the dreaming Press.

darkness yields it's own fruition

The other night I had a lucid and vivid dream. My eldest daughter and I were hiking through Amman...not through the bustling streets or city centers but in the hills. And there were trees. So many towering trees.

In fact, it was a forest that did not exist really in Amman. But such was my dream. I was photographing the trees with her; they were immense. Some over 400 feet high. I recall being spoken to by some unseen voice, a voice that wanted to know why exactly I thought it was okay for this forest to be cut down. I couldn't put into words why I felt that, I only knew that it would be okay.

My opinions were met with disdain, I was scolded. Chastised. Made fun of for my views. {I didn't let it faze me. Really. I kept doing what I was doing. The opinions of others met with my immunity. Such a lovely, empowering feeling.}

I kept hiking until I discovered I had lost my camera equipment. Including my iPhone, which is also, by the way, a camera of it's own right.

We kept up our search for the cameras while we hiked through these trees. Looking up gave us vertigo...the trees were so overwhelming. Then there was some immediate danger. The trees were going to be cut down and we were right in the middle of it all. I told Olivia not to worry; that to have faith that all would work out fine. We'd be safe, that much I knew.

A short while later we then discovered lush and fertile crops were growing right where the trees had been cut down; and in numerous stacks the trees were tied together in neat little bundles.

The unseen voice returned. It told me I had been right all along. It also told me to look in my purse. I opened it up to see my camera equipment had been there the entire time.

***

I pondered this dream for days. I consulted the oracle. Then I consulted my best friend who gave me the perfect interpretation. She was 100% correct. I'll sum up her analysis by telling you this:

I believe in myself. I've had people who would disagree with the way I do things. They talk, they snicker. They think what they want to think...it's their drama. I don't deal with other people's drama well, I never have. I like to worry about what I'm doing. So that said, initially the overwhelmment I felt resulted in me doubting my abilities. Doubting myself. A darkness came over me in the form of fear. Ridicule. Anxiety. And yet...by sticking to what I believed in, a fruitfulness ensued. A ripe time of fruition was available to me. I was, for lack of a better word-"proven" right.

So naysayers, excuse me while I go harvest my crops. I'm not searching anymore. I've got all I need. It's (the light, & it's) been with me all along.

xoxo

p.s. The same is true of YOU. Stick to what you know. Believe in what your heart tells you is right. And you too will yield abundance from the seeds you have planted. YOU WILL. Have faith.

Have you ever had fun?

 
Have you ever?

Have you been struck with a senseless case of the giggles so bad you could hardly stand it?

Have you ever loved the Bay City Rollers so much, you had to adopt their style?

Have you ever been so caught up in the moment, that you thought, "What. The. Hell?"

Have you ever loved a friend so deeply that you cried for their loss, smiled at their victory, hugged them for their achievements?

Have you ever met someone through blogging...that you totally and utterly adore?  Someone who is a sunray through the grayest of unwanted clouds?

This, is that person to me. {the sweetie in the plaid pants! ;)}

She totally and unequivocally rocks the kasbah.

xoxo

(and she is coming for a spa treatment soon! yay~! we can trade Moroccan Oil hair secrets~!)

xoxo

Love ya, girl.

p.s. Forgive the timed incomplete post that popped up here with no words only a photo.  I'm doing a soup post and it wasn't written yet.  I shall sneak it in here another time, when it is completed! Yikes! See what trying to save time in life does for you-messes you up entirely.  One thing at a time, must keep telling myself this....one thing at a time. xoxo

Living future nostalgias, a lesson from the boy who wears odd socks.

What do you truly savour about your life?

Could it be your career? Friends? Travel? Food? Sleeping in? Loved ones? Ice cream??? {For me, tiger tail on a sugar cone. Plain and simple.  There will never be another flavour invented in the Universe to me, that comes close to rivaling tiger tail.}

Are you focused on any one particular thing, or do you invite in a synchronized swimming chorus of singing prose to help you backstroke amidst the rivers of colour delivered up faithfully to you each day? Do you sway to the tidal rhythms of your ashes to ashes existence? Do you obey your intuition regardless of what your brain tells you are potential hazards? {Remember the brain is bullshit and the tummy is truth...listen to your tummy, easy peasy lemon squeezy.} Are your nights lit by a loving moon full of promise holding dreams? Are you fully embracing your ideas without shooing them away because you are strong and wise and don't let obstacles get in your way because you don't even entertain the idea of an obstacle?

Then I say good for you!  Keep savouring, keep reaping what you sow, and may the karma of what you share come back to you a thousand fold.

Not that I'm suggesting life is without sorrows, in fact sometimes quite the opposite.  I think so much about the colour of life lately and how it has desaturated for some important people in my life.  I am not suggesting we all walk around in a "rosy glasses"-induced fog, but could we strive to savour the nows that are so generously dealt to us?  My friends who hurt remind me every day to embrace the ones I love, for just loving them and being present when they need me is such a tremendous gift that I am so amazed at the wonders it can do for them.  In fact being present is the greatest gift you can give that allows you to reap all the benefits too. 

And guess what? That is all we can do.  (Our best.) That is it.  Be present.

Live your future nostalgia's. The boy who introduced me to the concept is a world traveler, a teacher, and a lover of photography, art, life, and last but most certainly not least a lover of great music.   We can all learn from him, right?  Be available with your full attention wherever you are.  Easy.  Simple.  We have to live in this imperfect world but we can do wonders for our happiness level if we focus on the things and people that bring us joy.  The rest isn't up to us, only our choices and our reactions are.

So, enjoy your ice cream and stop bitching about your neighbour.  You are wasting your time and you are likely making yourself ill. Instead, I beg of you to attack your life like the greatest challenge that has ever been issued, and float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. (Need a visual? Get in the ring with life.  Lace up your gloves and start to dance....POW.  Deliver a punch.  Then keep delivering punches while dancing...claim your title. Ahhh, good match at the end of the road.  You'll be able to bow and thank your opponent.  Once he wakes from his knock out that is...)

Be free, be generous. Eat more ice cream. Get busy making nostalgic things happen.

xo

LOVE FREE; Happy Saturday,Happy Saturday etc. {Pay it forward.}

 
Jafra, at the Amman City Center.

Without words and using universal hand gestures and smiles, we traded tables, these two beautiful women and three members of our group.  They understood that by doing so we could sit closer to the people in our party, and enjoy the mezzeh and the shisha without having to shout across the dark and smoky room at one another.

It is simple human kindnesses that make all the difference.  Oh and the chunks of dried cherry in the shisha certainly help.  {A rather fruity smoke, if you will!}

When you can make a choice in your life that will help another out, why don't you do just that?  Go ahead and offer the extra mile.  Smile even if you are tired.  Empathize just a tad more.  Because I guarantee you that the other guy has a story you know nothing about.  You won't glean any information by looks alone.{Never judge a book...} {Turn the other cheek...} {LOVE FREE, Happy Saturday!} (Okay that last one came directly off of the woman's red shirt in my photo...LOL)

Next time you see a need-offer to fill it.  I came home exhausted from work tonight...just plain worn out. My considerate neighbour/friend saw this and without hesitating offered me an ice cold beer with lime.  Handed it to me. {Insert happy smile here.}

Ah, you see-simple human kindnesses.  Thirsts quenched.  Friendships solidified. Happier Saturdays and FREE LOVE for all.  I will pay that forward you can bet your sweet patootie.

The dreaming continues next time....xoxox

Fullish moonish crazyness (yes, crazyness-not craziness!)

I've always wondered why some people's pets aren't allowed in the store, while they allow just about any old human being inside.  That is a mystery to me!

(Can you tell I'm a dog lover? Mine comes to work with me, a regular spa dog.)

Photo taken in Greenwich Village last summer, on a magical long weekend trip to NYC. 

Today was rife with weirdness.  Can't wait for this full moon to be over and done with! I'm home unexpectedly with my oldest, she called from school with an earache today.  I'll bake chocolate chip banana bread, and tuck her in with a movie.

Focusing on good things;

• friends who love me despite my foibles
• family who love me despite my foibles
• my foibles...they make me who I am ;)

xo