Windridge Reflections

Because today the Cascades spread out to the East, and the Olympics, the West, snow-capped and promising, perfectly outlined in the morning sky. Because the ferries make their way back and forth to Bainbridge and Vashon, no matter the weather. It’s likely I’ll be stopped still by a blue heron, my morning walk on Alki Beach, the space Needle’s spire rising in the distant skyline. Because one morning 6 a.m. flight, I grab the tired gate agent and say, “Look!” The rose light illumined Mt. Rainier, magnified by airport glass, all 14,000 feet, just outside on the tarmac. Because this is the only place I know where people say, “The mountains are out today!” as if they dissolve behind the fog and mist, making a round-trip journey to another locale. Because for every mile west to the Hoh Rainforest, you get another inch of rain until finally, with reverence, you can walk the moss-covered trails into the magic air and cedar-filtered light, verdant, pristine, silent. ...

I love this.... "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song." Chinese Proverb "The song of life is born in every soul. But the song we are meant to sing does not come to us whole. It grows in us - louder, stronger, clearer, more fully - over the years until we discover, finally, that our call has been within us all the while. Learning to hear the song within us, finding the call within us, and then bending our lives to follow it to the fullness of ourselves is the key to happiness, to meaning, to fullness of life." Joan Chittister * taken from the book Following the Path by Joan Chittister

Image: istockphoto

"Ordinary happiness depends on happenstance. Joy is that extraordinary happiness that is independent of what happens to us. Good luck can make us happy, but it cannot give us lasting joy. The root of joy is gratefulness. We tend to misunderstand the link between joy and gratefulness. We notice that joyful people are grateful and suppose that they are grateful for their joy. But the reverse is true: their joy springs from gratefulness. If one has all the good luck in the world, but takes it for granted, it will not give one joy. Yet even bad luck will give joy to those who manage to be grateful for it. We hold the key to lasting happiness in our own hands. For it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful." From Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer by Brother David Steindl-Rast. Thanks to Brené Brown, Ph.D. for originally posting this on her Ordinary Courage blog.   Image: istockphoto

I love waking up in the morning, checking my iPhone, and seeing new photos of my grandsons walking to school on a snowy London morning (via Instagram ): …and a blog post about Alpha, who lives in NYC: The Ones 2 Watch To have instant access to all my “people” who live half a world away is simply amazing! I’m so grateful for the technology of our age, and how close those far away can feel. I don’t know what I would have done had I been born 100-plus years ago! And then, a little later, sitting at Starbucks I receive a Face-Time call on my iPhone, and I’m able to enjoy my latte while chatting with “London”— in real time. How cool is that? What are you grateful for at the end of your week?

Love this quote - life is too short to become hung-up on the small things! “Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year’s time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings.” Andre Maurois 1885-1967, Writer

Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it. Anne De Lenclos

“' A' earned his angel wings at 12:56 a.m. Fly high sweet boy…mommy will love you forever.” Today I read these words and they set me remembering my brief volunteer time with little A , rocking him while he fell asleep in my arms. I was at Children’s Hospital Seattle as a part of a Side by Side support team to his parents. Our goal was to help provide some normalcy in their lives during A’ s boring and sometimes terrifying hospital treatments. Looking back, it was actually a year ago this month. I remember one of the things the family wanted to do was take their other small children out to the pumpkin patch to pick out Halloween pumpkins. What they really needed was the comfort of knowing that someone was with their little A while they were away from the hospital. The nurses at Children's Hospital are excellent, but must divide their time among several patients, therefore, having volunteers who will come and support families with children going through treatmen...

Fog can distort and hide the most familiar and obvious. When our vision is clouded and we can't make out which way to turn, we must rely on our heart's anchor….. When it's all been said and done There is just one thing that matters Did I do my best to live for truth? Did I live my life for you? When it's all been said and done All my treasures will mean nothing Only what I have done For love's rewards Will stand the test of time (* Jim Cowan) Trust that the sky will clear and once again your vision will become clear…. (photos taken on my morning walk - via iPhone and Cannon Elph)

"Gardening is an instrument of grace" May Sarton

“If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things; if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, when will we have time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover. And a being within ourselves to bring to life.” - Author Unknown MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I was looking through my old journals this afternoon trying to find a certain story I wanted to use for a blog post, and instead of the desired story I found this list from May 14, 1993. It’s just as pertinent today as it was back then. Compliment three people every day. Watch the sunrise at least once a year. Be the first to say “Hello.” Live beneath your means. Treat your child like you want to be treated. Never give up on your child. Miracles happen. Forget the Joneses. Never deprive your child of hope. It may be all he has. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage. Be tough-minded but tenderhearted. Be kinder than necessary. Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Keep your promises. Learn to show cheerfulness, even when you don’t feel like it. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years. Leave everything better than you found it. Remember that winners do what losers don’t want to. ...

"Autumn to winter, winter to spring, Spring into summer, summer into fall - So rolls the changing year, and so we change; Motion so swift, we know not that we move..." Dinah Mulock Craik September already... where did the summer go? In two weeks I leave for London... and when I return we will be fully enveloped in autumn. There is a distinct change in the air and so begins the season of morning frosts, early morning fires in the fireplace, thick sweaters, Pumpkin Spice Lattes (which have already arrived at Starbucks!) and a reflective thoughtfulness. This is the season I ask myself "What do I want more or less of in my life so that I can love the life I'm leading?" My answers: I want calmness and an inner strength; a deep assurance within of who I am and where I am going. I want confidence to be myself.... my best self. I want less fear, less distrust, less comparing myself to others... More joy in the moment. I want a quick mind and a solidness in the work I do...

Today, let your heart dance You will find no shortage of dance partners, as your feet join in. And your eyes. And your smile. And every part of your body and your feelings. Let your heart dance all day long.... UNKNOWN