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Category Archives: Peace

I Choose To Bloom…

29 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Beauty, Choices, Contentment, Gardening, Joy, Nature, Outdoors, Peace, Seasons, Uncategorized

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Animals, Nature, Summer

It’s been a really hot week here, but we’re somewhat used to that smack dab in the middle of Summer here in the Sonoran Desert in the Southwest USA, so I’m trying to bloom where I am currently planted! But when the temps rise beyond  110 F. and hover there day after day with double-digit humidity rather than our early Summer drier conditions, it wears on even those of us more-seasoned desert dwellers! We are in the middle of our monsoon season here, which means there is a chance most afternoons of a thunderstorm developing and bringing with it the possibility for highly desirable rainfall! Even the wild creatures which cohabit my parcel of this desert seem to be attempting to cope with the monsoon seasonal weather challenges.  desert-cottontail-rabbit-desert-harmony

Each afternoon, I can look out the windows of my house to see a variety of birds and bunnies hovering under the shade of the more-lush plants which I planted closest to the house. I water those plants every morning and evening during hot spells like this to keep those plants from drooping in the afternoon sun, but also to keep a more comfortable and favorable environment for all those birds and bunnies which gather there! They find the moist, shaded soil cooler for their bodies, and often the bunnies stretch out to make as much bodily contact as possible with the soil. The quail which are native to this area also kick out some of the groundcover and soil to burrow a bit further down in and around the plants. Then the peach-faced lovebirds which made themselves at home on my street about twenty years ago find refuge in the shady bright-green branches of the shrubs I have growing there. At times, I have counted eighteen lovebirds along with several quail and bunnies all sharing about a 3′ x 7′ space. It’s magical to peek out the windows to see so many creatures taking their rest and comfort, all so readily visible from inside my house. In a way, their search for comfort provides for me a great opportunity to witness daily such beautiful animals, but also a responsibility to continue providing for them such excellent a refuge! Peach-faced Lovebirds 01-20-13 Phoenix-2-3

It’s not always easy getting up early to water and do my landscaping chores when the morning sun is already so intent on heating things up. And it’s not at all easy going out in the evening before the sun goes down to re-moisten the area with a fresh spray of water. But it is more than rewarding to witness how appreciated my efforts are by the creatures which rely upon my provisions! I make sure to keep birdbaths as well as water features clean and refreshed, my numerous plants provide shelter and food, and I even try to leave the area under my windows undisturbed so as not to frighten away the oodles of each specimen which are hanging out there from midday to evening. They bring me pleasure, so it’s the least I can do in return!  

Taking the time to notice life as it plays out before our eyes each day is our choice! And I surely have made it my practice to notice the beauty of the natural world unfolding each new day before my eyes, regardless of the heat! I’m eager for the end of Summer, as by the beginning of August the long, really hot weather starts to wear on even the most tenacious, seasoned desert gardener. But since I cannot control the weather, hasten time passing, or alter the conditions in which I now find myself living, I choose to bloom where I am planted by making something good out of it!   Signature02

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Going Back to School…

28 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by Cheryl Ries in aging, Attitude, Change, Choices, Growing, Lessons, Life, Maturity, Peace, Purpose, Wisdom

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Back to School, Maturity, Wisdom

Going back to school is really just waking up every day to face life! We never stop learning! All of our lives we must face the fact that we’re always students. We might wish we had moved past that when we left our late teens or early twenties, but in truth, we’re always students having to learn something, taking tests, studying, and moving on. It never ends, this relationship of ours as students in life! It is ongoing, through all facets, stages, and conditions in which we exist. We never stop learning, even when we are adamantly opposed to the notion, or reject the idea outright! If only we could learn to embrace the role, perhaps the role itself would help bring direction to our lives and some peace to our minds.  

During our childhood, we endured years of mandatory schooling, whereby we had to meet certain standards necessary for us to move forward into new pursuits and educational challenges. There wasn’t a way to evade that part of our journey, especially during my generation. Public schools were the norm, and standards were created nationally as well as by each state to keep all students aligned with the pursuit of obtaining certain educational goals. There were standards required in every subject, for every grade level, and for every type of school. The only way we could get to higher grades and levels of achievement in those grades was by accomplishing each grade’s standards before moving on to the next. In my generation, the late baby boomers, there weren’t many opportunities to bypass public school, unless our parents could afford to send us to private schools. There weren’t many home-schooled children that I knew of, and there were no online schools or diploma alternative tests. We were either students, at least from kindergarten through the end of high school, or we were drop-outs. 

Having no real choice in the matter, as education seemed essential and mandatory, I then went into each new grade with a sense that it was necessary for my future and inevitable for my progress! Being a student was the role I was in from the age of five through seventeen. I went from grade school to middle school and then high school. The first period of choice I had after those twelve years of not dropping out was going to college when I was seventeen. I chose to go. It wasn’t until sometime in my mid-twenties that I realized the whole student/learning process I had celebrated when it had finally concluded in my early twenties actually hadn’t ended at all! It was still ongoing and never ends until the day we die!    

Every day we are learning, going through some lesson, facing some test(s), and determining through such profound moments whether or not we progress onward in our lives! Our role as students in life never ceases, as we are always moving into new circumstances, developing other skills, becoming more adept, learning something new, changing our minds, and growing in wisdom. Each new day we should wake up preparing for that day’s classroom called life! Every day we are really still just students going back to school, but in a classroom without walls, our teachers coming and going with their unique lessons, and our homework found in attitudinal shifts, mental challenges, and quizzical mysteries. We are in one long grade from the time we leave our formal educational confines, the role of actual student, and officially graduate into life. It’s called the process of maturing, and it takes all of our lives to do well! It also takes accepting that we’re never done being a student of something, today, tomorrow, and the next. Each day we must face our lessons, tests, and hope for promotion onward to the next day’s subjects, lessons, tests, and so on. 

Tomorrow when you awaken, the bell will be ringing…school has begun! 

Discovering Your Joy Within!

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Blessings, Celebration, Choices, Christmas, Contentment, Empathy, Encouragement, Giving, Goodness, Hope, Inspiration, Jesus' Birth, Joy, Love, Peace, Positivity, Seasons, Strength

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Christmas, Contentment, Inspiration, Joy, Peace

I mostly wrote this five years ago this very day, but it seems to ring even more true for the world we are living in this day! The greatest challenge and endeavor in life is to learn the vital lesson of discovering your joy within! With that comes the importance of holding onto that joy peacefully and consistently, no matter the circumstances you are currently experiencing, all while reflecting that contentment as a light back into the world. None of us is immune to hardships, traumas, and problems in life or the catastrophic events beyond our control, but we have shared enough similar woes and life experiences to know that our inner joy is truly not a reflection of what has or will happen to us as much as it is a reflection of our choice as to how and what we feel, think, and believe about these matters! We choose how to summarily view our lives based on how we feel about what has happened to us. If we always cede our joy to feelings of despair, worry, anxiety, sadness, constantly mourning what we’ve lost over time, we erode the sense of joy we are meant to experience just by living! It’s as if we forget that our lives were filled with both happy and sad, ups and downs, laughter and tears. Anchoring our joy within ensures us that we won’t look back upon our lives in misery and despair!

We’re so well-equipped to love, to empathize, to be the face of compassionate caring for others once we have assured all of that for and within ourselves, by recognizing our own ability to keep our peace, joy, and contentment alive within our own soul and spirit! It’s so easy to harden from within with each trauma and every downturn. Soon enough, we have lost our ability to enjoy our own life or to help others enjoy theirs! By instilling in ourselves an indefatigable and rebounding joy within, we make ourselves almost immune to that habit of dwelling in perpetual despair! We may for a time mourn, ache, or hurt, but it need not take our life’s joy for all time! Perhaps we need only shift our focus more to the bright moments, the great times, and the things which we consider blessings, rather than focusing more often on what has grieved us or made us sad. And in just a time, that becomes the new habit!  

Find and hold onto your joy from within by habitually deciding to do just that! And then be a purposeful light for others, assuring them as to what joy, peace, and contentment can be for many who possibly need your leadership in that regard! It takes faith to live as a light, but the Lord sets a great example for us as to why we should! Shine your light for all the world to see, especially during this season of Christmas! You never know who might be inspired and led by your example in turn. There is enough darkness and despair in this world, enough sadness and suffering, reflect for others the way which leads them to their joy and light! And have a joyous season celebrating Christmas!   

Insecurity is Visible…

29 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Blessings, Character, Confidence, Contentment, Freedom, God, Maturity, Offense, Peace, Self-Control, Self-Esteem, Strength

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Confidence, Insecurity, Narcissism, Self-Esteem, Self-worth, Value

So many people these days are insecure, riddled with self-doubt, and unable to positively identify themselves by decisive means. They are lost, meandering through their lives looking for validation and for acceptance! It’s really sad to watch seemingly successful, established, attractive people flailing about looking for the approval or esteem from outside that should be naturally flourishing from within!

You probably have seen these people around you every day. They may have jobs, careers, families, friends, and present themselves as well-adjusted and successful at reaching their goals in life. But, in fact, they are struggling with insecurity. This insecurity stifles their creativity, befuddles their pursuit of goals, and hinders the real progress they could make in relationships as well as personal development. 

Insecurity is visible! It shows up as narcissism, jealousy, anger, envy, intolerance, excessive criticism, and in those who are always easily offended by others. Insecurity is when we don’t quite believe we’re worthy, or that we’re attractive, talented, capable, our opinions or beliefs are valid, or that we’re loveable. It is any sense of our lacking when we’re estimating the value of others in comparison! Are we as popular, pretty, slender, wealthy, successful, talented, smart, (or whatever measurement we’re using to compare and contrast our life with the lives of those around us)?!

We’re meant to get our value and worth from the knowledge and assurance that we’re beloved children of God! He’s our Creator, so He made us as we are with inherent human value and worth to achieve the purposes He has designed just for us! But many of us don’t believe in God’s dominion over our lives, and so we don’t know that our value is derived from knowing who we are through Him! We instead get our value from other places then, from other people, from the things we’ve collected and boasted of routinely, from the position we hold, from the level of our personal or professional achievements, from how attractive others think we are, from our ability to do certain things, or to hold particular positions. Without having that relationship with God, as Father, we are always going to live our life comparing and contrasting, competing and defeating, dwelling and then repelling all the subjectivity of flawed and irrational human thinking, our own and that of others! We spend a lot of energy and time dealing with insecurity as a result, which takes us from our life pursuits, the purposes God has in mind for us. And when we’re insecure, we spend a lot of time finding fault with others in an effort to raise our own self-perception! 

When we know that we matter, we’re loved, we’re loveable, and that we were created as we were meant to be by the Lord, we don’t need to feel insecure about our appearance, our thoughts, our beliefs, our talents, our bodies, or our level of achievement in any area of living! We can go into anything certain that He goes with us, He has prepared us or will for whatever we face, and that we needn’t doubt our ability or any other facet of our being. He leads us, He goes with us, He is our strength, and He is our guide. Now, it’s true that those who don’t believe won’t grasp this difference! That is obvious. But they also don’t see the nature of issues with insecurity rising in this nation as we push God further from our personal lives! Such rampant insecurity is a clear indication of lives lived without the sense of God’s value known for certainty within them! Even believers struggle at times with thoughts that can erode our confidence and our assurances! When you know you matter as you are though, then someone else’s wealth, acclaim, position, race, sexual identity, possessions, and beliefs won’t seem threatening at all! And our own struggles to achieve the success we think we should attain won’t become such an overwhelming weight upon our souls! Knowing God is our designer sets us free from the embattled sense of entitlement, jealousy, envy, narcissism, greed, self-doubt, self-obsession, constant self-promotion, and any other eroding measure! Struggling is part of life, but to wrangle with insecurity, lacking confidence in ourselves as God’s invaluable creation, is to struggle needlessly even more so!

Hope Is the Beating Heart . .

05 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Faith, God, Hope, Joy, Peace, Purpose

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Contentment, Hope, Joy, Peace of Mind

Something sorely lacking from our society today is hope. Hope, the promise of something more than this life, something better tomorrow than today, is the fulfillment of God’s Word as truth. Hope is the beating heart which refuses to quit when every single impulse screams otherwise! Hope is looking through, beyond, and with your heart filled with promise because there is actually more than this, more than this one moment of pain, discomfort, failure, loss, and brokenness. Hope leads us each new day with faith into all the unknowns, beyond all our negativity, past our own emotions, and through all that seems to weaken our will. Hope. Hope in something more than this! Never cease in hoping, regardless those “realists” who insist that being hopeful is a weak man’s game played with no prize or victory in the end! There is always a reason to hope, and in spite of those intellectuals who insist otherwise, hope compels us to live with more joy, peace of mind, and contentment within. Hope is a reward in and of itself! A hopeful attitude keeps us afloat when others around us are drowning in uncertainty, despair, worry, or other temporary states of being! Hope within keeps us from letting our current emotions color our life for all time!

 

Sure, someone reading this may speak to the triteness of these expressions and adages regarding hope. They may have their own personal experiences to prove me wrong! They may have tried consistently to be hopeful, yet things never reversed or turned out otherwise! Perhaps they just let the world and their temporary circumstances define their lives in total. Letting others in this world, or even the present state of the world as you perceive it, dictate your emotions is like giving the keys to your home and car to another for safe keeping! Your emotions are in your control, they’re not contingent upon the actions, words, beliefs, or even emotions of others. Sure we may empathize or sympathize with others, we may share in many emotions such as joy. But we are the only ones who decide whether or not we are joyful, peaceful, content and hopeful about our lives now and in whatever time we face ahead! Hope is our choice to believe that this life is purposeful, meaningful, and even with momentary hardships, failures, or despair, that this life is worth living!  

A lot of what our lives become is in our will and hands to decide! Our emotions surely are, even if circumstances, events, and the state of the world overall are not. We could just go with the flow, allowing our lives to become purely reactionary in response, rather than purposefully choosing to be hopeful in spite of whatever happens to us or around us! Hope is God’s promises for our lives realized in our faithful perseverance through everything, knowing that we are ultimately here for His purposes! Things are not promised to us, our lives will not always be pain-free, happy-go-lucky, or even seen constantly through rose-colored lenses! Life happens, our duty is to learn, develop, change, grow, choose, and to move forward with hope. That is our chosen role. Hope for our own lives is not something we should leave to others who have their own lives to live. Hope is not a far-fetched concept only the lucky can master! Hope is merely a choice we make every single day to not just exist in our current state of being, but rather to look forward, through, beyond, and into the future with joyful expectancy as well as contented faith in God’s plans for us! Hope promises us that this is not all there is. Hope assures us that today’s events and our present emotions are not the sole markers of our lives overall. Hope affirms to us that life is uncertain, but the choice is always ours to be content, to stay peaceful, to stay joyful within, to feel what emotions we must for a time but then to heal and move forward. We owe it to ourselves to keep hope ever-present within, as it provides the comfort, compass, and blanket of rest over everything we experience and feel! 

The Benefits Far Outweigh Anything Negative!

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Beauty, Choices, Gardening, God, Lessons, Life, Nature, Outdoors, Peace, Positivity, Seasons

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Beauty, Creatures, God's Design, Nature, Pests, Summer

I’m enjoying all the nature sightings of recent weeks and months, the benefits of these creature sightings far outweigh anything negative! There is nothing like experiencing wild animals among us when we’re in our own yards or visiting other locations! And although I have had a few inopportune moments with critters and bugs recently too, I focus on the positive impact the sightings of less pesky creatures have upon my life rather than the imperfections we can often face when human beings meet the wild! Just last month, I had a scare when I found a live scorpion in the upstairs guest room in which I was staying at my sister’s house! It was not pleasant whacking it with a shoe and praying there were no others for the few days I was visiting! But, it was a one-time sighting in a slew of visits, so I let it go and enjoyed my visit. And on that particular visit, I went whale watching on a trip in which I experienced seeing humpback and minke whales, as well as seeing a super pod of common dolphins! That and several other nature-oriented experiences made the scorpion sighting less memorable for sure!

Just yesterday, I saw a family with sixteen baby quail in my front yard! It was delightful to watch the brood scurry and scamper beside their parents. Quail are common visitors to my yard, but their families are not often that numerous! They’re so tiny when newborn, yet so proficient in their quail duties! This sighting came just hours after I had to remove the rather stinky rotting carcass of some poor dead creature laying in the backyard. Perhaps it had fallen prey to some other animal’s attack. Again, the benefit of the large quail family sighting far outweighed the nastiness of removing the stinky corpse! I’ve also recently had numerous rabbit sightings, with plentiful baby bunnies being born in the last few months. The sightings of the tinier babies more than make up for the nibbling older rabbits which insist upon gnawing my plants to stubs or to dust! Babies in my yard are always welcome, even when I realize how voracious they’ll be as adults one day soon!  

With Summer in the desert, we get an influx of several types of bugs which aren’t prevalent the rest of the year. Those include pesky mosquitoes which seem to thrive in the heat, big 2 – 3″ paloverde beetles and cicadas which buzz incessantly from their perches in trees throughout the landscape. The presence of these bugs is a nuisance often, as they creep around in places which are unexpected and the mosquitoes bite all the uncovered flesh which is more prevalent with the heat of Summer! I’ve even been bitten by mosquitoes while swimming in the pool! Short of swimming underwater only, I’m not sure I know how to evade those pests entirely! And everywhere I look in the yard, ants are busy doing whatever it is ants do! They’re usually not an issue, until I stop in their pathway in my sandals, often getting bitten for my error in judgment.

 

It’s always the case in Summer that I wish for a bit of relief when it comes to nature’s more pesky creatures. Bugs and creepy crawlers, snakes and lizards are not my favorite things. But this morning I was overjoyed to return a tiny gecko to the outdoors after finding it indoors on the carpeting by my front door! Those little things are cute, but they’re not meant to live indoors! I’ve already seen enough cuteness watching the common species of birds, the lovebirds which have naturalized, the lizards, squirrels and the bunnies running around while I watered this morning! Anything which seems negative at first with the creatures around me is always balanced out by something wondrous and fascinating to observe! Nature is a diverse, fantastical showcase of God’s miraculous handiwork and design! It’s both uplifting and at times, overwhelming and/or scary! It is just a part of living in this magical world which God has created!

Change is Surely Inevitable . .

19 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in aging, Attitude, Change, Choices, Conquering Fear, Lessons, Life, Maturity, Peace, Strength, Wisdom

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Acceptance, aging, Change, Peace of Mind

I miss the way things were earlier in my lifetime when I was younger and life seemed simpler. I suppose it’s a common phenomenon of growing older that change can leave a lot of our lives unrecognizable or just a wee bit uncomfortable. It’s inevitable, there are cycles in life, natural lifespans, and popularity, which impacts what we’re surrounded by each day we live. Everything and everybody which once surrounds us will ultimately fall victim to time’s passing, especially upon hitting mid-life. And the hardest part of growing old is watching all that is familiar give way to something new, different, or otherwise unfamiliar to us. Change is surely inevitable, but not always preferential! And accepting change is the most challenging but essential aspect of aging! Especially at a time like this when everything seems to change so much more rapidly than in years and generations prior. Perhaps we live in the time of the most significant change societies have ever had to absorb since the beginning of human existence in the world. I cannot say for sure, as I only live in this time.

 

Surely the earliest of human beings had to deal with a lot of perceptible development, just by becoming adults. There were significant and momentous developments visible through the ages, much like those evident during the industrial revolution or with the development of language in each culture over time. But these days, keeping up with things is literally imperative to know the ever-changing colloquial language, as well as all that which influences daily life. Imagine what would become of someone unfamiliar with even the most simple of technological developments these days? If someone didn’t know how to use a portable, instantaneous form of communicating such as a cell phone, they would probably feel very ignorant in this contemporary world! We’re able to instantly communicate, nearly everywhere in the world. We can speak, write, and even render our thoughts across the globe in seconds! Without an awareness of the internet, cell phones, computers, or other forms of technology, people would be clueless about much of the world’s modern functionality!  

And in that reflection, there are people in the world alive today who had the earliest form of telephone service available. They first had landlines which required operators to connect a call or which had multiple party connections, which meant negotiating for phone usage, and took considerable time for connecting from one place only miles away to others. A phone call was a great luxury when the telephone first became a household staple and even having a phone was not guaranteed in every household as a cell phone is expected to be these days. Having a telephone was a privilege one had to be able to afford to actually have. It was not that long ago that many of us living today had hard-wired phones, hanging on our walls or sitting on our tables. We had to manually dial all the numbers on a large rotary dial and we couldn’t move beyond the distance the length of the curled connecting cord between the base and the handset allowed. We didn’t always get through instantaneously because it took more time to actually dial, especially long distance, and there were often either interruptions or perhaps the line would be busy already. I’m surely not an expert on the history of such technology, but I lived through several technological changes over my lifetime which developed into the instantaneous, wireless, global service we have today! If Maxwell Smart were alive and spying today, would he even bother with a shoe phone? 

When I think of all the changes which I’ve witnessed and absorbed in my lifetime, I’m often disturbed by the pace of things! It’s not necessarily all that comfortable to grow old with things always changing, as things don’t often change for the better! As we age, change seems to be more prolific and more impactful such as with more of our family and friends passing away. It’s a matter of time’s natural passing and lifespan. We merely have to learn to become more accepting of living without those with whom we were first closely surrounded. And we must learn to let go of a lot of regular aspects of our daily lives. All things and people have a natural lifespan, including the familiar businesses, places, and landmarks of our communities and our hometowns. Everything comes and goes, with some random time pattern, not always of our choosing! It’s just a part of life. We might really enjoy a restaurant, perhaps we’re even regulars there,  we become our own version of “Norm!” from Cheers (a sitcom from the 1980’s) to some group we routinely encounter there. But then that place suffers from an economic downturn or the owners choose to retire, or some other random incident causes its closure. That happens repeatedly as we age, especially if we stay in the same place over a long period of time. We take notice of changes, of communities shifting and changing in demographics, in population, in prosperity, and economically. Landscapes with which we have great familiarity seem to morph into something unfamiliar and all-too-new. Change without our developing sense of acceptance is just unsettling.   

I often wish I could keep more of the familiar people and places in my life, sans change! It isn’t always comfortable or easy to accept a lot of the change which comes with age and with time’s passing. But acceptance is a strange bedfellow because it enables us to make as much peace as possible with something which inherently at first feels uncomfortable or unpleasant. And getting better at accepting things is making my life easier, even with all the bombardment of change which now seems “normal” at this time period of my life. I can’t go back to a time when life seemed simpler or easier, and I cannot slow life down to make it seem more tolerable. This life is going at a pace which requires my constant endurance and daily acceptance! And I work each new day to keep those muscles flexing for the fevered pace of change we’re experiencing in 2017! Who knows what is coming next in the world, by way of technological developments, or in my own community? It’s all constantly changing and morphing into a new version of today, each new tomorrow!

All That He Has Enabled . .

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Blessings, Celebration, God, Goodness, Gratitude, Happiness, Joy, Nature, Opportunity, Outdoors, Peace

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Celebration, God, Gratitude, Nature, Peace, Swimming

There is nothing quite as refreshing on a hot Summer day here in the desert than taking a dip in a freshly drained, thoroughly cleaned, and refilled pool! Mine has been recently given the full treatment, as it was more than ready for a surface refresh and clean water.  It took the better part of four days for my pool man to get it all done, but it finally got done by yesterday.  I looked forward to the opportunity to swim in the pool since draining it last week. And as the sun remained hidden behind a rather large pine tree hovering around 50-60 feet overhead, leaving the water shaded, I indulged in my habit of swimming laps early this morning. It was sublime and a fabulous way to begin a Summer’s day which will reach about 108 degrees Fahrenheit! 

The water was so clear and clean, I could see through my goggles the most minute particle of leaf or petal floating on its surface, rare as they were! The calm and quiet of the half-awake atmosphere all around me, at that early hour, made for the perfect opportunity to use my swimming routine as a time for reflection on other things! While slicing through the water, I focused on the gratitude I had for having such a perfect moment in life and for having such a wonderful personal space in which to dwell. Everything I have is on loan to me from God, so I want to take care of everything as best as I am able! And I purposefully want to celebrate the abundance of everything around me, and appreciate all the moments I have cognizant of those special people, things, and moments! God is so good, He provides everything for us, and we should honor Him by taking care of all that which is really His first! Even we are first His, so we honor Him by taking good care of ourselves!  

Rarely can I be so engulfed in serenity and peaceful calm as I was while swimming this morning! It was such peaceful surrender to the workout I was getting through the exertion and force my body made against the water as I swam repeated lengths of the pool with well-practiced and certain ability. It made for a wonderful chance to connect with God and to share with Him my gratitude and joy in all that He has enabled! After all, He made me able to swim each lap, He made the water, with its specific surface tension and molecular weight, and He made all the surrounding creatures and living matter in which I have come to dwell. God is so great! I hope I never forget to appreciate and to celebrate all His glorious creation and all that He enables, as well as all that He has provided in me, through me and to me!  

Like Paradise or Eden!

20 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Beauty, Escape, Happiness, Joy, Life, Nature, Peace, Seasons

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Eden, God, Nature, Paradise

Yesterday was another idyllic day in my garden, like paradise or Eden! In the morning, I awoke and opened the window coverings as I usually do to reveal all sorts of creatures doing what they were created specifically to do! There were bunnies, including two fairly brand new baby bunnies so tiny and cute! There were bright, lime green lovebirds, donned in their accent colors of red and turquoise, with their peach faces. Other birds, including quail and regular desert nesters such as wrens, robins, doves, and the small yellow finches were too numerous to count! Then there were the flitting hummingbirds, buzzing about with seeming effortless ability from bloom to bloom! All these residents and more were seen amidst the backdrop of flowers and blooming plants galore! It is truly a prolonged Spring of beauty, wonder, and abundance in a desert garden.  

In watching all this life unfold, I couldn’t help but be drawn into a silent, secret observer’s role! That role requires quiet acquiescence to the living creatures just doing what comes naturally to them. My direct interference would have silenced them all, they would have scurried off to hide had I been out there among them! But in quietly watching from the windows of various rooms, especially during the active cooler morning and evening hours when the sun isn’t so intense, I am able to witness all the wonders of their lives play out before my own eyes. And it’s magical! I’m often out there with the various creatures doing my outside chores and watering my plants, but to truly witness their antics, I must watch them from the other side of the glass, within my house.   

I wonder how many others would notice the fledgling dove’s efforts, uncertain in its own abilities, trying to take a drink while perched on the side of a water feature near my front porch? Would others also feel such joy for the young dove having conquered the physical limits of the container’s rim, finding an ease in drinking from the rocks sitting lower into the water? Maybe such joy is my natural reaction because I placed that water feature in my yard, as well as several others, specifically to draw such creatures and to accommodate their water needs during our intense dry, hot Summer. I keep the water levels high, the containers clean and filled just so the birds and other animals needing a drink will find water easily and readily within my yard as they need it. Their presence in my garden brings me such joy, that it surely is worth any bother or effort!   

Nature is wondrous and magical! The many bunnies in my yard are often pests, but the first time I lay eyes on the new season’s crop of baby bunnies, I forget the ravenous desires they will have for all my specialty plants as they grow and develop! It’s a delight to give all the players in this life’s performance their freedom and access to my garden as part of my care and responsibility for it. I plant knowing that things will be nibbled away. I rake around the freshly dug out burrows. I water with the awareness that I’m nurturing not only plants but the animals which nest and feed upon them. I feel a responsibility towards keeping up with the needs of all those creatures, even though they don’t belong to me, they aren’t mine nor are the wild creatures my pets. I’m merely assisting in their care and feeding while enjoying infinite, idyllic moments with them each new day! And it’s a welcome gift from God each new day I pull back the window coverings, which I perceive as a reward for helping to create such an Eden in my own yard!  

What Is Normal?

25 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Change, Choices, Contentment, Faith, Hope, Peace, Strength

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Acceptance, Change, Normal

What is normal? It’s the temporary state of being we enjoy until change happens, which it inevitably does! Normal is a current condition, a perception we have as to how things are. But “normal” is just fleeting, it isn’t sustainable, as normal will give way to a new normal very soon! It always does! So it’s best to not be too emotionally cemented to those seemingly normal facets of our lives in which we are most fond or in which we feel most comfortable.   

A good “for instance” of this is playing out right now in my life. I have lived a very long time doing certain things every morning in my preparations for the new day. My morning routine included washing, slathering, applying, and sealing. Now I have had to add a step of utmost importance, due to my new normal. I have had a few large skin cancers removed in the last year, so now I must routinely apply sunscreen and take notice of how exposed my body is, as well as for how long, underneath our vibrant, intense sun. Besides covering my scars, I want to protect the rest of my body from any more sun damage. It’s not hard, but it does require building up a new habit in my morning routines. The reason for the new steps is so important, I’m willing to make the new habit stick! Normal is not normal anymore, as there is a new normal for me. My new normal is to be much more aware of the effects of the sun, finally, after all these years! HA Better late than never I suppose. Now my new normal involves being stalwartly sun-aware and sun-protective. I will probably even become more of an advocate for sun protection for the sake of others too. I don’t want others to experience what I have had to in regards to their skin, so if I can help my loved ones and friends by reminding them about skin protection, I will! Normal only lasts until there is a reason for a new normal.

 

Perhaps we are to blame for giving too much emotional weight to our normal state of being so that when it changes or morphs, we don’t flow as easily into the new normal! I have a dear friend who is experiencing a change with her beautiful professionally trained singing voice after a mild bout of pneumonia a month or so ago. She is now unable to sing easily after having had all the symptoms of pneumonia, including a racking, rib-snapping cough. Her voice is hopefully only temporarily disturbed, but she resolutely and faithfully lives with this new normal right now. What choice does she have? This is the reality of things, and she has no answer other than to pray and have faith for resolution.  Perhaps the healing necessary to restore the quality and tone of her voice will happen in time. But there is a chance that it will not. She must accept either possibility and go on from there. That is the key to change and making things the new normal, even temporarily. We must go with the flow, as the adage suggests!

Our inability to accept unavoidable change is what makes us miserable. We hold onto our “normal” states as though they are promised! Life is ever-changing and that often means a shocking, sudden change is possible! So the sooner we accept change, the less struggle we make for our own lives. Going with the current of change with faith, hope and trust enable us to face normal one day, and the new normal the next. Surely it isn’t easy, it requires great strength to face a life-altering moment with such bravery and such courage! The other option is to make our daily lives miserable from then on by focusing on something we cannot do anything about. We then strip all the joy, peace and contentment from our own lives. Acceptance is the key to change, and change makes anything seem normal in time.   

The best way to view normal is something presently floating along with you on a current, your destination is unknown, the constancy of the current is not guaranteed, but that is the way it is right now, indefinitely. Later on, or on some other day, there might be a completely new normal.  The current state of something familiar to us might have changed. It’s only when we give our present normal reality and state of being some cement shoes or root it too deeply into our souls that we have trouble when the inevitable change occurs! Trust, have faith, and hope in spite of it all!  

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Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

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