The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.
Marcus Aurelíus
It seems like a good day for a mindful reminder that when we THINK love, we BECOME love.
Our inner world—our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes—shapes our outer reality.
As within, so without.
The word of the day is “suspire“(15th century): to let out a deep sigh.
The verb suspire is considered obsolete today—we might only encounter it in poetry.
In Robert Frost’s poem “Sitting by a Bush in Broad Sunlight,” he wrote: “And from that one intake of fire / All creatures still warmly suspire.”
Not only is it a literary way to say “breathe,” but it also rhymes nicely with “fire.” The Latin root is spirare, “to breathe.”
Sometimes I sigh and sometimes I forget to breathe until I remember that I need to take a deep breath.
Info curated from https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/suspire
That’s one of the messages that emerged about being unplugged for almost a week…it’s important to make time to see and feel what’s in our hearts.
In solitude, there is healing.
Speak to your soul.
Listen to your heart.
Sometimes in the absence of noise we find the answers.
Mirrored on the lagoon.
Another one of my secret spots to take a break, breathe, and reflect.
Looking west toward the ocean; peaceful, not a ripple.
**Quote from a lovely little inspirational book by Dodinsky.
It’s time to prepare the garden for spring vegetables. Every year I attempt to win the battle with rodents and bugs and lack of sky water; sometimes I win, sometimes they do…
I have a couple new ideas. I purchased coconut coir bricks to rehydrate and mix with the existing soil in my raised bed and I thought I’d try cardboard box planters, too, inside the raised bed.
Maybe one day I’ll be able to build my own Hügelkultur.
“Hügelkultur” (pronounced hyoo-gul-kulture) is a German word that means mound culture or hill culture. A hügelkultur is a sloped and raised planting bed filled with topsoil, wood, and organic materials. Germans and Europeans have practiced it as a gardening method for hundreds of years.
Instead of gathering branches, leaves and grass clippings for yard waste trash pickup or to toss in the compost, build a hugel bed. Mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost, or whatever other biomass you have available, top with soil and plant your veggies.
The advantages of a hugel bed are many, including:
The gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants. A large bed might give out a constant supply of nutrients for decades. The composting wood also generates heat which might extend the growing season.
Logs and branches act like a sponge. Rainwater is stored and then released during drier times. Actually you may never need to water your hugel bed again after the first year (except during long term droughts).
We had a bit of rain yesterday which is a perfect opportunity to prep the coconut coir and plant seeds. I’ll start with my favorites: mixed greens, tomatoes, beets, chard and kale, cucumbers, snap peas, beans, peppers, and zucchini (of course).
There’s nothing more adorable than watching the first little sprouts emerge, right? I can’t wait!
Hügelkultur image credit to https://www.hugelkultur.com.au/intro-hugelkultur/
Photo credit to Enchanted Seashells
“The universe and the light of the stars come through me.” — Rumi
Novalunosis (n.) – The state of relaxation and wonderment experienced while gazing upon the stars.
There’s some online discussion regarding whether or not novalunosis is a “real” word, but there’s no disagreement about the feeling of looking up in wonderment at the night sky.
Is Earth the only inhabited planet? With the vastness of the unexplored cosmos, is it even possible to think we are the only living, breathing, sentient creatures?
It’s an overwhelming feeling; novalunosis, but it can spark deep thoughts and conversations about infinity and the cosmos.
“The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us; there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”
— Carl Sagan
I love to snerdle, I just didn’t know there was a specific word to describe it.
From the 18th century, snerdle means to wrap up cozily in bed beneath the covers and hold off the day for a little longer, just like my kitty daughter, Bandit. She knew all about snerdling, that’s for sure.
Embrace your “hygge” (pronounced hoo-ga).
This word has been showing up everywhere so I needed to discover what’s it all about.
Hygge is a Danish word and concept that means creating a warm atmosphere and the enjoyment of simple pleasures..
The warm glow of candlelight is hygge; a mug of ginger tea is hygge; fresh sheets still warm out of the dryer is hygge.
It means creating a world of restorative self care and well-being, especially being outdoors in nature, to deeply feel the beauty of a sunset, not to merely look, but to see.
For me, spending time with the Angels is the ultimate hygge, especially if we’re at the beach or when we bake or read together, or when I’m lucky enough to spot a dolphin or a whale. Or a coyote.
It also means mindful appreciation of cozy socks when it’s cold.
Right now hygge is watching the torrential rain through the window; grateful for being indoors, warm and dry.
Rizz = charISma.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “rizz” is the word of the year for 2023.
I can’t imagine how I managed to get through almost this entire year and only learn about it NOW, but I’m not a teen and not on TikTok, which I believe is where it originally came from.
“Rizz is a colloquial word, defined as style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic partner” according to the Oxford University Press, to flirt with a degree of charm, to “rizz up”.
As for the word’s etymology, OUP says it’s believed to have been taken from the middle of “charisma,” much like “fridge” derives from refrigerator.
I reckon it’s akin to having “game” in the old days; chatty repartee with a certain amount of flirtatious banter, at least that’s how I’d describe it.
You either have it–or you don’t, it’s that simple.
Think of Joey in Friends, when “How you doin” is ALL he needed to say…total rizz!
Now that it’s turning cold (not here, it’s seventy degrees right now) it made me think of that specific feeling of the warmth of the winter sun on your face. The word that describes this phenomenon is apricity.
You can be absolutely freezing, but when that glorious ray of sunshine finds you, it’s uplifting, hopeful, and calming. However brief, to bask in an unexpected but significant gleam of winter sunlight is a wonderful and restorative feeling.
We close our eyes, lift our faces toward the sun, and those moments of apricity warm the spirit as well as our body, and we yearn for more.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 