If You Bring Love

By: Joseph Campbell  

At a certain moment in Nietzsche's life, the idea came to
him of what he called 'the love of your fate.' 

Whatever your fate is, whatever the heck happens, you say, "This is
what I need." It may look like a wreck, but go at it as
though it were an opportunity, a challenge.

If you bring love to that moment - not discouragement - you
will find the strength is there. Any disaster that you can
survive is an improvement in your character, your stature,
and your life. What a privilege! This is when the
spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.
Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the
moments which seemed to be great failures followed by
wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have
now. You?ll see that this is really true.

Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though
it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it
is not.

Imbolc Chocolate

Imbolc is almost upon us (February 2). It is the midpoint between

Winter Solstice (December 21) and Spring Equinox (March 20) when

the Goddess Brighid, with her white wand is said to breathe life into

the mouth of the dead Winter and to bring him to open his eyes to

the tears and the smiles, the sighs and the laughter of Spring.

Here is a recipe that represents the balance between the

seasons.

1 oz. gourmet milk chocolate, grated

1 oz. gourmet dark chocolate, grated

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

In small saucepan, combine milk & dark chocolate, vanilla extract and milk. Cook over

low heat (do not boil) and stir gently until milk warms and chocolate melts completely.

Add heavy cream and cook another 1 to 2 minutes until warm. Pour into mug. Top

with your choice of whipped cream (I like to make my own with heavy cream & sugar),

cinnamon, and/or cocoa powder.

The Dark chocolate represents the bitterness of Winter while the milk Chocolate represents

the sweetness of Spring, as Imbolc balances between the seasons. You may wish to look up

"The Chocolate Ritual" by John L. Shepard or write your own to celebrate the richness of

this transitions. 

Blog post with thanks to Elizabeth Barrette

Keepers

By: Author Unknown

I grew up in the '50s with very practical parents. My
mother, God love her,  washed aluminum foil after she
cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle
queen, before they had a name for it.

My father was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying
new ones. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused.
Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see
them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom
in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand, dishtowel in
the other.

It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the
kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a
dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes
it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I
wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence.
Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night,
in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the
pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and
goes away...never to return. So, while we have it... it's
best we love it... and care for it... and fix it when it's
broken... and heal it when it's sick.

This is true for marriage... and old cars... and children
with bad report cards... and dogs with bad hips... and
aging parents... and grandparents. We keep them because
they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Positive Approach

Positive Approach
By: Author Unknown

A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the
weather that morning was questionable and clouds were
forming, she made her daily trip to school. As the
afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with
thunder and lightning.

The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her
daughter would be frightened as she walked home from
school, and she herself feared that the electrical storm
might harm her child.

Following the roar of thunder, lightning, through the sky
and full of concern, the mother quickly got in her car and
drove along the route to her child's school.

As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but
at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up
and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each
with the little girl stopping, looking up and smiling.

Finally, the mother called over to her child and asked,
"What are you doing?"

The child answered, smiling, "God just keeps taking
pictures of me."