Look at me, I am flying!

Posted on March 10, 2015 by simplygiselle

Go big or go home. If I cannot fail– I want to fly. Not in an airplane, or a light craft, or with some other device, I want to truly fly…I want the force of the air to hold me up. I don’t care if it’s a simply as sticking my arms out like a plane, flapping them like a bird, or take a running start to lift off, I want to fly.

The closest to this feeling I have ever experienced is being on super huge swing – the feeling of zero gravity at that pivotal moment, the breeze blowing through my hair, my eyes tearing from the force of the wind and then looking up at the sky as if I were just mere inches away to touch it…

Flying is the one thing we cannot experience, no wholeheartedly anyway. We swim with the fishes and yes we need to come up for air here and there but we still swim. But fly?! Not only are we not built to fly (aerodynamically), Mother Nature did not equip us with an internal gyroscope necessary to navigate the 3 dimensional aerial world.

Something like a wish or a superpower, but hey, I didn’t come up with the daily question and there are no stipulations.

In response to today’s question: Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

(tutle photo: gchewlin.blogspot.com)

The thought of Ireland haunts me

Posted on February 22, 2015 by simplygiselle

I was inspired today by Lisa at Sunshine Travels and the daily post, to write about that one place I would love to go before it is too late. That place for me is Ireland. I can’t explain why. All of these years when the name ‘Ireland’ gets mentioned there is a sadness in my heart, a deep sadness inside that feels like… like I miss home and I can’t go back.

I envision it to be a very simple romantic place. The mist along the hundred-shades-of-green rolling hills, the smell of peat that lingers in your mind like your favorite men’s cologne, being surrounded by ghosts of a thousand years past, singing sad songs while having a pint in the local pub, and of course… the far off wail of the forlorn pipes….that is how I see Ireland. Maybe I have just seen too many movies…maybe it will not live up to my dreams, but there is only one way to find out.

(image: NationalGeographic.com)

Reposted in answer to the daily prompt: Tourist Trap, What’s your dream tourist destination — either a place you’ve been and loved, or a place you’d love to visit? What about it speaks to you?

The thought of Ireland haunts me

Posted on February 12, 2015 by simplygiselle

(image: NationalGeographic.com)

Euripides is one smart dude

Posted on December 29, 2014 by simplygiselle

“The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.” – Euripides

Wait a minute, back up, you have not fully digested that statement from Euripides yet… you are not ready to continue reading on…read it again, let it sink it… wow powerful stuff, right!

We all acknowledge balance in our lives is key, but maintaining it is so difficult. It reminds me of the game, Don’t Spill the Beans. The pot is on a rocking device and as the players take turns placing a single tiny bean, if not perfectly positioned, the pot tips over and all the beans come spilling out.

Isn’t this what we are facing every day? Racing around to get the kids to school, all of their extracurricular activities, working full time, paying the bills, etc. etc. only to go to bed and do it again the next day… the monotony of running at 4000 r.p.m.’s daily with very few attempts to step back and regain or restore the balance because it is what is expected of us or ‘we don’t have the time’.

There is a great power around us, and in us, I have no doubt about that, but what we choose to do with that power is what makes us great…makes us a better person….makes us find our balance, naturally and without force. Embrace the power and energy like a big hug! The power is in your mind, in your heart, in your soul, throughout every inch of your body, just waiting for you to tap back into it and release it… (hmmm maybe I am getting a little too sappy…negative or realistic?)

It is thought that what energy you send out into the world comes back to you threefold, so why not send out the positive?! We could all use a little more positive and happy in our lives. It can be something as little as telling a passerby, ‘love those shoes’, but acknowledging each other with a simple positive vibe seems to grow, it changes that person even for the slightest moment, and no, they may not respond back, (you shouldn’t expect anyone to, that is not why you are doing it and some looks you get will be priceless and make you smile even larger), and no they may not pass it along, (hey.. that is on them), so why not? It didn’t cost anything, it didn’t take any of your precious time from you… so… Why not sprinkle a little bit of happiness in your life and heart by sharing it with others, and improving your balance? Throw out the entire pot of positivity to those around you and see what sticks.

Do whatever it takes to find that powerful balance without excuse. Don’t let that ‘pot of beans’ spill before it is too late.

My next cup of tea

Posted on December 21, 2014 by simplygiselle

I would like to order my next cup of tea, bottomless please.

A never ending perfect cup; neither too hot nor too cold, neither too sweet nor too bitter, with the slightest taste of honey that makes me lick my lips wanting that last droplet. The kind of tea that, when you close your eyes, you have been transported to another place and time and seems to last forever…

Maybe it is in the past, but maybe it is in the future, each sip is always different. Which do you taste first, the bitter? The mistakes made that you have tried to put behind you? Some are safely locked away while others give a glimpse to let you know they are lurking and waiting for the exact moment to ruin your complacency on any given day.

Sometimes the bitter is just missing someone you will never see again. You have safely compartmentalized in that velvet box, way way back, so far deep down, and then for no reason at all, BAM the tears start to fall-you don’t want to forget (you will never forget) but you also don’t want to remember…

Does the heat from the tea flowing from palate to stomach to thaw you inside and out? Remember the freezing cold days well below zero, shoveling, brushing off the car before the sun rises, or the chill you felt that made your hair stand up for no reason – just a perfect cup of tea can cure them all.

Maybe it is the sweet? The times where you made the right choice, saw the smile on someone else that was because of you, the simplest happiest moment just because… because you heard the perfect song, smelled the perfect flower with the perfect scent, heard the birds sing and laughed at what they may be saying…is it a song? a private joke? or stood in awe at the size and power of Mother Nature and what she can produce…the ocean waves, the bounty of snowfall, for that matter the beauty of each snowflake and its delicacy.

Yes that endless cup of tea has so much to offer; now I need to know just where to buy one.

Just.Let.Go.

Posted on December 12, 2014 by simplygiselle

You never really know what you are made of until you are faced with the challenges and choices you fear.

When faced with life altering choices do you play it safe or look at it as an opportunity for more and chance it – let the ‘gods’ play with you (as it were) as if you were a chess piece in the game of life?

Am I being face with such an ordeal because I have had it too easy, too content, for too long and now life plans to give me a taste of what others have to deal with on a daily basis or is it a turn of events-the next new path to exploring and growing?

I read a book many years ago, it was called, The Reluctant Messiah (great read). In simple terms, it says to just let go… stop fighting the stream’s current, be the blade of grass that stops clinging to the rock, and let the flow of water and energy take you for the ride of your life.

Much easier said than done… or is it? When is it time to just let go? When do we have enough faith in ourselves that we will be happy no matter what comes into our lives?

I am currently faced with the proverbial fork in the road and can’t decide. Clinging to the rock is comfortable; I know where I stand, I know what is coming from upstream and how to handle it. At the same time it is exhausting to continue holding on so tightly and not let myself be tossed around against the stream’s rocks, logs, and occasional slimy frog.

When? When will I know it is time to ‘just.let.go.’ ?

and the award goes to…

Posted on October 4, 2014 by simplygiselle

Cancer Is not Pink lead by Swoosieque have nominated my blog for the One Lovely Blog Award.

I started following her blog because of the Daily Post question regarding food. Her writing and subject matter brought back many memories of growing up and my own mother’s cooking (which wasn’t always a good thing).

This is what writing is all about, yes? Touching your audience, for good or bad, but making them pause, reflect, laugh… it touches something inside them and a connection is made.

Without knowing her, I can say she is a strong woman. Without knowing me, I can tell her I work in Cancer Biology and maybe that is our ‘other’ connection in this world.

In any event, there are guidelines to being nominated and I will do my best to abide by them. I must share 7 facts about myself (and in no particular order).

1. I currently work in Cancer Biology
2. I love animals to a fault (i.e. one of ‘those’ people that would stop traffic to let a mother duck and her babies stroll across the highway and proudly get a ticket for it)
3. I talk to inanimate objects, knowing they won’t talk back but maybe they do hear me (ok look copy machine, I know you have a long day but just one more color copy would be awesome)
4. My daughter and I are like one (only she is smarter, prettier and with much more wit!)
5. I used to ski; and was pretty darn good at it (at least my daughter thinks so)
6. I love wine. Love it. The taste, the smell, the color and how it is made
7. I love to laugh; it is one of the few things you can feel from the inside out

I have taken to blogging not only to work on writing better but to share a piece of me with everyone ‘out there’. I hope you have the room for one more blog to follow and you choose me 🙂