Thursday, December 30, 2010

Out with the old, in with the new

Good morning Folks,

Here we are at the end of one year and the start of another. First, I want to say thank you all for your blogs that you've created from your hearts and souls. Thanks for your visits and encouraging and inspiring comments to my blog. I look forward to a new year of visiting, inspiration, and learning with all of you.

I'm not one to make new year resolutions, because, as soon as you say you are going to do something, stuff happens to keep you from doing them. Yes, we can have goals, and we have desires, but to say we are going to do them or make them happen, often leads to disappointment. Other times, we are pleasantly surprised as to what has been accomplished throughout a year.

I hope to be more content with my life. Hope to enjoy the gift of each new day, living life fully in any given moment. I hope to age gracefully and go with the flow instead of worrying and fretting so much about this and that, which may or may not happen.

I also want to care less about what is 'hip or in'. I don't go along with trends anyway, but, you can't help but feel like you're not 'with it' if you don't have the latest this or that. It's not what we have, but who we are and how we live our lives that matters.

Getting back to Christmas for a moment. Someone posted a comment they read in a design magazine (I think that was the gist), that you should not use red or green in your decorating, but the colors that go with your home decor. For Pete's sake. There is always someone out there trying to tell us how we should live and spend our money. We should be living from our hearts, not a list of shoulds of shouldn'ts by whoever.

We do NOT have to follow trends of any kind to be content. Being a follower does not mean you are on the right path for your life. Living a life that makes you feel thankful, one where you can sleep peacefully at night is a life worth living. We do not have to get into debt, or have bigger and better. If we just get rid of some of what we have, things that no longer give us joy, or that we no longer use or wear, our homes and our lives will feel larger.

As this new year begins may you all feel peace, love and joy in your lives. May you see things that you might make changes in or not, things or ideas that will help you live a better life, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Each day is a gift and it is up to us to decide how we will accept and use it.

I look forward to ~ a year of puttering inside and outside of our little cottage. To a year of labor and sweat for the delights from our gardens. To a year of daily gifts, being content and thankful for our many blessings. To a year of loving and living with my DH.

May 2011 be a year of blessings for all of you.

Here are some rose blooms taken this morning I thought you'd enjoy.















***

And in the end,
it's not the years in your life that count.
It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

All the art of living
lies in a fine mingling
of letting go and holding on.
Havelock Ellis


God asks no man whether he will accept life.
That is not the choice.
You must take it.
The only question is how.
Henry Ward Beecher

Life can be found only in the present moment.
The past is gone,
the future is not yet here,
and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment,
we cannot be in touch with life.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Life is a succession of lessons,
which must be lived to be understood.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

***

Happy New Year

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

24 comments:

Susan said...

Amen! You said it beautifully, and I am in total agreement with you. Part of the beauty of aging is that we let go of the unimportant things of this world, and direct our focus to what really matters. I am going to bookmark this post, so I can read it often throughout the new year. Happy new year to you and D.H., and may you enjoy many more happy years puttering in and outside of your cottage. p.s. love the rose pics, too! :-)

Mama Mess said...

God Bless you and your DH Flower Lady! I wish I could give you a big ole Illinois hug, but this will have to do {{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}

Vetsy said...

Amen! Nicely put! There is a New Year of possibilities ahead and new beginnings.

Thank you for reminding me to not fret so much about this and that and what may or may not happen! for God said that worry is a sin! and we should spend more of our time in a positive state of mind! Thank you for the inspiration.

Happy New Year to you and family...

Vetsy said...

P.S..I forgot to mention your beautiful roses, I must make a note of writing you for tips! I love roses but no very little about how to care for them.

Next year I'd like to start with a small collection of scented roses, and look to you for a couple of tricks and tips on growing them, I hope that I'm not putting you on the spot.. But you must no something because your roses are always beautiful!

Ami said...

Dear Flowerlady, Happy New Year to you and your DH too! I have been stopping making new year resolutions for a while :) At the end, it really matters is family together, and enjoying doing what we really love and have the heart for. Your roses are just so lovely and stunning!

denimflyz said...

A most wonderful and generous New Year to you, FlowerLady and DH.
Your post is so very true, we need to live as we see in our hearts, but unfortunatly, many people do not have or have never been raised or introduced to what is truly in their hearts, so they cannot feel it nor live it. And so they fall prey to others who dictate what we are supposed to do and how to live as they the (people) do not know better.
Take care

Becca's Dirt said...

Beautiful and a great post. Thanks for the reminders. I hope to find myself more thankful and content. Hope you have a wonderful New Year.

Shirley said...

Happy New Year to you and your family. Thank you for reminding us to be true to ourselves, that we do not need to follow all the trends, for they are everchanging. If we do what makes us happy, helping others along the way, sharing love and kindness then we are all becoming better individuals. We will be happier and sleep better. Ideas are great, yes, and inspiration has its place but it should not rule our lives. Let this year be a true to ourselves kind of year. Let it be a year to find fulfillment and to share joy, love and peace. May we be the one thing that brightens another's day.

Southern Lady said...

Happy New Year...hope 2011 is filled with love and happiness for you and your DH! Carla

Becky said...

You hit the nail right on the head. We all have to do what makes US feel happy and leads us to what we feel as a contented lifestyle.

L. D. said...

I really enjoyed your writing and the photos of roses are wonderful. Have a great new year.

shadesofidaho said...

Thanks SO Much FlowerLady for these words. I do try very hard to live by them.

LOL about not using the red and green in Christmas Decorating. There have been times I have gone with all one color. Like white or even one year predominately pink and silver. Even all red and all green. And one year it was cobalt blue. Only because I wanted to though. Wait I did a year with 5 trees and each was a different color. All just for fun and me.

I think your words will ring through my head when ever I hesitate to do some thing my way. And from now on if some one complains my reply will be FlowerLady "Made me do it!!!" Heheheheh

Happy New Year to you and DH. May it be Healthy, Fun and Safe.

Hugs and Love to you. Chris

NanaK said...

I agree with your sentiments completely. Your roses are lovely as always, especially the two-toned red/white one. Happy New Year, FlowerLady!

Darcie said...

Dearest Flowerlady,

I just got done wrapping up my last post for this year, and then came over here and read your post. You said it so beautifully..so beautifully. Thank you for your friendship via blog land.

Happy 2011!

Morning's Minion said...

Beautiful flower photos, and as always, the roses are my favorites.
Good thoughts--if only more people could believe in the true ways to find contentment.

Anonymous said...

I never liked the word "should." Great post, FL. Life is too short [and far too good] to let other people tell us how to live it. Beautiful roses!

Nancy's Notes said...

What a great post Flowerlady! You said it so very well! I always love stopping by to see you, your flowers are always stunning and today your roses make me happy, they are gorgeous!

Happy New Year! Wishing you many sweet blessings and a year full of the best of everything!

Nancy

Sandy said...

I can almost smell your beautiful flowers!
Such a treat to come and see them.
I don't want to be a follower of anyone
or anything except Jesus. I know He will
help us age gracefully and live our lives
to the fullest in Him.
Happy New Year!
Sandy

Rebecca said...

I appreciate the way you expressed yourself in this post. I share many of the same opinions/ feelings.

IF there is a downside to blogging, it may be that seeing all the BEST ideas, BEST views of house and garden, BEST recipes, etc. I could become discontented or feel guilty because I haven't accomplished as much or done things as well as others.

That's kind of why I put the words "keeping it sane, simple and sacred" in my blog header! To remind myself not to pattern myself after others - just to enjoy the friendships and beauty I have come to experience since my blogging adventure began!

Happy New Year, FlowerLady! I look forward to 2011, learning, growing, and gracefully handling this stage of life.

Lona said...

Amen FL! Life is to short to get caught up in so much drivel.Thank you for all of the wonderful postings this year. I have enjoyed them so much and look forward to a new year of them.
Happy New Year!

jerilanders said...

Rainey, Wishing you a thousand new roses blooming in your garden as you "putter" and many happy hours of creativity!

Anonymous said...

I so agree with your statement about not letting the so-called "experts" dictate to us how we should live.

I love red and green together all year round! Green goes with everything... it's the color of growing things. By all means, surround yourself with things you enjoy. Following the advice of someone who's probably only trying to get you to throw out things you have and buy new to replace them just seems like evidence of a lack of self esteem.

Here's to a wonderful year for you and your Hubs, with lots of pleasant surprises along the way!

sweetbay said...

I could have written this post, word for word. How I would love to live in the moment more -- it can bring such peace.

Blogging is such a valuable resource isn't it, in so many ways.

Meems said...

Great wisdom shared and beautiful roses, FlowerLady. Sometimes it takes a few years under our belt to be comfortable enough in our own skin not to be swayed by every trendy "in" thing or advice that comes along. One of the advantages of getting older (and wiser).

I wish all the same peace, health, joy, and plenty of dreams come true for you and your dear hubby in 2011. Happy gardening!!!
Meems