A thought…that’s all it takes…another thought, then another. They seem to
come in waves one after another with energy and a life of their own.
I wonder where they come from. We all have them. It’s not unusual, uncommon or
unique. Yet, one thought if entertained can change the world. Continue reading
Sweets Photo from MSN Clipart
Unfortunately, I crave all the typical sweets – too many to count. There’s the sweet creamy “natural bliss” for my coffee, the leftover candy canes and chocolates. And don’t get me started on the pies, cookies and pumpkin rolls from Christmas not to mention the Tootsie pops or jelly beans year round.
Oh yes! I know about your sweets!
I recently came across a story Oriah Mountain Dreamer wrote on her site “The Green Bough” where she talks about sweets in a different context. Continue reading
Sky Photo © by Jim Ruppel
It’s 2013! ~~ Taken from Nina Simone’s Feeling Good”, it truly is a new dawn, a new day, a new life for me and a new year.
I don’t know how you felt when this New Year chimed in but I felt that baggage I carried around my whole life drop off my shoulders New Year’s Eve.
I finally had taken a new road instead of the same old beaten path. With my arms wide open, I welcomed 2013. Continue reading
This is an exciting day – full of energy, possibilities and the Christmas season. It’s the magic of the sequence of month, day and year coming together on one day. In my lifetime, I will not see this anomaly again as it won’t occur until the next century (2100) when it starts all over again. That’s incredible!
It’s not only the sequence of today’s numeric date but the mysterious and powerful energies I believe they bring that is so needed in the times we now live. Can you feel it? If you would let go and imagine, consider this poem written over a hundred years ago by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet and essayist:
What if – what if in your wildest dreams you could imagine anything to come true? What would that be – what would it look like? They say the planets are aligning, the Winter Solstice is at hand and the Mayan calendar speaks of a new world emerging. What counts for you is how you align with that, the possibilities and what you create now in your life.
I can feel the shift around me – especially this time of year when you hear people say they wish the Christmas magic was year-long with love and kindness. I believe we can shift our thoughts and beliefs anytime to make changes in our lives and the world around us. But, I feel now is especially important to take advantage of the energies presenting themselves this day, this month and the rest of 2012.
Some things to do:
I hope this day is an especially powerful day for you full of dreams and exciting promises for the future. I hope you will join me in imagining the many possibilities and tap into the energies stronger than ever surrounding us to make them happen.
What if…….?
Pat – from the ol’ kitchen table
Never miss a new post! Please Subscribe to my website and RSS Feed today!
Haven’t gotten my first free introductory e-book yet? Click on “Sweet Days of Summer – All is Okay” and get your copy.
For those animal lovers out there, you know how hard it is to say goodbye to a pet. We had to say goodbye to Riley, our beloved best friend and companion this week.
Riley – March 2006 © Jim Ruppel
He was such a trooper through the tests and hand feeding but the stomach cancer had taken too much of a toll on his body.
He came to us 12-1/2 years ago, a black, Labrador-mix pup. He had a little white on his chest and a dab on his front paws – though in later years he had unusual color transformations from black to a perfect white, symmetrical cape on the back of his neck, head and face instead.
It was love at first sight on that first drive home as he laid his head on Jim’s leg. He knew he was in the right place with his new people and we knew from the start this was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime bond. Even as a puppy, we could tell he was a gentle, old soul and there was something magical about him.
We got Riley with the hope he would help our other dog, daughter’s German Shepherd, through a grieving process having lost his companion. It took a little while but they became best buddies and our Shepherd soon became his old self.
As the days and months passed, Riley grew and settled into our routines and life at home. So much so he became a true home body. Though he loved to go for hikes and family outings when he had enough he would let us know it was time to go home by running to the car waiting for us to follow.
He loved our mountain backyard with the space to run and wildlife. Every night he would go out and lay by the back door peacefully looking out over his yard as if in silent communion with the deer and rabbits all cohabiting together. In his later years, my husband would walk him around unleashed from the backyard to the front and, if deer were bedded down, Riley would stay close on command and not attempt to chase though hard at times.
Riley and Stuffed Toy Photo by Jim Ruppel © July 2010
He had a game he played with the chipmunks. When they popped up on a boulder, Riley would chase down the hill as hard as his legs would take him only to lose it up a tree or under another rock.
One day, my husband was out working on a fence while Riley was making his rounds in the yard. A chipmunk popped up and Jim noticed Riley took off after it in a cloud of dust.
Jim continued working and later looked over to check on Riley. There he was just standing wagging his tail but his mouth looked funny.
Jim said to him, “Riley, do you have something in your mouth?” Riley stood and looked a little sheepish this time now wagging his tail a little harder. As Jim walked toward him, he noticed Riley’s mouth bulging on both sides with a slight movement.
Jim said, “Riley? What do you have?” Just then, Riley opened his mouth as if to answer and a chipmunk shot out and up the hill over grass and through the fence. The chipmunk jumped up and down atop a boulder looking back at Jim and Riley chattering away as if scolding them.
Now, as we go through the house, we feel his strong presence as if he left in body but stayed in spirit. We can still see the places where he laid and the toys he brought us for love or to show that he missed us.
We have so many memories of a being that passed through our lives in a special way. He taught us how to be sensitive, intuitive, gentle and kind.
Though we’ve had many pets over the years and have loved them all, there will never be another Riley. We have truly been privileged and blessed he chose us on his life’s journey and will always miss and love him.
Do you have any stories of your beloved pets you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them.
Pat – from the ol’ kitchen table
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Pat Ruppel