Went for a walk this morning and on my way back to the house I noticed the cherry tree beside the driveway. I swear the tree was glowing this morning with an aura of light surrounding it. This is a beautiful tree in full bloom with soft pink blossoms that are starting to cover the ground. So I stopped to thank the tree for all that it contributes to the universe. The tree was happy to be acknowledged. I believe that when you are looking at and experiencing trees they are also experiencing you. The trees speak, we just have to listen! My new landlords most likely think, what is that crazy woman doing now, standing there touching the tree with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face. They will get used to it. It is part of my charm.
I am sitting here in the living room of my new place on a dark grey sofa with a painting of a beautiful elephant hanging behind me. I bought this painting yesterday because it spoke to my soul. Elephants have a lot to teach us. All of the animals have something to teach us and so does everything else in nature for that matter. I seem to have a special connection and an ability to communicate with rocks, trees and animals when I take the time to do so. Taking the time is the challenge at the moment. Anyway, sitting here on the sofa I can see Howard’s straw hat hanging on the coat rack across the room. I almost threw his hat out and a friend talked me out of it. Some days seeing the hat brings me peace and comfort and other days it brings pain and discomfort. This morning it seems to bring both. God I miss him. I miss the smell of him and watching him move. I loved the way that man moved, there was a fluid grace he possessed that enthralled me. Every movement had a purpose and grace combined with economy of motion is rare to see.
I love watching people move. You can learn a lot about them from their movements. Do they walk with their head up or down? Are their movements awkward or do they posses that ease of movement that comes when someone is comfortable in their own skin and the world? I think about how I move and what that says about me. Can people tell that I am shy by the way I move? I spent a lot of time walking yesterday and for some reason was really conscious of my hips. The way my body sways from the hips and where I was relaxed and where I was tense. Focusing on the movement of my hips really made me aware of being a woman. Even though I have lost a lot of weight, not by choice, I still have a few small curves and I love them. Yesterday I was 108 pounds of pure woman when I moved and felt very graceful. I feel as though at 53 I am finally discovering who I am on a number of levels and it is fun! I wonder what I will discover today?
I think I think too much! Yes I was laughing as I wrote that. I seem to be at one end of the thinking spectrum or the other. I either think a lot or I don’t think at all. Neither of these things are bad in and of themselves when employed in a healthy manner. Some things require thinking and some things don’t. On certain occasions I turn off my mind and just feel. It is like I am meeting the world through my heart and senses. In certain situations this can be overwhelming and then my mind kicks in. I have a tendency to shut my mind and heart off when I am really uncomfortable and have come to realize that this is a defence mechanism that I learned from a very traumatic event in my life. I don’t think, I don’t feel, I just retreat inside myself to a place where no one can reach me or hurt me. I have also discovered that I spent a lot of my time living from that place and not fully experiencing life. With the recent events in my life it is no longer possible for me to retreat. You cannot hide when your heart is wide open! I no longer feel the need nor do I want to hide. Here I am take me or leave me.
Sometimes I feel very lonely. In the past I would have tried to fill that loneliness with something. Now, I explore it and acknowledge it for what it is. Being alone is one thing, being lonely is another. If I am able to stay present and in the moment there is no loneliness. It’s going into the past or attempting to predict the future that sends me down the lonely road. I do not need someone in my life to be happy, healthy and whole. I already am all that. I don’t need someone to complete me, I want someone who will enhance me. That is also what I want for them, no strings attached. No strings attached is a tall order for most people and navigating a relationship under those conditions can be tricky. I believe that honest communication is the key. That also seems to be a tall order for some people. Sometimes it is a tall order for me as well in the communication department, I leave a lot unsaid. Honesty, well some would say I am too honest. I don’t think that is bad, you always know where you stand with me. Is leaving things unsaid dishonest? I really do not necessarily want to share all my thoughts and feelings with someone else until I am ready. Sometimes they are not ready to hear them either and that is okay. It really has nothing to do with them, I am responsible for my own thoughts, feelings, and actions. I cannot be responsible for how others interpret or react to what I have to say, I can only clarify things a bit for them if they have questions or concerns.
So, spend time with people you enjoy and who enjoy you right back! Spend time getting to know yourself. Get out there and sit with the trees, rocks, or whatever part of nature makes you feel good. Don’t be surprised when you ask the universe questions if the answers come back through the very fabric of nature itself. The wind carries the questions and answers, you just have to be silent and still long enough to hear it whisper through the trees. They touch both the heavens and the earth and are conduits of knowledge through their root system that covers the wonderful planet we share with them. Connect!
Peace and love to all
Donna
Life in a Slightly Soiled Chair 