Sunday, January 16, 2022

Sharing Our Stories: A Grateful Post!

Sometimes I complain about things that irritate me. When I was teaching, it was the copy machine. Why isn't "three hole punch" the default setting since almost everything we copied had to be three hole punched and binder ready? Why did we have to remember to select three hole punch each time we made copies? No one ever answered this problem to my satisfaction.

However, another common complaint of mine was solved by a librarian friend. I was frustrated every time I searched for a book in the library catalog and had to open the drop down menu to  select "Title".  I mean, who searches for a book by the "Keyword"? Why isn't "Title" the default setting? Enter my friend who listened to me complain and then pointed out that the Title is a Keyword! 

Eureka! One of life's little irritations was solved for me. Every time I open the library catalog to search for a book, I'm grateful that I no longer need to select title, but can just enter the title and the book will pop up as the first match. 

The moral of this story: Sometimes it's okay to grumble a bit, especially if you happen to grumble to the person who can solve your problem. I'm grateful to my friend Amy every time I search for a book in the library catalog. And I have one less thing to complain about too. And that's always a good thing!

 
To savor the magic of story, link your post at Sharing Our Stories.
(Comments aren't working, so we're posting on the FB group, SOS Magic.)

Friday, January 14, 2022

Poetry Friday: Playing with Words!

 I opened my box of words, 

fiddled around for awhile, 

and this poem found me!


Retreat for the Overwhelmed

Welcome songs

Collect tales

Renew silly

Get cozy

Go to bed

Restore your rhythm

Find delight

Be okay 

- Ramona Behnke

Poetry Friday is with Mary Lee 

at (A)nother) Year of Reading.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

SJT and SOS: My OLW Reveal for 2022!

Margaret at Reflections on the Teche is hosting 
Spiritual Journey Thursday for January. 
We're gathering to share our OLWs for 2022.

I have a list of words I love to revisit when it's time to choose a new word. But my word for 2022 chose me in December. Some of my words have been "being" words (my favorites), some are "doing" words that ask more of me and challenge me, but most are a wonderful combination of being and doing. Several years ago, I penned this poem using my OLW for each year as the lead for each line. But I stopped after year 7. And since this is year 10, I wanted to finish this second stanza. And so I add years 8 and 9 to the second stanza:

Listen to the stillness,

Savor the present moment,

Stretch to grow, and always 

Abide in His love to 

Nourish my soul and reach out in love. 

 

Delight in small moments and simple pleasures,

Try, a gentle word inviting growth and change.

Light becomes a beacon during difficult times,

Comfort wraps me in a year of coping with loss,

(I'll wait until year's end to add my line about this year's OLW...)


Each year, I peruse my list of unused words from previous years (gather and connect were definitely in the running for this year). but the call from clear was urgent and one I couldn't ignore. Initially it chose me because of the physical challenges I face of clearing clutter. We know that one of these days we will downsize and now seems a perfect time to focus on clearing spaces in our home. 

However, I also look forward to  letting "clear" become a way to find focus for my days. I love this quote I found: "Clear your mind. Your heart is trying to tell you something." (Unknown) And that takes me back to my very first word, listen. I look forward to my clearing journey for 2022 so that I can listen more often to my heart. I spent some time learning to meditate last year with Headspace. I look forward to getting back into that routine.

And now, I'm off to read the posts of my fellow bloggers at both Spiritual Journey Thursday and Sharing Our Stories. What a perfectly delightful focus for the next bit of my morning!

I love to join my friends at Sharing Our Stories on Thursdays!

Wednesday, January 5, 2022

Slice of Life: Using my OLW to Look Back at 2021!

It's past time to put 2021 in the rear view mirror! Writing reflectively is not something I do easily. But as a way of honoring my OLW for 2021, I offer up this list (in no particular order of importance) of 21 ways I received comfort in 2021:

friends

 family

 phone calls & Zoom gatherings

 hot chocolate

 naps

 in-person church

 walks

 writing

 books

 blossoms

 Jesus

 poems

 sunshine

family getaways to Lincoln, OR & St. George, UT

 a special birthday plant

 my blue cozy blanket

 a birthday in Texas

 calendar inspiration

 a quilt in process

 grandchildren

 faith!

Saturday, January 1, 2022

First Meanderings of 2022

I'm thrilled to see 2021 in the rear view mirror and to face 2022 with renewed faith and hope and optimism that things will be better.

I've started the new year in my favorite way by reading!

I discovered a New Yorker interview with Lois Lowry in a link from a Gretchen Rubin post. I've been fortunate to have heard her speak twice: once in Seattle (2008) and once in Washington DC (2012) at the National Book Festival. I love her book, Gossamer, and she mentions it in the interview.  Put it on your WTR (TBR) list if you've never read it. (And here I must digress and explain my use of WTR versus TBR. "To be read" just sounds like an assignment, like something that needs to be done. However, "want to read" captures the joy and the passion of diving into a book that calls to you. So I have a WTR list, not a TBR list.)

Then, I popped over to FB, planning to search SOS (Sharing Our Stories) in search of recent posts. 

I immediately forgot to do that and lost myself in Christy's collage of pictures from 2021. Just viewing them made me think about images and decide that I'll do a retrospective 2021 post by collecting 21 of my favorite images. 

And then I discovered these words from T.S. Eliott that Linda shared in her new year post: “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.”  

And of course, that quote makes me think of last year's OLW and how I still haven't written my reflection on comfort which I simply must write before I share/unveil my word for this new year.

And so I begin 2022 with a meandering post of my early morning ramblings. And ideas for several future posts. And a resolve to mark this new year with more words on my blog. 

Happy 2022!