The Gift of Reflection

What does your soul reflect?  Photo Credit My Husband

Positive Pensées

Kathy King 

The Gift of Reflection

“Be a reflection of what You’d like to receive.  If you want love, give love.  If you want truth, be truthful. What you give out will always return.” 

Unknown

The Gift of Reflection.

To ponder, to mirror, to meditate. 

What is your mirror? 

What is your reflection?

What can others see through your looking glass?

If you were to look at the mirror of your soul would it be a beautiful sight to behold?

No one’s soul is perfect, that is a quite obvious fact. 

But would the expanse of your soul be a reflection of the good traits that humans possess?

A soul is the embodiment of all that we are made of. 

That is why we must take time to see what our reflection is made of. 

Reflect that which is good, noble, and of praise. 

So that you can continue to cultivate this reflection of glassy beautiful water with no haze.

The hazy bits are in the corner, they don’t take up much room.

The beautiful bits are a reflection that convey a most beautiful picture.

Of flowers swaying in the wind, announcing their vibrant colors. 

The sky is a beautiful shade of blue and the weather is not too hot. 

The perfect balance of the soul. 

That is where we need to set our hearts. 

When you think of the concept of someone having a soul, where does your mind immediately tend to think of?  Is it your spiritual part of yourself that in some belief systems is immortal? Is it emotional intensity or intellectual energy that is imparted both on a human level and on an everyday task level?  I would argue that souls are color blind.  Souls are the essence of us. That is why it is important to feed our soul a diet of edifying activities albeit through what we watch, what we say, what we read, who we surround ourselves with. That even flows over into what music we listen to. Music in some cultures is believed to be a great healer.  It is also regarded as food for the soul. It is part of our soular existence.  Think of our souls like our physical diet.  If you eat french fries, chocolate pies, hamburgers, chocolate, cookies, fatty meats each and every meal each day would we really be healthy.. or on another level even feel very good.  Of course not.  Diet is about balance.  As much as we are loath to say it.  While an occasional sweet or indulgence is fine a diet of indulgence does with great alacrity cause us physical and mental pain.  What do you feed your soul?  This is a very serious question.  A soul that is on a diet of negative thoughts, words, deeds, and even media will inevitably become murky and even stagnant in their purpose.  A soul that takes the time each day to meditate on positive aspects of life or read a scripture, even if it is for a moment, will dip into the murky waters that have set in and make them clean.  Sometimes the murky takes a few times of scrubbing to make those corners clean but the practice of cleaning our souls will over time produce a beautiful reflection of purposeful soular activity. As I caught a little bit of the news this morning I could not help but see the faces that were etched in anger. They were yelling, some were hitting one another, stomping on others.  Why? Well, as I have said before we live in a fallen world. If that is your diet, that is what your soul will create on the outside. It can’t be sustained.  C.S. Lewis is probably one of my favorite writers of all time.  One of his most poignant quotes was “You don’t have a soul.  You are a soul.  You have a body.”  That is why my dear readers it is imperative to feed our souls a good diet so that we can have a most beautiful reflection that shines from the inside out. 

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming Soon:

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Appalachian Allegory

The Gift of Leaving a Gift to Your Future Self

I like to look at this photo as a gift. A nice walk in NY on a beautiful fall day. 

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Leaving a Gift to your Future Self

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one!”

Brad Paisley

What is a future gift for yourself?

What could it be?

It does not have to be anything monumental, perhaps a small thought or quote for just you to see.

There may be days when you need the gift, particularly when times are hard. 

The present could be a fond memory to give you the little bit of temerity to keep on going when the day seems bleak. 

Cultivate a gift for your future self. 

Make it part of the recipe of your life. 

When it is time to open the gift, it will be right there for you to help you cope with life.

My husband has said to me many times over the years, “Did you leave a gift for your future self?” The first few times he said it I honestly was confused at what he was saying.  I asked him what that meant to him.  He explained that in life we get tired, we get bored, we get angry, we just have those days where we literally feel the phrase, “I got nothing.” That is the time you should pull out that gift to your future self.  For my husband, it would be organization. He is quite possibly the most organized person on the planet. If I do not know where something is located, he does.  His penchant for organization is both annoying and endearing. When he is weary and feeling down he has a “bug out bag” that has all his clothes cleaned and pressed, his toiletries ready precisely where they need to go and his shoes and socks ready to receive his feet. This concept made me ponder what could be gifts that we could leave for our future self when we just are exhausted, annoyed, angry, or any range of emotions where we need to take a step back?  Obviously your gift does not have to be organization.  Your gift could be a little basket with your favorite tea, a book, and some chocolate.  Your gift could be various quotes stashed all over where you live to remind you that you can make it through this. Your gift to your future self could be that prayer or scripture that gives your spirit a little boost. When we invest in ourselves particularly when you are low, this activity fills you back up so that in turn, you can give to others. I have a friend who constantly struggles with negativity. He constantly deals with trusting others to be good humans, so much so that he is unwilling to entertain new friends or even open up to family members who love him very much.  Recently he discovered the concept of leaving a gift for his future self.  For him, he starts his day with scripture, daily affirmations and positive thoughts through music. While he still struggles with his distrust of others, his attitude has markedly changed from where his emotions were 6 months ago.  For him, he had to give himself a few moments of gifts for his future self daily.  Find your future self gift, wrap it up and put it in a safe place for when you truly need restoration and respite.  I leave you with a quote from the Dalai Lama “If you feel burnout setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself.” 

Source:Good Housekeeping 

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming Soon:

Appalachian Allegory

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

The Gift of Clean Sheets

I took this at a Naval Base in Rhode Island.  It just reminds me of your mind after you spent time cleaning inside...  a beautiful canvas that can be built upon.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Clean Sheets

To be clean, what does that mean?

To be washed from dirt and impurities. 

To be refreshed and given a new scent that doesn’t contain the foul smells.

To be dried in the sun or dried with heat.

To make sure the item is free of germs.

What needs cleaning in your life?

What have you neglected for a long time?

Have you cleared your mind of constant negative thoughts?

Have you cleaned up your words?

Have you cleaned up your actions?

We all need a little cleaning to wash off the dust of daily life. 

So take a moment, do a little cleaning. 

This will change your actions. 

You know that feeling of laying down on freshly laundered sheets?  It feels amazing!  Maybe that is specific to our family but clean sheets are quite important. Having children in the military, they take clean to another level. Our twin boys attend a military college.  Each week their room is inspected for cleanliness.  The hangers have to contain exactly one finger length between each shirt or pants.  They have to own a footlocker for your miscellaneous items.  The floor has to be clean, the bathroom spotless.  If something fails inspection they get demerits. Pretty astounding, right?  Think about when you do not clean things in your home.  We are all guilty of this activity.  What happens?  The dirt, dust and grime build up because of neglect.  When you do finally reach the moment to cleanse and polish the items it takes twice as long to scrub, dust, sweet and mop the area.  Not only does this take extra time, you have an increased chance of getting sick because the dirt, dust, germs deteriorate air quality in your home.  If you have clutter everywhere what happens?  You trip and fall and in some cases get hurt.  I can hear you saying, “I hate to clean.” Agreed.  I know a handful of folks who like to clean but the necessity to clean never goes away.  Now, let us move this into our everyday life.  What happens if you do not take a little time to wash off and sanitize our thoughts and our spiritual life? We start to thrive off negative thoughts and emotions.  If you wake up in a negative mindset that sets the tone for your entire day.  Positive folks want others to be happy.  Even if their circumstances are vastly different.  Recently I read a quote that said, “It’s hard to be happy when you do not clean up or even throw out what is making you sad.” It is not always easy or even possible, but perhaps a little dusting off would help you make it to a better place mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Those of us who have kids, particularly a quiver full fought the battle of cleaning constantly with kids when they were little.  When our daughter was about 8 years old she was quite distraught because she could not find a particular stuffed animal that was important to her.  My husband and I walked into her room and it looked like a tornado had blown through not once but several times.  It was utter chaos. Our parenting style was we were not going to do everything for them but rather start helping them and guiding them and ultimately they finish the job.  We told her to start by picking things up off the floor.  Find the garbage and put it in the trash, put the clothes in the basket, etc. Our daughter took everything, clothes, stuffed animals, trash, everything and deposited said items onto her bed.  She came to us quite proud that she had “cleaned” her room.  We walked into her room and well, yes the room was clean but the bed looked like the tornado just picked everything up and put it on her bed.  In all of her “cleaning” she still had not found the all important stuffed animal.  We told her to perhaps actually take everything off the bed and put it in their special place.  After all, she will eventually have to go to bed and well, it would be hard to sleep on that pile.  “I’ll just sleep on the floor.” She said, with a sigh we were in for the long haul helping her clean her room.  We threw away the garbage.  Put the toys in their special place and what do you know?  Her important stuffed animal was at the bottom of the pile.  How many times do we chuck everything into a corner or pile our “dirty bits” on top of a metaphorical bed?  I know I am guilty of these actions a lot.  We all need to take a little time each week or each day to put on those clean sheets.  Clean out that pile of negative emotions, find that small sliver of clean and start to declutter our life. I would add in this particularly dark time in the world it is so necessary to clean those spiritual sheets.  Wash our minds, scrub our souls.  Pray for others.  I leave you with a witty quote from Lauren Bacall: “The best things in life are clean living, good works and big sapphires.  And not in that order.”

  My books are on Amazon:  

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Appalachian Allegory

The Gift of Guitars

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Frets

“The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is practice.”

Vladimir Horowitz

What is a fret?

A fret is a strip of metal on a guitar.

They make the most beautiful sound when the strings are added.

Melodies, harmonies, strokes and picks of pure beauty. 

Those frets turn into chords that folks can sing along.

The frets can play a Bach prelude and fugue that holds so much musical charm.

Frets on a bass guitar can keep the beat.

In order to use those frets and strings, you have to have calluses on your fingers to ease the pain.

If you do not practice and those calluses go away, you have to re-acquaint your fingers with those steel or nylon strings.

So when you hear the gift of frets don’t immediately think that you need to worry about all that life brings.

Frets are a gift that brings melodious strains and chords of pure beauty. 

Remember the playing, the practice all takes time and work. 

But when you come to play the music the reward produces much meaningful worth. 

As I was reading the news this morning… well, I just sighed.  I looked for a few minutes, read some articles and I had to put it down.  It is not that I am indifferent to the sheer suffering of others.  It is more of a, “Why are we humans so cruel to one another?”  I know that we live in a fallen world.  I know that for my part I can pray earnestly for those in peril.  But what can we do?  We can be better people.  We show care when there is none around us.  I know that this is must easier said than done but my goodness.  I wanted to share this quote by Ram Dass: “When you go into the woods and look at tress, you see all the different trees.  And some of them are bent, some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree, and you allow it.  You see why it is the way that it is.  You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way, and you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it, you appreciate the tree.  The minute you get near humans, you lose all that.  And you’re constantly saying: You are too this, or I am too that.  That judging mind comes in.  And so I practice turning people into trees.  Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”

The guitar originated in Spain in probably the 16th century.  The guitar is obviously more portable than a full orchestra or a piano.  The type of the instrument is a chordophone which basically means the sounds are made through the strings and the vibration of the wood.  The neck originally had about 4 strings.  Today’s modern guitar has 6 strings. Before playing the guitar the strings need to be tuned with set notes.  Otherwise the chords will not be in tune and basically in the words of my music professor “It will sound like a musical gobbly gook mess.” Suffice it to say tuning is important.  When playing the guitar (in my experience particularly the acoustic guitar), you have to maintain calluses on your fingers otherwise the calluses will go away and you will have to repeat the painful process of calluses again.  So, practice is quite important.  Reforming calluses is not a fun task.  I have let my calluses go way too much. The piano is my main instrument, however I do like to play from time to time. When you place your fingers on the fret to form a chord, you use your pick and stroke the strings and voila!  You are making music.  Also, Bach never specifically wrote pieces for the guitar but some of the most beautiful pieces of music were adapted for the guitar.  Why frets?  How does this relate to life?  Our life is a song.  Whether that day is a melancholy minor (sad sounding) key, or a resounding major (happy sounding), key.  Each day is played with notes of life.  Those notes make up the scale that plays the great melodies and harmonies of our life.  For example, we will use the key of D major as our life song.  The first note is D which could be determination.  The next E, it could be an eagerness to make a better day and life for yourself.  Now, next is F# you can face the day whether it be sharp or flat, that is up to you to say.  G is next in line, it could be a generous gesture or some wisdom to be gained (gotta keep those calluses in good shape).  A, aim high, or find some amusement to lift your spirit.  Next we have B, take a moment and breathe, build someone up or find a small moment of bliss.  C# is next, what should it be? Catharsis? Charisma? You make the choice.  Finally we are back to D. The end of the scale where you can dance and play on your life frets a beautiful melody.  Frets are not always good in life, but they do keep us disciplined and mindful that when we don’t practice mindfulness and thankfulness we lose those calluses and have to start them all over again.  Play your frets with great gusto dear readers.  

Source: Yamaha.com

The Gift of Seasons

Life seasons can teach us so very much... much like nature.

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Seasons

“Never judge someone based on a season.  One season David was a shepherd, the next season he was a King.”

Unknown

Nature gives us a quite wonderful show. 

It gives us the seasons of heat, cool, bitter cold, and snow. 

The leaves change like the colors of a beautiful canvas. 

The snow brings the earth into quiet clarity.  

Spring gives us blooms and varying shades of green.

The flowers blossom, their fragrance fills the air like a glorious natural perfume. 

The summer gives us heat and fireflies. 

Late nights sitting on the front porch, watching the beautiful skies. 

Nature can teach us a wonderful lesson about life, the universe and everything. 

We only need to look and listen and watch things change.

The birds sing, the cycle of life, the changes all have a purpose. 

To give renewal. To show glorious purpose.

Our lives are much like seasons, they change, they flower, they grow. 

Sometimes the bad parts have to wither to allow new and better growth. 

Take a little time, watch nature’s change.

Let that change give you life clarity. 

To know that each and every season is a chance to grow. 

To be better, to see better, to think better and start tasks anew. 

So don’t judge the seasons of life. 

Let them gloriously guide and teach you. 

Once again the news is filled with so much war.  My goodness, those poor souls who have lost loved ones. I would guess that a lot of these folks were innocent folks trying to make it through the dance that we call life.  These situations call into sharp focus just how blessed we are across the pond here in the United States.  Sure, politics are well.. Awful.  Prayer is a much needed and fervent act that needs to be practiced several times a day.  As I was sitting on my front porch this afternoon, enjoying the fall breeze,and the leaves falling like raindrops, I started to think about seasons.  We all have them in life.  In the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible there is a whole chapter dedicated to seasons of life.  In Chapter three it talks about how everything has a time, season, and purpose under Heaven.  Isn’t that very true? What season are you currently working through in life?  In our lives it is grown kids, an empty nest.  A very quiet house.  There are days I miss having little children like you would not believe.  At the time they were little, they drove me nuts.  I had four kids in diapers.. All under the age of four at one time.  But now, I look back and think about all the lessons all six of my children have taught me through the years.  Your season could be a new job, a new way of doing things.  I have read a lot recently about folks who have decided that even though they have reached a certain age they are not going to give up.  That is admirable. Seasons can teach us how to be better people.  If you have never studied this particular passage of scripture in Ecclesiastes, I highly recommend doing so.  The premise is that in each season of life, (just like the seasons of nature) they can teach us.  They can teach us how to deal with life as it continues to flow.  It can teach us discipline that we never knew that we had. Seasons shape us for a better purpose.  Why did I mention David from the Bible above?  Well, he is a prime example.  He went from a shepherd to a King.  If you are going through a difficult time I would encourage you to think of it as a season.  A time to grow.  In another writing I mentioned that you have three choices when going through something that is difficult.  You can let that situation define you, destroy you or strengthen you.  That strength is not giving up, even when it is hard.  That strength is saying, what are the blessings in this situation?  That strength is knowing that you can go from being a shepherd in the situation to a king.  I leave you with the origin of the phrase: “This too shall pass.” It is Persian in its origin.  It has been translated into many languages.  The basic meaning is as follows: It reflects on the temporary nature of the human condition.  Things are temporal and quite changeable.  This concept originated from the Sufi poets of Persia.  I am quite sure we have all felt in the midst of the situation that it will never change.  In some cases it might even seem hopeless.  But I encourage you to find that hope.  Find that season, let it teach you and perhaps one day you will be a King.  Not in the literal sense obviously, but you will be a much better version of yourself. 

Source: Quora

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot books 1-3

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

Appalachian Allegory

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Christmas Ornaments

The Gift of Blooming

Plant yourself in fertile soil and bloom!

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Blooming

“When you are in a dark place, you sometimes tend to think you’ve been buried.  Perhaps you have been planted.  Bloom.

Unknown

Are you in a dark place?

Is there much despair?

Do you feel dormant and feel lack of growth and meaningful care?

Is the light not at the end of the tunnel?

Can you not break free?

Well perhaps dear reader, you may just be planted to take root and bloom for all the world to see. 

Take the time, reflect and pray. 

Water your spirit with scripture or meaningful words each day.

Fertilize your mind with goodness, grace, and discipline.

Make it your purpose to grow strong roots that can withstand the rays of the sun, the pounding rain and the days where no rain can be found. 

Bloom the most beautiful blooms, and after you have taken the time, show others the true meaning of going from seed, to root, to sprout, to bloom.

Show your blooms beauty, let your fragrance fill the room

Show everyone that you went from darkness to light. 

Be the example of true and beneficial growth. 

I know that each and every one of us have felt like we were in dark places at varying times in our lives, right?  Perhaps you feel like you are in a constant dark place.  So much of life is how you look at it, is it not?  The cynic would probably disagree, most likely.  Maybe not.  It probably depends on the cynic honestly.  I digress.  We have all found ourselves in dark places.  Honestly, I have struggled with this since late last year. Health issues, family issues, work issues, house issues, etc.. etc.. etc..  There are times when it seems that they all pile on at one time.  That is when the darkness can, and will come in, take over and overwhelm you.  So what can you do?  For me, pray.  Pray lots.  I have started meditating with classical music.  Active listening (I am a talker that is a challenge for me), finding one thing each day to be thankful for.  I made a resolution for the New Year to say, “Good Morning” to my husband each day.  Honestly, some days I mumble it.  Some days I say it cheerfully.  I have only missed one morning this year.  Set goals.  For me, it is to publish my novel and two more children’s books before the year is over.  That is ambitious, and I may not make it… but they are goals.  My husband often asks me, "What are you building?" I would add to that... What are you planting? Start small, make your bed in the morning.  Have you ever heard the lecture about making your bed?  The idea is that if you make your bed every morning you will start a habit that will lead you to more discipline which in turn will help you go on to do bigger and better… and more disciplined actions. Also, what kind of soil are you planting your seeds in?  Are you just throwing it right out to where the birds can consume it? Are you wasting your time on situations that are just that, for the birds?  Are you planting on rocky soil?  The plant springs up and then dies quickly because of the shallow soil.  The sun scorches the plant and it is just not going to bloom.  Do you plant yourself amongst thorns? The thorns will take you over. I liken those thorns to life.  You are either going to live purposefully or life is going to dictate it to you in some way and as my husband tells my kids, “If you don’t make a plan, life will make it for you, and in most cases you probably will not like it.”  That way is usually the way of thorns.  Overwhelming thorns that keep you in a state of constant disarray.   You will rarely if ever bloom.  Or, is your soil fertile? It is filled with good influences, good thoughts, good reads, filled with a spiritual circle that can help you in the toughest of times. During your dark times, throwing your seeds to the birds, those physical delights that provide temporary solace.  They have no lasting effect.  The rocks provide a temporary solace.  Those things that on the surface might bring you pleasure.  But when the hard times come, the sun beats down and there is little water… well, you will wither. The thorns, those things that keep you from discipline.  Those habits that have never really helped but you keep doing them.  They will eventually eat you up in their darkness.  Or… can you gloriously, and wonderfully try to plant yourself in good fertile soil?  You can’t grow if you stay in the darkness.  What is your darkness?  Is it spending way too much time on social media?  I watched a news story that social media is single handedly destroying some folks because they simply do not know how/when to get off.  Is it politics? I tell you what, I cannot stomach more than five minutes of watching anything political these days. It is just too toxic. What is fertile ground for you?  Fertile ground is finding meaning in a world that is lost, praying, meditating, cultivating good habits.  It is spending less time on the screen and more time loving your neighbors.  It is taking a walk, learning something new.  One thing that becoming an empty nester has taught me is that you have to fill your time meaningfully.  Not always, sure watch that TV show, etc.. but find the time to cultivate your spirit and soul. This was and is a tough lesson that I am still learning to this day.  Find that reason for gratitude each day and let it set the tone for your day’s soil.  I promise you, it will come back.  It may take some time, watering and fertilizing but the returns will come and you will bloom like a glorious and fragrant flower.  I leave you with these words, “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing that you can do is just show up.”  Brene Brown.

Source: Make Your Bed William McRaven

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

Clean it Up!  Wash it Up!

Coming soon:

Appalachian Allegory

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk