Feeling Grateful Again today

So it seems all my experiences and instances that I have witnessed in my life have a lot to do with the things I am grateful today. All the poverty, distress, hunger, dirt, lack of hope and possibilities I have seen in countries of the third world shaped my soul and made my feel very fortunate for all I have. All the beauty, goodness and grace I have witnessed in Canada, Japan and other countries Europe made me open my eyes and realise how lucky I have been to be able to see it and live through it. So here goes another 50 things I am grateful for.

51. For all the peaceful and unhurried breakfasts with my son on the school days.
52. For all the happy family breakfasts with my husband and son on weekends.
53. For coffee and good company to drink that coffee with
54. For all the girls nights out
55. For comfortable evenings with my husband
56. For time to get my nails done
57. For all good BBC detective stories that engage me so much
58. For all talented stand up comics
59. For internet radio
60. For light in our home
61. For faith that my parents gave me
62. For white sand and all the shells
63. For cloud weather
64. For warm autumn walks in the park
65. For driving trips
66. For lazy weekends
67. For Nuit Blanche
68. For family Christmas get togethers
69. For Santa Claus and tooth fairie
70. For Halloween
71. For yummy deserts and cakes
72. For nice pens and paints
73. For good memories from childhood and friends that still keep in touch and care
73. For all the kind and helpful people that crossed my path. I owe so much to you
74. For having a good place to live
75. For all the cards my son made for me
76. For  nice pottery in my green cupboard
77. For sour cream gelato in Roma
78. For ability to walk far and good shoes
79. For my bike
80. For kotatsu in winter
81. For comfortable silences with understanding people
82. For all drawings from my son
83. For all knives in the kitchen that my husband sharpened for me
84. For all the nice kids in the park that play with my son
85. For swimming lessons for my son for which I was able to register
86. For yoga and meditation
87. For my "super extra the best" rice cooker my mom gave me for my birthday
88. For having the need for art in my life
89. For my blog
90. For my husband helping me with technical problems
91. For my friend giving me ideas for my blog
92. For dance classes and a wonderful teacher for my son
93. For my son's beautiful and graceful dance partner
94. For feelings of pride and admiration at the dance competition
95. For an opportunity and privilage of being a mother
96. For an financial flow. Always short but always managing to live with dignity 
97. For having good friends that catch me when I am fall...in cycles
98. For fridge full of food
99. For all the problems that always work our
100. For having God in my heart

I feel lucky to be the person I am today and that I have what I have and know whom I know. I guess I have done something right in the previous life to deserve it. I love life with all my might!

Today I am meeting two of my good friends. They are wonderful women that keep me sane and keep the stakes very high for me. They are so smart and beautiful inside out. I keep looking up to them. I am grateful for them!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! And don't forget tomorrow all night we get to enjoy Nuit Blanche! I call it my Christmas! Merry Nuit Blanche, friends! Come out and enjoy it even for a quick moment. Choose one or two projects and go see it. You never know, you could find something to be grateful for.

Feeling Grateful

Today I read that if you are thankful for your gifts first thing in the morning you are more likely to lose weight because of your positive outlook. So here goes at least 3 lb. of my body! The first 50 things I am thankful for this morning NOT in order of importance because they all are important and neccessary in my life:

1. For my travels in the past, present and the future
2. For being able to live in Japan for 11 years
3. For being able to experience life as a teacher
4. For being healthy
5. For being able to hear, see touch, smell, listen, and taste and feel
6. For Jazz24
7. For wine
8. For my wonderful mother and father
9. For my brothers and that are always there when I need them
10. For my heart and soul, my husband
11. For my incredible, inventive and artistic son
12. For genuine friends that surround me and appear like good angels when I need them. You know who you are. If not call me and I will personally explain why i am grateful for you! I know I know, I don't say thank you enough!
13. For being able to paint and draw
14. For colours
15. For all the wonderful food I can eat freely
16. For clean water in my tap
17. For being able safely walk on the streets without fear
18. All all these fifty billion of material things that I own
19. For Ste. Sault Marie
20. For all the trips to the sea
21. For all the shells i have that bring good memories
22. For God and Angels and Archangels above guiding me every day
23. For dancing and music
24. For my family that I have not mentioned in points 8 - 12
25. For wonderful teachers I had. I hope my son will say the same one day!
26. For IKEA
27. For Social assistance that allowed me a few times to admit my weakness and boost me to go on.
28. For amazing doctors who always keep me and my family in good shape.
29. For medicine that I can afford
30. For fresh fruit in the summer
31. For a free swimming pool
32. For Niagara Falls. An amazing place whichever way you look at it!
33. For Stratford and the theatre
34. For live bands
35. For beer and rum
36. For being able to visit Cuba
37. For gin and tonic
38. For crayons and other art supplies that i can freely afford to buy
39. For all the furniture I have
40. For soap and all toiletries
41. For shoes and nice clothes
42. For internet that keeps me close with my friends abroad.
43. For being able to afford internet, phone and all other high tech things
44. For my well mannered and talkative cat - Cheecciolina
45. For work that my husband has and the ability of supporting this family
46. For my balcony and the plants on in.
47. For the green thumb that my husband has
48. For all the designated drivers in my life
49. For freshly baked bread and the smell of it
50. For ability to sleep in clean sheets every night. Some don't have that comfort!
 To be continued...

This activity works so well when you are too busy to realise how lucky you are to have all the comforts in your life. Just think about it. Make a list of your own. I dare you my friend. Take out that pen and paper and start writing. My goal is to reach all 100 by tomorrow morning.  Go ahead! It will make you feel like a millionaire, the next genius of technology, the next most popular person in entertainment industry!

Cats Purr like Binural Beats

Last night me and my tortoise shell cat Cheecciolina relaxed on the couch while watching "Wallander" series. The rest of the home was fast asleep while we enjoyed the atmosphere of the movie. Cheecciolina was purring so loud that she overshadowed my interest in the movie and Kenneth Branaugh! I decided to put my ear to her belly. It was so loud and so comforting at the same time. That moment brought a thought to my mind. A Cat's purr has the same effect as binural beats used for depression! I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I stayed like that for a while until she raised her head in protest, mind you, still purring out loud! I couldn't believe myself when I turned to her and said, "Thank you for that, Cheecciolina!" Inspired by that moment I decided to paint.

Are cats angels sent from Heaven to keep us sane? There is certainly something spiritual about them as rightly ancient Egyptian noticed that they deserve high esteem and reverence. They can be wild, ferocious, untamed. But they are always graceful, hypnotic and royal. Hats off to the goddess Bastet, half woman and half cat!

Have a Purrrfect day, friends!

Ladies of the Ring

Ladies of the Ring is not entire my idea for this post. But I thought that it was so smart and so well suited that I have decided to used it and make it mine for a second. Thank you friend!

So this last Saturday I had a day off. Me and two other incredible women decided to run away where Shakespeare's words decorate T-shirts and the "old" has a value. That is how this getaway came to be "Getting a New Ring Party" and we became ladies of the Ring. There was a healthy dose of merriment, singing, dancing and good food. But most of all there was a lot of sincere comradery and acceptance. There is always a rise of something highly intellectual and powerful in such atmosphere.

Objects carry our energies. They also carry energies from the past owners. There is always a scent of mystery and magic in their presence. Hence, they can make us happy or make us sad. They can suck the life out of us. But at the same instance there is a possibility that they can inspire us to do greater good. I am convinced there was no accident that we stopped at that antique store by the side of the road and were drawn to that case full of rings. One orange, one green and one blue. Perfect! Ladies, thank you for making that night so magical! The world was our oyster!

Witch Hunt

Long long time ago there were women that were very progressive and free thinking. They had their own opinions and were not afraid to make decisions for themselves. This type of radicalism was very inconvenient and incomprehensible to some powerful big boys of that time. It is a proven fact that even today we fear and want to accuse as bad and evil that which is outside of the box. So these powerful people full of insecurities about their intelligence and status found an easy way of getting rid of the witches using religion. These women were accused of black magic, heresy and witchcraft, maybe even murder. In consequence, they died a horrible painful death by burning! Sad to say, but today we still burn at the stake that which is free thinking, creative and non-mainstream. And very often we burn them because we want to make up for our own insecurities and flaws.

I held out my hand to the good old buddy of mine that I listen to, yet often take him with a grain of salt, Mr. Wikipedia. According to thee, the first major witch hunt took place in Germany in 1563 as recorded. Then, after the reformation it grew and spread all over Europe where "witches" were tied up and burned alive for "True and Horrifying Deeds!"!!!!!! True and horrifying deeds!!!! Gosh it sounds so familiar! We do it now, today, to people that we deem as different and foreign or too intelligent for their own good!! We see them as having demonological almost ideas, just as back then! I guess what I am trying to say here is that we should try and understand people, especially those that are different from the mainstream. They might bring some incredible enrichment and a certain Eureka once we realise that we all come from different walks of life, hence, our characters and likes, ideas and creative outputs differ because of different from ours experience. Do I make sense? For example, kids that are raised on a farm and/or with limited TV time and IPAD/IPOD and even I-flower-pod will seek real life experience and will experiment with whatever tools are at hand. They will play with mud, piece of stick, they have loads of energy, express their emotions freely and seek real human interaction. They differ from the main stream kids who spend hours on TV, computer games, IPADS, etc. They look like zombies when they engage in these activities and they look like zombies when they get off them, because they dream of being on electronics. They lose touch with reality and real life. They get bored easily with real life scenarios and they seem lifeless. So obviously, you will make your judgement, the medieval kind of judgement. You will burn at the stake that first child without trying to understand. I will stop there and let you think about this. But I think, if you are reading my blog you already know about this and maybe even share my view.  So the last thing I will say is that is it truly evil to make judgements, and it is even greater evil to spread it because that hurts people concerning. And in the end it might hurt the inquisitors because Karma is a bitch! A real, smart, all knowing bitch! It might seem she is a quiet, little naive girl. But she is there, taking notes!

So have mercy on them witches my friends! Understand them. Love them! Let them grow! And most importantly, don't judge them!

CHeers! Love you all for being you!

Happiness - 25 Ways To Live Joyfully Through Art

Yes, this is my recent obsession. This book is a bright beacon in the foggy, rainy night and you cannot find safe land to dock your ship. It is written by Christophe Andre. Absolutely uplifting and full of wonderful art inspired by happiness. This morning I enjoyed its wonderful motivation and meditation while sitting on my balcony and enjoying a nice cup of coffee. So here is one thought that stirred my mind this morning.

"Love does not express itself solely through the fusion of two people, but also in shared action and construction, in making a way through life together."

Wow! This is really good. Then, Monsieur Andre goes on explaining the philosophers' point of view on Love. According to the book there are three types of Love: Eros, Philia and Agape.  The first one is a romantic infatuation that we go through when we first fall in love. The gazes, the hugs, hands held, the kisses. The second one is less physical, but not excluding desire, it involves satisfaction and joy through friendship, sharing and companionship. The last one is the most difficult. It is a love unconditional. Love for all. Not a single expectation. Turning the other cheek when love calls for it. However, many people fail right there because as animals, we have more self-preserving instinct. And if one or both in the relationship are not ready to give without the need of overwhelming and over-powering that is when a relationship falls into ruin instead of building and learning from mistakes.

"We need to leave Eros behind and move towards Philia, and then Agape. This is the lesson that takes us from love to happiness in concentric circles, as we gradually move away from ourselves and open up in order to give."

Wow! He figured it all out! Why don't they teach it to kids! This would save people a lot of money on  marriage counsellors, divorces and separations! There would be much less of that, hence hatred in marriages. Which brings me to a very special poem a friend of mine posted on FB this morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHjCW5nYmGg

This love thing is as old as the world and we still haven't figured out how to nourish and cherish it.
Keep loving my friends! Love will keep us alive! Happy labour Day weekend!