Lessons from a rose...

Roses are blooming all around me. Our front walkway is lined with them--all red rose bushes except one.  I have never had rose bushes before, so to watch and anticipate their beautiful, budding eruptions has brought me so much pleasure this spring.

The top rose was clipped by Hubs for me on Mother's day from our one white rose bush. I admit I was not happy at first. I could have loved it just the same in it's un-amputated state. Gracefully though, this rose has continued to bloom to it's full potential on my dining table.  Seeing it's undisturbed resilience and eager persistence, despite it's destiny of impermanence, I am reminded of how magnificent we all can be. Impermanence is a gift, not a fate.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
~ Steve Jobs

Hubs thought that quote was a bit morbid (see how talking about death scares us! love ya babe),
so I added this one:

"We are trying to find out if there is, or is not, a permanent state, not what we would like, but the actual fact, the truth of the matter. Everything about us, within as well as without -our relationships, our thoughts, our feelings- is impermanent, in a constant state of flux. Being aware of this, the mind craves permanency, a perpetual state of peace, of love, of goodness, a security that neither time nor events can destroy; therefore it creates the soul, the Atman, and the visions of a permanent paradise. But this permanency is born of impermanency, and so it has within it the seeds of the impermanent. There is only one fact: impermanence."
~J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Keeping it real with Monica...

~Thorns~

Dogs walking me instead of me walking dogs

unexpected expenses

the reality of exchange rates and conversion fees from dollars to euros

The disappointing combination of dark chocolate and lavender---blecht..

problems with skype on my computer--aagggh!

the tiresome task of pricing, moving, organizing for the garage sale

posting late because of above said thorn...

~Roses~

Piece, Love, and Chocolate and all the other chocolates I tried!!

hiking, hiking, hiking

new friendships

this amazing documentary

the anticipated purging of "stuff" at tomorrow's garage sale!!

You, my magnificent friends

Enjoy your weekend in all its impermanence!!

xoxo

Everything and nothing

This weekend, we had three very quiet, childless days as my boy and girl headed south to Palm Beach with their grandparents. It's been a long while since my house was that silent for that long, but my mission was clear. Armed with boxes, a sharpie and packing tape, my chance had arrived to tackle my children's bedrooms.

Looking around at all of the (temporarily) abandoned toys, lifeless and calm from their vacated playmates, I could still feel my children here, like a scent that weaves itself through a home, laying claim to everything it touches. As I bent down to clean up this little table of wooden chairs, with gemstones and rocks placed attentively on every surface, with wooden animals, horse stickers, and magnet skeletonheads in attendance, I could hear my daughter's voice in each and every character. Dismantling it right away just didn't feel right, and I wondered at the story behind it all. I paused, gazed, and listened.

And it was the same in my son's room, my son who saves everything...from an old bloody bandaid pinned up on his wall (boys....), to a magazine collage of teddy bears he made when we was three, to a 5 foot long crochet chain he made when he was six. As often I as I have been disgruntled at these objects, toys, and souvenirs, stepping on them, tripping over them, and having cleaned them up every other day, I do know they have been essential to my children's stories, passions, and youth.

I know I am overly sentimental lately, and maybe paying more attention to the little sparks and reflections that tell us who we are provides comfort. In the end though, these sentimental feelings really are only reflections, and a validation that things change, move, flow, evolve.

So some things have been neatly and gently packed, others have been placed in a give away pile, and most things have been placed in a sell pile, including my large, green, beautiful shelf from Bali.
And from this I am learning.
I am finding peace in knowing I have taken nothing for granted.
I am finding peace in knowing I am deeply grateful for everything.
And with this peace, I am finding that I can let it all go...

"That nothing is static or fixed, that all is fleeting and impermanent, is the first mark of existence. It is the ordinary state of affairs. Everything is in process. Everything—every tree, every blade of grass, all the animals, insects, human beings, buildings, the animate and the inanimate—is always changing, moment to moment."
~ Pema Chodron

Wishing you a beautiful Monday...

Linking with Amanda for Weekending...
 xoxo