December 26: Inspire Peace

John called me on Friday and suggested that we make our extra bedroom into a healing room. John's mom was coming for Christmas. She is currently being treated for cancer. Friday evening we hung photographs and arranged flowers so that the room would be inviting and calming.

The next morning, the sun was shining and we went into to check on the room.

For Christmas, we gave John's mom a couple of hats to keep her head warm. We hope they will also inspire laughter.

White is the color of purity. Simple white roses and tulips were my favorite bouquet.

December 7: Inspire Peace

So much going on. Meetings, training new staff, getting ready for the board meeting. Downstairs, a group for kids and teens were making gingerbread houses. A break. An excuse to get away from the computer. And this is what we saw. . .

Concentration

Creativity

Happy Smiling Faces

And incredible Gingerbread Houses.

The room was think with the sweet smells of the candy and frosty. It was rich with concentration and creativity. The room was so full of life and wonder.

What a fun and creative time. And a wonderful break to inspire me.

December 6: Inspire Peace

For a long time, I have wanted to grow my hair out and then cut off the length and donate for a real hair wig. Well, my hair has been getting longer and longer. Recently, all I could think about was cutting it off. I didn't want to do what I have done so many times. Just cut it off to get it off my neck. I wanted my hair to be used for something good.

Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program only requires 8" of hair. They make and donate wigs for women with cancer. Right now there are two very special people in my life who have cancer.

Toni and Marilyn, this is for you.

At 1:30 today, I took my lunch break at the hair salon.

Kim pulled into pony tail sections so that we would get as much hair as possible.

It took a little while, but . . .

And what goes into the mail tomorrow . . .

Sometimes you feel completely helpless when those you love are suffering. There is very little that we can do to make that person feel better. This won't fix anything, but I hope that my hair will be a part of a wig, that will give a woman back a sense of herself as she goes through treatment and finds healing.

I am thankful that I am able to give in this way. I thinks it's going to be a while before I can do it again.

If you would like more information about Pantene Beautiful Lengths, click away.

December 5: Inspire Peace

WORDS

Words are so very powerful.

Words have vibrations and impact; positive or negative.

The first words of "A Christmas Carol"

Our words have the ability to inspire peace and kindness if we choose.

"Life is in speech, death is in speech." ~ Mary Kawena Pukui

December 4: Inspire Peace

Imagine
by John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above is only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Enjoy the song and video of Imagine

This is a crystal formed from this song.

December 3: Inspire Peace

It rained today. And then the sun came out. Rain gives life. Water gives life.

Today's rain: Stars and reflections. 

 Within one drop there is a whole other world.

This morning, while it rained,  I read "Love Thyself: The Message from Water III" by Masaru Emoto. He has experimented with water and vibrations and how those positive or negative vibrations affect water. He freezes the water and photographs the crystals.

This is from water that was exposed to the words Love and Gratitude.

In this book, Emoto says that to heal ourselves and the earth, we must first love ourselves.

Three simple phrases that can lead to peace. Peace within. Peace throughout the world.

"I Love you. I thank you. I respect you."

December 2: Inspire Peace

"A lifetime is not what is between
the moments of birth and death.

A lifetime is one moment
Between my two little breaths.
The present, the here, the now,
That's all the life I get.
I live each moment in full,
In kindness, in peace, without regret."

Chade Meng, Taoist poet

Today, I needed most to be reminded to breathe. Driving in heavy traffic, moving lots of chairs, working through tough issues at a meeting. For all of these things, I needed to breathe. To be in the moment, conscious and thoughtful.

I turned off and took the country roads home, I took more trips with the chairs to lighten my load, and I spoke my mind.

It was a good day.

Breathe. Peace. Breathe. Namaste. Aloha.

December 1: Inspire Peace

I grew up in Evanston not very far form the Baha'i House of Worship. I remember going there with my church youth group and again on other occasions as the building was incredibly beautiful and inspired such a sense of peace within me.

I was back in Evanston yesterday and had this urge to stop and visit once again. As you can see the sky was a brilliant blue and I knew that the building would be a beautiful as ever. I took time to walk all the way around the building and spent time in the visitor center that is below.

"Bahá'ís believe: the purpose of life is to know and worship God, to acquire virtues, to promote the oneness of humankind and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization all humanity was created by one God and is part of one human race work performed in the spirit of service is a form of worship."

Inside I found this display rack:

In the rack are literature about the building and the religion in many different languages. How many places do you visit that are this inclusive?

I walked into the meeting area in the visitor center, it is a big round room with a tall domed ceiling below ground. There was a very strong scent of flowers and when I looked by the podium I saw a large vase if Day Lily's.

On the upper floor they ask that no one take photographs. Oh, how I wished I could take just a few images of the domes ceiling. It is beautiful and intricate and no one was there to stop me. As I sat wishing, I realized that taking that photograph and posting it here about inspiring peace would be very hypocritical, so I just sat for a while and took in the quiet, the space, and the light coming through all of the windows.

There is beauty, peace and serenity throughout the world. My goal this month is to notice and photograph those moments when I am peacefully inspired and share them here.

Happy Thanksgiving

I give thanks for the rich bounty we receive from the earth. I share my current favorite recipe for a wonderful healthy, healing soup.

Butternut Squash Soup


1 Butternut Squash
Cut Butternut squash long way in half. Scrape out seeds and pulp. (Separate seeds to roast in the oven with a light coating of olive oil, salt and paper. They have a richer flavor than pumpkin seeds.) Bake in oven skin side down at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until squash is soft. Cool. Scrape out squash, discard skin, and set aside.

2 TBS. Olive Oil
3 Carrots, chopped
3-4 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Med. Onion, chopped
1 Tart Apple, seeded and chopped
8 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. All Spice
1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

In a large soup pan, pour in olive oil, heat. When hot, add copped onion, carrots and celery. stir and cook until onion is soft and cooked through. Add, vegetable broth, apple, squash, and seasonings. Simmer on low heat for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Blend the soup in a blender or food processor. You are now ready for a tasty treat.

Enjoyable additions to the soup, Quinoa and/or bacon bits, or roasted squash seeds.

Myriad, Veritable Cornucopia, Plethora

There are so many ways that you can look at the world and the things around you.

You can look down on it.

You can look up to it:

You can look at everything around it and lose track of the subject.

You can also look at it through colored glasses.

In the end, it is up to you to choose how to look at and deal with it.

But, when it comes to hindsight, it is nice to know that you looked at all of your options and selected the one that suited you the best.

Dedicated to my friends Candi, Tracy and Cathi

The Last Day of October

A month filled with strange things, technology going crazy, and often feeling like my world was a bit upside down.

Thankful for the trip to New Mexico (Photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/16033511@N00/), a trip to Haunted Brookfield Zoo with friends, a spooky night of scary stories in the Cemetery, and great people to be a part of the Library's parade entry.

Boo!

Enter if You Dare!

Three Storytellers

October 28: I choose . . .

to enjoy the fun and spirit of Halloween.

These were taken at the Brookfield zoo last weekend. There are more to come.

October 9th: I choose . . .

Serendipity.

This little vacation has been filled with happy accidents.

At the airport I asked if I could switch from and aisle seat to the window seat. I got the exit row with no one next to me. When we went to get our car, we paid for economy (Yes, we were being cheap. There are more exciting places to spend money than on a rental car.) When we went outside to pick a car, all of the economy cars were gone and we got a free upgrade.

We were supposed to go for a hot air balloon ride on Friday morning. It was rained out. Instead we met a nice waitress at a little diner, a great photographer, Robert Crispin, and then had a great day wandering in the Jemez Mountains.

Saturday we slept in (got up at 7 am). We decided to go back to the Jemez Mountains to see the Caldera and all points in between. As we headed north out of town, we saw balloons flying over the city. The pangs of what we missed tugged at my heart. We planned to come back for the evening glow, but took 7 hours to get up the road to the old volcano. We met several nice people, two Basset Hounds, one Cocker Basset mix, and a Golden Retriever who belonged to the Basset Family. (No kidding). We met a nice man who worked at Amanda's Trail Shop, and saw so much beauty around us.

Sunday would be the day to go to see the Hot Air Balloons. Another 4:30 am wake up call. When we got to the  Field, I suggested that we put out name on the waiting list to go up in the balloon. We were two of the last three people to go from waiting to riding.  There is no way to explain the sensation, the beauty, the wonderful time that I had. A few pictures might help a little.

Lift Off

Aliens

Touching the Rio Grande

So, to continue with Serendipity. The balloon pilot was Andy Williams from Galena, Illinois. One of his balloon chasers, Garrett, is the nephew of a patron at the Sycamore Library. Another crew member has her Master's in Library Science. It's a small beautiful world.

October 5th: I choose . . .

to stop and look at the wonderful colors again and again and again.

Red and Yellow Make Orange

Look Up

Tree Mandala

The Fall colors are here for such a short time. These nice warm fall colorful days are such a treasure. I choose to look at them and stop to smell the dried leaves and listen to the crunch beneath my feet. Don't forget to look up. The cerulean blue sky colored leaves and strong branches make such beautiful mandalas.

October 4th: Today I Chose . . .

to stop and photograph the beautiful fall colors.

What a beautiful warm fall day!

October 3: I Choose . . .

to share a kiss and an intimate moment.

Yesterday, the dogs alerted us to three deer in the backyard. It was the middle of the day and we had seen another family of deer earlier in the morning. Such a surprise. I have never seen a mother nursing her young. For them to feel so safe in our yard is such a gift. The mother had started to head down the back wood line and the guy that she is kissing was taking his time. She turned around, came back to him, and licked his nose. The other kid came back and they went in for a drink. She allowed them to drink for a couple of minutes before she pulled away.

I choose to keep my eyes open for wonderful moments.

October 2nd: So Many Choices

Yesterday was one full and fun day. I chose to participate in all of it. Now I need to make a decision; a choice. Which photo to I select as my one for the Scott Kelby Photo Walk submission? In the end, it is my choice, but I would love to hear what you think. I can only choose one image, and the groups goal is to submit an image that really depicts DeKalb.

 

Last night was a great night. Lots of fun. More pictures from the walk can be seen on my Flickr page. The night out came after a fun afternoon with family and a nice lunch at Ted's Montana Grill.

Julie, Joe, Jon and I went up in the Millennium Carillon in Moser Tower before lunch. What an interesting place, nice company and good exercise. Photos to come later.

October: I Choose . . .

To live by choice, not by chance;
to make changes, not excuses;
to be motivated, not manipulated;
to be useful, not used;
to excel, not compete;
I choose self-esteem, not self pity;
I choose to listen to my inner voice,
not the random opinion of others.


I choose to be me!


It took a little extra time, but I have a theme for October. I Choose. I choose to post when the opportunity arises. I choose to have fun and invite you along for the ride. Welcome to October.

I had been thinking about I choose for a while. Today a friend posted the above quote on her Facebook page. Sometimes themes and ideas choose you before you choose them. Thanks Susan for posting today.

Day 30: Happiness is . . .

The last day of the month. When I started this 30 day challenge, I had planned to use the concept "Happiness is a journey, not a destination." -- Alfred D. Souza as an excuse to go out and do photography then put up a daily post. I did take pictures everyday, but often it was with my cell phone camera. Things don't always go as you plan, but they always seem to go somewhere. It was a hard project because I began to realize that my happiness circle was relatively small. The simple things near me such as my husband, my dogs, and being out with my camera could easily provide for a happiness moment. That was OK, but I would think in the back of my mind that there were a few people reading my daily posts and I had to look around and see happiness in more places so my friends wouldn't get bored.

That was a good thing, I did find happiness in so many areas of my life.

To end this month, I will say when you find the laughter,laugh along with it.

In moments of joy, immerse yourself in it.

Happiness is a choice. No matter who you are or what is going on in your life.

You get to choose to find it and grasp on to it.

My little world of happiness often revolves around a few things. Each day those things keep me going and opening the door to more and more moments of happiness.

May you find happiness in all that you do.

I don't know what October will bring. I still have a few hours to figure that out.