I started this blog to share some of the thoughts I have along the journey of life. I love to travel and spend time with my family and friends. A good meal, breaking bread with those I love, gives my life meaning. So does travel. I adore dreaming of sites to visit, not just to check them off on a list. Rather, I consider myself a student of life, traveling as an explorer, to open my mind to all the possibilities the world holds in store for me and for others. I love to travel to discover how different the world is in terms of climate, cultures, politics, terrain, economy, etc. but also to discover how SIMILAR the people are. Despite language barriers, much can be communicated with a smile or gestures. Language is simply a means to communicate, yet there are so very many other ways to communicate. Once when I was in French-speaking Canada, I realized that my 7th grade French class didn’t teach me the word for “straw”. However, when I thought about it, I was able to communicate to the very French-speaking waiter in a very French-speaking restaurant about my need for a “cylinder through which to drink” in my limited French vocabulary. Travel challenges the mind and soul, stretching us to problem solve and form conclusions about all that we experience. THAT is the type of travel I enjoy best. “All’s well that ends well”, as they say………….”Life is Good” as well.
“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
-Andre Gide
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
-Mary Anne Radmacher
Life is good; carpe diem, friends………….
photo:Dreamstime
The Dutch have it right AGAIN! Instead of Niksen, the art of purposely doing “nothing”, another Dutch approach to enjoying life is called “hygge” (pronounced “hoo-gah”). Hygge centers around enjoying the little things in life that provide us comfort. Although spring is upon us, providing warmer weather in some parts of the country, other parts of the country are still experiencing a bit of a chill. Fire in a fireplace? That’s hygge. Scented candles burning in your home? That’s hygge. Meals with comfort food and friends? That’s hygge. Big comfortable furniture with a soft throw blanket draped around you? That’s hygge. Your favorite hot tea, cappuccino, or coffee served in a china cup? That’s hygge. A long indulgent bubble bath with scented candles burning on the sides? That’s hygge. A bite of a delicious Belgian chocolate? That’s hygge. Anything and everything comfortable and cozy? Now THAT’S hygge!
While you are trying to take your mind off the corona virus situation in our lives right now, turn off your phone and turn on some soft music, sip a hot beverage, light a fire, and burn some scented candles after dinner. You will most likely experience comfort and contentment that will take your mind off of the virus knocking at your door.
Hygge, loosely translated as “to give courage, comfort, and joy”, will help you to live deliberately with comfortable intentions. They say it’s the “little things that matter.” Why not give it a try? Today choose pastry over healthy food for a change. Maybe a bite of a brownie, freshly baked cookies, or Bananas Foster………..
Enjoy today; find some comfort. Enjoy the little things. Carpe diem, friends…..
While we are at war with Corona, we stand united knowing that we will eventually win the war together. There are so many beautiful things happening right around us at the same time this virus takes its toll on our health, our family, our homes, our communities, our nations, and our world. But there is a glimmer of light, a bright spot on a dark dark day…..
Oh say can you see….how our community comes together to help those who need help?
Oh say can you see………how wonderful it is to have extra time with our families while self-isolating?
Oh say can you see…..how we have learned we really can do with less stuff?
Oh say can you see…..how we now have more time to tackle those projects we put off like refinishing some furniture?
Oh say can you see……how most of the time we really have all that we need in our homes already?
Oh say can you see…….how spending time with a good old fashioned board game with those we love really beats the computer any day?
Oh say can you see…..how resourceful we can be when we really put our minds to it?
Oh say can you see…..how much better dinner time is with a home-cooked meal shared with those you love at the dinner table at the same time?
Oh say can you see……how exciting the thrill of a scavenger hunt to find toilet paper at the store is when shared with your child?
Oh say can you see……..how you can calm your child’s fears if you model calm behavior yourself?
“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?…..”
-“The Star Spangled Banner”, The United States of America National Anthem, by Francis Scott Key
Life is good; find the bright spot in the dark day today………
So…….oh say what can you YOU see?
Carpe Diem with Caye 