Friday, February 22, 2013

You Bliss and a Healthy Mental Status

Sometimes you wake up feeling crappy. No matter how happy your life may be there are just some times that your health lets you down. Having something to focus your energy on may help you get past those days. This morning I awoke with a migraine from hell.  Light, sound and movement hurt. As I stumbled around my home trying to get accomplished the things that could not wait like feeding our animals and walking our dogs I covered my eyes in the darkest glasses I could find, a knit cap pulled down over my ears to deaden the sound and kept having to stop and just breath until the nausea passed.  But my determination to get through it kept me going.  I stopped focusing on the pain and started focusing on what needed to get done today.

Today is my husbands birthday and not a good day for being sick.  Way to many things to get accomplished and way to much counting on my ability to do what needed to be done.  By focusing on those things I was able to beat back the pain and make it more manageable, well that and pain killers via my doctor.  Am not found of prescriptions but am less found of pain.

Today is all about getting all of my work done so I can spend the weekend enjoying and celebrating his birthday.  It is about working towards my goal of having a garden large enough to provide my family with healthy food over the summer and into the winter months.  It is about getting things on my bliss list lined up and baby steps taken towards my long term goals.

They say that happy people are far less likely to suffer as many illnesses as those who are unhappy with the lives they are leading.  But even as someone who enjoys her life even I become sick on occasion.  I live with a constant ongoing battle with sinus infections.  They start above my eyes and spread throughout my face, teeth and even throat and lungs on occasion.  Yesterday I got up feeling a little off, not feeling sick but not quiet feeling well either.  Today I opened my eyes to pain and agony and wishing I could crawl back under the cover and go back to sleep. But life continues on whether you feel like living it or not.  So I pulled myself out of bed, put on my clothes, tried hard to remember that my dogs were waiting patiently to be walked and my darling husband was counting on me to be on my game today because he is pulling mandatory overtime and cannot miss a day of work simply because I am feeling under the weather.

I am finding happiness in the things I can do something about today. Focusing my energy and attention on the important things in life, like my seedlings that are beginning to get their second leaves and the lettuce that I just yesterday got into their summer containers.  Trying to stay in the dark as much as possible and keeping the sound level in my home on a lower level.  I am beginning to feel much better thanks to some home remedies and a very low dosage of pain killers from my doctor, but I feel that by focusing on things that make me happy and bring joy into my world I am able to get past the pain and hopefully get something accomplished with my day.

I know that many feel that following your bliss is a waste of time, that there are not enough hours in their days to get done what they have to in order to survive much less be happy.  I find that if I am not moving towards my long term goals I feel I have wasted a day of my life.  As I battle the constant flow of paperwork for returning to school the beginning of next month for the next stretch of my educational goals, and trying to get our garden in order on a very limited budget.  I am also battling a wave of bad luck on our finances but am still positive in my thoughts because I know that tough times don't last but tough people do.  Knowing that this is just a speed bump in our lives because I have lived long enough to see the big picture and I know in my heart of hearts that these issues will get resolved.

My stove caught fire yesterday, it was already on the list of things that needed to be replaced but that was a wake up call that moved it up on the list of things we needed to invest in.  I would love to go on a romantic weekend with my dear husband for our anniversary in April and I have things I am trying to get accomplished for friends and family that cannot wait until finances improve or I am feeling better.  So I continue on with the battle well fought. I find new ways to trim our budget and stretch our dollar just a little bit further. I get inventive on ways to save money and still follow my bliss with gardening and continue to shop for the lowest price possible for my new camera.

I do not allow my dark moments to interfere with my bliss or my long term goals. Anything worth having is worth working on, and worth waiting until the time is right to accomplish them.  It is a matter of weighing those dark times with the much brighter ones and remembering that this too shall pass.  That although I may have to find the money in our very tight budget for a new stove that once it is replaced I will have something bigger and better for making homemade goodies in and on.  That the one I have had for almost a decade now has served me well and that you get what you pay for (It was purchased as a single mom raised three kids with no help from their sperm donor).  That many happy family meals have been prepared on it and that although I will hate paying to replace it I can take comfort in the knowledge that my daughters learned to cook for their own families on this old electronic friend.  That I have shared breads, and cookies, and canned goods straight from my garden and from my kitchen with those I hold my dear in my heart and in my life.

My kitchen table also died this week. One of the legs were loose and my dogs got to excited about last walk of the day and bumped the leg which ripped it from its precarious position and caused it to come crashing to the floor.  In the process of sorting through all the paperwork and objects that had come to rest upon it, I found many things that I had been searching for but not found in the last couple of weeks.  My kitchen table often becomes the dead zone for things in our house. My gloves and hat were buried at the bottom as well as the books I had purchased for wine and cheese making.  Instead of morning the fact that I am going to have to replace that as well I try hard to remember all the wonderful times my family has spent around that table. The many meals we have shared with family and friends to celebrate both happy times and find solace in the darker times.

The many cups of coffee shared amongst friends talking about the woes and throws of our lives.  The homework done sitting at it with my children and the many family projects completed on its surface.  I would never have considered myself to be an optimist. I like to think of myself as a realist.  Plan for the worst, hope for the best and accept what comes in my life with dignity and respect.  So instead of being bummed out over loosing my antique kitchen table (It was my grandmothers) I have come to the realization that its fragile state is not suitable for our busy household.  That we need to downsize and get something more suited to house filled with laughter and great food.  Something that is both mine and my husbands (the table predates our marriage and relationship).  That the loss of it is just one more thing that will no longer just be mine but the replacement will be ours. A reflection of our taste together as a couple and key component in our lives.

My first batch of beer was ready to drink this week. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  There is a lot of sediment in it and unsuitable for drinking.  But instead of being bummed out about all the time and money invested in that project I simply found another way to utilize it and still found a happy way to enjoy it. I found a super simple recipe for beer bread that turned that nasty tasting beer into something incredible and that is enjoyed by all in our household.  The recipe is simple and will share it in  my blog today as well as pictures of the finished product.

Beer Bread

3 cups plain flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (Melted)
12 oz beer room temperature

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all but butter together in bowl, grease two mini loaf pans with butter, pour batter into the buttered loaf pans.  Melt butter and pour over the top of the batter in the pans.  This recipe makes 2 and they normally come in packages of 5 so you could double the recipe and make some to share as well.  Place pans in pan with sides (The butter may run off as the batter rises).  I let mine sit on the stove as it preheats to help speed up the yeast process.  Cook for one hour, allow to cool then flip out onto wire rack and allow to finish cooling.  Makes a great snack, side dish, you can also reheat slices of the bread using your oven and top with bruscheta or sweet sausage red sauce for a special treat. Did that last night for dinner and served with spaghetti makes an awesome appetizer for an evening of Italian cuisine.  It retains a little of beer taste without the alcohol content which burns off in the heat of the oven.  It has a crusty outer crust and moist dense center.  For bruschetta I slice mine and then reheat and pour fresh chopped tomatoes with herbs and seasonings over the top.



As you can tell cooking is also one of my many blissful activities.  I love finding new recipes and trying out new things and just enjoying life to the fullest regardless of whatever may be going on in my world I always take comfort in good food especially if it is shared with those I love.

I hope that whatever may be going on in your life, no matter how dark your day may be, that you find some comfort in my words today.  That although things may be tough and you may hate the life you are living right this second, you also realize that bad times are not permanent unless you allow them to become that way.  That if you focus on the positives in your life and are constantly moving towards things that make you happy, that you refocus your energy and make your dreams and goals a reality. Nothing is out of your reach if you keep reaching long enough for it.  Sometimes you just have to hear No 100 times before someone will tell you yes.  Never give up and never give in, and fight for what makes you happy.  Take your happy moments where you can find them. Never allow the discouraging words of others or the bad things going on right this second to allow you to give up your own hope or dreams.  Do what makes you happy and the rest will fall into place on its own.

Until next time Blog buddies, be safe, be sane, and be happy.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Its Never to late to live Happily Ever After

My desktop picture that motivates me isn't a picture of my family or my dogs. It isn't a picture of a waterfall of a beautiful sunset. It is a saying that reminds me every time I turn on my desktop that It is never to late to live Happily ever after. 

Some people would say that this only applies to a relationship.  I say this applies to learning to not only love your life but also to loving yourself.  If you love yourself you hold others to a higher standard in how they treat you and how they act around you.  To me at least this says I may not be a spring chicken but I am worthy of living a life that has quality in it.  I haven't been writing as often as I would like but there is a reason. I would rather put out blogs of quality over churning out many that aren't worthy of reading. I am odd like that.

I would rather share things that I feel are important with those who read my blog and share the things in my life that bring me happiness and joy, or things that challenge me, than to write every day about things that just mundane or downright boring.  And so today I felt I had something to share.

Happily Ever after many times puts people in the mind set of Fairy Tales.  But fairy tales weren't always the happy stories we tell our children.  Once upon a time they were scary stories told by parents to make their children fear the unknown.  If you have ever read the original stories you know what I mean.  Life is a lot like those fairy tales.  It can be scary and overwhelming and something that goes bump in the night. Or it can be an amazing journey of discovery and growth.  The choice is really yours.

And it doesn't matter if you 21 or 81 it is never to late to live Happily Ever After.  When I first saw this picture I thought to myself that it meant that you were meant to find your soulmate and ride off in the sunset with them.  But now after several months I see this and think I am my own happily ever after.  Relationships can change.  They can evolve into something you don't recognize after many years or decades together. People change and evolve, or they stagnate and become dull and lifeless.  But if you are your own happily ever after you can change the ending to your own story.  You can make a life that you want to live and that you want to share with others.

Even if you have spent the last 60 years of your life living a life for others and doing what society has deemed to be the norm, it doesn't mean you cannot start changing that today.  You can learn to love yourself with all your faults and flaws, pimples and dimples and simply live your own Happily Ever After. 

I know many people who feel that they will never get that storybook ending because they haven't found Mr or Mrs Right.  They spend so much of their time and energy looking for that perfect person they often forget that in order to bring love into your life you have be the kind of person that a good person would want to be with.  They forget that a pretty face and a pretty body changes with time, but a beautiful soul is timeless.  That someone who is truly happy in their own skin attracts other like minded people to them and finds themselves surrounded by those who appreciate all they have to offer and know what a blessing they truly are.

Never allow the mistakes of your past to dictate who you will become in the future.  Never allow what you see as limitation to prevent you from following your dreams and making them a reality.  There are many people out there who have physical and mental limitations that others would say why bother trying that still do what they need to in order to be truly happy. Often times finding strength in overcoming those limitation.


Nick Vujici was born without arms or legs but he does not allow his physical limitations to prevent him from following his mission on this planet. He preaches about overcoming adversity to young people and the masses.  He skydives and lives a life worth living.  He is an inspiration regardless of your religious beliefs.  He is living a life worth living.

Christopher Renfro battles with a mental illness but creates amazing pieces of art using moving lights and slow shutter speeds. His work is legendary and amazing to witness. In an era of digital dark room photography this artist uses his environment to create one of a kind shots.

A trick of the light

Christopher Renfro Photograhy

Make any limitations you may encounter help you to become stronger and more determined to achieve your long term goal.  Even if along the way it may give you additional mountains to climb or speed bumps to get past.  Life is to short to be miserable. Embrace your dream and life a life worth living.

At times everyone's life is hard, things happen people come and go from our lives. Bills come in and money gets tight and we all have our dark days. But having something you are passionate about will help those days and times pass that much quicker.  It will help you remain focused on what you want out of life and give you motivation to go after it no matter what challenges have to be faced and conquered to make it happen.

You are never to young or to old to live a life well lived. None of us have a promise of tomorrow.  At any time we could lose our life, how do you want to be remembered.  There is a line in Steel Magnolias that I adore.  "I would rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special".


I like to think I have taken many of the incredible lines written by those who came before me and mapped out my life by those wise words.  If I die tomorrow those I leave behind know that I lived the life I chose not the life I was assigned.  They will also know I didn't wait until I was diagnosed with some terminal disease to begin truly living my life.  I follow my bliss and I highly recommend others do the same. Why you may ask, because life is way to short to be miserable and you should grab it with both hands and make it yours every chance you can.

I hope my words today have inspired you to begin your own journey of self discovery and to go after what makes you happy.  Nothing worth having in this life comes easy, we all have struggles and obstacles to overcome. It isn't the problems you face that define you, it is how you overcome them that dictates the person you will become.  See challenges as the Universes way of  asking how truly important is this to you?  If you want it bad enough you will find a way to overcome it. If you cannot go through it, you go around around it, if you cannot go around it you go over it or under but you must find a way to get to the other side.  You must not give up or you will never find that bliss that many of us seek.

Until Tomorrow Blog Buddies, Stay safe, stay sane, and be happy.






Monday, February 4, 2013

Your Bliss can be Contagious

When I lost my father in 2011 my life fell apart.  He had started a rescue to help dogs who were at the end of their road.  Dogs who others had given up hope on. Dogs where abused, neglected, left to die due to age or disease, or dogs who had seen the worst humanity had to give and still had so much love in their soul to give someone.  He wanted to make a difference in the dogs because he had seen first hand how these dogs changed not only the lives of their owners but also the lives of those who adopted them.

His personal dog was a former fighting dog.  She had been overbred, fought, starved, and beaten.  At first she was afraid of everyone and everything, but over time she became an amazing animal.  She was wonderful with small children, aka his great grandchildren. Learned through positive reinforcement to get along with other dogs and cats and other animals.  He helped her understand that not all humans are evil nor does every life have to have a bad ending.  Her name is Casey.  She was the first official dog rescued by his rescue.

Casey and my dad had a very special relationship.  She opened up his world and helped him find happiness he had never known in his last days.  They only had 18 months together but to me it was the happiest I had ever seen him.  They were partners in crime and he often shared stories of her antics with others as well as made himself happy with her companionship in his life.

When my Dad died of pancreatic cancer I stepped up and took over his dream, it becoming my own.  Every dog we save ever life we change reflects on his dream to help as many as we can.  He worked tirelessly to educate others about these dogs and the wonderful companions they can be. Even though in younger years he may not have been as aware of the problems faced by them he put everything on the line to help them in his golden years.

After my dads death I thought my world would fall apart. He was the base of our family as well as being the foundation on which our lives were built. He was the one person on this planet we could all reach out and touch to find solace in our dark moments be that with a joke or a laughter or a hug or whatever you needed.  I began caring for all of the animals in his pack when he became to ill to care for them any longer.  I found that by getting up every morning no matter how badly I wanted to lay in bed and cry made me realize that life went on.  It made me get outside of my own head and move forward with my life.  It made me understand why he worked so hard to save these dogs.  They really do change lives.

I have learned a lot from these dogs.  I have learned that no matter how dark yesterday may have been that tomorrow is always a new day.  I have learned that not all people are evil self serving animals but that there are good people in the world.  I have also learned that not everything is as it appears and sometimes things that appear to be great on the surface hide a much deeper secret behind closed doors.

His bliss wasn't mine in the beginning.  I was the one saying this would be so much easier if you didn't do this but in the end I learned the motivation behind his actions and respected him all the more for having the heart to lead me to this life.  Through it I have met some amazing people. I have changed lives for the better and I have a purpose that drives me even during my darkest days.

I know this isn't like many of my previous blogs. This isn't just about happiness.  It is also about doing something that impact your world for the better. Be you led there by your own heart or the heart of another.  It is about taking yourself out of your own comfort zone and doing something you may have never pictured yourself doing simply because it is a part of another persons bliss.  It is about stretching and learning and becoming more tomorrow than you are today.

My own personal pup wasn't "categorized" as a pit bull by the shelter that had her.  Her paperwork read "lab" mix.  But I still fell in love with her gentle ways and decided that this was the dog who would change my life for the better.  Her name is Karma.  She was a death row dog in a shelter that only allowed a set time for adoption. Her time had run out.  Now when we did our first vet visit the vet informed me that this dog was a pit bull mix.  I had not had a lot of experience with pit bulls and the limited amount I had not been bad or good.  My ex husband's parents had one when we got together and he was a huge bulky monster who they warned me didn't like strangers but he and I got along famously.

Being told by our vet that the dog of my choosing was a pit bull was a bit of a shock but I didn't care.  She was mine and regardless of her "type" I loved her.  She is the most gentle loving animal a girl could ask for.  She had time and time again proven her dedication for me and now accompanies me most everywhere I go, with very few exceptions.  She never leaves my side when I am home and although she doesn't like small children (some dogs are just not kid friendly and although not aggressive towards them she avoids them like the plague) together we work through that.  I couldn't imagine my life without her and I am really glad I gave a death row dog a chance at her own happy ending. I adopted her on February 15, 2010.  I have had 3 amazing years with this dog and am thankful for every single one of them.


Even my husband lost his heart to one of these dogs. She came to us as a foster and ending up being adopted by our family.  Her name is Phoenix, she came to us from a kill shelter with a spinal injury.  She had been hit by a car best our vet can figure and has a long lasting injury from her great adventure.  She was pictured in an email sent to us to see if we could help her.  He went with me to meet the transport for  her and fell in love on site.


Sometimes bliss can be contagious.  Sometimes it can seep out of your life and into those you share your life with. My Dads sure did.  It may have begun as his bliss but soon became a mission of our family to save as many as possible.  Of my three daughters two are now involved in rescue efforts and volunteer their time with animals to help and find homes.  So the beginning bliss of one man not only saved many dogs it saved countless people from themselves as well.

When my father began following his bliss I am pretty sure he didn't have any idea how far reaching his dream would be.  In his eyes he wanted to help those he could and save the ones he could afford to save. Sadly many times when a dreamer dies so do their dreams. I am fairly sure he could never have pictured us working with other rescues to save dogs of other breeds and types as well as having a wonderful group of volunteers and sponsors who help us follow those dreams.

Companies like Chris Crafts stepped up to donate and help sponsor our rescue efforts and some pretty amazing people across our country have stepped up to volunteer their time and expertise to help get dogs seen through networking and sharing.  My Father's bliss was highly contagious.  What do all of these people share in common you may ask. Not all are huge fans of the type of dogs we help, but they see them as being dogs not vicious animals the media portrays them to be.

Dogs like Zeus once abandoned at a boarding facility left to die from arthritis and age alone and without a family now have loving homes that they are given because someone did a good thing and shared or posted his story.  People like Penny Eims who not only took an interest but also did a story about Zeus to get him some air time and be seen by thousands of people and we had over 75 applications in the space of 4 hours for this handsome boy to ensure his final days were spent surrounded by those who love him.





Don't hold your own bliss so tightly that you don't allow it to seep over and involve others. Let those around you know what is going on, they may decide to tag along for the ride. They may find their own bliss through the actions you take or the things you learn about yourself.  There is entirely to little happiness in the world. It is often filled with sad stories about bad people and bad things.

My personal motto has always been to grab life with both hands and hang on for dear life.  If my Father hadn't followed his bliss my bliss would never happened, or at least not this aspect of it.  The dogs have changed how I see the world. How I interact with my fellow man.  The friendships I have formed along the way have helped me evolve into a better person and helped me learn that even in our darkest days there is hope and there is a chance of finding our own happily ever after.

I hope my words today have given you all food for thought. On how your own bliss can affect those around you. Perhaps even changing the world into a better place to be.  A small ripple in the waters of life can create an outwardly flowing effect. Share your bliss with others.  Share your stories with others.  Help someone else find their own bliss and in return the universe will pass that good Karma along to you and those you love.  Never give up on your dreams no matter how hard they may be to follow because about the time you do is when great things begin to happen.

Until next time blog buddies, stay safe, stay sane, and stay happy.
  




Friday, February 1, 2013

Spring cleaning and your bliss

As winter slowly releases her tight hold on the planet and spring is just around the corner I wanted to share some of my personal rituals I do to help cleanse my mind and my space for the coming spring and letting go of things that no longer bring me happiness.

I begin by cleaning my home top to bottom. Clearing out cobwebs and dust accumulated during those dreary days of winter.  While I clean I think about all the things in my life, my habits, people, as well as actions that no longer promote my own inner bliss and help me achieve my goals.  I pull things out of cabinets and from under counter tops to actually lay hands on them and see what all I have set aside for later use but since storing no longer require.  After all how many empty vases does one person really need?

I go through my closets and try on all my clothing even my summer stuff to see what still fits and what may have grown to small or to large over the winter months to decide the image I wish to show the world in the coming seasons.  I begin preparing storage for my cold weather clothing and picking up the necessary things I will need to keep them safe from anything that might find its way into my storage and munch on my winter wardrobe.  I make sachets of herbs to include in my clothing storage of dried Eucalyptus and put these herbs in cotton drawstring bags to keep my clothes smelling good and help prevent bugs from snacking on sweaters and coats.  Instructions for how to make these can be found online as well as purchased as most health food stores in bags of multiples. I use the same bags year to year as long as I am using the same kind of herbs in them.

If you don't like the smell of Eucalyptus you can also try dried Rosemary or a mixture of herbs.  This is a recipe I like a lot and from time to time will use different herbs in different totes so that it is not all the same.  Grab a large bowl and mix together 2 oz. of dried rosemary, 2 oz. of dried mint, 1 oz. each of dried ginseng and thyme, and 8 oz. of white cloves.  I put the herbs of my choosing into a cotton drawstring bag and put them in the plastic totes I use for winter clothes storage.  I wash and dry the clothes in my closet that I do not use on a regular basis and begin to pack them away with several of the sachets mixed amongst the layers.  I wash all of the clothing before wearing it in the coming season to eliminate the herbal scent but it is nice to open my totes of winter clothing and to be met by these familiar scents.  They say that smells can often trigger memories and I use these to help my mind adjust to the shorter days and longer nights of the coming winter.

Using these herbs to keep my winter clothing and extra blankets save from bugs during storage.  I stuff my less used boots with fun-oodles that are cut to fit to help them keep their shape while in storage. These are those foam noodle looking things that children enjoy in the pool over the summer months.  This prevents them from being damaged while being stored and can be used during the winter months to make boots stand upright and keep their shape as well.

I go through all of my jewelry and clean what needs to be cleaned, holding each piece in my hand to see what memories they evoke while in contact with my skin. Sometimes a favorite piece may not have such happy memories attached.  If they do not I clean them and rehome them with others who might have appreciated them in the past.  Unless they are a family heirloom and if so I store them in my lock box for later passing on to family members.

I take stock of what is in my kitchen cabinets and check for expiration dates and make list of things I will need to replace.  This I do twice a year for health reasons and restock my herbs as they are collected and dried during the summer months.  I use herbal over commercial because I have more control over I put into my body whenever possible. My older dried herbs if not sealed in containers for long term storage I add to my compost pile to help enrich the soil for future crops of veggies from my garden.

All the things that I come across that no longer serve a purpose in my life or that does not bring me joyful memories or help facilitate my happiness I collect in boxes and donate to the local thrift store. If they are high ticket items I may sell them on Ebay or some other auction site to raise funds for the new things in my life that bring me happiness.  Many times things that no longer help me find my bliss will often help others find theirs.  I do this not only to eliminate from my life what no longer serves a purpose but also to make room for the new things that will.  A good rule of thumb is if I haven’t touched something in 6 months chances are pretty good I am not going to use at all. Be that a hobby or an article of clothing, or a piece of jewelry.  If I am in doubt I put it aside in a container stored with herbs if fabric and clean if a metal or glass or plastic and put it in our storage clearly labeled and dated so that I know if 6 months down the line it is still sitting in storage I can safely get rid of it with a clear conscious and without much fear that I will every need it again.

I know a lot of folks hang onto to things that serve no purpose in their lives. Items that are gifts or tokens of days gone by and memories of who they used to be.  I hang onto things that my children or loved ones may have created over the years in a special box labeled memories and when I am feeling blue or needing to stroll down memory lane I revisit that place. But by removing the things in my life I no longer need or that no longer bring me happiness I unclutter my life and make room for new things, and new experiences that will.

I know everyone has their own rituals for cleansing their spaces of negative energy. Many people do spring cleaning of their own personal space when the weather begins to warm.  And we all accumulate negative energy from time to time. Be that furniture that used to belong to a deceased relative but no longer brings us joy, or that shirt that you wore on that horrible date and have never felt comfortable in since. If you cannot recover or recycle the item it is time for it to go.  It is the nature of mankind to hang onto things.  It is why so many people are drowning in surplus and often cannot find the things we need when we need them because they are mixed in with the rubble of our past life.

I do not hang onto to clothes that no longer fit, to large or to small because by the time I am that size again my taste and fashion will have changed so drastically and half the fun of wearing clothes is picking them out.  Allowing our inner Goddess to shine through in our choices of clothing.  We all change with time and experiences.  We all evolve into the people we were born to be, why hang onto to things that no longer fit into the life we want to live.  It just clutters our spaces and our minds and doesn’t allow us to change and become who we desire to be.

I know some of these techniques won’t work for everyone, but I wanted to share my own personal exercise in cleaning my personal space and making room for my bliss. Who know you may discover by downsizing what is in your storage that you actually make room in your life and in your home for bringing in that hobby you have been putting off, or free up enough of your funds by finding items long ago lost to afford to purchase that one thing that is missing in your quest for your own happiness.

I hope my blog today has given you food for thought. Ways that you might declutter your living space and make room for following your bliss.  That you may take a long hard look around you at the things that bring you happiness and the things that don’t and release those things that don’t back into the universe to bring others happiness.  If you are donating to non profit thrift store many times you can keep those receipts and use them as tax credit on the following years taxes.  I don’t personally because it is often too hard to keep track of them but I do scan them in and keep a record of them so that I can see exactly how much I am donating and what I may be donating so that I don’t repeat those errors in purchasing.  Or so that I don’t repeatedly make purchases that will sit on a shelf and never get used.

Hopefully you are on the quest for your own happiness and are making room in your lives and in your homes for the things that will bring you joy.  Be that a painting by your favorite artist or a piece of art from an unknown artist, or a space in which you can create your jewelry or follow your own personal bliss of writing or creating art yourself.

Until Tomorrow blog buddies, stay safe, stay sane and stay happy.

 My plants remind that what no longer serves a purpose in our life feeds our bliss by falling away and becoming food for our happiness.  The dead leaves fall away and decompose enriching the earth and making the soil in which they live richer by doing so.  It helps feed the plant keeping it healthy and giving it nutrients it needs to thrive where it is planted. This beautiful bush is a wild rose I harvested and propagated from our neighborhood.  At first I was sure it would die from my foiled attempts at domesticating a wild plant but as the dead leaves fell away new growth began to appear I knew this experiment was successful.  I am harvesting local wild plants to create the yard of my dreams. Taking what thrives in our own climate and cultivating it so that I can have a low cost low maintenance yard that will survive our harshest weather and still come back beautifully year after year.  Looking as though I have simply allowed nature to take back her part of my planet.

 Thrive where you are planted but eliminate what no longer helps you evolve in the wonderful person you were born to be. Remember to move in harmony with nature and to celebrate each incredible season of this life and learn from your failures in order to truly appreciate your successes.  Celebrate each season during its proper time and never surrender to the dark days of winter.  Allow it instead to feed your future growth so that you can blossom and produce fruit from your life.