Enchantment of Being

When the weather is beautiful and warm, the air clear and clean it feels amazing to be alive.  A human woman on this planet with the capacity to grow, learn, change, be, explore, create, love.

Watercolor on watercolor paper
 December 2010

Sometimes as I go by people I send them a blessing.  Someone walking down the street with their child.  Someone homeless sleeping in a huddle on the ground.  I realize that I can choose to be pleasant or unpleasant, even when someone is telling me something I don’t like. 

I am enchanted with the beauty of the children I am surrounded by.  Each one is right now, right here.  It blows me away.  I get so tangled up in the past, the present and the future.  My mind is always going. I am trying to get it right on all fronts. The children are my teachers.  They remind me to stay centered and just be right here.

I am enchanted with art and poetry.  I love words. I love reading.

I have taken to reading a column in the New York Times entitled Modern Love.  Each piece is so well written and deep that I can’t stop reading until I have finished it. I originally thought each article was written by one author but they are submitted by different people. It has been a long time since I have been enchanted by a newspaper and the New York Times has captured my love.

I am enchanted with music.  I love to sing.  My mother says I shouldn’t (tone deaf according to her) but I do.  It speaks to me –everything but heavy metal.  I have a little repetoire of songs I sing with children.  I memorized these funny little jingles that have parts that a child can add to.  I sing on any occasion, if someone wants to sing, I want to sing – I’ll sing anywhere.  I have recently decided that I want to go a karaoke bar – and can’t believe I haven’t been. I have all kinds of music – music to go to sleep to, music to relax to, music to make me shake my booty, music that makes my heart open up and express divine love for everyone in the world.

Fall leaves in December

Nature inspires me.  When I see the ocean my heart skips beats.  Watching the whitecaps on a windy day, seeing the waves break on the shore – this vast endless body of salty healing water.  The leaves on trees that change color.  Driving down a street of trees changing colors just saturates my mind with beautiful rich golds, russets, foresty greens and orange.  Smelling the heady scent of paper white narcissus, lilac, sweet innocence of violets and roses lush, full and voluptuous. 

I am enchanted with the possibilities and prescence of beauty all around me.

Ojai Foundation - I just love this image
2005