Quotes of the Week from Me:

“Are you spending enough time?”

“Every stage of life offers new wisdom.”

“What is ‘understanding’ something?”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been.” – Winnie the Pooh

“Going back to the idea that the living body is like the flame of a candle, we can say that energies of life – in the forms of temperature, light, air, food, and so on – are streaming through us all at this moment in the most magnificently harmonious way. And all of us are far more beautiful than any candle flame.” – Alan Watts

“Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom.” – Theodore Isaac Rubin

Quick Optimism:

Habits and environments. Focus on those.

Questions of the Week:

Do you need to find simpler ways for experiencing enjoyment? Relaxation? Peacefulness? Believe it or not, it is not as difficult as you think.

Once you find them, do you spend enough time looking at them? Watching and feeling them calm you?

When the days and weeks speed up and your schedule is bursting at its seams, what do you incorporate into your day that creates moments of calm?

This week, for me, all the above came from lighting a candle. Two things. It was a rare occurrence that lighting the candle didn’t have to do with the lasting effects of changing a smelly diaper. And, I caught myself multi-tasking; I was trying to clean up toys and enjoy the scent and visual of the candle simultaneously. Which didn’t work very well.

Once the room was organized I sat on the couch. My plan was to read while the kids napped. I wasn’t sure if I had 15 minutes or 2 hours. Regardless, my plan was to escape the day a bit. But after racing up and down the stairs several times, finding toys I swear I have never seen before and doing laundry, I took a moment to sit and watch.

The candle had filled the room with the scent of vanilla pumpkin. A weird sounding combination, but it smelled good. Like the old saying, a watched pot never boils, I had been too busy to recognize the shift in the room. Thankfully this time it was a strong, but warm welcome once I noticed it dancing on the mantel.

If you are looking for more relaxation in your day, spend 5 minutes watching a candle dance, having a snack, or closing your eyes for a few minutes.

Enjoy a candle-lit Monday!