I’ve moved!

Hey faithful reader! I’ve moved… care to join me on this new adventure? Same great person, different address! See you there. mindfulblissblog.wordpress.com

See you in the light. Xxo

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Once there was a tree…. and she loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. And they would play hide-and-go-seek. And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. And the boy loved the tree…. very much. And the tree was happy. But time went by. And the boy grew older. And the tree was often alone. Then one day the boy came to the tree and the tree said, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy.” “I am too big to climb and play” said the boy. “I want to buy things and have fun. I want some money?” “I’m sorry,” said the tree, “but I have no money. I have only leaves and apples. Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in the city. Then you will have money and you will be happy.” And so the boy climbed up the tree and gathered her apples and carried them away. And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time…. and the tree was sad. And then one day the boy came back and the tree shook with joy and she said, “Come, Boy, climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and be happy.” “I am too busy to climb trees,” said the boy. “I want a house to keep me warm,” he said. “I want a wife and I want children, and so I need a house. Can you give me a house ?” ” I have no house,” said the tree. “The forest is my house, but you may cut off my branches and build a house. Then you will be happy.” And so the boy cut off her branches and carried them away to build his house. And the tree was happy. But the boy stayed away for a long time. And when he came back, the tree was so happy she could hardly speak. “Come, Boy,” she whispered, “come and play.” “I am too old and sad to play,” said the boy. “I want a boat that will take me far away from here. Can you give me a boat?” “Cut down my trunk and make a boat,” said the tree. “Then you can sail away… and be happy.” And so the boy cut down her trunk and made a boat and sailed away. And the tree was happy … but not really. And after a long time the boy came back again. “I am sorry, Boy,” said the tree,” but I have nothing left to give you – My apples are gone.” “My teeth are too weak for apples,” said the boy. “My branches are gone,” said the tree. ” You cannot swing on them – ” “I am too old to swing on branches,” said the boy. “My trunk is gone, ” said the tree. “You cannot climb – ” “I am too tired to climb” said the boy. “I am sorry,” sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you something…. but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry….” “I don’t need very much now,” said the boy. “just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired.” “Well,” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.” And the boy did. And the tree was happy.

This morning as I sat in my on-call I saw a student who had this decal of “The Giving Tree” on his Macbook. I instantly searched up the story (one of my favourites and re-read it for the first time in a long time).  As my eyes welled up a bit, while I was sitting in another person’s class, I realized that my understanding of the story has shifted.  Elissa Strauss shares this interpretation in her article The uncomfortable truth in The Giving Tree which coincides with my own beliefs:

“I was enthralled by the intense power that connections have to shape who we are and what we will become. Over the years I came to see the book less and less as an endorsement of giving, and more about the way love and tragedy are irrevocably intertwined, and how our giving to others inevitably detracts from how much we can give ourselves.” Elissa Strauss

So, the tree is an enabler? Why does it make the tree so happy to give so freely of itself when it results in its utter demise?  What was once a full, healthy, glowing, growing, giving tree sacrifices everything for an ungrateful little turd, ummm I mean boy.  Forget “the beauty of generosity, and the power of giving to forge connection between two people… the book is an irresponsible tale that glorifies maternal selflessness, even as the maternal figure is destroyed in the process,” says Strauss. Woof.  So, is this how the story should end?  Hmmmph.

 

Valentine’s Day is for suckers?

Happy Valentine’s Day, long weekend, ummm Family celebratory day! Eeeeek! So many reasons to snuggle up with those you love and avoid the cold.  I’ve never really been one for Valentine’s Day only because I’m fairly certain that it is just another trap of consumerism created by a card company; however, this Valentine’s Day I saw so many displays of affection that it literally made my heart sing!  There were so many people giving one another flowers and beneath the fringe of a parka a huge smile would emerge.  I also saw an entire car filled with heart shaped mylar balloons!  There was so much cuteness abounding that I just basked in the delight of others displaying their love or like or whatever.  Meanwhile I was like..

Sending you sooo much love & warmth,

Xxo

Thoughts & Things & Logan

Harrumph 5th Wave. Planned trilogies shouldn’t be allowed like that. I’m pretty sure school tried to teach me a story has a beginning, middle and end. It was all lies. It has a beginning, maybe a middle, and how much money can be squeezed out of the franchise? I can’t remember if Hunger Games #1 ended clean.

Okay, you’re back to work but… its a shortened week – huzzah!
You’re the best!

Tell me about it

xxo

Into it!

Changing your life for the better…

Hhhhmph where to start? We’ve recently started up a new meditation group and I’m loving it! It attracts so many interesting people, in different walks of life, and group meditation has always enhanced my practice.  That said, playing the role of facilitation forces me to review my own beliefs and attribute words to them, which is becoming increasingly difficult along my journey.  At this point I’m more about energy than words… There is one woman in our group who reminds me of The Oracle from “The Matrix” and wherever she goes when she meditates– I want to go to there! It is pure, positive, unconditional love and it feels so good to luxuriate in her presence! So, afterwards we have discussions and here are some of the concepts that I thought were worth sharing.  Back to the basics….

1. Alignment is everything.  Ultimately, you want to work yourself into a feeling place where you feel great most of the time.  If anger feels better than depression then you’re on the right track.  As long as you are consciously and continually working towards feeling better than you have before. Focus your thoughts– it only takes 17 seconds to realign your focus.  Did you say, kittens? You have my undivided attention!

1. Cut the clutter.  We have been so conditioned to judge ourselves and others based on some arbitrary criteria that is completely irrelevant.  Start by forgiving and loving yourself.  You do the best that you can with what you know at the time. Be at peace.
2. Cut yourself and everyone else some slack.  Only you can control the way you feel. No one can rattle you– only you have that power! What a relief! If you’re not feeling so great, go ahead stew in it for as long as you would like, but realize that when you’re ready you need to get back on track.
3. Start with gratitude.  Every emotion has a frequency and you always want to be resonating at love or above.  Gratitude is a great place to start, by reviewing your day and finding the positive you are tuning yourself to a higher frequency than you are continually bumping around at otherwise.  Once you get better at this you will be able to apply it more often and to more circumstance in your life.
4. Belief is just a thought that you keep telling yourself.  If you believe it then it must be true.  Years of domestication have dictated what the masses should believe, but do those beliefs serve you now?  Nothing exists within a vacuum, so where did this come from? Who made it up and what was their agenda?  If it doesn’t serve you to repeat this thought over and over again, if it doesn’t feel good… then let it go.
5. You don’t have to explain.  Stop beating the drum of your own discontent.  You don’t owe anyone an explanation, you do not have to justify why things are the way they are or what circumstances occurred before this moment.

   “If you are depressed you are living in the past.
   If you are anxious you are living in the future.
   If you are at peace you are living in the present.”– Lao Tzu

6. You are made of the same energy and power that creates worlds, all you have do is believe that everything is always working out for your highest good.  Know it, expect it, and the universe has no choice but to deliver.  We only see what we want to see, so, if you shift your mindset to focus solely on the positive you are always guaranteed to find something that excites and delights you!

The choice is yours and I’m soooo excited for you!

Namaste. 

So, this is universal? That’s reassuring.

“One of the traps of adolescence is the sort of paranoid resentment that, somehow, you are never going to match up…and that everybody else’s life is going to be better, and finer, and fuller. That everyone else attended some secret lesson in which “How to Live” was taught and you had a dental appointment that day, or you were somehow not invited.”- Stephen Fry

Be impeccable with your words

You got this! Happy Weeeeeekend!