flame

I rarely share these but for some reason, today I couldn't resist this one.  A friend asked me yesterday, "Who or what is the center of your universe?" Overwhelmed by the complexity of the question, I said I'd get back to her.  Well I'm getting back to you now with a surprisingly simple answer.

It's the fire within me.

That's what drives me.  Pushes me forward.  What sometimes takes me backwards.  But always, always is the solid foundation for which I live my life.  It's the energy that generates how I live.  How I am.

I am the fire inside me.

He dreams of Sushi....

Meet 85-year-old Jiro Ono, owner of Sukiyabashi restaurant in Tokyo.

He is quite possibly the world's greatest Sushi chef.

Now I don't care for sushi, but his work is truly fascinating.

Even more fascinating? This man himself.

His restaurant is located in a subway station in Japan and only has 10 seats.  People come to Japan JUST to go to his restaurant, and thus he has earned his restaurant the only 3-star Michelan Guide rating of it's kind.  They don't serve soup.  They don't serve appetizers.  JUST SUSHI.  Prices start at 30,000 Yen, which is $273.51. 

As an apprentice at his restaurant, you can only make it behind the counter if you've effectively wrung out scorching hot hand towels for 10 years and massaged the octopus for 50 minutes every day.  

Watch this truly amazing documentary, as it will most definitely change the way you view your life.

are you happy where you're at?

"The real purpose of life is just to be happy - to enjoy your life.  To get to a place where you're not always trying to get someplace else.  So many people spend their lives striving, trying to be someplace that they're not, that they never get to arrive."

~  Dr. Wayne Dyer

This is a true act of balance if you can achieve this.  

Try reading some of his books.

pray

Research has shown that people suffering through a disease or illness are more likely to heal when they are prayed for - even when they don't know they are being prayed for.

There are some things I don't understand but still choose to believe in.  This in one such thing.

Please help me say a prayer for someone I love who is suffering and fighting through cancer.

here goes....

Okay, so this is something I'm very passionate about but have been afraid to post about because it could possibly offend someone....

BUT since it's not like me to hold back, here goes:

This is a new sign at my daughter's school. You'd think this should be a given but unfortunately we are still 'designating' smoke-free spaces that aren't necessarily enclosed private or public buildings.

To be clear - I am BEYOND EXCITED about these new 'rules.'

Having coffee today with a friend, I said this to her:

"I am sick of breathing in people's bad habits."

It's 2012. We're beyond the future that we dreamed of as kids, when smoking was neither bad nor good - just the thing to do. In fact, I look at someone smoking and think to myself, "why is your life so bad that you inhale cancer?" and, at the same time:

~Pollute my air

~Make me explain you to my kids who know smoking kills

~Spend your hard-earned money to support killing yourself 

~Complain when you can't breathe when you run 5 feet

~Take breaks at work 

~Put your loved ones and CHILDREN at risk!

I am livid when I see someone smoking in the same vehicle as their children are in.

You should not be allowed to raise children if you are clearly installing a tobacco humidifier in their carseats.

Don't give me the BS that you tried and can't quit, or that it's none of my business what you do, blah blah blah. 

You don't have the money to get help? Ha! Put a week's worth of black smoke into your ashtray and you'll do just fine.

The FACT is that you look ridiculous when you smoke. You reek of an ashtray and if your significant says it doesn't bother them when they kiss you, they're probably lying.

It's 2012. I'm not sensitive to your cigarette addiction.

Period.

creating your own reality

In light of the fact that we will all be dealt this card sooner or later....

Psychologists say a single trauma will strike you twice. First, you will live through the actual event—dealing with the reality of it. Second, when you think or talk about the event with others, creating your personalized story of the event, you will recreate the event in your mind. Although there’s nothing you can do about what has happened to you, it’s important to stay mindful of how you describe the trauma to yourself and others—remember that your words create your world!   

~ Originally an article on Oprah.com ~

Click on this link to read more of this awesome blog by author Karen Salmansohn

weakness is a choice

"If friendship is your weakest point, 

then you are the strongest person in the world."

~ Abraham Lincoln

......I like this quote.  I find that I am affected more by my close friendships than relationships I don't care for, or 'things' that happen to me, or stressful events.......and after thinking about it.......it is okay to be weak about that.......vulnerable........because I know these people that I choose to let affect me will keep my weak spot safe.

~  and that's a strong statement  ~

when the mind has no worries

Last night we took Mr. Jones (the dog) for his walk.  We ran into an elderly neighbor, and his wife (who has advanced stage Alzheimer's).  

Two things fascinated me.

The first is shame on me for feeling sorry for this woman.  She may not remember what I told her 5 minutes ago, but she didn't stop smiling, and the mere sight of Mr. Jones threw her into hysterics at least several times. There was a part of me that envied that ability. She had not a care in the world. She was free.

The second is that her shirt and her skirt matched her shoes, which means that her husband dressed her. This man loves his wife of over 50 years like he did the day he met her.  He talked about their first date. She smiled. He feeds her turkey every day for her brain in hopes to slow the Alzheimer's.  He takes her for drives up and down US1 just to stimulate her mind. And he bought her a puppy a year ago because dogs make her giggle.

I have faith in mankind today.

life lesson 82345.1

Teaching an 8-year-old patience during an injury is also teaching me the same.

When I look at her in this picture I see myself in deep thought,

Appreciating the little things in life that you can only look at - not touch or engage in.

The simple pleasures that some take for granted.

I am grateful that this cast is temporary, that she is learning this lesson at this age, and that I am too.

And I reflect upon all who must life their life with a kink in their armor...