Serenity and the evening sky

The past few evenings have been truly beautiful, lower temps, light breeze and beautiful sunsets.  I have found myself setting out on the deck after dinner with a glass of white wine, my IPad (reading romance novels) and just enjoying the serenity surrounding me.

It seems to fill me with a sense of peace even if our world is far from it and this to me is why finding serenity in our daily lives is so very necessary.

Yesterday, I strolled around a beautiful local arboretum not far from my home and just admired the joy that surrounded me in this green and colorful oasis, it was filled with young couples pushing strollers, toddlers in wagons and kids running in out of the sculptures and the model trains that are a part of this garden sanctuary and all I kept thinking of was when I would be able to come back with my grandchild (due in September) and show the baby the beauty, the joy and the serenity of nature in it's own way.

Summer is an interesting time to be in touch with the serenity that surrounds us in our daily lives since we tend to be outdoors much more frequently. So when you're sitting on your deck, or strolling on the boardwalk, or wading in the ocean or lake, or hiking, fishing, boating or just sitting on a park bench close your eyes, breath deep and enjoy the sounds, the smells and just feel.

The serenity will surround you and lift your spirits, lift your mood, lift your soul.  The key is to believe in the peacefulness and the joy.

ENJOY THE BEAUTY THAT SURROUNDS YOU!
IT WILL BRING YOU SERENITY ON A DAILY BASIS.

Serenity, Good Health and Finding Joy in Little Things

On my way home from having an Echo Cardiogram & Echo Stress Test I heard someone on the radio say that being pretty isn't being beautiful, that someone who is pretty can also be unkind, but someone who is beautiful is a person who shows their beauty in many ways, not just looks.

I thought about this statement as I drove the rest of the way home and while I was awaiting the email about the results.  I wondered how many times of thought someone was pretty but didn't really know if they were beautiful because I didn't really know them and then I thought about all the people in my life who I would classify as beautiful.  Pretty is a statement of one's outward appearance where beauty is conceptual thought process.  It's not just how we look at a person but how we see them in total.

I'm going to make it point in my life to look at things with beauty in mind, look at the whole picture and the surroundings at the moment.  Is this true beauty or is it just pretty,

I have written about finding your serenity by looking at the beauty and joy that surrounds us and yes I'm fine, my heart is strong, but if I'm honest about this I would also tell you that I was a little scared last night and this morning while driving to the exam, but while I laid on the table and watched my heart beating away and listen to sound of my blood flowing through the chambers I was remembering when I had my ultrasounds while I was pregnant and the joy that followed through me when I heard that baby's heartbeat each and every time.

I'm thrilled that I'm healthy and I filled with joy that I have these reminders of what brings beauty into our lives.  Find the joy and you will find the beauty and by finding the beauty you will bring yourself serenity.

Happy May - fill it with JOY, BEAUTY & SERENITY

Serenity, Beauty, Earth Day and Continuation

I know it's been a very long while since I lasted posted and for that I'm very sorry, but that being said serenity is never far from my being.

Today I awoke to an absolutely magnificent day, a day that has blue skies, green grass, flowers blooming and budding, warmer temps and a peacefulness in the air.  How can you not be filled with serenity when that world surrounds you?

In the past few months, joy has abounded for me.  I have traveled to Netherlands and Belgium to celebrate a wedding anniversary, the trip was filled with many new faces, incredible architecture, history that was as horrifying as it was astounding and of course it was filled with millions of blooming tulips, creating fields of color and richness. 

The trip started off with the news that we would soon be grandparents for the 1st time.  I was overjoyed and also filled with concern for my children.  Parenting is hard and babies are a lot of work, but they are also filled with beauty of wonder at each new step.  It will be an amazing time for all of us but especially the soon to be new parents.

But while I can each day find my serenity, it seems that our world has become more and more anger filled, more and more hatred, more and more divided.  We need to stop and just take a look at what we've become and attempt to find some inner peace.  It starts with one individual and then it can spread.  I'm absolutely convinced that this can be done, because it has already happened in small microcosm.  Last week there was a horrific fire in a magnificent cathedral in Paris and for several hours we grieved over the destruction of centuries of beauty, but within hours post fire the world came together to fund raise, plan and renew commitments to rebuild.

This is what we need to do every single day.  Stop, look up, look around, take a deep, deep breath and renew our commitment to having a better, more beautiful, more serene world.  This week was Earth Day, what could be a more fitting testament to our world then filling it with beauty of the soul, beauty of the world free from pollution, beauty of people who have enough to eat, education, happy homes, no violence and freedom to chose joy over hatred.

Each day find joy, find beauty, and that will help you find serenity.

Serenity, The End of the Year and the New Year

It's been a while since I've posted and I want to apologize for that, but now it's time to look back and also look forward.

With so much uncertainty and derision throughout our country and our entire planet there are some days it's difficult to easily find our serenity but it's exactly those days that we must look hard with ourselves to find some measure of serenity.

I know that over the past few months it has become necessary for me to disconnect not only from media but also from people who are so wrapped up in the negativity that they effect (not physical but mental) those around with their attitude.  I've learned to not engage but instead change the subject or simply walk away, take a really deep deep breath and find serenity.

As we look toward the new year we will have to work on finding serenity on a daily basis perhaps this is the way forward to bring civility back into our world.  We need to work to end the constant flow of hatred that surrounds us, we need to talk to each other and more importantly we need to listen to each other.  We need to bring back respect, civility, compassion and humor to the daily discussions.

My new year's resolution is to work more diligently to be more compassionate, more civil and bring humor to my daily living and I do believe that by working towards this goal I will also find the daily serenity that I need each and every day.

Have a HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR and may it be filled with joy, laughter and serenity.

Serenity, Hatred and Horror

How can we possibly find serenity today,  on a day/week that has been filled with hatred and horror?  I find it heartbreaking that in past year we have witnessed so very many acts of pure hatred, but today it hit too close to home.

Pittsburgh was once my home and the community of Squirrel Hill was a major part of my life.  When I lived there we had a hate crime happen in the community where I lived and our children were placed in lock down while the shooter was on the loose in the area that person randomly targeted a few individuals, what happened today was just out and out horrific.

This blog focuses on how to find serenity in times of distress, but at certain times in our lives it might actually be almost impossible to find our serenity.  On days like today we struggle to find any moment of joy in our lives, but it's necessary to do just that.

While the news plays in the background reporting on this horrible news day, I'm working to focus on my family who've I've been in contact with today, all of whom have ended their conversations with the words "love you" and that's what we must do.  Call, text, reach out to your family, your friends, your colleagues and tell them how much they mean to you.  This may be the only way in these days that are filled with hatred that we can bring servility and serenity back into our conversations, into our day to day interactions and back into this world.

I beg you to look inward and look forward and find your serenity by reaching out to your community with a positive conversation.

As tough as it might be today, take a deep deep deep breath and locate your serenity.

Serenity & Civility

So it's been a little while since I last posted and I have to say that over the past few weeks I have noticed an uptake in people being surly, mean, nasty and cold-hearted towards their fellow human beings.  It's disturbing and not at all in the realm of serenity.

What has happened to civility in the USA?

This past weekend was the first time in a while that discussions focused on the good of a person and that's only because he passed away.  At what point in our daily lives do we focus on the good of our world?

We need to bring back into focus civility in our daily lives, we need to look for the good and not overwhelm ourselves with nasty words, hatred and meanness.

It's exhausting and it's futile.  What does all this nastiness bring us, but more nastiness and more sadness.

During the past week I went on a mission with one of my siblings to visit the grave sites of our parents, grandparents, and several aunts who didn't have children.  It's amazing the sense of serenity you can find when standing before the tombstone of close member of the immediate family.  You want to believe that they have gone to a much better place, where there's no health issues, no outright hatred, no nasty voices just calmness and serenity.

The 3 different cemeteries we visited each had their own distinct feeling to them, but I think I was most moved by standing in front of my parents grave.  It was the anniversary of my mother's death, 1 year ago and as I stood there thinking back on how my mother gave of herself to others, how she was known throughout the community for what she gave back, not only financially but also of her time.  She was loved and honored by many, many people from her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, students, friends and the community that surrounded her.  Not a week goes by when someone doesn't approach to tell me how much they miss my mother.  My father was the same way.

We need more people to be like my parents.  People to see the good in us. People who don't want to change the world but just make it a more civil place to live.

So my advice, go to the cemetery and stand before a loved one's grave and see if you can feel the serenity that surrounds you in that realm.  Think about what they would be feeling if they were still present in this volatile world.

In order to maintain serenity we must let go of the negative.  So instead of hurtful language, try a smile, instead of nastiness let's try civility.  It will bring us serenity.

Take a deep deep breath, close your eyes and feel the beauty that will always surround us if we let it.

Beautiful days, Serenity and Zen Gardens

Yesterday I visited the Shofuso Japanese House and Gardens located in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.  It was a beautiful summer day to stroll through the house and the gardens.

Having never traveled to Japan, I have to say how impressed I was with how the home oozed calmness throughout and the gardens were a part of the home.

I came away with a sense of calmness and a feeling that my stress levels had magically been lifted away.  Every part of the home looked out onto the pond and gardens, there were multiple colors of green, beautiful large koi in gold and black, a few turtles, a small island in off to the side with a footbridge and at the pinnacle across from the open area was a small calm waterfall.  Hanging from the branches were wind chimes and mobiles.  One of the most amazing things was the gutter system, instead of a downspout was a metal interwoven chain systems and as the water cascaded down it was like a mini-waterfall.  I found this all very calming and very serene.  I came home wondering how I could install this feeling into my own home.

I realized as I am sitting in my home that there's no juxtaposition of nature into the walls that surround our homes today.  Yes, we have windows and sliding glass doors, but we tend to seal up our homes with air conditioning and heating.  The only way we bring nature into our homes is cut flowers and few potted plants.  So the question of the day, how can we incorporate nature into our surroundings.

It would be great if we could all rebuild our homes with courtyards and incorporate nature into the building, but that's not reality.  So what do you think?  Send me some ideas and I will be happy to post them out there to this magically blog world.

I plan to spend a lot more time sitting out on my deck, using my home office to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of the day.  Several years ago I had the opportunity to spend a summer in the mountains with a waterfall in my backyard and the Delaware River across the street.  I spend each morning drinking coffee and eating breakfast just listening to the waterfall, the evening was spent chatting with my neighbors while drinking wine on the decks outside, watching the deer, watching the birds, watching the dog play in the waterfall and just enjoying the world that surrounded us.

Enjoy the world around, go out and be a part of it, don't stay attached to your devices and locked into brick and mortar.  We need  to connect with the natural aspects of our daily world.  Stroll through beautiful gardens, walk around a lake, view a sunset or a sunrise.  ENJOY the beauty.

Find serenity by finding ways to connect with nature, finding ways to connect with your inner self, and finding ways to live a life filled with meaning, love and serenity.