Category: #innovation

Armchair Traveling

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
brown arm chair
Photo by Melissa Thomas on Pexels.com

Tunisia at Sunset.  Morocco in the heavy heat of the night.  Paris in the bustle of dinner time.

In these times of quarantine, I’ve found adventures in the most wonderful app.  It’s Hellotalk.  Fellow language learners reach out to practice their english with me, while I practice my feeble french.  With the time change, it’s often hard to connect in usual times to others in far off locales.  The benefit of these crazy times, is everyone’s sleep schedule is out of whack.

So Ottoman from Morocco munches on popcorn drizzled with chocolate at 3 am in the morning and talks to me about Life.  It is as magical as one would imagine.  Kal gets up on top of his roof to take a picture of the sunset in Tunisia for me.  Sofiane in Paris tells me what she will make for dinner.

This time of Quarantine has connected and united all of us in so many ways.  We speak of the boredom.  Our governments.  We speak of what we miss.  We laugh at the absurdity of life in quarantine and what we will do when it’s over.

And we practice our respective languages.  We encourage each other to make mistakes and to push past our comfort zones.

We are all just a gorgeous kaleidoscope of heart beats scattered over this wonderful blue green jewel we live on.  Catapulting through a starry universe.  Enjoying the gifts of our various countries even in this limited time.

We are all the same no matter where we live on the globe.  We love our families, our cultures.  We treasure good health and a peaceful land.  I pray we are all back to regular activity soon.

In the meantime, I will enjoy my armchair travels. Life is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

Cloaks are for Dress Up

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people at theater
Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.com

 

I love throwing on the Cloak of Chef.  Artist.  Homemaker. Health Nut. Teacher. Ballet Dancer.  There’s so many lovely cloaks we can put on and they transport us into a new facet of our identity.

I’m no Gordon Ramsey.  I’m not Picasso.  I’m not Martha Stewart or Doctor Oz.  I’m not the Dalai Lama and I’m certainly not the famous Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova.

But each bright morning presents a new stage.  Dawn’s curtain opens as the birds welcome us to the stage.  The sun beckons us like the stage lights to come  celebrate our talents and ambitions.

So take a moment.  Write your script.  Figure out what cloaks you want to wear on this stage of life today.  The options are endless.  Don’t worry, there’s the inevitable plot twists but there’s always going to be new beautiful costumes to wear.  They just may be different from the ones you had in your mind.

So, cook to your hearts content and when you tire of that paint a little picture.  Organize a drawer and make a healthy meal.  Take a moment for meditation and plie if you choose in the hall mirror.  And smile.

…but….

Above all, dance your own dance.

What a shame if we just stand in the shadows of another’s dance, imitating their every move.  There will be no authenticity or joy to be found.  For Christians, this is the sin of emulations.  We aren’t here to emulate each other.  We are here to inspire each other.  By our own uniqueness.

I hope you wear each cloak with excitement and I hope you abandon each one with the same fervour.  Knowing that with each cloak is new adventures to be experienced.

So, Let’s Dress Up.  There is No Rehearsal.

xoxo

 

 

 

Wind in the Fir Trees

~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

 

green leafed plant
Photo by Zetong Li on Pexels.com

If you need a good stir to the belly, go stand under the tall fir trees.  Hear the wind, wind itself (wind, wind ….don’t you love the  wonderful strangeness of the English language?) through their long sturdy limbs.

Do you feel it stirring deep in your soul?  Close your eyes and you’ll feel it.  There it is, I can hear and feel in my memory.  Even as a child the fir trees swaying behind my house always meant a good storm was coming and would wash away the old and tired, and I would wake up in the morning to a shiny and bright earth.

We often hear of winds of change.  It’s best when those winds come in gentle and blow old attitudes and narrow thinking away and bring us into a cleaner, brighter and more expansive new future.

Bitter tired minds will say we live in a sad world.  But not me.  I say we are in days of positive change.  Never has the world been so supportive of women, culture, ethnicity, religion.  We have a long ways to go.  But I feel the wind.

And it stirs my soul.

Welcome Shiny New World

xoxo

School of You

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment
analog clock sketch in black surface
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We Graduate with PhDs.

We have our Masters.

Diplomas.

Certificates.

We can Save Lives.

Cure Disease.

Trailblaze.

Create New Inventions.

But if Asked the Question…

What Makes You Happy?

What Inspires You?

What are your Passions?

What are your Biggest Fears?

Where do you want to Be in Five Years?

What do you want to Achieve in Your Life Time?

What do you want your Life Resume to Say at 80?

Many of Us are Stumped.

We haven’t taken the time to Study Ourselves.

Haven’t discovered Our Uniqueness.

Our Purpose.

We have Never Attended the School of You.

Sign Up. Take the Course. Do the Work.

It’s the Best Investment.

There’s Only One You.

Become an Expert of You.

xoxo

I Am…

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photo of a woman standing in a cave
Photo by Stijn Dijkstra on Pexels.com
Because of “I Am”…

I Am Strong.

I Am Able.

I Am Peaceful.

I Am Patient.

I Am Joyful.

I Am Loving.

I Am Wise.

I Am Enough.

If I Am…

Weak. Unable. Anxious. Impatient. Irritable. Unkind.

I Find My Way Back to Jehovah.

To His Throne.

Til He is My “I Am” Again.

“Love is the Toughest Minded Virtue” – David Brooks

~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment
close up of tree against sky
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When I think of Love, I picture Soft.

Willowy.

Sun Dappling Through The Leaves Gentleness.

It is.

But it’s the Strongest of all Virtues.

For Love…

Keeps the Light On when Darkness Prevails.

Lends Warmth in the Most Toxic Environments.

Bends to Comfort in the Front Lines of Battle.

Heals Generational Pain.

Trailblazes Paths to Wholeness for the Weary Life Traveler.

Says I Forgive You when No One has Asked.

so Yes, Love is Tough

Tough Enough To Soften Us All.

Love You All…
xoxo

No Is Really Yes

~ blacklilymusings ~ 2 Comments

close up photo of text
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The Word No seems Restrictive. Punishing. Sacrificial.

But Really when we Say No, it opens the door to Say Yes.

>>>

When we say No to Overindulging, we say Yes to Self Control. The endorphin rush from Advocating for Yourself feels better than any “Over Anything” ever will.

When we say No to Gossip, we say Yes to our own Integrity. And to the Integrity of Others. Others’ Pain is Sacred, we should treat it as Hallowed Ground.

When we say No to Lust, we say Yes to Love. Self Love and Love for Others. Nothing good comes from the Intense Fire of Lust, just Scorched Earth.

When we say No to Laziness we say Yes to Productivity. There’s nothing sweeter than the Satisfied Elixir of a Day Well Spent.

When we say no to Negative Emotion, we say YES to JOY. Probably my favourite of all Trade Offs.

So, for me, I will not focus on The No…I will see I’m really invariably Saying Yes.

I Say Yes.

xoxo

Martin Luther Had It Right…

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We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.

Whether a country Builds Walls or Disallows More Immigration, it doesn’t Change The Fact that we Share This Planet Together.  We are Neighbours even if there is a Ocean Separating Us.  In My Completely Uneducated but Heartfelt Opinion, to be Nationalistic and Alienating other races as Less than Worthy or Putting Our Needs above the needs of other countries may Seem Good in the Beginning. But we all Need Each Other.  It never works to Be Selfish.  Putting our Needs First and Not Considering the Needs and Comfort of Others Never Works.   One day we will have A Need.   Invariably It Happens.  We will need someone to Consider what we need.  Put Our Needs in their hearts and minds.  We can expect from others, how we have treated them.  We can expect Tariffs.  Fines.  Denial of Support.

Our Forefathers of Democracy Had it Right.  They wanted a Country where Differences are Tolerated.  Compassion and Benefit of the Doubt were Bestowed Liberally.

Some Would Say that makes Us Patsies.  Easily to Be Taken Advantage of.  But if you Believe in Light Dispelling Darkness.  And Good Trumps (Did I Use That Word?) Evil.  Then we Must Have Courage to Live it.  Make it An Action.

Hold Onto The Greater Good Mentality.  Tolerate.  Support.  Show Grace.  After all, this Country was Built on Christian Beliefs.  We Believe that there is One Judge.  And One Must be Accountable For Himself.  Live the Truth.  Let Others Live Their Truth.  And Trust Your Creator to Do What’s Needed To Sort Out the Rest.

Here’s to Democracy.  Here’s to Freedom

xoxo

There’s Something About Sunrise

~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

sunrise
(The view from my bed this morning…)

There is something so soothing about the weight of my precious Labrador Charlie pressed against my body in bed in the morning. The morning sun lightening the dark navy sky to a soft yellow. Newly fallen snow covering the branches of my backyard foliage, creating a winter fairyland. My bed is so warm and comforting.

I gently push Charlie off me and plant my feet in my cozy slippers. My robe is thrown on haphazardly as I do my morning shuffle to the coffee maker. The incandescent light of my kitchen softly welcoming my sleepy body to a new dawn.

There’s a tickle in my tummy. Life is exciting these days. For no reason in particular. It’s really just winter. It’s really just Calgary, Alberta. It’s really just my little home in the middle of the city. It’s also Wednesday, after all.

But in my chest is a beating heart. The sun has come peeking in my window again. The possibilities are endless! The experiences so beautiful awaiting me today…! A smile from a child. Laughter with a coworker. Something yummy in my tummy. Beautiful snowfall. A day in peaceful Canada. With peace in my heart.

Here’s to a sunshiny day to all of you!

xoxo