Cactus & Kiwi

My shelter

July 31, 2016

"Don't judge others because they sin differently than you"

I'm not sure the origin of that quote but it speaks to me. Sometimes we tend to look at others as being flawed in a way that we would never be, but if instead we look at ourselves we will find flaws that we have that other people do not struggle with.

One thing that I grapple with is laziness and lack of motivation bordering on depression. Growing up I was always the spacey kid with her head in the clouds. I lived in my mind and I moved slowly in the "real" world. Even now I am great at coming up with plans, organizing lists, and dreaming up things I would like to do, but when it comes time to carry out those plans I feel overwhelmed to the point of being paralyzed. Perhaps it is a type of perfectionism ... if I can't do it right then I won't put much effort into it at all, or perhaps it's just a lack of motivation ... what's the point of it all anyway?

That is why I like to try different productivity hacks and mental tricks ... almost like personal social experiments. Some things that sort of work for me are cleaning to a timer, counting a number of tasks to perform, and giving up social media/internet usage every other day. In fact, what inspired this topic was a blog post by a friend of mine who just went on a week-long social media fast.

These sort of mental tricks help to a degree. The procrastination is still there, but with internet not an option for the day I am likely to spend my time on healthier habits like gardening, reading, playing guitar, drawing, and other hobbies. I may still not be doing the things on my to do list, but at least I'm passing the time with better things than Facebook!

But this post isn't really about all these productivity hacks. It is about not needing them at all. I have found that the times in my life when I have most seriously applied the process of Bhakti Yoga Meditation (specifically the prayerful chanting of God's names on beads in solitude), with sincerity and determination, that those are the times when I have noticed that I have the motivation to do the things that I need to do without struggle. It is as if I have gotten to the root of the problem and filled that hole in my heart so that I no longer need to just try to cover up the opening with band aids.

That's the the wonderful thing about meditation. I still struggle frequently, but when I do I recognize that it is a symptom of my not taking shelter in the Holy Names - the meditation upon God's names which is the heart and soul of Bhakti Yoga.

Although I hover on the brink of despair ... and depression and purposelessness threaten to plunge me into an abyss of darkness at every turn, I have hope, and I have shelter in the Holy Names of God. It is my wish that all of my friends will have this shelter too.

Learn more about Bhakti Yoga by clicking here.

it's been a while ...

July 05, 2016

So, it's been a little while since I've updated my blog. I actually have a handful of half-written blog posts but I have a tendency to overthink things and certain things about them made me not want to post them, or I had a vision of what they are meant to be like and they haven't reached that point yet.

I have to remind myself that I am doing this for fun and for a bit of a challenge. I am not blogging as a job or for money, so there's no need to be a perfectionist about my "content".

That being said ... you are left with this particularly boring post that contains nothing but my excuse for tardiness and a bit of humble advice for fellow bloggers: keep at it, and don't overthink it!

Have a good day! :)

Life

Four Burners

June 13, 2016

When looking for blogs as inspiration, I came across jamesclear.com, which is a blog about productivity and instilling good habits. It has a lot of good tips that are worth checking out, but I thought I'd talk about a recent topic I received from his mailing list - the Four Burners Theory.

From his website:

Imagine that your life is represented by a stove with four burners on it. Each burner symbolizes one major quadrant of your life.

1. The first burner represents your family.
2. The second burner is your friends.
3. The third burner is your health.
4. The fourth burner is your work.

The Four Burners Theory says that “in order to be successful you have to cut off one of your burners. And in order to be really successful you have to cut off two.”

He goes on to describe three ways to attempt to "bypass" the Four Burners Theory (read his entire blog post here) and I think my module of doing things has mostly fallen into the third category, having seasons in your life where you focus on different burners in each season.

In my early years of being an adult I began working and building my career skills set and had a close group of friends. I moved out of my parent's house so the family burner was put on low, and I was young enough to be able to afford to ignore my health.

Family: dim glimmer; Friends: high heat; Health: off; Work: high heat

After I got married and had a family of my own I found it nearly impossible to have a job on top of that, so the work burner was snuffed out, the friends burner was pretty near extinguished, and I had no time for my health. All three of those burners have been off or weakly flickering on and off for the past decade.

Family: rolling boil; Friends: very dim glimmer; Health: off; Work: off

Only after I turned 30 have I been able to face those other three burners and experiment turning the heat up on them a little bit. I have been studying to become a yoga teacher and doing more yoga, I started blogging, I have become more involved assisting and helping teach meditation classes, and I have been forced to address my health.

Family: steady boil; Friends: off; Health: turning the heat on; Work: warming up on very low

What burners do you have going right now?

Have you sacrificed any areas of your life to succeed in others? and if so, do you regret doing so?

Do you hope to one day be able to turn the heat up on a neglected burner in your life?

Let me know in the comments.

New Zealand

Stop and smell the ro.....cks?

June 06, 2016

New Zealand is full of beautiful beaches with stunning panoramic views ...... and that's not what this post is about.

This post is about the beauty that can be found at the beach when you step in a little closer and look at the textures and patterns all around.

These were all taken during a walk along Mahurangi Beach, about an hour north of Auckland.

I love the lines, swirls, and topographical patterns on these rocks which were all quite near to each other.
Do you see elephant skin - top right?

My favorite here is the light sandstone.

Nature is getting in on the trendy marble look that's so popular right now ... or wait ... I guess nature did it first!

Giraffe skin?

These ones are slightly ominous looking.

The pink rocks found in a little crevice was cool, but my favorite is the Jackson Polluck-esque painting on the rock (top middle), done by some artistic birds.

The shimmery gold shells (bottom left) were so pretty irl. Can you spot the bird tracks?

Moving a little away from the water we have some fabulous tree textures.

It's not so easy to spot in the photo, but top right is all about the faint foam lines drawn by the waves.

Humor

Wise Wise Words of Wisdom

May 12, 2016

Practical tip #001:

BUY A PRETTY TOASTER

Now, I know what you’re thinking ...

But I’m poor, and the stylish ones are expensive! ... :(

This one is only $10! .... :)

There’s no way I’m paying 3 or 4 times that for a machine that does the exact same thing! >:(

I know, I know

but ... JUST DO IT.

Why?

I'm glad you asked.

You see, that thing is going to sit on your countertop until it DIES ... and it may not die for a long, long, long time.

Trust me, the thrift store does NOT want your cheap-ass toaster, and it is a shameful, shameful waste (not to mention environmentally irresponsible) to just toss a working toaster in the garbage dump.

Ask yourself this now: do you really want to have THIS thing sitting on your countertop for six years with no signs whatsoever of conking out???

No, that's not a sailboat design it's just six years of melted bread bags imprinted on the toaster.

No

the answer is: No, you do not.

If you're still not convinced, think about it like this. Would you pay $10 for a vase that looked like this toaster?

Didn't think so.

But you’ll be looking at this toaster a hell of a lot more than any of the vases you own!

_________________________

There's a certain kind of wisdom that comes with being in the third decade of you life, and I am dedicated to bringing that down-to-earth, practical knowledge to you so you can learn from the successes and mistakes that I have made in my life.

~You're welcome!

Hygge & Warming Up to Winter

May 02, 2016

Now that Autumn is in full swing and the air is getting crisp, the days cloudier, and evening walks require bundling up in boots and coats, I have decided I must embrace this change of seasons.

It didn't come easily I have to admit, but what changed things for me was hygge.

I have a friend who lived in tropical Hawaii but was from the Northeast USA, and no, her name is not hygge …we'll get to hygge in a minute, be patient! My friend loved Hawaii, but she desperately missed true winters with snow, and icicles, and freezing temperatures that last for months on end, and all that miserable stuff.

I do like the snow. It snows in Arizona from time to time but it melts after an hour or two and doesn't take your fingers and toes with it. If I wanted more of it, say to go sledding, I would drive a half hour or so to the mountains and go sledding, then I’d drive back down to the hospitable world afterwards (or hospital ward if needed). The idea of being snowed in or shoveling snow off your driveway every morning sounds more than inconvenient, it sounds downright deadly to me!

I asked my friend once what on earth she could possibly like about winter, and her reply was hot chocolate by the fireplace, wrapping up in wooly blankets, toasting marshmallows, that sort of thing.

Now, I admit I am just slightly a teensy-weensy little bit of a pyromaniac, so the cogs started turning and it almost clicked in my head. Maybe there was something to this winter obsession after all!

It was some time after that when I first heard about the concept of hygge. Hygge (pronounced HYOO-gah) is a Danish word for a cozy, warm ambience often with good food and company. There isn’t really an English equivalent but it is basically a cozy, intimate environment.

Warming your toes by the fire while wrapped up in a snuggly blanket with a mug of hot spiced apple cider in your hands, a warm pot of soup and crusty buttered bread at the table, friends and family singing, sharing stories, and laughing, candles and lights twinkling, the scent of cinnamon lingering in the air, and a fire crackling in the stove - these are all hygge. These are the things that would get the Danes through their blistering cold winters, and in fact make them look forward to winter even!

Winter survival, I realized, is possible if I stop pining for warmth on the outside and instead turn inward to find warmth and light from within; and then share that warmth with others to light up the room like the night sky! It is a concept that finally resonates with me.

 From now on, I will not complain about the coming of winter, but look forward to the coziness and closeness that it brings to my home. I will string lights (never mind that Christmas on this side of the world is half a year away - in the Southern Hemisphere’s summer), I will throw cozy blankets on the couch, I will cook hearty meals, and I will gather my family to sing and call out the names of God who resides within the hearts of each and every one of us as the Paramatma (Holy Spirit). There is nothing more comforting and soothing to the soul.

I think I might just have a new favorite season!