ABCs of Self-Care from Big Purple Mommy by Coleen Hubbard, for Caroline

A is for having the Attitude that your self is worth caring for.

B is for Baths and... 

C is for Coffee - really, really good Coffee that you take time to enjoy

D is for Dancing, not one of my personal favorites but! Dancing produces ...

Endorphins and Exercise are the next items on Hubbard's list :)

F is for Food, especially, Food made with love that is yummy and nutritious 

G is for Grooming, not in an effort look good to or for other, but out of Gratitude for Self

H is for Hibernating, Hunkering down and "pulling in" sometimes

I is for Indulging every once in a while

J is for writing in a Journal

K is for Kin

L is for Love, big purple Love

photo by Joshua Behan

M is for Movies, Music, Meditation, and Massage. All great ideas for all Moms!

N is for a Night out and Naps or Napatree :)

O is for Old friends, keep'em close

P is for Pets

Q is for... "you guessed it - absolute Quiet."

R is for Reading, Rest, and Rituals

S includes but it not limited to Sex, Sleep, Solitude, Smiles, and Spiritual life.

 photo by Joshua Behan

T is for Therapeutic processes that children remind us to enjoy, like coloring

U is for Understanding the merits of being an Underachiever

V is for Vacations

W is for Walks

X is for relaXing

 Full Moon Yoga, July 14, 2011

Y is for Yoga

Z is for "Zooming out, widening the frame of our lens, and gaining perspective on our current circumstances." ~ Coleen Hubbard

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

"Aglow with the plenipotent..." p. 238

"But the farmer holds back his heart and dares not trust to the generosity of nature, he listens..." p. 283

"Cuckoo of the Clock sang out the hours arrogantly over the rows, then it was itself sold, and flew off." p. 372

"...Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road."

Famous first line: "I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills." p.3 Out of Africa

Gambol ˈɡambəl/ verb gerund or present participle: gambolling : run or jump about playfully.

"Here I am, where I ought to be." p. 4

Isak Dinesen (her given name was Karen) wrote this book in 1937

"...Joyously jumping up and down, and gambolling as they run, and swinging their small pale torches merrily. The woods are filled with a wild frolicsome life, and it is all perfectly silent."  p. 259

Karen Blixen went to Kenya in 1912

Logo on the spine and end pages of this book

"... meditating upon the joys of farm life." ~ p. 214

Ngong Hills, Kenya, East Africa

P.B. Shelley quote: "once in-- How the delighted spirit pants for joy!"

Quote that reminds me of my hometown: "It is impossible that a town will not play a part in your life, it does not even make much difference whether you have more good or bad things to say of it, it draws your mind to it, by a mental law of gravitation." p. 11

"Roads of Life" story/drawing - p. 259

Salt water quote is how I became aware of Isak Dinesen from Amy Lewis in ENG 358 Fall 2006

"To be lonely is a state of mind, something completely other than physical solitude; when modern authors rant about the soul's intolerable loneliness, it is only proof of their own intolerable emptiness." ~ Out of Africa

"Unconditional truthfulness which outside of him I have only met in idiots." p. 362

"...Vigour...Vital assurance and lightness of heart." p. 4
When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them." ~ Out of Africa, 1937

"...out of the normal course of human existence, into a maelstrom where I ought never to have been..." p. 379

"You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future." ~ Isak Dinesen

Zen -Mama image and quote seem a go way to end this one: 

Finding Your Flow - Activating Love

"Advice to All Travellers Out There: Listen Carefully to the People You Meet!"

Beautiful image 

Deepak and Oprah meditation series

Even when I don't feel like doing it

Finding Your Flow
Going for a walk with Misty NOW
"Hold Hands firmly, Hearts gently" ~ Dove chocolate :)
I only got as far as a neighbor's house but!
Just had a great conversation, and feel so much better

Learning Life's Lessons, still...

“Meditation is not an act that has to be done separately or to be achieved in isolation of the forests. It is a quality, which continuously gets enhanced with the habit of doing even the smallest of the tasks with full concentration.” ― Deep Trivedi, The Pulse of Wisdom

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." ~ Buddha

Open to the changes the universe has in store for us

Perhaps we will find a Buddha like this one for our new backyard

Quiet day after a full, busy week or trying to find time to find my flow - hmmmm...

Reciprocity came up a few times this week. 

Sacred Whole - deep breath - let that sink in.

Unusually great timing... since I plugged this in ^ before seeing the latest MC video :)

"...Vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

We ourselves must Walk the path." ~ Buddha

“To eXperience love fully means eXperiencing who you really are.”

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself you have built against it.” —Rumi

"Zooming out, widening the frame of our lens, gaining perspective on our current circumstances." ~ Coleen Hubbard author of Big Purple Mommy. See  next post :)