Bringing Life To What's Around You

I am currently reading Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.  LW gave this to me a year, maybe two, ago and I read some of it but lost interest.  Since I've kept up a pretty steady writing practice on here I decided to pick it up again and I'm devouring it. 

In her chapter, Be Specific, Natalie writes, 'When we know the name of something, it brings us closer to the ground.  It takes the blur out of our mind; it connects us to the earth.  If I walk down the street and see "dogwood," "forsythia," I feel more friendly toward the environment.  I am noticing what is around me and can name it.  It makes me more awake.'

And that, my friends, is exactly how I felt when I learned all of the native herb, shrub and tree species of British Columbia.  Suddenly, all those green bushes that surrounded me had a name.  They had different characteristics.  They grew where they did because they were meant to.  It wasn't just a fluke.  For instance, now when I see a Spruce tree (on Vancouver Island) I know that the ground in which it is growing is generally moist.  I know that when I see Horsetail, we've got a water issue.  I know that Ocean Spray likes dry, rocky soil and I know that Salmon Berry seeds can lay dormant for 50 years, patiently waiting for a tree to fall so they can receive enough light in order to sprout.

I remember the world took on a new light when I realized that everything around me was so unique in nature.  Fabric, the hair on people's heads, the clouds in the sky and every single person that crosses our path.  We are all unique and special in our own little ways.  I needed that gentle reminder today.

Ocean spray or Holodiscus discolor

"You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important."

I saw the movie the Help last week.  I haven't read the book yet, sometimes I enjoy seeing the movie before I read the novel, that way I am rarely dissapointed.  I think the books are always better than the films that they are turned into.  Anyways, one of the main characters in the story is Abeleen Clark, a maid and nanny who feels it is her duty to tell the children she cares for, "You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important."  She grasps them tightly in her arms, looks them in the eyes and has them recite those magical words with her.

How often do we tell ourselves this?  How often do we give ourselves credit for what we are?  I personally find it easier to tell myself I haven't done something right than to acknowledge that I've done a good job.

Go on, right now, grab a pen and a piece of paper and I dare you to write down 10 things that you like about yourself.

10 things I like about me!

1.  My blonde hair.
2.  My dedication to those that I care for.
3.  My strong work ethic.
4.  My ability to empathize with people.
5.  My ability to adapt to many different situations.
6.  My legs.
7.  My strength.
8.  My Standing Bow.
9.  My ability to crochet an afghan.
10.My passion for all things that interest me.

Ideas

Seth Rodin wrote a great post today about where ideas come from.  This made me consider where my ideas come from.

• Many ideas come to me in Savasana.  I don't force them, they just appear.
• Some of my ideas come from my lovely man, and I only realize after I've written down my idea that his influence is all over it.
• Ideas come to me in my dreams.

I do know I need to write more of my ideas down.  And to not be afraid to share them.

Where do your ideas come from?

The Day I Turned 29

Wow, it feels like forever since I've written or shared anything here.

I turned 29 yesterday.  It was a wonderful quiet day that centered around me;

• LW gave me my presents before I left for morning yoga.  I felt like a kid again, opening presents in bed!  
• Yoga class was challenging and hot but I loved every second of it.  My mum came and practiced right next to me.
• I received lovely emails and phone calls from friends and family.
• LW took me for lunch to one of my favourite restaurants.
• I spent the rest of the rainy November day crocheting and watching Project Runway.
• We ate Thai food for dinner
• I was in bed by midnight.

I think that me of my early twenties may have found this birthday lame and boring but you know, I didn't.  I enjoyed myself, I felt calm and content.

The days prior to the 13th were full of lunches with friends, dinner with my parents and lunch with one of my brothers.  I'm on a health craze starting tomorrow! 

I've also decided that I'm going to do a 30 day blogging challenge (which was inspired by the lovely Hannah).  I've had a lot of stuff to say lately but not enough energy to actually get it out.  So today is day number 1!  Hopefully my writing will be a little more eloquent as the days go on.  Today is a purge.  I am setting my intention so that I must follow through.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday.