TMI...OVERLOAD...or BE STILL!?!?!

All the time I talk about peace of mind...being still and being - just paying attention to the present moment and letting life flow.  TALK IS EASY.  Doing and just Being is the challenge.  Sometimes I feel like the hamster on the wheel - confined in the environment and just using momentum to spin around in circles.  Sometimes it feels like a dog chasing its tail.  Whatever it is, it is not where I want and/or need to be but sometimes where I get caught! 
   Friend Lillian taught me the expression TMI - I sat with a question mark in my head when I saw the letters - yet when I went still I saw that it stood for TOO MUCH INFORMATION.  Yep I get it.  It's NOT a gift to have too much information and too many gifts/skills.  It's challenging to want to know everything and do everything.  It's a challenge friends for me to BE STILL - maybe except when I pick up my camera!?!?  Maybe that is where I need to BE more rather than always struggling to figure out who I am and where I fit and what would make me happy.  Friend Bob talks about simply Letting Go - letting go of what?  The need to know...the need to know what I will do with the pictures I take - the need to know what I will do with the quilting projects I do?  
   I have simple needs...wanting to BE...and be still and at peace.  Then I rediscover the 'junque' that is available to me - sugar, carbs, and related stuff.  Then I go there for a few days...and then again, I say, "OK it's time to LET IT GO!"  Now it's that time again...maybe this will be the last time?  Maybe.  Life in retirement can be BE STILL moments IF we allow them to shine and open our hearts and minds to them.  It's so simple...and not... This is where I really am deep inside - this water lily is the personification of Being Still and Peace...enough said...Let it BE!!

It Only Takes ONE!

It only takes one, though I did lament on the BE STILL and SEE sight that there was only a single water lily in the pond when

we were meandering the grounds at Chanticleer.  What I forgot to mention is that it was Spectacular and Little Light was definitely right there with me dancing with glee!!  I just looked and she lit up the flower.  It said, "Martie here I am in all of my glory!  Don't worry that I am here alone because I am NOT lonely.  I have lots of other friends here with me and anyway, this way, I can be noticed and be outstandinig in the pond!  WOO HOO!"  See, I always say that I wait for the flower to share how she wants to be seen IF at all.  This one did, but there were many pictures I took the other day that were really blurry

I was really surprised to see that Ms. Lily had a baby friend...and then there were the leaves and all of their shadows and reflections.  See I was looking at 'more of the same' when what I had to be still and notice was the diversity in the pond.  Well now - isn't that just like life?  There is so much diversity in the world and that is what makes our environment what it truly is - differences that we can appreciate and value!  Aren't we totally fortunate.  IF there were more water lillies like the one I saw, well, it wouldn't be the same anyway just as none of us is like one another.  The water lily did have a baby friend that we saw just as a big bud on the water - and that too was perfect.  Life is perfect...
Someone just aked me to recommend a camera to them.  I had to write back and say that she was asking the wrong person because she wanted one - not too expensive - where she could change lenses and take pictures with all of the perspectives that I saw.  I said I don't have one of those and never will  - the perspective comes from my head and heart and as the commercials on TV say - maybe for Discover card - well, that is priceless.  Just buy a simple card and go peacefull into the world and BE STILL and SEE.  Someone else said I should teach a class on Stilllife after she saw the butterfly I posted yesterday.  It's NOT about still life either friends.  You need never get tired of hearing me say that it is about BE STILL AND SEE - it is about going out quietly with camera in hand and no expectations, no labels...only a clear intention to be OPEN to see the gifts all around you.  No need to say more?!  Just do it...with an open heart and a clear mind...and an eye that takes in all that is around you.  Don't label...just see!!  It's so simple that you can't make it complex...well, IF you try too hard you can...get the message??  Enjoy!!

Immersed in the Beauty of the Universe

Today I present to you, my friends, the total awesome beauty that we are given from the Universe. Grounds for Sculpture has multiple ponds that are just lush with these magnificent water lillies - they are in different locations, are different sizes but they all show and reflect their magnificence. For me, this is a representation of Total Peace and Gratitude for my life!!  More words are not necessary- the picture expresses what I see and feel when I am still and just look. Remember to unwrap your gifts too every day!!  These are stress free and at no cost but setting aside the time to nurture your heart and soul!!