Category: Happiness

May your day be merry and bright

Sara MoserLeave a comment

Peace on earth, good will towards all. Joy to the world! I am happy and grateful for the peace and joy that I have in my own small world. I pray for the peace and happiness of all beings.  I hope for an end to strife and prejudice everywhere.

Christmas treeI have started my 60th year of life on this earth, and plan for 60 more! I remember the wonderful Christmases of my childhood, always plentiful, without much thought of the rest of the world. Then  I think on the Christmases of my 20’s and 30’s, with many children, trying to teach them about giving, not just receiving. The Christmases of my 40’s and 50’s were more difficult, having to deal with divorce and teenagers, but still we lacked nothing. The last few years have seen another shift as my second marriage came to an end, my spiritual beliefs continue to evolve, the rest of my children left home, and I found myself in a new and wonderful relationship.

I treasure each of my children and my grandchild, and have hopes that we can all spend a Christmas together again. Over the years we have drifted away from that, finding other days of the year for reunions. I have even purposefully worked at my job on Christmas to avoid family reunions, partly due to my own sense of inadequacy. But that is behind me, as I have embraced forgiveness of both myself and others. I am hoping that the pendulum will swing back, and that we will again enjoy the magic of Christmas as a family.

In the meantime, I am happy for the near-to-Christmas celebration earlier this month, the travel to North Carolina and time with old friends on my birthday weekend, and a quiet Christmas Eve with my partner.

May the spirit of the Christmas season stay with us throughout the year.

 

Embrace the moment!

Sara Moser2 Comments

I’ve had several memorable moments already this morning.

Waking up in the dark, the dream memory fading, savoring the nearness of my lover.

Drinking  a chocolate strawberry spinach smoothie with fresh grated nutmeg sprinkled on top.

Driving to the park while it was still dark, sparse traffic on this Saturday morning.

Walking alone on the path, runners passing me up, and timing it perfectly to catch the sunrise.

perfect sunrise

I came home and decided to take a cup of coffee down to the bench by the lake. It was still early enough not to be too hot, not 80 degrees yet. The water was quiet and calm, few birds, no people.  I watched the fish jumping, my mind wandering all over the place, and I found myself pondering something someone said at work yesterday:

“It’s Friday! One more day closer to retirement!”

It’s just a saying, and I laughed with everyone else. But really, that’s not how I want to face my life, or my days.

“This day is dragging, I can’t wait for it to be over.”  

“I can’t wait for Christmas, or my birthday, or… retirement.”

But stop, look at the moment. Maybe I’m a glass all the way full person, and I might drive other people crazy with my perpetual optimism, but why not? If you go through life waiting for something that you think will be better, you miss out on a lot of great moments.

I haven’t always thought like this. I went to a silent meditation retreat last year, and had no timepiece, no way to keep up with time. Our days were guided by gongs. I knew the schedule, knew that the gong would go off in 2 hours, but without a watch, all alone in my room, it seemed like time stood still. I purposed then to never say that the day was dragging or I wished it would be over.

I do catch myself watching the time while I’m at work,  and when I leave the building, I always feel very happy to go. But when I catch myself, I try to stop and look at the moment and embrace it. Maybe its a lull in activity. I can meditate, or find a window to look out of, or help a coworker. Maybe my phone won’t stop ringing, so I can give each caller my full attention and be polite and kind.  Maybe someone is facing hard decisions about a loved one’s medical condition and care and I can give them my full attention, guidance, and even a hug.

There are hard moments too. I have experienced personal pain, loss through death of loved ones and loss through others’ choices. These are moments that are difficult to embrace. In these moments, sometimes all we can do is accept compassion from others and know that the storm will pass and the sun will come out leaving our hearts forever changed.

Right now I confess I am counting down the days until we leave on our long awaited three week vacation, a road trip through parts of New England up to Maine and Nova Scotia. I am very excited. I have wanted this for a long time. I am marking the days on the calendar! But at the same time, I purpose to savor the moments between now and then.  There are books to read, paint to play with, sunsets to savor, walks to take, work to do, a trip to pack for, and most of all, people to love.

What moments can you appreciate today?

 

I don’t want to quit my job

Sara Moser5 Comments

A few months ago, I was thinking about how to leave my job, and developed a timeline to make it happen. Part of it may have been that my two closest coworkers left, then my boss, who is amazing. The rest of it has to to do with generally not buying into traditional western medicine and the revolving door that the hospital I work in has. I was searching, questioning, setting intentions, and back in March made a decision to do something different, and found my passion.

I have finished the first term of study with New World Ayurveda, including the Nutrition Intensive. I have learned so much, and have made gradual changes in what and how I eat, and have weaned myself off the bioidentical hormones I’ve been taking for 7 years. I feel fantastic. I have energy, clarity of mind, purpose, and joy. I am more productive at work than I’ve ever been, and am developing new relationships with new and old coworkers.

Stress is there, of course, but somehow it is easier to deal with. I’m sure there are quite a few factors involved, but I would say the main one is my regular meditation practice. It’s been a year and a half, and even I notice that I am less reactive, calmer, more peaceful, more in the moment. I’d like to incorporate more yoga into my life, and for now, most mornings, I follow this zen yoga video, and it just seems to energize me and get me ready for the day.

I worked hard this week, and felt good after every day. That’s different. It wasn’t like that a few months ago, or a year ago. The job hasn’t changed. I have. As I walked out to my car yesterday, which was Friday, I realized that I wasn’t all about quitting the job anymore. I have purpose there. I have opportunities to share love with hurting people, and be a source of encouragement and help.

I still have goals, and time lines, and dreams and desires. But I am happiest when I stay in the present moment with the people that are in front of me. Perhaps next summer when I finish my course of study, great changes will occur, or it may be that I keep on where I am now. Between then and now, I am sure that I will find guidance as I set one foot in front of another.

 

No place like home

Sara MoserLeave a comment

After taking two trips in a month, fantastic as they were, it is great to be home, be it ever so humble.

It took me about three days to recover from the 10 mile hike in the mountains of Montana after the late nights exploring Yellowstone! The air here on the Texas Gulf Coast is thick with humidity, it has rained torrentially followed by suffocating heat.  But here I have an incredible partner who I share daily love with. I have my writing corner, my books, my art supplies, my view. My little granddaughter isn’t too far away, and she loves her “sassy”!

My lake isn’t the clear blue of the lakes in Montana, but it is beautiful and it is home. home lake

We are expecting more rain today with the arrival of Tropical Storm Bill. I’m heading off to work this morning, and hoping I can get home! One of the biggest dangers around here when we have a lot of rain is flash floods. People get in big trouble when they attempt to drive through water and it is either deeper than they thought or rises quickly while they are in it. The storm is heading for a bit south of here so we will be on the wet side of it.

Another day, another adventure!

Iowa Day 3

Sara Moser1 Comment

My sleep wasn’t as sound as the previous night, and the couch seemed lumpier. I’m not sure if the gray of dawn woke me, or the rattle of the freight train. The sound of a train is unique.. after it passes by, there is a trail of sound that follows, fading into a low sigh.

I enjoyed some quiet time, then fixed a breakfast of stewed apples and fried eggs. The temperature was in the upper 60’s and lacking the humidity of back home, so I took a morning walk down to the water tower and back. I love experiencing new places on foot – there is always so much to see that is often missed in a car. Discoveries today included a very realistic statue of a dog in a flower garden and a front yard that was completely converted into a vegetable garden.  I wonder about the people behind the walls, each with their unique experience.

I walk past a school and a cemetery on my left, and apartment buildings on my right. I see maple trees, lots of evergreen trees, a chipmunk! and the water tower, which is one of those great ones with legs that you can stand under. The grass in the field is the soft kind, that I would have loved to lie down in and roll around in. The dampness of it kept me from making a spectacle of myself!

The rest of the morning was spent visiting Rachel’s good friend Christi and her three daughters – a 4-year-old and identical twin 2-year-olds. Rachel is their godmother, and they were very happy to see her. One of the little ones even warmed up to me. I had seven children, but can’t imagine the energy it would take to have two babies at once! I enjoyed the drive there and back through Iowa’s famous farmland, and the visit was fun and relaxing.

After another lunch in a cafe called The Cafe, I took Rachel home to take care of some business things she needed to attend to, and set off on my own. My destination: Reiman Gardens on the University of Iowa Campus. My favorite part of the place was the small butterfly observatory, the most plentiful and very beautiful butterfly being what I later identified as the common blue morpho.

I enjoyed an afternoon walk through the gardens but it was a bit early in the season for flowers, and it got very warm, up near 80. The most interesting thing I found there was a statue of “the world’s largest gnome”!

I went back to the Main Street area to see if I’d missed any good stores there, and found Random Goods, which I highly recommend if you like vintage clothes and jewelry. They had other odds and ends of old dishes and miscellaneous, too, and I bought a bracelet, a scarf, and several tops, for less than $15 total! I love vintage stores and clothes!

I made one more stop – Wheatsfield Cooperative, the natural food store. I wanted to see if I could find a healthy snack for the plane ride, and I found it. They have a wonderful bulk section, and I was like a kid in a candy store. Only the fact that I have one small suitcase kept me in check! I got cashews, chocolate chips, and cranberries to make my own trail mix, and a small bag of loose licorice root for tea.

I certainly got in plenty of walking today, which is something I want to keep doing when I get back home, in preparation for my Montana trip in two and a half weeks! It was nice to get back to Rachel and just hang out for the rest of the evening. I had had such a large lunch that I opted for tea and toast for supper, and enjoyed the Chocolate Peppermint tea that I had picked up along my journeys.

We wrapped up the evening with Starship Troopers, which neither of us had seen. Both of us enjoy sci-fi, and I especially like the cheesy type. This movie, made in 1997, is based on a 1959 Robert Heinlein book. I was an avid Heinlein fan back in the 60’s and 70’s, and the movie was well-done and enjoyable. The best kind of movies are the ones that make you laugh and also have scary tense moments, and this one didn’t let me down.

Settling down for my last night here, a light rain was falling, the freight trains kept running, and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction.