Your Song Of Love

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Celebrating Our Hearts

Valentine's Day comes only once a year, but we can celebrate our hearts every day of our lives.

It's the joy of letting our hearts sing with love all the time, in our many gestures throughout our days.

Defining Love

In our society, we typically think of love as being defined only between two people. Yet, most of our definitions of love are too limiting. Love is not confined to our friends and family.

We know love when we see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, when we gaze at the moon and the stars, when we stop to notice dewdrops on a blade of grass. Love expresses in a myriad of ways. Love flies in many dimensions.

It's possible to love everything. Our love is shared with animals, nature and our world that is all around us. Love is there when we answer the phone, prepare a meal, and tuck someone in at night.

Love reaches into the cellular level of our bodies and stretches out to the galaxies, far beyond our comprehension.

Fill Your Gestures With Love

Let all your daily gestures be filled with love. 

Real love unfolds naturally and quietly within us. Over time, we start to see how it expresses in our lives. 

Don't let anyone diminish your love.

Let your love move on the wind.

Let your heart sing its love song, just like the little birds singing in the forest.

 

Take a look at Lada Ladik on Instagram who created the heart-felt artwork included in this post. She has many creative hearts to share.

 

 

Our Local Food Co-op

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Davis Food Co-op

Do you have a local food co-op where you shop for organic food? Not far from my home in Northern California, the Davis Food Co-op offers treats for everyone.

Just the other day, I had to smile as I waited in the checkout lane at the co-op. Instead of staring at gossip magazines with racy rumors, I found myself looking at the magazine Buddhadharma that featured the question: “What is enlightenment?” 

Buying In Bulk

The bulk bins are sumptuous with a wide variety of choices. Since the store has a large customer base, the bulk items remain fresh. It’s joyful to bring your own containers and weigh and label them. Skilled checkout clerks weigh the filled container and subtracting its weight from the bulk goods.

It's a sense of satisfaction knowing that I'm taking less plastic home with me. I fill various types and sizes of glass Mason jars with colorful beans, nuts and lentils. They are a source of visual delight sitting on my kitchen counter.

The Olive Bar

Another opportunity to buy in bulk is the olive bar. I always take time to visit the colorful display filled with plump tidbits to please the palate. 

Fresh Pure Waters

The water machine offers reverse osmosis water and is perfect for brewing Kombucha. I fill up gallon jugs with pure water that I use to prepare my healthy, probiotic concoction. I purchased plastic containers that are BPA-free and refill them over and over again.

Co-op Membership

One aspect of a co-op that appeals to me is the membership. I feel like a participant of the store, rather than just another faceless customer spending money. As members, we have an interest and stake in the success of the store. I suppose it connects to the old adage: "It takes a village."

“Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.
In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.”

When the day comes that I have to move away from the area, I will miss this co-op experience.

 

Casanova And The Lottery

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A Record Powerball

In January 2016 we had the biggest jackpot in U.S. history with the Powerball – $1.5 billion. The games are hard to miss. Everyone talks about it and it’s well covered in the news.

Even if you never play the lottery, your imagination couldn't help but be tickled by the idea of winning millions of dollars. Just what would you do with all that money?

How Will You Spend Your Winnings?

Are you day-dreaming how you'd spend those winning dollars? Who doesn't enjoy a little financial fantasy now and then?

Articles popped up offering advice as to whether you should take the lump sum or the annuity. The annuity pays out your winnings annually over 30 years. Tax consequences were discussed.

Everyone wholeheartedly debated their spending options, never mind that they would likely never face this choice in real life. Forget that depressing detail. It's still fun to contemplate such a weighty decision.

The $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016 was won by three separate ticket holders, all in different states. The jackpot was split equally between them.

Even after paying significant taxes, they each had a sizable amount to spend. Divided among the three tickets, the cash lump sum was $310 million for each.

The First Lottery in France

As you chew on your pencil, bent over your Powerball ticket, deep in thought as to which numbers are going to let you sail away, you may not have considered where this whole idea of choosing six numbers started.

The first lottery in France was created in 1757. We have Casanova to thank for it.

Casanova – Professional Adventurer

Giovanni Giacomo Casanova.

Born in Venice, Italy: 02 April 1725; died in Dux, Bohemia: 04 June 1798.

Casanova is remembered today, thanks to his autobiography. Without it, his life stories would have slipped away with the ebb and flow of history. 

 
“Worthy or not, my life is my subject, and my subject is my life.”
— Giacomo Casanova
 

Casanova traveled and lived throughout Europe. He was well-educated and fluent in several languages. Although he was Italian, he wrote his autobiography entirely in eloquent French.

Most of us know the name Casanova as being associated with his reputation of being the world's greatest lover. Naturally, that is always a matter of opinion.

If his name is evoked in conversation: "He thinks he's a regular Casanova..." it tells us a man is wooing a maid, or many maids, in an overt manner. The definition of a casanova is a man who is passionate about women and has many lovers.

However, like most of us, he was multi-faceted. Not only did he write of his sexual conquests, he also revealed his life as a spy, librarian, gambler, mathematician, and bourgeois businessman. His favorite self-described avocation was that of professional adventurer.

Casanova – Founder Of The French Lottery

As part of his gambler and mathematician activities, Casanova convinced the King of France to sponsor a lottery to help raise money for the construction of a military school in Paris, 

The Loterie de l'École Militaire was decreed on 15 October 1757.

 
“Rather than minimizing the lottery’s potential financial exposure, Casanova suggested that the state flaunt money to whet consumers’ appetites and to garner their confidence in the institution.

He suggested that the Royal Council guarantee the lottery for up to a hundred million livres. Others balked at such a large sum, but Casanova argued that such a measure would reassure consumers.

Moreover, he suggested that just the talk of such large sums of money would fire the imagination of consumers as they would project that money in their own hands.

Casanova offered the cautious men of finance a lesson in consumer psychology. As he told them: the thing is to dazzle.”
 

Quote from The Loterie de l'École Militaire: Making the Lottery Noble and Patriotic
by Robert Kruckeberg

Spinning numbers were chosen, much like today. That very first lottery in France raised the equivalent of 2 million francs in today's terms, an enormous sum for the era. 

The Energy Of Abundance

What is abundance to you? It may not always be in the form of money. Examples of abundance may be the apples in your pie, or the family smiles around your holiday table, or the bird songs in your backyard.

Six Lucky Numbers

Addendum: in October 2018, after a run of no winners, the Mega Millions Lottery jackpot hit $1.6 billion. And with no winners in the Powerball as well, its jackpot is soaring up to $620 million.

The next time you play Powerball, even if you just imagine what you'd do with big winnings from the lottery, you might cast a thought to Casanova.

When we choose six lucky numbers, we evoke his memory.

Ah, Casanova, we do remember you.

 

Winter Storms And Healthcare Personnel

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Winter Storm Blasts East Coast

One of the biggest winter storms on record came rumbling into the East Coast in January 2016. Although we only had some "sympathy rain" in California – watching the intense news coverage made me feel like I should stay home, if nothing else, as a show of solidarity. Actually, that sounded good to me.

Any excuse to bake, prepare nourishing soups and catch up on reading. The to-do list also included practical things like sorting through drawers, but whoever does practical things at times like this?

Winter Soups

Soups in winter nourish and warm our hearts. It harkens back to the collective memory of an ancient hearth with wide bubbling pots hanging on iron hooks over a crackling fire. Homemade soups I prepared were Roasted Beet/Garlic Soup and Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and bean soup).

Essential Personnel

One thing I didn't miss was being identified as "essential personnel." Over many years I have been essential personnel; the folks who don't get to hunker down and stay home during a storm. Nurses and healthcare workers who provide direct patient care still have to get to work.

While elective surgeries can be cancelled and rescheduled, patients in hospital units still require round-the-clock, skilled medical care. Wound dressings need to be changed, tracheal tubes must be suctioned, and medications still need to be delivered on time.

Travel Bans

The news media went wild trying to fill up over 24 hours of constant video of the storm. There are only so many falling snowflakes that you can watch. With 24/7 coverage, I was hoping to see some stories on how they were manning hospitals, especially when New York City called for a travel ban.

“Road travel ban in effect in New York City starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Anyone not authorized to be on the roads will be subject to arrest, and their car will be towed.”
 

Alas, despite my tweet suggesting the story line to CNN and ABC, I didn't see any in-depth reporting on it. Oh well, so much for the suggestions of the little people.

Working In The Storm

When I lived in Maryland, I was a Registered Nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital on the Pediatric unit. A winter storm careened into the area, it was the December 1992 nor'easter. Perhaps not as large as the recent one, but, it was a storm that, nonetheless, would shut down the area.

I was scheduled to work several 12-hour night shifts during the storm. Plans were coordinated for personnel to sleep over at the hospital between shifts, if they desired, as it was not at all certain one could make it home or back again. Abandoning fellow workers and forcing them to carry on past their already completed 12-hour shifts was simply not an option.

Get To The Hospital

I packed a small bag and prepared a lunchbox to help tide me over the long 36 hours. Volunteers in the community with 4-wheel drive vehicles offered to transport healthcare workers to and from the hospital. I hitched a ride with a local driver and we chatted aimlessly as we inched our way along snowy roads. 

We made it through the storm, patients were cared for and my shifts completed. I managed to get some sleep despite the odd circumstances and I was happy to return home once the storm had passed.

Thank You To Those Who Serve

Police, fire, medical personnel look out for us. In this recent storm, the National Guard were also called up as well as municipal workers.

I often think of those who quietly provide our healthcare and public services. They work nights while we snuggle in sleep and they cover 3-day weekends that the rest of us enjoy. They care for us in the background while we carry on in our daily lives of sturm und drang. I deeply appreciate them, especially now that I can stay home during storms.

Thank you for your service.

 

Man walking in snow: Carlos Barria/Reuters
Shoveling snow: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Umbrellas in snow: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

The Beauty Of Dawn

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The Quiet Beauty Of Dawn

Early to rise, the lingering darkness of night surrounds you. A faint lightening of the horizon tells you dawn is on its way.

A hush is felt with this awakening, you whisper so as not to disturb small creatures as they begin to stir. No need to holler or yell, anticipation tucks its paws under and quietly waits.

A Poem By Rumi

You're grateful to be awake so early this morning and even more pleased that you're up and outside already. This rarefied moment rolls within you as if the beginning of time is calling your name.

It brings to mind the poem by Rumi. You have no desire to go back to sleep. The words play silently on your lips. Don't go back to sleep. 

No, sleep is out of the question. Not because you can't, but because you don't want to sleep. Not now, not while you stand witness to an awakening.

Dawn Spills Across The Sky

Gathering momentum, dawn spills across the sky scattering pigments across miles of space. It's the promise of a sun that has come to warm us, to bring us to life.

A sun upon which we are utterly dependent. When the sun snuffs out, the Earth will expire with it.

Today, however, such thoughts are whisked away on threads of pink clouds and evaporate in a brightening sky.

Let’s lift our hearts in the wonder of our fragile existence and in the strength of our courage to face another day. For this day we have been given.

Let’s savor the gift.

Today is here. Today is now. Today we rejoice at another dawn.

Sometimes It's In Your Backyard

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Photography Near Your Home

Sometimes you don't have to go any further than your own backyard to enjoy little moments with nature. Even if you don't have a backyard, there is usually a park nearby where you can take a peek inside your local greenery.

Observe the details around you. Especially in winter, the weather is often inclement and longer trips may not be possible, so the greenery of nature that is right next to you becomes a source of inspiration.

Macro Photography

Taking macro photos with an iPhone is tricky. There is a tiny place where it is in focus.

In fact, we think nature holds rather still, that is, until you're trying to get a macro photo. Things must be absolutely still for a perfect focus. Suddenly you notice just how much plants are swaying in the wind.

I have to smile as I wait for a breeze to pass. "Patience, little one," I say to myself.

One day, I struggled with a photo of a mushroom. The ground was soaking wet from the recent rains for which we were grateful, by the way, in our parched California. I needed to maneuver closer to it.

I had recycled the metal frame from a broken umbrella and saved the waterproof material shell, thinking it might come in handy to sit on. 

Sure enough, here was the moment. I pulled it out to sit on the grass so as better to see a mushroom that proudly displayed its brown cap.

The neighbor kitty popped over the fence and dropped into my backyard. 

"Whatcha doing down here?" she asked, my own backyard feline wildlife.

"Sitting on a tarp on wet grass, trying to get a photo of a mushroom," I replied.

Create Like No One Is Watching

We're staying with the theme of creating like no one is watching, without being self-conscious and without immediate judgment. Let creativity stretch. Look at things in a different light. For some that is painting, art journaling, and yes, photography.

What nature is sharing with us? Is the air crisp? Is the wind moving? The invisible parts of nature are speaking to us.

My Raggedy Mushroom

The mushroom picture I tried to get was quite a challenge. The depth of focus in macro photography is very short, meaning only a portion of my complex mushroom would come into focus. 

I had watched this mushroom when it first appeared in my backyard, smooth and round initially. Then, it opened its lower gills and all the edges frayed and split creating mystical dimensions of undulating mushroom flesh.

I never really got the photo I wanted of this mushroom... but that, too, is part of the process. Knowing that I still had an interaction with nature was fulfilling. Let’s keep creating.



Little Holiday Videos

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A Quick Peek Into The Season

Christmas baking and decorations make this holiday season a busy one. There's little time for writing, however, here are a couple of videos taken with our iPhone.

Going To The Tree Farm

Traveling to a Christmas tree farm in Woodland, California this year, we picked out our tree. You can cut down your own if you're feeling like an ambitious woodsman. Pre-cut trees are kept fresh in buckets of water. The workers will take off an inch from the trunk for those of us who don't own a saw. 

One of our favorite Christmas tree species is the Noble Fir. After picking out a humble 6-foot tree, we took the tag to the workers and requested shaking and netting. Shaking it removes loose needles and dirt and a net can help get it home.

A sense of humor is needed when the farm is crowded with holiday shoppers. Tree farm personnel demonstrated their funny-bone with the bottom line of this sign for the tree nets. Just kidding, of course!

Dramatic Winter Skies

Winter skies like to dance at this time of year and I captured some traveling clouds with the time-lapse feature on my smartphone. Music was then needed. The song I Wonder as I Wander evokes seasonal skies and is sung with layers of harmony by The King's Singers.

I had to giggle when I noted that I wandered in my neighborhood and I wondered if there were more Christmas decorations than usual, or had I not noticed them before? I included their photos in the video to connect with the song's lyrics.

 
“I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
To save lowly people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Jesus was born it was in a cow’s stall
With shepherds and wise men and angels and all
The blessings of Christmas from heaven did fall
And the weary world woke to the Savior’s call.”
 

Our Creativity

It's okay if our creative process is not a professional production. The joy is in the creating.

With so many professional examples around us, it can be intimidating to pursue our own attempts. Remember when it was simply fun to create and we didn't worry about the outcome?

Wishing you a holiday season filled with wonder as you wander and may the new year be a source of joyful discovery.