Today Is The Perfect Date!

Stan Fields: Miss Rhode Island, please describe your idea of a perfect date.

Cheryl "Rhode Island": That's a tough one. I'd have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.

Thank you, Miss Congeniality, circa 2000, for this moment of pure genius. Miss Rhode Island isn’t wrong, either. The perfect date IS April 25! {Or, ANY spring day, really. :) }

I wrote in our Christmas letter that since the election I have been in a state of searching for Hope and Light. I am still in that mode, for sure. There are a myriad of things that show up every day {and not just politics!} that challenges this for me. I am consciously framing the information I see or hear into roughly three areas: 

Take Action

I have been more active about issues in politics and my personal convictions on other things than ever before. My actions look like posting on social media, writing postcards to my senators or bringing something important to me up in conversation. Sometimes by simply saying something, action is taken.

Let Go

Daily On occasion, I fume about the "President" what is happening in our world and it usually happens in my car while listening to the news. I try to limit my fuming to the duration of my commute and let that be the only energy I put into any given issue...I am really, really trying to let go of things that need to be let go of….really.

Be Aware

Learning how to recognize awareness has been the most consistent for me. I am trying to let a conviction or an “ah-ha” moment take hold and be a part of my personal transformation. Many of the convictions I have are “new” to me and who I am and what I believe in. I am learning to let my intuition guide my journey.

My plan is working--for the most part. My “let-go’s” are easier said than done, but I am learning to be creative in how I integrate awareness and taking action into my daily life.

I was recently reminded of this quote and it gave me a new resolve for all of this:
 There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle. ~Albert Einstein

I choose to live my life as though everything is a miracle. There are way too many precious places of Light and Hope that cross my path daily, and I don't want to miss them.

Spring has, as always, given me ways to see this and it helps me remember that every today  is the perfect date.

Breathing...

I haven't blogged in a while.

I had to recover from my last few posts. {F@%$&*#broncs!}

*sigh*

I also think I had the case of the "winters" and I didn't really realize it.

So, here I am finding my breath again and centering on what is real and right. 

Spring {and my obsession with trees}

 has a way of showing me hope and trusting that it's all going to be okay.

Keep Breathing and keep hoping--spring is begging us to.

Spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's my favorite season for tangibly seeing miracles in the mundane.

New life from a dormant winter encourages me like no other miracle out there.

Embrace, enjoy, cherish, and let the awe of new beginnings guide you this season.



#19: A picture of something purple

In keeping with the color theme from the list, I have to post this:

I LOVE lilac season. The fragrance in the air evokes a deep happiness that no other scent can do. I grew up in Evergreen, CO so we didn't really have many lilac bushes around, but that didn't stop us from having lilacs. My dad took it upon himself to steal "prune" some of the bushes in the city and bring them home.

There was a very particular vase my mom used for them and I can picture it now sitting on our entry way table growing up. I found out a few years ago that the vase belonged to my grandma. She used the vase specifically for lilacs too and my dad remembers it being filled to the brim with lilacs from the Iowa farm.

Oh purple lilacs...you bring me sweet, delicious joy.

 I can't wait to see you soon!!!!!

Oh spring, you are so pretty.

It's predictable, I know, but: Spring=Miracle. I can't get over it. The way spring shows us resilience, the way it begins to fill grey, brown and 'dead' space with brilliant color. The way tiny buds of pink and white goodness fill my nostrils with sweet, sweet nectar. The tiny buds of bright green leaves poking out of Eloise, my favorite tree in the universe, and the small army of trees that surround her...

And then there's Robert Frost's words...

Nature's first green is gold.
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower but only so an hour...

I am embracing this 'hour' with all that I am.

Oh spring. I love you. You are so pretty. Thanks for being you. xoxo