Friday, December 28, 2012

Does more make it better?


This last year I've worked on several writing projects with a specified word count.  I always found that I had already reached the limit and still had several more thoughts and details I wanted to add in.  This was a really good learning experience for me as it makes you think about what you are saying, how it could be reworded, what can be left out, and what is really of value to the story. 

There are probably lots of situations like this where more doesn’t make it better.  I’ll refer to words here but it could be about other things as well.  We let more words fill the page thinking more is better but then the message may not be clear, it gets confusing, the page is too full, or maybe we even stop reading.

One thing I have noticed though is that sometimes one or two words placed just right can open you up to a whole different space and moment.  It can be the breakthrough, the key, the opening of the door to finding the real message inside! 



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Happy Holidays

I wish you a very happy holiday season ahead and much success for your future!

2013 will be a great year!

Friday, December 14, 2012

One Rose Wellness Card

I love the one I picked today and I know it does make such a difference.

"Give yourself the gift
         of a smile,
give the gift to others,
see and feel what happens..."

I can see a big smile lighting up your face!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

One Rose Wellness Cards - Handouts for 2012


My takeaway treasures...
Each year at the shows I go to as a vendor to sell my Book, CD and cards, I hand out a sample version of my One Rose Wellness Cards, to those who pass by my table.  They have the same messages but I print them on colored paper and include my blog address.  The card messages are all taken directly from my book, so it is always a special time for me to connect through them with so many people and get their responses such as this one is perfect for me, this is just what I needed, I got a good one, and there are so many thank you’s and big smiles sent back to me.  If I return the  following year, I get many people coming back for another card and some tell me they still have last year’s card in a special place, and each year I am honored to come back home with some very special memories from these exchanges.
 
I’d like to share a few that I’ll treasure from this year.
 
A mother and her 3 adult daughters all took a card and as they read each other’s they laughed about how each card suited them.  It was so nice to watch them having this special moment!  Another mother and daughter picked a card and they each got the same one.  I explained that when I only have a few left in the bowl and add in a new set of 105 there will be a few duplicates.  They were so happy to each pick the same message card and the daughter said the mother had just moved back and they were noticing that they were very much alike, each saying and thinking the same things so the same card was perfect and meant to be!
 
A lady picked a card and I could see her immediately starting to get teary eyed.  She told me that she had been working well over her limit for several months.  The card she picked told her what she really needed to hear, it was time to rest, and she was even happier when she found out the card was hers to keep!
 
An elderly man picked a card after his wife insisted ... later he came back and leaned over the table to tell me that he was 86, in poor health and the message he got was just what he needed.
 
Another elderly man picked a card and after reading it, thanked me, and then put it away in his wallet to keep.  The following day he returned to the show and we exchanged smiles. Later he came to my table and again thanked me and got his wallet out to show me the few other things he carried with him.  He had two poems each on a tiny piece of folded newsprint, one was over 30 years old and was by the Irish poet Yates, he also had a small paper coaster that was from his parent’s pub in Ireland, and the only other thing was the wellness card from me.
 
A lady selected a card and didn’t really get the message so she put it back in the bowl to let someone else pick it.  About an hour later she returned with a big smile on her face and said she had just won the hourly door prize and although not sure why she now wanted the card she put back.  It was a yellow one so we pulled out all the yellow ones that were left in the bowl and luckily we found the one she put back.  She was so happy that no one else had picked it during that time and then she happily went on her way.
 
I don’t know what any of their cards picks actually said as there are 105 cards in a set, and each one can have a special meaning to that person in that moment.  I have been asked by other vendors around me what I’m handing out and why I stand up all day to hand out the cards.  I reply because these few words can make a difference and change someone’s moments or day.  They like the book invite us to rest, soften, relax, and let go of stress.  They can connect us to the present moment to offer stillness, calm, comfort, caring, and awareness, or they can just remind us to smile, give ourselves a hug, or to simply breathe!
 
And, this year I was so fortunate to hand out over 2600 cards!
 
My One Rose Wellness Card pick for today says –
“Soften your whole body,
and invite a smile to fill your
face and your heart ...”
 
Thanks Everyone for a Great Year!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

One Rose Wellness Card, Todays pick!

The One Rose message I picked today says -

"Because you can, start to see and feel the beauty in you,
see your uniqueness, your powers, your strengths..."

Have a great Day!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Me a cover Island Gals!!

The third issue of Island Gals Magazine for 2012 is available now and I'm on the cover!

That was never on my list of to do's but I'll gladly accept this wonderful gift. 

In it is my third of four stories about retirement, this one titled, Sprinking of Courage.

For more info check out their website http://www.islandgals.ca/

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Song about being Happy!

Sometimes when I'm out walking I get lines from old songs in my head.  Those simple ones from childhood that are catchy tunes.

So anyway I found it on You Tube so sharing this fun version!

Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/qmCEQVcNp4s

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Christmas Shows for 2012


It's that time of year to get some gifts picked out for under the Christmas tree and I'm excited to be attending the shows listed below.  The WinterFest show is a new one for me and they have a Celtic theme this year so I get to hear my kind of music!

I already know of a few things I will be picking up at the Touch of Saltspring show, and I will get to see my friend Johanna, publisher of Island Gals magazine.

Looking forward to seeing all the happy smiling faces again this year, and handing out lots more One Rose cards!

Evergreen's Annual Christmas Bazaar & Luncheon, Courtenay BC, Nov 7, 2012

WinterFest & Craft Fair, Parksville BC, Nov 16-18, 2012

A Touch of Saltspring, North Saanich BC, Nov 30 - Dec 2, 2012

Thursday, October 25, 2012

What is a Garden?

It seems every year our flower and vegetable garden produces one thing in abundance over the rest.  This year it was the small cherry type tomatoes.  We had hundreds and hundreds of these little juicy pop in your mouth delights.

It was these tomatoes travelling to neighbors and friends by the bowl full and it is always wonderful to watch the smiles and sparkle in the eyes of others as they gaze at and sample whatever is being shared. It is even more wonderful to know the gardener passes these gifts on with just as much delight. 

So the old Chinese Proverb “he who plants a garden plants happiness” is right!

I'd like to think that perhaps a garden is not just a plot of land for growing vegetables, flowers, fruit, or shrubs - to me there may be other kinds of gardens.  I wonder if anywhere we are nurtured and allowed to grow, develop, and flourish is a garden setting. 
 
Our home and neighborhood is a place where we plant roots and provide an environment for our family to be cared for and grow to be healthy and strong.  It’s a place where we want to be and feel nourished, supported, protected, and safe. 
 
Our many levels of schools and learning centers nurture and tends to our needs from childhood to adults so we can establish a strong foundation from which we can give our best and blossom through our accomplishments.  Our job, hobbies, and passions can also be a place for us to establish ourselves, to grow, mature, and display our potential and talents.
 
So here’s the question - could any place that nourishes and supports our body, mind, and soul to blossom and flourish also be considered a kind of garden?
 
I wonder if perhaps it might even be that place in our heart that fills up and sometimes overflows with pleasure, caring, giving, and love ... oh, I think this one sounds like the gardener!