Lost & Isolated

It’s not that I’m not spiritual, its that I don’t purposefully think about it on a regular basis. I wish I did. Maybe if I were around others who were, more often, I would. I remember when my friend Leah still lived here & how much my spiritual side was an active part of the rest of me. She had a metaphysical shop for a couple years where she had weekly ‘meeting’ nights. She also was a personal friend so we got to hang at her house anytime. I miss her.

When we did that move to Florida thing last year (2010) it was kinda nice to be near my other Pagan friend, Krista. She is very much into the whole witch thing. Was nice to be around her for that. There were a few others around down there as well ...

Now, back here, living alone with just my man, I feel kind of isolated from all of it. Sure, I can go online & connect with other like minded folks. But somehow that’s just not the same. We do have a pagan yahoo group for our area that I started years ago. But again, we’re spread out & not very active. Out of sight, out of mind it seems.

I miss my pagan connections. I miss paying closer attention to the calendar & all the little pagan holidays. Perhaps with this being the beginning of the new year on the pagan wheel, I can make a better attempt to get back to my spirit side …

Comparing milk

The other day I saw that Organic coconut milk was on sale at my local favorite grocer. Now, I already use organic rice milk in place of creamer in my coffee. I like it pretty well, even tho half & half is richer. But, this is much more cost effective. Anyway, I have always wanted to try coconut milk. I know its supposed to be good for you & a great alternative to cow milk. I bought one carton of regular & one unsweetened. Set them in the fridge to chill.

Once nice & cold, I poured a little of each for me & the man to try. Huh. Not bad. Not what we know as milk, but not bad. Maybe I could get used to this in my cereal, I thought. The man said it was okay. Not really sure what that meant, since he didn’t divulge more info.

This morning, I poured the regular version in my bowl of Kashi cereal. Umm. I don’t think I’ll do that again. Drinking it from a glass, in just a small quantity, was one thing. But it just was not the same & actually tasted kinda funny in my cereal.

I also tried the unsweetened version in my coffee. Now this was kinda nice. It’s thicker than the rice milk so it made the coffee seem a little richer. The flavor was the same. Not bad. I could see me using this in coffee on a regular basis. Well, maybe after I use up all the rice milk I’ve stockpiled! LOL After all, I can get the organic rice milk from my Costco for a decent price, by the case.

So I just thought I’d put this out there for others to compare. My new experience with Organic Coconut milk.

Making Life Yours

One of the Daily OM emails I get. I love these things!

Making Life Yours

There is no secret recipe for happiness and contentment. The individuals who move through life joyously have not necessarily been blessed with lives of abundance, love, success, and prosperity. Such people have, however, been blessed with the ability to take the circumstances they’ve been handed and make them into something great. Our individual realities are colored by perception—delight and despair come from within rather than without. Situations we regard as fortuitous please us while situations we judge inauspicious cause us no end of grief. Yet if we can look at all we have accomplished without dwelling on our perceived misfortune and make each new circumstance our own, the world as a whole becomes a brighter place. A simple shift in attitude can help us recognize and unearth the hidden potential for personal and outer world fulfillment in every event, every relationship, every duty, and every setback.

The universe is often an unpredictable and chaotic place, and the human tendency is to focus on the negative and assume the positive will care for itself. But life can be no more or no less than what you make of it. If you are working in a job you dislike, you can concentrate on the positive aspects of the position and approach your work with gusto. What can you do with this job that can turn it around so you do love it. When faced with the prospect of undertaking a task you fear, you can view it as an opportunity to discover what you are truly capable of doing. Similarly, unexpected events, when viewed as surprises, can add flavor to your existence. By choosing to love life no matter what crosses your path, you can create an atmosphere of jubilance that is wonderfully infectious. A change in perspective is all it takes to change your world, but you must be willing to adopt an optimistic, hopeful mind-set.

To make a conscious decision to be happy is not enough. You must learn to observe life’s complexities through the eyes of a child seeing everything for the first time. You must furthermore divest yourself of preconceived notions of what is good and what is bad so that you can appreciate the rich insights concealed in each stage of your life’s journey. And you must strive to discover the dual joys of wanting what you have. As you gradually shift your perspective, your existence will be imbued with happiness and contentment that will remain with you forever.

***And to this, I don’t even know what to say. It is all so very true. I do my best, most of the time, to seek out the positive in life. Sometimes it is difficult. Other times, beyond easy.

Allowing the body to recharge

We had a great visit with hubby’s dad & step mom over the weekend. Sunday we ended up going on an awesome hike. It was also the day the hubby began to feel better from the crud stuff he had, & I began to feel the crud coming on. Lovely. So I spent the past few days doing not much of anything, knowing I was getting behind on everything. But when you have sinus pressure, can’t breathe all too well & feel drained, what else can you do?

I drank lots of herbal teas. I really loved the Traditional Medicinal’s Breathe Easy tea. Awesome flavor & it seemed to help. I also sucked on many Vitamin C chews I had picked up from the clearance bin at Wal-Mart not long ago. So combine all that with plenty of rest & working up a sweat on food bank day… & I finally feel almost all better. Still have a bit of the sniffles & a slight cough but otherwise feel very renewed.

Timing Can Be Everything

From my Daily Om emails ...

Where You Need to Be

Timing Can Be Everything

Since human timetables quite often do not correspond with universal timetables, it’s common for people to feel that life is progressing too slowly or too quickly. We draft carefully composed plans only to find that they fall into place when we least expect. Or, conversely, we are thrust into roles we believe we are not prepared for and wonder how we will survive the demands imposed upon us by unfamiliar circumstances. When delays in our progress kindle pangs of disappointment within us or the pace of life seems overwhelming, peace can be found in the simple fact that we are exactly where we need to be at this moment.

Every person fulfills their purpose when the time is right. If you have fast-tracked to success, you may become deeply frustrated if you discover you can no longer satisfy your desires as quickly as you might like. Yet the delays that disappoint you may be laying the foundation for future accomplishments that you have not yet conceived. Or the universe may have plans for you that differ from the worldly aspirations you have pursued up until this point. What you deem a postponement of progress may actually represent an auspicious opportunity to prepare for what is yet to come. If, however, you feel as though the universe is pushing you forward at too fast a clip, you may be unwittingly resisting your destiny. Your unease regarding the speed of your progress could be a sign that you need to cultivate awareness within yourself and learn to move with the flow of fate rather than against it. The universe puts nothing in your path that you are incapable of handling, so you can res! t assured that you are ready to grow into your new situation.

You may feel compelled to judge your personal success using your age, your professional position, your level of education, or the accomplishments of your peers as a yardstick. Yet we all enjoy the major milestones in our lives at the appropriate time—some realize their dreams as youngsters while others flourish only in old age. If you take pride in your many accomplishments and make the most of every circumstance in which you find yourself, your time will come.

***Ugh! Can you relate? I sure can. I cant tell you how often I wonder why things are the way they are.  Why are things going so fast? Or so friggin slow? It’s frustrating to say the least.  Reading these words, helps to make you stop & think, even if just for a minute. It might not make you feel all better, but it sure helps to put things into perspective!

Staying True to Your Word

From my Daily Om emails …

Power in Honesty

Staying True to Your Word

Promises are easily made. Keeping them often proves more difficult because when we are pressured to strive always for perfection, we find it simpler to agree to undertake impossible tasks than to say no. Likewise, there is an infinite array of circumstances that conspire to goad us into telling falsehoods, even when we hold a great reverence for truth. When you endeavor to consistently keep your word, however, you protect your reputation and promote yourself as someone who can be trusted to be unfailingly truthful. Though your honesty may not always endear you to others—for there will always be those who fear the truth—you can nonetheless be certain that your integrity is never tarnished by the patina of deceit. Since frankness and sincerity form the basis of all life-enriching relationships, your word is one of your most precious and powerful possessions.

When we promise more than we can deliver, hide from the consequences of our actions through falsehoods, or deny our true selves to others, we hurt those who were counting on us by proving that their faith was wrongly given. We are also hurt by the lies we tell and the promises we break. Integrity is the foundation of civilization, allowing people to live, work, and play side by side without fear or apprehension. As you cultivate honesty within yourself, you will find that your honor and reliability put people at ease. Others will feel comfortable seeking out your friendship and collaborating with you on projects of great importance, certain that their positive expectations will be met. If you do catch yourself in a lie, ask yourself what you wanted to hide and why you felt you couldn’t be truthful. And if life’s surprises prevent you from keeping your word, simply admit your error apologetically and make amends quickly.

Since the path of truth frequently represents the more difficult journey, embarking upon it builds character. You can harness the power of your word when you do your best to live a life of honesty and understand what motivates dishonesty. In keeping your agreements and embodying sincerity, you prove that you are worthy of trust and perceive values as something to be incorporated into your daily existence.

*** Do you ever think about this? I do. Have I ever lied? Yes. Many times over my life. Sometimes it’s been teeny tiny ones, sometimes big. At the time, it feels like the right thing to do. And, I kind of have to say, that sometimes, its okay. Well, in my world anyway. Sometimes, if it will not hurt a person but actually spare them, & no harm is done, why not? It’s a big big thing to think about. And definitely something to consider as we go thru our days & interact with others. Don’t do it just because it’s the easy way out. That, will come back to bite you!

Get moving

There is a topic going on in the Zibbet Community talking about getting healthy. We all know how tough it is. I also know, doing it on your own can be even tougher. If you are anything like me, you read all kinds of stuff, from everywhere, about everything health related.

I try to eat right. Well, okay, I try to eat … better. I have my weaknesses. But, we all do. Whether or not we admit it, is another thing. For me, eating better seems to come in waves. There are times when it’s so easy to eat good & not snack on junk. Other times, it’s all I can do to not fill my day with junk. Part of this is the hormone fluctuation I still have on a monthly basis. The other part is just … lack of motivation. And I think a lot of that stems from the fact I’m home alone all day, every day. My day out is spent at the local food bank, volunteering. That day I do pretty good. I get exercise, I’m away from snacking & have something to occupy my mind.

The rest of the week, I’m home. I spend (admittedly) probably too much time in front of this computer. I have things I can do away from here, but again, it’s the motivation that hinders me.

Today hubby’s dad & step mom are in town for a short visit (from FL). We’ll be playing tour guide & generally visiting until Sunday night. This should help out in the snacking & eating dept. I hope. Well, maybe the snack part at least. We’ll see about the eating thing which will depend on where we eat while they are here.

So once they are on their way back home I will look into all of the eating better & exercising thing again. I will also be talking to our landlady (hopefully) about letting us have a dog. She should be alright with it since she said we could talk about it when we first moved in. We’ve proven to be good tenants over the past year so…

I really feel having a doggie again will help to motivate me to at least get out & walk more. So until then … keep thinking positive ….