Tag Archives: happiness

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Deer me

 
Today was the day of the deer. First we saw this lady and her friends out for their morning stroll while we were driving to school. They usually hang out at one corner every morning, happily standing on the side of the road. As you can tell, she is not afraid of me at al.   


Almost every morning while I’m sitting having my tea a few deer come into my back yard and stare in my window at me. I figure they’re asking when I will be planting the garden and if I could please plant something yummy for them. 

This afternoon this one was lying at the edge of the old garden having an afternoon sun nap. Even though I was standing fairly close and had my dog with me, she was not bothered enough to get up. 

   

Happiness moment, spending time in nature and soothing my soul. 

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Life is a balance 

 
My theme for the day seems to be relax. The larger theme seems to be balance. I had a long conversation today with my Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga instructor  Asrael about things and life and relaxing and balance. 

For some reason relaxing into things is not something that comes easily to me. Even with the deep understanding that life will be better and happier and more bliss filled, I resist and stress into so many of my experiences. Both the good ones and the bad ones. I get the resistance for the unpleasant ones – but really? Do the pleasant ones have to be a struggle too?

Relax. 

For me being able to relax means that I find that perfect balance of holding on and letting go. Some things need to be held onto. Some things need to be let go of. Some things I need to both hold on and let go of at the same time. 

Relax. 

It’s a conversation I had today with my dad as well. How does one relax? Breathe into the moment? 

The concept is easy, putting it into practice is a challenge for me. 

Happiness moment was my conversation with Asrael. It’s so balancing and grounding for me   I actually do feel myself relaxing when I talk to her. Which is probably why I’ve been exhausted all day. 

Relax. 

Hold on and let go. 

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Putting down roots 

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul. – Simone Weil 


My cousin put this quote on my Facebook wall yesterday saying it was something that reminded her of me. A lot of time over these past few years have been spent figuring out what grounds me and what to do about it. 

What grounds me? I rediscovered last summer that this grounds me 

  
I remember laughing about this fact years ago when I was riding all the time the only stable thing in my life is my horses. Over the years I’ve thought about that statement and refined it (I was in my early twenties at the time and if you’d told me I would be moving away from Calgary I wold have laughed hysterically)

Being home grounds me. Home in the larger word than just a house. Home where family is. Home at the ranch. Home where I look outside and see the barn. Home where I walk outside of my house and the first sound I hear is the gentle zerbert sound of a horse sneeze. Home where little Melissa ran around and played with her sister and cousins in the same yard her mom played and in the same yard her grandpa played. 

Like roots attaching into the ground I can feel myself grounding back in here. A different and more purposeful grounding than I had before when I took it for granted. 

This morning while driving home from the school drop off I had to pull over and take in the view of the mountains. It was breathtaking and I felt my soul smile as I stood outside of the car breathing in the morning air. As I stood there I thought about being grounded and being home and sticking my roots in. 

  
But then when I got back in the car the song Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond came on the radio and it brought me to Rhode Island summers. We had some beautiful summers there at the beach and driving to Newport and to Boston   That song is the song they play at the Red Sox games and Jacob became such a Red Sox fan there. 

I realized we had left roots everywhere we have been in some way, shape or form. 

One of the churches in Roanoke had this on their sign: bloom where you are planted and it became a mantra of sorts for me during my time there. I tried (perhaps too hard) to bloom and flourish no matter where I was. I have to say though, there are certain conditions that are absolutely better for growth than others. 

Learning about Ayurveda has taught me that a lot of my sense of being ungrounded is a Vata imbalance. I knew this, I studied this. I practiced a Vata pacifying lifestyle   And yet no matter what I did I remained unbalanced. 

Calgary physically is about the most Vata aggravating  place on the planet. It’s dry, windy, and cold, cold, cold. 

I knew that a lot of my imbalance had nothing to do with anything physical. I could live in a Vata pacifying place, eat Vata pacifying foods, and practice Vata pacifying routines and it wasn’t going to solve my problem. 

My issue was and is spiritual   And it’s being balanced in this most Vata aggravating of places. Where my roots are.  

Happiness moment: a little couch nap this afternoon with Ella the Cat being a purr machine on my chest. Part way through she rolled over, leaned down to where Dottie the Dotted Dog was lying, balled her paw into an unclawed fist and punched her a few times in the head. When Dottie looked up, Ella rolled over on her back and cuddled up to me so Dottie knew she was missing something. They pretend to hate each other but they actually have a pretty special friendship. Shhhh don’t tell anyone. 

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A little Ayurvedic magic

 
First of all the happiness moment of the day. It was a beautiful, sunny 20 degrees Celsius out today and the kids and I took an early summer break and went to our old favourite, Mackay’s  Ice Cream in Cochrane. It was lovely and delicious. I had a very non Ayurvedic scoop of chocolate fudge chunk and blissfully enjoyed every bite in an Ayurvedic approved manner of mindful eating. OMG it was good!!

This weekend Jenna has been complaining on and off of a sore ear. Yesterday I pulled out my essential oils and tried putting some of them around her ear. While it helped a little nothing was solving the pain. 

This morning she woke up in terrible pain and I actually ended up keeping her home from school. As I was preparing breakfast I remembered where  I had stashed my mustard oil and decided to give a remedy a try that I’d been given by a friend from India a few years ago. 

At one point both Jenna and I had sore ears. I put her on antibiotics and I used the Ayurvedic remedy to see who healed faster. I did at a significant rate. 

So, you get a pot and put some mustard oil in it. Then add a couple of cloves of garlic and heat it until the garlic turns red. Remember it’s oil so hot is hot! I put a clear lid on the pot. 

When it’s done, let it cool and then put some on a cotton ball and place it in the ear. Leave it for as long as possible. 

Jenna wore hers for 3 hours and her ear is completely pain free. She went from not wanting to move to skipping down the road smiling and laughing. 

Magic

I love learning about and healing with Ayurveda 

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A social solitude walk 

 
My walks are a very spiritual time of the day for me. I need that solitude in nature to connect with the Universe and to connect with my inner being. 

I’ve always craved a certain amount of solitude although our years in Roanoke taught me that there absolutely can be too much time alone.  It’s all about finding that balance to satisfy my introverted self. 

My solitude walks along the road by our house seem to be balancing this perfectly. For example, today I headed out with my Dotted Dog and about half way through ran into my aunt. She pulled over and we had a nice chat. I decided I should turn around because I was going to go for a drive with my dad and the day was slipping by. On the way back my nephew and a friend blew past me in their truck. Soon after that a cousin stopped and we chatted for a while. I kept walking and ran into my aunt again who was pulled over visiting with another cousin and Jenna who were headed off to check calves. Chatted again and then kept on walking home. My nephew blasted by once more  and yelled out the window holy Auntie Melissa, are you ever a slow walker. Because of course by then all the people I’d been chatting with were gone and it was just me again. 

Solitude and companionship. Both are so important to feed my soul. My happiness moment for the day was that I got to perfectly balance both.   

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Party party 

Tonight we went to a big family birthday party. Thrown by a couple who really know how to throw a good party. Since childhood I’ve made it a point to try and weasel an invitation to one of their “hellabaloos” as he called it tonight. 

Good timing too because we really needed to get out and let our hair down and have some fun. I went with my parents and my kids and it was much needed fun and visiting. 

Every morning on our drive into school we pass a man driving a black truck heading the other way. We always wave and smile. In fact the kids and I judge how late we are by where we meet him on the road. 

Tonight at supper we were eating with my parents, my aunt and uncle and a few other people. One of them said I pass you when you’re out walking your dog during the day. I drive a black truck. So Jacob turned to him and said do we pass you on our way to school too? And he looked at me and said you drive the silver car through the hay valley?  We both decided now we will be giving big huge waves as we pass instead of little polite ones. 

I’ve told the kids that when they go out here they’ll always run into family. To find out this man is married to a cousin of my mom – their nana – just confirmed for them that they are home and constantly surrounded by family 

It was fun, it was important to be brought back into the loving arms of our clan. Today’s happiness moment. Out with my family with the family. 

Here’s the kids at the party:  
Don’t you love the cowboy light hat? 

 

Just to prove we live in the most beautiful place in the world this was the view towards our house on our way home. The pair of swans has decided to stick around for a while.   

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Divine order in chaos

 
This quote from Louise Hay popped up on my newsfeed and I have to say it perfectly describes my life right now. Probably always, but absolutely right now in this moment. 

The past few months I have felt guidance from some power bigger than I in ways I have never experienced. Things have fallen into my life in ways I would never have expected and it’s all happened with ease and grace. All of this during a time that is challenging and emotional and…..

Yet there is this guidance, this comfort.  This presence that I can truly feel that is walking along with me.  A physical manifestation of this loving guidance comes in the form of my beloved dog Kayla who has been gone for 8 years now. During times of uncertainty in my life I see her out of the corner of my eye. She has been many places guiding me and I see her often lately here walking around. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. I feel her around me. 

But this Divine Guidance of course comes from a bigger power. The Source, God, the Universe, whatever you want to call it. Something big is helping to guide my life right now and it’s so important that I stay out of my own way. 

My life is in order at a very deep, peaceful level. 


Happiness monent: Jenna was invited to a birthday party today by a girl at her school. It warms my heart the way both kids have settled into this school. But the fact that she has a friend who invited her to this party was huge. She has been so excited all week. 

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The bouncy back road. 

Today I got to spend the day doing errand type things with dad. Normal things like a trip into the mall to get his hair cut. Then over to the bank to pay taxes. 

This afternoon we drove the back road into Cochrane to pick up the kids and for him to have an appointment. Driving the hay valley at the beginning of spring is always beautiful, but it was extra special to share it with him. Just doing regular things and visiting and enjoying each other’s company. Happiness moment with my dad   

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When life gives you lemons…. Eat lemon cake 

Today was a day that in many ways felt like life really had handed me lemons. This afternoon while  I was at the grocery store thinking about my lemon day, I looked down and there was this lemon cake. I figured what the heck, when life hands me lemons darn it I’m going to eat lemon cake. It was delicious by the way. 

   

I have sometimes wondered how my exit from this world will be. I hope at the very least it’s somewhat dignified. It probably won’t be. But one can hope. 

Today when I was driving my kids home from school I had a little preview of what that could be like. Trust me it was not dignified at all.

We were driving on the highway following some other cars when suddenly a very large gravel truck with an extra trailer pulled out from a side road and started making a left hand turn across the two lane highway and in front of us   

I was doing 100 km/hour and suddenly there was a monster of a truck just a few feet away from us and moving in our direction. I hit the brakes and the horn as we skidded/flew across our lane and onto the shoulder I screamed FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUU – well you know the rest – as loudly as I could. Either the horn or my swearing caught the attention of the truck driver and he stopped – blocking all oncoming traffic. Thank goodness no one was coming right at the moment. We were somewhere between 2-4 feet from the front of the truck when he stopped. 

So while my motto has always kind of been this:

 
Apparently it’s more likely that I will slide in screaming the F bomb. My poor children.  

I took away several things from this moment. 

1. My guardian angel works hard and probably falls into bed exhausted at night. 

2. My life has been saved several times by my being behind the wheel of a Volvo. 

3. I should always take backroads. 

4. Sometimes when life seems to be all lemony it’s not really so much so. That living in the moment thing. Sometimes the moments are good and sometimes they’re not so good. But they are moments and there is something to be gained from each one of them.  

My happiness moment today was that I got to spend most of the day with my parents and my sister. While it was a day that seemed to want to hand us lemons we did our best to make lemon cake. In fact we ate that lemon cake together tonight before my sister headed back home. 

Happiness is those small moments with the people you love. 

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Buttercup 

 
Today my mom, my dad, and I went out in the field to search for crocuses. After searching and searching we were unable to find any. Bummer. But along with some buffalo beans, I did find this buttercup along the ridge. Spring. It’s finally happening. Actually today may have been summer as it was 27C and wonderfully sunny. 

My happiness moment of the day was wandering the field with my parents. It was so wonderful to see dad out all excited in search of the hiding crocuses. May the joyful feelings of spring give dad lots of love and strength. 

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