A Simple Strength

In moments of hard times (and there will always be hard times), do not fear...

If you do, you're mother will call you out on it.

A very wise woman recently sent me the following quote to ponder upon and live by:

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. 

                                                                                                       ~Henry Ford            

A Simple Hot Cocoa

Neither my husband nor myself are much of a tea/coffee drinker, so when it comes to the warm comfort of a delightful drink, hot cocoa is our generally our choice.

The fact that I didn't come up with the following before disappoints me.

Ingredients in store bought regular hot chocolate:
sugar, corn syrup solids, vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated coconut or palm kernel and hydrogenated soybean), dairy product solids (from milk), cocoa processed with alkali, calcium carbonate, and less than 2% of salt, cellulose gum, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, guar gum, skim milk, sodium aluminosilicate, mono- and diglycerides, artificial flavors, sucralose. (made on equipment that also processes soy and wheat)

(add to milk and enjoy)

Ingredients in our homemade simple hot chocolate (organic optional):
cocoa powder, sugar

(add to milk and enjoy)

We specifically use organic cocoa, organic pure cane sugar, and organic fat-free milk. (My husband likes his with a dash of (organic) vanilla extract.)

I'm slowly realizing, better late than never, that there are so many ways we can simplify the products we use, produce, and ingest....all without sacrificing any of the "simple" satisfactions.

                           "The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink (cocoa) permits a man to walk for a whole day without food."

-Montezuma, Aztec Emperor (c. 1480-1520)

A Simple Silence

My father recently went on a "Vipassana", which translates to "insight into the nature of reality". He has been known to do this from time to time, but I've only recently began to understand why. While this meditation can be practiced through a variety of techniques, I find one specifically astounding. Along with nearly 17 hours of meditation, those who choose to go on this journey are asked to observe a "noble" silence. This is the silence of the body, the speech, and the mind. I used to go crazy trying to consider what 10 days would be like without speaking or being spoken too. Now, I think going on a Vipassana would be a real treat.

Can you remember the last time you went 24 hours without your cell phone? I definitely can't. The days that I tell myself to shy away from over communicating, someone will call as my own personal oath of technological silence is destined to be broken. Email, facebooks, cell phones, iphones, twitters and texts have turned our society into an over-communicating frenzy (as she typed on her Google hosted blog).

You don't have to meditate and you don't have to be far from your phone, but if only for an hour...treat yourself to a "simple" silence. You'd be surprised at how little you will have missed.

                              “See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”

-Mother Teresa

A Simple Thought

I had a lot of ideas about what to write today, but I found myself saying something to my husband that I realized would be perfect:

"You can only do the best you can with what you're given."

I said this to him a few times today, as we're both under quite a bit of pressure professionally. Partly, of course, I said this hoping that I would believe it myself...and to my surprise, I did. When things get really difficult, I ask myself, "What's the worst that could happen?" I could lose my job, my money, my academic good-standing, but could I lose something really important to me? My health? My happiness? My family?

Sometimes we have to simplify our thoughts and break things down into what's important and what's not. A professional goal may seem important temporarily. But if you don't achieve it, what's the worst that could happen? On the other hand, family is important. The worst that could happen in this case is that you lose the love and support of a loved one. I cannot think of a greater catastrophe.

So as we work hard in our roles and responsibilities as students, employees, etc, we should take a little pressure off and remember that our most important responsibilities are to ourselves and to our loved ones. Without a healthy and happy family, "simply" nothing else matters.

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich."

Thad Mumford, Writer&Producer

"Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts."

Author Unknown

A Simple Peace

                                                                             "When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place."

-Bhagavad Gita 

It's easy to get caught up in this race we call life. Errands to run, work to do, bills to pay...it never ends. It's when I realize this sad truth that I look at the habits of the ultimate minimalist who is able to lead a simple, stress-free life. Be it Gandhi or Buddha or another spiritual leader, many of them share the same simple habit - Meditate. 

Gandhi would meditate daily and spend hours on reflection and prayer. I'll be the first to admit - that kind of dedication isn't in the books for me right now. However, it doesn't take hours to allow the stress to melt away. Depending on how much time you have, it could take as little as five minutes at any time of day. Personally, I like to meditate when the sun is out. I often will meditate to the sounds of nature, or a soothing song. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what setting or sound. What matters is that you are releasing bad energy from the body. 

Often times when I meditate, I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth. When inhaling through my nose, I imagine a clean, clear stream of fresh air - full of positive qualities and good energy. This has now slowly entered my body through a strong and prolonged nasal inhalation. I give my body a second to appreciate and welcome this new energy. 

Upon exhaling through my mouth, I imagine that the good energy is "cleaning things out". The stream of strong air that I exhale is full of the negative energy, the stress, and the bad thoughts that you want to melt away. I continue this cycle of cleaning my body and ridding it of what I call "toxins", until I feel refreshed and full of positive, clean, energy and thought. My mind is clear, and I am ready to take on whatever life has to offer. 

When you find yourself in the clutter of life, try meditating, if only for five minutes. Practice meditation in your own special way that works for you. When you meditate, you understand the "simple" peace that life has to offer...you just have to find it for yourself. 

                                                  "A racing mind that react sensitively to little things indicates thinking that has lost its spiritual strength. Meditation restores that power." 

- Innerspace

A Simple Dance

Due to some technical difficulties, I couldn't post this blog yesterday:

Good times may come and go, but rock and roll is here to stay! Okay, here's what I mean: There are days when you get so much good news, you're beyond yourself. Although life must go on as usual, it is so important that you cherish those moments, if only for five minutes, because before you know it, the moment has passed and the complexities of life cloud over. Today, was one of those days.

My husband and I are in a race to accomplish some very critical professional tasks, both of which happen to land on the same day next week. Needless to say, the house is a mess, our food intake has been far from thoughtful, and from morning to evening we cram as much into one day of work as humanly possible. Today, we needed to continue this routine, celebrate a half milestone anniversary, and scream off the rooftops about some positive professional news we received.

I was elated with the receipt of the news. I was stressed about the amount of work that needs to be done. I was anxious about not being able to celebrate the day the way we normally would. And then I saw my husband.

I married a man so romantic, he puts Meg Ryan movies to shame. As I was involved in my moment of mixed emotions, my husband was walking toward me. He put one arm around me, took my hand, and began to dance.

It was at this very moment that I realized how much we really should live in the moment. Our day may have been hectic as usual, but somehow we found those five minutes we needed to delve into our own "simple" celebration.

                                                                 "Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order."

                                                                                -Samuel Beckett, Writer (1906-1989)

A Simple Illumination

"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Oh, Thomas Edison, where would we be without you? In the dark? I think not!

As an involuntary member of the MVP (migraine victim party), I constantly find myself shying away from artificial light. Of course, we don't live in the simpler times when we could sleep as soon as the sun went down. When there is no sunlight left in the day, it's time for all those artificial lights to rise and shine.

I've recently discovered the wonder of candles. Of course, I've always kept them around the house, but I never took the time to light them. In my mind, they were always just for show. In no way am I admitting to working by candlelight, but I have found that the illumination of a candle nearby my work station is truly calming. Not because it is scented or looks nice, but because it's a product that doesn't want anything. It doesn't need to be filed or calculated, fed or cleaned. It just sits there, modest and glowing, reminding me of simpler times while I plow through piles of work.

There's something to be said about my philosophical understanding of a candle. The flame of a candle is beautiful in so many ways, while at the same time being about the size of my pinky nail. How can something so small give so much? From the small flame of one candle, I can light 10, 20, or 500 more candles, and my initial flame wouldn't lose a thing.

As members of today's society, we can give one day's work, and come home completely worn out. Give help to 50 people, and end up needing help yourself. It's like the man who started his life excited to be a scientist, and ended up 30 years later finding it hard to wake up in the morning and go to work. Why can't we maintain our childlike innocence and joy as we go through all the moments of life, good and bad?

In this world of iphones and flat screen TVs, I think we need to give some time to enjoying the "simple" things in life.
Take a moment, and light a candle.

                        "I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake."
                                                                                                           Mitch Hedberg, Comedian (1968-2005)