“You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; in just the same way, you learn to love by loving.”
St. Francis De Sales (1567 – 1622)
A simple turn of phrase proves to be true.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
12/17/13 backyard peach colored rose
Odd how both these men were living in the same era. One was an actor, poet and playwright, the other a bishop, saint and mystical writer.
Grateful for my Polynesian Red Ginger Exotic flower Christmas bouquet from the love of my life.
Truly one of a kind (the bouquet and the man).
There is absolutely nothing like Christmas in NY. From the minute you arrive/leave the decorated airport to the minute you walk the streets with the smell of fresh cut pine trees as you quickly pass by (everyone walking fast and looking straight ahead or down) and roasted chestnuts wafting from small outdoor vendors, to the minute you hear the snow falling silently, as you warmly watch from an inside window, warm cup of tea/coffee, hands clasped around the mug.
John F. Kennedy Airport Decor
City sidewalks
Night and day at Columbia University, Manhattan
Good Luck to both my munchkins during finals!!
Today, I will write for me…and it will mean something to you. Because when we look within, we find the common ground between us. As I disclose and confess my human frailties, errors and insecurities, you acknowledge your own (perhaps). Even if they are not exactly the same. You may call them different names or forms but we all have faults, shame and remorse, if we own a conscience. The open communication between the writer and reader connects and may even bond. As I reveal and discuss my human dreams, hopes and gratitude, you match the positive perspective with your own. This shared outlook then encourages us both. As I relate and divulge with frankness, depth and raw emotion, we become intimate, you and I, the reader and the writer. We are one encapsulated in the same thought, only distanced by time. Yet we are on a one to one basis, at the moment you enter the written word. We delve into the spiritual realm we seek with beliefs that complete us, we traipse through fictitious stories that enchant us, teach us and envelop us, we learn a thing or two and we mutually gain access to a moment in time, that exists every time you pick up a book and start to read.
This is why I love and adore libraries. Libraries hold trillions of words, bound by titles in book form. A library contains stories, essays, musings… the world of fiction and non-fiction! A library contains blood and guts and souls pouring out onto the page! A library contains an art form and its preciousness does not go unnoticed by enemies that have destroyed massive amounts of historical and original works just to trample their foe. They are petite shelves or stacks of condensed ideas housed in hallowed gathering places for any class of citizen.
Libraries have a sacred smell, a sacred sound and a sacred ambiance. When I walk by a wall of books, I smell the scent and allure of mystery, intrigue and answers. I listen to the silence and can hear people thinking, contemplating, reading, absorbing, feeling and learning. The next time you step into a lending library, think about all the people who wrote for you to express themselves, that want to pass on their life, their words, their creative angst and their truth to you.
Libraries are a sanctuary. Even at home, my shelves hold promise and journeys within the confines of small three dimensional rectangles. There are books that have changed my life, that have added and heightened my awareness, that have stretched my mind. There are tomes I read over and over because I find something new every time. There are favorites and classics, tiny treasures and huge undertakings but they all have something to offer… the human touch.
Every book has a tone, a style and a message. If it doesn’t, I move on. Most books fall into my hands or are suggested at just the right time. Right now, in December, I am reading a book I found at the used book store in the Arrowhead Library and purchased for $1. It is priceless to me. I repeatedly told my walking buddy about it for @ two weeks. I walked into the little store and almost collapsed when I saw it on the shelf. I don’t know why I even mentioned or remembered it in the first place on our walks but there it was – staring me in the face as if it was a glowing 48 inch TV. It is a 4 X 7 inch paperback and I was floored! I always ask guidance for just the right read when I walk into a library or bookstore but this was way too spot on for it just to be coincidence. I am relishing re-reading it! It is The Chosen by Chaim Potok written in 1967. It was re-printed in 1982 and I read it then for the first time because my college roommate encouraged me to. I proceeded to read everything Chaim Potok ever wrote after this within a span of one year. And then… I didn’t think about it, not really consciously, for over thirty years until something on our walks, twice, made me recall it. Crazy, right?
The other book I am studying and admiring as I read is Hemingway’s post humous production called A Moveable Feast. I truly in my innocence thought it was about food. I read A Moveable Feast, a collection of stories by chefs, not too long ago because I wanted to read Hemingway and got side tracked into reading it by this modern theft of a title somehow between a kindle and a library. This time I downloaded a sample of the REAL title onto my kindle, read three pages and marched myself over to our teeny, tiny town library – which reminds me every time I walk in there of the one I grew up with before they built a ‘state of the art’ all glassed in library building on the corner of route 25A back in Kings Park, L.I., NY circa 1970, which is still standing. Alas, the original library with creaky, musty and uneven wooden floors was a storefront and the whole row of shops was torn down to widen route 25A. The size of our Villa Park, CA library is about the same square footage though and it remains a bibliophile’s camping adventure anytime we need one.
I searched the classics and the regular fiction area and couldn’t locate it. They had The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. All boring when I had to read them in high school, I preferred (and maybe still do – I don’t know – I will have to re -read them) the old black and white movies they made with Tyrone Power, Ava Gardener, etc. Then I squatted down to check out another author that caught my eye (probably and possibly Oscar Wilde) and spied the spine of a paperback copy of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast clearly re-inserted into the wrong place on the shelves. A coincidence? I think not. I believe it was time for me to get my hands on this masterpiece. It’s not about food per se, but it does have a lot of food moments. A Moveable Feast, the title, is actually a Catholic reference and was given its moniker by his very Catholic last wife (Mary) who wanted his memoir of Paris in the Lost Age of the 1920’s to be published in his honor, after his death. Anything Parisian is a treat for me so it’s a little like reading the movie, Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen – I didn’t care for it much except for the literary figures in it and the Parisian setting, language and relevance. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I enjoy and respect Hemingway’s long but crisp descriptions, concise sentence structures and vivid dialogue.
The space, the energy and the slowing down of time I immediately sense – every time I am inside a library, holds me safely, reverently and closely, like a church or a temple. All I need is the waxy, smokey scent of candles burning for alms, the organ piping and the windows stained with colorful, dramatic story lines and I am in my Notre Dame of Cathedrals. Come join me, as we touch each other, whenever and wherever we read and write.
Some of us are still processing the Holiday they call Thanksgiving from last week. For five (5) glorious days I had one or all three of my kiddies at home visiting. Last time we were all together was during our youngest’s high school graduation in June this year, so it was almost a half a year before mom and dad had all of their chickadees under one roof again. I took an extended and guilt free vacation from posting and spent quality time with my family. I hope you dropped everything and did the same.
Truly, I am grateful that they even want to visit and just as important, they all arrived intact to the old homestead and then got back home to their new locations without incident, peril or any mishaps.
Between eating out with hidden or obvious sodium and fat, chomping on tons of vegan treats I don’t usually consume in mass quantities and delicious sweet and savory baked fare my daughter V creates and insists I taste and I then proceed to devour…I gained a few pounds. How about you?
My efficient daughter V had it all figured out. She sent me an e-mail with an attachment including a proposed menu, recipes and a shopping list. Even though we were going to grandma’s house, we both wanted to make sure we had vegan fare to eat and she loves to share her love of baking, cooking and experimenting with everyone.
The absolute favorite recipe was the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread. My daughter E had specifically asked her sister for any special pumpkin treat that would pass the non-vegan palette as well. Not only did we succumb to its powers, but again and again, V was asked to produce more. And she obliged, every time. I believe she made three batches (making three small loaves each time) but who is counting. All I know is, she was tired of the recipe but we were finding new devotees, with every bite we offered. Friends, family and the tasting team (us) who had to make sure each batch was up to snuff, at home, delighted in the chewy, pumpkin chocolatey, lip smacking greatness that is this vegan recipe. Beware.
CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN BREAD:
Ingredients
Instructions
Disclaimer: I personally have no idea where this recipe came from. But thank you for the extra two and one half pounds to whom it may concern.
Gratitude
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “Thank you,” that would suffice.” Meister Eckhart
Pause and take time to reflect on all we have to be grateful for.
Write a Gratitude list.
With every layer of what we are content to notice with appreciation, we strengthen our core. We become happier people, fulfilled, rewarded, and in awe, resplendent with joy. This radiates outward.
“Happy people are grateful people and those who aren’t, aren’t.” – Dr. Paul. Have you ever observed that?
A person who finds themselves in a never-ending series of drama, spiraling into victim hood again and again or replete with self-pity, could use a dollop of gratitude. It’s a great time for a Gratitude list.
An attitude of gratitude right-sizes and balances us. When we appreciate whatever it is, our perception is engulfed in love.
I could write just about gratitude, on and on. I have learned to become, with time, even thankful for any ‘negative’ in my life. Yes. It is a state of grace.
Nietzsche proclaimed, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” In the concentration camps, the inmates with hope, tended to live longer, or come out alive. They were grateful each and every day, for one more day. Viktor Frankl, a psychotherapist camp survivor wrote, “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.” I take this to mean that it is our responsibility to extract meaning out of everything, to think symbolically, connect the dots. It is our responsibility to give our lives meaning, enhancing and furthering evolution, honoring and respecting our human existence. It is our responsibility to choose the direction of our destiny, our happiness and our health, no matter what the obstacles. It is our responsibility to hold hope, to set goals, to carry on. It is our responsibility to aid, teach and listen to other humans, expanding our mutual awareness. It is our responsibility to give life meaning, not the other way around.
We are inclined to view regrettable circumstances with disappointment, infusing ourselves with bitterness, anger or self-afflicted abuse. What if we used a heightened thought process?
When we detach ourselves from the outcome, we release expectations. When we allow whatever is, to be, we acquire acceptance. We do not stand idly, it is mandatory instead that we act according to our principles.
When we step outside the emotional bind, we see the situation or person with a new pair of glasses. These lenses concentrate on what is really going on, beyond the superficial exterior. These optical tools zoom into the center issue. They clarify the intent behind the thought, word or deed. The sharper focus narrows it down to ‘the story’ beneath the motive, revealing the true force driving the thought, word or action/behavior.
From this higher level of understanding or perspective, we have the opportunity to exasperate the situation, engage in it with possible detrimental consequences or dissolve or dilute it. We may even be able to break a cycle of pain or fear.
Simple example: Someone close says something nasty to you. Pause. It may have nothing to do with you. Ask yourself, what’s really going on? Is this person right and their delivery is poor or are they in fear about something else? Are they in any pain, physical or mental? Where did that come from? Is it true and do I need to look at that about me or are they just lashing out?
When we de-personalize, we relieve the ego of its need to bear arms and defend itself at all costs. When we come from a place of our true selves, we step into a knowing; replying and responding with great care.
We address the comment by either agreeing (because after some thought we have come to the conclusion it is true), thanking the person for their concern and honesty or by looking beyond the sharpness of tone, asking perhaps a question that reflects and mirrors back empathy to them. Many people bite because they just got bitten, burned or bruised. We sometimes just get in their way. We, ourselves, have done the same.
Most everything can be diffused, resolved or handled by going deeper than the surface. What is the Cause of the Effect? What’s the impulse beneath the retort? What is the intention and where did it derive from? Why?
Our primitive mind needs to attack. Our evolved, loving mindset, connected to the heart, remembers peace, serenity, joy and interdependent cooperation. And how does one achieve peace? We find that choosing to be happy rather than right, brings us serenity. And, what do happy people practice? Gratitude. Happy people practice giving thanks. Smiling faces, as a rule, imbue their lives with a habit of appreciating everything, everyone and every instance.
Here is a challenge: Practice gratitude all day long, every minute, every hour, every week – not only on Thanksgiving Day…and notice how the world changes.
“Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and right conduct.” – Viktor Frankl wrote.
May we BE in a state of always giving praise, saying grace, being IN gratitude.
If we always feel blessed, then we are.
Today, let us bless something we have been in pain about, maybe some injustice we feel was done to us. No matter what our trouble, eventually we must come from a place of gratitude in order to glean meaning and make sense of it. No matter the heartache, at some point in time, we appreciate the usefulness of its teaching.
Forgive me for harping on gratitude. It has been a lifesaver and an eye opener for me. With it, I have gained clear vision of the Big Picture. With every detour and twist on my life’s journey, Thanksgiving has become how I perform the why.
Happy Thanksgiving!
After one year of consistently, constantly and consciously posting every day, I have learned three things about myself:
1) I can do it, whatever IT is. 2) I AM disciplined, after all. 3) I CAN write.
Writers always speak of two activities: a) Reading always, and b) Scheduling time to write.
I busied myself with reading, an entertainment, never a chore and I scheduled, even if it was 15 minutes everyday, to sit in front of my laptop and tick, tick, tock it.
Sometimes, I had no idea what to write about and it was the only allotted time in the day I had and I would sort of panic and pray something would download into my brain. Those were a few of the better writing pieces.
Other days, I wanted to write about a certain restaurant or idea and something else would occur, that I couldn’t NOT write about.
I will keep you posted on recipes, thoughts, gardening, good reads, endeavors and life in general – Stay tuned for year two!
Thank you to my son for this website (he is my donor and benefactor) and thank you to my select readers ( I love when you post back). Check out comments section.
Day 365 is not an ending, it’s just the beginning.
November is the month of Gratitude. But every month, week, day and hour should be appreciated. If we get into gratitude, that feeling of peace that is evoked, we don’t have to get into destructive behavior or attitudes. When we turn everything and everyone into something to be grateful for, we bless the situation or person. When we have gratitude, we choose not to have a negative response, we choose instead to align ourselves with the highest good. When we have gratitude, pity evolves into compassion, anger dissolves into understanding and sorrow transforms into acceptance. When we are grateful, we immerse ourselves in the comfort of unconditional love. When we are grateful, we learn from the past and see all the gifts on our journey. When we are grateful, it brings us sanity, peace and power over our situation by letting us release our hold on our expectations and instead reach for hope, being thankful for what is, in a state of Grace.
There’s no solution in worry.
There’s no power or strength or value in anxiety.
It is all unnecessary spent energy.
Instead – choose to be in the now. Choose to follow the road to wellness. Choose to listen to a higher form of thought.
I Heard today, loud and clear: ‘The Ark is entered two by two. You cannot heal yourself alone.’
I agree with that. But first, We have to make the decision to be willing to heal. Or at least be willing to be willing to be willing. Usually, it takes a lot of humbling or ego-deflation.
Here is an ego driven distraction – “I would be happy if….this condition or that person would….”
Affirmation for the day – I am in need of nothing but the truth.
Here’s what everyone’s been waiting for. An easy, peasy, Italian eggplant bake. Go organic!! 5 ingredients, 3 steps and one dish. Serves 4 at 150 calories/serving.
I like to have a salad with lots of raw veggies and olives, maybe throw in a few artichoke hearts, first, keeping it Italianish and then serve one cup of whole wheat pasta on the side with the eggplant entree. A sorbet of frozen fruit with mint, ginger or coconut would make a great ending. Just blend 1 cup of frozen fruit in a blender with or without some non-dairy milk. A frozen banana with 1 tsp. of cacao, a few drops of liquid stevia and 1/3 cup of almond milk is a favorite. Top with one tablespoon of pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds.
Cecilia’s Vegan Eggplant Bake
2 cups of Italian Marinara
10 oz. firm tofu
2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1 huge Eggplant
1 Tablespoon Italian Herb Seasoning
a pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 450. Slice the eggplant @ 1/4 inch thick in rounds. In an 8 X 8 glass pan, pour 1 cup of sauce on bottom to cover. Add half the eggplant slices, overlapping if necessary and arrange atop the sauce. Crumble the tofu on top of the eggplant with your fingers and evenly distribute. Sprinkle one tablespoon of Yeast and herbs and salt. Layer the rest of the eggplant slices. Cover with one cup of sauce and spread around to cover eggplant. Sprinkle a little more herb seasoning if desired and sprinkle rest of nutritional yeast on top of it all. Bake covered with foil for @ 30 -40 minutes until you can easily prick a fork through, then uncover and crisp and bake for another 10 minutes or so. After allowing the eggplant bake to cool for @ 10 minutes on a protected surface, cut into 4 equal parts.
Number one: Prep
Number two: Layer
Number three: Bake
Buen Apetito!