Living in the hills and out in the sticks as I do has disadvantages, but add a little snow and ice....and you have a perfect recipe for an iron-clad excuse to NOT drive (or in my case, slide) into work. 

    Donning my favorite outfit - polar fleece and boots -  off I went, camera in hand, making tracks in the snow....

   I was mainly in search of cute little critters....however, it seems they had better sense than to be out in the cold - even my camera doesn't like temps below freezing.  The image above is taken from a  tree in my front yard....a local hang-out for squirrels and woodpeckers.    Although NOT today!  But....there is good news:  I have Photoshop!  And plenty of free time on my hands to create the image I would have liked to see.....as another 1'-3' of snow begins to fall....

                      
                             Well....if I HAD a back door, this is what you would see today!

    If you notice on my profile page I have a link where a new picture from space can be viewed each day.  And while those pictures are often interesting and entertaining, this link   http://axiomsun.com/home/video/space_star_stuff.html   will take you a couple of steps farther -  to a video depicting how the universe was made, from the Big Bang to the Human Body.  Pretty cool, huh!

  It is almost 30 minutes in length, but I found to be well worth the time......enjoy!

It has been quite a while - too long actually, since I've written anything on the subject of Gratitude.

I woke up this morning with the strongest sense of peace I've felt in a long while.  As I lay there trying to decide if I was in fact awake and alive my thoughts automatically shifted to an almost overwhelming sense of gratitude.  It's not typical for me to feel anything, much less gratitude, after only 4 hours of sleep!  But today was different....especially after the week I've had, it would be much easier to think about what all I''m NOT grateful for....like the fatigue after working almost 60 hours, having finals in Photoshop class....having NO love life and being alone on Valentine's....

Instead my shifted to the memory of a conversation with my best friend this week where we talked about choices - what we do and how we feel and, more importantly, how we respond to any situation is a choice we make.  And if what we attract in our lives is the result of our thoughts, intention is the bridge that connects our emotion with possibility.  During this conversation I was reminded how an 'attitude of gratitude', so profoundly affects our thoughts which inevitably lead us to choices that are beneficial not only to ourselves, but to all we come in contact with.  As I write this It occurs to me that it is this particular set of lenses that I have choosen to look through that shifts my focus from myself to the world....and the reason I am grateful what I have as well as what I don't have!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   
Spectrum of Intentions

As long as I am breathing, I will always be alive;
As long as I am alive, I will always be evolving;
As long as I am evolving, I will always be changing;
As long as I am changing, I will always be conscious;
As long as I am conscious, I will always be deliberate;
As long as I am deliberate, I will always be intentional;
As long as I am intentional, I will always be focused;
As long as I am focused, I will always be consistent;
As long as I am consistent, I will always be certain......    
                                                                                                        

    These words are used to define the word Desideratum, the singular form of the word Desiderata.   Other words such as essential, necessary, required.... have essentially the same meaning, but with much less passion.    For those of you unfamiliar with this particular work, Desiderata also the title of a poem that is generally believed to have been written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann. 

    I've posted this poem before....and do so each time I see or hear these written words.  It is my way of "listening to the universe", and the poem is a nice reminder of how to achieve happiness - if happiness is what is truly desired.   My reminder today came from this source, a truly inspiring video of the words put to music:

    
                            http://www.inspiringthots.net/movie/desiderata.php

                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



                                                                      DESIDERATA



       Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
       and remember what peace there may be in silence.
       As far as possible without surrender
       be on good terms with all persons.
       Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
       and listen to others.
       even the dull and the ignorant;
       they too have their story.

       Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
       they are vexations to the spirit.
       If you compare yourself with others,
       you become vain and bitter;
       for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
       Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

       Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
       it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
       Exercise caution in your business affairs;
       for the world is full of trickery.
       But let this not not blind you to what virtue there is;
       many persons strive for high ideals;
       and everywhere life is full of heroism.

       Be yourself.
       Especially, do not feign affection.
       Neither be cynical about love;
       for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
       it is as perennial as the grass.

       Take kindly the counsel of the years,
       gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
       Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
       But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
       Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
       Beyond a wholesome discipline,
       be gentle with yourself.

       You are a child of the universe,
       no less than the trees and the stars;
       you have a right to be here.
       And whether or not it is clear to you,
       no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

       Therefore, be at peace with God,
       whatever you conceive him to be,
       and whatever your labors and aspirations,
       in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

       With all it's sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
       it is a beautiful world.
       Be cheerful.
       Strive to be happy.