Take Back Your Life!

Contrarians Hey,

I’ve been enamored with Leonardo da Vinci since I found him in the encylopedia set my parents bought from the saleswoman who came knocking on our front door back in the 70’s. So much so that I named one of my cats after him. Furry Leonardo has long since gone to puddy heaven, but my love for da Vinci remains. Take this quote of his, “Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!”

Do you go through life with your eyes open? (more…)

Dear Status Quo Changers,

Recently, a friend asked where I get my blog post ideas. Honestly? They find me. I pick up a greeting card, overhear a conversation, visit someone else’s blog, open a book. Sometimes I have more than two posts that want to be written at the same time. The one yelling “pick me” the loudest usually wins.

Two days ago, I looked out my upstairs bathroom window around 6:30 am to see three cottontail bunnies chasing each other all over the yard. (I thought it was three but it’s probably more like 33. They just look similar.) Up and over our small hill, through the giant hemlock grove, under the blue spruces. Round and round they went. It looked like they were having a grand time. (more…)

Dear lovers of life,

I often visit other blog sites for inspiration. I never know what gem I’m going to find. A few weeks ago, I stopped by the fabulous Expressive Hart blog. Ms. Hart’s teaching an e-course called Necessary Fire based on an idea she read in a book called Traveling with Pomegranates (by Sue Monk Kidd and Anne Kidd Taylor.) A mother and daughter travel to Greece and France together, where they discover new truths about themselves.

My husband’s Greek-American and way before I met him I had a wild and crazy time in Greece, so the Greek connection intrigued me enough to order the book. Honestly, I couldn’t put TWP down. Towards the end I stumbled on a paragraph I knew would make a great blog post. Letta, their travel guide says, “People do not come to Greece to rest. They come to gain their days.” Then a paragraph later, Anne, one of the authors, says, “I don’t want to miss out on what the Greeks call Zoe. Life. I want to live all of the whole glorious hazard.” (more…)

Dear great idea folks,

I’m bombarded with great ideas. They flow freely through by brain and also freely out of my brain if I don’t write them down. So, I carry an “Aha” notebook around with me. Even wrote “Aha Notebook” on the front. I write essay ideas, column ideas, life shop ideas, recipe ideas, logo ideas, blog post ideas and anything else I want to remember, but know I’ll forget.

If you think about it, all the products you use and the songs you hear and the movies you see and the books you read, they all stared with someone’s “Aha” moment. The difference? That person acted on their “Aha” moment. (more…)

Hey courageous ones,

Recently, I saw one of my favorite up and coming singer/songwriters, Kim Jennings. The city of Worcester, Massachusetts, voted her its best female vocalist for 2010. If you ever get a chance to hear her perform in person, you’ll know why. She’s dazzling, daring and dynamic. Because I look for everyone’s life theme, I couldn’t help but notice that two of her songs both contained the same line: nowhere left to hide. She’s definitely come out of her hiding place. Have you? (more…)