Meri's Musings

For the last two or three years, I've done Notes to Myself in lieu of those all-too-meaningless New Year Resolutions. Ordinarily, I post them one-a-day during the month of January, but I wanted to participate in  Susannah Conway's Gentle January meme, so this year I'm posting in February. This is a prescription  that I won't have any hesitation in following. I am an unabashed bibliophile. I love to read and be enthralled by a captivating story. Or, for that matter, to learn something new, to be exposed to divergent points of view, and sometimes to be awed -- not by words -- but by stunning photographs. After I sold the house I'd shared with my spouse (now the spouse of someone else) and bought a much more modest home of my own, I donated hundreds of books to the local library for its annual book sale.  I kept hundreds, perhaps over a thousand, more and had to pack and move them. I also had to buy...

I am  a closet romantic  morning chai drinker bibliophile connoisseur of the ordinary sacred

Did I ever mention that I'm a bookworm? When I was a wee one, my mother worked in the library when my father was in graduate school. On rare occasions, I got to go to the library with her and hunker down in the small section of children's books. The smell of books and their heft in my hand never fails to enchant me. I love the semi-mystical feeling of losing myself in a great story.

When I'm cold or frazzled, feeling a hint of a cold coming on, or just plain want a moment to center myself and reflect, tea always hits the spot. The two drawers beneath the spoons and forks are filled with tea cans with an assortment of teas for every mood. My bookshelves are lined with books  for every mood. Memoirs, cookbooks, coaching theory, psychology, novels, gardening, poetry, family-law related tomes,  books about writing (I've finally graduated to actually writing, instead of just reading about writing. books that my friends have published, books featuring the works of my favorite artists, how-to books explaining art techniques that interest me, photography exemplars and technical info galore.   I'm usually reading more than one book at a time or, if not actually moving between books, have a pile of unread or partially read books close to me, just in case I wrap something up. In case you haven't gues...

It always amazes me how impacted I am by the weather. Give me a string of grey rainy days and I just want To curl up in bed with a stack of books until the sun breaks  through the clouds again. (I've read the Stieg Larsson trilogy and Finding Nouf, but the others await.) This morning, I woke to find frost on the grass and brilliant blue skies. A lot of leaves are still holding on despite a windy night a couple of days ago, so there’s a glut of color. I’m bursting with energy, but it won’t last. The weather forecasters even mentioned the dreaded S word last night. So Snow, if you're listening, flurry away in the Cascades and Olympics. but if you have to visit us in the lowlands, could you please be polite and fall only on the grass. Thanks!

About time for a binge. . .  though I've already read  The Girl Who Played With Fire. I just finished The History of Love and have  The Lacuna in the "next" position. What are your favorites right now?

Sometimes we need to stop and really focus in on what's important to us. Focus up close and down deep. In the place where your soul is in charge. The place where your longings to love and be loved, to create a secure and nourishing life for those you love, to heal the wounds of the Earth, to make sure the least of us isn't left behind, to use your life to make the world a place where lives are interwoven and peace is possible, reside. When you have brought your attention to that place, ask yourself, "Am I living my life in alignment with my intention to make my life count?" How am I using my time? And equally as important, how am I acquiring and using my money? What assumptions about abundance and sufficiency drive my decisions, and thus my life? Is there a gap between my soulful life and my interaction with money? Every single day of your life, you make an impact with your choices about how you live and how you allocate your resources: your time your talents your fo...