Tag Archives: PEACE

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Survival Tea

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Photo by Branimir Balogović on Unsplash

 

It’s a gorgeous Sunday, the sun is shining, the birds are singing.  Yet, there are layers.  Amidst all this beauty, people are dealing with a Pandemic and putting forth heroic efforts to thwart catastrophy.  Overall there is a great success and it has come with a cost, but will ultimately, most likely result in huge steps forward in many arenas.  Healthcare, Crisis Response and building unity in times of a massive assault on the population as a whole.  We have all had to sacrifice to some degree.  We’ve had to scale back in thousands of ways, but are learning to find new paths to follow our nature to succeed, live and grow.  We are now getting ready to emerge from quarantine and learn to live together in a new and healthier way that will be good for all. Summer has hit this part of the world and people are heading out of their homes.  Walking trails and parks are now open again with social distancing laws in effect.  Beaches in Orange County are opening with the same rules.  

I wrote this a week ago, but it was never posted and it’s a screenshot of the height of quarantine and my perspective of it, I’m including it here, because I want to remember this time. A big thought on my mind right now is survival.  A pandemic is circling the globe and we are now quarantined to decrease exposure, stop the spread of the pandemic  and increase survival rates.  Most of us are shocked by the turn of the events and feel a sense of displacement and disorientation due to the complete disruption of our normal every day lives.  I go out for walks with my mandatory mask and no one is about.  I wonder if I’m doing something wrong? The streets are barren, except for a random vehicle that speeds by every few moments. It’s as if the world is asleep, taking a long nap. I wonder how can everyone be so quiet? Are they really in there, in their homes? Can children, teenagers, husbands out of work stay so still and silent?

So I keep walking, getting exercise, focus on health, strength. California is a great place to do this. We are a state of natural beauty and a place of healing. For more than a century America and the world has sent their ill here to heal and rehabilitate. Long ago, trains filled with TB patients in the last stage of the disease came to hospital spread across the Southern California as a last hope for a chance at life.  Many died on the train, but there were those that survived and lived into old age settled in the warm arid client of the Southern California high desert.  

A culture of survival is forming now due to the pandemic. It’s bringing the best out in us and forcing us to focus on what is really important in life and why we are here.  These thoughts are overwhelming at times and I find it helpful to focus on coping mechanisms and find a new way to live that may be even better than what I was doing before.  Everyday I can see Spring blossoming and exploding into life all around and it’s an amazing show. The birds are singing from sunup to sun down, playfully doing tricks in the air with other birds they are trying to attract. They are enjoying Spring to it’s fullest. The birdsong is a blessing at this moment and a reaffirmation of life.  It’s too early to tell what will happen.  If we follow other countries that are now finally healed of the spreading virus, we will hopefully enter the same phase soon. It’s difficult to stay informed about what will really happen.  All the news sources have conflicting stories, some of them out right exploitation of the current situation and confabulating statistics that we will only be able to verify when this whole thing is done. 

Photo by Kate Trifo on Unsplash

And now, here we are, one week later.  We are more hopeful, more full of fight and determined to live with hope, faith and celebrate life no matter what.  Our world is beautiful and nature will always carry on despite our continual assault on our own world health and our precious resources.  Hopefully, we will come out of the Pandemic, wiser and more willing to work harmoniously with our environment, rather than destroying it. It’s a complex and difficult task, but not unrealistic at all.  We can all see what staying at home does. We can now see what being careful and be kind with each other can be like.  The cleaner air and the peaceful environment. We are seeing that we can live peacefully together and work together for success. 

Part of this blog,  Tea Travels, is comprised of posts about travelling locally and around the world to experience the tea traditions and teas of the world. It’s more relevant now than ever due to the quarantines around the world.  I love to write about tea around the world, because it reflects human kind’s ability to harmonize and elevate themselves together via the simple routine of taking tea.  Tea, how it’s made and enjoyed are direct reflections of the many beautiful and fascinating cultures of human kind.  Tea brings people together in a very simple way for bonding, sharing history and planning for what’s ahead.  Personally, I have never enjoyed tea more and been thankful for this simple beverage, than during this quarantine.  I’ve taken tea with my Pod, I’d explored herbal teas that support immunity and health and used the time during quarantine to delve deeper into the journey of exploring tea.

Last year we travelled throughout Southern California and even to Paris, France.  It was an amazing journey and we are hoping there will be many more.  World travel has been a part of human civilization since it’s inception and hopefully it will go on. It’s important that we explore and get to know our world and to become friends with all people of the world. I want to thank everyone who checks in and reads these posts. I hope that they have provided some light and entertainment during these trying times.  I’ll end this post with a great tea from Teavana(this post is unsponsored, I just really like this tea),   for relaxation and to make you smile. Teavana Citrus Lavender with pineapple, orange and notes of sage. Caffiene free.  Here’s a bit about the ingredients: Pineapple;  a tropical fruit grown in South America for centuries.  Sweet, packed with Vitamin C and explosion of flavor. Health benefits include decreasing inflammation, energizing and boosting immunity. Orange, another South American export, a catalyst of an industry that made the US wealthy.  Sweet, tangy and juicy-packed with Vitamin C. Health benefits include boosting immunity, maintaining skin and bone health. Sage-oh Sage-now that’s a lot to write about.  Sage,  utilized to clear away bad karma and spirits. Packed with vitamins and minerals.  Boosts brain health and cognition, reduce blood sugar, ease menopausal symptoms and protect against cancers. Lavender, reduces stress, anxiety, pain, promotes calmness and wellness and is a super attractor. 

 

 

And to end this post,  on this lovely day, full of promise and hope:

We live on this speck called Earth – think about what you might do, today or tomorrow – and make the most of it.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Paint And Flow

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So I painted pots today and they turned out so cute.   I’m passing on this fun garden decorating project, because it’s inexpensive, relaxing and will add a fun vibe to your out door space.  It’s a great time to add some bright colors to your backyard to celebrate the New Year.  

I’m on a serious budget right, preparing for the New Year and embracing minimalism. I know that it’s super important to get outside, commune with nature and to maintain a healthy balance while working hard. I know this sounds really simple, but that’s the whole point.  Taking it easy, accepting it for what it is and enjoying the moment.  This isn’t about elaboration, complexity, talent or purpose-it’s for flow, acceptance and basically letting go.   This is for those who are up for fun, baggage free.  Get ready to relax your mind.   

To do this little project I needed pots, paint, shellac and brushes.  The pots would cost the most, so I had to get creative and source them cheaply. My mom had the paints and shellac and was in the process of painting bird houses. She invited me to join her, so everything just seemed to fall into place and I accepted her invitation.  

I wanted to do several small pots in rainbow colors. To source the pots,   I headed to a couple of my favorite thrift stores. This turned out to be a great idea.   There was a great variety of cute, small pots to choose from. There were pots in varying designs and sizes with different coatings and containing different objects.  For instance I bought a couple with old fake flowers stuck into styrofoam that were glued to the inside of the pot.  They were fairly sad looking and bent out of shape, but I planned to remove the flowers and upcycle them.

I picked out five and proceeded to the check out counter.  I asked the girl if she was open to bargaining. She was hesitant to admit she would, but she rung it up at the price I asked for, while saying she couldn’t do it.   That’s why I always say, It never hurts to ask!

I felt really lucky after that and went home to clean up the pots.  I scraped away the foam, curated the salvageable flowers for gift wrapping and collected the broken pieces that were big enough for painting.  I planned to paint them and then break them further to add to the stones in a handmade Bee Plate in the back yard. It was full of river stones and the colorful pieces would attract more bees.

So, I cleaned it and then the painting was a breeze.  It was fun to experiment with different patterns and colors.  As my mom and I painted she recounted stories of our past.  She had an amazing recall of our family history, funny stories and our vacation travels.   I relaxed painted and listened.   Once the painting and coating were completed, I attached them to the shed to add colorful inspiration and compliment the flowers that would bloom in the spring.   I walked across the yard and seated myself in a chair that was resting on cold grass wet with drops of moisture from the rain the night before.   The day had been cold and sunny with a brilliant blue sky, but not warm enough to evaporate the wetness from the night before.   I gazed across the garden at the shed which was backed by a huge oak with foliage that was thick, glorious and a dark earthy green.   The colors of the small pots created brilliant pops of light and fun punctuating the coldness of the wintry December day.  

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

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Quiet Winter

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Photo by takahiro taguchi on Unsplash

I travelled to the Northeast several winter’s ago to share joy with a friend who’s sister was having a baby shower. It was in January the dead of winter and the Northeastern hamlets were covered with blankets of snow. Beautiful pristine crystallized vistas met my gaze as we drove into her village. The air was crisp, refrigerated, but pure. The icy air cooled my airways and my lungs gratefully indulged in the clean cold air. As we walked to the front of our cottage where we were staying,  the snow crunched under our feet. Otherwise, there was silence. People were tucked away in their homes, working on keeping warm and cheerful. The promise of a new life  hovered above us.

The community was old and people didn’t usually move away. My friend and I were well into our fifties and she heralded me with stories as far back as baby music school that she and her friend that had attended. Her friend still lived in the village. Their parents were still there too. She had stories that filled the trip with history of her friends and their families. Who they were and how they came to live in the village.

After a quick dinner, we settled into a room on the top floor of the cottage. The cottage was made of beautiful wood from local Ash and Fir trees. All around the cottage was forest. A forest that would not give up and continued to thicken and thrive no matter what. To live in this forest required constant cutting back to maintain your small space amongst the giants. Outside our multi-paned window, lay an evening winter wonderland scene. The snow sparkled as rays of moonlight hit it’s surface. Giant trees cast shadows across the cottage and the landscape.

Photo by jurien huggins on Unsplash

I quickly dressed for bed in warm pajamas and climbed under a huge old comforter covered with a hand stitched quilt. I sunk my head into a soft pillow filled with down. The next thing I knew, light streamed in from the small window and was hitting my eyelids, it was morning. A gentle morning ray that cut across the gray winter sky and provided just enough illumination to establish it was daytime.

 

Photo by Ozgu Ozden on Unsplash

There were no sounds. Just quiet, stillness, my breathing. A sense of peace. It had snowed again during the night.  Fresh diamonds of ice glittered brightly across the landscape, bringing the promise of fresh water in the coming spring and new life.  I felt strangely at home. We bowed down to the cold; to it’s majesty and magic.

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Unclutter Live Free

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

When I hit middle age, I looked around and I looked at me. I’m told this happens to everyone and it’s not such a unique thing. Each person makes the journey differently and it’s perfectly tailored for them. This sudden realization is possibly one of the most important things that will ever happen in a person’s life. This is the time when we are forced to stop by life circumstances and take a look around at what’s really going on. There are a myriad of factors that causes this arrest and it’s different for everyone. It can be the natural process of aging, slowing down or something catastrophic such as illness or death. And what really is going on? What are you really doing? Are you where you wanted to be when you reached midlife? Did you achieve and is achieving what you really thought it was? These questions come and don’t go away. You have to make decisions, sort it out in you mind and pick your direction. Like a ship that is meant to sail the seas, we sail through life and it’s currents and conditions. Without navigation the ship will wander, lyst, maybe be overcome by pirates and possibly, ultimately, sink.

So, I hit that point, my ship was lysting, I looked at myself and I realized I was a cluttered person. My life was cluttered, my house was cluttered and what I thought I liked or wanted had changed. So, maybe you’re not like this, maybe you have it together and always did, maybe you are one of those that will just never even think that you could be uncluttered. But the journey never stops and how much do you really want to take with you? Do you want to expend your energy on carrying a load or do you want to fly swiftly with nothing weighing you down as you embark on adventures? I knew what I wanted and so the purge began. The timing was good, because I had to get ready for my daughter’s baby shower. I called in the neighborhood kids and we set to work. Room by room, sorting and disposing of treasures. Funny thing, a few items caused significant hesitancy, but mostly, it was such a relief. These things could now journey to new homes where they were wanted and used and fulfill their purpose. The energy became active and no longer dormant, just sitting and wasting. The air in my house became light, free and moved with energy once again.

Photo by Peter Fogden on Unsplash