Today's Tea

I think Thursdays may be the best days of the week.
Unless, of course, you have a presentation, or paper, or date you don't want to go on that falls on the Friday afterward.
But, barring those things, I like Thursdays. What can I say? I'm an anticipation person.

Next week we go on another giant road trip. Fun times ahead! I'll keep you posted ;)

Happy New Year!

Happy new year!

Or, I guess, happy half-a-week-into-the-new-year. Same difference, it's still a new year and new decade.

Makes me feel old that I can say "my, that decade went by quickly!" I've certainly never been able to say that before.

My new years celebration was amazing - we went over to Jim Thorpe to ring it in with some new friends out there, and then we spent a quiet weekend of food and drinks - - it's as I say, Hazleton isn't a place, it's a state of mind.
(for me that state of mind includes lots of dessert and red wine...)

On January 1, this is what was attached to my tea bag, Chinese fortune cookie style:
(I think this is true for everyone, no?)
Because after all, a civilization is just a group of people and a world is just a group of civilizations, so our choices CAN certainly change it.
So get to work!
I think this year a great duty for us all will be to lead more mindful lives - don't waste your time, because who knows how much more of it any of us have?

Just a thought.

And tomorrow, there'll be a long overdue Carrots in the Kitchen post.

Today's quote:
Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life.
~Brian Andreas

(btw, he's one of my new heroes and my quotes will mostly be from him. Here's his site.)

Angels

As I was falling asleep late yesterday evening, my sister sent me a text message with this quote. She said that she didn't know where it was from, but she'd seen it on a banner and thought I may like it. As I read the words, I felt my heart open and follow and it had me dreaming all night.

I thought you may like it too, so here it is.

In my dream the angel shrugged and said, 'If we fail this time it will be a failure of imagination.' And then she placed the world gently in the palm of my hand...

(Happy Friday!)

May You Live

There is a whiteboard next to my office door, on the hallway side. Why there would be a whiteboard outside the office of an administrative assistant's office (which is the only thing mine could be used as, judging by its placement), I don't know (really, does anyone leave notes often enough to have a board permanently affixed there?), but, early in my time here, I decided to make use of it.

I love inspirational quotes. And I don't use the term "love" lightly. While at UF I would write a quote that touched me on a post-it and put it on my wall, or desk, or somewhere I would see it. By the end of each semester, I had a nearly wallpapered office. And desk. And filing cabinet that stood next to my desk. Oh, and bookshelf (the side that faces the desk, not the part that actually holds the books. That would just be weird).

So, I thought that, since I love them and they help me so much (nowadays, I only put the REALLY good ones up in my office. At present, there's one that is a semi-permanent fixture on my desk. On an orange post-it of course), I would use the whiteboard to put up a quote that inspired me each day, in the hopes that it would inspire people who were walking down my hall too.

Note: I have an inspirational calendar and get a newsletter-y email or two a day that have that kind of stuff, so I have a few to pick from on any given day. I only use the really good ones. Sometimes none of them are good so I have to go into my quotey archives...

In any event, today's quote is

May you live all the days of your life.
~Jonathan Swift

I thought that one would be good to start the blog with. That's my soapbox - to LIVE your life. Even if all you do is wake up, head to work, head home, have some dinner, then watch a TV show or two and go to bed, it's my opinion (and what I hope to someday soon, REALLY write about and give seminars about) that to notice, to really see and feel and experience all that happens, is the whole point. And it can get more complex and emotional and spiritual and whatever, and that'll come in later blogs. But for now, the thought is just to notice. Tiny things, like the way your clothes feel against your skin, the way that the air feels cool as it moves down through your nostrils and into your lungs with each breath, and the way the sun is shining. Or the way the rain is falling. Who knows - one day this may be exactly where you want to be in your memory. See what's going on around and within you, just in case.

In other news, welcome to my blog! I decided to finally start my own when I realized that #1: It's hypocritical of me to be so addicted to others' blogs, some of which I've never even met, and #2: According to the 10,000 hour theory (will explain another time), all the writing I can do will likely help my end goals:) Thanks for stopping by, and please leave comments! I also have another page or two floating around in the cyberspace ether, which I'll put in my info section.

Have a great day!