The Little Mitten & The Tracks

The Little Mitten & The Tracks
Every morning when I take my 4 year old Sivanna, to the school bus I am moved beyond words. Today we got ready and moved through our morning routine to get us to bus time. First and foremost today we must check to make sure the four snowmen she and Dad built are still standing. Yes! We carry on and finally we are out the door with snow suit, hat, mitts and backpack. We cut under the tree in the front yard (the short cut) and head for the bus. It’s the 2nd snow fall and it’s wet. When we get to the bus stop we wait and chat. Today we make footprints in the snow and compare our boots. She amazes me with the things she not only knows but points out to me. I have a maple leaf pattern on the bottom of my boot. Wow, who knew? The bus comes and as we wait for it to make its turn onto our street we start our new ritual of counting until it comes. We kiss and hug and Sivanna gets on the bus. She sits on the front seat and looks out the window at me. This is the part that moves me the most. I see her smiling face and we send kisses and hugs and she waves her little pink mitten at me until I can see her no more. I turn toward our house and see our set of tracks that led us to the bus. I follow them home and I have absolute gratitude for the gift of a family and a home filled with love, but most of all for the little girl who holds the little waving mitten......

What Is Really Important?

When it comes to life and our lives, what is really important? Sometimes in the midst of day to day living, it's easy to forget what really matters and what does not. For example, we have a society that is a host to rules and regulations, policies and procedures and it's easy to get overwhelmed and confused. Many of you that know me personally, know that one of my favourite sayings is “Garbage day is Thursday”. Yep, that's what I say. What do I mean by that? Well, the real, underlining idea behind that is that MY garbage day is Thursday and yours is Wednesday or whatever day it is, AND that the point is somebody made it all up! Life and our world is just that, a bunch of made up stuff and someone or somebodies of people made up some protocols, systems, beliefs, rules, and we follow along like Sheeple.... (sheep/people). We start focusing on the dots of life rather than the big blank background of possibilities. We argue over trivial things like fences, what to have for dinner and who did what right or wrong. We get our egos involved and we try to control and regulate and follow procedures and be right and not wrong and etc. etc. and on and on it goes. How much fun is that? Sounds exhausting to me. So, when I say to myself “Garbage day is Thursday, it immediately reminds me to be centered and grounded in what really matters. At the end of the day or even at the end of our lives, I believe that what really matters is a quote from Life Coach Cheryl Richardson, “What matters is who you loved and who loved you”. That's it. It can't get any simpler than that. So the next time you find yourself arguing with the neighbour about a fence, or correcting your child incessantly, or majoring on the minor, or focusing on the dot, remember “Garbage day is Thursday”... it's all made up anyway and it is only love that truly matters. xoxoxo

Love is Neutral

A friend of mine, Maureen, shared this thought with me recently and I thought, “how wonderful”. Before I begin, though, I want to clarify that I am not talking about neighbours as in, I have a problem with the fence, noise etc. I am referring to neighbours in life in general. So on the note of love being neutral.....
Yes, love is love and just is. If we could truly practise this we would have no judgement, we would indeed, be neutral. For example, my neighbour in life does this, that, lives their life like this or that, etc. and I think it’s right, wrong or whatever I happen to judge it as. If we are loving and in “neutral” we would not judge it as anything, just love it for what it is. We would be neutral. We would have no need to judge it, we would just observe it. How freeing this is. It is our judgements that hold us and bind us to pain and suffering and egoism. Without judgement, our neighbours, family members, friends and everyone in our world would be free to express themselves and we would not have to attach to it at all. We would be free to express ourselves and live in alignment with our higher selves and our own expressions of how we want to live our lives. It reminds me of my favourite philosophy about love “I want what you want”. To me that is truly loving someone; not loving them for what I think I need or want from them or how they affect me and my life. I love and support them in what they want for their highest and greatest desire.... to me this is the freedom of love. This is being neutral.

Cry Not

While walking home today after dropping Sivanna off at her daycare, I started to reflect on the realization that this is the last week she will be attending there before starting school. The daycare has had a special place in my heart and this is an end of an era for both Sivanna and for me. I thought I would share how interesting this experience was for me. As I started to feel the associated emotions of the transition; such as sadness, loss, change etc., I then became an observer of myself. I realized that “feeling these feelings” was truly a choice. Wow, I realized I did not have to be sad. I could choose to experience this or not. It was very freeing to realize that Sivanna is starting school next week whether I am sad, happy or indifferent so why would I want to feel loss and suffering? I chose to not attach at all and just enjoy the walk home with promise of a new era in our lives beautifully unfolding as it will.... ahhh.

Driven

After watching the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”, I was once again reminded about how driven we are here in the Western World. When we observe other countries and cultures, it is beautiful to see how they can embrace “just being” much more naturally than we seem to do. We seem to be so driven. Driven for what? To be, do, have? To get to someplace where we can just be? It seems we are so driven we forget to get off at the bus stop called “Just Being”. We get on a bus called “Driven” and hope to end up at “Just Being” but somehow we miss the stop. Perhaps other cultures make the bus stop the priority and not the bus. Hmm, food for thought.... and on that note, I was once again reminded of the simple pleasures of food. The simple pleasures of sharing food and enjoying both the food and the interaction; nourishing both the body and soul. Could it really be this simple? Could we really just find peace in being? In being alone, together, just being? I say yes. It’s time to put the bus stop first and not the bus. 

The Sweet Loss of Motherhood

As each day passes and I take Sivanna to day care, I feel more and more strongly a sense of loss, sweet loss. This is her last year going to daycare prior to starting school and I know it's the end of an era so to speak. For me, it signifies the end of my baby. Her babyhood. That sweet time for a mother when all is well; a mix of the new excitement of having a new life in your world and the thrill of motherhood. The biggest sensation I have is losing this net of safety and control that this age seems to provide. Perhaps motherhood is meant to be this way so it can ease us into the changes and experiences life offers it's participants; a gradual integration. The daycare seems so safe and serene. Not only the daycare will I miss, but weekday mornings spent at Ballet or Kindergym. These places also feel safe and let me escape from the rigours of the adult world. They are moments in time that see to stand still. I love chatting with the other parents, grandparents and caretakers of the children. I love seeing the joy of the children expressing their newly found selves, moment by moment. At these events I get to be both a child again and proud new parent... so sweet are both of these. I am open to change and love the new experiences life has to offer but my mother's heart knows she will miss these moments more than I can say.... ah the bittersweet joy of motherhood.

The Genie in the Bottle

The Genie in the Bottle

Your wish is my command,
The Genie in the bottle is who I am.
You cannot see me, but I am always there,
Everything you wish for, I can hear.
Some call me God, Some call me Allah.
The name you call me, does not matter.
You are all born equal with me as your guide.
In good times and bad, I am always by your side.
I do not judge you, I do not care,
I give what you ask for and I am always there.
You ask with your thought, your word and your action.
The wish is more powerful if you ask with passion.
I have no need. I am here to serve,
Whatever you get, you deserve.

By: Don Perry
January 2010