Love, empathy, tolerance--also puppies, flowers, and laundry

Friday, January 22, 2021

Be (Inspire)d #3

 

The Miracle of Morning

I thought I’d awaken to a world in mourning.
Heavy clouds crowding, a society storming.
But there’s something different on this golden morning.
Something magical in the sunlight, wide and warming.

I see a dad with a stroller taking a jog.
Across the street, a bright-eyed girl chases her dog.
A grandma on a porch fingers her rosaries.
She grins as her young neighbor brings her groceries.

While we might feel small, separate, and all alone,
Our people have never been more closely tethered.
The question isn’t if we can weather this unknown,
But how we will weather this unknown together.

So on this meaningful morn, we mourn and we mend.
Like light, we can’t be broken, even when we bend.

As one, we will defeat both despair and disease.
We stand with healthcare heroes and all employees;
With families, libraries, waiters, schools, artists;
Businesses, restaurants, and hospitals hit hardest.

We ignite not in the light, but in lack thereof,
For it is in loss that we truly learn to love.
In this chaos, we will discover clarity.
In suffering, we must find solidarity.

For it’s our grief that gives us our gratitude,
Shows us how to find hope, if we ever lose it.
So ensure that this ache wasn’t endured in vain:
Do not ignore the pain. Give it purpose. Use it.

Read children’s books, dance alone to DJ music.
Know that this distance will make our hearts grow fonder.
From these waves of woes our world will emerge stronger.

We’ll observe how the burdens braved by humankind
Are also the moments that make us humans kind;
Let each morning find us courageous, brought closer;
Heeding the light before the fight is over.
When this ends, we’ll smile sweetly, finally seeing
In testing times, we became the best of beings.

~Amanda Gorman


Tuesday, January 12, 2021

My Frustration With Pinterest

I forgot my password to my Pinterest account!  

I had a Pin It button on my old PC, so pinning was automatic and easy.  Then I upgraded to a new laptop and after automatically logging in for so many years, I'd forgotten my password and no possibility that I tried worked.

No big deal, right?  Just ask to reset my long-forgotten password and, voila, back in business.

I wish!  I've tried numerous times over several months to reset my account without success.  They email me an autolink to reset my password and instead it asks me to log in.  

Seriously, Pinterest?  

If I could log in, I wouldn't have asked to reset my password.  Duh.

Yeah, I've tried to contact them for help.  Pretty useless.  No reply.  (It makes me wonder if there are actual people working there.)  It's pretty frustrating, mostly because it seems like it should be simple. Heck, asking to reset a password is probably the one thing most of us have in common!

I've even been willing to give up the effort I've put into my pins over the years and sign up for a new account.  I'm willing to start over.   There are so many images that I'd love to save for future inspiration. Foxes, felt animals, watercolor cows, doll clothes, marble shower stalls, trellises, wood mantels, rock retaining walls... But, no-ooo, trying to initiate a new account just takes me back into the "log in" rabbit hole.

Without logging in, I not only can't access my boards, I also can't browse freely through the wonderful ideas that others have pinned.

Enough is enough.  I've officially given up on Pinterest and their horrendous customer service.  Or should I say, disservice?

I've discovered that there are other options that are similar.  I'm pretty sure I'll find something that makes me forget Pinterest ever existed. Maybe I'll even be able to recommend something new for others to try!

The internet hasn't beaten me yet.  At least I'm coming closer to a new photo editor (maybe even a way to keep using Picasa 3).  I can't wait until I can install a new Meadowsweet Cottage banner!



Be (Inspire)d #2

 
There is no must in art 
because art is free.
~ Wassily Kandinsky

Thursday, January 07, 2021

What Word is 2021?

Meadowsweet Cottage

I like having a thought that can inspire me for the year ahead.  Even better if it's a single word that encapsulates goal and ambitions.

I really thought Vision was perfect way back last January given that 20/20 is a solid benchmark at one's optometrist. And maybe it was a good thought, although it didn't work out quite the way any of us thought. It's too bad there wasn't more vision utilized as challenges appeared.  Too bad that people didn't look ahead and think.

This year?  I'm afraid to hope.  Well, not entirely true.  I'm wary and afraid to hope too much. So I don't want a word with too much optimism for fear that I might jinx myself.

 Currently I'm thinking that Choice may be a good reminder for 2021. It's a stand-back-and-think-about-it kind of word.  It's a word for being proactive rather than reacting thoughtlessly.  It's goal-oriented.

I think that our choices reflect our inner person.  Who we truly are deep down in our individual core. They reflect our principles, our lines in the sand as well as what we are willing to trade for what we want.

Oh sure, some decisions are trivial and mundane.  Or we think they are and then find that even those add up eventually.

Others can be life changing.

Our choices define us.  They define our future.  They shepherd us toward a goal.

I truly hope that having Choice as my touchstone might make me think a bit harder, reflect a bit deeper, examine closely.  

We all are going to have a lot of choices this year that are going to shape society and influence the way history looks back on us.  Reconciliation?  Consequences?  Responsibility?  Independence? 

Choice is never about the past, but rather the continuing saga of our lives. Choice moves us forward, or sideways or spins us around dizzily.  Choice can be risky or cautious.  We can be unsure as we choose and trust that things will work out.  We can choose to change our minds if our original choice proves unwise.

Anyone else choose a word this year?

p.s.  I wrote this on January 1, intending to edit it, thinking that perhaps a different word would emerge.  But after yesterday's shameful events in our nation's capital, I think that perhaps Choice was the perfect word and my thoughts need no editing.

Monday, January 04, 2021

Be (Inspire)d #1


The future belongs to those who believe in the  beauty of their dreams.   

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Yes, it's Meadowsweet Cottage.  Wondering where the blog title is?  Me too! 

I'm reworking the header and realized I need to edit the image of the truck to include the blog name.  Silly me! It's been awhile since I played the blogging game so bear with me while I figure this out with a new photo editor.  I miss Picasa3!

Resolute

Sooo...2021.

 Must.  Have.  Resolutions.

I'm starting with the very easiest to accomplish:

I plan to seek out inspiring quotations this year.  It's been awhile since I had a weekly guidepost, but I remember how effective it was to see incremental change, back in the blogging day.  Just putting an idea out in the cosmos makes a difference in what one can achieve.  Words are magic that way.

"Try and fail. But don't fail to try."

~John Quincy Adams



Conquer a simple challenge.  There's no telling where you might end up once you're used to success!  Today, soft pretzels...tomorrow the world.