The Simple Woman's Daybook... A Monday Exercise Created By Peggy Hostetler...

Dear Ones,

Usually I am not one to take part in this type of thing because I am already juggling quite a lot, but this is so special I thought that I would join and add my thoughts each Monday. If you click on the graphic just below you will go to the Daybook page to find more information. Today's entry follows the graphic...

FOR TODAY ~ January 26, 2009...

Outside my window... sits my beautiful stone mermaid, an antique, about 4 feet tall. She is leaning against the white stucco wall, not minding the cold, waiting for spring to come again when she can go back to where she belongs... in the garden.

I am thinking... of the poem... "The world is full of so many wonderful things, we should all be as happy as Kings..." (I am paraphrasing from memory, but I think it's pretty close!). And I am thinking that we all have so very much, even if we are not "rich," and why are we not happier? I am happier than I have ever been, and growing more so everyday. The more my physical space is cleared out, the lighter is my load on every level. The less I have, the more space there is to love, to give, to feel joy, to hear, to see, to experience, the world in all it's glory.

I am thankful for... The soft, warm, teddy bear of a pug snuggled into me snoring. He reminds me that the small, simple things of the earth are what matter most in the end.

From the learning rooms...(if this applies)... This would have applied to me many years ago. We home-schooled our three children through high-school and they went on to college. One now has a master's degree, another is finishing her master's and my youngest who completed a 2 year degree, is getting ready to go back to college soon. And they say home-schoolers are not being educated! I won't need to answer this one again since I am no longer homeschooling -- my children are 25, 29, and the eldest will be 32 this Saturday -- but I just thought I would let the other home-schooling families know that I am in their corner!

From the kitchen... The breakfast is finished, the dishes are done, a golden beta fish swims peacefully in his little aquarium, and I can't stop looking at the refrigerator which is packed to the hilt with pictures of my children, their partners, fiancees, husbands, and my one grandchild from tiny baby to the presents, at 4 1/2 years old. Therein lies my glory. I have little room in my tiny kitchen, what with 5 food and water bowls for my bevy of rescue dogs, but with my human and animal family all around me, and the windowsill filled with growing things, it is, to me, a glorious place to be...

I am wearing... what I usually wear around the house, a long cotton caftan, this one a pink, blue and green floral from Bali, with one of my ever present shawls around my shoulders. This one, handwoven, in pinks, blues, greens, and rust, and a favorite because it is so well worn and loved it is incredibly soft. This shawl reminds me of The Velveteen Rabbit...

I am creating... three different shawls, all on the knitting kneedles now, and they will have crocheted edges. This is for my ministry and the shawls are donated to the needy.

I am going... out today to the post office, the office supply store, and to get medicines and groceries. As anyone who knows me well knows this is one of those huge days for me as I am disabled and rarely leave the house. My outreach ministry is run from here. So I say a prayer and off I go...

I am reading... The Bible; Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (for about the 10th time!) by Shunryu Suzuki; Everyday Sacred, by Sue Bender; Eckhart Tolle (watching DVD set, "The Flowering of Consciousness," along with reading his book, A NEW EARTH: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose; and several others. I read several books at once, dipping into one and then another each day.

I am hoping... to expand my ministry with love, compassion and kindness, to finish my book this year, and to lovingly care for the dozen or so animals in my care,

I am hearing... the snuffling and snoring of 4 rescue pugs, of big bird Blossom, the cockatoo I took in almost a year ago who was plucking her feathers and not eating and now she's beautiful and eating and playing... I hear the hepa air filter making a soothing white noise and my fingertips clicking on the keyboard as I type. I hear the burbling of the fish tank, the sound of my own heartbeat. I hear the great waves of the ocean of love, around the world, like putting your ear to a big seashell. It's always there, but you need a vehicle to hear it. We are good at not listening, not remembering. It's always good to keep a seashell nearby...

Around the house... things are in a wild state of dis-array, a good kind of messy, because the whole place is being cleaned out, cleaned up, and much of what is being kept is being boxed up and put in a nearby storage facility until I can move to larger quarters. As I begin my ministry and work on my book I need clutter-free clear space, in my surroundings and in my head...

One of my favorite things... is the first sip of my morning latte. It's not just that I love the latte, but when I have my first sip it means that I have taken care of all the animals, done the early morning chores, gone through the ritual of making the latte -- brewing the espresso, frothing the milk, cleaning the machine -- and once settled down with the latte and ready to face my early morning computer chores, I feel a peace inside, the kind that passeth all understanding, because a dozen or more animals, not wanted or badly treated by others, have found a loving home here, and are well cared for and now napping, and my day has been started productively, and the first sip of my latte holds all of that, and gives me hope for the day...

A few plans for the rest of the week: ... continuing to work on the reorganization of the cottage, taking pride in my daily chores, seeing that my house and life are better organized, opening my arms wider and wider to give and receive love. For this I pray...


Here is picture thought I am sharing... (add your picture here):

Since this is my introduction to the group I thought I would post my picture here. In subsequent entries I will post other photos. In this way I can introduce myself and get to know you all better!




Reverend Maitri Libellule