Saturday, March 15, 2008

Going On Retreat Again, Tomorrow.



Photo: I'm really okay, yes, I really am.....


or...... evidence of why I need to go on retreat.
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(Ron caught a candid camera moment of moi - did he know I would post it on my blog? Absolutely not. He will be careful what he snaps with the camera in the future ;)

Friday, March 14, 2008

Brilliant Video - A Must See

photo: A little snake friend visits our garden this Spring

I highly recommend a You Tube video. It is a talk called "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, who is a professor at Carniege Mellon University.

This amazing man was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and now has only been given months to live. He has a beautiful family with 3 young children and his wife. This guy is a total star - a very shining one. Watch the whole video if can - it's awe inspiring!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

"Sea Glass" Therapy


Photo: Multi-coloured "sea glass" recently retrieved from the beach (by my brill husband :)
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Living by the beach has many positives. One of them is what I call Sea Glass Therapy. Within days of my surgery (I took an early morning walkies with the pooches the second day after getting home from hospital ;) I became enamoured with little pieces of glass that had been finely and slowly ground down by the ocean to, what we have been calling, sea glass.
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These many coloured gems became a delightful meditation when walking on the beach. They are quite rare and sometimes we would find none. But if one slowly trawls the tidelines these little chips of glass can reveal themselves. They then get "rescued" by us and brought back to the house.
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I have always been an avid rock collector, still am, but sea glass collecting requires more concentration. And concentration is one of the main ways to still and quieten the mind and heart. This concentration practice of slowly searching for sea glass helped cool the mind and body system after the trauma of surgery. I have many good memories of walking the beach scouting for bits of colour in the sand and pebbles and at the same time releasing the tension of it all.
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So "Sea Glass Therapy" is now an officially recognized therapy by me. It works pretty well. You too should try it next time you go to the beach.
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(Hint: look for a small pebbly areas on the beach as this is the most likely place to find sea glass. And more of these babies get washed up after storms or big waves have occurred.)
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Happy sea glass hunting!