Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Encountering the Sacred in the Ordinary




Good morning Friends. Here it is the middle of the week. Today I want to work indoors, 'homecaring'. I read wonderful, beautiful blogs about the lovely, homes and gardens out there and feel like such a 'loser'. Neither my home or gardens are immaculate. I don't see how these ladies can do it all, big homes, big gardens, some have children, some work. I have a tiny cottage, no children, enough gardens, work part-time. Every thing is shiny, pristine, clean, no dust, decorated just right in these blogs and I read in wonder and awe. I am inspired to get up and 'do something'.

Sarah Ban Breathnach also inspires me in her book, Simple Abundance. I recommend it highly as a great read. I've picked it up over and over again through the years for motivation. I will post a few excerpts from the section on the month of May, where she speaks on the home and order.

"With fresh eyes and a loving, appreciative heart, we reconsider our daily rounds. As we learn to savor everyday epiphanies, we encounter the Sacred in the ordinary."

Epiphany ~ a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

"Everyday epiphanies encourage us to cherish everything. Today a new sun has risen. Everything lives. Everything can speak to your soul passionately if you will be still enough to listen.

Begin believing that the time, energy, and emotion you invest daily in the soulcraft of homecaring ~ carving out a haven for yourself and those dear to you ~ is a sacred endeavor. Life holds no more guarantees for us than it did for our Victorian foremothers. Yet they face the future with full hearts, determined to create a lasting work of art: a happy, secure, and beautiful retreat of love and laughter. ~ We can too."

I will close today's musing with the following from this book.

"While money certainly helps us express ourselves through our surroundings, creating a warm, inviting home that reflects our own personality doesn't have to begin by hiring a decorator or pulling out our credit cards or checkbook.

Today, no matter where or how you live, look upon your home through the eyes of Love. Walk around the rooms and offer thanks for the walls and roof that safely enclose you and yours. Pause for a moment to consider all the women who have lost their homes through death, divorce, debt, or disaster. Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that, at this moment, all you have is all you truly need."





Musings from FL zone 10





9 comments:

Plant Lady said...

Flower Lady,
Thanks for your visit. I'm glad I'm back in the world of blogging.

You would find it so interesting here in Albuquerque. I've seen some of the most beautiful roses and all without black spot disease that so troubles roses in the humid, southern areas like with live in. I checked the humidity here at the airport and it was only 9% compared to mour usual 80% in North Carolina and similar in Florida.

There are beautiful cottonwood trees here that drop white fuzzy down similar to dandelions. I'm told there are two varieties here, the Fremont that have a spade-shaped leaf and another that I don't remember the name that has a long, narow leaf.

Rosemary is abundant here and the Russian Sage grows into large shrubs wuth beautiful, spiky lavender flowers. Hollyhocks are amazing-taller that I've ever seen-at least 5 1/2 feet tall. Of course, I can't forget the cactus!

Everything is beautiful in its own way here in Albuquerque, but I miss the lush greenery and variety on the East Coast. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the HUMIDITY. It's so dry here, I'm having trouble keeping hydrated.

Take care and we will talk again soon- when I get back to North Carolina.

Plant Lady

Jenny wren's nest said...

The thing about blogging is you can crop out the weedy and dusty.
Jenny

Debbie's Garden said...

I liked that. Its a very soothing thing to read. I've seen that book, heard about it, but never picked one up and read it. With no kids at home anymore we arent on that fast paced life! We WAITED for these days. Like the Carly Simon song "These are the good 'ol days". You're just having a Grass is always greener.. day. When I'm feeling glum about everything I always tell myself - There is always someone who would more than happy to trade places with you.

Kelly said...

Oh WOW!! This is EXACTLY what I needed today!! Thank You for sharing your heart about "HOME"!
Beautiful Blessings!!
Kelly Maria

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Plant Lady ~ It sounds like you are having a lovely time there. The humidity today is 64%, and the temperature is 89 but the real feel temp is 100. Do keep hydrated, that is very important. Talk to you when you get back home.

Jenny ~ LOL. That's true.

Debbie ~ I didn't look at my thoughts as having a 'grass is greener day', maybe I was. I still would like to know how these ladies do it. I think this is a great book. My DH picked it up for me for $1. He said it looked like a book I would like to read. I enjoy it and have read through it several times since I got it in 1999.

Kelly Maria ~ I'm glad this post inspired you today, it did me too.

I vacuumed and dusted, then went out and mowed. I felt much better after that.

I am thankful for our little cottage, my gardens, the love of my DH. I am thankful to God for His many blessings big and small.

As Debbie said, there are others who would gladly trade places with me.

Thank you all for your comments.

FlowerLady

sweetbay said...

LOL, Jenny is so right!! :)

I am, as always, behind on weeding, and with temps getting up to 98 and 99 for the next couple of days (eek!) I'm probably going to get even further behind.

Ah, well -- happens every summer. And every summer I mutter to myself about it.

sweetbay said...

PS But everyone is blessed who has a garden, even if it isn't "perfect" all of the time.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I can relate to how you feel. So many of my friends have big, new houses and much larger yards. Sometimes I wish we could have a new house with more space.
I think you are right about being thankful what we have. So many people now are losing their homes, we really are lucky. Besides I really do like having a small cozy home. You can tell people live here :)
It really is about finding happiness from within ourselves. You can't buy that.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Sweet Bay ~ My gardens are never perfect, I will always have weeds. :-) But, I do feel blessed having them. They are a joy to work in, and the rewards are great.

Catherine ~ I occasionally search through country real estate for ideas of what's out there. If every the opportunity arose, DH and I would move in a minute. We long for peace and quiet, for country roads, etc. Anyway, it seems like every time I go through lots of real estate listings, I ooh and aah, showing some to DH, then when I'm done and get up and walk around here I feel blessed with what we have. ~ It would be nice to have a larger house, but, this is where we are and we have much to be thankful for. Having a small home these days has it's advantages, and you are so right, you can tell people live in our small cozy homes. :-)

Here is a tad more from Simple Abundance ~

"A beautiful home is an education in itself, but it is not made in a day. It must slowly grow," Lucy Abbot Throop wrote in 1910.

"Today, look for the lessons your home is waiting to teach you through love. Begin with your living room. Make it as cozy, charming, and comfortable as you can with the resources you how have, and it will become a joy to live in."

Yesterday I vacuumed and dusted and what a difference that made in my attitude. :-) Last night before bed I cleared off my desk and it was really nice to wake up to this morning.

Today is a new day. May I be blessed with graciousness, peace, strength and joy as I go about the day's happenings.

Happy Living ~ FlowerLady