Tag Archive | beauty

In the news….

Oct17

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“I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.”

❤ ❤ 😀

We often think of the news on TV and in the papers as negative, heartwrenching, life draining. And it often is. I hear so many people say they avoid the news because it just drags them down. 

But sometimes there are happy things or heartwarming things in the news.
One day at work this week the news was on when I went in and they were talking about a big house fire while the owners were away and couldn’t get to their dog who was inside. My heart just sank when I heard that. They showed the footage and the big house was up in flames with the poor furbaby inside. 

I’m thankful the people weren’t trapped inside. And I wished desperately the dog wasn’t either. 
Then they showed a man, I don’t know who he is, just come seemingly out of nowhere, walk in the burning house and come back out holding the dog, bringing him to safety, and without a word just walked away! The news people said he got no credit or anything, just appeared, saved the dog, and walked off!

Isn’t that amazing! And I’m sure he wasn’t looking for credit or anything but to save the doggy! The newspeople did praise him to each other.

He probably doesn’t even want to be labeled as a hero, true heroes usually don’t, that’s why they’re heroes, they help people and other sentient beings just to help them, not for image or for credit or a thank you. 

I’m so thankful the people and dog are safe and hope all the people putting out the fire are safe. I don’t know how bad the fire was but hopefully much of their stuff is saved but at least their lives are! That’s the most important of all! It’s devastating to lose everything we own but nowhere near as devastating as lives lost. 

I decided to share this little story just to put a bit more positivity into the world/on the Internet. There is so much positivity already but we can never have too much good news, ever!

In the news, it does often seem to be one bad or gossipy thing after another but that’s only because that’s what often stands out or makes the news. If I’m walking up the street and a person helps me carry my bags, picks up something for me that I drop, smiles at me, pays for me in line if I don’t have enough money….all that won’t make the news. But if I’m out and get shot to death or assaulted, that will surely make the local news. People will ask “what’s this world coming to with someone getting shot dead on the street? What a horrible world! People are monsters!” And that is tragic but what about the person who gives me money when I get up to the register in a store and forgot my wallet, what about the person who gives me his seat on a bus, what about those who risk their lives in a massacre to save others like what just happened in that tragic university massacre?

All these little things, these beautiful acts of kindness that surround us each day are not dramatic enough to go on the news usually and even when they are, they are unfortunately overshadowed by the bigger tragic news, they are appreciated by those involved or witnessing, then often either forgotten or just not spoken of much again even if we never forget. 

I saw a few blog posts and statuses about the horrible tragedy but in none of those I saw did any of those who wrote them mention the heroes who ran not to save their own lives but to save the lives of others. I think it’s important when writing about tragedies to also mention the goodness in the midst of it if we hear of it.
The murderers (who sometimes admit they do this for publicity) get more credit, even if negative, than the heroes, the other people who attempt to save their lives, the doctors and other medical professionals, the first responders and police, the fire men/women, anyone who saves or helps in any way. 
We remember the names of the murderers but not the innocent victims or the heroes. We talk about the tragedy and insanity and senselessness of what happened but not give thanks to those who did any little thing they could to make it somehow better.  In my opinion, it’s best not to write the murderer’s name when we write of carnage that took place. Especially when those murderers admit they want publicity and attention. I appreciate the programs and news reports that do not mention the name. I wouldn’t either. In the initial report it would have to be mentioned but every paper and program doesn’t have to say it. Let’s acknowledge the victims and our heroes, not a person who intentionally claims the lives of the innocent. We can still have compassion for murderers without giving them too much publicity. I don’t want them to die or suffer but I also don’t want them to become popular for their monstrous actions. 

People say don’t watch the news, it will drag you down. Then others argue back that if we don’t keep up with the news and what’s happening around the world, we will be ignorant and kept in the dark. Both can be true. Both have valid points.  So should we watch the news or not? Stay in the dark or be dragged down? 

I think there’s a solution. If we want, we can watch the news sometimes but then balance it out by reading and watching positive things as well. Pay attention and take note of all the goodness that goes on around us whether we are involved or a witness. If all we do is watch the tragedies and gossipy drama on the news and talk shows, then our brains are being overwhelmed in the negative, only getting one side of life, the dark side. We expose ourselves to the darkness but not enough of the light. 

Sure it’s good to know what’s going on in the world around us. But the media has the tendency to magnify the drama and the tragic. Not always but often. 

When we watch the news and start thinking “what a terrible world” and feel overwhelmed, we can then go to youtube and watch random acts of kindness videos, read inspiring stories that show someone helping others, look around us on the streets and see the kindness shown to others.

The world isn’t all bad. We only are mostly shown the bad through some media outlets but there’s so much more than that. 

Let’s honor & acknowledge the goodness.

Check out these happy videos!! So beautiful! ❤

Simple acts of kindness – mobile

Simple acts of kindness – desktop

Kindness – mobile

Kindness video – desktop

These videos show simple acts of kindness in everyday encounters that we are all capable of. These videos are most likely “staged” or made up but they are based on real life acts of kindness & meant to inspire! Just watching them gives many of us a warm, loving feeling. ❤

Let's remember that just because our job or the media or something else mostly exposes us to the bad in the world, it's not all there is.

Let's expose our own selves to the goodness. 😀

What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong – mobile

What a Wonderful World – desktop

Just listen to this song! His loving voice, his gentle love. And it will bring you up. ❤

The pictures are beautiful too!

😀

Lots of love to you today & always! ❤

xoxo Kim

Some Sunday inspiration for you {photos, quotes, and other goodies}

Oct11

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Here is a list of inspiring/thought-provoking/lovie quotes and some of my pictures! 

“We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want”

We can do and be anything on the outside but always keep that emptiness within, reserve a place inside to be love, light, bliss…

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“Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes, it obstructs your vision.” ~ Hsi Tang

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“To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss.” ~ Bodhidharma

This is a very wise concept. It’s good to have goals and desires but it’s also good to let go once in a while and just be. Be without getting attached to goals, people, places, situations, things…

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“Detachment is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.”

“The highest state of love is not a relationship at all, it is simply a state of your being.” ~ Osho

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“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled.” ~ Ray Bradbury

Yes, let go, disown, accept, BE.

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” ~ Dalai Lama

This is a good one if you’re stuck being around people acting negatively. We can’t always surround our selves with only positive people and sometimes have to interact with or be near people with negative energy and vicious intentions or just bitter, miserable seeming people. But we do not have to let them destroy our INNER peace. I can be whatever I want inside no matter what is going on around me. No one can drag us down if we don’t allow it. Our environment can be chaotic, negative, even abusive but we can remain calm and positive within. True peace isn’t necessarily a peaceful external environment. True peace is being calm and undisturbed INSIDE, whatever our outside is like. 

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“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”

Yessir!!

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“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” ~ Zen proverb 

When we open up and become receptive, we will see teachers everywhere, in the form of people, situations, things, encounters….
They are always around, we just aren’t always ready to receive. 

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I love how in these pictures it look like a gray sky kind of day but the sky was really quite blue that day! It was so bright blue with big fluffy clouds looking all pretty! I was amazed at the beauty and size of the clouds and took the pictures in a way so only the clouds can be seen around the trees.

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Look closely, you’ll see the blue shining through! This is the same day and so are the ones above these three pics! All blue skies!! 😀

“Flow with whatever may happen
And let your mind be free.
Stay centered by accepting whatever 
You are doing.
This is the ultimate.” 

We can try to help things when we can but when we can’t, it’s good to accept, just breathe and be and go with the flow.

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Seatbelts save lives so buckle up, buttercup!

And it may save you a traffic ticket or whatever. I couldn’t care less if you get a ticket though, (you deserve one if you aren’t wearing a safety belt anyway) it’s your life and safety I care about.

Even if I don’t know you, I want you to be safe and LIVE! ❤ ❤ ❤

“Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to first let go of the idea that there is a problem.”

It’s all about that attitude!

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“Surrender to what is.”

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“For sentient beings, poor and destitute, May I become a treasure ever plentiful, And lie before them closely in their reach, A varied source of all that they might need.” ~ Shantideva 

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“What we learned as children, that one plus one equals two, we know to be false. One plus one equals one. We even have a word for when you, plus another, equals one, That word is LOVE.”

How cheesy! Lol But cute! You know I love my sap!

❤

“If with kindly generosity one merely has the wish to soothe the aching heads of other beings, such merit has no bounds.” ~ Shantideva

I know people often say actions speak louder than words and it doesn't matter what we feel or think if we don't act, and in some cases it seems true but I also think that just what we are, what we wish for, our energy…is important. 
We can't always act on what we feel or want and we sometimes, for whatever reason, may just choose not to, but that doesn't take away what we are or want. Just being, is often enough. Well wishes for others is sometimes enough even when we don't express them. What if I see someone suffering and want more than anything to stop it, even if I have to put all the pain on me and bear the burden myself, but for some reason I can't or won't take action or take action but it doesn't work, at least I still have the wish and desire to stop it which is better than not caring or even wanting to add to the pain. What if I see someone on TV suffering or hear of a tragic war in another country and can't do shit about it, that doesn't obliterate my love and compassion. They count for something! And when we feel compassion, we are often more likely to act in compassionate ways. 

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.” ~ Markus Zusak 

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“Courage to the fearful,
Freedom to the enslaved,
Strength to the weak,
Mutual affection 
To all sentient beings.” ~ Shantideva sentiment

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This thing, it’s superdelicious!!!!! A caramel apple with chocolate and peanut topping!! oh, my! I have been eating them everyday!! so yummy! The red apples are sweeter, jucier, and tastier than the green! mouthwatering!! ❤ 😀 Delectable! One of my favorite things about Fall!

“Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’ doesn’t make any sense.”

Thank you, Bill ( https://worldstrata.wordpress.com/ ), for sharing this one with me!!

“How wonderful will it be when All beings experience each other as limbs on the One body of life.” ~ Shantideva 

WE are all in this together!  

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This is my baby, my friend today! These things are so cute! I never share their pics on facebook because I don’t think most people feel the affection for them I do and while going through their news feed and seeing this, their heart will probably skip a few beats and not in a good way! I don’t think it’s as startling to see pics here of them, they are smaller pictures here, I think and it’s not like one individual picture just in your face. If i’m wrong and you are freaked out, sorry. I just have so much love for kreepy krawlies, no one can imagine or understand. And I want to capture and share their beauty & cuteness. I’m so thankful for their lives. ❤ I will save them every chance i get. 😀

And since I'm in the Halloween spirit, here's Michael Jackson's Thriller for you!

Thriller – mobile

Thriller – desktop

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“You hear the door slam
And realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand
And wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes
And hope that this is just imagination
But all the while
You hear a creature creepin’ up behind
You’re outta time
‘Cause this is thriller
Thriller night”

Much0 luv to you! ❤

😀

Xoxo Kim 

😀

Xoxo Kim 

Minute by Minute

Oct10

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“Life is not lost by dying 
Life is lost minute by minute 
Day by dragging day 
In all the small and uncaring ways.” ~ Stephen Vincent Benet

All the “little” things we do or don’t do, not paying attention, not caring, acting mindlessly or absent-mindedly, just drifting through each day not soaking up each moment or gem of beauty…all adds up to days lost, days and occasions we’ll never get back. Living to “the fullest” to me means making each moment, no matter what, the best we can. Whether we are sick or in pain, sad or happy, financially stable, poor, or rich, living our dream or not, have a great job, a dead-end job, or none at all, anxious or depressed…we can “bloom where we’re planted.” Make the most of what we have and where we are NOW.

Each moment won’t be the best but we can choose to make it as great as possible. It’s an amazing goal and habit we can develop.

Let’s pay attention to the simple beauty around us, the leaves, the cool breeze, the city lights, a heated room in the Winter, the deep blue of the sky, the twinkling stars in a midnight sky, the fragrance of flowers in the Spring, the taste of food we love, the sound of cars in the street, rain tapping on a roof, the softness of a blanket that comforts us through the night, the scent of cold air, the look in someone’s eyes, the softness of feathers or fur on a pet…

These are things so often overlooked by us each day. If we stop and pay attention to a single leaf, the crispness or greenness, an individual flower petal, the pastel softness, if we feel, truly mindfully feel the air carassing our skin while outside…it’s like a whole new world! A beauty that can make us go weak at the knees, make our breath catch, make us come alive, make our insides quiver, make us want to jump for joy! We can feel this feeling everyday!

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I saw this tree recently which still has green Springy/Summery leaves and not Fall ones yet and I looked at each leaf individually, not litterally every single one, but many. Instead of seeing it as a whole tree as one and all the leaves together like I usually do, I looked at each one separately, the vibrant green, the light tan/brown bark, the narrow trunk and branches, the way it looked against the sunset sky…and was (and still am!) astounded by the beauty. There’s so much we’re missing!!

All we have to do is look, open our minds and receive.

Our idea of living to the fullest may mean having our dream job, doing fun things like sky-diving, having a family, having lots of money…but while we’re working for those things, we can still live to the fullest! By tuning into each moment no matter what we’re doing! Being mindful, giving it our all, giving our whole self to whatever we’re doing.

This quote above is a wonderful reminder!

Lots of love to you! 😀

xoxo Kim ❤

We All Shine On

Oct8

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“Who in the hell d’you think you are?
A super star?
Well, right you are
Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on”

Last night I found it difficult to sleep, I kept twisting & turning and for some reason I was so unbearably hot. I put on two fans and the air conditioner and was still way too hot! My face was really hot and I felt all hot inside and just couldn’t get cool. My head was throbbing with migraine-like head pain and my vision has been so blurry. My chronic pain condition can do these things to me. Today was a busy day, I had plans to get up early and do stuff. It’s also Tara Day. Every month, on the 8th day, it’s Tara Day. She’s the female Buddha. So I went to the center for the chanting to her, then to the usual Thursday meditation class.
Tara is to remind us that a woman can accomplish things as well as a man (even better! Lol jk! ;-D ) 
 I knew I would be too exhausted to get up early today and it was disappointing. With my throbbing head and very little sleep, I wasn’t even sure how I would get out the door for the Tara chanting and meditation. But I did! 
I got out of bed at 5:00AM after no sleep and looked out the window. I was already joyful, even with a throbbing head and my disappointment. But when I looked out the window at the dark sky, my joy deepened. I saw faded white clouds and a beautiful moon with a star close to it! Then I looked to the other side and saw a sky full of stars! All twinkling for us all!
I’m happy for my little sleep because I wouldn’t have gotten up to see the sky! Well worth it. So much joy surging through me then & now.
What a happy girl I am!
I even got a picture! My phone camera usually can’t reach the stars and the moon doesn’t usually look good in my pics. But the moon looks so cute, a little crescent moon! 😀 And a sweet star!  
I won’t let my pain stop me too long or hold me back too much. I feel so connected to the world around me, when I look up to the night sky and moon, I feel as one with it.

I came upon this song tonight sung by John Lennon. I used to hear it often. It’s perfect for my post tonight! 

Instant Karma – mobile

Instant Karma – desktop

Here is Tara’s mantra:

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE

And this is one of the praises of Tara:

“Homage to you whose face is like
One hundred autumn moons gathered
And blazes with the dazzling light
Of a thousand constellations.”

Isn’t this just beautiful!

Remember to keep shining your light into the world!  
And remember, just like that moon and that star up in that dark, dark sky, your light is vibrant enough to shine and even in the blackest places.
Keep going even when you don’t feel like it. You can rest but always get back up!!

❤

Much love to you! 😀

And Happy Tara Day! 

Xoxo Kim

Yin-yang

Oct2

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In a previous post,Embracing the Light,I mentioned I’m reading a novel called, “The Last of Her Kind” about two girls who were best friends in college for a couple years then had a bad argument and ended their friendship but the woman telling the story, many years later, still thinks of her former friend very frequently and is still impacted by her friend even though she has not seen her in years. She seems to no longer have any hostility for the girl who was once her best friend.

This isn’t a book review. I’m still reading the book, I haven’t reached the end yet. It’s a very great book, incredibly realistic and deep. There are beautiful scenes in this book. I will share one here.

But first I will again mention like I did in my other post, that there is a brief rape scene in the book. Whenever I write/talk about books that I know there is sexual violence in, I caution people in case anyone wants to avoid that part. I know it can be extremely traumatic for some people to read if they have experienced some kind of trauma. So on pages 79-81, the narrator talks about when she was raped by a stranger in a park, as a college girl. The worst of it is on page 80 in the book I’m reading. I think it’s a good idea if we all caution anyone we tell about a movie or book that has a scene like that. Even if people stop reading/watching after they begin,it can be too late and post traumatic stress or flash backs or any distress can already be triggered. Or some people feel that once they begin something, they have to complete it or may not realize after they begin reading/watching, how bad it will be. It’s always good to try to help in any way we can and a simple caution can help prevent a serious trigger for someone. They may still read/watch anyway and that’s up to them but it’s good just to let them know. 

(there won’t be any really big spoilers here but if you prefer not to know anything more about the book you may not want to continue reading if you plan to read the book)

Anyway, here is one of the beautiful scenes I will share out of this book:

“She lit a few candles around the room and she lit some joss sticks and she got out her guitar. I listened to her sing and wondered when she had become so good. Her voice was assured and pure and vibrant with feeling. The songs she sang were mostly songs she had written herself, and they were about love and pain and what was right with the world and what was wrong with it, and for all she had suffered she praised the wounded world and sang of her tender feelings for man, she sang angelically of hope and forgiveness, and I was blown away by this kid’s wisdom and goodness, and I was proud. Maybe my little sister didn’t have to go back to school. Maybe she knew everything already.” (pp.181)

How beautiful! The narrator, Georgette, has this to say about her little sister. 

Her sister is severely mentally ill and struggles with substance addiction and some physical illnesses,she cannot have children, she was also abused as a child and had, and still in some ways has a very difficult life. She has recurrent psychiatric hospitalizations. She doesn’t have a complete high school education. But she is full of deep wisdom, and often is able to keep hope and wonder alive and not only praise the good in the world but celebrate the bad with the good through her music, writing, and just in her being. She has a kind and gentle heart. 

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This is only a fiction book but there are real people like this too. Those who choose to cherish the good and use the negative aspects of life to their advantage by creating whatever it is they feel a calling to create…music, artistic material, singing, dancing, writing….or anything. We can take our pain and struggles and allow them to deepen our empathy and compassion for others. And we can take all our pain and joy and beauty and create something. Even something as simple as a blog post or message to help inspire or uplift others. 

Life doesn’t have to be perfect or without pain to be good. Life is beautiful even with the pain. Sometimes we may forget to celebrate the good when we’re too consumed in the pain, negativity, or distress and it’s great to have reminders.  

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(the sky wasn’t really this bright & pink, I put an effect on it but it’s pretty isn’t it?!) 😀

The world is full of bad but it’s also full of good. When we see on the news or are involved in tragedies like massacres or hurricanes and tornadoes, floods, fires, accidents, sickness….we see/feel/know the devastation. But we also see/feel/know the love and compassion of others, even strangers, that comes pouring in to those in need. We see people volunteering time, donating money and other material objects, offering to help, and just sending positive comments and well wishes. For every rude comment we receive on social media, we receive many more loving ones. 

❤

There is more love, more light, more good than pain. And it's all what we focus on that will stand out. We don't have to deny the negativity, we can help it when we can and accept it and use it for good when we cannot help or prevent it. 

This beautiful scene is a great reminder to bring more hope and forgiveness to the world, more love and light and acceptance. We can't all sing and play instruments and write songs like this girl but we all have some way to bring beauty to the world even if it's just a warm smile or positive attitude or just sharing an uplifting quote. 

We all have the ability to put more light out into the world. ❤

Much love to you! 😀

Xoxo Kim 

October <3

Oct1

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” ~ L.M. Montgomery 

October is back again!! Like a long lost friend waiting to be warmly embraced! And it couldn’t be more perfect! It’s cold & rainy today!!

❤ 😀

In honor of this beautiful month, I will share some lovely Fall quotes & my pictures! 

Here goes! 

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~George Eliot

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“October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.” ~Nova Bair

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“Falling leaves hide the path so quietly.” ~John Bailey

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“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” ~ Stanley Horowitz

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Pumpkin ice cream!! We have pumpkin & pumpkin pie at work! The pumpkin pie has pie pieces in it which I love but I like the taste of the pumpkin better! They’re both delicious though! Yum! ;-p 😀 ❤

“Listen! the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” ~Humbert Wolfe

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Pumpkin pj’s!

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“The milkweed pods are breaking, and the bits of silken down, float off upon the autumn breeze, across the meadows brown.”~Cecil Cavendish

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“Then summer fades and passes and October comes. We’ll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure.” ~Thomas Wolf

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Full Autumn Moon ❤

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“October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came – The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band.” ~George Cooper

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It’s Hoodie weather!! Doesn’t get much better than this!!

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There’s so many, many things to smile about! 😀

Let’s remember to be mindful of all the beauty around & within us. ❤

And here’s a song for you!!

I love this old video, it’s a youtube video of like an old show or something in the 1960’s and it’s the song “Monster Mash” sung by Bobby Boris Pickett! ❤

Monster Mash – mobile

Monster Mash – Desktop

Happy, Happy October & lottsa, lottsa love to you!! ❤

xoxo Kim 😀

If love was the center of our being <3

Sep29

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“What if our religion was each other,
If our practice was our life,
If prayer, our words? 
What if the temple was the Earth,
If forests were our church,
If holy waters___the rivers, lakes, and oceans.
What if meditation was our relationships, if the teacher was life,
If wisdom was self-knowledge,
If love was the center of our being.” ~ Ganga White

Sweet little message about how incredible it is to let our life be our message, live our truth, practice what we believe is right, lavish love onto others and the world, be mindful of the beauty of nature. We don’t have to go to churchs, temples, or practice any certain religion to practice love, to BE love. Treat the rivers, lakes, and oceans how people think of holy water, as something sacred, something to be cherished. Practice kindness, always. Allow life to teach us all it can.

❤ ❤ 😀

Xoxo Kim 

Another Fall in Philadelphia <3

Sep23

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So, it seems I have this tradition each year now where I post a blog entry called something along the lines of “Another Fall in Philadelphia” and share Hall & Oates’ song, “Fall in Philadelphia.” lol Hall & Oates are the best! And they are Philadelphia boys! Like me! (except I’m not a boy…)

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And they attended Temple University! Like me again!
I am thrilled every year when it’s about to be Fall!
I love the whole Fall theme, pumpkin spice and everything nice! Pumpkins, hot cocoa, tea, hayrides and crunchy leaves, haunted houses and the Eastern State Penitentiary! Cool nights & hoodies! Crisp air and Halloween, the bright colored leaves all around! The whole thing! 

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So in honor of this lovely season on its first day, here are some sweet Autumn quotes! As well as some of my pictures, the best Fall-like pictures I was able to get. It’s not exactly lookin’ (or feelin’) a real, real lot like Fall out there yet. It’s cooler at some points and there are some signs of Fall but it’s not raining crispy colored leaves all over just yet. And it’s hot as hell outside but I’m loving every second! 

Here goes!

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“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.” ~ Jim Bishop

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“Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.” ~Carol Bishop Hipps, “October,” In a Southern Garden, 1995

I love all four seasons. Summer is my least favorite (I don’t like the heat waves and humidity at all but regular summer days are lovely) and Winter is my favorite with Fall right up there with it. But I agree that Summer & Winter have “opposing miseries” and Fall is perfect. Winter & Summer can both be painful, one with the scorching heat and sticky haze, the other with the blasting cold and slippery ice. Spring is beautiful too with lovely qualities that the other seasons don’t have much of but can tend to be like Summer in its excessive heat. Autumn is just flawless for sure! ❤ 

“No spring nor summer’s beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one Autumnal face….” ~John Donne, “Elegy IX: The Autumnal”

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“Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin…. We anxiously anticipate it every year.” ~Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, October 2010

So do I! All year! 

“October’s poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter.” ~Nova S. Bair

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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

Isn’t it something how someone can be just so THRILLED over weather and a season?! I couldn’t be happier if I just won a free shopping spree! 

Lol 

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The last Philadelphia Summer sunset til next year. Beautiful, isn’t it?

I will miss all the little flying insects and pretty flowers. </3 ❤

And here it is! Hall & Oates' thrilling song!

Fall in Philadelphia – mobile

Fall in Philadelphia – desktop

(I absolutely love the container of oates! hilarious!!) ;-D :-p

Unfortunately it’s not the most cheerful song about our wonderful city!

It’s about how it’s all dreary and gray and their house is falling down, and we’re all hopeless and people are getting rich selling dope and a boy named Johnny is getting his ass kicked, and they want to escape out into the country. Anywhere but here. 

How rude! 

What a lovely picture they paint of us!

;-D

Oh, well. It’s still has my heart. ❤

And here's another one of my favorite songs, a sweet love song sung by Paul Davis, perfect for Fall nights!

 Cool Night – mobile

Cool Night – desktop

Also, today is my mom’s b-day! She loves Fall and how her special day is on the first day of Fall! She said her name should have been Autumn but instead it’s Lee, short for Leona. She’s named after my grandmom. My sister and me bought her a big vanilla scented candle. Vanilla is her favorite. ❤ At least it cheered her up! She wasn't happy because my little sister and me got into a stupid, trivial argument today (I started it…oopps! Sometimes I can totally be an asshole but at least I’m honest about it, right?!)!

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So Happy Fall to you!  😀

Xoxo Kim 

P.s. Thank You so so much to everyone who reads, likes, shares, follows, lurks, “likes”, reblogs….my content! I deeply appreciate it! When I set up this blog account three years ago, I never expected to have even just a few people read it but I always knew even if just one person comes across my content once in a while, that would be amazing. If just one person is uplifted or inspired that is good enough.
And when we post something it’s here forever so even if no one sees it til years later, it always has the potential to be seen. And that’s good! 😀
But I’m so honored and filled with gratitude for all those who visit here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! ❤ 😀 Hugs & love to you! ❤

I Am your Mirror

Sep22

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“We are pain and what cures pain, both. We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. I want to hold you close like a lute, so that we can cry out with loving. Would you rather throw stones at a mirror? I am your mirror and here are the stones.” ~ Attributed to Mevlana Rumi 

What a beautiful quote! I think it conveys a message that we have the potential to do, be various things, even opposites. We can be positive or negative, loving or selfish, warm and caring or cold and distant. We are the source of our own problems but we are also the source of the solution to those problems. We have gifts and the ability to share those gifts.

I feel that it’s a quote about interconnectedness and Oneness. Underneath, we all share a basic sentience or experience. We all have very similar qualities and not just humans but animals and insects as well. All sentient beings have needs and desires, interests, are capable of pleasure and pain, joy, and suffering. What we see in our own self, if we look closely, we can see it in others. And what we see in others, we can find in our own self when we look deep within. 

The end of the quote about the mirror seems to indicate that we are very similar and maybe how our actions even against our self can affect others or our actions against others can affect our own self. It also seems like someone offering to take on someone else’s pain. That is beautiful selflessness! Don’t hurt yourself, hurt me if you must hurt someone!

I love the quote and what it seems to mean and there are probably so many, many interpretations we can come up with. I think it just flows beautifully even without thinking about the meaning.

It also reminds me of this:

“Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.”

Again, a message that conveys that underneath, deep within, we are very similar, we are one. Never feel alone, whatever you feel, pleasant or unpleasant, joyous or painful, someone somewhere is experiencing something or has experienced something quite like it. This can deepen our empathy & compassion. Let’s remember how it feels to be happy, accomplish something, have something pleasant happen to us and be happy for others just as we would for our own self. And let’s recall how it feels to be in pain, scared, anxious, to be filled with sorrow and want to help heal & uplift others as much or even more than we want our own pain soothed. Let’s remember how it feels and refuse to inflict that upon someone else. But let’s show compassion & deep understanding to those who attempt to inflict pain upon us.

“…Would you rather throw stones at a mirror? I am your mirror and here are the stones.”

xoxo Kim ❤