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| The following is a list of Pujakins's blog entries, in reverse order |
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Heartwings Love Notes 570: My Mother Used to Say |
Sunday, May 12, 2013 (19:28:58) |
Heartwings says, "What a parent says can become an enduring guideline."
My mother used to say things I enjoy remembering. One of her favorite responses was, "In a hundred years will anyone care?" She didn't believe in getting too upset over anything because after all, what good did it do? As a more emotional person, I have found this sentence to be quite useful to remember when I get overly excited about what didn't go as I planned or expected.
If she had lost something she would exclaim, "Someone stole my..." I said this a lot until I realized I was dooming my search. After all if it were stolen, how would I ever find it? If someone else sought a missing item she might say, "The house never looses anything." That is true. Yet sometimes it seems that someone borrows an item and returns it when no one is looking because the item is found somewhere I had carefully looked.
With hand sewing, Mama was very specific about how long the thread should be. She illustrated her point with a story. It seems the Devil and a tailor had a contest for the tailor's soul. Each was to make a coat. The Devil threaded his needle only once meaning he had to run around the garment three times for every stitch he took. The tailor, using many shorter lengths of thread, easily won the contest. I remembered that when I get out my needle and thread.
Born in Germany just prior to WWI her childhood was overshadowed by wartime food shortages. As a result she would say, "You can't leave the table until you finish everything on your plate. Food must not be wasted." I learned to swallow pieces of liver like pills. In the time since I have evolved creatively as a cook by not wasting leftovers. On this and every Mother's Day I give thanks for her presence in my life. She always did the best she could.
May you have good guidance you remember and honor the one who gave it.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert |
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Haertwings 569: The Cherish of Mending |
Monday, May 06, 2013 (00:12:37) |
Heartwings says, "The way we cherish is to care for and help as best we can."
I have a number of small family treasures related to sewing. My grandmother's sewing table serves as my night stand. I also have her traveling sewing kit. The small leather case has long since cracked from time and use. I keep it wrapped in a drawer, though I use its gold thimble from time to time. I also have a pair of tiny sewing scissors from my German grandmother, whom I saw for only a short time in my early teens when she came briefly to the States.
My dear mother did me a wonderful turn when she paid for me to have sewing lessons with a retired show business seamstress who lived down the street. While the seamstress was entertaining me with colorful stories, she taught me to darn, patch, sew and mend with the stitches appropriate to these tasks. I am very grateful to have been able to use these skills to repair and refurbish my wardrobe as well as that of members of my family.
There was a time when clothing was much more scarce and expensive than it is now. No part of any material was wasted, and clothing was invariably re-cut and refashioned until it wore out. The remaining pieces were then made into a quilt. When I see this kind of old patchwork quilt I always think to myself of the cherishing that went into the making of it, and the woman's handwork that left a part of herself in the finished product
I have often offered to do any needed mending for friends. I love the idea that some of my energy will be incorporated into clothing he or she will wear. As well, for me there is great satisfaction to be found in mending. There is something quite special in restoring a garment to use. Best of all, as I mend feel that in a very small way I have become a part of my friend's lives in some concrete fashion. My little contribution is one way I have found to cherish those I care for and love.
May you find ways to cherish those you love and care for too.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
For more Love Notes or to subscribe: www.heartwingslovenotes.com.
Domestic Tranquility, conversations between me and Stephen, and Cooking with Tasha are posted on You Tube under Stephen and Tasha Halpert.
For Stephen's and other humorous writing go to: www.funnywrite.com
To view Stephen's art, go to www.stephenhalpert.com. |
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Heartwings Love Notes: A Taste of Honey |
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 (01:16:45) |
Heartwings says, "Reminders are special opportunities to be grateful."
The jar of honey my second daughter gave us on our last visit is still over half full. That is because I have been saving it to savor when I feel like something special. When I take a spoonful of the locally produced Vermont honey she gave me from the large jar and put it on my grapefruit or in my tea, I taste the sweetness of our visit together as well as the very special love of my daughter.
Such reminders are precious. They are not only opportunities to reexperience the original pleasure of the gift but also to reaffirm the gratitude I feel for it. Certain objects in my life do this: the fish earrings my oldest daughter gave me, or the mirrored pair I bought on a trip to Italy to visit my youngest. I remember again the sidewalk booth where we bought them, tall boots with pointy toes and quantities of other goods hanging all around it. At the same time I also remember how tenderly she cared for me during my visit.
Happy memories are a mainstay of a life well lived. Keeping track of them, making note of them, and refusing to take these experiences for granted are all factors in the important attitude of gratitude that sustains and fructifies a good life. I feel so grateful to have the love of family members, the generosity of friends and acquaintances, and the romantic love I share with my husband. The gifts that they all have given me are a sweet reminder of their caring.
I do my best not ignore or gloss over what is uncomfortable, sad, or irritating. However, I also try not to dwell on such experiences. Like a mosquito bite I feel and then refuse to scratch, they can be only momentary annoyances and need not disturb my happiness. I can acknowledge the discomfort and move on. There is no need to scratch and make it worse. I can address a serious sadness or irritation in a variety of ways yet still it need not persistently interfere with my life or depress me. Instead, I cheer myself up as I count my blessings, recall what I feel grateful for, and acknowledge the love that surrounds me.
May you find sources for joyful memories in your cupboard and in your heart.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert |
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Heartwings Love Notes: The Bell Tolls for Thee |
Monday, April 22, 2013 (01:02:40) |
Heartwings says, "Love is the goal and love is the way to achieve it."
When a huge tragedy occurs we are all affected. As John Donne, the 17th century metaphysical poet said, Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. On April 15, Whether we were on the scene or safely watching it on TV, we were there. Even if we hadn't yet heard about it, we were there. It is my feeling that in some mysterious way, we are all connected, interwoven with one another like the cells of a finger or an eye. Yet each functions as we are created to do by our unique makeup.
As we are all connected, when we harm one another, we are harming ourselves. It makes more sense to be peaceful, yet human beings seem to continue to pursue conflict as they always have. Animals that live by cooperation live longer, healthier lives than those who do not. Why is it that part of us attacks another part of us? There may be many reasons given, as many as there are speakers. Not one of them is either right or wrong. It is what it is.
Regardless, the healthier each one of can become, the healthier we all will. Much progress has been made in the last century in so many ways. Most recently is the trend toward men spending quality time with their infants and toddlers, changing their diapers and bathing them. How wonderful for a child to have the care of both mothers and fathers at such a young age. Cigarette smoking was once prevalent throughout our society. Now it is frowned upon by many. Recycling is common, conservation is growing.
Progress is made slowly. Yet sometimes that is best. The slow plow turns a deep furrow. The loving responses of the many as the Marathon tragedy unfolded is heartening to see. Little tales of compassion continue to surface. We might take some small consolation that the tragedy has brought out our best selves, teaching us what we can do to change the world to a more compassionate, loving place to live. Little by little with each act of kindness and compassion we add to the sum until little else is left but love.
May you find joy in sharing and caring.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . To watch us on TV go to Domestic Tranquility 1 on YouTube. If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Love Notes: The New Light of Spring |
Monday, April 15, 2013 (01:22:30) |
Heartwings says, "When new light is shed, it's easier to see what's there."
Spring cleaning is a natural part of life. The bright light available for increasing minutes and hours, coming from a sun shining higher in the sky each day makes obvious what was once hidden by dimmer, sleepier winter days. It's not that I love to clean. Far from it. If I can't see the dust I'm likely to ignore it. That's why I'm starting to notice it. With the advent of spring my winter neglect becomes all the more obvious.
As I contemplate my surroundings, I realize something in me needs dusting too. I think I've been accumulating mental clutter. It's more difficult to get rid of because it is less obvious. How can I tell? One way is when I start to natter about inconsequential things, finding small issues to complain about or criticize. Chances are I need to go for a walk by the ocean to let the sea breezes blow through me and clear out the mental cobwebs and querulousness.
It's time now too to eat lighter and focus more on vegetables and salads. I need to prepare spring soups with fresh organic greens rather than make the thick chowders of wintertime. The spring advent of asparagus is always a treat. I have a new recipe for asparagus soup to try. I mixed up a new batch of my coleslaw dressing substitute for mayonnaise--lots less fattening and even better tasting. Eating light is more than just a phrase to toss around.
It's almost time to take my warm weather clothing out and put away what I've been wearing in the cold weather. It will be fun to greet the clothing I haven't seen in some months and fold away the familiar items that have kept me warm and cozy for fall and winter. As I participate in the process of spring, I am participating in what nature is doing, lightening up: clothing myself in light clothing and light thoughts. I welcome spring and I welcome change. It's time.
May you enjoy the change spring brings and find ways to lighten up too.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
For more Love Notes or to subscribe: www.heartwingslovenotes.com.
Domestic Tranquility, conversations between me and Stephen, and Cooking with Tasha are posted on You Tube under Stephen and Tasha Halpert.
Check Heartwings Place on YouTube to hear me read my Pujatales.
For Stephen's and other humorous writing go to: www.funnywrite.com
To view Stephen's art, go to www.stephenhalpert.com |
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Living With Small Deaths |
Thursday, April 11, 2013 (00:51:50) |
My earliest experience with the death of a pet happened when I was too young to remember it. It became a family story my mother was fond of telling. The way she told it, when I was almost four my parents won a turkey in a raffle, brought it home and kept it in a cage in the yard. I was fond of the turkey and named it Tuty. At Thanksgiving as planned, the turkey was killed, plucked stuffed and roasted. As family and guests gathered to eat and my dad was carving the turkey I piped up: "Where is my Tuty? I want my Tuty." After that no one wanted any.
When I was small, death was not discussed in front of children. They were more sheltered than today's children who from an early age see the adult world right before their eyes on television. I learned about it too, but in a way, first hand: seeing the small deaths around me. Baby ducks perished as they hatched; baby chickens accidentally drowned in the water pan; rabbits were attacked by a neighboring dog; and several dogs and cats were run over by cars speeding by our house.
My family lived in the country in a cottage on my Great Aunt Alice's property. There were many animals, large and small whose living and dying were part of our everyday life. As a result death seemed to me to be quite natural. I mourned, yet not for long. There were always more animals to pat and to play with. I confess that sometimes I was not nice to them. The cat did not like it when I dressed her in doll clothes and tried to make her lie down in my doll bed. The dog did not appreciate this either. Sheeshee, a small white Spitz mix was gentle however, and did not, like the cat, protest too much or try to scratch me. She lived with us a good long time and was much loved. I have no memory of her passing, which makes me wonder if perhaps I was away at school then.
She managed to have two puppies when she was quite young and before my parents had her spayed. Peloto was left behind in Florida where he was born on a working vacation we spent there with my father. Tallahassee lived with us until tragically he was hit by a truck right in front of me. The driver, terribly upset drove the dog and me to the veterinarian to see if Tallahassee could be saved. I remember holding him on my lap and feeling very sad. His internal injuries were too severe for him to continue to live. I buried him with ceremony. Somehow even though I never attended a real funeral until I was 12, I seemed to know about reverently burying a loved animal and praying over its grave.
Our rabbits provided an experience of both birth and death. They were kept in a hutch outdoors. I remember asking my mother one day why one of them wouldn't come out of the little house that sheltered them from bad weather. She showed me the infant rabbits that were emerging from their mother. That was wonderful to see and I was thrilled. After that I understood where babies came from although not how they got in there. Having animals helps children learn about these things naturally and under gentle conditions. When my children were small they had guinea pigs that helped them learn these important facts of life.
I believe we had the rabbits a year or two. Then somehow a fierce dog got in and mangled the ones he did not kill. When I was told the wounded rabbits were to be "put to sleep" by Carl, my great aunt's gardener, I was very upset. In tears I walked past the boundaries of our property so as not to hear him shoot them. I remember that for this act of disobedience I was sent to my room without supper and made to go to bed early. Although I missed the rabbits, I did not mourn them for long. I was always encouraged to get over my grief quickly, and usually I did.
Life and death had their place, and so did religion. Each Sunday I accompanied my mother to her Catholic church while my dad went to his Protestant one. On Easter, Christmas and special occasions we also went to his. Although I found my mother's simple Catholic church to be bleak and cheerless, I enjoyed my visits to my dad's comfortable Episcopalian one;. Needing my own church for myself I created one where I could go and pray when I wished.
I chose a corner outdoors between the chimney and the wooden wall of the small potting shed and greenhouse where Carl the gardener started plants for my Great Aunt's garden. To substitute for the hard wooden kneeling benches of my mother's church, I collected moss to kneel on. I used a brick for an altar and tied two sticks to make a wooden cross. On the other side of the chimney I created a cemetery where I buried small animals and birds as well as one of our cats. That church was my place of comfort. I often went there to talk to God. I also developed a small graveyard where I buried baby chicks and ducks as well as a cat and dog that had perished.
My mother loved her animals. At one time she had two goats. Ebony, the larger of the two was very fond of Mama. The other escaped her tether and ate grass sprayed with arsenic from under my Great Aunt's apple trees. They told me about her death but did not show her to me. I was often shielded from what was harsh or ugly. Ebony lived quite a long time and even though she had never been bred she used to give milk.
My great Aunt kept chickens as did we. I remember as a very young child being pinned down by a huge rooster that somehow escaped the coop and threatened to attack me as I walked through the apple orchard. Eventually someone came to my rescue and shooed the bird away. Chickens were food, not pets, so there was no sorrow associated with their demise.When they were to be eaten Carl used to kill them. He would cut off their heads with an ax and they would run around the yard headless. Then my mother valiantly plucked the feathers from the warm bird and either roasted or boiled it, depending on the age.
When I was six or seven it became my job to take care of our chickens. I didn't mind doing it in the summer. There was a convenient faucet near the chicken coop where I could fill their water holder. However, in winter the water faucet was turned off so it wouldn't freeze. I had to lug heavy pails of water as well as buckets of grain and mash all the way from the barn to the chicken house fifty feet or more away. This was how I earned my allowance so I didn't dare slack off.
One March I had a brilliant idea. The hen house was close to a marsh that flooded every spring. Daily I filled their water bucket from this convenient source. A couple of weeks later our chickens began to die. At first no one knew why. Then my father called me into the living room. It seems Carl had seen me as I filled the bucket. I expect I was punished. Probably I lost my allowance for a time, though I don't remember. I did feel very sorry for what I had done to the poor chickens. My parents were even more upset because they couldn't eat them. I was reminded of that for years.
Worse than the death of Tallahassee was what happened to my mother's dog Nicky. I was four or five at the time, and I did not eat with my parents but earlier, in my room. I remember the experience vividly. Nicky was my mother's cherished black and white border collie. He was a bit rambunctious and tended to wander so we weren't to let him out unattended. One day I accidentally let him out. I was upstairs eating when my mother rushed in. "Nicky's dead and it's all your fault." She sobbed. It seemed that before he could be retrieved a delivery truck pulling into Aunt Alice's driveway had hit him.
I remember that my mouth opened and the green peas I had just put in spilledback onto my plate. I began to cry. I felt guilty for Nicky's death for a long time. However, he wasn't the last dog for whose death I was responsible. Years later when I was driving down a snow banked highway at about 40 miles an hour with my children in the back seat, a great big German shepherd came running right down the middle of the highway toward me. I couldn't stop, and I couldn't avoid the dog. Had I tried to swerve to the right or the left I would have hit a snow bank. I had three small children in the car. I had no choice.
Afterward I stopped my car and went back to get the dog's collar so I could tell the owner. I dragged the body to the side of the road and drove home. I had made sure to hit the dog hard enough to kill it because otherwise it would have been crippled or maimed and suffered terribly. I felt dreadful. Yet I could not risk my children's lives to try to save the dog. When I explained the owner thanked me. Apparently the dog had gotten out and had followed his truck. He was not upset with me and I was grateful. While I felt sad I did not feel guilty.
Death is part of life. Life is part of death. I learned this at an early age. Sometimes we cannot help causing the death of a loved pet. Sometimes we have to choose death over life because it is the best choice in a situation. Sometimes we have no choice because we simply do not know any better. I have spent many years of my life learning to be as conscious of my actions and their consequences as I could. Death seems to have followed me even as I have reached out to embrace it when need be. Animals are with us for a short time. Perhaps they are our teachers about the necessity for death. Perhaps we can learn from them to embrace it when it comes to us, knowing that we too are a part of creation and that like them we return to the Source.
Tasha Halpert |
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Heartwings Love Notes: Fear Itself |
Tuesday, April 09, 2013 (00:36:16) |
Heartwings says, "Like moon shadows, fear looms largest in least light."
A friend of mine is afraid of a bully that has been saying things about her to others. When she tells me about this I answer, "The more afraid of her you are, the more difficult it will be to get over her bullying tactics. You know what she says isn't true, so why are you fearful?" She will agree with me, and then in another conversation will go on to say, "But do you think she will...?" It is difficult for my friend to let go of her fear.
This is because part of us is still little. No matter how old we are or how "grown up" the child we were is still in residence. We don't just leave all of our selves behind us as we out grow them. Like clothes that no longer fit, they hang in the closets of our minds to remind us of who we once were. Sometimes they give us the illusion that they still fit and that we are still as vulnerable as we were way back then. Sometimes they make us forget we know better.
The belief in the fear is what gives it power over us. Children are great believers. The persistence of Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and other childhood fantasy figures is a reflection of the power of their belief. The charm of that belief often does not disappear when the belief erodes. It can remain and remind us to be generous and to celebrate with a child's heart whenever we wish to recapture the feelings of joy and happiness our childhood beliefs evoke.
Yet the bogeyman also exists: the collection of fears, regardless of origin that once made us shiver in the dark and hide under the covers is also still active. Fear looms largest in the shadows of "might be" and "what if." When we were children perhaps a kind parent reassured us and rid us of the fears. Now we must do this for ourselves, and we can. What has not happened need not happen, and most likely will not, especially if we give no power to that belief, but instead comfort ourselves with the thought that all is well and likely to remain so.
May you turn your back on your fears and your face to the joy that awaits you.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . To watch us on TV go to Domestic Tranquility 1 on YouTube. If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Lovenotes 563: Resurection, Rebirth and Renewal |
Monday, April 01, 2013 (01:11:00) |
Heartwings Love Notes 563 Resurrection, Rebirth and Renewal
Heartwings says, "The season of rebirth in the world is a reflection of the renewal in our hearts."
In days gone by people would gather to bring in the spring, their hearts focused on the hopes for fertility and a return of growth to their gardens and herds. The legends of Persephone, the stories of Easter, even the Passover stories all in some form reflect elements of rebirth, resurrection and renewal. When people had different theories about nature and its workings, it was thought that by gathering and celebrating their rituals, the celebrants were actually helping to affect the change of seasons.
Today in our sophistication we believe we know how nature works and so celebrate the spring with our rituals as a symbol of our personal renewal, as a form of family tradition or perhaps by inclination. Church attendance, new clothes for a new season, the acknowledgement of another opportunity to begin again, or of what our ancestors did are all aspects of how we make the conscious changeover from the sleep and cold of winter to the awakening of life that spring stirs in the landscape. These rituals are important and meaningful.
Yet the sight of a blooming crocus contributes to a lift in my heart. Shopping for a new garment helps me to bring spring into my heart as I express my own sense of blossoming into the new season. Rituals are important to us humans. As we participate they urge us to acknowledge the change. They bring about a desired effect--the expansion into renewal that burgeons within us and is so welcome after a winter of contraction and cold.
The energy around budding trees is more vivid to my sight when I already feel the energy rise within me. Which comes first? The rise of my own "sap" the vitality that nourishes growth, or the sun shining on a crocus or on the tree branches? There may not be a scientific answer to this, nor need there be. All hearts lift at the birdsong that sings in the season of spring. I participate more fully when I engage in my appreciation and celebrate with the rituals that are dear to my heart.
May you enter fully into your own blossoming bringing spring into your heart.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . Find us on Facebook both under our own names and under our combined ones where you can check out our TV show, Domestic Tranquility on Facebook. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 563 Doing My Best |
Sunday, March 24, 2013 (20:42:15) |
Heartwings says, "You can do no better than your best, no matter how good or even bad that may be."
Learning something new can be daunting, yet it is my belief and I've read evidence to the prove it that one of the keys to keeping the brain in good shape is acquiring new skills. Like most, I fear I am lazy when it comes to learning new ways to do things or using new tools for what I used to do with old ones. If the old way or tool works, why do I have to learn or deal with a new one?
This is especially true when it comes to electronic devices. The technology of today can be a source of feelings of inadequacy to say the least. The youngest of school aged children know more than I do about them. I have evidence of this also, as do most of you I am sure. Still, I don't like to think of myself as cowardly, or as avoiding an opportunity to learn a new skill, so when there was a need for someone to do it, I volunteered to video the Grafton Fine Arts and Music Festival.
Because I am a producer for Grafton Community Television I was able to borrow one of the portable cameras that are for the use of those that have taken a course with the studio and been certified to use them. Over the years I have made most of my shows in the studio in front of a camera. It has been quite a few years since I have done any of my own shooting. I was somewhat dubious as to how well I might do, however, I decided I wouldn't shrink from this chance to do something I had not done before .
I wish I could say that it all went very smoothly and I had a wonderful time. The instructions from the patient station manager were clear and helpful. However, this particular camera is an excellent model for someone who has had a lot more experience than I, and I had to keep calling him up with issues and problems he could not have known would occur. When I sit down to edit what I have filmed, I'll see how I did. However, I am sure of one thing: I did my best, and regardless of results, I am glad to have had the experience.
May you fine joyful ways to achieve new skills.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 562: A Feast for the Heart and Mind |
Sunday, March 17, 2013 (22:31:00) |
Heartwings says, "In order to keep growing we must feed ourselves with new ways to do and be."
We had been looking forward to this for several months, and I was fearful bad weather might prevent our trip, however there was no problem. This past week Stephen and I drove to Maryland to the Sacred Space conference. A host of spiritual paths were represented, all with their own unique ways of expressing their dedication and wisdom and of sharing it. There was also much wonderful knowledge as well as wisdom to be had as we attended the many lectures and workshops on a variety of helpful subjects.
It was nice to be away from our familiar surroundings and routines. It was enjoyable to meet new people of like mind and heart, gathered from all around as well as far away for this annual event. Most special of all was the opportunity to meet a friend with whom I have been corresponding for nearly twenty five years, yet had never actually set eyes on. We even arrived at the hotel simultaneously and had rooms across the hall. What serendipity!
Highlights of the conference included ceremonies conducted with grace and professionalism, a large room with tables where people offered their goods for sale, and interesting lectures and workshops that took place throughout the conference, which stretched from Thursday to Sunday. It was not easy to choose which one to attend from the four presented at once, from morning to night depending on the day. Opportunities to mingle with new friends made there were a welcome bonus.
We had not been to anything like this conference in many years. In addition, in the past we were often presenting rather than simply attending. It was relaxing to just join in without any obligations. As I think back on this conference, my eyes are filled with memories of the bright faces there and my heart overflows with the many gracious opportunities to learn and grow. Watching and listening to the teachers as they shared their wisdom and experience, I participated in a feast for the heart and mind that will remain with me always.
May you discover ways to fill your head with wisdom and your heart with joy.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 561: Getting Ready |
Friday, March 15, 2013 (00:33:56) |
Heartwings says, "Preparations are based on expectations."
Even though I usually advocate not having expectations, sometimes they're useful. Some months ago Stephen and I signed up for a Sacred Space Conference in Maryland. The time finally arrived for us to go. A couple of days before our departure I began to think of what might be important to bring on the trip. The difficulty was that I hadn't been to a conference of just this nature and didn't really know what to expect.
I got out the clothes I wanted to wear and piled them on the bed. I wanted to bring things I can mix or match, and that can be a bit difficult to plan without knowing how things will actually be. Because we are going to Maryland, the weather may be warmer. On the other hand, snow is predicted--a freak late season storm. However, it could also veer off and go somewhere else.
At least we are taking the car, so it doesn't matter how much I have. I needn't worry about extra airline fees for baggage. Then too we can take food. Being ideally gluten free means bringing things to eat that will keep our bodies strong and healthy. Because we will be at a conference at a hotel, if we didn't bring our own food we might otherwise be have no choice but to eat at the hotel. That might be nice, or it could be awful. Certainly it would be expensive.
One of the main reasons we are going is that one of the chief speakers is Paul Beyerl, a dear friend I have know and corresponded with for a long time, yet never met in person. He publishes a newsletter called The Unicorn in which my poems and stories have appeared for many years. He is also an herbalist, an astrologer, and the author of a good number of books on that as well as on herbs, crystals, and related subjects.
I do expect to have a wonderful time at this conference, and surely I will learn much that will be helpful and useful to me in time to come. Most exciting of all will be the opportunity to meet new people with interests similar to mine and share time and energy with them. Then too it will be fun to be away from my normal routines. So I am preparing as best I know how, and soon I will know how well prepared I am.
Whatever your expectations, may you find joy in every day.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 560: Getting Engaged |
Monday, March 04, 2013 (02:46:34) |
Heartwings says, "Getting engaged is a special experience."
After nearly thirty three years of marriage, Stephen and I finally got engaged. Stephen presented me with a diamond that had been his grandmother's, which we had set in a new setting. I am so happy to wear it next to my wedding ring on the third finger of my left hand. It looks very sparkly there. I find my eye drawn to it as I go about my day.
Being engaged means being in touch, combining energies, experiencing the give and take of relationship. While there are lots of romantic notions about "getting engaged" its true meaning has more to do with deepening within a relationship than anything else. Normally it is the prelude to a wedding--one friend did ask us if we were going to get married again. I said, "no, once was enough."
I loved our wedding. We were married on a sunny July day beneath a huge beech tree, with family and friends around us. I remember someone asking if we were going to have a tent and I said no, God would see to it that it didn't rain on our wedding day. Of course it didn't. At the time, Stephen had given me an engagement ring, but not a diamond. And that was fine with me. Stephen, however had always wanted me to have a diamond.
Over and above the traditional interpretation of getting engaged, there is the importance of the diamond. The giving of a diamond is a promise of more than love, friendship and commitment, it speaks of forever. The diamond is the hardest jewel of all, it will sustain when other stones crumble. The promise is about lasting. The symbolism is about forever.
When this stone turned up among a small collection of keepsakes Stephen had from his grandmother, he was excited to have it set in a ring for me. Back when we spoke our wedding vows, we had changed the wording from "'til death do us part" to "forever and ever." The minister said, "do you know what you are saying?" we said "yes we do." The new ring on my finger is a bold and beautiful statement of that promise. In its sparkle is the light of our everlasting future together.
May you find joy in whatever engagements you may experience.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes, or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . If you have comments or questions, please email me. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 559: Wouldn't It Make Ya Tired! |
Monday, February 25, 2013 (17:13:58) |
Heartwings says, "When you begin a task you never know where it will lead."
My mother had a favorite saying. "Wouldn't it make ya tired?" she would remark with a laugh and a shrug. This was usually followed by a tale of woe or at least of an unexpected difficulty. My mother was a great one for telling stories of triumph and loss. Many of her stories did not have happy endings, but they did detail some triumph of overcoming on her part.
I thought about this saying of hers as I realized that my search for the ingredients and recipe for Dr. Chen's Healing soup was going to result in considerably more effort than I had planned. It seems there is a leak somewhere under my sink. I am not sure where it is, and I have not yet figured it out, however I ended up removing the entire collection of bottles, jars, sponges and cleaning implements that resided there.
Because the cardboard box I had used to hold these things was soaked and starting to disintegrate, I went in search of a more durable container and found one. I then began replacing items. In the process I found the soup ingredients and the directions and set them aside.Finally, the work done, I began reading the list of ingredients and adding them to the large pot of water where I had already placed the chicken.
As I added them, I smiled to think that regardless how unexpectedly it had happened, I was happy to have reorganized the cupboard under my sink.
Sometimes it takes a small disaster to accomplish what normally gets neglected until something happens to prompt it. The water began to boil, and as I smelled the fragrance of the soup with its multitude of herbs, I gave thanks for this very special opportunity.
May you find many opportunities within unexpected happenings.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
Dr. Chen's Special Soup
These ingredients may be found in Oriental food stores or on the Internet. They make a lovely soup.
1/2 of a chicken
8 cups water
8 red dates
6 pieces astralagus root
4 slices ginger root
1/4 cup American ginseng root
2 sticks cinnamon
2 Tablespoons red berries (barberries) dried)
Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour or so. After soup has cooled, Remove skin, bones and undesirable stuff. Remove astralagus and ginger root, add meat and leave in berries, dates and ginseng. Store soup in the refrigerator and reheat as needed. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 558: We Need Celebrations |
Sunday, February 17, 2013 (19:00:39) |
Heartwings says, "Celebrations are the bright blessings of our lives."
My children loved me to read to them. One of their favorites was an entrancing book by Charlotte Zolotow, charmingly illustrated by Garth Williams. Called Over and Over, it was about days to celebrate. Throughout the book the preschool child asked "What comes next?", and the mother would reply, sequencing the round of holiday celebrations that stretched through the year from the child's current birthday around to her next one.
Holidays, originally holy days, were organized around the changing of the seasons, planting and harvest and the worship of the various deities involved. Some, like Christmas and Easter are still part of our culture, while others like Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day have become important traditions that we enjoy, participate in and share with friends and family. As we take part in holidays they add a special meaning to our lives and refresh our spirits.
Holidays bring families together. They also provide advertising revenue for the media and commercial potential for merchants. "What comes next" can be easily seen in the stores as green shamrocks and Easter bunnies jostle each other for space on the shelves of department and drug stores and supermarkets. Many protest the commercialization of holidays, yet the decorations do alert us to the eternal round of celebration that comes with the twelve months of the year.
We have within us always the child who delights in holidays. These are important to our need for celebrations. They are vital times of relief from the stress and tension of business and daily life. In the cold and dark days of winter especially, Christmas and Valentine's day take on even greater significance because of the joy and happiness they bring. Like bright threads woven into a dark tapestry where bleakness predominates, they highlight and fulfill our yearning for joy.
May Your holidays bring you brightness when you need it most.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com. If you have comments or questions, please let me know. |
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Heartwings Love Notes 557: Valentine Love |
Monday, February 11, 2013 (03:29:01) |
Heartwings says, "Love is best both given and received without expectation."
The cold days of February seem like a strange time to celebrate love's warmth, yet the Celtic goddess Brigit is a fire goddess; being a smith is one of her talents. Since love may be tested in the fire of life, that makes good sense. The beginning of February in the Northern hemisphere is when the hours of light lengthen. This affects birds and along with other animals, they start to mate hence the emphasis on love of a romantic, sexual nature.
For me, Valentines day, coming as it did between Christmas and Easter, was quite exciting. I remember the expectations of it that I always had when I was small. They never were fulfilled the way I hoped. I wished for more Valentines, for a box of chocolates perhaps in a big red heart box. It didn't help matters that my mother disapproved of candy for young children; such things seldom appeared on Valentines Day. Perhaps that experience helped me later in life to be more detached from hoped for results.
Later my favorite valentines were those my children made for me when they were small. They were always so proud of their efforts, as was I. I kept them for years, and some of them I even affectionately returned to them when they were grown. When a small child says, "I love you," she or he does not expect to hear anything back, or to receive anything as a result of having said that. The love of a young child is unconditional. Perhaps that is why Cupid, or Eros, one of the gods of love is shown to be a cubby cherub. Cupid presides over the kind of love known as erotic. Valentines day is devoted to erotic or at least to romantic love.
Once on Valentine's day young single people drew slips of paper with a name of someone to be paired with for perhaps as long as a year. There were also numerous rituals, love charms, games and traditions associated with the day's celebration. Today, the stores are full of trinkets with hearts, and other simple gifts, but no love charms. Valentine cards now can be sent electronically but not anonymously as was once the custom. Valentine's Day may change outwardly, yet it remains about love, and love will never bring disappointment when it is given from a full heart and without expectation.
May you receive the valentines you wish for and enjoy those you give.
Blessings and Best Regards, Tasha Halpert
To read more Heartwings Love Notes or to sign up to receive them weekly, go to www.heartwingslovenotes.com. To see Stephen's paper paintings, go to www. stephenhalpert.com. For chuckles, and to read Stephen's funny columns, go to www.funnywrite.com . If you have comments or questions, please let me know.
An Important announcement: Stephens short story collection Abracadabra Moonshine and Other Stories has been published as an ebook. It is available for download to most electronic devices--Kindles, telephones and computers, etc. The link: Click here: Amazon.com: Abracadabra Moonshine and Other Stories |
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