About Me
- Sandscript
- My life as a multimedia artist, poet and creative writing instructor has brought me to a deep awareness of nature's importance in my life. Beginning each day with a walk in a wildlife sanctuary keeps me healthy and spiritually centered. I look forward to sharing my experience with others through my blog, Quiet Waters.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
REFRESHED REVIVED RENEWED
Last autumn, with the onset of cold weather, I had brought several plants from the patio to the warmth of the house to wait out the winter.
On New Year's day, I chanced to notice one planter I'd tucked into a corner on the kitchen counter.
A sad sight met my eyes.
The once robust green leaves were drooping over the sides of the container, and dry, yellow twigs and leaves had fallen all around.
Caught up in the bustle of the holidays, I had neglected to water this poor, languishing plant.
Immediately, I took out the watering can and gave it a good, long drink, apologizing for my thoughtlessness as the water trickled into the arid soil.
On the next morning, I was astonished to see the plant once again covered with hearty, healthy green leaves. All it had needed was a bit of refreshing water to be at its best again.
How often we are like the poor deprived plant, needing desperately to be renewed.
Perhaps we have neglected to care for our own needs as we've generously offered our time and energies to the needs of others.
Or, we may have felt our lives dry and wilting due to overwork, lonliness, illness or the difficulties of aging.
Whatever our case may be, there is something that would act as cool reviving water to our spirit.
What is it in your life?
A little rest?
Reaching out to make a new friend?
A new activity to divert your thoughts from your difficulties?
There are many possibilities.
Think it over, and vow to give yourself that which will refresh and renew your enjoyment of life.
Blessings for a beautiful 2011! Sandra
On New Year's day, I chanced to notice one planter I'd tucked into a corner on the kitchen counter.
A sad sight met my eyes.
The once robust green leaves were drooping over the sides of the container, and dry, yellow twigs and leaves had fallen all around.
Caught up in the bustle of the holidays, I had neglected to water this poor, languishing plant.
Immediately, I took out the watering can and gave it a good, long drink, apologizing for my thoughtlessness as the water trickled into the arid soil.
On the next morning, I was astonished to see the plant once again covered with hearty, healthy green leaves. All it had needed was a bit of refreshing water to be at its best again.
How often we are like the poor deprived plant, needing desperately to be renewed.
Perhaps we have neglected to care for our own needs as we've generously offered our time and energies to the needs of others.
Or, we may have felt our lives dry and wilting due to overwork, lonliness, illness or the difficulties of aging.
Whatever our case may be, there is something that would act as cool reviving water to our spirit.
What is it in your life?
A little rest?
Reaching out to make a new friend?
A new activity to divert your thoughts from your difficulties?
There are many possibilities.
Think it over, and vow to give yourself that which will refresh and renew your enjoyment of life.
Blessings for a beautiful 2011! Sandra
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Places on the Path
At certian places on the trail, I walk in near darkness, the morning sun hardly penetrating the thick green canopy overhead.
Yet, when I look up the path, I can see, in the distance, a place I'll soon reach that is bathed in sunlight.
I know that, once there, I'll see butterflies fluttering above a lovely patch of blue and gold wildflowers and dragon flies hovering over sleepy pond waters.
This knowledge brings a sense of peace, and I am hopeful as I walk in the direction of the light.
Each of us must walk through dark areas of life where the light of happiness seems dim.
Such times are as much a part of life as their opposite.
Yet, without these darker experiences, we wouldn't appreciate the brighter, better times when they come to us....and yes, they will come to us.
It helps to keep a positive, hopeful attitude as we walk and to trust that, up ahead, something bright and beautiful is waiting.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Nature's Freedom
On the other side of my fence, a field of wildflowers sways and dances in the summer breeze.
The image of freedom, these colorful beauties flurish only when given the right to grow and spread at will. Many wildflowers, when planted within the confines of a garden, fail to thrive, and when cut for bouquets, they quickly droop and wither.
Freedom seems to be at the core of their being.
On this side of the fence, garden flowers, carefully planted and cared for, know a different version of freedom.
Although confined to a smaller space than their wildflower cousins, they are free to raise their blooms and leaves to the sun and dig their roots deep into the cool soil.
Desire for the freedom to grow and flurish is a quality shared by all that live.
It was the yearning for that freedom that led to the first July 4th celebration and the honor of it that has led to the joyful celebrations, on this day, for over 225 years.
Like the flowers, we grow in different soils and under varied contitions, but above all else, we cherish the right to be free under the sun.
The image of freedom, these colorful beauties flurish only when given the right to grow and spread at will. Many wildflowers, when planted within the confines of a garden, fail to thrive, and when cut for bouquets, they quickly droop and wither.
Freedom seems to be at the core of their being.
On this side of the fence, garden flowers, carefully planted and cared for, know a different version of freedom.
Although confined to a smaller space than their wildflower cousins, they are free to raise their blooms and leaves to the sun and dig their roots deep into the cool soil.
Desire for the freedom to grow and flurish is a quality shared by all that live.
It was the yearning for that freedom that led to the first July 4th celebration and the honor of it that has led to the joyful celebrations, on this day, for over 225 years.
Like the flowers, we grow in different soils and under varied contitions, but above all else, we cherish the right to be free under the sun.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Modern Day Plague
On this beautiful, last day of July morning, I awakened with a serious case of the dreadful "gotta-dos". Gotta water the flowers...gotta feed the birds...gotta pay bills...gotta finish a painting, gotta make three phone calls....gotta...gotta...gotta!
The gottas swept over me like a fever, burning at the places in my mind where the enjoyment of the present moment should be.
Thinking about it seems to add another guilty gotta to the list......gotta CHANGE!
Of course, I'm not the only one suffering the symptoms of what has become a 21st century epidemic.
Everywhere, we see the results of overloaded, overscheduled lives.
Many stress related illnesses, from heart disease, cancer and digestive problems to overeating and drug use can be traced back to relentless, unmanaged cases of the "gotta dos".
A sure symptom of this condition is the the tragic inability to truly enjoy life as its victims feel compelled to dart from one gotta do act to another.
Perhaps the only cure is to take a powerful vaccine.
This vaccine, when taken properly, refocuses the gottas.
We are imunized by a dose of reverse thinking.
Rather than harming ourself with an early morning litney of gotta dos, we put in their place our peaceful will dos.
I will take three deep, slow breathes as I get out of bed. Aw! That feels so good!
I will spend ten minutes (yes, just ten minutes) as I begin the day, watching, in stillness, some form of beauty in nature. ('Can't give yourself 10 minutes? Why not? Don't you deserve ten minutes of your own time on earth? Look at your priorities. Reclaim your time!)
I will turn off the negative news spilling out of my T.V., computer and newspaper. I do not need to fill my thoughts with the woes of the world. (When was the last time your anxiety over events "out there" changed anything? If you are like most of us, they never changed a thing. They simply robbed you of your peace of mind.)
I will live in THIS MOMENT, THIS HOUR, THIS DAY knowing that the world will not end if I don't
give in to the gotta dos.
Look around at the other living things in this world. Do you see anything stressed out by gotta dos, other than human beings? No, you don't, because other living things trust the rhythms of life in ways we have forgotten.
Of course, there are things we are required to do, but we owe it to ourselves to take the vaccine against the dreadful , stressful gotta dos.
The gottas swept over me like a fever, burning at the places in my mind where the enjoyment of the present moment should be.
Thinking about it seems to add another guilty gotta to the list......gotta CHANGE!
Of course, I'm not the only one suffering the symptoms of what has become a 21st century epidemic.
Everywhere, we see the results of overloaded, overscheduled lives.
Many stress related illnesses, from heart disease, cancer and digestive problems to overeating and drug use can be traced back to relentless, unmanaged cases of the "gotta dos".
A sure symptom of this condition is the the tragic inability to truly enjoy life as its victims feel compelled to dart from one gotta do act to another.
Perhaps the only cure is to take a powerful vaccine.
This vaccine, when taken properly, refocuses the gottas.
We are imunized by a dose of reverse thinking.
Rather than harming ourself with an early morning litney of gotta dos, we put in their place our peaceful will dos.
I will take three deep, slow breathes as I get out of bed. Aw! That feels so good!
I will spend ten minutes (yes, just ten minutes) as I begin the day, watching, in stillness, some form of beauty in nature. ('Can't give yourself 10 minutes? Why not? Don't you deserve ten minutes of your own time on earth? Look at your priorities. Reclaim your time!)
I will turn off the negative news spilling out of my T.V., computer and newspaper. I do not need to fill my thoughts with the woes of the world. (When was the last time your anxiety over events "out there" changed anything? If you are like most of us, they never changed a thing. They simply robbed you of your peace of mind.)
I will live in THIS MOMENT, THIS HOUR, THIS DAY knowing that the world will not end if I don't
give in to the gotta dos.
Look around at the other living things in this world. Do you see anything stressed out by gotta dos, other than human beings? No, you don't, because other living things trust the rhythms of life in ways we have forgotten.
Of course, there are things we are required to do, but we owe it to ourselves to take the vaccine against the dreadful , stressful gotta dos.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Another New Beginning
Where did January go?
It seemed so long on the frigid days and long nights, yet now that it's gone, I wonder how it slid by so quickly.
If you were like many people in our part of the world, you made New Year's resolutions in January.
How did the first month of resolve go for you?
Did you live up to the high expectations you set for yourself?
Or, did you loose your will somewhere along the way?
Don't be too hard on yourself if it is the latter.
It is so easy to set out to change... to plan for it...to think about it....to want to do it.
But often, we make New Year's resolutions that expect too much for too long.
What we need, is a daily resolution.
One that will fit.
One we can make happen, just for today.
Then, when we succeed.....because, we can succeed doing anything for twenty-four hours....we may decide to renew, or not renew the resolution, tomorrow.
We don't need to think about the rest of the month or the remainder of the year.
It's today that counts.
Give yourself a new beginning... every day.
Blessings, Sandra
It seemed so long on the frigid days and long nights, yet now that it's gone, I wonder how it slid by so quickly.
If you were like many people in our part of the world, you made New Year's resolutions in January.
How did the first month of resolve go for you?
Did you live up to the high expectations you set for yourself?
Or, did you loose your will somewhere along the way?
Don't be too hard on yourself if it is the latter.
It is so easy to set out to change... to plan for it...to think about it....to want to do it.
But often, we make New Year's resolutions that expect too much for too long.
What we need, is a daily resolution.
One that will fit.
One we can make happen, just for today.
Then, when we succeed.....because, we can succeed doing anything for twenty-four hours....we may decide to renew, or not renew the resolution, tomorrow.
We don't need to think about the rest of the month or the remainder of the year.
It's today that counts.
Give yourself a new beginning... every day.
Blessings, Sandra
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