Smile!!!

I hope you enjoy Mira's homecoming pictures and the words below.

Namaste,

Michele

What saves me from the tedium of another day is falling hopelessly in love
with the people I meet:

the curly-haired barista at the coffee shop who
hands me my change as if dipping his fingers into holy water;

the girl with Down syndrome who talks loudly about vacationing with her grandmother;

the elderly couple who grow giant buble-gum-colored puffs of dahlias at the

corner of Twelfth and Chambers;

the toddler girl across the street who bleats sweetly, "Mama come see!"

I fall in love with the deep timbre of my brother's laugh;

the way my mother says my name;

the way my father calls me sweetheart;

the way my sweetheart calls me baby.

-- Bobbie Willis

Look into yourself

You have learnt so much
And read a thousand books.
Have you ever read your Self?
You have gone to mosque and temple.
Have you ever visited your soul?
You are busy fighting Satan.
Have you ever fought your
Ill intentions?
You have reached into the skies,
But you have failed to reach
What's in your heart !

Look into Yourself by Bulleh Shah

on being an individual

From the very beginning you are being told to compare yourself with others. This is the greatest disease; it is like a cancer that goes on destroying your very soul ? because each individual is unique, and comparison is not possible. I am just myself and you are just yourself. There is nobody else in the world you can be compared with. -OSHO

Self Expression

Mira wrote the following essay and said that I could share it on here. It makes me smile.....hope it makes you smile too.
Namaste,
Michele


Wear It Loud, and Wear it Proud
By Mira

The basement is ready. The tarp is laid down. The dye is mixed. The white shirts are neatly rubber-banded, twisted into contorted shapes that will soon be overcome with their own colorful identity. “Don’t forget to put on the rubber gloves!” my mom reminds us. I take the blue dye and aim the nozzle of the plastic bottle into the center of the wrapped shirt. The white slowly turns into blue, each thread absorbing the perfectly mixed solution. I grow tired of the blue and move on to red. Then yellow and green, repeating until there’s no trace of white left in the shirt. I proudly hand the sopping wet mess to my mom, feeling accomplished and a little bit anxious. She places it in a plastic bag, ties it up, and puts it high on a shelf only to be taken down 24 hours later.

As far back as I can remember, my family has always had a love for tie-dye. The proof is everywhere. You can find it in both of my parent’s closets, where two-thirds of the hangers proudly hold tie-dye shirts in all shapes and sizes. Their bedspread is even tie-dyed. If you look back far enough, I’m sure you can find pictures of me at no more than one year old, happily smiling wearing a tie-dyed onesie. I remember this one time at my end-of-the-year assembly in seventh grade, my mom told me she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able make it. When the teachers finished seating us in the gym, I quickly scanned the crowd, hoping she was there to see me receive my awards. I didn’t have to look too long, because my eye instantly caught my mom sitting in the bleachers wearing a bright blue tie-dyed shirt. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

I used to wonder why my parents couldn’t just dress like every other adult in our town. Why couldn’t they wear shirts from Express, Gap, or Talbots, like my friend’s parents did? My sister, brother, and I never quite understood it. I didn’t realize it then, but choosing to wear tie-dye over those expensive, over-priced clothes has taught me many important life lessons. Be who you are. Dress how you want to dress. Don’t worry about what other people think. Self-expression is important. These things have not only shaped my life, but they have molded me into who I am today. Most people cannot confidently walk around with their family wearing tie-dye. I can, and I’m proud of that.

People are kind of like tie-dye shirts. Each one is different. Whether its created simply in a basement of ones home, or if its manufactured by the hundreds, and sold to people just like my parents. Each one is bearing its own design. Every person is different, and we all have our little quirks that make us who we are. I believe that everyone should own one tie-dye shirt. I believe in wearing it loud, and wearing it proud. I believe in tie-dye.

Love

In our society, we’ve become myopic and obsessive about one particular kind of love: dyadic love, which takes the form of romance, sex, marriage.
As a result we end up asking all the wrong questions.

Books about relationships talk about how to “get” the love you need, how to “keep” the love and so on. But the right question to ask is
“How do I become a more loving human being?”
— Sam Keen

on being alive

If you’re alive, you got to flap your arms and legs, you got to jump around a lot, you got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death. And therefore, as I see it, if you’re quiet, you’re not living.

Mel Brooks

Seize the Moment

When will our cats learn that Macy's fish(Kevin) is a family member and not food??????

I hope you like the quote below!!!

Namaste,

Michele

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.

Erma Bombeck

Tolerance

Makes me smile

just allowing

Whenever I am anxious or upset I always say this affirmation.....and it seems to help.

"The universe is unfolding just as it should and all is well in my world."

Open Heart, Open Mind

Peace!!!

‎"I have never understood the importance of having children memorize battle dates. It seems like such a waste of mental energy. Instead, we could teach them important subjects such as How the Mind Works, How to Handle Finances, How to Invest Money for Financial Security, How to be a Parent, How to Create Good Relationships, and How to... Create and Maintain Self-Esteem and Self-Worth. Can you imagine what a whole generation of adults would be like if they had been taught these subjects in school along with their regular curriculum?"

— Louise L. Hay (You Can Heal Your Life)

My favorite video

Needed a reminder today......and can't help but to smile when I watch this.
Good Medicine for the soul!!!!

on being unique

Its been said again & again; life is a process, we are fleeting moments that come and go, and I'm grateful to have my time, my aspirations and my mistakes, my flaws and my abilities"

-Alex Gaskarth

On being different

"He who walks out of step hears another drum." -Ken Kesey

On being grateful

Have a grateful day!!!!!!!!!!!

On being grateful

"To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have."

---Ken S. Keyes, Jr

Creating

I love doing artwork when camping!!!

It is so relaxing.

I hope you enjoy the quote below!!!

Namaste,

Michele

There are those much more rare people who never lose their curiosity, their almost childlike wonder at the world; those people who continue to learn and to grow intellectually until the day they die. And these usually are the people who make contributions, who leave some part of the world a little better off than it was before they entered it.

-William H. Sheldon

Relax!!

We went camping for Labor Day Weekend......so nice to get away and be out in nature.

I hope you enjoy the words below.

Namaste,

Michele

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.

-Anne Frank