Wishing Your Life Away...

“You’re wishing your life away…” my great grandmother would say to my mom when she expressed a wish for something in her life to pass quickly. The phrase resurfaced from time to time growing up with my mom. It stuck with me, even in the absence of my great grandmother and mother.

One day in college, my best friend and roommate was lamenting about an abundance of schoolwork that needed to be done and wishing for college to be over.

The words came back again and popped out of my mouth… “You’re wishing your life away…”

 I’m not sure how much she appreciated it. I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic or condescending. It just came to me, like a gift, as she was complaining about our workload. Her wish for our tedious work to be done was completely rational and made sense. I agreed.

However, I also knew that I really enjoyed living with her and that we would never get this time back. Like the seasons change, from fall to winter to spring and then summer, so would our current circumstances. We were (and are) confined by time.  Eventually, we would outgrow this stage of our life and go onto the next. As it should be. But we wouldn’t live together anymore.

Now I cherish the memories we made while living together and going to school.

Sometimes, we are so focused on getting to the next step that it seeps the joy out of the current moment. I’m definitely guilty of this because I tend to be future-focused… always planning what’s next. Who really knows what’s next?

I trust my great grandma.  She was right. Life is far too short to be wishing it away.

Tomorrow will come and then I will live tomorrow as today. We only ever get to live in ‘todays’.

Measured Time

Measure your time in

Many laughs with kindred souls

Before you wave "Bye".

My great grandmother had already lived the majority of her life. She was giving the best advice she could give to someone, who most likely had far more days and wishes left ahead than she did. Advice can be the most wonderful gift to give…

The days go by so quickly…

Have a wonderful weekend, full of laughs with kindred souls.

I know I will.

The Hourglass (Part I)

Image Source: Michael Himbeault https://www.flickr.com/photos/riebart/4653728769

The Hourglass

Chapter 1- Thoughts of a Dying Woman

From the moment we are born, we are all slowly emptying our hourglasses. My hourglass is running out.  Today. There is barely any sand left in the top and a whole lot of sand in the bottom. I’m staring at my hourglass and I don’t know how to feel. See in my world everyone knows their final hour and exactly how many hours until their fateful hour. I don't know if it makes us live better or worse.

We didn’t always know these things, but some very smart people in my world they've figure it out, how long each person will live, right at the start of their life. So we each are given these hourglasses and they are all running out. There is no way to refill them and we look at them every day in our homes. Well, some of us look at them. Others keep them hidden, tucked away. Different perspectives, you know? Some people want, in fact, need to know. It helps those people make “the most of their time”. Other people, like me, we need the freedom to not think about death. We need to become too busy, too engrossed in life, so that this ominous sign of our eventual demise isn’t pelting us in the face day after day.

I’ve lived most of my life not thinking about my hourglass (who cares, if you can’t control something you might as well not let it control you). I’m a lucky one. Blessed. Thankful. My hourglass was pretty full from the start, so I’ve had many moons to cultivate a beautiful life and not worry about my eventual death. I’m human, though. I’ve peeked under the floorboard (where my hourglass is hidden) every now and then. Checking to see if anything has changed. It’s remained unchanged. My whole life it has been a slow, gradual release of the sands of my life.  However, even with a long release, the sand eventually runs out.

I almost knew today was my day without looking at my hourglass. I thought about not looking at it at all, but I did. It’s time. I’m 82 years old. I feel ready and I’m not scared.

Some people become reckless as their hourglass is running out …they know they will be gone, so they don't want to have any regrets. Others go into death with a quiet peacefulness. Who's to judge which is right?

Anyhow, I wish I knew. Because as I said my hourglass is running out, today is MY last day. All I know is I can't sit and look at this silly hourglass with the sands slowly slipping away. Who wants to think about something they can't controlled? I'd rather relish in what I can control…

Some people announce their last day. Everyone seems to take pity on them and their last day is wrought with the sympathy of family and strangers a like. Can you really live your last day fully if everyone knows it is your last day? My hour glass has been hidden for years, so no one knows it's my last day, no one but me.

Anyway, you slice it. I'm a dead woman walking today.

Smoky Mountain Retreat

In August, my fiancé and I enjoyed a stay in the Smoky Mountains at Alpine Chalet Rentals. We thoroughly enjoyed our stayed and I wanted to write a post about our time in the Smokies and how much we enjoyed our chalet!

Service- First, the service was superb from the start. The woman who helped us at the reception desk was very friendly and hospitable, providing us with driving directions and a number to call if we had any issues (which we didn’t!).

The Chalet- Our chalet was beautifully decorated and immaculately clean! We stayed in the Mountain Comfort 59 chalet. It is a one bedroom perfect for a romantic getaway from two. 

It had a black bear theme and a rustic feel which was very appropriate for the mountain cabin. Our chalet was an open floor plan with the kitchen, dining, living, and bedroom area all together. It made it feel very cozy and I personally love open floor plan layouts. The separate bathroom was spacious and included a washer and dryer, if you needed to use it. 

The kitchen was fully equipped with all dishes and utensils that you need to make meals. We loved this because we really enjoy cooking our own meals for each other. We cooked meals and then would sit on the deck enjoying the view and peacefulness of our surroundings. There was a pretty heart shaped tub in the corner of the cabin that had a window that overlooked the view, as well.

Personal touches- Each chalet is owned by an individual owner and then managed by the alpine chalet rentals. We really noticed and enjoyed the personal touches of the owner of our chalet. Black bear stuffed animals and Smoky Mountain magnets were part of the décor and also available to purchase. It was nice to be able to buy a souvenir without even leaving our chalet! There was also a guest book with countless glowing reviews to the owner. We added ours at the end of our trip, as it was such a great experience.

The tranquil atmosphere- I think this is what we enjoyed most about our getaway to the Smokies. Our chalet was at the very end of a mountain road. It was so tranquil and quiet. And the view… oh the view! The view from our porch (our porch with a new hot tub and table and chairs for two) was spectacular! It was so nice to enjoy a peaceful get away and be able to eat quiet dinners and enjoy the hot tub together… looking at the view. The chalet was far enough away from others, so that it felt secluded. This allowed for plenty of rest and relaxation.

Activities- One of our favorite activities was the Rocky Top Wine Trail. The wine tastings are free! There are five wineries on the trail with different themes ranging from apple wines to Italian style. If you visit 3 wineries on the trail, you receive a complimentary wine glass and if you visit all 5 you receive an additional complimentary wine glass! How could you beat a deal like that? Free wine and wineglasses. Yes, please! A few wines that we really enjoyed were the Apple Julep (apple wine, but includes other fruits making it taste like sangria), Wildfire (strawberry-kiwi wine), and Mountain Valley blush (a medium-sweet red wine). 

Hiking trails are plentiful in the Smoky Mountain region. We walked down a shorter trail that was shaded and it was a nice walk. It was rather hot and humid when we visited in August, otherwise I think we would have taken a longer hike. The vegetation and trails are beautiful and well maintained. I would like to go back in the fall to see the changing leaves and I think that this would be the ideal time of year for hiking too. 

Downtown Gatlinsburg has plenty to do. It is definitely more tourist focused. It has many dining options and fun things to do like take “Old Time” pictures or try some moonshine. We didn’t spend a lot of time there, but it is cool to check out. My fiancé really enjoyed the moonshine taste testing. We also enjoyed looking at all the fabulous paintings located in the Thomas Kinkade Art Gallery.

I highly recommend venturing into the Smoky Mountains and checking out all they have to offer! You can stay in your chalet if you want peace and tranquility or if you are feeling daring you can check out the variety of activities available in the area. Either way, you will have an enjoyable time.  

Happy traveling!

Built for Struggle

Often, life brings struggles that can leave lasting scars. Our bodies and spirits seem to be built for struggle, whether we like it or not. I think the trouble lies in our resistance; we try to avoid pain at all costs. This is natural and makes sense. However, pain and struggles are also natural parts of life (bummer, right?). We learn from struggles and they teach us lessons. Our deepest pain somehow imparts an even deeper inner wisdom, opening us up to future experiences.

Last month, I cut my finger slicing some bread. It was a pretty deep cut and it bled profusely, until it finally subsided. It was painful and I had to put antibacterial ointment and bandages on it for quite a while. The wound has since healed and is looking much better. It still needs some more time to heal completely, but it is on its way. I know there will always be a scar there now and perhaps it won’t feel quite the same as before. Much like my finger our life struggles leave lasting impressions, metaphoric scars.

The healing process went more quickly due to the care I took tending to my wound. I made sure that I put organic antibacterial on it to provide the best care. I made sure to protect the wound while it was still open by keeping it bandaged. Our daily struggles and bumps in the road need the same care.

Trials and tribulations bring about wounds that will eventually heal, much like my finger. How we learn to overcome and deal with these struggles determines the healing time and the pain during our healing process.

We can become bogged down in the turmoil of hardships, yet sometimes in the midst of struggle we can have our best breakthroughs, as well. Instead of fighting against the pain we need to examine it and care for it.

The wounds will fester and become bigger; if we don’t care for them in appropriate ways.

It is important to acknowledge our struggles and equally important to not give our struggles power. Your external struggles do not have power. I repeat do not. You have power. You are the transforming agent in your one beautiful life. The power is always within ourselves to transform situations, to transform ourselves. More than anything our ability to deal with adversity defines us.

I encourage you next time you are at a point of great struggle in your life to reframe it. Reframe it by looking at the situation carefully and taking time to care for the situation and yourself.  I’ve recently gone through some personal struggles and I found that these ways of reframing helped me.

-See the difficult situation as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. It could be an opportunity to try something new that you’ve never done before.

-Reach out to others. I think when people face struggle they often isolate themselves. This severely hampers and limits opportunities. Reaching out to others builds a web of security, support, and possibilities.

-Reflect on your current situation. You can look at it with renewed clarity and decide what you really want out of life. Is what you’re doing right now or the steps you are taking bringing you closer to your most fulfilled life or purpose? Perhaps, you need to take steps to go in a completely different direction.

-Give to others. It doesn’t take money to do this! I think many people have the false impression that it does. You can give your presence and time. It can take your mind off your current predicament and you can come back with a renewed perspective later. It is also another opportunity to form connections!

-Breathe. Whether it is meditation, yoga, or just taking a minute or two for some deep breathing. Breathing helps to create a more calm, controlled, and centered self.

Living ecstatically can be a challenge. Recognizing and reframing the hardships in your life can leave more room for a more joyous and peaceful experience. Our reaction to struggles is what ultimately defines us and our circumstances. How will you be defined?

I encourage you to share your struggles (big or small). How have you overcome or reframed them to make room for more joy?

Ecstatic

ec·stat·ic

feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.

This is the launch of my blog and my very first post! Welcome! I am excited to begin my journey as a blogger and see where it takes me. My purpose for this blog is to inspire others to have an ecstatic life experience. The inspiration for my blog title comes from one of my favorite Emily Dickinson quotes… “The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” I believe this is true. I want to create a blog and community that encourages this type of life experience and growth. In my blog you will find:

     Inspirational stories and thoughts about concepts such as forgiveness, love, balance, acceptance, struggle, & more…

      Snippets about creative endeavors that bring about joyful experiences including writing, books, music, dance, and art

      Stories about adventures whether it is traveling to a remote cabin in the Smoky Mountains or finger painting with babies

      I am an MBTI enthusiast! MBTI stands for Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and it is a typological approach to determine personality type that is very accurate. I’ve dedicated a whole section of my blog to MBTI because I believe it can be very helpful for people to know their personality and the personality of others around them

      Creative short stories & novellas that come out in separate installments for your reading pleasure (if you’re interested in that kind of thing)

I can’t wait to see what’s to come…stay tuned for my next post! Until then, I wish you ecstatic adventures! Au revoir! J