Insights – Melannie Thomas

Archive for the ‘Finding Your Center’ Category

Gratitude for the rain was last week’s post.  Now it is time to check your preparations for what is coming.  This could be a record-setting year for mudslides and flooding in California.

Last week’s devastating  floods in Oregon and Washington, and last year’s inundation of Texas are foreboding indications of what is a very probable scenario for us this year.

This is my personal preparation list.  Potable water, snacks and out of the can food, paper plates, disposable cups and utensils, flashlights with new batteries, LED lanterns with new batteries, first aid supplies, up-to-date medications, warm clothing, a good umbrella and adequate rain gear,  accommodation for pets, a portable radio, car maintained, with flares, water and a blanket in the trunk, gas tank always half full, working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, table games and reading material.  Check your roof and windows, gutters and drains.  Secure outdoor furniture and potted plants.

Power outages and flooding are disruptions of our normal routines.  Lastly, keep with you throughout this winter a very generous amount of patience.

For more information on flood emergency preparedness, see the following resources:

The Red Cross

FEMA

The Department of Homeland Security

WE HAVE IT!  We have a long way to go to the end of the drought, but the storm door appears to be opening.

If the El Nino predictions hold, we could be in for some challenging winter weather.  But for the moment, be thankful that the rain is here.

I love this quote from Langston Hughes.  It is the essence of my experience with the recent rains:

“Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”

Enjoy!

I,  like many others, am awed by his genius.  But it is Albert Einstein  the over-comer, the philosopher,  that most inspires me.

It is widely believed that Einstein had ADHD.  The hallmark behaviors of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity are: inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity, to greater or lesser degrees.  It becomes a challenge to focus, to hold a job,  to fit into the social milieu.

The list of famous folks with ADHD is impressive;  Walt Disney, Andrew Carnegie, Ansel Adams, The Bronte Sisters, Van Gogh, Frank Lloyd Wright, Robin Williams and Virginia Wolf, to list a few.

I am a fan of all of the above, but it is Einstein that most resonates with me.  Reading his quotes, I feel bathed in a warm light of wisdom and insight; to wit, these two that inspired this week’s blog.

“Out of clutter, find simplicity.  From discord, find harmony.  In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”  ~Melody Beattie

A special thanks to all of you who follow this blog,  support my work, and  make the world a better and brighter place because of your presence in it.  Many Blessings!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”  So wrote Thomas Paine.  Moving into third stage labor as we birth a New Age is creating times that try men’s faith.

A strong, active belief system is essential to our survival; an absolute necessity for securing peace of mind.

As the world stands in shock and horror before the growing terrorist jihad,  now is the time to steep ourselves in the benefits of positive spirituality.

This week I invite you to review, assess, and strengthen your personal belief system.

Love the weekly CSA box I share with a friend.  Having decided that we don’t want to CSA through the winter, we went searching for other options.  Then a casual conversation with a neighbor introduced us to farmfreshtoyou.com.  She has been a customer for several years and is very pleased with the service.  We signed up.

I had no idea that the organic food market had expanded to home (or office) delivery…but why not; and, there are companies spread out across to US.  Put ‘organic food home delivery’ in your search bar and you will be as amazed as I was by how many companies pop up.

I invite you to check it out. You can customize your order and prices are very reasonable.

PS  If you decide to sign up with farmfreshtoyou.com, please use this introduction code, MELA1547, and we both get a discount on our delivery.  Pretty cool huh!

Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley found its way to the top of my book pile.  I didn’t realize I still had a copy.  As I sat staring at the cover, I realized that years ago when I read this work, it had had a profound influence on me.

It led me to other Huxley writings, Brave New World and The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great Mystics, East and West.  I bathed in the illumination of his work, his wit, his wisdom, and his insights.  The following is a tiny sample of the tidbits that continue to resonate with me.  Enjoy.

“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.”  A. Huxley

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”  A. Huxley

“The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.”  A. Huxley

No, not Easter eggs…coloring books.  Adult coloring books are  hot items.  Touted as a simple and affordable way to reduce stress, the popularity of this movement is growing exponentially.

According to Livres Hebdo, adult coloring books are more popular in France than cookbooks.  Americans are on the band-wagon.  Check out www.amazon.com/books and you might be surprised by the volume of offerings.  Pinterest and Clip Art & Crafts have single pages you can download for coloring.

I confess, I have been coloring for decades.  In fact, I am not sure I ever stopped coloring.  The Dover Coloring Book series is a staple always found in my creative cupboard.  Current issues are Color Your Own Seed Packet Illustrations, Japanese Prints Coloring Book, and Favorite Wildflowers Coloring Book.  For me, it is not just the beautiful illustrations, but also the crayons, colored pencils, water-color pencils, pastels and colored pens that are part of the process.

And, yes, I do find it relaxing and enjoyable.  I invite you to take a stress break and engage the art of coloring.

Laugh.  A good way to start a week  Enjoy!

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”  ~Terry Pratchett

“Reader, suppose you were an idiot.  And suppose you were a member of Congress.  But I repeat myself.”  ~Mark Twain

“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.”  ~Lemony Snicket

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  Then quit.  No use being a damn fool about it.”  ~W. C. Fields

“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.”

As each season arrives with it’s smells, colors and weather patterns, I often say to myself, “This is my favorite season.”  I believe it is the marking of time, the cyclical change and the resplendent beauty that the Goddess of each season displays, that enamors me.   This piece by George Eliot expresses my heart in Autumn.

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonize.  The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit.  Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns.”