Hello and Thanks for your visit. I have some news today that after my (February 28 post) I'll be taking a break for awhile. After 13 years, 2 Books and over 750 posts I want to Thank Everyone for your visits & shares that helped us send Wellness around the World. You can still view all past posts in the archives and I'll pop in occasionally to say Hi. Have a great Spring & Summer ahead and keep Moving Forward with kindness, compassion and Peace. Thank you and Take Care.
Just in time for sitting in that cozy chair with my old favorite blanket...
Dona Anderson
I hope you love Andrés concerts too.
This is a special time of year when we're indoors, seeing the snow fall, watching those old Christmas movies or listening to your favorite songs again and getting together with family.
The concert above is awesome so Enjoy and share with your family and friends as well. We all need some good entertainment to help us relax and feel like normal life has returned again.
It just might be one that becomes your every year treat.
PS. I got to go to the movie theater several months ago for a new concert the orchestra performed that absolutely filled me with joy. The audience in the movie didn't want it to end and neither did us watching.
Honestly I don't think the musicians wanted to leave either but they must have been exhausted.
It's not often I find a talk that I felt was meant for me.
This one quickly brought up a lot of memories from years past.
I had an idea to write about some of this later but this Ted Talk became the perfect introduction to revisit some old memories and let me reminisce of growing up in different times way back when ...
I quickly had a list of examples to go back to and now with covid some seemed again relatable.
My first memory
My first memory took me way back to when I was a kid when it seemed most adults smoked.
Mom had this set of 3 ashtrays in the living room. They were a very pretty orange/red set.
The 2 smaller ones were on the end tables and the bigger one had a special place on the coffee table.
No one was allowed to use the bigger one because it was only for decoration. One day a child was visiting and a few minutes into the visit the big ashtray was on the floor, broken.
Years ago we all seemed to have those unlit unused candles that were for decoration & not used.
We had one that was unlit but the babysitter lit it for some reason one day.
We didn't have much back then so I was kind of mad. Anyway it was a couple months later that we had the house fire and no more candle or other things.
Yes, growing up my Mom had those special occasion and for special guest dishes and silverware. that took years to accumulate - one piece at a time yearly gift.
The jewelry was in the box for special times and the good clothes and shoes in the closet getting dusty.
Confession for me now and the Jewelry.
I usually have the same necklace & earrings on everyday. Yes I have others and the special occasion ones but I'm not interested in changing them very often.
And with staying home more now lots of the clothes haven't been worn in 3 years so I don't need much jewelry with my yoga pants for dog walks.
I grew up in a family of 5 with one bathroom that didn't seem a problem back then, now we have 4 bathrooms for the 2 of us.
And Yes, no vehicles will fit in the garage.
Not my mess → husbands.
Even though every year we've been making boxes for the thrift stores there's still some things in the kitchen and closets that follow us from house to house.
Yes there're lots of the good dishes in the buffet and the crystal glasses aren't used in case one gets broken.
What do we do with it all?
Perhaps this year I'll get out my
2 summer dresses.
Years ago we used to wear dresses
all the time, what happened...
Thank You for sharing with others at the links below.
PS. I have a few things still of my Mom's from years ago.
I use her vase lots every summer and I think of her as I'm filling it up with flowers from the garden. (She's been gone now 41 years)
I finally used the tea pot & cups for the first time a while back just for fun - the cups are so small I had 2 refills.
Moms silverware is used every Christmas. I have my own set but I like to use hers on that special day. My set is pretty lonely these days.
Have a great Day!
I guess a lot of those things in the closet that I think are too nice for everyday will start to be worn or get donated to someone who will.
Isn't that what clothes are for ... to be worn.
A lot of used clothing is being sold in discount stores now which really helps the budget and cuts down on all the resources in the manufacturing process.
One pair of jeans takes over 1,800 gallons of water.
I think I'll put a dress on and have a cup of
tea outside on the front porch later.
New post every Tuesday - Please visit again.
Over 700 posts in the Archives for you to
view, save and share.
Last week's quiz - the letters from the word Limes is Smile.
Bye for now.
I hope You found some things to think about or change for the future. Some things may become more important and some less.
Finding what your real treasures are is important. it may not be what you first thought of.
I shared this video back in 2014 and had forgotten about it until it was discovered in the Archives. A big Thank You to that person.
I watched it and thought it would be good to share again as a lot has happened since 2014.
Many decisions are hard to make and his surely were but he was lucky to find a way to work in both.
The mix of 2 things you love was a WIN for him, us and the music and medicine World.
I'm glad the video let us hear his story and how music is healing in many ways.
The last several years have been difficult for those pursuing their dreams in education, employment etc.
PS. One of our best friends of over 40 years and a nurse developed Parkinson's and had really bad dyskinesia's for years. (uncontrollable twitches, jerks, twisting).
After we moved here and I became a Yoga teacher a new activity for me became writing relaxations to share in my classes.
My friend couldn't do a Yoga class but I was so pleased to visit and share a few movements and my writing with her that helped her relax, breathe, calm her body and release stress.
Sitting in her chair the dyskinesia's slowly decreased and she started to relax and gently fell asleep.
After years of her nursing and helping others, I was grateful that I could help give her some time to rest comfortably.
And, (Ok) yes her husband was on the couch napping as well.
I love that these posts also gives me a way to
share my photo's. Love the lilies.
Links for sharing with others below.
Check out the Archives for over 700 past posts.
You may find another post that wants to be shared again.
In sharing the video I hope viewers find something they can do, or be inspired to do something they never thought of even if it's for their retirement activities.
But we can also let it help us celebrate friendships and show appreciation to others.
It reminds us to enjoy those people around us, that are in our lives, that help support useach day and make our World a better place.
It can be a child, spouse, coworker, neighbor, friend, your pet or whoever it is for You.
And, there are many situations where Valentines day can be a lonely, sad time, especially for those who are grieving, away from home or alone, but I like to think that Valentines can also be a day to celebrate ourselves.
It can be a time to reward ourselves for how we live our life as best we can to be strong and healthy in body, mind and spirit.
It's can be a day to remind us to love ourselves too, and a few flowers, chocolates or whatever your treat is, let it be a special Gift even if it's given to yourself.
The enjoyment is still real, and You get what you want.
I'm sharing one of my favorite songs and thought we could all sing along to send some kindness, love, peace & hope out into the World.
Also sending a Huge Thank You for Your continued support each week.
PS. A quote for you today.
Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love.
We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us.
The world changes when we change.
The world softens when we soften.
The world loves us when we choose to love the world.
~Marianne Williamson~
Take Care and have a wonderful day & week ahead.
Links for sharing with others below and lots in the Archives to view & share.
Hello, and thanks for your visit today. Another week gone by already.
Dona Anderson
I can't believe I hadn't seen this before so when I saw this video I didn't want You to miss it too.
Jon Batiste Performing Blackbird - 09 FEB 2016
I get a lot of views for the music videos.
They seem timeless for us to hear over and over again. Some are for special occasions, to sing or dance with, others hold memories, emotions and more.
This will definitely be one of them.
I can see those little ones that love playing the piano busy starting to see how they can interpret other songs using their inspiration and musical talents.
The song written by Paul McCartney back in 1968 catches our attention as well as the music.
It's an easy song to sing along with but the meaning behind it raises different feelings as it comes from a time back in the civil rights movement years ago.
You can google it for more information.
If You haven't heard this version before have listen so you can hear how Jon Batiste captures our attention with his amazing piano playing.
We hear something very familiar but it's different, and I think he must of used all the keys/notes for this beautiful arrangement.
WOW WOW WOW
PS. I've been busy and started preparing for this years Summer of Music 2022 that starts on the first Tuesday in July.
Previous years are in the Archives for July & August starting in 2017.
I hope you enjoyed this weeks post and visit again soon.
Thanks for sharing with others at the links below and past posts in the archives for you to view, save or share.
Join in with the others from around the world each week.
Some of life's joy comes just in a smile, watching the sun rise, or looking up to the stars ...
It happens when seeing your family, your pets ...
It happens watching others grow and succeed or watching your Team Win.
It happens in the garden as the spring flowers and the trees grow & bloom.
It happens with that slice of the first ripe tomato.
Other things may need to be planned like a vacation, a special dinner out, an unexpected visit or sending a special note to a loved one.
It may be something to look forward to in the future like date night the next weekend whether you're young & dating or an older married couple. Or it may be a visit with one of your friends.
Everything isn't always spontaneous - lots need to be planned ahead and looked forward to so our brain has little bits of joy or a quick smile appears because we have something in the future to think about.
Remember those special outings when we had to go shopping for a new dress & shoes - and then the day, doing our hair, maybe our nails. getting dressed up with all the makeup ... We might have been feeling that good nervousness or good stress at the same time as Joy.
What's on your calendar that you're looking forward to?
Don't feel bad if there's nothing much...
That's OK
Because now you get to decide what you'd like to do and plan to do it.
My calendar has been pretty blank this last year too but I did manage to be able to get to a Tai Chi class most Mondays and do some Music lessons when we could meet.
A good attitude is also very helpful, getting in some exercise and enjoying the time to laugh more or work on a special project that you love.
And, as we had to stay home more instead of going to activities I wrote snow in my calendar one day or some online links to check out, or the few days I exercised (I had to remind myself I did it) or the one time we went out for lunch that month.
Other things may not have been on the calendar but we did have a wonderful Christmas Dinner for 2, a cheese fondue for New Years and other wonderful meals. (probably too many)
We got to enjoy sitting on the front porch for an hour or so on many sunny winter afternoons. Loved the morning sun rises and the birds singing and coming to the feeders everyday.
Loved watching the spring flowers rise up to bloom and the trees fill out again.
And now the garden is filling up and our eyes imagine all the wonderful things to come.
We're quickly going through this year and it's almost the middle of May.
I hope you're having a wonderful Spring or other season depending on where you live on this beautiful Earth.
Love this Song.
We often keep these kind of songs in the childhood memory box.
But I think they're the ones that offer us many gifts.
Gifts of opening up, letting go, feeling more free and thinking about the rainbows, stars, birds and all there is to appreciate that often we get too busy to notice.
Let's sing along as we are at any age and open the adult memory box and fill it with all kinds of goodies.
Do you need to repeat it a few times ...
PS. Are there any other old songs you'd like to
remember and sing again.
Love to see all these musicians together
performing this song for us.
New posts every Tuesday and over 600
in the archives that you can view and share
at your leisure.
I started this blog back in 2010 and it later became my dream to help spread Wellness around the World.
If you'd like to Help you can share using the links below for
Facebook, Pinterest, Email, Twitter.
Where in the World will we travel to this week.
Thank You.
Email subscribers please see the new page added above for Subscribers. It contains information regarding Changes coming in July.
I hope you'll come back to see what's coming up in the weeks ahead.
This post is sharing parts of the relaxation titled Mother Earthon pages 36-37 from my book,
Simply, One Breath At a Time.
It's time to share a bit of it now.
It starts off with getting you to relax and to choose to be in this moment by helping your breath to breathe you ... help your breath to calm your mind and body.
As you settle imagine the weight of your whole body sinking into the earth ... feel the sense of grounding, of being fully supported by the earth so you can let go with intention and awareness.
I love this next part.
Feel the strength and compassion in which you are being held ... become aware of how you are held without judgment or any gratuities ... that being held is just that, wanting nothing in return ... Mother Earth holds you because that is what she does, she holds us all, and she is accepting of whatever she finds ...
The relaxation then guides you to your breath, letting go, surrendering, releasing and replenishing towards feeling awoken, revived and present.
It ends by returning you to noticing the stillness of this moment.
This moment is Perfect exactly as it is ...
Simply, One Breath At a Time has 65
guided scripts for relaxation/meditation.
continue to travel around the world spreading wellness.
Photos for post only.
PS. OK, here's another line from the script.
"Say the word calm as you breathe in... can you feel calm as you breathe out ... breathe in calmness and feel calm as you let go..."
Take Care - I hope you enjoyed this True Treasures Post
I wanted to help us connect to Earth Day which for us here in Canada is in a couple of days, April 22.
Whether this post helps you connect to Earths' beauty and magic or it's in your garden, park or community we're needing to support our beautiful earth in many ways.
Let's share some of our ways in the comments.
Every little bit helps. Thank You.
Find more True Treasures posts by linking to the label below.
Why because I've felt its truth and spoke about this many times.
Our lives are always affected by those around us, who interact with us and who offer their Gifts to us in many ways.
It can be a smile given by a stranger, a few extra minutes to listen, a hand to hold or help.
Perhaps it's a phone call to see if you're OK, a knock at the door, a card in the mail.
A moment shared for a Smile or a Laugh that are gifts to both the giver and the receiver.
It can be a book to borrow, a cup of tea, a few homemade cookies, soup or whatever it is - the lists goes on and on.
Take a look and see yourself
as both the receiver and the giver.
"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world.
There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor.
But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents.
Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring...”
Leo Buscaglia
Thank You for all that you do.
PS. It's also wonderful that often it's the smallest gifts that can mean the most and let others know they are seen, welcomed, needed and cared about.
