Daily Happiness 8-4
clary sage a long talk with a stranger about the meaning of life kindnesses
Author: winslow eliot
Daily Happiness 8-3
going home at the end of a long summer day a screech owl Hafez
Apropos Anthony Trollope
Newsweek recently devoted a good portion of its content to “What to Read Now. And Why.” http://www.newsweek.com/id/204300 . It’s a fun read, but most interestingly for me was the editors’ choice for number one: The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope. This is how Newsweek summarizes the tale: “The title says it all. Trollope’s Read more about Apropos Anthony Trollope[…]
Daily Happiness 8-2
a long ago memory being called up by a friend Swift’s Beach satellite views of the earth
Daily Happiness 8-1
rain goblins an old country store a revelation
Daily Happiness 7-31
strong emotions preparing a room for a guest’s arrival Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Daily Happiness 7-30
sunlight striking the sleek black fur of a panther an outrageous joke Verdi
Romancing the Tweet
I’ve recently become a ‘twitterer.’ Twitter – this brave new world of sorts – has opened up new vistas that have made me view the whole world differently. I joined initially at the persuasion of my friend Richard (http://twitter.com/RCaro) – who seemed to imply that tweeting was essential for anyone who 1) is a writer; 2) is interested in other people knowing about one (i.e. ‘success’); and 3) cares about community, other people, the world, and who wants to know what’s what.
If the Breeze
If the breeze
blows
away a fear
let it go.
and if a wild rose
seduces you
lie back and be kissed
where those good things grow.
all you have to do
is live and rest and love.
You don’t have to know.
July 29
seeing Bora Bora from the deck of a cruise ship rearranging furniture mist at dawn presaging a hot day
July 28
vanilla vines growing in Mexico kindnesses Aesop’s fables
The Love Letter
Write an old-fashioned love letter to your ideal lover (don’t have an actual person in mind – make someone up. Have fun with this one.) The letter doesn’t have to be long, but it needs to be full of feeling, longing, compliments, insights! Think of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet “How do I Love Thee?” but Read more about The Love Letter[…]
July 27
the helpfulness of bats the sweet fragrance of plumeria blossoms remembering something funny and laughing out loud
July 26
hot summer nights in the city the patience of a donkey receiving an unexpected present
July 25
friends coming your way a misty morning the curragh of kildare
July 24
sleeping all through the night the lost city of Petra a friend for life
July 23
The Guesthouse by Rumi a pale, clear aquamarine reading a novel in the middle of the day
July 22
the Taj Mahal remembering a friend’s generosity freshly ground coffee
Write a fable
Fables are short stories that end with some sort of pithy moral. Often fables feature anthropomorphized animals (or even plants or elements) … Whether the character is a fox or a grape or the North Wind, it can speak, feel, and somehow exemplifies the maxim with which the tale concludes. For warm-ups, read one of Read more about Write a fable[…]
July 21
re-reading poems you used to know well waking early to the cawing of crows, loud starlings and sparrows, and a rooster’s crow the white cliffs of Dover
July 20
deep woods on a summer afternoon anticipation singing old folk songs with friends
It’s Not What Happens to You
It’s not what happens to you
that counts
it’s how you respond
so whether you’re kissed
or whether you’re not
or whether you’re this
or that
or grow big
or remain a dot
if you’re successful and full of fun
or fighting for a cause
or staying at home
abandoned or cherished
or alone
nothing matters but that you stay the same
don’t get embittered
don’t feel ashamed
but live generously, kindly, and full of love
for people
for yourself
for the earth
and your God
and for the Rose
in the garden
that you planted
and adored
and tamed.