The Boomer Muse
Finding the Light in Darkness
My cat Domino was hiding in the bushes in a feline game he plays called ostrich. This image is dark and he's hard to spot. Another image of him inspired my cat photo quote newsletter, out today. If you're so inclined visit Cat Wisdom 101 and scroll down to the footer and free signup form.
With the mad pace this week, torrential rains and a world roiling in the usual turmoil, I needed to remind myself: WHERE IS THE LIGHT?
Instant Stress Reliever
For those who like cats I have an instant stress reliever. If you don't like cats, maybe not so much.
Be Mindful Now
Cultivating a mindful attitude means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and our environment. It's the Zen of being here now or really being present.
Mindfulness also involves acceptance, meaning paying attention to our thoughts and feelings as they are —without judging or believing they're “right” or “wrong”. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than dwelling in the past or dreaming of the future.
Mindlessness has its roots in Buddhist meditation but a secular practice of mindfulness has expanded into the American mainstream in recent years, partly through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, launched at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979.
Zen Tea Adventure
If it's Tuesday... it must be Zen Tea...
Thank God It's Monday!
You may hate your job. You may not have a job and wish you did. You may be ill, in pain, sad, fed up, exhausted, confused or the adjective of your choice but everyone shares the same 24 hours, the same oxygen, the same sun and moon. We aren't alone in the experience of having a body, a life, a purpose.
Without a normal job to go to, it's makes no difference what day it is to me. Not every day has been a picnic lately but every day is magic in May. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I rush to the window, pull back the curtain and see how much greener the garden is from the day before. It's gone from tender green to wild jungle lush in two weeks. So fast, too fast. My favorite month is careening forward, well, at the speed of life. There's not a thing I can do to stop it, but I can enjoy it. No matter what's going on. It's part of the reason my blogging gaps have grown. The spring blooms photo (above) taken on May 2nd demonstrate how quickly change happens. Every moment spent sulking, worrying, moaning and lamenting are moments lost. They are thieves of time and joy.
Go an enjoy whatever corner of the world you live in. Celebrate Monday because we can.
I always said I would continue this blog as long as it remained fun. Fun = joy and not work. After five years, this blog it's taken on a life of its own. I could stop today and the words, images and messages will generate enough traffic to spark and inspire thousands of lives for years to come. Am I ready to stop now. No. But I'm ready for a change. How it will manifest is unclear but I promise to share the process.
Be A Traveler Not A Tourist
This is my philosophy wherever I am and wherever I go. It's easier to do when traveling, when we're transported out of our familiar auto-pilot routine. It's about cultivating the attentive eye, to notice what others might pass by. To illustrate my point, earlier in the week in Boston, my husband walked beside me a the convention center and venue of the Emerson commencement. He didn't see the wildly gesticulating woman or the trio of bagpipe-players. I often snap photos without pausing to slow down as I'm walking to capture a random moment that won't come again. More often than not something is communicated and chances are there's message waiting to be deciphered.
Random events aren't necessarily random. There are hidden relationships between colors, forms, objects like the green in the woman's jacket and my green blouse. She didn't look anything like me and yet in her frustration to relay some information I related to her. The entire day was a comedy of errors and missed communications. Ironically, snapping these random people played a pivotal part later in the day. I expected to see (and photograph) my step-daughter grad follow the bagpipe processional but she didn't and yes, I felt as frustrated as the woman earlier, but not for long. Instead of feeling woe is me, me, me, I felt the interconnectedness of we, we, we. I wasn't alone in this vast hall or the universe.
We are all travelers and it's up to us to be ordinary tourists or adventurers. It begins with seeing what's in front of you. Go look right now, with fresh eyes. Notice something you haven't noticed before.
What A Long Strange Trip It's Been
Often songs pop into my head while writing posts. For this one it's the Grateful Dead's What A Long Strange Trip It's Been. The Emerson commencement was held at the Convention Center where a rock concert would feel at home. A graduation ceremony, not so much. I didn't feel like doing the usual shots and at one point, bored with speeches and platitudes, light-headed from low blood sugar, I wandered into the lobby and had some experimental photo fun. These abstract images capture the feeling. There were Scottish bagpipes in a processional, designer shoes, high spirits and oceans of hope. Boston strong indeed.
And I wish I had a shot like this one with my step-daughter but the photo gods weren't cooperating. I hope this grad finds this quintessential capture online.
A Boston Strong Commencement
A Wordless Wednesday that speaks volumes.
Zen Tea Calm On The Road
It's Zen Tea Tuesday on the road. I love road trips but some drivers would benefit from this sign.
I believe the journey is a good as the destination and sometimes better.
One of my favorite highway rest stops is in Stonington, Connecticut to pause and attend to the call of nature. It was studded with massive, lilac trees in full intoxicating scent.
The vintage teapot is Haddon, England and the teacup is Royal Albert.
This Guy Can't Stop to Smell The Flowers
Of course this guy can't stop to smell the flowers but I'm grateful for the photo op. I'll be in a sort of holiday mode this week and posting pics from my travels where I hopefully will find time to smell the flowers. The "guy" is a sculpture of St. Joseph.
Sunny Days Are Overrated
What I can I say except that sunny days are overrated, sometimes. After the glorious cherry blossoms faded, what could be more beautiful? It's all beautiful, depending on your mood.
The Most Powerful Thing In The World
While wandering in a nature reserve, I came across a weathered sign and laughed at the absurdity of it. Vines snaked across the words in protest. We can make rules, stick on signs, build fences and they can vanish with one nod from nature. Nothing is more powerful than nature except maybe whoever controls nature.
Tea Time Makes Everything Better
Tea Time makes everything better and you don't need any tea. It can be coffee or a plain glass of water. It's the ritual pause to relax is what matters. Enjoy yours today.
The tea pot is old, unmarked vermeil and the teacup has hand-painted numbers but no maker's mark so I'm clueless as their origins.
Be it ever so humble
A humble birdhouse is a mansion for a bird family. My slightly larger home can feel cramped. It's all relative. Love the home you have. Not everyone has one.
Blue Skies
It's KISS week or keep it simple silly. Question of the day: What color do you think of when you imagine sky blue? May you week be blue skies.
Think Before You Speak
Is it my imagination or did this week whiz by? It's been a week of sudden growth, blossoming and the gorgeous green. But life isn't perfect even when it's perfect. There's are allergies, sneezing, aches and pains of middle age. There are delays and disappointment, arguments, misunderstanding and sadness: of friends moving, a family member's cat dying, a nasty medical diagnosis. There's always something, if not in our life, the life of someone else. More than ever, I value a kind word and try to step back and think before I blurt out something I'll regret. I wish you blue skies today.
When You Face The Light Shadows Fall Behind
The light, the light, the glorious light. Have you noticed it? Especially at the golden hour before dusk, like this pic taken in my garden. Take a break today and enjoy the light, if it's sunny. And if it's not, it's still marvelous May.
A Wilde May Day
Have May Day or Beltane for my more pagan-leaning friends. I celebrated by spending time connecting to nature in the garden, foraged for a salad of dandelion leaves, garlic mustard, onion grass, violets tossed with a champagne vinaigette. What's a weed to others is wonderful. I cheated adding tomatoes but thought the pop of color fit the bold, fertile energy.
After deer chewed all the tulips leaves before they could bloom, it was a surprise to find two perfect pale yellow left undetected. The bigger surprise was seeing a lone red tulip in the herb garden, deformed with ragged edges but determined to bloom the best it could.
Weather permitting, I always do a bonfire the evening before and got lucky with an especially vibrant and expressive fire. Take advantage of the powerful earth energies for healing and creativity. EnJOY!
Zen Tea Tuesday: Big Thoughts Small Pleasures
One of our readers, Yun Yi, a talented artist and poet left a beautiful comment about yesterday's post that I thought would go well with today's Zen tea Tuesday. 
She wrote: If we open our eyes, everywhere we see miracles! Here is what I just wrote based on Van Gogh's painting, somehow I think it echoes your post: "Posed in a gentle breeze of April/peach trees are ready/for a passionate mind/ to immortalize/their white/chaste/blossom".
For teapot/tea cup fans. The teapot is made in China and the cup is from Italy.
Expect A Miracle
Many years ago someone gave me a business card with no address or phone number. There were simply three words printed in magenta ink. Expect a Miracle. It had a little magnet and it's stayed on my fridge ever since. Every time I see it, I smile. It may seem Pollyanna-ish to be so optimistic but miracles happen every day, not always to me but someone. Maybe you today.
The abundance of spring blooms in recent weeks blew me away. The cherry and magnolia blossoms are on their last legs but their memory and their message lives on in images. I don't take a lot, maybe a hundred a week and oddly enough I don't always post the best ones. It's nice to keep some for a rainy day.
