It used to be getting out of bed after stretching and cuddling with Chachi, the cat. Not in that order, but quite often it was a relaxing affair. Waking up, listening to the birds outside, snoozing, and kissing my little guy. That was back then!
Now, it is jumping out of bed because I have two cats waiting outside the door scratching and demanding attention! I have Chachi, my little guy, telling me that he is not too pleased with life at the moment, and stretching and listening to the birds have been relegated to never never land!
Life is stressful these days. There is a saying that goes something like this. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and that is how I am feeling right now. I would love to go back to those days when my morning ritual was one of utter relaxation and there was time to dream before getting the day started.
Maybe at some point in the future, I will return to those lazy days of stretching like a cat, having breakfast in bed, and making a plan for the day. Until then, I will have to make do with three rascals who think they run my world! Right now, they do.
Daily writing prompt
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
I could go with more but I’m going to stick to what I think makes a person unique.
Honesty
I place a lot of importance on honesty. It is hard to find because people tend to lie like there is no tomorrow! However, without honesty it is hard to trust someone and honesty is an essential component of a relationship where respect for the person comes into play in the form of honesty. You are unique if honesty is your stronghold.
Integrity
Without integrity there are no moral principles. Someone who does whatever he/she wants without moral principles is someone I try to avoid at all costs. A person with integrity has a strong moral code and tries to do the right thing and it is indeed a unique quality to have and to treasure.
Humility
I find this quality extremely attractive more than looks or stature in life. These people are usually very modest and do not think they are better than others. There is a certain kindness that shines through and they don’t mind getting their hands dirty. This is definitely a unique quality and one that is extremely attractive and makes the person stand out even more.
You’ve heard me talk about it, rave over it, and speak about the comfort and joy I get from it. I call it, “The Fields.” It is a stone’s throw away from the house and once there, I find peace and a sense of calm that invades my whole being. I don’t know why. It could be that I love open spaces and even though there is the mountain to one side and the forest on the other, however, in the middle and for as far as the eye can see, it is just open fields. I have a slight case of claustrophobia, it could just be in my mind, but when I am out there I can let my soul fly and calmness descends and surrounds me.
It is beautiful in any season. Each season brings something new to discover and each one brings forth its own unique kind of beauty. Winter is dark and grey but even then there is a certain charm that beckons and envelops me in its midst like I belong there. Spring is a glorious affair. The apple trees come into bloom and the air is scented with something sweet that goes wafting by as I walk past. The red, pink and white blossoms are gorgeous. Summer is when I stay away from the open fields and stick to the forest line. There is shade there but I can still look across at the open fields and see the bright blue skies and the fields wearing their summer green. Absolutely mesmerizing. Fall is when everything takes a step back and the fields prepare for their long-awaited rest. They’ve done their job and it is time to snooze.
I spend a lot of time there. Most days, I am out there enjoying the company of nature listening to the birds in the trees, watching the crows as they gather in the fields, and paying attention to the deer and the rabbits as they come out to play. Once I jokingly said to a friend, “When I die, I want my ashes to be strewn out there.” I can’t see myself being buried in a graveyard somewhere, I want to be free even in death!
He laughed and said, “Unfortunately, they don’t allow that kind of thing here.” There is a strict protocol as to how ashes can be dispersed and they stick to it! Oh well, a nice thought but an impossible one to achieve.
The next best thing is to have the fields named after me. “Tia’s Fields” It does have a nice ring to it. I think so anyway. Let’s see if that works out!
Daily writing prompt
If you could have something named after you, what would it be?
I would say a lot of things. I look for laughter everyday and it is an effort that I take seriously. It has been said, “laughter is the best medicine,” and I totally agree. A day without laughter in my world is like a day without sunshine. It is tinged with grey and something seems to be sorely lacking.
Seeking laughter is in my daily to-do list. Stand-up comedy is a good source. I love Max Amini and his brand of comedy. He always has me laughing and if that gets boring, I watch comedies which definitely does the trick and puts a sunshiny spin on my mood. Then there is the abundant supply of jokes out there that tickles my funny bone and I have posted some of them here. Not always funny to some but it is to me and that matters.
My most important laughter maker and stress buster is Chachi, the cat, aka Little Einstein. Not a day goes by without laughter from that angle. He doesn’t even have to do anything, just standing there with his front paws crossed has me breaking out in laughter. There is just something about the little guy that brings smiles and laughter in my direction. Perhaps it is called love, the unconditional kind. Whatever it is, I have found my perpetual source of laughter and it is of the happiness kind. He instigates it sometimes unknowingly but it does the trick and most days I wear a smile on my face having indulged in rip-roaring laughter. Laughter is there to be harvested if you just pay attention and decide to give it a chance. Try it, it is a beautiful thing and it gives stress a boot out the door!
I don’t think I had any big dreams way back then. Thinking about what I wanted to be was nowhere to be seen. I was given the freedom to be whatever I wanted to be when I was five.
Playing with my make-believe friends in the woods behind my home was something I relished. I didn’t know then what dangers could lurk out there in those dark woods, all I saw was the tremendous possibilities hidden in those dark corners and fantasy was in the making. Strange that back then I was fearless. When did fear step in? I don’t really know but it did at some point in time and decided to stay for a while.
Five was an age that was filled with magic. I talked to the ducks, the chickens, my pet rabbits, the trees, the flowers, and everything else in between! My days were filled with wonder and my best friends were the gnomes and little people living under every mushroom! The wild orchids growing way up high fascinated me and so did the rainbow-colored fish swimming in the streams.
I was a fairy or at least I thought I was. My head was filled with wondrous things and most days, I was humming in the woods and waiting for some new make-believe world to open up and to invite me in. I guess I got my first interest in nature at that time even though I didn’t know it then. It would be a lifelong love affair.
Coming back to your question, I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Perhaps, a fairy with glittering stardust around me and a wand in my hand granting wishes like there was no tomorrow! At that point in time, it was what I wanted to be.
I think it is that you have everything within you to overcome what life throws your way. We have this insane power within that goes untapped most times because our first line of defense when adversity strikes is to howl at the moon and cry, “Why me?” Sure it gets the frustration out at the time or it is a way of letting out steam but in the long run, it is nothing compared to going within to bring that undefeatable power to the forefront, the one that can slay dragons if you let it.
There is tremendous power and strength within and I have tapped into this potential only to find that it is limitless. It is not easy I agree because human nature is weak and we are complainers more than anything else but if we can just understand that there is an untapped potential within and it can be used to overcome whatever it is that seems impossible at first but if given time and a single-minded focus, it is doable. I’ve fallen flat on my face many times over but these days, I don’t stay there. I go within to find the answers and the strength to move on. Standing still in one place is not an option, not for long anyway but moving on is. It may sound like mumbo jumbo to some but you were built to survive anything that life throws your way and you are equipped to do just that.
It doesn’t matter these days as I am taking time out to get a book published and another one is in the works. However, as a former Fashion Editor for a fashion magazine, I didn’t do the mundane task of putting the articles together. There were others who were computer savvy or rather tech savvy who did the job of getting the articles ready for publication. I just did the writing part but the rest was left to a team which was a good thing because I am a technology klutz or rather I hate anything new that creeps in while I am not looking and disrupts my day to day existence!
I’m sure technology has added to and made things easier in the publication world and the world of writing but I still dig in my heels when I see something new that needs me to brush up on computer technology. Just this morning, I wanted to log into WordPress and I got a white screen. Nothing more! I later found out it was called the Death Screen! I had to Google putting my frustration aside and it gave some tips on how to rectify that problem. One was to clear the Cache. What the hell was that?!! Anyway, I found out and cleared the Cache whatever that is and got it to work. Not a klutz after all but I hate new technology and I also understand that it is needed in today’s fast paced world of ours.
This is a hard one for me because more often than not, I tend to beat around the bush instead of saying a plain, loud, no-nonsense NO! This mentality tends to interfere with my goals because it takes longer and a roundabout way to get there.
I think that being “nice” means bending over backwards to accommodate people or things that don’t serve me. It takes a long time to say no and to mean it. I am learning and getting stronger as I go along. However, this has its downside as well. I’m known as being complicated but it is a title that I am learning to wear proudly.
It takes focus to achieve your goals and if you let things that don’t matter, people who distract you, and softness to sway you, it gets that much harder to achieve. I am developing a hardcore mentality which doesn’t always serve me well but it is leading me on the right path and that matters. It is still a learning process.
I’ve always had the ability to paint pictures with words. I don’t know if you would call it a talent but it is something that I have noticed and others have noticed it too.
I can’t sing, I basically croak! My mom and sister were really good singers and I always envied that ability. Next to them, I was a sore thumb that stood out for more reasons than one. However, I realized that I had another skill and that was painting pictures with words. This skill comes in handy when I’m writing and I want people reading my stories and articles to picture or to experience what I’m saying or to keep me company along the way.
I am grateful and thankful for this gift and I do put it to good use especially when I go walking in nature. I capture what I see in my mind and later I add words to it. Somehow, it works and when I do go back and read what I’ve written, one question comes to mind. “How did you do that?”
A gift? Maybe. Whatever it is, it is nice to have since it helps me on my writing journey.
Daily writing prompt
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
Cool in the shade and not so hot in sunshine. It is exactly the kind of weather we are having now and I love it. I am not a fan of hot weather, sweating it out is not my kind of thing and when it gets hot in Europe, it gets unbearable because some “people” love sweating versus turning on the air-conditioner.
Most homes don’t have this essential element to cool it down in the heat of summer. “Comfort cooling” as they would like to call it does not justify the expense of installing, operating and maintaining A/C. Plus, there are not enough hot days each summer to justify that kind of expense.
When it does get hot, unbearably hot, people have fans. I’ve invested in two Dyson fans that help to keep the place cool. However, the living room remains nice and comfortable in summer because it has stone floors and that is a nice feature of this house.
Coming back to my favorite type of weather, I would say a mix between cool and warm. Spring and fall offer this kind of weather and I love these two seasons for the comfort it gives in walking and being able to enjoy the surroundings without worrying about the damage too much sun is going to cause. Plus, I have a sun allergy, not something serious, but if I stay out too long and directly under the hot sun, my skin lets me know and not in a nice way!
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