lilacs

Mental Health Monday – Take a Break

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I have a list of writing that needs to be done this week or early next week. We all have that pile of stuff that needs our attention. And I just realized that I need to make a trip to the grocery store tomorrow and arrange which family member will be cooking with the least amount of pushback. These are normal things for everyone on the planet, but for some of us the anxiety can paralyze us, not always with the fear of not being able to get the items done, but with the fear of beginning. If we don’t begin, we can’t flop. If we don’t begin, we can pretend to do something more enjoyable. However, if we don’t begin, we can never get it finished.

I stepped out of my house today in exchange for the coffee shop, and got half a submission done.

I checked my planner and began to write this.

I checked my deadline calendar and decided that the next item on the list can wait until tomorrow…but should it? Well, there is one item that should take precedence, so I’m going to accept that choice and take a break for lunch and then proceed with my projects.

I said last Monday that lists are key, and I genuinely believe that.

Don’t forget to drink water, rest in between assignments, take a walk in the spring air and smell the lilacs which have just begun to bloom.

July. Inspire.

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“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

My view on July is that it’s too hot. It’s barely the first week, and it is already too hot. When will fall be here? However, we still need to get through July (and the rest of the months) as we do all the other days. Be in the present. At least, try to be. The photos I’ve shared on bright, colorful, and motivating. Especially the books. The books are my intentions for July: spiritual journaling (and other writing), continuing to read the daily Scriptures in the voice of the Indigenous Peoples of this land (Turtle Island), and participate in a four week personal retreat with the four female Doctors of the Church: Therese of Lisieux, Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, Hildegard of Bingen. Each has a special meaning for me that I hope to share in the next four weeks as I go through the book.

What are your plans for July?

What inspired you this week?

What is making you determined?

My new spiritual journal. PS I found the lost one. 😦
(c)2023
“Library”
(c)2023
Lilacs.
“Garden”
(c)2023
Flowers.
“Garden”
(c)2023
Pineapple Star.
(c)2023

Inspire. June.

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Lilacs. (c)2020

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

John Quincy Adams

This pandemic has taken, but for those of us continuing to live through it, it has also given. More time with our families. More time to think of our priorities, our spirituality, our blessings, and our failings.

As President Adams said above, this pandemic has brought patience and perseverance to all of us in varying degrees of success. We all have both despite having different levels of both, and through it all, in whatever way we are and we can, we are moving through it and adapting.

It is ever with us.

Wear your mask.

Keep your distance.

We’re all in this together.

Be well.

Patience. Perseverance.

May: Flowers and Birds: Photos

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From my garden. This lilac tree is one of the best things about my house, and probably counts in the top five reasons we bought it. This year’s blooms are so much more than the past several years: they really are extraordinary. A silver lining, or purple if you will, to this last year and more of political and ethical strife.

Mid-morning sunshine through the lilacs and pines. (c)2018


Buds are still formng! (c)2018


Close-up. (c)2018


Close-up. (c)2018

The Spring Garden

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One of the things I love about my house is the backyard. I don’t get out there much because of my reaction to the sun due to one of my medications, but we have a really lovely backyard. My husband takes very good care of it. He gets his green thumb from his mother. I did well when we had an apartment and we had only containers to garden in. Those were beautiful. Gardening is hard work though.

One of the things I love about our yard is the lilac tree. Some years it blooms better than others, but every year I wait and I wait, and when it comes that is usually my first foray into the back. I love to smell them, and touch them, and of course, photograph them. They have different colors depending on how the light hits the petals.

When I went out this past week it was nice and shady by the lilacs so I got to spend a bit more time with them. There were many clusters that gave me some good pictures. I also watched some bees doing their thing and I think I caught some of them in the act.

The second Instagram set is some of the highlights that I discovered on that recent visit outside. While my kids are too big for those toys, they still made me feel like a parent of kids. It wasn’t a nostalgic feeling as much as content. I hadn’t noticed that my husband hung the windchimes in the back porch. After taking a couple of pictures, I pushed on them and listened to their perfect harmony. Some advice for buying windchimes: When you find one that you like, listen to it. They all have their own sound, so find one that you can listen to for the rest of your life.