Outstanding in Her Field!!

The day was dismal - or it could have been but I strive to keep the sunshine in my heart!  As people always say, "Hey I woke up and put my feet on the ground - now isn't that a lot to be grateful for?!?  Today I had to go and select some of friend Pat's quilts - we are hanging an exhibit in her memory at Cold Spring Village quilt show last weekend in June.  She was a gentle spirit - always with the sunshine in her heart and up until her last days, we were talking about going to the new ice cream shop in Pitman when she came home!!  We shared optimism and belief that everything works out as it needs to.  I have such gratitude for having had Pat in my life for as long as I did!!

    When I left her husband, Jim, with bags of quilts and stories and photographs, the sky got darker and darker - I was anticipating the rain and actually excited about the possibililties of photographing the water coming down!!  I pulled over to the side of the road and was STILL - you know - BE STILL and SEE and that I did.  I was safer that way too because I doubted I could have seen through the torrents of rain.

   Arriving back in Pitman, I challenged myself to go and look for more Lillies - I challenged the BE STILL group to create an album of lillies with me on Facebook.  I was lucky!  I discovered a number of different colors and it was dry enough to see them all.  I also saw beautiful gardens and the echinacaea in the midst of it just reminded me to BE OUTSTANDING IN YOUR FIELD...never be concerned to stand alone and stand tall.  Never be afraid to be different - to be yourself.  Now didn't she complement the other flowers?  It's all about unity and diversity everywhere I look.  Later in another garden, there was yet another lone echinacaea and she too was proud of who she is!!WOO HOO!!  Maybe today this flower reminded me of Laughter, Song and Dance - and she is a healng herb too.  Brene Brown talks about Letting Go of  Being cool and always in control.  Ms. E has let it go - she is laughing with her friends and they are engaged in a dance of relationships that only they and their spirit devas of the garden can truly understand.

   We are quiet observers of the energies around us in the gardens and for this we truly just need to be still friends.  Or maybe the message is to Let Go of Anxiety and Be Calm and Still.  You choose - either one can work as long as we embrace who we truly are!

   Before we finish - meet Pat and Jim!!

 

My Head's In the Clouds!!

It was 9:15 in the morning and I was sitting and waiting for my friend Martha so we could go to the Philadelphia Art Museum to see the Whitman Samplers.  You know them because most likely you have eaten from the yellow boxes with the sampler design on them.  I know I grew up with them - often received them as a gift from my mother-in-law for Christmas!  Anyhow - I was just gazing and my hand reached over to the seat next to me for the little red Fuji I am now carrying (fits in my pocket).  I just had to take some pictures of the clouds.  Once again they were totally awesome.  There was such diversity - seemed a turbulent sky but from another perspective, the sun was shining brightly!!  I posted this on Facebook and got some great comments about my ability as a photographer.  Ever humble and realistic, I said that "everyone can do this" but a new friend in Nebraska said, "No, not everyone can see this...nor do they take the time to stop and look!"  I totally appreciated Lisa's comments...and the gift of the clouds on that particular morning.  What they looked like...an impending storm, was not the truth nor was the day at all like that.  Martha and I are getting to know one another and this day we discovered so many similarities in our upbringing, our personalities and likes/dislikes.  Too bad that she is moving to Williamsburg,VA - but hey - a place to visit!!  Adventures await!!   And here is one of the Samplers... done in Scotland in the 1800s - well preserved.

Got Another Wish!!

Before I left home, a trip to AAA was in order to get books and maps of Iowa and Nebraska.  On the cover of the book was an amazing picture of the most colorful rainbow like structure.  I said I hoped I could discover what this was and get to see it.  I searched the book and could find no description of the picture of what was on the cover.  When I was talking with Beth, I described what I wanted to see and asked if she had any idea of what it was?!?  Of course - why did I have any doubt that Beth would come through - she is such a wealth of information as well as a treasured friend.  She said it was the Botanical garden in DesMoines and we would be going there since she had a meeting to attend there!!  Ask and you shall receive - once again.  It was small as botanical gardens go, but just right for an hour or two of meandering among the plants inside and out.  I got to see the sculpture from every angle and yet another wish came true!!  Life is good!!!

Transitions...Change...and Joy

This past weekend was a class reunion for Wildwood High School.  I went as an adventure to see who I might know and what life had to offer.  The time gave me pause ...and a conversatioin with Bill when I got home...I found lots of people reliving their high school days...and realized that I was living in the present rather than remembering what was.  Different perspectives...different memories...different people.  What I did get to see was this really cool representation of the town that I grew up in - and backed by an awesome display of clouds!!  Came home with memories - a few little beach balls - great for squeezing for hand exercises...and the queset for a search to move forward.

 One of my wishes for the weekend was to head to Cape May Point to see the monarchs on their migratory route - and see I did, though not in the batches of hundreds that have been sighted.  I felt blessed with those I got to watch - just standing in the warm sun and being still as they gathered on the goldenrod to feast before beginning their next step in the journey.  Quite representative for me and my place right now.  Now that the Uptown Pitman Farm Market has come to a close, it's time to regroup and find what engagement life has to offer next.  While I was feeling sad about the disconnect, my dear friend Lillian, wrote this to me this morning - and I pass it on to you

"Knowing that joy is present in life may require the absence of it once in awhile. Do you think that i possibly true?  Do you think that makes it something more appreciated?  Do you think that motivates one to keep seeking it and not settling for less?  What thoughts to ponder as I go forward on October 5 to see what synchronicities the day will bring!!

Transitions and the Free Spirit

It's transition time...again...yet...still...it's coming close to the time of hanging out in the void to be still and see what doors life will open.  It's time to realize that it is time to clean and purge to be ready to move on!!  Last week I met friend, Annee, at Cape May for a 'sleepover' - she took the Ferry from Delaware and we explored - created adventures and memories...all special...Saturday night is always a flag ceremony at Sunset Beach at Cape May Point.  I, and a multitude of others, sat and watched the color show in the sky.  At one point, I was sitting on the rock pile taking pictures - concerned that this young girl was "in my way".  Then I got a clear message, "She is NOT in your way.  She is part of it all!"  WOW - and I just began to include her and what turned out was this spectacular photo.  I call it FREE SPIRIT and know that my body, mind and soul aspire to be more free and dance on the rocks in the sunset...or wander among the flowers in the garden - or prepare for the magnificence of Fall colors!!  I stopped...watched...and listened...and it filled me with a sense of joy and wonder.