My Everything

My everything is you

You who shine

You who send your light afar and warm the dank and dark and dreaded

You who give and give and do not give up, but grow in your giving and have more

My everything is happiness

A nesting

A place of being

Inside, not outside myself

My everything

Is you

You who capture my attention again and again

You who continue to show all that is good

Thank you for being you

Beauty Heals

Beauty heals more than we know! Colors, textures, smells, sounds all conspire to keep us well, to keep us connected to the natural world: the one we were born of! As summer winds down, I have so much appreciation for my beautiful garden which will soon be struck down with frost!

Can’t you just hear this giant bumblebee going about his business of life? He’s not worrying – at least I don’t think I hear that! He’s doing what he needs to do. Creatures just do what they need to do for themselves. And they do what they like! I don’t know if they feel gratitude, but I feel it watching them!

Do what you need to feel joy! Drink in beauty! Beauty heals! Joy helps! It lifts us up! Let nature in!

Create Something

“How do I create something out of nothing? And how do I create my own life?” Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club, shares where she finds her inspiration Amy Tan TED talk

What inspires you? Diverse textures, colors, cultures?

What do you do with inspiration? Do you share the way your mind works, how your heart sings, what makes you feel connected to the world?

Do you rush through your life forgetting to breathe, to see, to hear, to appreciate all around you?

Years ago, after moving to the Oregon coast – which IS gorgeous – I felt so lonely! I was ten hours away from my parents and siblings. And the climate was rainy. Really rainy! I’d grown up on the very dry side of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountain Range with less than fifteen inches of precipitation per year. The rainfall in the Willamette Valley on the west side of the mountains where I attended college had more than double the annual rainfall! And the coast? Double that! It all seemed so strange and green and drippy! And there was not enough bright sun! I felt disconnected from the places and people I knew and loved.

Still, it was exciting starting our careers – my husband as a prosecutor and I as a substitute teacher and home tutor for the school district. We decided to buy a house. And then we got a dog to go with the cat. And then a baby to fill the extra bedroom. And reading stories to our sweet baby girl brought me back to the couch with my mom reading to me…I started feeling more connected to the life I had lived before the strange and tumultuous years of college.

Words come to me when I appreciate what is around me, when I take time there…

Flowering Wisdom

Flowering Wisdom, Shannon Jackson Arnold presents beautiful images and thoughts on life, love, and blooming big.

Some people are beautiful examples of blooming for others. Their shine sprinkles onto us with sunny outlook, warmth, and kindness.

Shannon Jackson Arnold is as beautiful as the images she captures in this book!

 

 

 

 

Though we have friends in common, I’ve never even met Shannon in person! But several years ago, Shannon generously gave me an hour of her heart and mind with ideas for my website and my writing. Her encouragement was much needed and so appreciated! She has branched out since then – bloomed even bigger – and is spreading her brand of sunshine and spirit with more of the world and in many different ways.

Help me thank her by visiting her website to see all her offerings    http://www.shannonjacksonarnold.com/ Bloom into Hope, Healing, and Happiness

Flowering Wisdom: words & photography

is Shannon’s gorgeous book for sale on her site.

It’s a lovely book for daily inspiration and beauty, and makes a great gift for only $15.99! Shannon donates $2.00 of every sale to Arc of Appalachia Nature Preserve System   http://www.arcofappalachia.org/

Thank you, Shannon for your gifts to the world (and me)! Have a beautiful day!