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Snow Signaling Winter’s Arrival

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The first snow of 2018 in the DMV…

Snow…in early November has signaled seasonal changes all around me. As I drove into work and crossed the DC line the flurries thickened. The snowflakes became swollen with moisture and gently slid down the glass of Ms. Red. I could hear the pellets of sleet tap dancing in the silence of the morning. Traffic was light and I seized the opportunity to roll down the windows and listen…focusing on listening to the sound of the season rolling in. Seasonal weather silently arrived in the Nation’s Capitol and it was quite a surprise.

Snow has a calming affect on the first day. Adorning evergreen branches with a dusting like confectioners sugar. This was a vision that would most likely be seen in January. Predictions call for an early winter this year. Measurable precipitation is also in the forecast, if we believe the meteorologists..

Snow gracing the branches of the Gingko tree outside my office window…

As a child, my wish for my birthday was always the same – snow…and a lot of it. Mom would have been delighted today with the sight of this morning’s weather. I imagined hearing her say, “Teri…your birthday must be near because it is snowing outside.” My Mom’s voice is like music to my ears. I would quickly don my outside winter attire and bolt out the door to walk to school. Oh how I miss those days.

Mom would make grilled cheese sandwiches and double wrap them in aluminum foil with a baggie of molasses. Cooking hot dogs in the Hot Dog Hut, adding a touch of mustard on the roll with a sprinkle of onions , made me the hit of the cafeteria. The foil, always double wrapped kept these special lunches warm. Mom was a woman ahead of her time. Oh how I loved my mom’s lunches, even on a day without snow.

Snow has arrived for the season. How much or how little, we really do not know. What I do know is when the next weather event arrives, I hope it is a weekend. I will take Precious to the park and allow her to immerse herself in this seasonal gift called snow. I will wander in the woods at the break of dawn to capture the scene of a world at peace. Forest bathing in the bliss of the season and watching as Precious discovers something new will be just what the Doctor ordered.

Do you remember childhood memories of snow? Has this wintry mix caught you prepared or just embracing seasonal bliss? I am patiently crossing my fingers for a weather event on the last day of this month.

Happy First Day of Snow…

Teri

 

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Mental Restoration Via Gardening

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Up close and personal blooms. that emmitted an intoxicating smell that drew you in…

Mental restoration is very much needed in the world today. There are many ways one can pursue this thought process. As I go about my day, people often ask me why am I so happy. Mental restoration has played a very large part of my inner peace. I find mental restoration in nature. Sometimes I find it by just thinking about the mysteries of the garden. I usually find it as I am embracing the beauty that surrounds us.

With so much going on in the world, I spend a fair amount of time tuned out to the madness but tuned into nature.  I can wander aimlessly on a path or on a street and breath in the essence of trees.  When I see a beautiful plant, I can peer into its inner core and absorb the essence of its existence. This practice allows a moment of restoration and clarity.

A tree in the Luxembourg Garden, Paris, France 2016

For example, do you ever look up into the branches of a tree or do you walk past it? Do you ever stand still and look up at the clouds?Better yet, do you ever find a patch of grass and lay down and just look up to the sky? These are great ways to clear the mind and create more space for thoughts of restoring inner peace.

A few alternatives ways to describe restoration is to refurbish, renovate or to overhaul. With all of the negative energy that we are exposed, mental restoration should be done daily  – if not weekly.

Here are a few key ways to make mental restoration easy.

  • Make it a part of your daily ritual to go outside and breathe in the air around your home. NOT YOUR OFFICE. As the saying goes, home is where the heart is. Home should be the one place where true mental restoration should take place.
  • Garden. Simply stated, you don’t need a big plot. You can use a pot – inside or out. One can create a menagerie of plants or a pot. Simple is best, as this should not be a chore, but an act of interacting with nature. Taking care of something to bring you joy.
  • Collect things in the garden or in the woods that capture your attention. Place this artifact where you can look at it and remember how you happened upon it. Does it mentally take you back to that place? Does it refresh and restore your mind when you look at it?
Lotus – Beautiful blooms rising high above the less than perfect environment..

Find that special place, that special corner of the world that you can mentally hold onto.  Close your eyes and pause there – often and repeatedly. When you repeat this exercise, mental restoration will become easier and easier. Even if you are not a gardener, learn to find one thing in nature that you can embrace. Nature is free. There is no cost to look up and notice awesome branching of a tree that catches your eye. To look into the depths of a bloom and notice it’s inner beauty costs nothing at all.

My Dad used to tell me in his own way to just be still. To allow my mind to rest and just be. Wandering through my mental garden gave me this joy. The ultimate way to restore myself mentally when the energies of the world are not loving and kind. I can sit in the garden and just be – no weeding, no watering, no deadheading.

When people on the street are tuned on to devices, I often wonder what is so important. If they just paused to look up, embrace their surroundings, what a beautiful gift of mental restoration that would be.

Off to practice a bit of mental restoration,

Teri, Cottage In The Court

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