I’ve been hearing a lot about happiness over the past year or so. I read Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project and the study that ranked the world’s countries in order of happiness (Canada came in at a respectable number 8, tied with Costa Rica, New Zealand and Israel; the US came in at number fourteen, tied with Austria), and there was also the Ted Talk from the Babble.com publishers that examined the highs and lows of happiness throughout our lives. Happiness, I think, is both transitory and absolutely necessary. And, as a mother of a rambunctious pre-schooler. and also…
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As you may have gathered from some of my previous posts, I’ve been doing some reading about Buddhism. I’ve studied Buddhism in the past, in a limited way through a university course of Japanese religions and also as part of a meditation class I took for about a year before I became pregnant with the little man. I found it very interesting, but I could never really get my head around the idea of suffering. You see, the first Nobel Truth of Buddhism is “Life is Suffering”. I just couldn’t buy into that, since I found my life to be…
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Recently Ipsos Reid conducted a survey that asked people around the world if they thought religion is a force for good. Admittedly, it is a bit of vague question. My idea of good can be substantially different than your idea of good, just as my idea of what constitutes a religion can be different than your’s. Nonetheless, the results are very interesting. There are a lot of comments I could make about this data. However, I’ll limit my comments to the obvious difference between the opinions of Canadians and Americans. Truthfully, it is very gratifying to see that. We have…
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May your Samhain be full of family and friends, those here and those that have passed over. May you find solace in their presence, and may you find comfort in with the Lord and Lady. I also wish fun, tricks, and treats for you on this day of joy and sadness.
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We have reached the end of August, and it very clear here that the seasons are getting ready to change. We may be having extremely hot and humid days, but the nights are cooler and there is a hint of fall in the wind. There are some early signs of fall to be seen on the trees and bushes. Berries have already started growing: The maple trees are full of keys: And there is even a hint of two of fall colours to be seen if you look hard enough: In a about a week the sumac will turn that…
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The Wheel is turning yet again, and we have finally entered the lovely season of Spring. We have had some unseasonably warm weather here in Southern Ontario this year, so it hardly feels like we have even had winter. Nonetheless, I’m happy Spring has finally arrived, and I look forward to warmer days, spring flowers, and the inevitable rain. I will freely admit that I don’t often celebrate the Sabbats, other than in a very private way. There will be no special meal today, no games or eggs for Baby Man. This is partly because I always forgot until the…
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Lately I’ve been reading a lot of books about happiness. Some talk about the search for happiness, and some say we already have happiness within ourselves. One says that we can reach happiness by not complaining (I like that one), and another says that learning to let go of things is the way. And one, my favourite of all, says that we are all divine and that we only need to recognize that to find happiness. On the surface, all of these books seem to be saying something different. Do I need to stop complaining to be happy, or do…
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Somehow over the past year this has changed from a blog about my life and my spiritual pursuits to a blog about my knitting, cross stitch and crochet. See, the sad thing is I’m not sure I have much in the way of spiritual pursuits any more. Between watching/changing/playing with/teaching animal sounds to Baby Man, occasionally knitting or cross stitching to remain sane, doing some work for my old-but-still-current job, and general household things, there is really only time left for sleep. And as important as spiritual pursuits are, when you have a toddler, sleep is more important. Does this…
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I think I’ve mentioned before that I tend to find myself attached to my hobbies in cycles. One week, or month, I may find myself all about cross stitch. And then I’ll start obsessively knitting a sock. In the good old days before Baby Man came along, I would also obsess about Tarot or other “magical” studies. Now I just don’t have the mental energy or ability to concentrate on those sorts of things. I’ve got a lingering case of baby brain brought on by not quite enough sleep and trying to keep up with the boundless energy of a…
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It is time for a happy dance! Over the weekend (yes, I am behind on my posting, why do you ask?) I put the final beads on Letters from Nora – H, also known as the H fairy and Heather. She has turned out so beautifully thanks to the help of my nsLNS owner’s advice when it came to changing so many of the colours. Letters from Nora – H by Nora Corbett Fibres: Crescent Colours and DMC Beads: Mill Hill Fabric: 28ct Silkweaver Solo If you are interested in the changes I’ve made, you can find out more here. …