I can't figure out how to close my Xanga account and delete my page....soooo....

I will not be posting any entries anymore.

I assume that eventually my page will be deleted due to non-use. 

If you are a friend and want to keep in touch, you will now have to actually email or call me!  I prefer that anyway! 

Peace & Love

Emily

Things that delight me

Play doh

Yo-yos

Cats

Dogs

Listening to the rain

Dancing in the rain & mud puddles

Coloring

Sound of waves hitting the beach

Colorful daisies & tulips

Snuggling under the covers with a good book

Little kids laughing

Being Auntie Em

Gut-deep laughter

Tilt-a-whirls

The feeling you get when someone “gets you”

Berries right off the vine

Sand under your barefeet

Flip flops

Random Road Trips

Board games

“Aha!” and “Ahh” moments

Books you can hardly stand to put down

Books in general

Being greeting excitedly everyday by the cat

Twins games

Journaling

Big snowfalls (when you get to stay home)

Making snow angels & forts

“mental health days”

Smell of the ocean

Unexpectedly seeing or getting calls from old friends

The green of northwestern Washington State

Comfy clothes

Driving without a map

Whistling with grass

Teaching my niece & nephews to whistle with grass

Smell of fresh cut grass

Campfires

April Fools Jokes

Horses at full gallop

Uneventful doctor visits

First flowers & leaves of Spring

Smell and colors of Fall

Good Music

Bread

Expressing emotions

Christine Kane’s blog

Swings

Slides

Hiking alone

Hiking with a friend or partner

Scooby-Doo cartoons

Fresh mangos from roadside stands in the Caribbean

Hugs

Hugs & kisses from my niece & nephews

Kids logic

Starry skies

Watching clouds

Getting a massage

Comics

Holding a sleeping baby

Making sand castles

Green haze on fields first morning after crops pop up

Skinny dipping

“fishing” out on the lake all day

Being on the water

Sound of heartbeat of your partner

Kissing

Memory foam mattresses

Curling up under quilts made by Mom and/or Grandma

Sunshine

Visiting Family

Having Family visit

Grandpa’s jokes

Small-town connectedness

Beach combing

Seeing dolphins play

Knowing friends are family

Knowing family members are friends

Running off the dock into the lake

Getting care packages in the mail

Really good hot chocolate

Practical jokes on co-workers

Having someone truly listen

Truly listening to someone

Possibilities

Unexpected smiles

Popovers

Baseball

Old stain-glass windows

Social justice

Civil disobedience

Traveling to new places

Meeting new people

Kids trusting me with their stories & tears in therapy

Smell of oranges

Healing

Working on the farm (occasionally…on visits…for a couple hours)

Water fights

Feeling connected to people

Feeling connected to nature/the universe

M*A*S*H* reruns

Random acts of kindness

Sailing leaf “boats” and stick “people” down a creek

“Let’s see what happens” days

Fireflies

Baggy old sweatshirts

Blowing bubbles

Naps

Creating

Really good sheets

Good conversations

Rainy day smell

The cat on catnip

Getting up early

Sleeping in

Making snow castles

Balloons

T’ai Chi

Forgiving

Compassion

Making “goofy” faces with kids

Fresh Watermelon

Watermelon seed spitting contests

Falling in love

Loving yourself

Holding hands

Rainbows

Snowball fights

Making wishes on dandelions

Cleansing & Simplifying

Currently Listening Right Outta Nowhere By Christine Kane see related

Creating Transformations

I have come to believe very much in consciousness and energy and that we create our worlds.  I believe that things are connected and that what is going on in our lives is very much connected to the energy that we put forth into the universe.  (i.e. the Law of Attraction)  I have recently begun to really look at what is in my life and whether or not my life is what and where I want it to be.  In some ways, yes it is but in many others, no it is not. Here is a list of some of my values and beliefs:

Consciousness and awareness

Connection between the mind and the body

Wisdom of the body

Energy and the connectedness of all things

Compassion for myself and others

The power of Presence and Now

Loving acceptance of myself and others

Loving what is

Nature and balance and holism

Self-expression and expression of emotion

Relationships and intimacy

Simplicity

Change and chance and life

Activism and social justice and civil disobedience

Health and peace and creativity

Choice without "good" or "bad" judgements

Beauty in all things

Etc.

In order to live my life from my values, I have begun to and will continue to make changes in my life.  Some of these changes have and will include:

Turn off my TV (I cancelled my cable and gave away my TV) Too many of the shows and ads and all on TV now are just plain unhealthy and detrimental to how I want to live and be.

Eat in a more balanced and varied way.  Pay attention to what I am eating and what it does to me and why I am eating.  Be more conscious of it, basically.

Clear out the clutter from my life.  This has multiple parts.  One is to get rid of junk in my apartment that I never use and will never use.  Only if it is something I really want or need or is in line with the kind of life I want to live will it stay.  Simplify.  Another is activities: TV was one, movies I watch is another, how I spend my time--do I take the walk I know will inspire me and help be feel healthier and more peaceful or do I spend time looking at useless things on the internet?  This also includes looking at what I am reading and who am I spending my time with?  On the whole, do I feel balanced and joyful when I am with this person or do I spend my time with them complaining and whining?

Become more loving and accepting of myself and of others by celebrating our differences and our faults and imperfections.  Give myself the gift of self-expression and trust.

Spend more time with nature.  Get out and go hiking like I used to in Washington.  Surround myself with natural things and make changes to more environmentally friendly products and way of living. 

Be more conscious of the energy that I put out into the universe and also be more conscious of the energy that I let into myself. What messages am I sending and receiving?

Look at what I am doing to promote the celebration of diversity and to bring equal rights to all people?  How am I working to bring about social justice and equality?  How can I be an activist for those who's voices aren't being heard?

These are just a few of the ways I intend to change in my life in order to be more in line with my values.  Many of these changes will happen slowly and some will be extremely difficut.  But, with persistance, with grace, and with continued awareness, I can create transformation in my life and in me.

Just watch me.

"The Invitation"

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for,

And if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me now old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,

For your dreams,

For the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…

I want to know if you can sit with pain; mine or your own,

Without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with JOY; mine or your own.

If you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you

To the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,

Be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself.

If you bare the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithful and, therefore, be trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not present everyday.

And, if you can source your own life from IT’S presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure; yours and mine,

And still stand on the edge of a mountain

And shout to the silver of the moon, “YES”!

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live

Or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair,

Weary and bruised to the bone

And do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself

And if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

(an Objibway woman)