you know how life is just full of stuff?

my life is full of stuff too.  some of the "stuff" stays the same,
some of it changes as the days and weeks come and go.

there are different ways to veiw life. (obviously.)

some people go for crazy busy,
others seek simplicity.
some people enjoy lots of drama,
others prefer to stay private and withdraw.
some see everything deeply,
others would rather stay on the surface.
it's fascinating, really,
to observe.

and to discover how each of us veiw life.
is it a gift and an adventure?
or something to be tolorated?
maybe sometimes it changes from one to the other,
and then back again.

in any case,
i have learned that small things give much meaning to my life
when i just need a little something. 
something simple.
but full of beauty.
to give me fresh perspectives...
and a new found pleasure in being alive.

a few weeks ago, i was at the cabin with my mother's extended family.
(that is another blog all of its own.)
my cousin, christy, (whom i love with all of my being) and i were shopping,
just the two of us,
at a little country store in cedar run. 
it is a quaint little shop where one can purchase ice cream,
and/or small little gifts.

upon looking,
i discovered a small, hard covered book called find true north. by douglas wood.
christy and i, heads bent over the book, began to read it out loud.
we were "moved to anything."

(quick story.  years ago, my sister had an exchange student from japan.  she wrote my sister a letter about herself before she came.  in it, she attempted to describe her love of nature and learning about all sorts of things.  i remember her mentioning squirrels.  anyway, her way of saying that she was stirred by these sights was this phrase, "i am moved to anything."  so from that time on, whenever my sister and i come across anything we love or that stirs us, we always borrow natsuko's phrase, and say we are moved to anything.  it has been great fun.)

SO...christy and i came across this book that moved me to anything.
i bought it.
and the more i read it, the more it moved me to anything.
so.  i went online when i returned home,
and ordered three more books, used, by the same auther/illustrator

they are such little books. 
with titles like:
the things trees know.
breathe the wind, drink the rain.
prescriptions from the dock.

the titles alone move me to anything.
(i just have such a thing for words.)

this is why i love these books:
they are full of these great little tid bits.
not paragraph after paragraph of how to how to how to...
but little tid bits.
tid bits that are simple, but thought provoking.
i love when things make me think.
cause most things mean more than they seem to at first.
it is just a matter of whether or not we take the time to get past the obvious.

i am going to share some things from the book i got in the mail today.
(it was a little bit like my own personal christmas without any stress)  talk about merry!!!

and now...
from the things trees know...

reach down as well as up.
no roots, no branches.

stand tall,
but bend when you need to.

be a shelter to someone.
(oh that one really moves me to anything!  how many of us take the time to really be shelter to someone?  do you know that offering shelter can make ALL the difference in the world to a human heart and soul?  i am passionate about this truth!)

grow from the bottom up,
from the inside out.
(way too often we skip the bottom and the inside,
and go right to the top and the outside.  a terrible mistake.)

welcome rainy days.
(many, many good things can not happen when the sun is shining.)

know that being beautiful is the same thing as being yourself.
(why do so few people ever grasp this truth?  it makes me so sad.  being beautiful really IS the same thing as being yourself!)

reach for the light.
release the light you've found.
(what good is growth and transformation, if it is hidden and not released?)

go ahead, get big!
(i dare you!  i double dare you!)  smile!

don't let things eat away at you.

be well aquainted with the moonlight.
(do you ever take the time to sit outside at night, and soak in the darkness, and the moonlight?  i think such stirring thoughts, such real thoughts, when i sit alone outside at night.)

it's simple:
if you're living, you're growing.
if you're growing, you're living.

give your fruits freely.
(and be amazed at the return.  be amazed by the sheer joy of giving.)

sometimes all there is to do is endure.
(life is not all grand.  sometimes there is nothing to do but ride it out.  believe that it will pass,
and wait for it to pass.  never under estimate the power to endure.)

sun, storm, drought:
let these sculptors do their work.
(this is SUCH a good one!  it speaks for itself.)

your work is to grow.
(some people choose to do their work.  sadly, some do not.  i want to always do my work.)

each life becomes a part of the landscape.
it becomes someone's landmark.
(the very thought brings me to seriousness.  i am leaving a mark.  each tree does.  each life does.  landmarks are not always beautiful.  but they are landmarks nonetheless.  i am leaving a mark.  others will use it in one way or another.  it will either help them to know which way to go, or help them to know which way to avoid.)

i can not answer for you,
but i surely didn't know trees had so much wisdom to offer.
now we both know.  smile.

i never met douglas wood,
but i just have a feeling he "gets it."

perhaps i'll share something from another one of my little books another day.
but remember, it's not always the fat books that do the deepest teaching.
and sometimes it's just more simple than we make it.

trees...  simple.  alive.  growing.  strong. 
sounds like the real deal to me.

it's a good day to live.
to love.
and to be loved.

until next time,
~a