The Grass Is Green Enough

In 1854, Henry David Thoreau published his famous memoir, Walden Pond.   The theme centers on simple, self-sufficient living in the midst of nature. For over two years, Thoreau lived by himself in a cabin he'd built by Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts.  "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life," says Thoreau,  "to live so sturdily and Spartan like as to put to route all that was not life..." I can relate. As I sit on our 36-foot Islander here on D-Dock at Marina May, I can't help but think about those words written two centuries ago. Deep down, I want to cut away everything that weighs me down and simplify my life, too. Here on the boat, that's not hard to do. After all, there is less than 200 square feet of living space. Just the necessities: inside the cabin is a bed, a table, two little couches, a tiny bathroom, stove, kitchen sink, storage for pots and pans, a space heater and an ice box. There are only...

I just love a good book! Especially when it offers encouragement and helps me draw closer to God. The first book I read this year was  My One Word: Change Your Life With Just One Word , by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen.   The "My One Word" project is something that Ashcraft has been doing at his church for several years. The concept is quite simple: do something for the year about just one thing  - instead of nothing about everything. So, my homework assignment was to choose just one word that represents what I want God to do in my life and in my heart, then focus on it for an entire year. So, to start 2015, I chose the word HOPE. (I figured it was the perfect choice, since 2014 ended in a puddle of hopelessness). I'm amazed at how many scriptures there are about hope. My key verse is Psalm 33:22: "Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone." Every time I pick up my Bible, I come acro...

I just love opening up a brand spanking new notebook with blank white pages just waiting to be written in. That’s how I feel on New Year’s Day. For about a millisecond, my whole year is spread out before me, and I haven’t made any mistakes yet. I determine that I will do better. I will save money, lose weight, exercise, clean my room, say nice things, be helpful, and pray a lot. But then I get out of bed, and it all goes downhill from there! January 1, 2015 wasn’t any different. I got to reading and forgot that I’d started cooking an omelet. Let’s just say it was a bit crunchy. Then I said something irritating to my husband … (and that was all before 8:00 am). The only exercise I got was walking back and forth to the refrigerator. I don’t think I really helped anyone (though I did fold Don’s laundry). All in all, it was a pretty poor effort on the perfection scale. It got me thinking about a little accident that happened to my family room carpet a couple months ago. I’d finally go...

During the month of December, I read the book, Wild , by Cheryl Strayed.   I won’t say that I enjoyed it.   Not even a little.   Truth is, I had to force myself to finish it.  ( I just HATE wasting my hard-earned money on books that I bought on a whim after reading a rave review).   Wild is the true story of a young woman’s journey hiking more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Coast Trail - all by herself, with zero hiking experience. The book is gritty and harsh and shocking at times.   Definitely not warm and fuzzy! On the other hand, I embarked on a warm and fuzzy journey of my own during the holiday season. It was a journey to the fabric store.   I bought several yards of soft, fuzzy fleece (sailboats, SF Giants, SF 49ers) to make no-sew blankets for all the boys in the family.   The week before Christmas, I made a total of five fleece blankets, which involved cutting and tying about a bazillion knots. ...

Thank you, Patti LaBelle, for releasing one of the best pick-me-up kind of songs ever written back in 1985:  " New Attitude” “I'm feelin' good from my head to my shoes Know where I'm goin' and I know what to do I tidied up my point of view I got a new attitude…” As my year comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting.  I ’ve looked at photos.   I’ve skimmed my journal.   All in all, I’ve come to one conclusion: I need a whole new attitude!! Unlike the song, I haven’t always known where I’m going, or what to do.   Heck, most of the time I felt like I walked around in the dark and continually stubbed my toe.   I started this new blog (The Grass is Green Enough) because I wanted to focus on contentment and gratitude.   That was in August.  I guess it was a whim, and I petered out before I even wrote another post.   That about sums up my year.   Very.   Petered.   Out.   So, 2015, my goal is to keep aiming for that new...

con·tent·ment No un \kən- ˈ tent-mənt\ : the state of being happy and satisfied : the state of being content Happiness and contentment. Of course, we all want to experience these things. Right? But sometimes that's a lot easier said than done. Is happiness dependent on what we have, or what we do, how we look, or how we feel? According to the Mayo Clinic, the bulk of what determines happiness is personality and — more importantly — thoughts and behaviors that can be changed. Well, that's encouraging. In other words, we can learn to be happy! No matter what our circumstances. Many people think that happiness comes from being born rich or beautiful or living a stress-free life, but the reality is that people who have wealth, beauty or less stress are not any happier than those who don't e...