Thought for Today: Exercising for Life

Our family chiropractor, Dr. Amy Mercovich, asked me to send her a few tips on exercising that might be helpful for someone who was just starting out. It was fun to think about and also affirming to have someone ackowledge that yes, I have been exercising over my entire life. Like it or not, thanks Dad. He got us kids out there. I remember it well. Turn off the TV and go for a run. I hated missing Little House on the Prairie, but I was learning something important. Need some inspiration? Check out Dr Amy's Blog for some great stories from people who have made exercise part of life and are living life better with exercise. 

Poetry: Poem for Lent...What If

 What If

What if the sun didn't rise

Pink light softly starting a new day

Darkness

What if snow didn't fall

Glistening snow angels happy days off from school screaming down the sledding hill

Bitter

What if Spring never came

Grass green leaves unfolding blossoms opening awake to fresh sunshine

Brown

What if music never came to life

Dancing humming deep connection healing joy

Emptyness

What if friends never laughed and smiled

Enemies

What if the sea never splashed its shore

Beauty comfort refreshment from heat

Burned 

What if movies didn't have popcorn

What if soft blankies were never cuddled

What if swim teachers never told us to jump in

What if there were no sunsets

Red orange pink bursting

Charcoal

What if coffee shops only served tea

What if good books didn't have sequels

What if he never asked and I didn't say yes

What if diamonds didn't sparkle

Valueless

What if You didn't speak the world into existence

What if You weren't?

Poetry: Darkness and Light

Over the past few months I have been looking forward to and planning a Ladies Retreat. Last weekend finally came and what an honor it was to lead beautiful women in a couple of days of refreshment at Lake Ontario. I chose the theme of LIGHT. The idea hit me when I was putting away our Christmas tree lights and I was sad to see the lovely sparkly lights leave our living room. Light is such a meaningful part of LIFE. Springtime in the north brings more light and WOW what a difference it makes. We all feel so much more alive with more light in our days. Here are two poems I wrote for our first session to help visualize the difference light can make in darkness. This was a fun exerecise! I started with the Darkness poem and tried to paint with words what a dark path is like. Then, I wrote Light and it is almost the same poem but I changed just a few things to convey the difference light makes. 

Darkness

Walking home 

Down a dark path

Cold fingers, toes, cheeks

Wind cutting 

My thin coat

Fear filling

My mind

No light anywhere

Stepping slowly

Feeling

My way

Shadows shift

Black tree limbs

Reach to 

Grab, trip, push me

Down into the dirt

I see a house

Dark shadow 

Black sky

Tripping on steps

Grabbing icy doorknob

Opening

Searching

No light

Only 

Cold

Empty

Silence

Hunger

Darkness

Light

Walking down

A dark path

Cold fingers, toes, cheeks

Wind cutting

Thin coat

Fear filling my mind

Wait!

My flashlight!

Pulling it out of my pocket

Shining on every step

Shoulders relax

Calmly

Forward 

I walk

Frosted tree limbs

Sparkle in

Smallest ray

Beauty everywhere

I see a house

Dark shadow

Black sky but,

A candle in the window

Reaches out 

Welcoming

Tripping up steps

Grabbing icy doorknob

Opening

Searching

Fire crackles

Orange flames glow

Warmth fills the kitchen

Candles on the table 

Burning brightly

Baking bread smells like

Home in the soft

Light

Thought for Today: Winter Wonder

What makes you feel like a kid again? WONDER! Yes! It's that unmistakeable feeling that comes over you when you see something new and incredible, when you are shocked at how something works or was created to be so amazing. And it's like you are a child experiencing life in a fresh aspect like never before. This week wonder hit me. I woke up to another January day of cold and snow. As the day dawned, my daughter looked out our sliding glass door and excalimed, "Look at all the snowballs!" Sure enough, when I looked out to our backyard there were hundreds of snowballs rolled up overnight by the wind. In all my life I had never seen this before. WOW! Wonder! Amazement! I quickly changed clothes and threw on snow gear. I had to see this upclose and take some photos to share with family down south. When I got outside I saw more and more snowballs and my excitement grew. How could this be? How come I'd never seen this phenomenon before after so many cold snowy winters? I was filled with delight and energy! My average day in the north in January in winter changed into something special, something fun, something happy. What has filled you with wonder lately? Feel free to leave a comment!

Poem: Last Day First Day

 Last Day First Day

Soft morning light dawns

Candles flickering

Fireplace logs burning

Warming

My toes while I wait

For the coffeepot to finish

Brewing

Earthy aroma filling the 

Quiet house

Today is our first day of the

New year

Your last day with us

You sparkled 

Brightly 

Softly

Giving joy

Beauty

Gently in the darkness

Reminding us

A light has dawned

The

Light of the World

Short Story: The Guest

The Guest

It was a cold winter's night and while I was rummaging around in my living room looking for matches to light a fire in my small fireplace there was a knock. 'Must be squirrels again', I thought. The cold was driving them into small holes in the foundation of my cottage in the hills. But there it was again, a firm knock against my wooden front door, and then two more knocks after that. Who could it be so late on such a bitter night? I left the matches on the mantle, I had found them in the drawer of the side table, and ran over to the door, unbolted it with a bang, that large rusty lock needed a hard turn to loosen it and saw a hooded figure waiting and stamping her feet on the coblestone step. She lifted her head and snow showered down from her hood and covered her brown leather boots. Her coat was long and deep red, made from a soft worn cordoroy and the edges were trimmed with green embroidered vines. "Well," she said, "Are you going to invite me in or just stand there letting the cold in?" I was too shocked to say anything as she marched herself in through the doorway and right over to the fireplace. "This just won't do", she remarked and began buiding a fire. "Hand me the matches please." With a quick strike of a match she bent over to rest the flame onto the pine needle kindling and the fire instantly began to crackle. "There!" Before I could even ask her name she plopped down into my only easy chair and rested her head full of short white curls back and closed her eyes. Her round face was gentlelike with wrinkles and rosy cheeks. I thought she might fall asleep she looked so cozy and at home in the cushions. "My does something smell nice", she said. I just remembered and hurried into the kitchen to turn down the burner and ladled out steaming wassail into two mugs and brought them to the living room. I handed one to my guest and kept the other one and sat down by the fire. My hands were warm from the hot mug. "Excuse me," I said. "Can I ask who you are and what you are doing out on such a bitter night and why you were knocking on my door?" She smiled there as she rested with her eyes closed and then before I knew it she was snoring softly. I reached over and took the empty mug from her hands and watched her closely. She looked familiar but not entirely recognizable. Was she my neighbor's grandmother lost out in the snow? Their farm was a mile over the south hill and I couldn't imagine anyone wandering so far. I let her sleep and sipped on my wassail, how did she manage to drink hers so fast? The fire snapped and spat a few sparks, the room was dim except for the bright dancing flames. My mind wanndered to soft music playing Silent Night, candles held by steady hands in a dark church. Suddenly the scene changed and children were lauging and skating on a frozen patch of ice in a lonely cornfield at night. Then my mind raced to a dining room table beautifully laid, white china bowls filled with scalding oyster stew waiting for an eager family. The spicey and sweet aroma of the wassail filled my cottage and once again my mind wandered to a kitchen alive with loud Hellos and Merry Christmas and Come on In! Yes, it was just as it was before, so vivid in my mind's eye. Then suddenly, the old woman jumped to her feet, pulled her sagging hood over her head, clapped her hands, opened the door (how she did it so effortlessly I'll never know) walked into the  blowing snow and disappeared. I never found out who she was and never saw her again. But, if you ever hear a knock on a cold winter's night it just might be The Ghost of Christmas Eve.

Photo art: grunderquendel

Poem: Magic

 Magic

I walk 

On a cold frosty morning

Crunching of ice under my feet

To clear my head

Pages of lists

Left at home

Gifts to buy

Dinners to cook

Snowmen to build

Tree to trim

House to clean

Cards to write

Clothes to wash

Calendar to check

Again

I breathe

Cold air in

What is the point

Of all the lists?

Slow beam of sunlight 

Shines through

Gray clouds 

Transforms fresh white snow

Into fields of shimmering diamonds

Magical

In one second

Heavy thoughts become a prayer

God fill me 

Let me create, like You

The magical in all 

I do 

This Christmas.

Sarah Brutovski