The Moon Knows....

Hello and a most Happy Sunday morning to you all!

I had the most enjoyable evening drive with the love of my life and a good friend yesterday.  What started out as a river rock collecting expedition (for a craft project I'm working on) rolled into a ride up a mountainside until the road ended and the day faded away.  Along the way, we watched as the sun set and the moon slowly rose.  And what a beautiful and most awesome sight to behold as we drove to what felt like the top of the world!

Looking at the photos this morning, I got to thinking about how similar our lives are to that of the moon...and how connected we all are by its majesty! 

 It is the same moon that my mother, and her mother, and all the mothers before her have looked up at in the quiet of night.  It is the same moon that my now 31 year old son called the "boon" when he was learning to talk so many years ago.  It is the same moon that others see half way around the world when they look towards the night sky.

I remember reading this quote somewhere that ended with - "the moon knows what it means to be human" - and the gist of it was this...
The moon is always changing - some days small and dark, other times so full of light and life.  Very much the way life changes from day to day...very much the way we can feel about ourselves and our lives day to day. 

And this morning, reflecting on last night's adventure, I feel a sense of peace - I know that some days will be spectacular and bright and full of life, and other days quieter, less grand, and sometimes even dark.  And I am okay with that, because I know the "full moon" will rise again.

 

Until next time my friends, wishing you all peace and lots of full-moon days!

Finding comfort...

Well, my friends, it has been a rough couple of weeks.  The new job has certainly provided the nearly stress-free work environment I was looking for, but the satisfaction of working hard and accomplishment - not so much.  I am finding it difficult to adjust - I guess going from a thousand miles an hour every day to a snail's pace will take more than two weeks to accept. 

So I find myself doubting my choice...and I have been feeling like I just need a really big hug and someone telling me that everything's gonna be alright - which got me to thinking about my mother.

I remember a couple month's after her passing, we went to the freezer for a jar of jam and realized it was the last jar - the VERY LAST JAR made by my mother.  I remember how hard it was to actually open it and eat it - we would never enjoy another jar of mom's awesome freezer jam!  Funny how something so trivial could mean so much.  There were so many little things like that over the next couple years that really packed a wallop...

So today at work, a guest left behind a bag of cucumbers in their room and since no one else wanted them I brought them home.   And then the thought hit me - HEY! You could try to make refrigerator pickles like Mom used to make.  And oh yeah, you got some berries in the freezer that need to be used up - Mom's freezer jam!

So I spent the afternoon doing just that!  And while it will be a day or two before I can give them a go, I feel a warm hug engulf me - the kind of comfort only a mother can give!

Wishing all of you, my dear friends, the comfort of a mother's love.  Till next time...

Ch...ch...ch...changes!

Been more than four months since I've added a post to this blog...not sure if that means I have been too busy, too lazy, or if I have actually just been living life!  I like to think the latter is true, but alas I recently found myself at another turning point in life. 

I was beginning to feel the effects of working too many hours, of being in a constant state of stress.  Even when I was fortunate enough to have time away from work, my thoughts were consumed by it.  I started to veer off my path of a year of new adventures...I couldn't find the time, or I was just too damn tired!

I have always been an optimist and held the faith that tomorrow would be a better day, and then the moment arrived.  I went to work one morning and couldn't find hope - my optimism had quietly faded away.  I typed up my resignation in an email and saved it as a draft.  I spent the following week reading and re-reading that email, but never sending it.  I thought about what changes would come if I just walked away.  I thought about the fact that I did enjoy the type of work I was doing.  I thought about losing the best salary I had ever made in my life.

And then...
I realized that it would be okay...I felt the pressure lifting, I felt the feeling return that faith and courage were all I needed .  I wasn't sweating about the loss of income (hell, I had raised 4 children on $10 an hour and they had all turned out okay!). 

And then...
I hit the SEND button!

So here I am, mid-fifties, waiting to see what new adventure lies ahead for me.  Maybe it is a mid-life crisis thing (although I decided against buying the red convertible!) - or maybe it's just me on my quest for one more adventure.

Stay tuned to see where the road leads next!

 

Never too old,

never too bad,

never too late,

never too sick

to start from scratch

once again.

 

 

It's the journey...

Hello, my friends!  I have just completed my second photography class...

http://www.viviennemcmaster.com/blog/

...and it has been a real adventure!  This class took me well beyond my comfort zone, but also led me on some wonderful adventures.  And what I have come to realize is - it is not always about reaching a destination, but rather the journey along the way.

Life leads us down so many different roads...some by our own choosing, some by fate, some by God's will or some just by pure chance.  These twists and turns are sometimes joyful, sometimes, painful, sometimes confusing.  But always we have the opportunity to learn, to grow, to EXPERIENCE this great road trip we call life!

I often think about some of these "trips" I have taken by own choosing - and I start to overthink each experience - the what ifs, the would've, should've, could've - and I realize how these doubts have taken away from each of my life's experiences.  So I choose to accept the choices I have made in my life - and the consequences of each those choices - and remember the adventure, the growth, and the promise of better tomorrows that each have brought me.

I CHOOSE to enjoy the ride and not worry about the final destination!

 

Happy trails, my friends, until we meet again!

 

The last couple of weeks have been a busy time for me as I continue on my year of new adventures and self-rediscovery.  My first photography class was everything I had hoped it would be.
http://www.viviennemcmasterphotography.com/the-rebels-guide-to-falling-in-love-with-photography/

I think the idea of it being a "rebel" class helped me find the strength to dive in.  For so many of my younger years, rebellion was what I lived.  If I was told "you CAN'T", then most certainly
"I WOULD!  I lost that rebelliousness somewhere along the way, but it has returned with a vengeance!

So much so that I have signed up for a second class...this one is all about stepping outside my comfort zone and making me the subject of my photos! WHOA!  Who would have thought that my "baby step" photo could lead me on to such bigger and better things!  I am beginning to see the world in a whole different way!

I also completed an online class in hand lettering.  My mother had a saying that saw me through a lot of hard times in my life-

A little bit of courage and a whole lot of faith

is all it takes to get through this world

 





When all other words failed, these words kept me moving forward. (Besides, my mother would never tolerate a defeatist attitude. Man up, honey!  This is life!)

So I chose this saying and made it my own to help me on my journey to let go all of those hurtful voices in my head from so long ago and to guide me along on this journey we call life...

 

...maybe not with a roar, but with a growing inner strength...

 

Hope to see you all again soon~~~~

 



 

 





Heading into the final week of my first adventure - a creative photography class - I find myself becoming more and more excited about future adventures.  I have taken time to research other online classes, and have already selected my next classes - yes, CLASSES!  I feel such energy and desire to continue on my quest to try new things!  I want to finish up my photography class before I share the next adventure with you (I know, I know...the anticipation is killing you!). 

This week, we have been working on really getting outside of our comfort zone and playing with taking "selfies".  I can tell you, the idea of photographing myself brings up so many uncomfortable feelings.  Feelings I am guessing that go back all the way to my childhood.  It causes me to revisit the name of this blog - sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...

It's a lie.  I guess it was some witty saying created to make a person not feel hurt by hurtful words. I can tell you that I hold very few memories from my very early years, but most of the times when hurtful words were directed at me, I remember...oh, how I remember!  I guess you could say I am thin-skinned, that I tend to take everything to heart...but that is how I try to lead - with my heart.  But as we grow, we learn to tuck the hurt deep inside and hope it doesn't resurface - like this project that involves photographing yourself.

I know I am a good person, kind-hearted, hard-working, with a genuine concern for my fellow man and mankind, I am smart and have a great sense of humor, I am courageous and faithful, and I am a pretty darn good mother and grandmother. But this self photography thing has thrown me for a loop.  So as a part of my new year of adventures, I will venture into finally erasing those painful words that lie deep within me and just enjoy!  I will continue to take photos of myself until there are no more voices in my head trying to tear me down.

Here is my first attempt at a "selfie"...I call it "baby steps"...

Nice to "see" you again...please come on back to see what the next adventure is!~

Hurry up and slow down!

It is true that time flies by faster the older we get.  Nearing my 54th year in this world, this is something I have come to realize.  We get so wrapped up in our day-to-day existence, that we forget to take time to enjoy the simple things and the beauty that's around us.

 

We obsess over things, carefully planning all the details instead of...

...just snapping the picture without looking through the view finder.

 

 

 

Life plays with us by seeming so blurred at times, yet...

...so crystal clear at other times.

 

 

I guess sometimes I prefer the blurriness...

it seems to open up so many other possibilities if you let your mind go there.

 

 

I  wish we all could take a minute and remember what it was like to be child...

...and just twirl and twirl in a circle until we are silly with dizziness.

 

 

 

 

Like the tumbleweed blowing by that is slowed on its path by a wintering plant...

 

 

 

 I, too, wish to stop and take in the beauty of what's right in front of me.

 

This first week of rediscovery has been an amazing one.  I am beginning to feel more like "me".  I feel like I was lead to this creative photography thing - it is awakening the creative energy in me and I am so excited about what other adventures await!

 

Glad you could stop by and check in on me...now get to it -

HURRY UP and SLOW DOWN!