Black berry season!Brimming with antioxidants and low in calories, blackberries are your fruity friend full of fiber.

“You can’t do anything positive with fear, but you can do everything with love.” – overheard at a Course in Miracles (ACIM) meeting.

For June, I received, from the love of my life, a coastal seascape dried flower arrangement.

On the handcrafted wooden box two starfish are displayed, one in front and the other on the back.  All seashells were naturally harvested, meaning the animals were not killed to make the arrangement, but rather their exoskeletons were found after death.  The aqua grasses, natural ammobium, and German statice form a structure designed to highlight various sand dollars, scallops, conches and sea urchins. The gifts from the sea and land are thoughtfully positioned to take full advantage of the distinctive shapes, colors, and textures of this rich and summery focal point.

“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.  One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.”  – Anne Morrow Lindbergh from Gift from the Sea.

At Texafornia Tamale Co. up in Blue Jay, I recently ordered out a vegan dinner.

Vegan beans and corn tamale with vegan beans, rice, salsa and chips and a side of gazpacho.And so glad my huge big hot oven is working again.  I made a jalapeño, mozzarella, red onion and tomato sauce pizza for my husband and a Daiya vegan Jack style cheese, tomato sauce, red onion and oregano pizza for me.  Hot, hot, hot!andEat well, stay well.

Eventually, if you are on any kind of spiritual path, you realize your ego does not have your best interests in mind.

Seemingly, your ego acts in your behalf but in actuality, it keeps you from being happy, experiencing joy and achieving authenticity.

Your ego is a false mask of who you really are and is a device used to get through a construct we invented in order to be domesticated.

Your ego is a self-reflection of your apparent self as mirrored by others, looking for approval outside itself.  But the real you is inside.

The challenge is to dig deep beyond the ego self, deflating it to attain the truth of higher self.

Your ego does not want to give up attention, the need to be special or right.  It wants you in turmoil, chaos and drama, not peace and quiet.  For if you were to get meditative, go within and outside what society thinks of you, you would realize you had no need for ego, fear and labels.  This is the spiritual journey.

Every fight, argument, disagreement, resentment, injustice and bad mood can be traced back to your ego; its wanting to hold on to some notion, its desire to control, its lack of understanding or care for others.  Your ego gets you into a lot of trouble and causes a lot of discord.

Paradoxically, when love is always the answer, your true self shines, warms and nurtures you and everyone else in its path.

Try it some time.  Ask yourself where am I coming from?  What is my true intent?  Why did I just defend that?

Even though your ego wants to dominate you and everyone else, it is really quite fragile, once you learn the truth.

When asked what do you really want in life?  Do you answer with ‘Rule the World’ or to have Peace?  Do you honestly want to sink the ship over a misperception, closed mindedness, arrogance or stubbornness like in the Titanic? Or do you want to save yourself and everyone else by listening to advice, opening up to the bigger picture and the world of possibilities (one of them being you might be wrong)?

Your ego will not easily step aside but with the constant awareness, dedication and commitment to come from a place of love/truth and be damned with your place/role in society, you can grow and we will all profit.

When we come from ego/fear, we destroy our lives and everything around us.

When we come from love, we come from courage/heart and enhance our world, guaranteeing the evolution of the human soul.

Happy Father’s Day to the man I married and had three adorable, fabulous and healthy children with.

You are more striking, handsome, responsible and charming with every year!

“Yes, we are going somewhere, yippee, love to ride in the car!!” said Cindi on Thursday.“PUP cupcake at Three Dog Bakery in Arrowhead!  I can be super good doggie!” Cindi said on Friday.“Yum, yum.  I cannot even believe my lucky stars today!” said Cindi, when presented with the opportunity.“Oh, my gosh, it smells so good, I am going to just turn this baby over and start from the bottom up!” Cindi said spiritedly. “I am going to take this over to the grass where I can just plunk myself down and lay down and just enjoy this.  I am in heaven.” said Cindi wagging her tail and in seeming pure ecstasy.“All gone!” said Cindi, exactly 25 seconds later.A day in the life of a special pet with momentary highlights.

Poise gives you the ability to keep information to yourself when needed. Like when it would divulge too much or it could hurt others.

When we criticize aloud, we make ourselves look miserly and it says something about how we feel about ourselves more than how we feel about the other person.

Your ego’s need to be right, to make yourself important, to be a know-it-all, the desire to always one-up or upstage others, will cause you to lose your composure and reveal facts maybe you should have kept to yourself.  In many mysteries, including Agatha Christie’s, the inspector or crime solver leads their suspects precisely into this trap.  The killer’s offense and guilt is tapped into surreptitiously by using his vanity, pride or weakness as a doorway to get him/her to talk and spill data, no matter how minute, that doesn’t quite fit or mesh with their story or whereabouts.

When your ego needs to be fed, it craves attention and validation.  When you feed it, you have lost your poise or equilibrium.

The difference between your ego vs. your self-esteem or confidence is the need to have an audience, expecting applause vs. being self-assured and content for the sake of your own authentic true self or put another way, deception vs. integrity.

People create all sorts of drama and carry through all types of antics to get attention when all along, love, poise and courtesy are the most attractive forms of behavior.

Next time, pause and be poised when your ire is up.  Keep your composure and check your attitude.  Are you taking something personally?

“Be a gracious host and an even more grateful guest.” – Me

Today you are 21 years old.

Twenty one years and eight months ago, I had news you would come to be.  Our gestation period was physically difficult and complicated by horrific, tragic family news. The advent of your birth brought hope, joy and strength to all of us. Your arrival was not exactly as planned but it saved your life.  Gratefully, in womb we had bonded.  Your name was always supposed to be your legacy, but you gave it meaning.

You were a bald, gorgeous and easy baby.  I have never seen or heard of any other infants who rocked and sang themselves to sleep and then awakened themselves up with a smile and a twinkle in their eye.  Everyone admired your disposition.

At five months to the day, you first sat up by yourself.  You cruised and followed your brother like a champion.  You adored your real life ‘Barney’ and Power Ranger partner in crime.   You welcomed your sister with curiosity and openness.  You felt responsible and guided and cared for her.  You showed your reverence and amusement for everything through your lively, personal and unique expression.  You played with cheer, laughing and giggling with heart.

And then you went to school and excelled from day one.  You gave your best effort every day of your life.  Whether you were on soccer or softball, in school or after school, singing or learning or acting, your passion for all of it was clear.  Your determination and dedication sometimes turned into stubborn frustration and you revealed your emotions bluntly, verbalizing and arguing and crying “unfair”.  Your love of all animal life, righteousness, equality and steadfast commitment were established.  Your pulse on justice, history and decorum was astounding.

You were in awe at all you saw and savored life with a maturity beyond your age, with every passing year.  You cared deeply and treated kindly.  You read voraciously.

And now you are 21.

Your hair has grown in beautifully.  Your indignation has bloomed into working for others’ freedom and rights;  legally protesting crimes against humanity and standing up for the wronged, making the world aware of the reparations needed.  Your wonder of the world has turned into an eagerness to be the solution which is the hallmark of great leaders.  You use your developed, natural expressiveness, perseverance and tenacity to influence those about you to better circumstances.  Your kinship and compassion for animals has led you to be ethically vegan.

You are an amazing woman with breathtaking, mature wisdom and a seemingly endless capacity to love, to think, to live, to educate, to write, to inspire, to be thoughtful, to be timely, to empathize, to cook, to be responsible, to bake, to sweeten, to share and to give to this world.  What a gift!

Happy Birthday!

I am so grateful to have been chosen to be your mom.  You have reeducated me. You have supported my every dream with your generous praise, advice, gift of books, writing paraphernalia and thoughtful luxury items. We keep getting to know each other better through the years and you continue to knock my socks off with your beauty, your enthusiasm, your common sense, your depth and your fortitude.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

Love you, Mom

PS:  To say I am not impressed and proud of all of my children – is an understatement  – but today it’s about you.