Pumpkin Pie and Turkeys

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie

Gratitude Inspiration

How is your gratitude practice? Do you need a little inspiration? This video will help. It is the Karma Tube video of the week. The message is wonderful and the pictures are beautiful - too beautiful not to share.

Enjoy!

Autumn Yoga

This morning started with rain drops. What a wonderful way to wake up. The rain let up. Little doggie girl dawned her harness and I, my rain coat. Opening up the front door to the beautiful colors of autumn, we stepped outside. We walked down the street with the scent of the fresh, wet, cool morning air. "I love autumn," I thought to myself. As we came upon the cedar bridge behind the house, a pheasant was walking towards us. He saw a person and a beagle, turned around, ran the other way and then took off making that sound that only pheasants make.

The wind was blowing just enough to coax the yellow, red and orange leaves into a beautiful shower of color. Little doggie girl's nose is to the ground, sniffing the trail of the last animal that walked in our foot steps. The smell of the cedar bridge is strong and so calming.

I was lost in the beauty of it all and it was delicious.

It has inspired me. I want this experience on my yoga mat. What poses will allow me to create this? I know it is possible. What a fun adventure it will be.

A Single Candle

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
~ Buddha

In fact, you will receive more!

29 Gifts

"The best way to attract abundance into your own life is to be in a perpetual state of giving and gratitude." ~ 29 Gifts

Marya told me about this site, 29 Gifts, where you sign up and commit to giving away 29 things in 29 days. It can be anything from a smile to a new car. And another great thing about giving - it helps to raise your vibration. We all like that!

If you do sign up, be sure to add me as a friend :-)

Peace,
Karen

Why I Love My Life #33

Lance is back and I'm going to France in July! Happy Birthday to ME!

And Happy Birthday to museM, it really is her birthday today.

Dream Expansion Inspiration

STREAM OF LIFE

The Same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

~ Rabindranath Tagore

I was introduced to this beautiful poem when I saw this video today. Wow, right? Toward the end of the video I realized that more than anything else, the music was moving me. This voice, while singing in a different language, was so beautiful and the music was so upbeat. What is this song and who is singing it? I so appreciate Google each day for answering so many of my questions! The song is called "Praan". It is the above poem put to music by Gary Schyman. The voice is that of Palbasha Siddique, an 18 year old woman originally from Bangladesh who now lives in Minneapolis. Here is a link for more information on the video and Palbasha.

As I watch this video and see all of the wonderful locations, all of the people, the music and the wonderful message and I can't help but think - who's dream was this? Did it start small and grow? What was the inspiration? How many people told him that it wasn't possible or that it was crazy. Look how big this dream became. How can I use this as inspiration for my own dreams?

What are your dreams? How big are they?

Use this video as inspiration and then I ask you, how can you expand your own dreams?

Thoughts that thrill...

I subscribe to the Abe Blog so every day I get lots of inspiring quotes showing up in my feed reader. This one is spectacular:

"Hold only thoughts that thrill you."

Just thinking about holding a thought that thrills me - thrills me!

What thought thrills you? Hold on to it!

Ask And It Is Given

I was just saying yesterday, "I am not ready for winter to end. I still need time to hibernate, think, write, bake, and rest."


Wow - ask and it is given! I woke up this morning to snow! A nice, light, soft falling snow.

I'm sure some think I may be a little mad. I really do appreciate the long, dark nights of winter and the cold, sunny days in my warm home drinking tea. It is my time to recharge for the year. It is easy to be quiet, easy to learn, easy to read, easy to knit, easy to sleep. I find spring and summer to be very stimulating. I never seem to accomplish all that I want to accomplish in these seasons and I find it challenging to rest.

I do love tulips and daffodils. I do love my summer garden. I do love swimming and eating all of the wonderful, fresh foods of summer. But I still need a little more winter.

Each Day

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbon." ~ Ruth Ann Schabaker

The question I want to ask is, do you know how to untie the ribbon? For me, I wake up excited as to what the day will bring. Most days unexpected things happen. Some would think they were great, others not so much. The one thing I have come to learn is that whatever happens, accept it. Surrendering to it is untying that ribbon. Ask yourself what you have to learn from it. Look for the positive in EVERYTHING - it is there.

There are gifts given to you everyday - untie the ribbons.

Dare to Dream

I do not spend much time in movie theaters but when I hear that a movie is good, I run to Netflix and add it to the queue. This happened with two of the winners in last night's Oscar awards - La Vie en Rose and Once.

My husband and I enjoyed both movies very much, and we also enjoyed the acceptance speeches!

"Thank you life. Thank you love." - Marion Cotillard, Best Actress, La Vie en Rose

The fact that Falling Slowly won Best Song is "...proof that no matter how far out your dreams are it is possible and fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up and this song is written from a perspective of hope and hope at the end of the day connects us all." - Marketa Irglova, Best Song, Falling Slowly, from the movie ONCE.

Inspiring!

Come Alive!

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~ Howard Thurman

What makes you come alive? Is it something you do everyday? If not, do it everyday and see how alive you become.

The TV Broke

I have asked for this many, many times. While I'm all for a night of watching GOOD TV, I really do not like to have it on much. My husband on the other hand, loves to have it on whether he is watching it or not. I have been asking for quiet, peaceful evenings where we read together, talk or listen to music. In other words, "I want the TV to break and we will put a big, beautiful plant in its place".

Now, for him this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase that big, flat screened monstrosity he has been ASKING FOR and waiting for so patiently for a couple of years now. He has consulted all of the big box stores to learn about all of the options. The kind for a room that receives a lot of sun light. The size that works best for the size of the room. All of the options for cable and high definition TV.

Talk about manifesting at its finest. We both asked for a reason to get rid of the old TV. I should have asked for a big plant instead.

Be careful what you ask for :-)