My Mailbox To The World

A traveler am I and a navigator, and every day I discover a new region within my soul.

~ Kahlil Gibran ~

 

A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.
-- Lao Tzu 

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.

~ Cicero ~

I leave you for a bit with the words of Kahlil Gibran, Lao Tzu and Cicero...you are in good company here.  Time for another adventure!  I want to wish you all a Super Thanksgiving full of love, wonderful times with friends and family, good food, and many adventures!  I will return second week of December and I will miss you all while I am away!  I will be visiting your blogs but most likely not posting.  I have so much to be thankful for this year and I am in a celebratory mood.  

And so without further adieu, I cast my love and blessings out to you and  the world in this magic bottle!  I wish you all great joy,  fun and happiness while I am away!
Fun, sun and adventure await me! 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Love,
Kelly
xoxo

Thankfulness And A Special Award

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles

and they can become your blessings.

~author unknown~

We all have so much to be thankful for, don't we?   I love these words from the unknown author.  When life is viewed in terms of gratitude and thankfulness each day becomes a special gift.  Today I wanted to take a moment just to say thank you to all my blogger friends.  You're all such wonderful and interesting people and I am thankful to know each of you.   You really do make my days special, not only for who you are, but for the magical ways in which you encourage me and each other.  It is a beautiful community to be a part of and I am so very thankful!

Alicia at Boylerpf graciously awarded me the Deborah Award.  Thank you, Alicia!  You definitely deserved this award and thank you so much for passing it on to me.  I love the quote  "Friendship isn't about who  you have known the longest, but who came and never left your side."  Alicia, you are one of those special people and I'm honored to call you my friend!   I am truly blessed in that I can honestly say I have many friends who have never left my side, so many people that I can count on, people full of love with  gentle and giving spirits.

And now I want to pass this award on to two special bloggers who always encourage me, give me hope and have great faith, Peggy of Middle Age Ramblings and Naida of The Bookworm.  Both of you are such good friends to me and I am so very thankful to know you both!  I love you guys!

Wishing all my friends a Super Happy Day with Eyes Wide Open to The Magic of Thankfulness!

Love,

Kelly

A Little Too Much Fun?

“I wasn’t really asleep...I was just meditating on unconsciousness."

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Releasing The Narcissus Within - Nurture Your Inner Muse

Echo and Narcissus

Many of you already know the story of Echo and Narcissus. The famous Irish playwright, poet and  author, Oscar Wilde, gives us a different ending to this story. In Wilde's version when Narcissus died, the Oreads, who were goddesses of the woods, came and saw that the waters of the pool had changed into salt tears.

"Why are you crying? asked the Oreads.

I’m weeping for Narcissus.

We do not wonder that you should mourn for Narcissus in this way, they said. After all, we could only run after him through the forest, but you could gaze on his beauty from close to.

But was Narcissus beautiful? asked the pool.

Who better than you to know? the Oreads replied, somewhat taken aback. It was, after all, on your banks that he would lie each day.

The pool was still for a moment. Then it said:

I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that he was beautiful. I weep for him because whenever he lay on my banks and looked into my waters, I could see my own beauty reflected in his eyes."

I rather like this perspective.  Narcissus was looking only at himself which caused his destruction. In Wilde's version of this myth I believe the pool was looking outward. The pool was willing to go beyond its own boundaries, to dream, to gaze outward, to share itself with Narcissus, and the pool's sharing was rewarded with beauty and a full sense of self-worth being reflected back in to itself.   When we share ourselves openly and honestly with others our lives are so much more rewarding and full.  This, I believe is very much like the creative process.  When we focus too much on ourselves and worry what others will think of us, we stifle our creativity.  We hold it inside.  We don't let it blossom out and share it with the world.  It is our fear of failure and rejection that keeps us focused on ourselves.  We play it safe.

I discovered this very interesting and funny video produced by TED - Ideas Worth Spreading.  Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Love, Pray, discusses ancient history and the creative process. She encourages us to release our fears and follow our dreams, to step out and do the best that we can.  When we gaze out to the world and are open to exploring new things, inspiration will be reflected back to us.   Open the door to sharing your vision...be creative.  That's what we are called to do.   Sometimes we hit it big. Sometimes we miss. That's okay. The most important thing is to try.  
This video is lengthy but well worth watching.  It inspired me.  I hope it inspires you too!
(Please turn off the music playlist to watch.)

 
I believe we should take Ms. Gilbert's advice.  Don't let our inner narcissus stop us from trying new things.  Listen to the inner muse.  We want the world to believe that everything we touch turns to gold.  We are magnificent.  What if we produce something that is just so-so?  Our inner narcissus says, "Don't even try.  They will find out you are not a genius.  You are plodding along just like the rest of them."    So we take our fears and we stuff our true desires out of fear of the unknown.  We talk ourselves down.   I'm not good enough.  What if I write this story and it's not fabulous?  The world will know I'm not the greatest writer.  If I show my true self they will see I am not the most beautiful person on the planet."

Try anyway.  We don't have to be the greatest in the world, we just have to be real, be true to ourselves, just be.   By being true to ourselves we WILL  live our very best life.  

TED says of this inspiring woman, "Elizabeth Gilbert faced down a ­pre-midlife crisis by doing what we all secretly dream of – running off for a year. Her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia resulted in the mega bestselling and deeply beloved memoir Eat, Pray, Love, about her process of finding herself by leaving home."

Be vulnerable,  risk fearlessly traversing the unknown,  risk failure, risk success, only then will we be able  to discover our truest and best self.  Even in our failures we discover who we are, what we are capable of, and we understand even more clearly what we truly desire.   Step out of fear and in to the creative process.  Nurture your inner Muse!

“That which causes us trials shall yield us triumph: and that which make our hearts ache shall fill us with gladness. The only true happiness is to learn, to advance, and to improve: which could not happen unless we had commence with error, ignorance, and imperfection. We must pass through the darkness, to reach the light.”

Albert Pike, American lawyer, journalist and soldier 1809-1891

Carpe Diem Everyone! 

Love,

Kelly 

A Taste of California - A Day In Malibu And The Winding Way Trail

As I woke up on Saturday morning and perused my giant To Do list and messy house, I gazed out the window and thought to myself, "What do I really want to do today?"  Not the dishes that was for sure!    After all, it was a beautiful California day and nature was calling my name....Kelly, Kelly, Kelly....LOL
So off I headed with my sweet little Maggie in tow.  I cruised past the frozen yoghurt shop, the yoga studio and the marijuana store...all in the same block...so very California... and headed towards Starbucks.  With my tall latte in hand, I lowered the convertible top and  up the coast I go, wind blowing in my hair and a smile on my face.  I was free and going to enjoy every moment of it!

We took a quick stop at El Matador Beach for an ocean walk before we headed into the hills of the Santa Monica mountains.

 El Matador is my favorite beach here in California.  For movie fans you may be interested to know this is the beach where Planet of the Apes was filmed.  It's a big hike down to the beach so I often find it deserted just like in my photo.

Onward we go until at last we arrive at our destination, Winding Way trail in the hills of the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu.  This trail begins at the Pacific Coast Highway.  You walk about a mile up the road passing beautiful homes, large fields of green grass, horses playing, and a spectacular ocean view along the way.

These are the woodlands at the beginning of the Winding Way trail.  I love how the light almost makes the trees look purple...kind of mystical.

I  always feel very content and peaceful when hiking here.

We pass sweet smelling sage which grows wild in the woodlands.

And pretty fluffy white flowers everywhere.
 
Leaves of three beware!

Pretty purple flowers.

Still lots of Fall color but the leaves are beginning to thin.

Some hikers on the  steep climb headed toward the waterfall :)

The beginning of the stream.

Maggie, The Adventure Dog!

 
Pampas Grass growing up high on the rocky cliff.

We look out for the Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus.

At last....

The waterfall at the end of the trail and the beautiful mossy walls of the canyon.

 
The Santa Monica Mountains are a beautiful place to hike.  One does not need to travel far to find the Magic! It comes from within us. 
I believe it is the simple things that make us the happiest in life.  As I closed my day hiking out of the canyon feeling content and so satisfied, I couldn't help but think of William Henry Channing's very wise words to live by.

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony."

Living simply, enjoying nature...Magic!

I hope you enjoyed your time in the hills of Malibu!  It was a beautiful day!