The Inner Critic

August 31, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

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One of my Greatest Interview Questions was ….

“How do you Deal with your Inner Critic?”

What if you don’t have one? The Inner Critic Evaporates into Thin Air as soon as we learn to Live in Compassion. Walk in Gentleness. When we Learn to Encourage Ourselves.

Kindness Starts in Your Own Heart For Yourself. Love and Nurturing Begins With You.

Kindness. Gentleness. Love. Nurturing. Support.

They are not Action Words First. They are a Spirit we Live In. They are a State of Being. That First Nourishes Our Own Hearts. Then Extends to Our Families. Then to our Outer Circle.

Whatever Inner Dialogue we have with ourselves is what we also Extend To Others.

Gentleness is a Great Leader. Love Gives Wind. Kindness is the Greatest Way to Strengthen the Strengths in Others.

Harshness. Judgment. Force. Criticism . These Ugly Traits will never Produce Good Results. Certainly not in ourselves. Certainly not in others.

We all have an Inner Voice. Let’s Train it to Be Kind. Always Supportive. Always Grateful. Always Compassionate.

First to Ourselves. Then to our Fellow Man.

The Ruins of Rushing

August 30, 2018August 30, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

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Sometimes we have an Urge to Utilize Force. We see Waiting and Patience as the Enemy to Fruition. Not understanding the Actual Word.

Fruit.ion.

Fruit starts as a Tiny Little Bud. Then Passersby enjoy the Beauty of the Bud, then the Fragrance of the Flower. We Find Hope in the Unripened Fruit, and Love the Memories of the Taste of It. We enjoy the Wonderful Butterflies of Anticipation. We Dream of the Possibilities of the Fruit. It Gives Hope for the Future. Of Sustenance. Of Enjoyment.

Everything in Life is a Process. Whether it Be Personal Growth. Our Careers. Our Relationships. Every Stage is Beautiful. Culminating in Gorgeous Fruit if all Stages are Embraced. With Patience.

We are a Society of Rushers. Instant Gratification. We are those who Cut Down Trees of Possibility because of our Own Impatience.

Let’s Enjoy the Processes of Life. In Ourselves and In Others.

Our Dreams will Come to Fruition. Let’s Create an Environment Conducive to Growth.

No Rushing.

Just Diligence. Warmth. Faith.

A Silent Lesson…

August 28, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

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Yesterday on my walk, I passed a Little Tree. It Stands Up to My Chin. Indescript. Almost Fragile. It could be said Almost Sickly. But Yesterday, I Almost Cried. I stood there Silently Staring at Little Twiggy Tree.

On it were Big Fat Apples. Beautiful Soft Green Orbs of Gorgeousness. More Apples Than Branches. Dear Little Thing.

Small But Mighty.

It Fed My Heart looking at That Little Thing. I Learned a Giant Lesson. Gods Quiet Voice Said…” Fruit is Never For the Tree. But For Others.”

That Sweet Little Flimsy Tree spent Its Energy Nurturing Sweet Fruit for the Nurturing of Any who Desired. It wasn’t Building Its Branches. Making Its Leaves Glorious and Full.

There it Was. Silently Offering to This Hungry World its Essence. Filling its Precious Purpose. So Quietly Offering its Precious Fruit.

Speechless by this Silent Lesson I Walked On.

Changed.

Humbled.

Even this Morning as I turned my Fireplace On for the First Time in the Chill of the Oncoming Autumn. I thought of Autumn Joys. Fires. Lamplight. Trees Shining Golden. Apple Pie.

A..pple…Pie.

And I thought of Blessed Little Tree.

My Heart…

xoxo

We all need a T.R.I.B.E.

August 27, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

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There’s Nothing Like a Girl Tribe.

Mine Began with My Mother. My Matriarch of Many Musterings. Mostly My Courage.

There were my Dear Sisters. We Rarely Fought and Fiercely Loved Each Other.

There was Sandi. My Beautiful Brunette Childhood Bestie. Her Tinkly Laugh and Freckles Bestrewn on her Darling Face. We never had a Fight.

There was Miss Brown, my Grade 7 teacher. She Loved me and Believed in Me. I Flourished in her class. I Learned I Loved Public Speaking. Speech Writing. Essays.

There was my Guidance Counsellor in High School. She loved me enough to Phone Home Personally if I Skipped Class. Deep Down I was Grateful.

There was also the Woman of Grace I lived with the First Year of Adulthood. Three Thousand Miles from Home. A Desperate Lonely Girl Found Solace Under Her Gentle Wings. I owe her My Life.

There was Rita. My First Female Coworker at My First Real Job out of College. She RODE my *ss. I had one case of stress induced hives after the other that first three months. I thank her. She taught me things. I knew she Loved Me enough to Make Me Reach For My Best Work.

That’s My Life to Twenty. It would take Too Long to Expound on More. Or to even state all the women who made a difference in my formative years. That’ll Be Another Blog Someday.

Thank You to All My Helpers and Missy Helper Helpertons. I love you all

Hinchcliff & Lee

August 26, 2018August 26, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

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The Greatest Gift I can give myself in our Lovely City of Calgary is to take a little wander down to Hinchcliff & Lee. To visit John and his Shop Dog. Cash. After a lovely meander through the Farmer’s Market with Helen yesterday, we met Beautiful Julianna at The Eden for a Delightful Lunch (a blog on that later under restaurants I love). A few doors down is my Favourite City Treat.

It’s the most amazing Trip through Asia at Hinchcliff & Lee. A Second Generation Establishment. John’s Mama’s Dream Child come to Fruition. Always greeted by the most gorgeous caramel floaty haired dog, he’s Shop Dog Number Two. When I first discovered This Gem, Doggie Jack was meeting me at the door. Now Cash has taken up the torch, a Little Wilder and Floating His Freak Flag more than Jack. Cash buries his nose in my purse looking for “Cookies”. He pulls out my passport and has a solid hold. I’ll Treasure the Teeth Marks.

John is a Gorgeous Soul. I can’t even Explain It. So Earnest. So Engaged. As Full of Character as his beautiful Asian Antiques. I love the way he crosses his arms and gets that faraway look in his eyes and you know a Great Story is going to be Told. An Asian Tattoo (I’ve yet to ask the meaning) scrawled up his forearm. He pushes up his dark rimmed glasses with his middle finger, and tears fill his eyes. His Papa has Passed. We stand sharing his sorrow, tears rimming our eyes as he Gathers his Emotions. He’s one of those People who make you Glad to Be Alive. Enjoying this Journey of Life. He’s Got Passion. Heart.

We wander through the Pergolas. Paintings. The Heavy Wood Tables and Armoires in the Asian Reds and the Gorgeous Blue and White Porcelain. Downstairs is another Treasure Trove. The Weight of History of both the Old Building and Asia Mingling in the Summer Air. Upstairs the floor is Creaking So Lovely under the feet of other Happy Saturday Wanderers.

I’m Glad it Graces our City. I Highly Recommend a Trip to Inglewood to Hinchcliff & Lee. Behind the Wooden Door is the Cutest Shop Dog eating the Sales Tickets. The Shop Owner John and His Glorious Tales both New and Old. Asian Antiques that will Take your Breath Away.

It’s Worth the Trip.

I’m Living The Dream

August 25, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

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These words are Echoing in my Heart this Saturday Morning. They were said by a man a Decade Younger Than Me.

A Nobleman.

Wise and Rich Beyond His Years.

He Labours for His Lord. He is a Minister For Christ. An American Transplanted to A Foreign Land. He is Poor, but He is Rich. A Moment in his presence is Healing. His Joy Contagious.

How can a young man who has Forsaken All for His Lord say “I’m Living The Dream” and His Spirit echoing and witnessing to his True Joy in it?

He Trusts His God Ordained Purpose. Unfeigned Faith in Our Calling produces a Joy Unsurpassing.

It causes us to Embrace.

Soar.

Explore.

Within the Confines of His Holy Will. We Understand wherever we have been Called, is where the Richness will be Found for us Individually.

So Today, My Soul says “I”m Living the Dream”

Here’s to Soaring. Here’s to Embracing. Here’s to Exploring the Beauties of His Will.

Morning Serenades

August 24, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

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I awoke to the electric guitar floating over the morning airwaves. Two houses down is a garage band. It’s an odd time to be practising your chords, and if it didn’t Stir My Belly maybe I would’ve been a little annoyed. After all, the electric guitar is rather ear piercing more than it’s melodic. But it Stirred Me.

When I pondered why it awoke Butterflies Of Excitement in my stomach I realized it made me Grateful….

Grateful for Music. For Passion. For Those Who Dream.

It made me grateful for another day to Ignite My Own Passion. To work towards my dreams. To embrace this beautiful land of promise. To allow Hope to blow its soft gentle wind into my sails again.

I Inhale and listen to his Happy Although Screechy Chords, and I Smile.

Thank you Garage Band Electric Guitar Player. Thanks for the Inspiration.

I’ll Sketch My Dreams Today. Because of You.

Dreaming Big Starts Little

August 23, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

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We all have Big Dreams. We all want to Go Places. We dream of Reinventing, Rejuvenating, Restoring. Along life’s journey hobbies Get Shelved. Dreams Too. The Pertinent and Immediate becomes all consuming.

So Here’s to Starting Little.

Do you want to Climb Mountains? Let’s Start with Practising Endurance. Without Grit, no mountain can Be Scaled. Practice Endurance.

At our Careers. In our Homes. In our Relationships.

Pushing past Comfortable and Into Excellence.

Do you want to be an Artist? Be okay with Failure. With the Outcome of your Pursuits being a Caricature of Your Vision.

Be Okay with Starting Over. From Scratch. Next time you’ll be Closer to your Masterpiece.

Do you want to be an Inventor? Be a Creative Problem Solver.

Every Day in the most Mundane Tasks.

Think Outside the Box

When you Clean Your Car. Do Your Laundry. Shop for Groceries.

The Greatest Ingenuity comes from Rethinking Old Patterns.

Let’s Start Little to do Big Things.

xoxo

It’s Like Riding A Bike

August 22, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

We’ve heard this saying forever. It basically means whatever we are trying for the first time, once we figure it out we will never forget. Sometimes this can be a problem.

Maybe we learned a dysfunctional way to pedal the Life Bike. Generations of dyfunctional pedalling. Someone told you to go a full rotation backwards before going forwards. Resulting in a lot of stop and starting and poor forward motion.

Sometimes in life, we need to learn how to ride the Life Bike again. Relearn a more efficient way. Sometimes our teachers didn’t know the best way forward. Sometimes the only Life Bike we had to get us through the early years was rusty and missing gears. We learned to pedal the bike, but it was no small achievement.

So, Huge Kudos to those who learned to ride on rusty gears. You’re the coolest freestyle riders I know. You’ve developed muscles so many “New Life Bike Every Year” people didn’t. But maybe, it’s time to really relook at “Learning to Ride Again”.

Find your own way forward. The way of easy riding. Just think of the distance you can go with all the grit and determination you learned from those rusty gears.

Here’s to Freestylin…

xoxo