"Look at the sky as often as possible
and your thoughts will become light and clear."
"Be quiet a lot, speak little –
and silence will come in your heart, and your spirit will be calm and full of peace.”
—Saint Seraphim of Sarov (July 19, 1759--Jan. 2, 1833), Russian monk and mystic
Speak as few words as possible, and keep quiet.
This is so antithetical to the way I was raised. Very vocal people, LOUD people, fist-shaking people, outnumbered and out-shouted the few quiet role models in my world. For years I've known I must learn to practice The Mortification of Silence. Instead, I keep expressing myself in words. It never goes well. Escalating disasters should remind me to say nothing, to hide my thoughts, to conceal whatever I am feeling.
My spirit is not calm and full of peace.
This post was inspired by @stdd 's post Gratitude in every day! Giveaway of Gratitude #6. 5 HSBI.)
Note: I'm not looking to win Hive or even upvotes. Until Hive quits insisting my username and password do not match, I cannot even access my wallet, or I'd be giving away Hive (crypto, HSBI, whatever the currency is called).
#Gratitude! For years I've been searching for replacements, substitutes, items similar to familiar relics of childhood. Gone is gone, I've learned, and similar is the closest we ever get. Be not attached to things and all shall be well. Things touched and held and used by our parents and grandparents are just things. JUST THINGS. Let go. Move on. Look to the sky, not to the things close at hand, or hidden away in an attic awaiting rediscovery.
My life is {{actually not!}} complete: I thought I had located the castle image, but my mom confirms that the frame is right, the castle wrong. I cannot find the "right" print online, anywhere. It was more like the Disney castle but not quite (Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria). The "ugly" brown and yellow harlequin blanket is explained in another post, Are you drawn to something but don't know why? Sometimes the reason surprises us. It's one of many things that cannot be replaced.
#Gratitude
Be glad for what we have, not sad for what we have lost.
Our daughter survived her drive home Wednesday night in treacherous conditions. It was so harrowing, I will not even speak of it right now.
We are surviving the snowpocalypse. "The Midwest is colder than Mars" right now, journalists proclaim. Our furnace died while it was minus 40 outside. We made it through the night. Come morning, my husband learned that one can venture outside, inspect the vents, and remove any ice that formed due to condensation from humidified air escaping the house--and voila!--the old furnace rumbled to life again, and the house warmed up to 60 degrees.
The sky is clear and bright, blindingly bright, on Christmas day. We are not going anywhere. The "cylone" winds have lessened to 25 mph, but the thermometer is still registering "Mars is warmer than you guys right now, ha ha ha." Our daughter risked life and limb and car and made it home, but we will likely not make it Grandma's and Grandpa's today. Stay home, stay safe, my mother says.
My mind is frozen, my willpower, my sense of initiative. All stone-cold and inert.
My husband took up the challenge I threw at him: paint the bobcat at the zoo for our daughter, who visits this captive feline once a week, on average. Working from a terrible photo, taken very long-range, he came up with a fantastic oil painting. I tried to paint the same cat on a wood slice. It has been demoralizing. Someday I might talk about it. Suffice to say, every attempt to make it look better will always just make it worse. Story of my life. Quick LOOK TO THE SKY, think positive thoughts!
Alive and striving, yes, but thriving, well, check back in a few more days....
Look down and you may see sky and stars frozen in mud puddles:
#gratitude #aliveandthriving #sublimesunday #pob #scholar #scribe #selfimprovement
My dear friend I send hugs, warmth, and peace to you. I am thankful that your daughter arrived safely. I can only imagine the fear of having driven through blizzards off and on for years here. I'm thankful I no longer drive to work but work from home. I'm also glad to hear your furnace works. You're going through a hard season. I am praying for you. It's cold here in Pennsylvania, we didn't get the storm not nearly as bad as many did. We just had a brief power outage 3:30 am yesterday. Merry Christmas. Hugs
Sending you !LUV and hopefully you can resolve the wallet issue.
Good to hear from you again, @Wndrnrose7! You've driven through blizzards - I pictured (remembered) you as somewhere down south where blizzards don't happen. Pennyslvania...?
May you be safe and warm with a new year full of joy! Thank you for reading and commenting!
I love that. So true! Let's both look to the skies, where our loved ones, boht those still on the earth and those who exist in our memories, can be brought to life in our hearts.
I know it's been a very difficult year for you, as was the year before this last one. May this coming year be much better!
I think your wood slice is fantastic! I'm sure M will love it, and the painting.
xo
My wood slice took a turn for the worse as I kept reworking it. Not even gonna show the evidence. But THANK YOU for the kinds words Stacey. You, losing your only son, suffered the worst kind of loss!
I'm very glad you're finding inspiration from my post. I must have been dreaming about it. The world is getting a little better in bits and pieces, but there's still a lot of work to be done!
By the way, both pictures are very beautiful in their own way! 🔥🔥🔥
Merry Christmas! 🙌
!ALIVE
!CTP
!PIZZA
!invest_vote
@carolkean! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @stdd. (2/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
One year later, I finally see your kind comment here - mea culpa for my delinquency -
THANK YOU for your kind words!
Yes indeed.
@stdd denkt du hast ein Vote durch @investinthefutur verdient!
@stdd thinks you have earned a vote of @investinthefutur !
Vielen Dank!
Thank you!
I gifted $PIZZA slices here:
@stdd(4/10) tipped @carolkean (x1)
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