Cat is not out of the bag 11-17-2016

This is amusing to me on a couple levels.  My cat, China, has taken a liking to and claimed this plastic bag as her own personal hidey hole of late.  I was finally able to get pictures this morning and I sent one in a message to my housemate.  For those of you familiar with the tv show Big Bang Theory and are aware of Sheldon's soft kitty, warm kitty lullaby, the second part that amused me was that this very lullabye is my alert for messages on my phone.

So picture it ( Sicily, 1949...fashion, lol), sending this in a message and then after setting down the phone you hear the lullaby (which is really appropriate in this instance) to see the housemates response.  I cannot say why China loves this bag but I do know that she spends half of her sleeping time there and the other half next to me when I am sitting on the couch.

Needless to say, currently:

The cat is NOT out of the bag :-)

Change is a good thing 11-16-2016

I have been thinking about this during the past week as I pack and ready to move and wait to hear when I ship out for my next phase of the new job as well as watching what is going on since the election.  Even if the change is not exactly as you wish it to be or perhaps the most beneficial, any change is good because let's be honest, anything that is stagnant stinks.

But any change is a step into the unknown and for most people that is uncomfortable while I myself welcome it.  I really don't care for stagnation at all.  I am willing to accept that change may not come as I would have it come but I know that as long as God is on the throne that all is well because he has it all under control, not the president elect.

There is also the fact that I am of a generation that learned respect, that I will give both of them (God and Trump) the benefit of the doubt and play a wait and see game.  I already have complete faith in God and it was a given but has also been earned and Trump, on the other hand, has not earned it at all but I have enough respect for my elders that I will give it to him until he shows me he can not have it.  This may not take long but like I said, I will wait and see.

Because, like my move, it was anticipated but has not turned out to my delight either, however, any change is movement and that is far better than nothing happening at all.  You have heard the saying "one step forward, two steps back" yes?  Well sometimes it is good to take a step back and reassess where we need to move next.  At least it is movement, as I said AND movement is far better than none.  And so I say:

Change is a good thing, it beats stagnation.

Are you true to your God given nature? 11-9-2016

This came about because I deleted a post from my personal facebook today, which, I might add, I did not personally put there in the first place AND it was an article that I had seen in a response to a friends post so I could not tag my housemate on it, so she went in and shared it to my wall so that she could read it later.  It was an article about the Canadian immigration website crashing in response to a presidential win by Trump.  I had not commented on it after she shared it either but there were responses to it that truly saddened me.

How well can you really know someone?  You think that you choose your friends well based, perhaps, on how well they treat you but until you see how they treat the whole of humanity you really don't know them at all, in my humble opinion.  People that I have known (in real life as well as on social media) that I perceived as the most loving people, were not as loving as I had thought.  I honestly tried to find the positive side of statements such as: Keep going, they probably won't take you anyway, and don't come back, bla bla bla.  There is absolutely nothing loving about any of those statements.

On the other side of it, I took those statements as if they were directed at me personally, they were on my page after all, and I asked that they unfriend me if they could not be positive on my page.  They had others who defended them saying they were not negative and yet I beg of you to show me anything positive about those sentiments.  Anyone?  Beuller?  Seriously.  Any American telling another to go and keep going and not come back is NOT a loving person at all.  This is why I trust God, he did not exclude anyone from His love, no, he sees us at our worst and loves us anyway and that, my friends is how I aspire to love, even if I have to love you from afar.

People with a negative attitude or energy cannot even see that they have a negative attitude or energy but as an empath I can feel it from you and I honestly don't comprehend how you can live like that, it feels awful.  I am not perfect BUT in my defense, I can say that I love all people and would not knowingly say anything that would hurt them.  My friends?  Not so much.  I wanted to scream at them THINK BEFORE YOU POST, your words have power and they can hurt or heal, so choose wisely.  

When I first took the comments personally it cut me to the core, it really did, thinking that is how they really feel about me (and maybe they do or did but that is not the main point here) and then I stepped back from that and the mere fact that those sentiments were left there, even if not directed at me personally, they hurt even more because they showed me the ugly side of those people, people who I thought I was aligned with.  People who I still care about, deeply but no longer trust as strongly as I had before.  If there is hate in their heart how can I trust that they do not harbor even the tiniest amount for me?

I understand that this was a contentious election with a lot of energy and hatred in it and it did not go my way or against my way because I did not hold any expectations about it and so I was neither pleased or pissed about it, it just was what it was, is what it is.  And as long as God is on the throne, nothing anyone can do in the White House is going to change my feeling one way or the other.  Sure, I am saddened by what it could mean for people I care about who are LGBT, poor or underinsured, or any of the other concerns that a Trump white house may bring to them.  But that does NOT mean that people should be ugly to each other or to others in general.  I'm sorry but I find that reprehensible.

Am I holier than thou?  Not one bit, we are ALL created equal and it our decision to create our own moral compass and honestly if you think you are better than anyone else there is something wrong with your compass, but neither are you the least.  People who think they are better than others are misguided really.  But they should at least take others' feelings into account before they open their mouths or in particular, start typing on their keyboards, where tone, inflection and true intent is not discernable.  Karma can be ugly many times but on the other hand it can be quite beautiful, it just depends on what you put out there.  And so:

In God I trust, MOST others are questionable.

Just because...10-30-2016

This occurred to me earlier when I was packing and cleaning stuff out for the move.  Yes, I realize we have a couple weeks left to move as our house is being demolished and I am trusting in God to show us our space.  But the landlord was outside doing I don't know what and muttering and grumbling and I was thinking he likely wishes we were already gone and to him it doesn't look like anything is happening here and yet there is plenty.  So I was picturing a duck, paddling like crazy under the surface and yet looking calm and serene.

And it hit me that even in the Universes plan when I don't see anything happening, it doesn't mean that nothing is.  I know I was working hard and he couldn't see it just as the universe is working for me even when I cannot see it.

And so: Just because you don't see anything happening doesn't mean that nothing is happening.

You are not always what you think you are 10-27-2016

This is so true.  Case in point:  I am a baseball fan and have not been able to find the World Series on TV here and given that people from other parts of the country have issues with being able to watch football games in their area I was about ready to join them in commiserating about the media blackout for some of us.  I searched many terms to try to find it in my local listings to no avail.  I think of myself as a pretty good researcher, even given my tendency to be easily distracted and amused while doing so.

I was ready to give up and pout a bit and was thinking I am not a good researcher after all, when I realized that many times I have gone to the best resource available, my housemate Anita.  She can find anything and do it fast and efficiently, which she did.  And I realized at that moment that I am not a bad researcher at all, she is just quicker at it and thinks a little differently so she is able to find what she is looking for without wasting any time at it.

In that moment, as I criticized myself, I was not giving myself any credit at all.  Did being less quick make me a bad researcher?  No, it did not, it just made me a less quick researcher.  In the end I did know how to get the answer to my query and sometimes the resources we use are not just on the internet and therefore my research was completed.

No, I am not a bad researcher after all and I did come to the conclusion that:

You are never what you think you are if you are not giving yourself any credit while thinking it.

Awesome 10-24-2016

Okay, this is more for my own amusement than anything else but I think we can all say this because it is true.  We are created in our makers' image and that is pretty awesome.

And I am chilly.  I am finding lately that I really love my sleep/dream time.   It could be the onset of winter with the cooler temperatures and yes we do experience that here on the islands as evidenced by locals wearing sweaters and sweatshirts or at the least long sleeves.  While it may not seem chilly here to you, you are likely from the mainland and have thicker blood and are not going to feel it like we do.  But I digress.  We have that tendency to want to hibernate when it is cooler and yes there is nothing quite like throwing on the extra quilt and snuggling up under your bedding. 

But part of it is the dreaming.  It could be because I can control them and I don't have the instantaneous ability in waking life as I do in dreams.  But they also tell us so much about ourselves and honestly mine have baffled me lately.  To the point I wake up and ponder them, sometimes asking what did I just do and why did I do that?  Nothing horrible I assure you, just strange.  Sometimes the dreams are messages, other times just working things out from waking life while I sleep.  But oddly, I still enjoy them all.

I found myself waking up early this morning and laying there for a couple more hours recalling my dreams and enjoying the warmth of my cozy bed.  It was almost hard to get up.  It was cold and the covers so warm and I really had nowhere I had to be but I have a thing about actually getting my butt out of bed in the morning even when I have no plans for the day.   I also am one of those people who it takes a while to really wake up once I am out of bed.  Unless I have to be somewhere and then I am likely to get up early enough to sort of wake up before I go anyway.

On the upside I did get my TWIC  in the mail today and I only applied for it last Wednesday, that is pretty quick, less than a week.  So I am very happy about that, just another step forward on my new job journey.  If I could only find a new pet friendly house as fast, everything would be perfect.  Everything is already good, just another little hurdle to pass.  But that is why I said:

Awesome ends with "me".  Coincidence?  I think not.

Anything is possible 10-19-2016

I believe this.  It is one of my strongest beliefs. It is quite possible and easy to make another person's day.   I was out doing errands today and I passed a homeless guy who looked up and said hello to me.  I said hello, how are you doing today and he said hanging in there and then proceeded to have a lengthy conversation with me.  His name was Todd and he told me that he was grateful I talked to him without looking down on him like so many others do and I told him that he was a person and no less than anyone else, which is true.  He said I made his day.  That felt nice, just being myself and showing kindness to all, it made his day.

Later in the day I passed a rather large woman and as we passed each other I said out loud "you are very beautiful" because I found her stunningly beautiful.  She said well thank you and I turned around and said I was sincere, she was breathtaking and she, too, said I made her day.  I was merely being honest, I did not look at her size as much as her face and the sweetness that radiated from her eyes, it made her beautiful, she just had that "something".

So step 1) interview, check

     step 2) physical, check

     step 3) TWIC completed, check

     step 4) MMC printed, signed and scanned to return, check.

Now I just have to wait to here when I ship out to Piney Point and I will be on my way into my wonderful new career.  I am happy.

Meanwhile, I look for new housing and make chimes and think how blessed I am, life is great <3  And so, yes,

Anything is possible.

All is well 10-18-2016

Indeed it is.  I have managed to jump through a couple more "hoops" for the new job and have only a couple more to do so yes, all is well.  Although being out and about keeps me from my computer, I like it just fine as I am getting in shape at the same time, what with all the walking and hiking my hill home.

I am so excited about this new adventure and will do whatever it takes to pass with flying colors, I really will.  Add to that the fact that we (my housemates and I) have to move in the next month as the owner is going to demo the house and start over, which adds another layer of busy to our schedule but I am even accepting that with great anticipation and a positive attitude and with my strong, unshakeable faith I know it will be amazing.

We don't care where we find a place as long as it accepts pets and for me personally I really want a bathtub.  Given the way the city is built and the living spaces small, tubs are not a common commodity unless you can find an older (or newer) house but they are pricey, let me tell you.  And given that once I "set sail" I will be gone 10 months of the year, it seems impractical to pay a ton of money for so little use but I do want the housemates to have a place they love, too.

This also means that once I conclude all my hoop jumping and have a sail date that I will be closing my Etsy shop since I won't be around to ship packages and such once I am aboard.  Also my public page will be left alone although I will put a link to follow me here for those who really care to see what I am really up to and if they are just there for the uplifting and motivational posters and choose not to come here then my page may self destruct itself.  Whatever ;-)  If you follow me here, please feel free to share the link to those you think may enjoy my adventures.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for my TWIC card so I can get my MMC and if you have no idea what these are, it is credentials saying you are an upstanding citizen who is no threat to the security of a maritime port.  That would be me :-D  Once these credentials are complete then I will eventually be sent off for training in Maryland for my final "hoop" and then get my offer to start.

So, even if I may lag on here, or elsewhere for that matter, I want you to know that:

All is well.

Spilling the beans, in a manner of speaking 10-15-2016

Yes, I have been a bit of a blog slacker the past 10 days but there is good reason why my attention has been focused elsewhere.  For those who actually follow me here this is my little secret (depicted in the photo) that I have been busy manifesting.  No, I did not buy it, do not own it, but I did get a conditional offer to work and live aboard it and so I have many things I have to achieve and complete for the offer to go from conditional to REAL offer.

My dream job, as it were.  Not that I dream of working because that would just be crazy, nobody dreams of working their whole life.  But if one must work then one should, at the very least, enjoy where they do their job and what could be more perfect than cruising around the Hawaiian islands for a living?  I mean seriously? 

It has always been somewhat of my dream to write a travel blog, to share pictures of the beauty I see and tell the stories of what they are about and this is the best place for someone my age to do just that.  I have not shared this info publicly anywhere else as I am still in the process of "jumping through the hoops" to make it a reality and I don't want praise for following my dreams until I am actually living them or closer to that.  But Lordy I am bursting to tell the world!

So, when I do go aboard, this blog will be so much more consistent and contain more of the local beauty that is Hawaii as well as my thoughts and experiences on board.  Okay it may not technically be a "travel" blog since it will not be all over the world or even the country but it is a place to start and then maybe transfer to another of NCL's ships with an international destination.  I don't know if that is even possible but I believe all things are possible, so why not?

Plus I have been making my new chime "curtains" to sell to help pay the rent and given that we have to move next month I need to make serious funds.  So yeah, I get a little preoccupied with other things from time to time but once on board my beautiful new home those thing will no longer distract me from doing what I really love doing.

Just because they are beautiful I am sharing this photo of one of the chimes I did recently:

This one is over 4 feet long!  So pretty, I do good work ;-)  and should you be interested in buying them, you can find them here:

Chimes

Life is amazing and I just love how the Universe always conspires in our favor, we just have to get out of the way and let it.

I've been a little busy 10-5-2016

As you can see from my photos, I have been more than a tad busy this past week.  Not that I haven't thought about blogging, but since the orders were all prepaid, I felt an obligation to finish these chimes before I moved on to anything else.  And so the answer is yes, other areas may have been neglected.

That said, I do love making my chimes and creating beauty for others' enjoyment, it gives me a great deal of pleasure AND it is also true that it is a rather zen-like process in creation.  I am free to let my thoughts go where they will and not be attached to them as they do because many times amazing thoughts come through.

Like the fact that ANYTHING is possible.  Anything at all. History has repeatedly shown and told us this is the case, from the bible, to The Wizard of Oz movie, to many great thinkers.  We have the power within us to do anything at all, to create whatever it is we desire.  Even Jesus said you can do these things (I do) and more if only you believe.  The many He healed were healed because of their belief, as much as His touch.  Think about it.

Great things are happening in Chrissyland over here and as much as I would love to share them with you now I must wait as they manifest themselves, but they ARE manifesting.  And in the kindtime, I make my chimes and do house cleaning jobs as they pop up and sadly my blog sits, lonely, waiting for my return.  I know I said I would make an effort to be more present and I have been, just not here.  Because, as you can plainly see:

I have been a little busy.

P.S. If you would like to order yourself a beautiful piece of artwork (chimes) you can message me here:

Chimes

I'm all about the chimes 9-30-2016

It really was my intent to blog more this week, sitting on a stool and all, but inspiration happens.  And thus my week has been full.  I created this first one (above) just to see what it would look and sound like and it was stunning.  So I posted it to my facebook page, as I do, to get the pictures from my camera to my PC because I do not have a suitable cord to do it directly, and BOOM--people were all over it and it sold within  2 hours of my posting it with more orders that so far will keep me busy for the next week at least (currently).

This makes for a happy Chrissy, but a busy Chrissy and I get so in the zone in the making of my chimes that all my other online endeavors take a back seat for the ride.  They truly are works of art, in my humble opinion, but the majority seem to agree with me.

This was #2

Yes, the picture is darker than I like but I got so wrapped up in starting #3 that I almost forgot to get pictures before the sun started going down.  It's a zone, I can't resist a zone when I am in it.  I am so present when I am creating and I love that space.  And honestly, it is paying the bills so this is a very good thing.  And that is why, for now:

I'm all about the chimes.

The cat wins 9-25-2016

Yes it has been a bit since my last entry and there is a reason for that.  Part of it is explained by my last entry and the other half is explained by the poster above.  Right now I am sitting on a stool because the cat, China, has decided that my chair is the most comfortable place in the house.

Yes, the chair is on wheels and I could have rolled her away from the desk a week ago but I just couldn't bring myself to disturb her because then she gets vocal and screams at me and nobody wants to hear that.  But I decided it was high time to catch up online and so I rolled the chair and cat into the middle of the room and grabbed my little stool to perch upon.

And here we are.  I spent the past couple of days making a lovely wind chime which I will likely post here tomorrow because I am rather proud of it.  And the more I look at it the more I love it.  How is that for a little teaser?

Been busy looking for work to carry me through until my new gig starts and it is something I enjoy as well as making my chimes and the combination of the 2 would be quite nice I believe.

I also went on a cleaning streak here at home, it needed it and I am pleased with that effort as well.  I have spent some time time in the past week with a good friend, too, and so the past week has been good since I left the job that was sucking the soul out of me.  Sure, finances are not perfect but there is no dollar amount you can place on peace of mind and following where your soul leads you.

I will make the effort to be more present here no matter where the cat is but until now she has been the big obstacle to me getting on my computer lately because...

When it comes to the furniture... the cat always wins.

My cup runneth over 9-14-16

Most of the time I am just thankful for the cup and today is no exception.  Another day off and since it has been pouring rain off and on and otherwise quite overcast I have been just relishing doing nothing.  Well almost nothing as I have been thinking but then unless one is meditating it is difficult to not think at all.

I am not a quitter although I do believe it is time to move on from the current JOB, as in just over broke, and get out of what I mostly consider to be a bit of a hellish hole I got myself into.  I thought employment would be wonderful for getting me out of a financial hole but it turns out that I spend a minimum of 16 hours a week commuting to a thankless job that is barely making rent.  My bad.

This week I have been thinking about how when you step out in faith the door will open and I am going to trust that it will.  Wearing myself out physically, mentally and emotionally is also dragging me down spiritually and I am worthy of far better than that and self inflicting it is just nonsense.

I want to be energized by the things I do, not drained by them.  When I was much younger my husband held the same job for many years and I did not do the same.  He asked why I never stayed anywhere longer than 2-3 years and I said I got bored and I need stimulation to thrive.  He said there was something to be said for stability and I said yes, it is boring unless you have a true passion for it.

I still believe that to this day and although stability is nice, nothing lasts forever and when we are young I think it is the perfect time to try many things to see what fits us, what excites and empowers us.  I know for me it allowed me to see my many strengths, gifts and talents as well as my weaknesses and to be able to grow by learning all of that.  And isn't that why we are here?  To learn?

I was watching a revival on facebook last week and it was repeated many times: RELEASE (the praise), RECEIVE (the blessings), REPEAT and it stuck with me.  I know that we have to believe to see what we ask for and I am all for releasing the praise as I do on a regular basis. Release, receive, repeat.  And so I have been doing that.  Well, the releasing anyway.

I was on my way in to work yesterday and my gut said, NO, don't go! and so I asked myself one question:  Does doing this bring me joy?   And honestly the answer was no, it does not.  So I had my answer, it is time to get out while there is a trace of ME left.  And while I did continue in to work, I was regretting it 5 minutes later.  Life is far too short to have regrets and I knew it.

So I am looking for other means of making finances that will allow me to be joyful about what I am doing and that will also allow me to do things I love, writing here for example.  And so today I can say:

My cup runneth over.

Making life better 9-11-2016

Many times I ask this of myself as well but I really do want to make people's lives better.  And yet I have deprived myself (and anyone else who follows me here) of writing for the past couple weeks.  Working so hard for so little has been a life sucking experience and so I continue on with looking for something that will add energy instead of taking it from me.

Not only has it physically drained me but it has left me uninspired and too exhausted at the end of the day to want to even get on my computer let alone write.  It has taken everything I have to not be totally negative, working in an environment that is less than uplifting.

And so here I am, with not much to say because I honestly don't want to think.  I merely want to meditate and hear whatever it is the Universe has to tell me.  But when I do get still and quiet I nearly fall asleep and then wonder if that is what the Universe is saying I need right now.  I cannot say for sure.

But what I can say is that I still have faith as strong as ever even if I am not seeing the desires of my heart at this moment.  Faith is believing in what you cannot yet see, the substance of things hoped for and so I cling to that for now.

I know that I create it all and sometimes when I create things I think I want it turns out that it wasn't exactly what I wanted because I asked and then took things into my own hands instead of trusting fully that the Universe had it all under control, as it does.

For me, today, it is about surrender.  Not to defeat but to trusting that what is coming is so magnificent that even I, in my wildest dreams, cannot fathom it.  So for now I will once again trust the Universe and watch things turn around even better than I asked for.  And that makes my life better today.  So:

What can I do to make your life better today?

Chimes 8-29-2016

https://www.facebook.com/KalikasCardsAndGifts/videos/1113937395363239/

Because it is what I love doing and so what is on my mind and heart today.  The link will take you to the sound video and it is a lovely chime if I do say so myself.  And I do :-D

I have been so busy commuting to and from a job that is so not me and so I was out and about seeking something closer to home today and I was thinking how I really don't want to work for someone else's dream, I want to work on mine and that is building and selling my chimes.

It is what I really enjoy doing and I cannot wait for the Christmas season rush for an income and want a more steady stream coming in that will allow me to do that which I love doing.  Don't get me wrong, I love the work and the people I work with but it is so hard on this aged body to be on my feet a solid 8 hours a day without any real breaks and then a long commute home and a mile hike uphill after I get off the bus.  I am beating the crap out of my body and my body and I are NOT liking it at all.

I realize I don't have many followers here now and so maybe it is more of a "venting" thing today since this is my third day off from a kitchen that is short-staffed and I cannot even begin to comprehend the logic in this.  Now Granted, I did want shorter days but not fewer and so it feels like punishment for saying what I want.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but either way it feels like it.

I am not asking for much at all, just to sell one chime a day, should be easier than it is, given that they are handcrafted and heck, I would settle for selling one every other day and be happy.  I just have yet to find the means to do that, except in December.  They say if you do what you love for a living you will never "work" a day in your life.  That would be nice.

Although this has not yet been listed on Etsy, you can find my shop at the link below and this one will go up after the 1st of September, it's a billing thing and lack of real cash flow at the moment.  But if you want this one, you can message me and I can put it up prior to Thursday.

Chimes on Etsy

What if....8-28-2016

Playing this little game in my head is one of the reasons I am grateful for everything.  We are, at any given moment, exactly where we are meant to be for our highest good and growth.  Really.  If you think back and look at any one experience in your life and it had NOT happened, life might look very different for you today.

I can pick thousands of little moments and ask the question and even if I cannot honestly say where I would be today, I know, deep down, it would look very different than it currently does.  I think back to the day I saw my first love and had that not happened I would not have the wonderful son that I did have, now.  Had I not had the experience of a head on (car) collision, with a traumatic brain injury, and a second chance to be an infant, of sorts, I would likely be somewhere very different than I am now.

So as I am going about my day and things occur, I am grateful because even if I don't know where it will lead me, I know that it will lead me to exactly where I need to go and to be.  We cannot look into the future so much as we can somewhat predict it, not exactly, but in general, by our thoughts and actions now.  What we focus on is what becomes, be it with positive or negative energy we give it.  If you are always believing the best, that is what you will find and if you are always believing the worst, that, too, is what you will find.

I cannot even adequately predict my own future in general since I take each moment as it is and it is not that I lack focus, entirely, as I simply trust the universe to lead me where I most need to go and do what I most need to do.  I would imagine that if I focused constantly on my dreams they might arrive quicker but I have this firm belief that the ultimate power lies with the universe, or God, who are in control of all things and I try to not input anything of my ego into anything that is not in the "grand design" of God's plan for me.

I will always look for the best in everything and find the silver lining in any cloud and love my way to the last breath, I just want to not fight the flow of the universal plan and so I may "float" at times, letting it put me where it will and keep my dreams in the background of my thoughts.  It's one of those things I need to work on I suppose.  But everything happens for a reason and so for that reason I am grateful for all of it.  Because, seriously....

What would be different if any one experience in your life had NOT happened.  Ponder this.

You can also find me here:

https://www.facebook.com/Radiating1love/

I have been busy 8-27-2016

As much as I was loving posting more regularly, and it pains me (in more ways than one) to say this gal has to work for a living, the new job and long commute times leave no time or energy for keeping up with or having an online presence.  This will not always be the case but for now, working in a new restaurant that just officially opened 3 days ago and taking the bus plus hiking to and from said bus, my time is all consumed.

I enjoy the actual work itself, the people are amazing and the food we make is phenomenal, but the whole 8 hours on my feet there for the day, after not having done that in like forever, is hard on this aging lady and her feet and back.  It just is.  Otherwise they treat the staff as family and even have a family meal for us everyday, but it, too, is consumed standing up either at or near our stations.  Restaurant life is hectic and me thinks I am just getting too old for it.

I am not complaining (too much) because a source of revenue is a necessity if I want to keep a roof over my head.  But until I actually figure out how to get my little wind chime business to be more fluidly profitable so that it is all that I am doing, this is my life.

So until that time, I can only update here on the weekends, not that anyone else cares, but I care.  I enjoy writing here and sharing my posters, I really do.  I am an artist at heart and working towards someone else's dream is a hard one for me, I want to work on my own dream, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do to survive.

If I do get truly inspired over the weekend(s) I may write more pieces and just share them in the mornings before I take off for work during the week, but inspiration cannot be forced and so I can not guarantee this :-)

So if I do not post most every day for awhile at least you will know:

I have not disappeared from the face of the planet, I have just been very busy.

If you should want to help a sistah out, you can peruse my chimes here:

My Etsy shop

Random 8-22-2016

Random things, because honestly, that is the way things come to mind for me, but be warned, it's another long one:

All I have seen teaches me to trust my creator for all that I have not yet seen. I just sometimes forget to trust in myself. It happens. And I also sometimes find it difficult to be in a human body, although I am so very grateful for the opportunity to be human. And as long as I am outing myself, I must also come out of the closet and confess I am a baseball fanatic. Until recently I watched it after my housemates retired to their room in the evenings. But then they caught me watching and I had to confess I was a closeted baseball fan. It is the only sport I truly enjoy watching a whole season of, although I do enjoy the Winter Olympic games as well.

But back to my point, I'm sure I must have had one when I started before I veered off into left field (hehehe I made a pun), and it was about trust. I was trying to figure out the difference between trust and faith since in church I learned that faith is the substance of things we hope for, pray for. And in my thinking (yeah, you know, Chrissy logic) trust is believing it WILL come to pass, no matter which way it turns out, to be the best outcome for the highest good of all concerned (as it should be and I believe it actually is). But how are they different? Or are they different? The bible even says "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding" and "Ye of little faith, you have not because you ask not" so both faith and trust are mentioned.

We were created, each unique, the only one of us that will ever be and that is a miracle in itself. How can I not trust in an intelligence that can do that? And the creation of nature, so beautiful and diverse as well, each with its own eco system and fauna unique to each area. I find that fascinating. And I get to be a part of the whole. So it behooves me to trust in all things being possible even if I cannot yet see them with my human eyes.

Some days I am more human in my thoughts, which tends to be somewhat stressful because I know the essence of me is perfectly fine and at peace at all times. The essence of me, my spirit or soul, if you will, has always been fine and always will be. I know this. Lets look at it this way: you are not your body (think of a person who is maybe paraplegic) and you are not your mind (think here of someone with Alzheimer's or dementia) and in both cases neither ceases to be because of the loss of one or the other. Do you follow my logic? It is spirit, that pure energy, that makes us...well, us. And spirit never "dies", it just moves on, continuing to be. And some days, which I cannot figure out for the life of me why, I tend to be more human and get my head more wrapped around human thought than just being the happy observer of them.

Sure, I trust the Universe completely, but some times I forget to trust myself. Not often because those days cause the low energy and I have a difficult time when my energy is low. It is easy to perpetuate that cycle, as easy as it is easy to perpetuate the higher cycles. But both are needed to remind us of the contrast. So if I go missing for a few days from writing, I am usually thinking on something or busy with other enjoyable things.

I love my home. (I did say this was all random, yes?) It is not fancy but nothing about me is, I don't need pretentiousness in my life. But it is a loving and safe environment for me to feel protected, like a womb. Not that I feel unsafe anywhere on the island or anywhere else, but the energies of other people can sometimes be overwhelming to me. It is my sanctuary. Many times when I am out and about it almost feels like I am in the twilight zone (except at my favorite beach collecting glass and shells), which I find amusing and catch myself giggling and that is enjoyable for awhile, however one can only do so many hours of that before one needs a moment to breathe.

Really random: most of my friends here do not own cars and drive themselves around. I, too, was a bike and bus person my first couple of years here and having a vehicle for the past ten years has sort of spoiled me I think. But I am oh so grateful for my 30 year old baby. She may not be the prettiest anymore but she is solid and always runs great.

I learn something new every single day. Seriously. Before today I had never even heard of ginger bug OR how to make it.

I saw this photo on Facebook that had a duck and the quote for it was "Be like a duck, all peaceful and serene on the surface and paddling like the dickens below the surface" and I couldn't disagree more. If you are serene under the surface, the surface cannot reflect anything but that serenity. That quote is saying to be fake not transparently who you are. How on earth did something like that surface on my feeds? I suppose it was just another lesson that I am on my path, the one that is right for me. Contrast again.

Is anyone as fascinated by thinking about air as I am? Seriously, we are breathing the same air that has been breathed in for centuries. Which also goes hand in hand with everything being connected, not just by the mere fact that we all breathe the same air but that the carbon dioxide we exhale is then breathed in by the trees to be exhaled back to us as air. I find it difficult to find any separation in the universe.

Treasure the ones you love, love the ones you treasure.

Years ago, when I was a teenager, I loved this poem and I decoupaged it on a lovely wooden plaque. But all of my childhood things are gone and I couldn't remember the name of the poem or the last half of it. Bing is a wonderful thing and now I have it again, discovered on an enchanting little site called English Rose, so here it is:

A Pattern For Living
"Love one another as I have loved you"
May seem impossible to do,
But if you will try to trust and believe,
Great are the joys that you will receive,
For love makes us patient, understanding and kind,
And we judge with our hearts and not with our minds,
For as soon as love entered the heart's open door,
The faults we once saw are not there anymore-
And the things that seemed wrong begin to look right,
When viewed in the softness of love's gentle light,
For love works in ways that are wondrous and strange,
And there is nothing in life that love cannot change,
And all that God promised will someday come true,
When you have loved one another, the way He loved you.
by Helen Steiner Rice

I would rather die of passion than of boredom- Vincent Van Gogh

What if nobody showed up at the polls for the next election? This ponderance brought to you by the big smile that lit my face when I had that thought😁. Anita says we would look weak to the rest of the world and would soon be under attack. I always heard that united we stand and divided we fall and what would it say if we did that other than we ARE united? Was the Constitution not written as we, the people? Plus if the world looked at us doing that they might believe we were crazy and nobody wants to mess with crazy. Right? Plus, in the immortal words of (fill in the artists name here since I cannot for the life of me think of it at the moment and all I keep thinking is Jimmy Buffet) "I've always been crazy but its kept me from going insane" so crazy is not an evil thing.

Yep, these are the things that have been in my brain this week.

On Nastiness 8-21-2016

This one came about because, as usual, I was trying to be kind and help someone and I was told off very nastily and with much vehemence and I  let it bother me for a couple hours before I let it go as I thought about it not being my kindness but their ugliness that was at the heart of it and decided to write about it.

Part of me wanted to warn you to NEVER help anyone if they don't ask you for help but that is not my nature.  I just sometimes forget that it is a foreign concept to many people that you want to help them succeed and that is why you offer the help in the first place.  I have never once had a homeless person be rude to me for offering them money even if they did not ask for it.  And the thank you that they have given IS the proper response.

And to those of you who may not be familiar with kind people who just want to help others, should they offer you help, even if you do not want it, just say "thank you" and go your miserable or merry little way.  There is no reason to bite the hand that offers to assist you, none whatsoever.  So don't be ugly, okay? 

Sure, I could have just as easily (well not really as it is not my nature) have sought revenge on them and returned the hurtfulness.  But that is not a proper or positive response now is it?  I know that people can react that way for whatever perceived wrong that has been done to them, but I was not malicious in my offer and so did not see that reaction coming at all.  It really rather blew my mind for a minute.

While it is quite reasonable to think, from an egoistic perspective, that someone trying to help you is an insult to your intelligence, it is not at all.  People who come from a loving, helpful space do not see themselves as better than anyone else, only wanting to assist others with the lessons they learned from their mistakes so that others do not have to go through that as they did.

So the next time you want to offer assistance remember that not everyone will appreciate your kindness and may react with hostility.  And the next time someone offers you assistance, just say thank you and don't crush the person offering the assistance, that is just mean and ugly.  And that is why I say:

Some people will return your kindness with nastiness and it will have nothing to do with your kindness.

You can also find me here:

https://www.facebook.com/Radiating1love/

Wealthy 8-20-2016

This is more than just a message to myself, this is meant for all beings and all things in my life, for which I am truly grateful.  If you think about it we are all richer for the people and things in our lives, we really are.

Wealth is not measured by a number in your bank account, it is measured by all the love, peace, joy and serenity we possess in our lives.  I have no money and yet I am wealthy beyond measure, above what many people with billions of dollars have, in my humble opinion.

I am not saying that all people with big bank accounts are miserable but many are, they worry about keeping it and honestly how joyful can you be if you are worrying?  They cannot take it with them when they leave this plane, all they can take is the love they created and from what I have seen they are less likely to trust others because of their "wealth", as if every other person they meet only wants that from them.  How sad is that?

No, I may not have much in the monetary sense, but I have a lot of love to share, a ton of compassion and empathy and would give what little I do have to someone who needed it more than I  as I know that I am always provided for. Always. It is a matter of trust.  I trust and believe that the universe is always conspiring in my favor and will always provide for me what I need and sure enough, it does.

And in reality, money does not change you, it only amplifies the person you already are.  If you are kind and loving as a "poor" person, then money will only amplify that since you are going to have more to share with others.  If you are stingy and hoard what little you have, having money will amplify that as well.

Point being, money does not make you wealthy, only to those who view money as wealth, but to those who understand what real wealth is, money is just a tool.  Sure, a tool I would like more of, but the lack of it does not prevent me from seeing my real wealth.  And I do see my true wealth:

I am wealthy beyond measure simply because you are in my life.

Please feel free to join me here as well:

https://www.facebook.com/Radiating1love/ 

Let love lead you 8-19-2016

I would like to say that I love all things equally but I would be lying.  While it may be true that I am grateful for all things equally, for the pleasant things that add more joy to my life as well as the less than pleasant things that add wisdom to my life, I cannot, in all honesty, say that I love them all equally.

For instance, I love nature, I really do or I would more than likely live in the city rather than in a rain forest and yet I cannot say I love that rain soaking me as I walk to get on an air conditioned bus to freeze for over 2 hours to get to work, as much as I love the forest.  And yet on a day off it can pour outside and I love that, the sound, the smell, the cooler temperature, as much as I love the forest itself.

I do try to let love lead me to anything, everything and everyone that the universe wants for me to experience.  And I am utterly grateful for it all, but perhaps I do not love it all the same.  And that is okay.  It is the contrast, after all, that we are after in this physical form and without it we would never know what we want or don't want, like or don't really care for.  So it is all good.

Yes I have missed a few days here on my blog, work happens and with that a lot of commute time with it, which takes away from time on my computer.  But for right now, that is as it should be and I will continue here as I can, when I can.

In the kindtime I will let love lead me and I sincerely hope that you:

Let love lead you.

Feel free to join me here as well:

https://www.facebook.com/Radiating1love/