Savor the gift of everyday

Today I gathered pine cones while talking with my mom.  Now I have 4 piles of pine cones in my back yard.  I plan on mowing with my reel mower later this evening and can't mow over pine cones.

What does that have to do with anything you might wonder...I'm so glad you asked...you were curious weren't you?

Everything!  Today the sun was shining, my hubby turned 50.  I had time to talk to my mom. I had the energy to gather pine cones.  Today Sally my flop eared smiler caught a baby bunny and I made her let it go.  There was another baby bunny in my front garden bed.

This is one day in my life.  And this one day is a gift.  Maybe this day didn't hit the news, wasn't posted on facebook.  But this day was a gift and there will be a time in my life that if I could have one of these simple, ordinary, mundane days back I would grab it with every ounce of my being and would savor each precious minute.

Just because I have a lot of great days doesn't make any one of them less special. My job in life is to find the gift of each day.  To take time to enjoy the pine cones.  To mix it up a bit, get away from my ruts so I can see the wonder right before my eyes.  Now I will go mow my lawn, love my hubby and walk my flop eared smiler.

And as I do, I will take time to listen, to look, to feel, to touch, to smell, to taste the gift of this day.

May you always be able to pause each day and take in the gift that is in the present moment.
       Denise

Wabi Sabi Pansy on a Monday

This is a wabi sabi Pansy.  I spotted the little gal or guy on my walk with Sally this morning.  Sometimes something unexpected shows up in the most unlikely of places and brightens your day.

Happy Monday to you,

   Denise

Ah-ah moment into my own procrastination

Have I told you I'm taking a course called Zero Procrastination?  I'm taking it to improve my skills in clutter clearing to help others, but you know how that goes...I'm learning a lot about my own procrastination.  Funny how life works out.  Anyway last night before dropping off to sleep I was reading from Natalie Goldberg's book called Writing down the bones.  It gave me a serious ah-ha moment into my own procrastination tendencies.

For those of you who are kindred spirits in procrastination this is for you...and me;-)

   "  Some days you don't want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway.  You practice whether you want to or not.  You don't wait around for inspiration and a deep desire to run.  It'll never happen,  especially if you are out of shape and have been avoiding it.  But if you run regularly, you train your mind to cut through or ignore your resistance. ...
   "That's how writing is, too.  Once you're deep into it, you wonder what took you so long to finally settle down at the desk.  Through practice you actually do get better.  You learn to trust your deep self more and not give into your voice that wants to avoid writing."
               Page 11, Writing as a practice

Isn't that perfect for clutter and procrastination??? Now I can't wait to feel that moment of resistance and see if I can learn to turn and face this resistance and ask what and why am I feeling resistance.  And then with practice just do it!!!  Ha!  Love it!  

   Wishing you all ah-ha moments into your spirit and soul,
            Denise

How to get unstuck in your clutter

When I was in high school we took our cows up to a ranch in Wyoming for the summer.  The ranch perimeter had supposedly been walked to ensure there was a solid fence. The ranch hand who supposedly did this - did not. As it turned out, the fence only existed where we let our cows out.  The rest of the summer we looked for cows.

What in the world does this have to do with being stuck?  This morning as I was doing my morning yoga/exercises I pondered being stuck.  And I thought of that summer.  On one of our cow hunting trips my mom, dad and I got stuck. We were in our 1/2 ton brown Chevy pickup truck.  This truck did not have 4 wheel drive, front wheel drive or anything else that would have helped us get unstuck.

We got into a meadow of muddy soil and got insanely stuck.

 If you have ever driven a rear wheeled pick up truck you know the last thing you do when you get stuck is to gun it.  Trying to get out in full speed only gets you more stuck.  Instead you need to rock, back and forth - hopefully gaining momentum with each motion.  If you are stuck enough you might need help.  Two of us got out and pushed, one stayed on the gas- back and push- back and push- back and push- all together this time... back and push and with the a bit of good luck, timing and team work we popped out of the mud hole.  We were all caked in mud, tired but free!  

And there you have it!  Getting unstuck requires a gentle rocking motion, determination, teamwork and a gas.  Good tires don't hurt either.  Trying to get unstuck in one day or one giant push on the gas might just get you more stuck.  Gently start rocking to gain momentum.  

After getting unstuck- take a shower- you will need to rinse off all the mud! 

 Funny thing about that summer, it was one of my favorite summers of all time.  The mountain was beautiful, aspen trees, green meadows, fresh air.  Each time we found a cow or a small herd we all squealed with joy.  Spending the summer on a cow searching adventure was priceless.  Of course, I do realize my perspective as a teenager was different than my parents.  Perspective is 99% of the equation.

This memory of our summer spent looking for cows reminds me to enjoy the journey- where ever it might take you.

Wishing you all unexpected discoveries while looking for cows- or whatever you are searching for.
         Denise