Showing posts in the category “Happinessoptimism”

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• July 29, 2025
  29Jul2025

  New Surroundings

  

  Did I tell you I moved?

  After living in the same beautiful home for 41 years, my husband Jim and I decided to move to a rental apartment about 20 minutes away, in the lovely little town of Exeter, NH....

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• May 29, 2025
  29May2025

  Time, Presence, and Timelessness

  

  What if Time is made up?

  What if?

  Not sure about you, but I'm extremely aware of Time. I use the capital "T" because that's how important Time seems to be to me. I mean... I plan like crazy, strategize, keep lists and calendars, organize my day in advance, and try to organize others' lives (not always a good idea!). 

  Much of my Time is spent thinking about how to make the best use of Time....

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• April 1, 2025
  1Apr2025

  A Timely Warning and An Unexpected Gift

  

  Maryland State Trooper Jordan walked up to my car window, announced himself, and asked if he knew why I had been stopped.

  Yes, officer, I was speeding.

  Did I know the speed limit?

  I said yes, 55, and I was going 68.

  He said I clocked you at 67. And actually the speed zone is 50.

  I said I thought it was 55, and opened my mouth to say something else, but immediately closed it. I was in the wrong, and it didn’t matter whether it was 55 or 50.

  He went on to explain that the speed zone drops quickly in that area.

  He asked me where we were going, I told him…. He asked me if we were on vacation, and I said yes,

  He said wait here...

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• February 3, 2025
  3Feb2025

  Fresh Eyes

  

  It's been a busy, stressful beginning to 2025 for me, and I was late with my January post, which published just under the wire.

  Some of the stress has been really good--we moved to a new home in December that we love and are happy in. And there was a lot to do. Packing and unpacking. Saying goodbye to a home we lived in for 41 years, and a neighborhood we loved. Getting to know and find comfort in our new home, new town and new neighbors. There was, and continues to be, a lot to do.

  Plus, some illnesses in my family are pretty much always on my mind these days. And even though I said I was winding down Power & Presence Training, I said yes in recent months to some workshops that have placed me on planes, buses and rental cars in various regions of the U.S. So some travel, and the accompanying stress that comes with it.

  And, yes, we live in a world where--it seems to me anyway--a world where many folks would rather fight than listen, try to understand, or move toward solving problems. Just being in our world right now can be stressful.

  Seeing With Fresh Eyes

  Then I had breakfast with my friend Pam, who always invites me into a world of wonder, and we talked about my move, and she said, "You must be seeing everything with 'fresh eyes'!" ....

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• November 26, 2024
  26Nov2024

  Eternity's Sunrise

  

  I'm sitting at home with a sore throat/coughing/sneezing, old fashioned cold and thinking it would be a good time to wite something. I don't have a lot of energy today and so will just relate here one of my all time favorite quotations. I recite it to myself as often as I can

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• September 1, 2024
  1Sep2024

  God Winks

  

  Walking early on a Sunday morning, I hear music playing loudly down the street. I realize it's coming from a parked car up ahead across from the Public Library. It's about 7:30 am. 

  My initial reaction -- Pretty loud for so early on a Sunday in a residential neighborhood. Then I see a young man near the car either placing gear in the back seat or removing it. He's standing near the curb I'm about to walk by....

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• August 1, 2024
  1Aug2024

  Notes From a Silent Retreat

  

  I'm on a spiritual journey. The church happens to be the boat I'm traveling on.

  ~William Kent Krueger

  I'm recently returned from a silent retreat at the Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY, the retreat title: "In Silence with Thomas Merton", with Brother Ephrem Arcement, OHC. It was wonderful, On many levels....

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• July 1, 2024
  1Jul2024

  What We Will Be

  

  Today I'm reprinting a post from the United Church of Christ's Daily Devotional written April 2024 by Mary Luti. Mary is one of my favorite UCC writers, and her story made me reflect on how the sacred can surprise us at any moment; also, on the beauty of nature, and, finally, on my sometimes quick-to-judge mindset.

  Mary is a pastor and educator, and I have reprinted her post in its entirety, including the title and the Biblical passage that inspired her to write it....

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• March 1, 2024
  1Mar2024

  Stopping the Thoughts

  

  Like waves crashing against the shore, worry, regret, and fear-based narratives wash through my brain. Over and over again. In the middle of the night, day, whenever, whenever. They find me.

  Spinning thoughts -- "if onlys", missed "do overs", and anxiety

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• January 1, 2024
  1Jan2024

  Happy New Year 2024!

  

  It's New Year's Day and I'm thinking about and visualizing the year ahead.  My friend and mentor, author Thomas Crum, introduced an experience at one of his Magic trainings many years back. We were asked to imagine ourselves a year ahead and to write down all the things we were grateful for that had happened in the year just gone by. 

  So... if I were to do that exercise today (and I did), I would be visualizing myself on January 1, 2025, and writing down all the events, experiences, people, and actions that happened in 2025 that I was grateful for....

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