I was recently in Indiana.  It is one of the states I grew up in.  While I have often had a love/hate relationship with this place due to the challenges of being an adolescent, I have discovered living away from "my home" has made me a richer person, in depth and clarity.   I have also discovered my greatest love in still there, present within her borders.   I have determined I am going home to claim it and cherish it.  

When I gaze into this sunrise it symbolizes the beginning of a new life for me.   A path laid before me I was unsure I would ever find or have access to.  I am always thrilled and in awe of where life takes me and today is no different.   While there are mysteries still here for me to solve, I know in my heart I am being lead by an Unseen Hand to the exact place where I will be able to touch countless lives with this love.   I am humbled to have such a call on my life and this powerful love waiting to welcome me home again.  

I have searched
myself
laid myself bare
when I go down
so deep
I always find you 
there.

My heart lives outside my body

I can feel its beat

in anothers chest

rising and falling

with every breath

My heart is where it belongs

where I belong

every beat

every day

brings me closer

to where I am supposed to be

One day I will come back to

the wholeness I only feel

in part now. 

Until then my heart will

continue to beat

in anothers chest

rising and falling

with every breath.

Are you hungry?  We have fast food but what you probably need is a home cooked meal.  I know of this family run Gasthaus that makes the most amazing Jager Schnitzel.   What is that?  It’s a pork tenderloin with mushroom gravy.  The type of food you call on for comfort; it fills not only your stomach but can also nurture your soul.   You will be here for a short while and we want you to consider this place home.  Come on inside.

 
Don’t forget we want pommes frites on the side, your tour guide calls after the waitress.  What?  Oh, French fries.  She tells you they will be fantastic covered with the mushroom gravy.  There is nothing like the little rush of serotonin to make you feel content and happy.  Although you can have mayo on the side if you prefer, she says.  Mayo?!  What?! 

Your tour guide will often recommend odd things to eat, food that seems strange to you.    Try experiencing a different place through your palate.  Either your taste buds will reveal a new appreciation of the area or if you refuse new flavors, you will be missing an important part of another culture.  One of the most amazing things to find in a new place is the food, foreign yet fantastic.   It's true also you will notice that not everything is rushed in other countries.  Some of life’s best moments are had sitting at a table with friends with a bottle of house wine and laughter while you sample a new dish.   

We race through life most of the time, only pausing to treasure holidays when truly every day is an occasion to cherish your relationships.   Candles are lit here; no one cares if they are in fancy candle holders.  The ones in this Gasthaus are in old beer mugs and the reflective light shines through the hollows of the outer glass beautifully.    The table linens are a little thread bare in spots but the cloth napkins are folded in the shapes of tiny ships so you barely even notice because you are enthralled with the talent it must take to learn how to fold like that.   The smiling face across the table is your tour guide and she is merrily telling tales of this village’s history, the little snippets of information to make this much more than any old trip where you don’t know another soul. 

“So bitte…“ Trails off the voice of your server as platters are laid across the table family style, each with a spoon in it.  Go on, help yourself.    You are amazed at the magnificent spread of food.  You rarely see so many smiling faces around your holiday table.  Yes the décor would probably be considered substandard to those you associate with, those who would never set a table with such items but on this day you come to understand it isn’t the plates and linens that are important;  it is the company you keep.  The celebration of a simple meal shared with a friend in a place where you feel accepted and loved.  This is how every day, every meal should be savored.    Why is it you have to travel so far from home to understand what is truly one of the most important things in life?

I live for
stolen moments
of warmth
spreading through
my limbs
for the tender
kisses I feel
dropped on my skin
for the laughter
that brings light
to my day.
I yearn for
this love
this man
his intensity
his passion
his presence always
consumes me
I thirst to drink from
his cup,
to have it spill over me
splashing
creating a beautiful mess
one I don’t care to clean up
I care only for him and
every moment I treasure
until our forever comes

Peanut butter and Jelly
suit one another
beautifully
each is fair 
on its own
but once they come
together
blending into the other
something happens
the taste is different
sweeter
satisfying the craving
you weren’t aware
you even had
they can remain separate
but peanut butter and jelly
truly belong together   

Change takes time.   Creating art takes time.  It takes minutes, hours, days, months, and years to create a masterpiece.  It also takes contemplation.   I always feel like I have to be in a hurry to get it done but sometimes it may be better to slow the process down and treasure the creation.  As a woman waits nine months for a child to grow in her, she has the time available to wonder what they will look like and who they will become.  Let's approach our creativity in the same way, with the same wonder, and enjoy the process to its completion.

I found this in my writing journal and I wanted to share it with you.  

The main job of a tour guide, most would say, is to make getting around a simple process.   But I’ve already been here before; you assure your guide, don’t worry about me.   Well, perhaps you have, but wandering into Charles de Gaulle Etoile surrounding L’Arc de Triomphe in Paris where half dozen avenues converge isn’t the place to be when you think you know it all.  Let your tour guide help you navigate this insanity.  

No, not yet, as you push in, coming up alongside a bus that seems to be moving horizontally against the traffic; there are horns blaring, fingers flying, palms slamming steering wheels in exasperation.  You find your car is nudged back to the center of the circle again and again. Why does this keep happening to you?  Circling the Arc de Triumph is a little like life; our own stubbornness can keep us going in circles, refusing to accept help until we’ve encountered the same scenery again and again. 

It’s good to have a friendly, non-judgmental face that somehow seems to have the whistle of the nearest Gendarme beside them to help you through the traffic.  Your tour guide easily guides you through the madness and you find yourself safely heading down the Champs-Elysees.  Sometimes having been there and done that before doesn’t always apply in a situation where you find yourself going in circles.   You have to be crazy or brave or even a bit of both to dart into the onslaught of cars, dodging the driver coming at your side door.  

There are no lines on this traffic circle just like there are no lines in life.  When you navigate the path you’re on, it can take you away from the safest route and into places you’re not comfortable with yet your tour guide is there, beckoning you to take that last turn.  It takes a little humility to be able to swallow your pride and admit you didn’t know what you were doing.   But your tour guide won’t ever bring up your mistakes.  They are there to keep you safe, not to dwell on the negative aspects of the situation.  And they will happily recount to anyone standing still that you made it through the Place d’Etoile intact and hearing it re-told with gusto will remind you sometimes the struggle is the best part of the journey.   

Nature and your environment, the places you love speak to you...are you listening?  

My world has a fair amount of water in it.   I am fortunate to live in a place my friends call  "a vacation destination".    There are beaches, fishing galore, historic places, natural beauty, abundant wildlife, different cuisines, shopping, you name it.   It's home to me right now.   Calm and serene usually, the only time there is a ruckus is because of the wake behind your boat.   Life is a little slower here, simpler.   Not too much stimulation to make you jittery but enough to keep you enthralled.

I tell you these things because I wonder where you live in the world.   Do you love it or is it just where you ended up due to family, life circumstances, you name it.   Where would you choose to live if money wasn't an issue?   Do you dream about a house by the sea, moss hanging from an old oak tree in your yard?  Perhaps your vision is on another coast, high above the ocean and sandy beaches?   A timber framed cottage high in the mountains with only the morning mist to greet you or a sprawling ranch on the plains?    

Where do you live in your dreams?   

You may not be able to go back and right the choices you have made 
but you can begin again today to recreate the life you imagined.  ~ Sandy McEuen 

One day my heart will be

allowed to show itself 

Its true feelings 

are hidden away

 

My heart yearns for

these arms 

to hold me close

and never let me

go again

For the touch

the kiss

the smile

the laughter

The voice

I love to listen to, 

a healing balm

for my soul

 

I will wait for time

to makes its move

to clear the way for

my heart to show 

itself  to the world

 

 

 

 

Happiness.  Here, now, in this moment.  What is happiness for you?  


I have found myself and now everyday I find my happiness.  I have become true to my work, to inspire others along the way, and to allow my real self to surface without fear of what anyone might think.

Did you know our Declaration of Independence guarantees us as a right the pursuit of happiness?  It does.  I find that truly amazing.  But of course, the kicker is that we have to pursue it.  


Ultimately, genuine happiness can only be realized once we commit to making it a personal priority in our lives.

My question is this:  Are you pursing happiness in your life?  Do you appreciate happiness when it comes or do you push it aside, feeling unworthy of its presence?  Did you know you can be happy throughout any circumstance in your life?  Would you commit to pursuing happiness this year, if you knew you would really discover it?

Would you like to know what makes me happy?  Simple things:  reading, doing yoga, writing, being warm, speaking French, singing, impromptu hugs from my children and their friends at school, sunshine, watching geese fall gracefully into a still pond, seeing the sun rise and set, watching the clouds in the day and stars at night, fishing, talking and laughing, taking a great picture, making people smile, enjoying a good meal, riding my bike, traveling across the country or across the world...taking time to savor life and all its many blessings.

While I own many things that make me happy in the form of material comforts, my lasting contentment comes more from being grateful and open to everything in life.  Once I began to sow gratitude into my daily life, everything seemed to make me happy because I began to notice how much I already had.

I'm convinced if you begin to seek gratitude in your pursuit of happiness, it may be the only thing you really need to do to open your eyes to what makes you truly happy.

How do you cultivate gratitude?  One of the easiest ways I was taught is to be thankful for what exists in your life right now, writing it down daily, tell yourself out loud, giving thanks as often as you can.  The harvest gratitude brings will come if you are diligent in this process.  For days it may seem as if nothing has happened and then suddenly it will transform your life in a twinkling of an eye.  And then it will seem as if everything will in turn bring you a sense of happiness you may never have experienced before.

I wish happiness finds you today but more importantly, I wish for you to pursue gratitude and happiness will be present in your life always.