How do you greet the day???

These are drawings that I made on the WALL of our old psychiatric unit. I loved coloring on the walls!!! That was before we moved off of the main campus. There are some things that I miss about our old unit.....mostly certain people.....some of which I will never see again....sigh.
Sometimes I wish I could treat everyone as though I will never see them again.
I would be a lot happier to see them and probably go out of my way to be kinder.
I guess that is how we should greet everyone!!!!
Anyway, I hope enjoy the words below!!!
Namaste,
Michele

You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a
different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter
of paying attention to this miracle.
- Paulo Coelho

Change

I am so sad to see Marko's fall baseball season come to an end.....but all things must change.
He is sooooo obsessed with baseball....He is just like my dad and knows every weird fact and statistic about the major league.
Play Ball!!!
Namaste,
Michele


Try new things. Change again. Make another change. Experiment with something else.
You will certainly know better things and worse things than those you already know, but that does not matter. What matters most is change, movement, dynamism, energy.
Only what is dead does not change – and you are alive.
-Paulo Coelho

Namaste!!!

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”

-Paulo Coelho

Joy

Can you find Joy in this picture?
I found this joy on my friend, Arlene's beach. :)
I hope you like
the words below!!!
love,
Michele


I believe everything is one thing only. That said, there are some questions in my life that I don’t know...I’ve stopped asking. At the very beginning of my life, I wanted to have answers for everything. And now I respect the fact that I can’t have answers for everything.
-Paulo Coelho

Warrior of Light

Macy took this picture last summer. I needed to reminded of the warmth:)



I have been struggling the past few days. The loss of two close friends to a long battle of cancer has really took it's toll on me. Not that I feel they are gone because I know the soul goes on, but I hurt for those they left behind.
My friend Sue left behind her only child...Evan who is 13 years old and she leaves behind a very loving and devoted husband.
My friend Robear left behind his only sibling, Linda. Their parents have already passed and she was saying that "there would be know one waiting for her" anymore when she comes home.

I have found comfort in two things that two different friends have said recently.
I would like to share them here because they brought me great comfort.

One is from my dear friend Sue Hudson when she was saying something to me about Robear's passing:
"Hey, Michele. You and I know that Robear is now in a place that is much purer than here. He is a part of the white light we all call on to help us through the hard times. He is a part of everything that is good. We love you."


and the other one was from my friend and kindred spirit, Paul. He wrote a note about how he feels his late wife, Donna's presence. Donna also died from a long battle with cancer.
"When I choose to immerse myself in other people, regarding their needs before my own is when Donna becomes very real to me, not just as a memory, but a very active presence.
Just as God relies upon us to manifest his love through our actions and interactions so too is Donnas love made known through my actions.
I believe I can feel her presence in this manner because I believe Donna exists all around me."

and those words have encourage me to go on about my path, to continue to have faith in the journey and to continue to try to serve others and be a better person. My friend Sue Rudo taught me so much about service to others. Even when she was feeling her worst and could not even drive anymore, she and I would go out and do good for others (by her suggestion of course)
One day last November, we went all over the place delivering things she wanted to donate...one place she took me was Malachi house....a place where the indigent can go to die.....it was such a beautiful place....Sue was so in the moment there....took time to hold a baby, talk to the therapy dog, time to donate carnation instant breakfast that she could not tolerate......that was what she was all about.......serving others.

hope you are having a great day.
and hope you enjoy the quote below:)
Namaste,
Michele


Warrior Of The Light Paulo Coelho

Every Warrior of the Light
has felt afraid of going into battle.

Every Warrior of the Light
has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.

Every Warrior of the Light
has trodden a path that was not his.

Every Warrior of the Light
has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.

Every Warrior of the Light
has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light.

Every Warrior of the Light
has failed in his spiritual duties.

Every Warrior of the Light
has said 'yes' when he wanted to say 'no.'

Every Warrior of the Light
has hurt someone he loved.

That is why he is a Warrior of the Light,
Because he has been through all this
and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is.

Our different Pathways

This is a picture that Mira took at our neighborhood lake.
Our lake association has a "Family Fun Festival" every year at Halloween.
It is a lot of fun. Marko had been talking about it for 3 weeks.
He won the contest where you guess how many candy corns are in the jar.
I love our neighborhood!!!!
Hope you like the words below....one of my favorites.
Have a great day.
Namaste,
Michele

Manuel for Conserving Paths
By Paulo Coelho

1] The path begins with a crossroads. There you can stop and think what direction to follow. But don’t spend too much time thinking or you’ll never leave the spot. Ask yourself the classic Castañeda question: which of these paths has a heart? Reflect a lot on the choices that lie ahead, but once you have taken the first step, forget the crossroads for ever or else you will always torture yourself with the useless question: “did I take the right path?” If you listened to your heart before making the first movement, you chose the right path.

2] The path doesn’t last for ever. It is a blessing to travel the path for some time, but one day it will come to an end, so always be prepared to take leave of it at any moment. However enraptured you may be at certain landscapes, or scared whenever you have to make a great effort to go ahead, don’t get too used to anything. Neither to the hours of euphoria, nor to the endless days when everything seems so difficult and progress is so slow. Don’t forget that sooner or later an angel will appear and your journey will reach an end.

3] Honor your path. It was your choice, your decision, and just as you respect the ground you step on, that ground will respect your feet. Always do what is best to conserve and keep your path and it will do the same for you.

4] Be well equipped. Carry a small rake, a spade, a penknife. Understand that penknives are no use for dry leaves, and rakes are useless for herbs that are deep-rooted. Know also what tool to use at each moment. And take care of them, because they are your best allies.

5] The path goes forward and backward. At times you have to go back because something was lost, or else a message to be delivered was forgotten in your pocket. A well tended path enables you to go back without any great problems.

6] Take care of the path before you take care of what is around you. Attention and concentration are fundamental. Don’t be distracted by the dry leaves at the edges or by the way that others are looking after their paths. Use your energy to tend and conserve the ground that accepts your steps.

7] Be patient. Sometimes the same tasks have to be repeated, like tearing up weeds or closing holes that appear after unexpected rain. Don’t let that annoy you - that is part of the journey. Even though you are tired, even though certain tasks are repeated so often, be patient.

8] Paths cross. People can tell what the weather is like. Listen to advice, and make your own decisions. You alone are responsible for the path that was entrusted to you.

9] Nature follows its own rules. In this way, you have to be prepared for sudden changes in the fall, slippery ice in winter, the temptations of flowers in spring, thirst and showers in the summer. Make the most of each of these seasons, and don’t complain about their characteristics.

10] Make your path a mirror of yourself. By no means let yourself be influenced by the way that others care for their paths. You have your soul to listen to, and the birds to tell what your soul is saying. Let your stories be beautiful and pleasant to everything around you. Above all, let the stories that your soul tells during the journey be echoed at each and every second of the path.

11] Love your path. Without this, nothing makes any sense.

My Teacher

Marko and Me


A child can always teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.

-Paulo Coelho Quote

CHANGE by Paulo Coelho

Change.

But start slowly, because direction is more important than speed.

Sit in another chair, on the other side of the table.

Later on, change tables.

When you go out, try to walk on the other side of the street. Then

change your route, walk calmly down other streets, observing closely the

places you pass by.

Take other buses. Change your wardrobe for a while; give away your old

shoes and try to walk barefoot for a few days - even if only at home.

Take off a whole afternoon to stroll about freely, listening to the

birds or the noise of the cars.

Open and shut the drawers and doors with your left hand.

Sleep on the other side of the bed. Then try sleeping in other beds.

Watch other TV programs, read other books, live other romances - even of

only in your imagination.

Sleep until later. Go to bed earlier.

Learn a new word a day.

Eat a little less, eat a little more, eat differently; choose new

seasonings, new colors, things you have never dared to experiment.

Lunch in other places, go to other restaurants, order another kind of

drink and buy bread at another bakery.

Lunch earlier, have dinner later, or vice-versa.

Try something new every day: a new side, a new method, a new flavor, a

new way, a new pleasure, a new position.

Pick another market, another make of soap, another toothpaste.

Take a bath at different times of the day.

Use pens with different colors.

Go and visit other places.

Love more and more and in different ways. Even when you think that the

other will be frightened, suggest what you have always dreamed about doing

when you make love.

Change your bag, your wallet, your suitcases, buy new glasses, write

other poems.

Open an account in another bank, go to other cinemas, other

hairdressers, other theaters, visit new museums.

Change. And think seriously of finding another job, another activity,

work that is more like what you expect from life, more dignified, more

human.

If you cannot find reasons to be free, invent them: be creative.

And grab the chance to take a long, enjoyable trip - preferably without
any destination.

Try new things. Change again. Make another change. Experiment something
else.

You will certainly know better things and worse things than those you

already know, but that does not matter. What matters most is change,

movement, dynamism, energy.

Only what is dead does not change -
and you are alive.