Midsummer

Midsummer night's dream
encounter with the fairies
Puck enchants our souls
~~ sydsjaanu

Be sure to read up on the Summer Solstice and enjoy your midsummer day and night!

Tartan Week: Celebrating Scottish Heritage

What butter and whiskey won't
cure, there is no cure for.
-Celtic Saying

We celebrate the legacy of our shared Scottish heritage 

every year during March and April's  

National Tartan Week

In the United States, there are more than 20 million people who can claim descent from Scotland, most of whom take immense pride in their Scottish heritage. Throughout much of the country, the first week of April has come to be known as Tartan Week as the festivities of Tartan Day have increased and are now celebrated throughout the week. The festivities include a wide range of activities, cultural events and ceilidhs ('KAY-lees' - parties with singing and dancing) that celebrate the vibrancy of Scottish culture, past and present.

Woodrow Wilson said: "Every line of strength in American history is a line colored with Scottish blood." And this year's Scotland Week once again confirms Scotland's place in the hearts of Americans - and Canada too!

April 6 designated TARTAN DAY by a Resolution passed by the U.S. Senate March 20, 1998

Numerous groups and societies throughout Canada and America have taken the anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath (1320) as their national date to celebrate their Scottish roots.

On December 19th 1991, in response to action initiated by the Clans & Scottish Societies of Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a resolution proclaiming April 6th as Tartan Day, following the example of other Canadian provinces. America followed suit on March 20th 1998, when Senate Resolution 155 (S.Res. 155), proposed by US Senate Republican majority leader Trent Lott, was passed unanimously.

For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.
From The Declaration of Arbroath 1320.




How will you celebrate?

Hugs for you on Valentine's Day!

I'm sending you love and tea,
To warm your winter's day.
Think of me as you pour your cup
And all the good things we would say.

If we could be together now
Instead of miles apart,
We'd sip our teas and memories,
The sweet warmth fills the heart.
 ~~Susan Young

I appreciate you so very much!

Happiness in a Cup of Tea

...the freedom and happiness to be found in a simple cup of tea.

Oprah is interviewing Thich Nhat Hanh. She asked him "What is Happiness?"

He answers:

"Suppose you are drinking a cup of tea. When you hold your cup, you may like to breathe in, to bring your mind back to your body, and you become fully present. And when you are truly there, something else is also there—life, represented by the cup of tea. In that moment you are real, and the cup of tea is real. You are not lost in the past, in the future, in your projects, in your worries. You are free from all of these afflictions. And in that state of being free, you enjoy your tea. That is the moment of happiness, and of peace. When you brush your teeth, you may have just two minutes, but according to this practice, it is possible to produce freedom and joy during that time, because you are established in the here and now. If you are capable of brushing your teeth in mindfulness, then you will be able to enjoy the time when you take a shower, cook your breakfast, sip your tea."

To which Oprah responds "So from this point of view, there are endless conditions of happiness."

Nhat Hanh's response

"Yes. Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes."

Then Oprah says to him "With you, the tea is real."

Nhat Hanh answers

"I am real, and the tea is real. I am in the present. I don't think of the past. I don't think of the future. There is a real encounter between me and the tea, and peace, happiness and joy are possible during the time I drink."

Then Oprah comments "I never had that much thought about a cup of tea."

Read the whole interview The O Exclusive Interview

Visit the following sites for more:

More info about Thick Nhat Hanh
Mindfulness Bell

edited 1/24/2015

January, drink a cup to Hot Tea Month!

January is a time for new beginnings, health and home. 

It's also National Hot Tea Month. 

Let's drink a cup to Hot Tea Month and read a poem about home and tea! 

Is your tea kettle on? 

A True Home

 
"A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out the cold.

Yes, but home is more than that. It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother, the strength of a father.
Warmth of loving hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship.

Home is first school...for the young ones where they learn what is right, what is good, and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick.
Where joy is shared and sorrow eased.
Where fathers and mothers are respected and loved.
Where children are wanted.
Where the simplest food is good enough for kings because it is earned.
Where money is not so important as loving-kindness.
Where even the teakettle sings from happiness.

That is home."

~~Ernestine Schumann-Heink / Drawing by  Anton Pieck 

edited 1/24/2015

An Irish Blessing For The New Year

May you have:
A world of wishes at your command.
God and his angels close to hand.
Friends and family their love impart,
and Irish blessings in your heart!

May you always walk in sunshine.
May you never want for more.
May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with Fun, Peace & Joy!!!

Free Comments and Graphics

A Broken Ankle

The following is from an E-zine called Mindful Moment. This really touched me and I wanted to share Patrick's message with you (with his permission).  Patrick wrote:

This week I broke my ankle.

I was at the neighbourhood playground with my wife and son and was
carrying my son back to the house. (For those of you who don't have a
toddler, when it's time to leave the playground, it often involves
carrying your child home amid cries of "five more minutes,
pleeeeease?") Since I had him in my arms, I couldn't watch the ground
and my right foot stepped just off the paved walking path and onto a
sloped surface. I went over on my ankle - CRACK!

A few days later, as I was sitting around with my throbbing ankle
propped up on a pillow. I was beginning to feel sorry for myself when
I remembered an aquaintence of mine who works with terminally ill
patients. A few weeks ago she lost her house in a fire. Everyone was
safe, but everything was gone. As I thought about her situation, I
felt foolish for feeling sorry about my ankle. I e-mailed her at work
to let her know that I was thinking about her and to wish her well
through her ordeal.

Her message back to me contained an even broader perspective. "This
(rebuilding from the fire) is a full time plus job that I never
applied for - with few benefits and many burdens. But every one of my
patients would still love to be me."

How's THAT for a change in perspective?

Ankle? What ankle?

ENJOY NOW!

Patrick Mathieu
email: patrick (at) mathieu.com

Day Follows Day

"We have a midsummer but no midspring. We have a midwinter but no midautumn. Spring and fall are the seasons of the most obvious action and change. They are flowing this way and that continually. They have no stagnant or slack-water times.

But there comes a period in summer -- and in winter too -- when day follows day with little variation."

~Edwin Way Teale

Happy Mother's Day

A cup of tea to say thank you
For all the things you've done,
And wishes that the day will bring
You happiness and fun.
Happy Mother's Day
©birdiekity May - 1998

Click Here to see an art project with a Mother's Day message using PostIt notes!
2009 Mother's Day Message

edited 5/7/17

Mythic Journeys

I saw this film recently. It is really thought provoking.
How does your myth create your life?


Find out more about the film here

HOW TO Create Your Own Bail Out Plan

-NBC News interview-Arbonne's Donna Johnson & MGM



Amazon Best Selling Author of The Women's Millionaire Club book, Maureen G. Mulvaney, MGM, is interviewed by NBC newscaster Rick DeBruhl.

MGM and Rick discussed Home Based Business, Network Marketing, a 'Recession Proof' Business Opportunity in a Down Economy, what it takes to become a Woman Millionaire Entrepreneur.

Recession Proof' Business Opportunity:
SendOutCards

Join me at The Club:
Women's Millionaire Club

Remembering John Lennon

By 1980, former Beatle John Lennon had become an icon for the anti-war movements of the 1970s. His music embodied the struggle for peace and love amidst the horrors of war and destruction.

On December 8, 1980, Lennon emerged from his Manhattan apartment after five years of living in seclusion with his family. A fanatical fan, Mark David Chapman, obtained Lennon's autograph outside his apartment and then shot him dead.



Read more Remembering John Lennon
.
Edited 12/8/15

Every Breath

With every breath I take today,
I vow to be awake;

And every step I take,
I vow to take with a grateful heart--

So I may see with eyes of love
into the hearts of all I meet,

To ease their burden when I can
And touch them with a smile of peace.

SadMonk
Poem and image
Source: Blue Iris Sangha
Used with permission

The Power of Now

Ordinary Miracle

Ordinary Miracle: Sarah McLachlan's song from Charlotte's Web Soundtrack:

Song lyrics:

It's not that unusual when everything is beautiful
It's just another ordinary miracle today

The sky knows when its time to snow
You don't need to teach a seed to grow
It's just another ordinary miracle today

Life is like a gift they say
Wrapped up for you everyday
Open up and find a way
To give some of your own

When you wake up everyday
Please don't throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary miracle; Do you want to see a miracle? 

edited 9/5/16

The Greatest Good

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own."
~~Benjamin Disraeli

Summer Solstice

Here in the U.S. we have just seen the longest day of the year, and are now moving full into summer--a time of health and growth.

Tomato plants have blooms, the flower gardens are filling out and the baby birds in my tree are leaving their nests. I find that I need to water my plants every day in this heat and I need to take special care to keep the water in the bird bath clean and full for the birds that have chosen to live in my yard.

This is a good time to give thought to our own emotional, financial, spiritual and physical health. If we are aware of any imbalance, this is a good time to concentrate on the feeding of the "weaker" aspects and allowing ourselves to fully blossom to be the lovely creatures that we were created to be.

Here is a Haiku for you to ponder:

Summer Solstice

summer solstice
the measuring tape reels back
into its case
~~Carolyn Hall

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to wish my Mom, and all the mothers out there, a very Happy Mother’s Day.

"Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~Shakespeare

Consider this:

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
~Rajneesh

Click Here to send this Greeting Card to Mom by mail! This is not an e-card!



5 scientific reasons moms deserve Mother's Day Click Here

Click Here to see an art project with a Mother's Day message using PostIt notes!
Click Here Happy Mother's Day: A cup of tea to say...

Edited 5/8/17

First Thing In The Morning

The following is from Patrick Mathieu. He writes:

While we're on the topic of "1st thing in the morning", I thought that I'd share a morning ritual that I've created for myself that aids me in creating my perfect days.

The ritual simply involves making an espresso on my gas stove (something I do each morning), but it can easily be adapted to tea. If you like it, feel free to use it for yourself.

~~~~
I tell myself that the coffee/tea represents the raw talents and skills that I have been given, useless on its own, but incredible once combined with the other elements.

The water represents life itself, without which nothing can happen.

The gas represents the Universal Source, always available for the asking.

The spark that lights the burner is what happens when I bring my full attention to the moment and realize my connection to the Universe.
~~~~
When I am mindful of my incredible partnership with the Universal Source, I ignite a powerful force that ALWAYS works, whether I understand it or not. I don't have to DO anything beyond acknowledging and allowing. It ALWAYS heats ANYTHING that is placed within the circle of its flame. it makes no judgments or discriminations. Once I have combined this endless power with my talents and skills and with life itself, the result is INEVITABLE!

Just as when I combine coffee/tea and the water with the heat, the result is INEVITABLE.

And so it is!
~~~
As I prepare my morning coffee I consciously remind myself of these elements, thus turning this into an important ritual that centers me and prepares me for the day ahead.

ENJOY NOW!
-Patrick
http://www.whatsyourexpirydate.com

When is my Grandma coming?

Celebrate
Grandparents and Grandchildren Day

When God created grandparents
the world was truly blessed
with all the special joys
that make a family happiest...

For grandparents know how to do
the things that warm a heart,
They touch our lives with loving care
right from the very start...

They show that they believe in us
and all we're dreaming of...
When God created grandparents,
He blessed our lives with love.

~author unknown