Spring has finally arrived here and it feels so good! It's so darn easy for all of us to get caught up in busy mode and practically miss the simple everyday pleasures around us. Springtime is a full body pleasure turn-on, if we allow ourselves.  It's such an amazing, rich, sensory experience. Do yourself a favor. Indulge all your senses. Energize yourself with the healing power of nature.

A belated Happy New Year! I don't know about you but as much as I enjoy the holidays, I tend to overdo things and exhaust myself.  It takes me awhile to  get back on track and into the groove again. Can you relate? So it's now with a sigh of relief, time to welcome winter and officially grant myself permission to slow down. Wanna join me? I didn't always feel this way about winter or slowing down. I used to have such judgement and resistance when it came to anything about winter. Heck when I was in my twenties, I even went to school in Florida and moved to sunny southern California because I wanted summer year round. But after awhile I missed the seasons.  

There is a beautiful French proverb that states, "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." It is the way the heart remembers. But how do we remember, to remember in our crazy busy fast paced lives? It has to be something more than a theme that shows up on Thanksgiving day.

Several years ago, Roger and I traveled to Bali, Indonesia where we were mesmerized with the beautiful people and culture and their overwhelming sense of appreciation, hospitality, simplicity and fulfillment. It awakened in us a desire to be more grateful. Simplify and enjoy life's little pleasures. Honor and appreciate, simple abundance. It's been an ongoing practice since.  

I recently had a big a ha about the importance of rituals. My brother Todd in San Diego recently asked his two sons what was their favorite most memorable family vacation. Nine year old Brady jumped up and immediately shouted out "Jersey Shore!" and listing why his Jersey shore vacations topped all his other vacations surpassing Disney World, Europe, Hawaii, Montana, New Orleans, NYC and many Ski Trips. Brady recited the reasons why Jersey shore is tops in his mind. Turns out, Brady loves the rituals that he remembers
and loves. Beach. Boardwalk. Hoffman's ice cream. Mueller's Bakery. Jersey pizza. Family BBQ's. The simple basic mainstay included in every trip.

Happy Summer! One of my favorite movies of all time is "Field of Dreams." Even if you aren't a big baseball enthusiast, Kevin Costner knocked it out of the park with his performance as a farmer in Iowa who listened to "the voice" calling him to build a baseball field at the risk of everyone around him thinking he was absolutely crazy. If you saw the movie, you know the story was so much more than just about baseball and the complicated father/son relationship. It was a story about listening to our inner voice and following what we are being called to do. It was a tale of being led...following the clues kind of like a homing pigeon only to discover miracles and things beyond our wildest imagination. Beyond our wildest dreams. 
It was an inspiring story about: Trust. Surrender. Faith. Healing. 

Have you made your New Year's resolutions hoping that 2014 will be your best year ever? How's it going? Most of us (myself included) make a resolution or two. We start off with the best intentions and gung ho. Then something happens. We get busy. We lose our motivation and inspiration. We slip back into old patterns. We blame ourselves. Think we don't have enough will power. Too lazy. The dream we had for ourselves slips away again. Maybe it's just not meant to be. Can you relate to this? 

The Window Through Which We Look...

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging her wash outside. "That laundry is not very clean" she said. She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap." Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry...The young woman would always make the same type of comments. 

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean clothes on the neighbor's clothesline! She said to her husband, "Look, the neighbors have finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her how?"

The husband replied, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."