catnipoflife

Observe life at its best, Listen to life’s songs, Embrace life’s bounties, Breathe the breath of life, Savor life to its fullest!

Sunday Savorings

I had not planned on posting any catnip today but in cleaning out some clutter on my computer desktop, I happened across a document where I had saved some links for future reference. I have probably opened this document hundreds of times but just had not reflected back on the words or why they had been saved.

Warm wishes and hugs to everyone on this blessed Sunday! Take five, kick back, put your feet up, watch the video and become enraptured in the beautiful music. . .

Do you recognize the artist of the music?

What are your reflections on the butterfly? Any special moments?

Related articles:

Inspiration: Butterfly Magic

Inspiration: The Butterfly Effect

Inspiration: Meeting the Challenge 2

. . .echoes of life. . .

Butterfly Mysteries

Butterfly Questions and Answers

Facts About Daisies Attracting Butterflies

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Had not planned a post for catnip today but sometimes inspiration comes when least expected. Upon visiting Serendipity today, I found catnip in the morning where you can observe life at its best, listen to life’s songs, embrace life’s bounties, breathe the breath of life and savor life to its fullest!

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Remember to Breathe

To all my Canadian friends or anyone desiring to travel to Canada – AWESOME! As catnipoflife puts it: Breathe the breath of life!

Canada is like your attic, you forget that it’s
up there, but when you go, it’s like “Oh man, look at all this great stuff!”
~Anonymous

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Awakenings: Life = Risk

Today catnipoflife’s sister site, Awakenings, received inspiration from Don in Massachusetts. He posts quotes for daily inspiration with spashes of humor embedded within great photography. Sometimes he gets pretty risqué but even then presents a great message.

Click HERE for Life = Risk!

Click HERE for book info!

Awakenings from Then ’til Now
Tate Publishing
Coming Soon!
20 Comments »

Tears Cleanse the Heart

Life can be described as an avalanche of unexpected tears. These may arrive as soft teardrops or unyielding sobbing. There is simply no way around tearful emotions for they constantly simmer within the heart. From the most passionate of lovers to the coldest of cold hearts, tears can be the tie that binds or become the final straw. They may appear within a fleeting moment or build up over a period of time.

From a surprise reaction, a past recollection, a new beginning or an anticipated, as well as unintended, ending, tears can swell so emotively they become hotter than a smoldering cauldron. These are the times when we feel life has thrown a curve that we simply don’t understand. Because of the lack of understanding, emotions can quickly turn to anger. As a result, anger becomes the knife that severs.

Sometimes there is just a need to cry. Let the tears flow for they are the dewdrops of an early morn or the pouring summer rain that cleanse, nourish and refurbish the human soul.

What is life as you see it…

Is it a loving embrace
Or a solitary place?

Does it reflect a sense of devotion
Or is it filled with senseless emotion?

Are there moments of unchangeable dread
Or have you solidified your life’s thread?

How do you greet the morning…

Is it with a gentle smile upon a happy face
Or a frown wishing you were in a different place?

Do you bring sunshine to a rainy day
Or does the rain take the sunshine away?

Are there thoughtful images of someone dear
Or do remembrances of sadness appear?

What awaits you at the close of day…

Is it time with caring family
Or just another anomaly?

Does sunset bring an admiring, restful glow
Or do thoughts detail more than you need to know?

Are you with friends ready to make merry
Or are you alone and solitary?

Life IS as you see it…

As life’s proceedings command a new-found way
Greet each morning as the dawn of a new day

If you are dangling on the edge
Come back with a fresh, new life’s pledge

Be a sister, brother, lover or friend
Cherish each moment to the bitter end

Make the most of it!

Life is filled with countless challenges to endure
Times of uncertainty, times when you are sure

While tears may flow like falling rain
Let them cleanse easing any pain

Within the shadows learn to cope
Keep faith alive as well as hope

©2012
catnipoflife

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Stormy Times

Throughout life we encounter experiences that bring on tears of happiness but all too often those tears are tears of sorrow. While catnipoflife strives to share thoughts of inspiration on life’s beautiful reflections, it is also necessary to sometimes pause in refection of the stormy times in life. Like the firey nature of a storm, the atmosphere may suddenly appear bleak and often dark but never without the shining rays of hope.

Recently there have been several bloggers who have shared ‘stormy’ times within environments of either family members, friends or both. Prayerful thoughts are sent to each of them.

♥***♥***♥***♥***♥

May you always find the light within and
have the courage
. . .
the courage to accept, the courage to bear the sorrow, the courage to show strength to others, the courage to carry on but most of all, the courage to believe. For though the world may at times appear dark, you have the light of the gospel, let it be a beacon to guide your way throughout the long hours of each day.

To each person who reads this message, take a few moments of silent prayer for those who seek and need your support during dire times in their lives. I just did!

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Inspiration: Tranquility

[At the end of this posting is a slideshow you do not want to miss!]

With the unrelenting rain still in our midst, thoughts today shift to moments of tranquility. While the rain can definitely be soothing within melodic tunes, its rhythm can be somewhat unsettling as echoes of thunder break the silence and flashes of lightning zigzag across an already bleak sky. Let’s close our eyes and let our minds become absorbed in a less stressful atmosphere.

Picture this. . .

Cathy Marshall Two Sun Morning

A soft haze engulfs the scene as early morning fog slowly begins to lift. Everything in sight begins to shimmer with the earliest rays of sunlight casting reflections in droplets of dew. You are alone. With coffee cup in hand, you gaze out the window as eyes shift across the lake and begin to pan the horizon. Thoughts drift to the day before and events that now set the stage for all the tomorrows to come. What a great morning for a walk along the rocky shore of the lake! Coffee will have to wait.

Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee, USA

In the distance, you spy the old dock built by your grandfather when he was a young man, stout and strong. The visions of fishing with cane poles, laughing at his worn-out jokes, and hopes of catching ol’ granddaddy catfish bring on a soft laugh and a smile. You walk on. You stop at the dock peering down the long stretch of planks as it juts outward as if reaching for the other side of the lake but never making it. You pause.

Ol’ Granddaddy Catfish

As you stroll the dock, sunbeams engulf your whole being like a warm cloak being draped across your shoulders. You peer down at the water just in time to see tiny tadpoles dancing in the morning light. A splash a few yards away gets your attention knowing it is that ol’ granddaddy catfish teasing and tempting you to drop a freshly baited hook in the water. He will just have to be content on playing about in the water and enjoying one more day in the lake for on this day you do not have your fishing pole. His lucky day.

The panoramic view from the end of the dock is green with envy as the tree-line shore masks long forgotten cabins in the background. They had been abandoned many years earlier for the owner had died leaving no one as heir. Broken windows and battered boards shield only the ghosts that linger in the shadowy stillness of both the daylight and the darkness. You wonder about the stories that could be told if any of those old cabins could talk. But, perhaps, it is a good thing the remaining walls could not speak for you have far too many secrets of your own whose stories best not be aired.

Taking off your shoes, you lay them aside and take a seat on the end of the dock. Dangling your legs over the edge, your toes begin to swish back and forth across the top of the cool water disturbing the stillness of the lake with ripple after ripple. In the next few moments, you are completely surrounded by only the scenes of tranquility.

“Tranquil moments are treasured moments: moments where time seems to stand still, thoughts drift away to a magical place and worry becomes a thing of the past.” ~catnipoflife

 
 

Don’t leave without sharing your thoughts.
What do you ponder in your tranquil moments?

35 Comments »

Do you push when you should pull?

The Farside – Gary Larson

You walk up to a door, you push and push, the door will NOT open, no matter how hard you push. Frustration sets in as you push again, even harder. You sheepishly look around to see if anybody is looking when you notice the sign on the door says: PULL.

How many times have the events of a day delegated reactions of opposite direction? Did you turn left when you should have turned right? Did you put your left foot forward when it should have been your right? Did you say ‘yes’, when you should have said ‘no’? Did you think twice or just go?

Within these musings resides one essential question:

How many times do you find yourself pushing and pushing when in actuality, it’s time to pull – to pull away, to pause, to reflect, to let go and let God?

      “Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.”
Dwight David Eisenhower (American 34th President (1953-61). 1890-1969)

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Pen Pals

Motorcycle Postman, 1912 (Library of Congress)

Do you remember waiting in anticipation for the postman to arrive? Let me clarify that which you are anxiously awaiting. . .it is a letter from someone much different from yourself and living in a far away land. That’s right. . .a hand-written letter, not typed nor texted, but actually penned in the best cursive one could produce. It could have even been debated whether the letter itself was the most important or that wonderful foreign stamp.

Needless to say, should I mention this to one of my daughters, now an adult, or perhaps I should say granddaughters, she would more than likely react in complete astonishment. “Mother, you have got to be kidding! Write a letter? That would take way too much time! I can contact anyone in the world with a click of a button.”

So true today, but not in the days long, long ago and not anywhere near as personal.

The memory that someone, somewhere once took the time and trouble, I might add, to pen their thoughts ever so carefully, fold the paper and crease it gently with his/her own hands, then, post it with a well-chosen stamp lay embedded in the knowledge that days or weeks had to pass with hopes of receiving an equally personal response. Those days or weeks of anticipation were filled hour upon hour with thoughts of excitement and imagination!

Did you have a pen pal? What do you remember?

“Dear Pen Pal, you are a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. Please write back.” ~catnipoflife

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On Any Given Day: Life is Full of Beauty. . .

. . .regardless of the weather. . .

how often do you take the time to notice the simple things in life . . .

the innocence within a single smile, the laughter of children on a playground, the helping hand as an elder crosses the street, the young man holding the door or the young woman tendering a sweet, loving kiss, the aroma of a bakery with its fresh baked bread or gooey cinnamon rolls cloaked in snowy white drizzle, the soft purr-r-r-r of a kitten, the bumble bee savoring sugary nectar from a sunflower or the attala butterfly hovering over a field of daisies, perchance the melodies drifting about with the wind or the raindrops pelting a windowpane on a steamy summer afternoon?

Ah-h-h-h! Could there be an endless list of possibilities?
Perhaps, for. . .

LIFE is FULL of BEAUTY

Life is full of beauty
Stop and notice it. . .
The flight of the bumble bee
The butterfly flit

Life is full of delight
Stop and enjoy it…
Laughter of a wee child
A holiday skit

Life is full of love
Stop and cherish it…
A hug from a friend
The time to commit

Life is full of sorrow
Stop and learn from it…
Live for tomorrow
Never to forget

Life is full of beauty
Stop and notice it…
The sights, sounds, smells
Never ever quit

 ©2012
catnipoflife

In other words. . .

“Life is full of beauty.
Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.
Smell the rain, and feel the wind.
Live your life to the fullest potential and fight for your dream.”
Ashley Smith

In some way, we all notice beauty around us.
What in life represents true beauty in its purest sense to you?

12 Comments »