Little Pieces of Hope

Life is not a bed of roses;

neither is it full of thorns.

UNKNOWN

I don't suppose it's a surprise to anyone living on this planet. It doesn't take long for a person, even a child, to discover that life is not a bed of roses. Thankfully, neither is it completely full of thorns, even in the most horrid of situations. Or so I am told, as I personally haven't lived in some of the worst situations out there. But there are dear people who have lived through some and have survived some, who bear witness that, yes, there is still goodness, there is still beauty, there is still kindness in the midst of those wretched circumstances. And that brings hopefulness for any gloom-ridden day.

If you've followed this blog for any length, you know it's dedicated to the theme of living a beautiful life—focusing on what is beautiful and what gives hope in the world around us. None of us live in paradisal circumstances, at least not all the time. Sometimes life is pretty good, but when the ugly stuff gets too much in our faces, it's harder to hold onto what still adds grace to our lives. One thing I have learned over my longish life is to pray for grace... and to watch for the tiniest gifts that show up often in the smallest places. Sometimes they feel so inconsequential it's easy to overlook, but I began to practice watching for them, and I was surprised at how much beauty was out there, hiding in full view. 

When it comes to a garden..... it's not all a bed of roses either. Maybe that's why most of my floral photos are close ups, with only a few rarer panoramic views. First, I like the 'larger than life' style made famous by artist Georgia O'Keeffe who often painted her floral works in grand scale. She said if she painted a flower in a huge scale, people couldn't ignore its beauty. When it's in your face like that, it is hard to ignore, true. Second, perhaps more importantly for me, I like taking close ups because quite often the parts of the scene are nicer than the whole of it. Edmonton author/photographer Shawna Lemay once observed that close ups block out the vistas that are not lovely to look at. 

So, I focus on what's lovely and zone out what's unsightly. It's not pretending it's not there; it's just focusing on the better thing available in the moment. My sister told me about seeing a fellow online who kept bringing to the viewer's attention all the things in his yard that weren't to his personal liking, complaining about all that was wrong in it. She wondered why he focused so much on the unsightly areas when she could see so much that was pleasing.

If I were to pan the camera over my garden, you would see the same thing here, even in the height of summer when things are at their best. Some corners are quite Edenic in sensual loveliness, but alongside there are vistas in such contrast from our hoped-for dreams of a whole garden attuned in symmetry, colour, and design. As it turns out, it's just how life is sometimes. Imperfect. We don't mean to leave a reader with the idea that all is perfect in our world where we live; we're just happily focusing on what is lovely and zoning out what isn't.

In thornier times when my soul falters and frets—when my body is unwell, when my mind grows anxious for various reasons—I try to create a space that offers restfulness with something lovely to light my eyes upon. It helps me to get on with things if I can carry something beautiful in my heart. Which often means that I do close-ups in my mind, and here on my blog, of what is still lovely in some way. I tend not to offer the wide angle lens panorama, but search for what adds colour, interest, and gracefulness in the more intimate setting. And to give you, when you visit, a little respite in an upside down world. Kind of like in the mindset of the unknown author in this little verse:

I will always search for the ray of sunshine,

the lone wildflower,

the singing birds,

the brightest star,

and every other little piece of hope.

UNKNOWN

❦

Wishing you a weekend that's lovely—with as few

thorns as possible and with little pieces of hope to keep you going,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

"My Mom's Peace Rose"

Autumn blogging schedule:

I post on Fridays

The Speed of Thoughtfulness

"I like walking because it is slow, and I suspect that

the mind, like the feet, work at about three miles an hour.

If this is so, then modern life is moving faster than

the speed of thought or thoughtfulness."

REBECCA SOLNIT, Wanderlust

An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day, so said Henry David Thoreau long ago. How true. Even though I don't always start out my day that way, it is one of those little things that still gives me a thrill when I do go. There is something about the freshness of the air at this time of day with its inviting sense of newness. It invigorates and often inspires my thoughts as I consider what I shall be about that day. It gives me a chance to pace my thoughts as I walk out those recommended ten thousand steps.

These days I don't want to rush anywhere. I don't want to be in a hurry. I want to move at the speed of thoughtfulness. Taking my time to bake a loaf of bread or prepare a meal. Even taking my time and not being impatient as I defrost the freezer. I want to relax into a good book or with dear friends over coffee. To notice the signs of the changing season. Of which there are many. Families of Canada Geese lift off from the small pond nearby as they prepare their young for their maiden flights south later in the season.  I especially notice the slight nip in the air even on a warm day and the slant of the light in the early morning and at sunset. As a young boy once quipped to poet Naomi Shihab Nye—"it gets late so early now!"

It's easy to get caught up in the rushing around, hurrying everywhere we go. When Rick and I get tied up in traffic or I get caught in a long line at the grocery store, I try to remember there isn't anything (not usually) that I need to huff and be impatient about. I feel myself relaxing into ' just being' in that moment. In whatever I'm doing.

It feels good.

I hope you have a beautiful day... where you have time to walk and live at the speed of thoughtfulness.

❦

Sending love and heart hugs,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Top Image by Summa from Pixabay

Hello Dear Friends

"Deep summer is

when laziness finds respectability."

SAM KEEN

Popping in to say that I'm still away from the blog for a little while longer. I meant to have something written for you this week, but here it is already Friday and no post to speak of.

Let me just say, we've been enjoying the summer days - doing a bit of road traveling, spending time with friends and family, reading, hanging out in the garden, going out for iced coffees and the odd ice cream cone, watching the blue skies and reveling in warm summery days. Just being a little lazy and feeling quite respectable about it (thanks to Mr. Keen's wisdom above). I'm so glad for days of leisure with time to while away the hours in little pursuits... or not.

I have been reading. Quite a lot. A few books that have held my interest this summer include: The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan (she writes and sketches about her encounters with the birds in her own backyard - it's a delightful book); A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle (memoir); Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (novel); Monk's-Hood by Ellis Peters (a Brother Cadfael mystery). I started September by Rosamunde Pilcher (Scottish novel) earlier in the week thinking this fat novel would carry me through into the first days of September, but I got so carried away, stayed up late, and turned the last page yesterday. It was a rainy day so it kind of felt autumn-y as I read. Close enough to September.

One of my great joys of summer is having bouquets of sweet peas to cut and bring in the house. Or take to my mom or hand some to the mail lady or surprise my doctor with a vaseful, who has young children who love them. I was so looking forward to the treat of them. Alas, our crop was hugely disappointing. The plants grew tall and lush but only three bright pink stems bloomed (as you see above), and that was it. Not sure what happened - we planted them in a different spot that was sunnier, which we thought they'd love. But apparently not. Rick finally cut down the plants now turning yellow as if they think they'd done a good job and could retire. Big sigh... here's hoping for a better crop next year.

I see I did manage to cobble together a few paragraphs to post for you on this last Friday of August. I do hope it's been worth your visit. Until next time, dear friends, here's wishing you a beautiful weekend.

 

❦

Sending love and heart hugs,

Brenda

PS. I completely forgot to include the link to my latest Guest Post I wrote this week on InScribe. It's a little meditation titled The Thing About Tests - you'll find it HERE.

Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

Five on Friday: Flowers, Books, Surprises

 Clematis 'Polish Spirit'

"...to withdraw from the world ever deeper

into his own private consolations of the spirit."

from Brother Cadfael's Penance by ELLIS PETERS

Happy Friday! As you read this, I'm away on a short road trip to the southern part of our province. As I won't have access to my blog, I hope the post goes up properly today. We didn't do as many day trips as we first planned for the summer, but it's also been lovely to be at home, enjoying the quiet in our own backyard. On these languid August days, it's so easy to zone out into one's own mind space... "into (the) private consolations of the spirit"... meandering amongst the flowers, feeling the breeze brush our faces, letting the mind wander or read a riveting story, meeting friends for an iced coffee, taking short naps on a lazy afternoon. For a little while we forget about the cares of the world, returning then to normal routines—the fray of life—refreshed and energized.

I offer today's edition of Five on Friday. Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by. 

One. Outside my window

A person doesn't have to look at the calendar to know that we're well into August. The slant of the sun in the early morning indicates September fast approaches. We hope for many days yet where they remain languid and calm. Thankfully, the heat wave has passed, and as I write this there is no wildfire smoke in the area, so we're enjoying summery days that don't melt us into puddles on the sidewalk.

The bees are busy amongst the flowers. We haven't seen so many golden souls around as we have had this summer - this is a trend that makes us happy. I must also mention that we're watching the growth of a single sunflower which volunteered, seeds off the bird feeders, and is now towering about six feet—its greenery huge like rhubarb leaves. All energy goes into forming the seed head which is still small, maybe the size of a saucer, petals in sunflower yellow. On rainy days, the petals are tightly closed, but how I enjoy watching them open, turning face towards the sun on sunny days.

Two. On my mind

Looking through an old journal, I found something I once wrote down by John Cleese: "By creativity, I simply mean new ways of thinking about things." In light of his definition, it brings creative endeavours into the common realm where every single person can be, and is, creative in his or her daily life. There isn't one among us, I venture to say, who isn't looking for better ways to think about things, e.g., How can I do this? How can I do it with better results? More beautifully? Simpler? Creative work is what we do in life. Thankfully, it's not just artists or writers or musicians who have the gift. It's all of us, doing the work we do best... hopefully for our own good and for the good of others.

Three. Current reading pile

This pile includes recent purchases from the thrift store, something borrowed from the library, and several resident books from my own shelves. I seem to be mostly into novels this summer, although "Dear Theo" is a collection of Vincent Van Gogh's published letters to his brother, Theo. I earlier read the historical novel Mrs. Van Gogh (not shown) by Caroline Cauchi, the story of Vincent's sister-in-law who eventually came to be the caretaker of his art and letters after his death—she believed so much in his art and wanted to ensure it would be there for future generations. Reading Caroline's novel first has given me a lovely backdrop for my leisurely reading of the letters.

Four. Sweet surprise in the mailbox

A visit to the mailbox revealed a wee package from my lovely writing buddy, Joy. I love surprises especially when they're as pretty as this one. With floral stickers decorating the envelope, the floral theme continued on the inside—a gorgeous notecard of Monet's garden by artist Zoé Elizabeth Norman with the cutest pocket-size notebook tucked inside. Which a person could use from front to back or from back to front, because the pages worked either way. A person could write about one topic on one side, turn it around and write something else on the other. This little surprise from Joy boosted my spirits considerably and made me feel almost as if I were floating with the puffy white clouds in the summer sky.

Five. New anthology coming out soon

I have had the great joy—and fun—of being on the editorial team of the new anthology being published by InScribe Press. I now know how much collaborative effort goes into producing such a work and am excited about the upcoming release of Creativity & Chaos: Artistic Endeavours for Trying Times. It's an inspiring collection of stories, poems, essays, and crafts from writers who "share their experiences and the often surprising ways in which they learned to cope with their chaos through creativity".* The book launches on September 9th, and I will host a Giveaway on my blog at that time. Right now you can pre-order the Kindle version on Amazon for only 99 cents. Find the link HERE. *excerpt from the Foreword by Marcia Lee Laycock

I am also delighted to tell you that I have my own work—a personal essay—included in this volume. In a recent interview, I shared what inspired me to write the piece and a little of my writing journey in general. If you're interested, check out the YouTube video HERE. It's about 20 minutes in length.

On that note, I'm off. Our regular blogging schedule returns to normal next week, if things work out as planned. In the meantime...

"Do not postpone joy."

as seen on CAITLYNNEGRACE'S blog

❦

Heart hugs to everyone,

Brenda

All Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

My Summer blog schedule:

I post on Fridays

A Coolish Friday

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,

always bring your own sunshine."

ANTHONY J. D'ANGELO

The hot weather has now turned cold and windy on this Friday morning. Smoke hangs in the air from wildfires burning in our province. Our beautiful Jasper National Park and the town itself is burning. It's so awful! Our Emergency Alert app works overtime buzzing when yet another alert goes out, evacuations, warnings of extreme heat or bad storms or tornados brewing somewhere in the province. It begins to feel surreal. It doesn't seem right to carry on with our normal things when so many people and wildlife are impacted by these destroying events. But we do carry on, what else shall we do? Wring our hands and weep? Well, we can do that, but groceries must be bought, stomachs must be fed, and laundry needs doing. And we have loved ones to hug, books to read, neighbours to visit.  

We are safe where we are. Mostly, my own days are quiet and pleasant; even so, they do feel prickly and tilted sideways. Somehow it's not a day for dreaming up a beautiful blog post. But I did find this gorgeous dahlia photo I had taken a couple of summers ago. It lifts my heart.

And I've been indulging this week in a few Mrs. Pollifax spy mysteries by Dorothy Gilman. She wrote the first in the series The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax back in 1966. I was just a girl then, and it's only recently that I came across these delightful novels at the thrift store all these years later. Already I love her. Emily Pollifax is a 60-something widowed woman with grown children, and she's a tiny bit bored with her life. She somehow gets involved with the CIA and goes on what are supposed to be quiet undercover assignments. They always end up being much more adventuresome and thrilling, even a bit nail biting, but Mrs. Pollifax cleverly rides them out. For some reason, the stories make me think of the old movie Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Kathryn Turner, in which they are involved in car chases, shoot 'em up scenes, and getting tied up by the bad guys with threats of death... concluding with the amazing escape at the end as you sigh with relief. Mrs Pollifax novels are perfect summer reads—a few hours entertainment, and then you can turn off the light and go right to sleep because there isn't anything in the stories to turn your sweet dreams into nightmares.

I want to mention that I'm taking a wee break from the blog. Rick and I are thinking of taking a little road trip, hopefully visit spots that aren't under threat of fire. So I won't be around for the next week or two...or three.

When the world gets too noisy and ugly, I go quiet. I read.

I wait. I listen. I watch the birds and enjoy my garden in bloom. I pray. 

❦

Wishing you pleasant days ahead,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

My Summer blog schedule:

I post on Fridays