Strawberry Haired Fairies and Other Brave Warriors

October 3, 2019 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

tilt shift lens photo of infant s hand holding index finger of adult — Photo by Dominika Roseclay on Pexels.com

My Little Neice (well she’s Thirty Five, but to me she will always be the Strawberry Haired Fairy who made me an Auntie at Seven. ) delivered her Fourth Child Hazel Jean Yesterday.

**Ok – this is being finished a year late***

This Precious Human inspires me every day. She is a Single Mom of Four. Every Day is a Struggle. A Juggle.

Every Day she Clings to Her Joy. Sends me Youtubes and Jokes that cause Tears to Stream Down my Face.

Bible Verses. Inspiring Quotes. Pictures of Hazel with a Spaghetti Hat.

Lots of Nights her Weary Body Finds Rest and Comfort on Her Knees. Trusting the One who Plans our Tomorrows. Our Sorrows and our Joys.

We can Trust what comes from the Hand of Our Creator.

Thanks to all the Strugglers. The Jugglers. The Warriors.

You are my Hero. Joline . You are my Hero.

I love you Girl.

And I Love You Too Sweet Reader.

xoxo

Adding Value VS. Mattering

November 28, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

adult background ball shaped blur — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

We can Worry About Mattering. Do we Matter to People? Do they Care? Are we Important to them?

The Better Question is “Do you Bring Value?” Because if you Do, You Will Matter.

We will Only Matter to Those who we Bring Value to. And Value is Measured by one’s own Priorities and Inner Moral Compass.

So I could Matter for all the Wrong Reasons. Depending on the Priorities of Another.

So My Concern is Not to Matter. But to Add Value Based on My Moral Code and Noone Else’s.

So What do I Value?

Authenticity. Kindness. Joy. Encouragement. Love. Listening Ears. Introspection. An Open Mind and Heart.

So with This List I Enter Life Each Day.

To Bring Value to Others. In Turn, I will Matter to Those who Share the Same Values.

Thanks to all my Valuable Friends who Matter to Me.

xoxo

Heart Goals..

November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 2 Comments

I sent this picture to a few of my favourite people. I said, ” what I want my heart to look like”. I found it SO interesting that that was my first thought when I looked at that picture. So my next question was, “What is it that you see when you look at this picture?” So from what I can see, here it is…

nothing is for show. someone entered the kitchen and took a picture because the sun rays were beaming in. the moment of stillness caught on film in a fraction of time. the brita drink container in its useful ugliness wasn’t even put away for a better shot.
it’s not fancy. nobody has tried to capture the perfection of pinterest in this kitchen. the drawers are melamine. the fabric under the sink is from a discount booth at a Walmart. but, in my heart, no “perfectly put together” and Italian marble could capture the essence of this kitchen.
all the things I love and matter to me are in this kitchen. sun rays. warmth. love of nature. comfort. sustenance. humility. beauty. safety. functionality. ease. and most of all, AUTHENTICITY. there’s also a beautiful aged chandelier adding a touch of glamour to the room.

So Yes, I want my heart to look like this kitchen on a summers day. The window is thrown open. Cats bask on the window sill. There’s onions ripening for a family dinner on the counter top. The unpretentious brita jug is in plain view. There’s a touch of glamour in the chandelier adding a touch of celebration to its function. a little indescript clock is marking time.

There’s a chair waiting in the dining nook for you, my friend.

Let’s Share this life Together.

I love you all.

xoxo

My Heart is Burning

October 30, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 1 Comment

beautiful bleeding heart bloom blooming — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

With Indignation. My Cheeks Redden. This is Not a Happy Post. But I am Compelled.

It’s a Memory Stirring My Heart. A Few Years Back I Nannied a Sweet Little Sheik Boy. His Dad a True Gentleman. A Pediatric Oncologist. His Precious Innocent Little Wife was a Radiologist.

She was taking Swimming Lessons for the First Time at 35. He Surprised her with a Speedo Bathing Suit. That Kind of Innocence. That Kind of Dream Marriage. That Kind of “Thank You for Blessing Our Country.” Kind of Perfection.

One Day the Lovely Woman Pulled me Aside. Tears Brimming Her Beautiful Soulful Brown Eyes.

“Jeannine, do I smell…?”…..Oh My Heart Breaks as I type this…

“No Darling, why do you ask?”

A Tear Spills Over…..”Because a lady at work says I smell…and that we should cook our curry in our garage so our clothes don’t smell….”

I Think she Felt my Heart Breaking. My Heart Broke. How can People Be so Unkind? How can we not be Gentle with each other? Do they not See Her? Little Mrs. First Time Swimming Lesson Innocence? Mrs. Silently Cry when she Leaves Her Precious Baby Every Day? Mrs. Tender Hearted Perfection?

Well if They Can’t, I Sure Will. Today and Everyday, No One is Mistreated By Me. Not On Purpose Anyway. No One Should Have to Bear My Moods. My Prejudices. My Unkind UnEvolved Soul.

It Started in the Heart and Mind. Think Peaceful Happy Thoughts. Kind Loving Thoughts. Then we won’t Need To Monitor Our Mouths.

For Out of the Heart, The Mouth Speaketh.

I Love You. xoxo

Kudos From The Top

October 5, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

grayscale photo of person s shake hands — Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Yesterday my law firm put together a 1.03 Billion Dollar Deal. My job was organizing their many boardrooms and making sure their breakfast, lunch and dinner were catered to. Many a late night snack as well as they Worked Out The Kinks. A Rather Small Role in the whole Scheme of Things.

So I was deeply humbled this morning to come to work and find three emails from our Top Managing Lawyers for my exceptional service. Thanking me for the “extra mile” hospitality.

I’ll tell you what is Extra Mile…

Out of all the people they could thank and remember in a Billion Dollar Deal going down, is not the catering coordinator.

That’s the Extra Mile.

Again, a Lesson Learned.

You don’t get to be in these positions in life without knowing how to Pass the Kudos Down. People that Get Somewhere Special in Life are True Leaders.

Empathic. Kind. Humble

They Recognize the Extra Mile, because they are Extra Mile People.

So Inspired Today…

Light

April 13, 2018April 13, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

Light Illuminates and adds the Twinkle. Casts into our consciousness Beauty. The Pure and Lovely. It draws us out of our heads and into the Moment. The humble Chocolate Chip Cookie under its glass dome on the counter looks Decadent with the Light shining from the kitchen window on it. Drawing our eye away from the kitchen sink where dishes have assembled.

The Peace Lily in its Dim Lit Corner who struggles to grow looks Alive and Lush with the Gentle Light caressing its thin fragile leaves.

The warm light from the living room window illuminates the wonderful quiet lesson of Nature. My kitty and dog snuggled up on the little blue couch enjoying the view. Showing us what Unity looks like. Unlikely Friendship at its Best.

A warm beam shining through the little Craftsman style window onto a little five dollar thrift store red porcelain ball makes it look like a Precious Jewel and worthy of a moment’s notice.

An Every Day moment with my Daughter Grace checking her Insta Feed becomes a Moment to Pause and Enjoy her Beauty and Spirit as the light from the window gently shines on her and reminds me of the Treasure she is.

This morning I’m so Grateful for Light. It’s ability to pull me into Reality and see Blessing in the Ordinary. Without saying a Word. So of course my mind goes to my Light Friends. Who just being in their Grace remind me of Beauty. Of Joy. Of Blessing. Without saying a Word.

Thank You Light People. Thanks for being Light.

I Love You

xoxo

Anti Cliche Living

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

Monday Blues. Sky Blue…because the Skies the Limit! One thing I hate is Cliches. Because basically, it means I’ve Settled. Because the Majority feel a certain way, or has a reaction, it makes it Okay. Today the cliche Monday Blues is bothering me. Monday’s are Awesome! I get a whole week ahead of me! I get to Plan and Design it. I get to Create My Dreams. And Wednesday hasn’t rolled around yet to make me feel Panicked. If there’s a day to dread it would be Worry Wednesday. That’s the Day of Reckoning for me. The MidWeek Crisis, I call it. Insecurity bubbles up. The day I break out the red sports car and put frosted tips in my hair, so to speak. The day of poor choices and radical moves as I realize my week is slipping away. So here’s to Motivated Monday. Tenacious Tuesday. Worry Wednesday will become Wonder Wednesday. Wonder Woman Wednesday.

We Got This Ladies!! Oh Yes, Men Too!

I Love You.

xoxo

Twilight Of Youth

April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

The Twilight of Youth. The Dawning of Middle Age. Im Forty Three. I’m Enjoying the Sunset on the Horizon of My Youth. It’s Quite Serene to be Truthful. Youthfulness is Wonderful. Truly Something to Be Treasured and Enjoy. But It’s Busy. A lot of Vanity. A lot of Figuring Out. A lot of Seeking and Shedding. A lot of Challenges that Build our Spiritual Muscle. So Imperative as the Sun Sets on Youth that we’ve gained that Spiritual Muscle. We will Spend a third of our lives in Middle Age. Our Best Years in my Opinion. Where we get to Enjoy the Fruit of those Years Of Youth figuring out Who we Are and What we Love. Where Entitlement Ebbs and Gratitude Grows. Self Absorption has Ended and we are Others Focused. We’ve Grown in Wisdom and Understanding of What Brings Joy. There’s a Stillness and a Grounded Feeling to Being Middle Aged. So Here’s to Sprouting Grey Hairs and Skin that Doesn’t Bounce Back Like It Used to….it’s a Small Price to Pay in light of True Liberty.

Here’s to Middle Age Liberation.

I Love You.

xoxo

Salt

April 3, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ Leave a comment

“They are the Salt of the Earth”. I can’t tell you how Often My Beautiful Friend says it. Walking along the Boardwalk in Victoria. Speaking of Her Dear Friends. Pam in Particular. Nadia probably has No Idea how it Stayed With Me. How I Pondered it. How it Inspired Me. Again, on Sunday another Dear Friend spoke of Salt. The Ultimate Flavour Enhancer. The Savour of Life.

So how does it Apply to Me, I ask? How can I be Salt to Others? How do I add extra Value to Life for Others? Do I make their Lives have a little extra Oomph? Does Joy seem more Full when I’m in their Life? Is their Step a little Jauntier? Their Smile a little Broader? Does the Sun feel Warmer and Brighter? Are Sorrows a little Easier, seem a little less Daunting? Do I Motivate, Strengthen and Inspire?

But the Biggest Question is, Can I be that without needing to be Noticed? Salt gives of Itself and guess who gets the Kudos? The Cook. The Recipe. The Ambience. The Venue. The Salt never gets the Praise. But Yesterday, I didn’t Salt the Chili properly. I’m telling you, I was sure glad for the Salt Shaker.

So here’s my Chance to Say Thank You. To My Salt People. Nadia, You are My Salt Today. I love you Dear Girl.

Thanks for Being Salt.

xoxo

Peace

April 2, 2018 ~ blacklilymusings ~ 2 Comments

They wanted Pictures of Peace. My Mom reminded me of a Happening the Other Day. There was a Commission put out to Artists around the World to Paint a Picture that Manifested Ultimate Peace. The Paintings were Astounding and Heartwarming. Beautiful. Radiant. Peaceful.

One Painting stood out. The Painting had Brooding Threatening Clouds. Fierce Winds. Sheets of Rain. But High on a Branch a Little Bird’s Nest. And a Little Bird Nestled there Singing.

I’m Thankful this Morning as a New Week Dawns for the Reminder that Peace is Not External. It is a Choice. A Choice to Trust. A Choice to Sing the Songs that are Sweet Melody to Our Hearts. To Brighten the Spirits of those Close Enough to Hear. To Understand our Power against any Storm is To Nestle in Our Warm Little Nests…Knowing Brighter Days Always Dawn. And the Foresight to Know When they Do Finally Come, we will want to Know we Sang in the Storm.

Happy Monday Dear Ones, Thanks for Being Brave Enough to Sing When I So Often Lost My Song.

xoxo