Thursday, August 16, 2012

rock the boat


here we are mid august already....this summer has flown by, just like life does.  I love summer but i haven't been outside as much as i would have liked.   mosquitoes are bad around here...as is west nile virus so i hear.  last year i was so disappointed that i wouldn't be traveling during the summer,  this time around i'm sorta glad for it....though packing is much easier and lighter in the summer months. 

speaking of being lighter....i am still not eating meat.  it's been months now and i don't miss it.   this week i have been thinking about fish though...perhaps it's because i can't stop thinking about the beach...those two go hand in hand usually.

today i am hammering metal hoops.....oh, and my fingers...only one of those i mean to hammer.

i am taking apart jewelry today.  i am hammering metal.  i am taking brand new supplies and manipulating them into something else.  i am reinventing how i usually make something.  it's time.  it's time to do what i want with what i want.  change is good.  making something *yours* is good. 

i am setting intentions.  i am consciously thinking and envisioning what i want with every item i create today...i envision myself taking a step forward with each thing...and then sometimes two.  life is short, make it happen, i tell myself. 




Friday, August 3, 2012

no meat, no apologies


 

i don't like labels.  black, white, southern, yankee, democrat, republican, liberal, hippie, yuppy, gay, straight..............................BUT, ever since i quit eating meat i sorta like adding vegetarian to identify who i am.  i'm sure as time goes on 'vegan' will sound even better.   my friend Sarah wrote a blog post today that made me ever more aware that i DO like labels when they represent what i believe in. 

we get choices in life every day, but it's not often that we can choose something this BIG.....we get to make a choice that lessens pain for other creatures......every day when i wake up i am happy to be a vegetarian....i don't feel a loss, in fact i feel like i have gained a tremendous amount.  i feel liberated...relieved to be living a lifestyle that is more Me....i dare say, i'm even proud of my choice.  proud because i have stuck with it this time....proud because i always knew this was my path but i didn't have the willpower to stick with it, or the timing wasn't right, who knows.  either way, i'm glad i have folks like Sarah in my life that can write a blog post like she did and validate how i choose to live, and also point out that it just isn't possible to keep quiet about something just because it makes others uncomfortable.

speaking of not keeping quiet,  i have been altering my etsy shop a bit, not only with what i am creating, but how it represents me and how i choose to live life.  life should be fun, and i intend to go about it in that way from now on.


Thursday, August 2, 2012

life, positivity, good things


i like positivity.   i like good people.   i like choices that help people to attain a kind of joy that we all should have.  i like good food....good *healthy* food.

a choice made a few months to not eat meat was a good one *for me*...i don't like being attacked for my decision, yet so many people feel under attack when i say i am a vegetarian.  i've started noticing that when one stands up for what one believes...especially when it isn't mainstream, people get defensive.

i made the choice to be vegetarian, and eventually vegan, for many reasons.....but a huge one is i made the decision not to make choices that hurt others...and that includes animals.  i've always been an animal advocate and lover, but my reasons go way beyond that too.  i'm also a huge environment lover.  ...i'm disappointed in those that have no respect for this gift of life and this land we live on. 

i'm straying from my point....back to i like positivity.  look for the good in every day.  like yesterday for example, here is a list of good things that happened:

~while driving to the post office i noticed a woman walking down the street in a 'carefree, life is good, smiling to herself, arms scissoring at her sides with enthusiasm........i couldn't help but grin and that good feeling carried me the rest of the way to the post office

~standing in line at the post office, there was an older woman taking what seemed like forever trying to decide which sheet of stamps she wanted......at first i thought, "aww, that's sweet"......after minutes i began getting restless and ready for her to leave........she finally decided on one, but they were out....which led the whole cycle to start back over.  now, that wasn't my finest moment in patience, but i kept quiet and didn't show my frustration.  she FINALLY decided on a sheet of stamps but you could tell she was disappointed and walked out not having what she wanted.   my first emotion was "FINALLY...she is gone"......i got waited on with a quickness and walked out.  as i exited the building i see her struggling to get in her car....and as i walked past she smiled a genuine smile and said "things don't work like they used to"..............i immediately felt a rush of love.....and embarrassment at my impatience.   so what if she took awhile to pick out stamps?.......i take longer to pick out shampoo for goodness sake.   i preach about slowing down...enjoying the simple things....well that is exactly what she was trying to do....she wanted the stamps she wanted.  good for her!!  my point is that we all have certain things we want that allows us to have more joy...for her at that moment it was stamps...i'm the same way....i always choose stamps that make me feel good.  let everyone just love what they love...and let's all have more patience with one another.  a good lesson to have yesterday.


~finding good new music.  that my friends is one of my serious joys in life.

~really fresh, soft, smell good, biting into a cloud kind of bread

i have a little project in the works....it's about random antics and daily positivity. 

oh, an update on crochet a scarf a day to give away on my birthday.......this has led to making scarves and donating them to a friend to help fund their adoption of a baby......told ya i was gonna dream bigger....life presented an opportunity and i grasped it greedily.