from which
The harmony of the world rings
The place that says nothing and everything
All at once
The place that is called the beginning and end
The place that we all return to
When we listen to the call
The call of our own Voice
The call that knows when we need to brought back
To the beginning
The call that asks us to surrender

Just surrender

Surrender

To the music of the angels
The angels that are all of us
Capturing the essence of our hearts
When we step out in nature
And see the colors
The bountifulness
Of this world we call Earth
This world that blesses us
And curses us
When we forget to be grateful for all we have
When we remember to be grateful for what we have
When we remember to give thanks
For the trials as well as the triumphs
Because without one
We would not know the other

Capturing the essence of who we are
The heart song
That beats
Without effort
The pulse that connects us all
To the place from which we all came
The place that waits for our return
The place we cannot escape
Because it is our original home
Capturing the essence of our heart song
Is what makes us tick
What makes us who we are
What connects us all
Because we are all
We are all
Which means we are nothing
Because without one
There could be no other

Capturing the essence of who we are
Not forgetting why we came
And who we came to be
Capturing the love that exists for us all
The colors we see in the world
The love we feel in our hearts
Letting us know
Life is meant to be lived
Fully and totally
Life is meant to be lived
Amen

#TGIT - History was definitely made last night

Well. Well. Well. (couldn't resist stealing the phrase of Maleficent) History was definitely made last night on #ABC and #Shondaland because she and her wonderful writers did not disappoint.
From the Grey's fans, the  show was great. Not my show so I  have to trust they know.
And #Scandal, well it was definitely scandalous. The show opening to a whole new world with people together I was hoping would not be together. Throwing the whole beginning into a world completely of their own. Discombobulating those of us seeking the same scenery and people who were always the cornerstone of the Scandal story. Making us question what we were watching.
Soon bringing us back to a place more familiar. A place of double dealing and backstabbing that serves no one but the backstabbers and cheats. It is then that Olivia finds her groove again. Finds she missed what she thought she hated. What she thought she was running from was actually running to her. Forcing her to confront what was important to her when she finds her gladiators scattered. Lost. Brought back together by the one who was the most lost in the Season before - our Quinn. Mourning the death of the one who was the glue of the gladiators - Harrison - may he RIP. Who through his "death" still remained as the glue that brought everyone back together again. Reaching from beyond the grave.
And then the temptation, the lure of being the fixer became too great for Olivia Pope when she was asked to find a solution to a problem.  A problem that was not hers . But a problem that ignited the flame again in her to be the woman she was meant to be - the fixer, the handler. Especially if it meant not completely fixing or handling herself. Death and destruction circling her like vultures to fresh kill but she was too blind to see that she was being pulled back into the world she thought she hated. The world she thought she wanted nothing more to do it.
But the first temptation that came before her pulled her back. Back to the place where her world will be rocked. Showing us the shattered lives of the people she left behind. The people who had not recovered from the wrongdoings and shenanigans that had gone on before.
Shonda taking us on a roller coaster ride as we watched the hurt and the feelings of betrayal of not one but most of the characters on the show. Challenging us to decide if any of them were wrong for the defensive positions they had assumed or if all of them were right. Showing us without lecturing us that life is not easily black and white. Not always that clear. That sometimes the truth resides in the in between. The grey. The ether less understood.
Ending Scandal on a bang with the hope that life will come back to what we remembered it before by reuniting those who were never meant to be separated. Whose hearts and souls are intertwined no matter the distance. No matter the time. When people are meant to be together, they will always be together no matter how hard they try to keep apart. Showing us that sometimes we waste precious time being something what we are not. Being with people who are only showing us how not to be so we can find those who help us to be who we are.
And then the historical #TGIT created by #Shondaland and #ABC came to an end on a high with "How To Get Away with Murder" starring Ms. Viola Davis and her commanding and mesmerizing voice. Her presence filling the entire screen. Her control unbreakable so we falsely believed until Shondaland revealed the fragile and broken aspect we all carry in the character of Viola. Showing us that none of us are perfect. We all have flaws even when our image seems impenetrable. Even when we seem to have it all going on.Underneath there is always a secret. A secret we all carry. A scar never healed.
What a night. A night spent with friends, old and new, brought together to share in the history making night, #TGIT,  that did not disappoint. Bravo Shonda and her writer's room for taking us an emotional roller coaster dropping us off in midair waiting for more. Bravo to ABC for giving Shonda the chance to be the Queen of Thursday nights and for allowing her to hook us one more time. Waiting impatiently for next Thursday to come. What a ride. Can't wait for the next #TGIT. Breathless and counting the days, the hours, the minutes and seconds to be thrust into Shondaland once again.

Can't resist - it's #Scandal night tonight

Okay so I tried. I really did try to stay away from writing anything about #Scandal premiering Season 4 tonight. I started out thinking I could shift my thoughts away from the excitement that the countdown is really over. Finally over and the day has finally come when Olivia Pope and Fitz will once again be main characters in my life. Lighting up my screen! Sizzling in only the way they can. Her pouty mouth. His dreamy stare. When #Olitz will be brought back to life on my screen every Thursday night.
I listened to my normal meditation music. Hearing the voice of angels in the background who normally pull me into the silence of my thoughts. The nothingness that is the all. But this morning that nothingness turned into the faces of my Fitz and Olivia Pope. I know I've got it bad. My husband and children now knowing that Thursday nights are not meant to be messed with while #Scandal is on the air. Even my work colleagues work with me to schedule no dinners on that night, drinks maybe - and you know who you are - thank you. No spoilers Julia just total excitement and anticipation.
So once I came out of my meditation still feeling the strong pull of my Scandal addiction, I thought I would distract myself by attempting to write something more spiritual but #Shondaland kept creeping into my bones, my pores, my everything. My fingers trying to go in one direction on the keyboard but my mind not letting go until I could resist it no longer. Forcing me to abandon my romantic thoughts about whatever else I was trying to write bringing me back to what I was meant to write about - my addiction. My Scandal. Oh so excited, can't you tell!
But even more than that I have to acknowledge the reality that tonight Shonda Rhimes will make history! And I could not be more proud of her right now - a woman, a woman of colour, a woman who does not look like what Hollywood considers to be the ideal Hollywood woman, a woman who some claim to be an angry black woman is breaking every single stereotype there is and taking her place in history tonight. Call her what you like, define her as you may, Shonda Rhimes is completely and utterly shattering the concept of white males owning TV land tonight when she debuts her #TGIT rollout of shows.
Oh happy day for tonight Shonda Rhimes will come waltzing in with not one but three shows taking over the ABC network. Amazing grace - how sweet the sound.  And I could not be any more excited than I am right now because this woman is showing to me, my daughter, her daughters, herself, and to all the other daughters and women out there who have been lured into believing we are meant to sit quietly under the glass ceiling that was put there first by someone who wanted to protect what was his own and feared the new, there is no glass ceiling. For Shonda has not only shattered the glass ceiling, she is showing it does not exist. Shonda is showing us that the glass ceiling only exists when we buy into the concept of being defined by someone else other than ourselves. Showing us that when we are true to ourselves and go for our dreams earnestly and purposefully regardless of the labels others may try to impose on us, we can do anything we want to do.
Scandal Season 4 premieres tonight. It has been a long time in coming and I am more than excited about seeing my #Olitz on the screen, finding their way back to each other. Can you hear the harps playing in the background? I know Antwan, shattering your dream of your #Mellie but we won't go there in my flow of Scandal. I know to many the whole on-again off again #Olitz forbidden love grates on you, sorry it is the cornerstone of the show. The pure genius of Shondaland  for showing us there is no right or wrong, black or white. It is this love that divides and brings us back to Scandal over and over again. And it does because Shonda and the fabulous writing crew of Scandal know that deep down inside we all want to believe in love. We all have fallen deeply in love and want to capture that feeling over and over again. We want to know that love is available to us all - particularly passionate love- love that knows no bounds.
Can't wait to see what Scandal brings this year especially now that my girl Kerry Washington is hamper free - no more large bags and props to conceal what was not meant to be seen nor expressed as Olivia Pope. Even though in her private life it was a joyous experience, it was not an experience, so grateful it was not, to be brought to the silver screen. Can't wait to see how she has transformed both as an actress and as a woman now that she has become more than the Kerry she was before. Now that she has been given the sacred privilege of bringing forth another life to this earth and knowing how it changes us women in ways uinimagined before.
I have never watched Grey's so I can't comment on that show. And I am wrestling with watching How to get Away with Murder because I don't want to get addicted to another show as I have with Scandal. Obsessed is really what I am with Scandal and I fear Shonda and her wonderful team of writers will draw me in again with Ms. Viola Davis and the cutie from Orange is the New Black.
Aah well only time will tell, how many more hours before the debut of #Scandal Season 4? And the debut of #TGIT - Grey's Anatomy, SCANDAL and How to Get Away With Murder. I am beyond excited,  so I know Shonda must be ecstatic.
Congrats Ms. Shonda it's your night tonight lady and I am so proud of you. Now write me some juicy scenes with #Olitz please....Namaste :)