Jan25
Posted on Jan 25 by Ruth Davis
Every morning after walking the dogs, I fill the birdfeeder and sit out on my back patio with my coffee and a bowl of bran cereal, no milk, sprinkled with dried cranberries and sometimes a sliced banana, and the birds and I share breakfast. This regular morning time is my opening time, my quieting time, my daily meditation. It is the space where I am not in my thoughts, my ideas, my to-dos, but instead, focused on the world outside of me: the sky colors, the array of birds at the feeder, how the pecking order changes from sparrow to mourning dove to pigeon. But for the past two weeks it has been too cold to sit outside in the mornings and instead, I’ve been having my coffee with my email. Today, it caught up with me. My head was spinning with too many thoughts: preparations for tomorrow’s workshop, remembering to treat the stain on my brown shirt before doing the laundry, the things I will teach 28 lingerie salespeople about their new iPads, what I will have for...
Jan11
Posted on Jan 11 by Ruth Davis
This past weekend several women gathered and created their own Dream Altars, beautiful physical manifestations of what they want to happen in their lives this year. I know from my own experiences that naming and claiming our dreams is only the beginning. To bring our deepest dreams forth into reality we have to nurture them, honor them, keep them in our daily awareness. Maybe we do this with a daily affirmation, an altar, a poster on our bathroom wall that we see every morning and remember. Yet, at the same time, it cannot become an obsession. We need to maintain a balance between asking and receiving, between action and waiting, between knowing and letting go. After all, it’s not for us to figure out the HOW of our dreams. Our job is to stay focused on the WHY, the WHAT, the essence of what we desire. WHY do we want this? How will it feel? How will living this dream serve others? As you may know, I am in the midst of manifesting my own big dream. For years...
Dec07
Posted on Dec 7 by Ruth Davis
We’ve all been there. You have to make a choice whether to do something or not and you just can’t decide. You make your list of pros and cons, only to find just as many reasons on each side of the list. So how do you decide? A client recently struggled with a decision she had to make. Several months before, she had volunteered to take on a big project for a group she had recently joined. At the time, she was excited, motivated, committed. Now, almost 12 months later, the committee was finally ready to move forward with the project but my client’s enthusiasm was gone. She wasn’t even sure she still wanted to be a part of the organization. But at the top of her pros list, she felt an obligation to follow through. I asked her–do you want to do it? Her first response was, I don’t know. I asked her to move out of her head, where she was still going back and forth between the pros and cons, and to breathe deep into...
Nov30
Posted on Nov 30 by Ruth Davis
This past holiday weekend Marika and I took the motorhome and the dogs to southeastern AZ to see the migrating sandhill cranes. We camped at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Refuge in the middle of desert brush, agricultural fields and man-made ponds created to attract migrating birds. The refuge is surrounded by the Dragoon Mountains to the west and the Chiracahuas to the east, with Mexico just a short 25 miles to the south. And all around, a big wide eye sky of blue and birds. We walked along the burms of the ponds as the sun set, the sky darkening against the crescendo of thousands of red winged blackbirds roosting in the reeds. Marika, an avid birder, pointed out a Harris Hawk circling above the field. She counted unnamed sparrows flitting in the brush and we heard a Great Horned Owl in the nearby trees. A sky full of sandhill cranes circled the farthest ponds, grawking and honking as if they were conversing, where do you want to land? Later, back in the RV, after dinner, my mind began...
Nov23
Posted on Nov 23 by Ruth Davis
It’s that time of year when it’s easy to remember to be thankful. All of the turkey and ham commercials on television remind us to be grateful for what we have and for the people in our lives. But gratitude is an act for every day living, even without the festive meal. Click here to read all about gratitude. Still, this is a wonderful opportunity for me to say thank you to YOU, my loyal reader, for your enthusiasm, your support, and your open heart. May this season bring you more ways to rest in your own heart and share your special gifts with those around you. Hand in hand with being grateful is the self-less act of giving, of doing something simply to better someone else’s situation. We can give money, time, our talents. We can donate our used items to an needy organization. We can also give with simple acts of kindness. Open the door for a stranger Let someone go in front of you in line at the supermarket Check on an elderly neighbor Smile at...
Oct19
Posted on Oct 19 by Ruth Davis
It is a simple joy every morning to choose my breakfast plate: lime forest green raspberry black orange gray white turquoise all Colorflyte by Branchell, from the 50’s collected over the years from thrift stores, yard sales, on eBay because food is more delicious when served on the perfect color Too often we are so focused on the giant billboard kind of happiness that we neglect to notice the small and ordinary moments that bring us real joy. I invite you to slow down, to notice the small things, the simple joys. Let’s compile a list of our Simple Joys–Click on the Comments below and share something that makes you smile and lifts your...
