Words of Kindness and Joy

 Happy New Year

Welcome to 2024

 I often think if we ALL spread kindness the world would be a different place. So this year let's spread kindness wherever we go. Lather it generously like butter on a warm piece of toast. Let it melt into our pores. 

The Monday theme will be Words of Kindness and Joy. It may be a poem, something funny or maybe just a quote or word.

Come along with me on the journey to explore and embrace Kindness and Joy.

One particularly line jumped out at me this year in the song Auld Lang Syne:

"And we'll tak' a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."

The two pictures above are my tea table and cup which I embraced with kindness to those around me each and every day, a celebration and meditation I joined for new years. Though it was a zoom gathering, it was two hours of tranquility. Stars surrounded me on this new years night and I felt the warmth infuse me from those sipping a cup of kindness in that moment. Candles were lite to send love and kindness your way. May you be blessed in the new year.

Come along with me as we embrace Kindness and Joy in 2024.

Sending love, Marilyn

A Word for the Week

 

There is a trail not far from my house where I love walking.

It feels like an escape from the city, though it is right in the city, near the airport. The city is working on the street lately, which makes it hard to get there. But I need to return soon to walk where the beavers walk. There are birds, turtles, and beaver, with an occasionally person or two. It is a peaceful place.

                           And sometimes I like taking tea to the pond and sip a cup or two.

In the tea group I belong to here in Portland I am known for being the reader of poems.

Most often I read from Tea Wisdom, a compilation of "inspirational quotes and quips about the world's most celebrated beverage", by Aaron Fisher. Here is one from that book on page 135.

Moonlight over the hills,

Reflecting on my balcony.

The night is young,

My rustic gate is ajar;

Through the woods,

My friend approaches,

Lantern bobbing.

Smoke curls from the stove;

I call for tea.

The autumn stars have paled,

Barking of wakening dogs,

The sadness of a flute carried on the wind.

And still we sit and talk.

The sky lightens;

Rosy clouds and chilly dew,

The earth moss-covered.

~Cheng Pan Chiao

 

I can actually imagine walking through this place with lantern in hand to a moss-covered log to sit awhile and sip a cup of tea. Come join me. I will bring the tea and read for you.

Is there just one word for today, no! But just notice each word, let your mind imagine, take a trip to another place even if only in your mind. Notice what you notice!

Word for the Day - 2020

 Comfort

 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. - Psalm 23:4

Wikipedia says: Comfort (or being comfortable) is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship.

This morning quite early I baked a cake.  Of course I had to sample it while it was warm.

As I sat with my tea and cake I contemplated the word for today, comfort.  I was nibbling on a lemon cake that is one of my all time favorites and had chosen my favorite tea. I felt comforted just sitting in the quiet of the morning with cake and tea. I am still sipping as I write to you, but the piece of cake is just a happy memory. For a few moments I could imagine a world of peace and joy and my heart was comforted.

Have you felt the need these days for comfort?

Maybe a cozy sweater, warm socks, a quilt to curl up in, a particular meal, a good cup of tea?

I struggle these days with the chaos of the world and the pandemic; so sometimes it is cake and tea. Maybe not great for the waistline, but it does quiet my soul for awhile.

A walk in the woods or even in my neighborhood comforts me also.

On Facebook I share a picture from my garden each day just for the comfort and joy it brings to others.

Just the act of going into the garden each morning to snap that pictures brings me comfort and joy also.

Here is the picture this morning from my garden. Doesn't the beauty of a simple rose opening to the world bring a bit of comfort? The raindrops just enhance it's beauty. Go out and savor the day and feel the moments of comfort and joy.

 

Garden Quotes 2019

These are the things I prize

And hold of dearest worth:

Light of the sapphire skies,

Peace of the silent hills,

Shelter of the forest, comfort of the grass,

Music of the birds, murmur of little rills,

Shadows of clouds that swiftly pass,

And, after showers,

The smell of flowers

And of the good brown earth -

And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

~Henry Van Dyke

And for me, daffodils in springtime!

m.miller

Monday's Tea Quote

Originally an outdoor pursuit, tea making in

China was an informal affair.  All that was needed

was a good fire, fresh-preferably mountain-water,

a vessel for boiling water, tea leaves, and a bowl

to pour the tea into.

~Lam Kam Chuen

The teapot has been in my collection for a long time.

It is a clay pot with plums on the outside.

Quotes

Recently I saw this on Facebook and was touched by the words.

It reminds me to have courage, to set out and be bold.

To follow my dreams even if they take a different twist or turn than I expected.

As you know I love quotes.

This one is a long one, but so true.

For quite awhile now I have had Mondays Quotes and though quotes

will show up in other posts from time to time,

it is time for a new Monday series.

Starting this coming Monday the new series will be

"Notes from the Garden".

It could be from my garden or another garden,

but I am looking forward to sharing

"Notes from the Garden" on Monday's.

Monday's Quotes

The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing -
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.

Sara Teasdale

Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/539496

The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing -
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.

Sara Teasdale

Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/539496

The spring is fresh and fearless

And every leaf is new,

The world is brimmed with moonlight,

The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows

I catch my breath and sing -

My heart is fresh and fearless

And over brimmed with spring.

~Sara Teasdale

The spring is fresh and fearless
And every leaf is new,
The world is brimmed with moonlight,
The lilac brimmed with dew.

Here in the moving shadows
I catch my breath and sing -
My heart is fresh and fearless
And over-brimmed with spring.

Sara Teasdale

Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/539496

Monday's Quotes

I weed a bit more, then said, "Beauty matters, Bertha, it does.

God gave us flowers for a reason.

I think so we'd pay attention to the details of creation

and remember to trust Him in all things big or little,

no matter what the challenge.

Flowers remind us to put away fear, to stop rushing and

running and worrying about this and that, 

and for a moment have a piece of paradise right here on earth.

God offers healing through flowers and brings us closer to Him."

A long quote today from a book I am reading right now.

It is a fiction about Hulda Klager, a real woman in Kalama, WA.

who developed new daffodils and lilacs in the late 1800's.

Hulda's gardens are still open to the public

 and I have visited there in the past.  

Usually around Mother's Day the lilacs are glorious. 

Where Lilacs Still Bloom, by Jane Kirkpatrick.

Monday's Quotes

From my garden today.

Radishes beginning to grow.

 Everything that slows us down and forces patience,
 everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.
 Gardening is an instrument of grace.
~May Sarton

Monday's Quotes

Photos snapped on the Dordogne River in France several years ago.

Just dreaming and thankful for adventures such as this.

Looking forward to new adventures.

"Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.

Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.

Thankfulness may consist merely of words.

Gratitude is shown in acts."

~Henri Frederic Amiel

Dear Friends, wishing you a wonderful week.

Monday's Quotes

In honor of Pie Day!

“A clock is a pie, and my piece is between 1 and 12. 
It’s always time to love—especially 
if it’s filled with cinnamon apples.” 
Jarod Kintz, Xazaqazax (from Brainy Quotes)

Amazing how many pie quotes are out there.
I found that the top icon sweet in the US
is chocolate chip cookies with 
apple pie a close second on the list.

One berry pie and one apple pie cooling on the
kitchen counter.  
Hope you find a pie today.

Monday's Quotes

Our shared memories are more

than our mutual dislike.

~Lady Edith, Downton Abbey

Thank you, Downton Abbey, for the memories!

Still waiting for a response and address from Blessed Brenda
for the book give-away.  If I don't hear from her by Friday,
I will draw another name.  

Monday's Quotes

Monday's Quotes

One winter night

A friend dropped in.

We drank not wine but tea.

The kettle hissed,

The charcoal glowed,

A lucid moon shone outside.

The moon itself

Was nothing special -

But, oh, the plum blossoms!

~Tu Xiao Shan

Look to the moon with your cup of

 tea tonight because it will be 

something special,

a full moon called Snow Moon.

In my cup will be Moonlight.

Plum blossoms yet to come.

~m.miller

Monday's Quotes

Change happens by listening

and then starting a dialogue

with the people who are doing

something you don't believe is right.

~Jane Goodall

Monday's Quotes

“Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing."
"Nobody asked your opinion," said Alice.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Monday's Quotes

We must all have our hearts broken

once or twice before we are done.

~Mrs. Hughes, Downton Abbey

In celebration of the month of love.

Welcome to February!

Monday's Quotes

Each preparation of the leaves has its individuality,

its special affinity with water and heat,

its own method of telling a story, 

the truly beautiful must always be in it.

~Okakura Kakuzo, The Book of Tea

Monday's Quotes

You cannot get through a single day

without having an impact

on the world around you.

What you do makes a difference,

and you have to decide what kind of a

difference you want to make.

~Jane Goodall

Photo taken on a friend's farm some time ago.
I just fell in love with these sweet cows.

Monday's Quotes

Sitting by a warm winter fire, TALKING and LISTENING.

"When you talk,

you are only repeating what you already know.

But if you listen,

you may learn something new."

~Dalai Lama