Food for Thought:
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
-Agatha Christie, An Autobiography
MINDFUL-MOD
A Modern Life for the Mindful…
Tagged with This and That …
I Say Never…
Now that I’ve entered middle age, it’s occurred to me that no matter how high the number of years I’ve lived increases there are a few things I can definitely say I’ll never do:
1. I’ll never tire of hearing that I’m cute.
2. I’ll never quit trying to be the best me I can be.
3. I’ll never quit aspiring to get a bikini-worthy bod.
4. I’ll never base my worth as a woman based on the number of a scale.
5. I’ll never lose my inner childishness.
6. I’ll never spend less than $20 bucks for a haircut unless I’d like to be scalped.
7. I’ll never buy another convertible or (any car smaller then a Toyota Camry)
8. I’ll never judge a book by its cover or anything else by its outward appearance.
9. I’ll never enhance my face by any surgical procedure.
10. I’ll never be able to whistle (I’ve tried! I’m convinced…).
11. I’ll never wish to be anything other than a southern girl.
12. I’ll never waste my time counting calories (life’s too short).
13. I’ll never fly coach on a flight 10 hours or longer (I’ll save up to upgrade to premium)
14. I’ll never run for President nor do I desire to.
15. I’ll never turn down a trip to go anywhere, every place can be adventuresome.
16. I’ll never say never after finishing this list…(laughing)… to be continued…
Music & Movie Making…
I created the following video to the original song Restore Me Lord written & performed by Max Soelzer who also happens to be my big brother. This video was the first video I created using windows movie maker and I’m quite pleased with the results. I hope you enjoy the video & music as well…
Amp Up First Impressions…
Want to make a good first impression? Let it slip that you hit the gym. When participants in a 2012 study were told someone worked out moderately or intensely as opposed to not at all, they rated that person more positively, even in areas that had nothing to do with fitness. The findings make sense given the widespread promotion of exercise as a healthy habit, says study author Robin B. Kanarek, Ph.D., of Tufts University― who also notes that, in a follow-up-study, active women were rated as five years younger than those who skipped exercise.
i like my body when it is with your body
i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite new a thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh … And eyes big love-crumbs,
and possibly i like the thrill
of under me you so quite new
e.e. cummings
What Does it Mean to Have Soul?
by Dr. Judith Rich
Some people say we live in a “soulless” world, or they refer to a place as “having no soul.” What does it mean to have “no soul”? What does it mean to have soul?
Some people are called “lost” souls, some are “old” souls and some look for a soul mate. We have our soul brothers and soul sisters. What does it mean to share soul with someone?
How do you know if you’re in the presence of soul, be it in a place, in a person or even in a thing? Does art have soul? Does food have soul? Does music have the quality of soul?
The answer, of course, to all of these questions is “yes.” We could look upon everything in the world as either having that ineffable quality we call “soul” or missing whatever it is we think of as soul. But what does it mean to have soul? And how do you know if you’re in its presence?
WRITING POETRY…
Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.
This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose…
Quoting…
Loving this quote today and wanted to share…
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievements; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
—Theodore Roosevelt
life lessons…
live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
play with abandon.
practice wellness.
… laugh.
risk love.
continue to learn.
appreciate your friends.
choose with no regret.
fail with enthusiasm.
stand by your family.
celebrate the holidays that make sense.
lead or follow a leader.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.
Mary Anne Radmacher
New Dress Poem…
Hello, lovely disguise. Come swing short and loose
around my thighs. Cowl my neckline, let my throat
rise out of your yellow folds like a virgin.
Cup my shoulders; cling to my breasts so closely
that my skin accepts you, sister, knit and pieced
by strangers’ hands, but closer to my body
than my own husband. You absorb in your stitching
my wrist’s vanilla and anise, the sweat of anxiety,
a hasty last morsel of soup, or blood from a bandage
pulled off too soon. And those gazes I scorned
when I was younger—I accept them so eagerly now,
not knowing how long my face will stay,
how long I’ll be able to walk on these legs, slim
in black tights, before sickness forces me down.
When no man will want me for a lover, or dream
of pulling you over my head, you’ll caress me,
won’t you? You’ll be with me, faithful friend,
when my body starts to turn.
Anya Silver
