Recall the last conversation in which you spoke from the heart.

Think of the last time you listened with so much awareness and presence that you truly felt what the other person conveyed to you through words.

When is the last time you maintained eye contact long enough to glimpse the soul and true feeling of the person across from you, not diverting your gaze out of societal propriety?

Forget the e-mails, the Twitter, the insincere chatter and texts of your day and seek out what is truly meaningful in relationships — we have to genuinely relate.  Our souls need contact.

Our recent ice storms left many without electricity, many without heat.  Neighbors came together and helped each other, visited with each other; they connected.

In our Women’s Leadership Circle curriculum we’re using in our women’s spirituality group at church, the meat of the curriculum comes from the conversation that conveys our experiences, our observations, reflections from our heart.  No book, brochure or digital anything is going to replace the connection of souls sharing in Spirit.

Many lost or man-made electricity, but the current of energy that Spirit provides may have just been given a boost.  I hope your power is restored.

I *love* Scrabble (which is trademark protected and copyrighted, I’m sure).  Though the temperature rose well over freezing, the kids are not excited about going out in the mud and falling icicles.  So, indoors it is, and with a parent-enforced t.v. ban in effect, the board games make a comeback.

A great one for us Scrabble lovers and pre- to early reading level kids is, of course, Scrabble Junior.  Ours happens to be a Disney version (all due trademarks there, too!).  I think it would be fantastic to make your own version, but we’ll wait until the next snow days to try that one.

And, a little letter fun (for mature audiences) came into play when we were telling our 8-year-old the difference between an “M” and a “W.”  The “M” for man is naturally boxy, and it has a little thing hanging down between its legs.  The “W” for woman, according to my husband, is curvy (at least slanted but definitely when in cursive) and has two things hanging down as in the breasts or butt cheeks.  My son was trying not to burst out laughing, chuckling the whole time, contributing to the conversation with his own artistic observations.

I’m sure he’ll never forget the differences again, and I’ll savor the humor and joy at laughing with him.

The kids are home for their second day, but at least today is a little more unplugged.  I let them watch movies yesterday thinking the power would go off, but it didn’t until almost midnight!

As the kids settle into various activities, I keep drifting to the windows, looking across the rooftops and at the now-splintered trees.  The evergreens seem to have more resilience, able to take the Dr. Seussian contortions, but the deciduous trees . . . ah, the poor trees.  There’s still the crack and snap and rush of falling ice to be heard as the melting water adds the proverbial straw, adding too much weight to the exhausted wood.  At least, that’s what I imagine.

There are times when I, too, let the elements accumulate upon me, surround me and weigh me down.  I sag and droop, losing enthusiasm and very nearly my hope.  When the sun does start to peek through the clouds, I feel the cold shroud falling away.  Sometimes I cannot help but absorb some of that which burdens me.  Sometimes it’s hard to let it all evaporate, allowing myself to eventually regain my stature.  Sometimes I want to just absorb it all and snap and break and fall away.

But I don’t.  I guess I’m more like the evergreens I see on the horizon.  I can take it, and I do.  I may be taken for granted at times, even by my very self, but it’s up to me to decide how I weather all storms.

The sun is always there.  We just have to have faith and remember to keep the windows open to our heart and soul.

With the ice growing thick outside, the kids have been confined to the house.  With my energy being sparse, fortunately the young ones are getting creative when left to their own devices.

Delving into the recycling bin and craft cabinets, the kids decided to make robot masks and costumes.  After their construction, we had a living room parade and contest.

Naturally, they each won an award for their creativity, concept and effort.

It is true that right now I’m not being incredibly creatively productive in an artistic sense; even my husband has commented on my lack of project productivity.  My time, it seems, has become devoted to other more immediate and practical necessities.  So, while I devote this day to wrapping up some communications, searching for a career and cleaning our home for a party tomorrow night, I feel it’s okay to mention that creativity takes many forms, and the potential for everything resides within us all.

As with the presidential address, we are reminded that we all have a responsibility to find solutions to our current crises.  Every family, every person has a role to play.  We have to teach this to our children. We have to show them how it’s done and hope that when they’re our age, they do it even better.

Seth Godin, a prolific writer with a savvy business/tech sense my husband adores, shares in his blog that we all have the potential to achieve the amount of success we desire  . . . we just don’t want to.  Ouch.  Personal responsibility.  I have to tap my vein of gold.  I have to make it work, find how best to use my talents.  I have to put the pieces together.  Or, I could not and complain that the Universe is working against me.  But is it really?

It’s time for us all to be truly creative, accept our responsibilities and find what works to fulfill what we truly need.  Maybe it’s what we need that needs evaluated.

For those of you willing to push the spiritual envelope, I’ve found something that you may like (or not) and that you may not know about (or may already).

It’s called The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark.  The author, Sera Beak, is a kindred spirit with a lot more funk than I have and not as many little people running around her.  Take a look around her website.  Check out the book.

It’s not for the faint of heart.  Put on your black leather high-heeled boots and get back into the spiritual journey, bearing in mind that this book was written for the 20- to 30-somethings in 2006.

Let me know what you think.

There are lots of reasons to be happy today, not the least of which being because today holds monumental significance.  One of the reasons for us happens to be because of the fifth birthday of my third child.  We no longer have any babies in the house, though the youngest will claim the role any day.

We didn’t go all out and make all the materials from scratch; it’s a box cake mix and pre-made icing.  It’s the love you mix in with it all that counts!

So, wherever your creative bliss finds you today, whether it’s sending a birthday card to a loved one, stitching something hopeful or figuring out how to watch t.v. while keeping up with Facebook all at once, may your day be as sweet as ours.

First of all, I hope everyone has a chance to recall why today we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I also hope that you take some time today to reflect on what your dreams are, at all levels.

Can you remember what you dreamed last night?  What have your night dreams shown you about your life and lessons?

What are your dreams for yourself and your family in the future, near and far?

What are your dreams for humanity, for our world?

Not all of us will have dreams like Dr. King.  Not all of us will have a hope so intense, a will so driven, as to devote our lives to a Cause.  When the fuel for our work is grounded in a passion, based on a dream, a hope, it takes a special person indeed to follow through.

Think of your dreams again.  Are you working to fulfill those dreams?  Are the dreams already fulfilled and you living the dream?

If your dream were for all to be created equal, would you say we are living the dream, or is there still work to be done?  Surely, Dr. King’s life was not in vain . . . and neither is yours or mine.

This is an extremely loaded question.  There are many levels to a person’s well-being.

What I’m wondering is if you’ve given thought to your own happiness of late.  How do you define being “happy”?

When I was in high school, my senior year I gave posters to some of my closest friends, duplicating by hand 365 reasons to be happy around and around the posterboard.  I don’t know if they still have the posters tucked away somewhere, rolled up in a closet, or if they trashed them upon one of their many moves.  I wish I had kept that list.  I’d like to look it over, see which ones still apply 10+ years later.

I think I’m due to make a revised list.  Feel free to post a comment adding your reasons.  When we get to 365, I’ll make a separate new post with 365 reasons to be happy.

By feeling happy, I mean having an overall sense of well-being, feeling in accord with yourself, others and the world, following the “right” path.  For me, it’s that overcoming rush or shiver that spills forth, and I could just sing out in operatic song “life is so good!” if, indeed, I could sing in opera (which I can’t and don’t).

I’ll get us started with five:

1. Watching my healthy, sleeping children.
2. Belly-laughing about something my husband has told me.
3. Finding a rainbow with the family — bonus if it’s a double rainbow.
4. Having no late fees, penalties — bills paid in full, on time.
5. Helping a mother recognize her own accomplishments.

Like I said, feel free to add yours in the comments.  I’ll add some, too, and when we reach 365 (or more), I’ll make a new post.  You have reasons to be happy; share the love!!

My husband’s birthday is in May, and I’m glad he told me what he wants now since it may very well take until then to knit this monster.  Of course, if I had a time traveling phone booth, it would be a lot easier.

Pick your season, and duplicate your own Dr. Who scarf thanks to the diligence and work shared at the site.  You have to understand that my husband is 6’5″.  To have a scarf that hits the floor and loops at the knees, we are talking around 20-something feet long!  I told him I could knit it and then piece it together for a small throw.

I’ve already signed up for Netflix.  Now, to buy some yarn (I think KnitPicks may be my best resource in that department) and any excuse to buy some new needles.  Let the knitting begin!

(Don’t expect photos until May!!)