Living Well

I had guests this weekend
and, at one point, I was
stuck by the joy in the
kitchen. A group of us
were preparing the mountains
of food we ate, and were
laughing and sharing stories
from our lives. Sometimes one
of us would break into song
and the others would join in.
Occasionally, one of the men
would come in to find out why
we were laughing so much, or to
get a tidbit one of us was sure
to give him.

I always like big, sunny kitchens,
with cozy places to linger, and
lots of work space. The kitchen is
the heart of my home, and I keep
it filled with wonderful aromas,
a table of love disguised as food,
and generous amounts of laughter.

Won’t you stop by for a visit
and a piece of my famous chocolate cake?

How often people work
very hard to achieve
something, only to quit at
the last moment or do
something to hinder their success.

What if we have a deep feeling
that we do not deserve good
things in life? That somehow,
we are not as nice as people think
we are, we are not as smart, talented,
trustworthy, kind, etc. as we
“should” be, so we limit what we
could accomplish by our own
judgment of ourselves.
Just think about it.

At times we draw people into
our lives who can mirror what
we need to learn. I recently
discovered that someone I
thought was trustworthy had
been lying to me for years.
This has happened repeatedly
in my life, finally I stopped
and asked myself why. Are
people basically untrustworthy;
was I assuredly naive? Then,
as so often happens, I was shown
the answer to this question.

The author of a book* I was reading
talked about discernment in trust.
He said that there were levels of
trust and we should not entrust
certain things with certain people,
who are basically honest but not
necessarily with every thing. Now,
this as an obvious observation,
I suppose, but to me, a person was
either trustworthy or not. Can’t
be a little pregnant.

Integrity is an important value to me.
I watch mine carefully as it is easy
to compromise one’s integrity…

Fresh sheets smelling of sunshine
Kitten purring in my lap
Warm socks on cold feet
Rain drops on a tin roof
Smell of bread baking
Unexpected visit from a friend
A candy found in the bottom of my purse
Rainbows, warm breezes, a butterfly
landing on my arm.

Life is full of tiny moments of comforts
when we slow down and pay attention.
When was the last time you went “ahhhhhhhhh!”

I am Single. I am Single on Saturday. That, is only a small part of who I am. But, this part has been so enlightening. I have been writing these posts for a minute now and I have to say, they have been truly cathartic. When I started, this was just a way to chronicle my Saturday as a Single Gurl. It has now become my way to reflect and report on this lone journey. I have been single for approximately 4 and a half years and am commited to staying single for the rest of 2012. I am however ready to start dating….again.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about self-worth and personal responsibility. My true friends know that, as loving and loyal and giving as I am (insert more self praise here lol), I have a tendency towards self-absortion and delusion that sometimes clouds my judgement. My recent reflections have brought…

Christmas:
Day of death for turkeys
Overspending’s the name of the game
Vacations:
Unrestrained gluttony and lust
Buying trinkets we don’t need
How is it that we create
special days of excess?
Why not celebrate life every day?