Category: Meditation

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Visits

I miss my ‘kids’.  Not in a sad light, but in an I love them so much I can’t get enough of them light. I see and communicate with them regularly as adults and I love that, too, of course. Anyone who knows me one little bit knows what a shamelessly mushy mumma I am.

Sometimes I just wish I could go back in time to visit.  With the knowledge that I have now and the stronger body I had back then, I would spend that precious time snuggling them as infants, playing with them as children, travelling and hanging out with them as teens.  Being present in a way that I wasn’t able to be when I was a younger woman with the stresses of the world to juggle. 

My favourite moments are the ones that I spend with the people I love.  Even with our huge family, at our gatherings, I love to spend time chatting with all my aunts, uncles, cousins, extended cousins – all of them.  Each and every one – but there never seems to be enough time!  Especially since I moved across the country.

Social Connection

One plus about social media is the ability to see the sweet moments that my family and friends share. First day of school photos, Halloween photos, engagement photos, wedding photos, vacation photos, anniversaries, memories, birthdays… Their posts and all of the encouragement and congratulations from each other are like little visits in between when we can see – and of course, hug – each other next.

Memory Lane

Scrolling through the photos and old videos that I’ve digitized and flipping through the numerous photo albums that I’ve accumulated over the years gives me the opportunity to visit my children at various ages and stages through my memories. In the process, I also get to visit the friends and family who have moved on in one respect or another. I am so glad that I have always been a picture taker and video maker! And I’m glad that selfies are now a thing. I’ll bet many more children grow up thankful to have photos of the moms/dads that would otherwise have been behind the camera more often than in front of it.

Warm Hugs

Seeing and hearing my grandmother in the videos reminds me of her strength, humour, love and grace. Even through the biggest challenges in her life, she would jokingly respond to the question “how are you feeling” by holding them up and saying “with my hands” – always with a little giggle and glint in her eyes. The memories of helping her in the garden feel like her warm hugs. I hung onto her every word when she taught me how to make great growing soil and identified the various plants throughout her award-winning gardens. I enjoyed that almost as much as the raspberries and cream we would share afterward in the cozy kitchen that held memories of crowded family gatherings, delicious meals and many helping hands with the dishes.

Yellow Iris from my Grandma’s garden

Grandchildren

I was not prepared for the rush of joy and all-consuming love that is being a granny. I am also reminded of why I am glad I had my kids in my early 20’s! Watching my daughter with her children is much like visiting myself, although she’s a new, improved version and being with those grandchildren… YEP – it’s like a beautiful gift from the universe that says – here you go – play, snuggle, and shower them with love. A gift that brings me back to raising my children while also giving my child the gift of knowing that I am there to provide that little extra granny TLC – just like my mom does.

Making Memories

And off I go to make more memories with the people I love. The most valuable and precious gift that we have is time. I soak up as much as I can with every visit with lots of hugs and kisses to carry me through the space, however short or long, until our next visit.

Meditating on Memories

I released the third video on my YouTube meditation channel @meditationsforlife. Brew yourself a coffee or tea, get comfy and enjoy a visit to some of your favourite memories while you listen to the peaceful music designed to relax your mind. If you are enjoying the series, please like, subscribe and share with anyone who you think might enjoy it.

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Coffee Ritual

I’m a coffee lover. Not that I drink gallons of it every day, but I am very attached to that morning brew and those first few perfectly hot sips of happiness.

I started the day with a luxurious, frothy coffee during a recent stay in Edmonton and I questioned why I haven’t had this cup of goodness in my life thus far! It was a nice little perk to start the day.

It was a sunny, crisp morning that had me reflecting on the blessings in my life. We were attending the celebration of the life of Albert Karvonen. If you were lucky enough to have met him, you already know what an amazing human he was, not only for his accomplishments in the wildlife film community, but as a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, mentor and friend.

I was feeling grateful for the ability to be there to support my partner who was mourning the loss of his mentor and friend, to be staying in comfort, to have access to the ‘big city’ stores, to be in the presence of friends and to feel their warmth and love.

I’ve been fortunate in my almost 53 years on this planet to have had very few experiences with loss, in fact, I was in my mid-thirties when I experienced the first loss of my cousin to a tragic work accident. It’s naturally an awkward and uncomfortable situation and one never quite knows what to say. Being a strongly empathic person, I have to prepare myself to be in these situations as I take on the emotions of the people around me.

My rituals help me with staying centered and balanced. Every morning I start with the heavenly beans that sing to my soul (LOL – dramatic much?), then some positive inspiration including motivational videos or meditations.

I know it makes me sound like an old hippie – well I guess I am an old hippie, but anyway… Several years ago, when I was a “business woman” I suffered from insomnia and anxiety for a variety of reasons – at that time I was working too many hours, trying to be super mom and just super woman in general. You know – all the things that we think we need to do/be in our youth until we figure out that the world won’t collapse if we are less than media’s depiction of perfect.

But I digress. What I’m trying to offer as a suggestion for anyone who needs a little “aaahhhhhhh….” in their life is to try listening to meditations, relaxation music/videos. About a decade ago, I was desperate enough for sleep to give them a try and guess what – it worked!

Better than a Pill

I’ve since used them to prevent or alleviate headaches/migraines, to destress, to start the day. There are meditations and relaxation music for everyone from thunderstorm sounds to rainfall, to piano and flute music, to monks chanting and more. Some are guided for visualization and others are just the sounds.

I invite you to have a listen to my meditation channel called Meditations for Life on YouTube. Tell me what you think. Have you listened to meditations or relaxation music in the past? What do you like the best? I will be releasing new videos each week and will try to incorporate your requests as I add new content.

Without further ado…

I’ve just released the second video – why don’t you gift yourself some relaxation and have a listen?

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Inspiration Meditation Motivation New Year

New Year Stuff

Happy 2023

All of a sudden the holidays have slipped by and the new year is well upon us. Did you make resolutions? It’s ok if you didn’t – sometimes it’s better not to! No resolutions means no guilt or shame if you fall off track and there’s only one way to go – forward.

I’ve made resolutions many times with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I reached the goal I set out, sometimes I changed it, sometimes I scrapped it altogether, but always I learn something about myself in the process.

Managing Expectations

Managing expectations became a buzz phrase during my past life as a business woman, but it is also an important thing to remember for yourself. What does that look like for you? It could be reminding yourself that the number on the scale does not reflect what your body looks like. You can search “what does 150 lbs look like” and you’ll find a wide range of results. Or it could be reminding yourself that you don’t have to make major changes.

It’s perfectly ok – and I would highly recommend – simply making small changes incrementally.

The old saying is that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Theoretically, you could form up to 17 new habits in a year. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking that task on, but if you’re up to it – why not, eh?

One habit that I choose to continue to make my number one priority this year is self-care. For me that looks like:

  • Bubble baths
  • Yoga
  • Hiking, camping
  • Healthy foods
  • Tea
  • Meditation
  • Learning
  • Rest
  • Water

What is one thing that you will do for yourself this year?

I can help!

Sometimes it’s hard to think of or choose because the task seems overwhelming. I get it. I’ve been there at various stages of my life. When I was juggling the demands of an 8-5 job and trying to be a good mom, maintain a household and take care of myself, I couldn’t imagine one more thing to worry about.

How about this?

We all need rest, relaxation, sleep. We need to clear our minds of all the “noise” that distracts us so that we can allow ourselves the opportunity to reset. I am a big fan of meditation videos. I put them on while I paint or write for focus and I listen to them in headphones when I can’t sleep or to alleviate a headache.

Try it out!

Here’s a link to my new YouTube Channel called Meditations for Life. I will be releasing new videos each week for your enjoyment. Please let me know in the comments how you like them and please feel free to leave suggestions for future videos.