Reblogged Post: “I Made It! Camino de Santiago 2013” by Yaz Rooney

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Pat

Please join me in congratulating Yaz Rooney at “Free Your Mind ¦ An Alternative Look at the World” in completing her pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago. It’s quite a quest as you will see in her introductory post of this journey.

The Camino is something I’ve been drawn to since I first read Shirley MacLaine’s book, “The Camino – A Journey of the Spirit”, over a decade ago. I have a personal friend who is training to be in the best mental, physical and spiritual shape she can be before her scheduled trip on the Camino.

I have another internet friend, Randall St. Germain at “Camino My Way”, who has also completed the pilgrimage, written a book and writes posts about it.

I’m looking forward to reading more stories of Yaz’s experiences, spiritual insights and what she learned along the way. I especially liked when she said, “The camino determines what you will accomplish, based on the human story that lies in your soul.”

Below is her post called “I Made It! Camino de Santiago 2013” reblogged here on my site: Continue reading →

“Life is Not a Sharp Knife to Cut All Those Bad Memories”: Guest Story by Rishika Jain Inspirations (RJI) and Shared by “Be Legendary”

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Pat

What do we do in life’s multitude of situations? How we respond to family and those we interact with every day in life? As I look back, I know there are many times I wished I had taken a little more time to think things through before I reacted.

I’m getting better at it and this story is a wonderful, reflective reminder to me. It is by Rishika Jain Inspirations (RJI) and shared on Facebook by Be Legendary.

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When I was a kid, my Mom liked to cook food and every now & then I remember she used to cook for us.

One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day at work, Mom placed a plate of bread, jam and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast.

Continue reading →

Thank You … in Reflection

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Pat

Rainbow Photo by Pat Ruppel

I felt especially thankful this morning for a new day, my family, my health, home, my life. I thought about the “ins” and “outs”, “ups” and “downs” ― considering all of it. I thought about the places I’ve been, people I’ve known and things I’ve done. If any of it had been a little different, would I be who and where I am today? Probably not. Continue reading →

Acknowledgements: Louie Schwartzberg - Nature, Beauty, more...

Rainy Day

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Pat

Backyard Puddles – Photo by Pat Ruppel

It’s a rainy September day with the feel of fall in the air. Snow will soon be flying and we’ll pull ourselves inside where it’s warm with reflections of the past summer months.

I remember one of those mornings this summer. Not many words needed to be spoken just experienced and felt.

It started with one of those rare, spontaneous moments of nature when a group of 8 young deer began playing in the backyard.

The young ones got it started and then the moms joined in bouncing, hurtling the fences between yards, rearing up and darting back and forth at each other daring a chase around the trees.

I don’t remember ever seeing wild animals play quite like that. It was a natural playground in our background. It made me smile to see wildlife play like children.

Many evenings would find my husband and I sitting on the deck looking out our backyard, breathing in the summer nights and fresh mountain air. How time passes ever so slowly but passing nonetheless – if only for a moment we could catch and hold on to it like a firefly.

As we draw inside with reflections of summer and dreams of what the future holds my heart warms with hope and love as I hear Alison Krauss sing, “You say it best when you say nothing at all.”