Off to see Santa

There is too much heaviness in the world right now and so here is my effort to lighten the mood.
As I sit listening to the Pandora Christmas station, I was inspired by Cybele to play around in photoshop once again. I haven’t done this in quite some time but it is always a fun exercise.

It never rains but it pours….

Literally.
Well at least in some parts of Brisbane and surrounding areas if not in our own town.
Yesterday the first of this summer’s ‘good’ storms began with the sound of distant rumbles at about 1.30pm.
The Garden Gnome was out polishing up our pride and joy (Anna the Holden Kingswood) so that he could escort a young graduating couple to their High School Formal this afternoon. He came inside for something and I asked whether I was hearing thunder. He replied that he thought so and that it was awfully black out toward the border ranges so I looked up the BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) site and sure enough there was a line of storms along the border however there was another storm cell that looked as if it might come in our direction.
A while later, the GG came inside and mentioned that there were some good lightning strikes to see.
I set up the camera and went outside. Bombed out on photos but man we were entertained by some amazing lightning.

The Power of a Smile

I was just looking at my stats and once again this week, my most popular post was the one where I challenged everyone to smile.
Smiling is such a simple thing to do and it can change not only the way that your face looks but the whole of the world around you.
Nobody can walk past a smiling person without smiling back or feeling uplifted.

I’m so happy – a post for the feminine side

I figured that after the testosterone fuelled photos of the V8 Superboats yesterday, I might share a little yin to that yang.
I mentioned a few posts ago that I finally had a flower on my Arum Lily plant after two or three years. Well, I discovered not one – but two flowers!! I was over the moon and subsequently photographed them both.

Then I noticed that my tulips had managed to produce ONE flower out of the dozen or so bulbs planted. So that was photographed also.

Just another day in Paradise

Isn’t it funny how after struggling with issues for so long, suddenly everything seems to change and you are at peace?
That is where I am right now.
At peace.
And with just a small sense of knowing that this is where I am happiest.

Happiness lies within

*This is a scheduled post as I am away for a few days*

As I am reading or meditating, I keep a book beside me to jot down things that jump out at me. My books often are a combination of scribbled notes, recipes, book titles and doodles.
As I was turning the pages of the notebooks on my computer desk, I found the following quote.

Stream of Consciousness

This is the first time I have ever taken part in Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays and I’m going to struggle to write and not edit. Apparently I can fix typos which is great because my fingers often run off without my mind but not being able to edit and allowing you all to see the thought processes of my mind is a little daunting.

Choosing a path

Sometimes it is not one thing but a combination that opens your eyes to what is possible (or to teach you something).
As part of my studies, I belong to a Facebook group that is for students, mentors, and past students to share with each other. Last night I read a post by a man who is facing a personal crisis in his life and is not sure where to go or what to do. He reached out through the group.
Being behind on my studies, I felt I was not qualified to give advice and so I left the post alone however this morning I woke up thinking about it and then whilst searching Mr Google for inspiration for today’s post, I stumbled across a meme (in the endless sea of memes on the internet) that spoke to me. It spoke to me because it offered insight not only for the answer to this man’s question but to my own journey in life.