Reflections On Sunrise

“Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t !!”
~ Proverb

Our gray skies have passed, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a beautiful summer day here in the VI. TGIF !!

The past few days, I’ve spent pulling together my finances. And in doing so, I was reviewing some historical statistics which I keep for the villa. It brought to light the fact that I had dropped one of our listing agents a few years ago, one which didn’t seem to be performing as well as the others. Well, it turns out that the few extra bookings they provided are exactly equal to the drop we’ve been experiencing. Statistics are wonderful things! So I went out and added back our listing there, plus another commissioned agent. A proverb I often refer to in business is “you have to spend money to make money.” Fingers crossed that business will be on the upswing for next season !! read more

“I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood.”
~ Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

Well, my bad mood is gone, although the forecast is calling for gray skies today, as a tropical wave quickly moves on through.

Where my bad mood went, it’s hard to say. Taking a morning nap with the cat helped. I worked on a project that I’ve been putting off – (why ruin a good mood with yucky work?) -But just getting started on it, I feel a sense of relief. I’ll have it behind me soon. I made a Moroccan Stew for dinner which filled my home with a wonderful, exotic scent: Cinnamon, take me away! Cinnamon is often used in aromatherapy as a physical and emotional stimulant. Researchers have found that it reduces drowsiness, irritability, and the pain and number of headaches. Instead of browsing Facebook after work, I started a new novel and left the TV off all day. Each one of these little things helped in a big way. read more

“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.”
~ Jesse Owens

This morning – as a result of a cat fight and more media negativity – I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Even the sunrise didn’t seem so happy this morning ….

“The wrong side of the bed.” Did you know that this saying originated in Roman times, where it was considered bad luck to get out of bed on the left side? read more

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
~ Barack Obama

Changing my alarm back to 5:30 was delightful. There’s nothing better than waking up on your own, at the crack of dawn. With your cat at your feet, returned from the vets 🙂

Everything felt sort of slow motion this morning. And as I looked through the photos I shot, it was hard to say whether this morning was about the sunrise, or the clouds.
Life is like that … So much of either this or that. Right or wrong. Black or white. read more

“It is better to travel well than to arrive.”
~ Buddha

The first few photographs of dawn this morning were spectacular, with brilliant red and white clouds against a bright blue backdrop. I thought surely one of these would be the photo for today … Couldn’t get much prettier.  But as I sat, and contemplated, amazingly, the sky gave way to the echos of my thoughts.  The arch in the clouds, became the pearly gates to heaven …

Yesterday, I had guests arriving here at the villa, so per usual, I loaded up my iPod with a couple of podcasts to listen to while I cleaned. I was intrigued by the title of the selection at Audio Dharma, entitled “Meeting the Heavenly Messengers.” I was grateful to listen, to get the thoughts of the Tryvone Martin case out of my head. I’m appalled at the media circus. read more

“Normally we do not like to think about death. We would rather think about life. Why reflect on death? When you start preparing for death you soon realize that you must look into your life … now … and come to face the truth of your self. Death is like a mirror in which the true meaning of life is reflected.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche

Gosh, what a beautiful morning! It’s been a while since I had a difficult time choosing my photo. And I owe this little slice of heaven to Spencer, as I had fallen back into a slumber, and he nudged me a few minutes before the sun broke atop the horizon. read more