Spirit of Christmas

I know I said I wasn't going to blog this holiday. But I couldn't resist. I love this.

Change is Coming

I don't do this very often, but this week, I'm feeling a bit melancholy, and when that happens, sometimes, the result is poetry. Hope you don't mind if I indulge in sharing here. 

Change is Coming

This week the last of the leaves are turning

Preparing to drift to the ground

A layer of snow dusts the mountain tops

Preparing to stay for the winter

Farmers harvest their fields

Gardeners clip back their plants

People dust off their coats and boots

Getting ready for the temperatures to drop

Animals store their winter supplies

And build sturdy nests to keep them warm

While birds form flocks

And fly south.

The north wind blows

Bringing cold air and change

And a lone whistle sings

That winter is coming.

While families huddle close

Knowing changes in weather

Cannot steal love’s warmth

No matter where they live.

Are you ready?

Have a lovely weekend, and I hope you'll take time to notice the beauty resulting from seasonal changes. I know I will.  

While I'm Gone: Something to Ponder

I know I said I wasn't posting this week, and really, I'm not. But I am going to share with you a few things that have inspired me. I hope they can somehow inspire you too.

Today's song: Anything by the Beach Boys. Happy day!

The Real Magic

You know how on Wednesday I mentioned how I’d been blog hopping as I was writing my posts for this week? One of the posts I read asked for a magic formula to how you get passion.

But the thing is, I’m not sure there is a magic formula. I think passion is something you’re born with. Either you have it or you don’t. The trick is not so much getting passion as finding where you buried it. Or where it’s hidden itself.

You know what I mean? That little place inside you where you didn’t know things could go to hide, but where all your biggest hopes, dreams, and desires lay dormant and untouched until you decided to clean out all the dusty corners of your soul.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll drag it out all at once, either. Maybe it’s like that box of old photos you don’t have time to sort. You pick up one or two, gaze at them with reflection and fondness, and then put them back, planning to get to the rest of them later. It happens. It really does.

And then, when you do take the time to go through the box, you find a treasure. Something you thought was long lost, never to be retrieved, and you clutch it to your heart, tears burning in your eyes because you didn’t realize how much you missed this treasure that’s been buried for so long. You brush it off and carry it around with you, frame it even. Then, finally, when you realize you can no longer keep this amazing thing to yourself, you display it prominently for others, so that they, too, can enjoy and admire the beauty of this thing you’ve discovered.

Again, I say there is no magic formula a person can use to acquire passion. Instead, the magic is inside each individual, waiting to be discovered, used, and then shared with the world. Each of us in our own time, in our own way, powered by the spirits that make us who we are.

That, my friends, is where I believe you’ll find the magic formula.

A Beautiful Video About Creativity

A dear friend and fellow writer sent this to me yesterday, and of all the stupid things, I put off watching it until today because...well, I was busy. Today, I decided to take a minute and watch, and it's so beautiful, so inspiring that I'm very glad I did.