It's almost the end of May and I feel like I'm finally waking up from the winter. Last year seems to have ended and I hit the ground running in January and haven't really stopped to just enjoy the simple things. I feel as if I've just been focusing on the next trip for work or the next deadline and have just kept my head down and I haven't really looked up to just figuratively smell the roses.
So what have I done? I went to Peru for work in January and hiked Machu Picchu, then returned for a 2 day trip with a head cold in February. I drove to NY and dropped off Boomer, then visited San Francisco and Berkeley in March, where I was disappointed in the lack of hippies and organic smells on campus. I visited with family for a few weeks and then returned home to fly back to Oakland for 23 hours. I started and completed my first commissioned piece of stained glass for a friend, which took my 3 months longer than expected. I'm almost finished with the second one. And I've booked a work trip to Australia, and will be gone for the month of June. What I'll be doing there, who knows, but I'm looking forward to the adventure and tell all of you about it!
So why all of a sudden am I waking up? I tend to be a facebook voyeur, watching what others are doing and occasionally posting something of my own. It took a good friend's post last week to make me realize that I need to slow down and just get myself back in a state of "just being". I've been too focused on the future, on the next "thing" to just realize what I have around me. Thanks Shannon for the reminder! Here is the post that got me - http://nourishedbodynurturedsoul.com/blog/2013/05/ive-been-keeping-something-from-you
So what are simple pleasures? Or as Shannon calls it - your Soul Food? What are the things that make you happy and make you realize there is good in the world? What things heighten your awareness, make you think, make you want to laugh, smile and be a better person? If you stop for a minute and just think about your day, your week, your month, I bet you can come up with a list of things that make you smile. It's hard sometimes to disengage from the world, from the sadness and feelings of being overwhelmed at not being able to help. Turn off the tv, sit in the sun, close your eyes and make your list. Here are some of my moments from the past week:
- Knowing my sisters, one an Ironman, one not, were running the Brooklyn Half Marathon together. Hearing how one pushed the other to finish, never giving up on her even though she wanted to give up on herself. Seeing the pictures from the race and laughing so hard when one was smiling and the other was on the verge of giving the finger. And being so proud of both of them.
- Planting the garden and watching the little seeds start to pop their head above the soil.
- Seeing a close friend and her family off on their new adventure at their going away party last weekend, where they were toasted and given a book of memories written among the pages of a Mark Twain novel. Feeling bittersweet about losing a second family, but happy for them as they close one chapter and start another.
- Thinking about a friend all weekend who was a guest speaker at a national enthusiast club event. Feeling overwhelming happiness for him as all his hard work over the past few years was being put on show and hoping he was soaking it all in and just enjoying the moment.
- Playing trivial pursuit with a friend who amazed me at how much useless knowledge he has in his head. In awe of how smart he was, feeling a little bad that I had doubted him in the first place!
- Watching Boomer run at the dog park or run/play in his sleep
- Finishing a good jog in the 85 degree heat
- Trying a new recipe for Granola, which was so yummy!!
http://www.elizabethrider.com/easy-healthy-homemade-granola-recipe/
- writing this blog and sharing with others
There are so many more little things I could write about. What are your simple pleasures? If you've read this, take a moment and share one or two below.
And thanks in advance for making me smile :-)
So what have I done? I went to Peru for work in January and hiked Machu Picchu, then returned for a 2 day trip with a head cold in February. I drove to NY and dropped off Boomer, then visited San Francisco and Berkeley in March, where I was disappointed in the lack of hippies and organic smells on campus. I visited with family for a few weeks and then returned home to fly back to Oakland for 23 hours. I started and completed my first commissioned piece of stained glass for a friend, which took my 3 months longer than expected. I'm almost finished with the second one. And I've booked a work trip to Australia, and will be gone for the month of June. What I'll be doing there, who knows, but I'm looking forward to the adventure and tell all of you about it!
So why all of a sudden am I waking up? I tend to be a facebook voyeur, watching what others are doing and occasionally posting something of my own. It took a good friend's post last week to make me realize that I need to slow down and just get myself back in a state of "just being". I've been too focused on the future, on the next "thing" to just realize what I have around me. Thanks Shannon for the reminder! Here is the post that got me - http://nourishedbodynurturedsoul.com/blog/2013/05/ive-been-keeping-something-from-you
So what are simple pleasures? Or as Shannon calls it - your Soul Food? What are the things that make you happy and make you realize there is good in the world? What things heighten your awareness, make you think, make you want to laugh, smile and be a better person? If you stop for a minute and just think about your day, your week, your month, I bet you can come up with a list of things that make you smile. It's hard sometimes to disengage from the world, from the sadness and feelings of being overwhelmed at not being able to help. Turn off the tv, sit in the sun, close your eyes and make your list. Here are some of my moments from the past week:
- Knowing my sisters, one an Ironman, one not, were running the Brooklyn Half Marathon together. Hearing how one pushed the other to finish, never giving up on her even though she wanted to give up on herself. Seeing the pictures from the race and laughing so hard when one was smiling and the other was on the verge of giving the finger. And being so proud of both of them.
- Planting the garden and watching the little seeds start to pop their head above the soil.
- Seeing a close friend and her family off on their new adventure at their going away party last weekend, where they were toasted and given a book of memories written among the pages of a Mark Twain novel. Feeling bittersweet about losing a second family, but happy for them as they close one chapter and start another.
- Thinking about a friend all weekend who was a guest speaker at a national enthusiast club event. Feeling overwhelming happiness for him as all his hard work over the past few years was being put on show and hoping he was soaking it all in and just enjoying the moment.
- Playing trivial pursuit with a friend who amazed me at how much useless knowledge he has in his head. In awe of how smart he was, feeling a little bad that I had doubted him in the first place!
- Watching Boomer run at the dog park or run/play in his sleep
- Finishing a good jog in the 85 degree heat
- Trying a new recipe for Granola, which was so yummy!!
http://www.elizabethrider.com/easy-healthy-homemade-granola-recipe/
- writing this blog and sharing with others
There are so many more little things I could write about. What are your simple pleasures? If you've read this, take a moment and share one or two below.
And thanks in advance for making me smile :-)
