Just when it seems like a bit of good news would be exceedingly welcomed, comes this true story (I’ve checked it with Snopes) about a woman hand feeding hummingbirds.

Isn’t it great that with the Internet we have a way to easily share these experiences that we might never hear about otherwise?!

Thanks to Cathy for sharing with me in the first place!

It’s a reminder to me that “God’s in his heaven; all’s right with the world.”

from “Pippa Passes”

The year’s at the spring
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearled
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in his Heaven -
All’s right with the world!

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Is it possible that in these difficult times we could trust more deeply that God will feed and clothe us, as he does the birds and the lilies? Whether we are literally in need of food, shelter, clothing, water, health, employment or any of a myriad of other needs, the most basic need is for the ideas that will lead us in the right direction and out of limitation.

Ideas are always limitless! (This goes along with the short movie I posted earlier.)

Not too long ago while pondering how I should schedule my day, though my first inclination the night before had been to get on down the road and back home, I felt it was all right to meander a bit. In doing so, I had a number of interesting conversations with strangers, some welcome time with a friend, and a bit of fashion enjoyment, including some time with perfumes.

After I’d been back on the highway for a while, an electronic sign informed me of an accident 26 miles down the road. One lane was closed. (I learned later that it had only cleared about an hour before I got there.) If I had hurried my way home, I would have been stuck for hours while they cleared the road. I was able to get past it without any lost time.

Sometimes we do not know what we or others are protected from, but this time it was apparent. And it could have been far worse, but thankfully wasn’t. On this busy stretch of road, many more could have been involved in this accident but were not.

That’s just a small example of how ideas will clear our day for us. Expect ideas today and always that will help you!

Karin

Originally posted 2008-09-26 09:26:43.

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Sometimes I think the harder we look for happiness, the more elusive it can be. It’s like searching for Mr. Goodbar. But if we just sit quietly, appreciating and in the moment, it sneaks up on us.

That’s not to say that we don’t have to work at it or take charge of our own happiness. Like Cathy writes below in the comments section, I often say that I fight for my happiness!

I’ve learned through the years that I need to bring happiness into my moments, if I expect to experience it. I remind myself to do those small things for myself that secure my happiness, to be good to myself, to take time to enjoy the moments that run through our fingers.

I’ve talked with a number of folks over the years and in recent weeks whose concerns are ratcheting up. They are looking to establish (more) joy in their lives in the face of negative reports and a general malaise. Concerns about the world; their finances; life in general; their health, their work, their marriage; retirement funds — anything you can think of — are stealing their peace and occupying their thoughts.

Over the years I’ve looked into happiness, read a number of books, worked on it for myself, and tried to discern what, exactly, is happiness? I don’t know that it is possible to be happy every moment, but even in the midst of problems, it is possible to be a happy person, or at least to experience joy at some level and in some moments. So happiness isn’t determined by whether a person is happy every single moment, but whether it is an attitude of heart and mind.

An analogy that came to me a number of years ago that I’ve often shared with others is this:

Every incident of goodness; every moment of joy; every good thought or deed; every kind word experienced or given; every beautiful thing we notice; every bit of gratitude we express; every note of music we hear or play; every time we appreciate something around us; every time we give or receive a compliment; every time we take time to take time is like a pearl we are stringing in our lives.

The knots in the string are life’s problems.

When we look at a strand of pearls, yes, we see the knots, but we don’t focus on them. They only serve to make the strand more beautiful. What we see is the complete strand with the individual pearls. The knots hold the pearls securely, as well as set them apart from each other so that we may better see and appreciate the individual pearls.

That seemed like enough, and for years that is what I strove to understand and share.

But this past week, when talking to someone, it occurred to me to think out loud as we were talking: What is the string?

And in an instant I listened to the idea come out of my mouth that I hadn’t yet had:

The string is happiness.

I loved the idea that there is a string of happiness moving through our lives and that we are stringing together moments of love, joy, goodness, peace — the loveliness of life — on it.

May you be blessed by this idea, as much as I was to receive it, and may today and every day be filled with many beautiful and precious blessings.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-12 21:51:15.

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Somebody passed this to me today, and I thought it was worthwhile to pass on.

Have you ever had a day when it just started out wrong and got worse? Or maybe it started out OK and went downhill from there. Yes, it’s a truism that we take ourselves with us wherever we go — and maybe we do contribute to the over-all sense of life we are experiencing.

But what if…what if…we could see what others are going through…what if…

Got it?

What if that made our day…what if when we reach out, our day changes and so does theirs.

Originally posted 2008-11-01 13:20:50.

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2009 was a good year. Any time one’s health is good, and that of one’s family and friends, it is a good year. Then throw in a few good times, a lotta good perfumes, some good books and movies, and it becomes a very good year indeed.

It’s always nice to put some thought into those things we love.

Best Perfumery Trends in 2009:
It has to be oud, which is everywhere, suddenly for us in the west, but always a presence in the east. I am not located in a place easy for access to many of these, so I’m personally limited in knowledge to the ones I’ve sampled.

Kilian Pure Oud

First, perfumes.
As for perfumes, remember I’m in the back of beyond as far as easily sniffing some of the lines, so if you have a favorite or are a favorite, if I have samples, I’ll be glad to add my voice.

Best expensive niche:
Andy Tauer Une Rose Chyprée: A wearable rose, with vintage aspects, not quite dirty.
Anything by Ormonde Jayne or Andy Tauer or Ayala Moriel or Neil Morris or…

Best less expensive niche
Anything by Sonoma Scent.

Best in fragrances more easily found, some niche:
Kilian Back to Black
Kilian Pure Oud
Guerlain exclusives, take your pick. I like a number of them, including Moscow, Double Vanilla, 68, Chypre Fatale, La Petite Robe Noire…then there’s also Mon Precieux Nectar…I buy from Guerlain @ Palazzo in Las Vegas, ask for Claire. Call (702) 732-7008 or email: GuerlainPalazzo.STORE@lvmhuspc.com. Be sure to tell him that you heard it from me. (I saw them recently on a trip more locally, but the sales agent blew the sale with me. That’ll teach her, LOL!)

Serge Lutens, take your pick.
Prada, the original, and L’eau Ambree.
Chanel exclusives — I like Coromandel.

Best surprising fragrances
Le Jardin Retrouvé should be more fully known. I was glad to get a chance to review them.

Best inexpensive fragrances
Make Me Smooth
Bathed and Infused

Skin care that really works:
These are not new for 2009, but they still are going strong, and more importantly, work.

Best Moderate to expensive
Arbonne products RE9 or FC5; RE9 for the body is terrific.
Estee Lauder New Perfectionist CP+
La Prairie Cellular Anti-wrinkle Firming Serum; Cellular Hydrating is good too.

Best inexpensive skincare
Avon Ultimate Gold or Anew Alternative Intensive Age Treatment

Best cosmetic trends 2009
Minerals, everywhere. Some much better than others in texture and look.

Best color products, Not Mineral
High end
Chanel

Less expensive
Arbonne
Aromaleigh
Maybelline
NYX

Best lip gloss
MAC dazzlers comes in first
Beaute
Arbonne
Chanel

Best mineral niche
Aromaleigh or Fyrinnae

Best new product
Kindle 2 International — would be made better if it incorporated the ease of reading library ebooks, if our library had any. Please send us a free wireless download to add this in order to be competitive with Sony’s ereader. (Elena, you will really enjoy yours! Congrats on receiving it as a gift this Christmas.)

The best things in life are still free
You can find a gazillion free ebooks to read on your Kindle or other ebook reader before you even consider buying any ebooks.

Don’t forget to take time to view sunrises or sunsets or enjoy seeing bodies of water, free to all if we but take the time.

Internet friendships that become RL friendships. This is an amazing time we live in, when we can be instantly connected to friends around the world. You know who you are! I regularly keep in touch with friends in Europe and China, as well as at home from coast to coast. Not to mention checking in on blogs and yahoogroups I love that originate anywhere.

The qualities of hope, inspiration, gratitude, happiness, safety…

Don’t forget prayer…

What are your favorites?

I’m sure I left something out…
If I think of anything amazing, I will add it as the day goes on…

Have a good one!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Check out the other particpants:

http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com

http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/

http://ayalasmellyblog.blogspot.com/

http://bittergracenotes.blogspot.com/

http://qwendy.typepad.com/shoescakeperfume/

http://www.eiderdownpress.com/Perfume_Journal.html

http://www.scenthive.com

http://olfactarama.blogspot.com/

http://journal.illuminatedperfume.com/

http://arosebeyondthethames.blogspot.com/

http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/

http://underthecupola.blogspot.com/

and http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/

http://sonomascent.wordpress.com/

http://alliam-aredhead.blogspot.com/

http://scelfleah.blogspot.com/

http://ismellthereforeiam.blogspot.com

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Recently I’ve been thinking about the subject of youth and age and what constitutes beauty. Is beauty cookie cutter, the way some plastic surgeons make their patients? Does everyone have to look the same?

Is there a difference between elderly and aged?
A friend’s mother was elderly at age 50, but she wasn’t aged. She was actually younger looking at 60. That’s something to ascribe to!

And others who are clearly aged (in years) are not elderly. I laugh sometimes to see in a newspaper, “elderly woman, 63, in accident,” most likely written by someone a lot younger.

I have a very dear older friend who will never be aged. She keeps too current in her thoughts and attitude.

What constitutes age?
How does one get from thinking they will never age to thinking it has either begun or already happened?

How old is old? How old will old be?
There are claims that someone alive today will live to be 150. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of reality. It might be you; it might be me. Why not! I say I’d like to live to be 150 and look 60 — and I’m working on looking 60.

How old are some of the oldest today?
Yesterday, AOL had picture links to the world’s oldest, ranging in age from 112ish upwards to 140 (not verified, because there’s no birth certificate, but there is a passport.)

What about projections?
Projections of what beauty is are everywhere! Images, images, images, everywhere!

April 2009 Allure Magazine’s cover, which you can see here jumped out at me.

On the left side of a gorgeous picture of Taylor Swift are the words:

Younger
Fresher
Happier

Seriously, do they think younger and fresher equate to happiness? OK, OK, I’ll give you that no one wakes up in the morning thinking that older, haggard, and out-of-date equal happiness, but surely happiness is linked to something a bit deeper.

And seriously! how could she be any younger or fresher. Give me a break.

And while fresher can be achieved with cosmetics, it also refers to a state of mind. All the cosmetics in the world — or surgeries — won’t help an attitude if it is stuck and unwilling to be renewed, fresh, or modern.

Then it goes on to say:

* Anti-Age Creams
That Really Work
*Foods That Fight Wrinkles
*Timeless Ways to Dress
And More

I want to go on record to state that I categorically am sure that Taylor Swift uses them all. Not.

Let’s get real on a cover, shall we? I doubt she is giving a moment’s thought to what she will look like at 40 or 50 or (gasp) 60 or (double-gasp) 70 and beyond.

And she is a seriously beautiful young woman who knows what it is like to look different than her contemporaries when she was in school.

And let’s not forget that she had a stylist for this cover. Who wouldn’t want one!

Not to mention that finding any mention of eye creams is about impossible. How about putting the page on the cover? There was a mention of which eye creams sell the best in different areas of the country (p 60.) That doesn’t count.

And p 170-177 are seriously ugly. Ugly eyeliner. Ugly hair. But the model got the job. I bet she’s really quite lovely. Do we have to uglify ourselves in order to be beautiful?

Here’s a new book — surprise! — with the same subject matter:
Have you read the book? I’d like to!

Beauty Snob called it to my attention with a review that had me laughing. Thanks for reminding her that 40 was around the corner — and she was ‘pissy’ besides!

“I continue on and found my self laughing out loud at the “shout outs” author Charla Krupp (long time Beauty Editor of Glamour magazine) gives at the beginning of each chapter. “Nothing Ages You Like…. Too Long hair that’s parted down the middle, a solid block of hair color, gray or white brow hairs, obvious lip liner, yellow teeth etc etc”. To make a long story short, I ended up staying up half the night giggling over the photos and fast tips Krupp gives throughout the book. There were more than a few instances when I gasped and thought “I MUST STOP DOING THAT!” I went to bed with a smile on my face and excited about waking up to utilize some of the tips.” beautysnob

How about eyeshadow making one look old(er)?

“Some of the most notable tips are eye shadow
application. She shows photos of the “old” way and the “just right way”. For example, bright bands of shadow color and a single strip of false lashes? OLD! Blend nutral shadows and add small clusters of fake lashes are more natural and youthful. Another example is shadowing your eyes: The Old Way: Paint three distinct color blocks on the lid, one atop another, with the top tier a pearly white up to the brow bone. (So many of my friends are guilty of this! They think they’re blending but it looks scary!) The Newer Way: Use two neutral colors and blend them so they look natural. Oh, and there are lots of tips from experts like Chanel’s Chief International Make Up artist Susan Sterling who advises to never match your shadow with the color of your eyes because it’s “TACKY!”. The author and her friends do not mince words and you must read it for yourself! The book is highly addictive and funny to boot.” beautysnob

To tell you the truth, I’m a little tired of all the emphasis.
I’m tired of all the emphasis on the negativity of aging. Consider the alternative!

I’m tired of images of very young women superimposed with words stressing over aging.

How about you?

Several years ago, there was a photo spread in one of the magazines targeted to older women (likely 45 and up, LOL!) of women in their 60’s and 70’s. While each of them was different than the others, each was beautiful in her own right. There was the older woman who looked like my elderly grandmother did. There was the older woman with medium length layered hair who still looked like a coquette. There was a beautiful older black woman…and more. I clipped the photos. This was real life.

We can contribute our own pictures as the time comes.

How about the most obvious ways to look old?
Don’t take care of your skin.

Don’t take care of your hands. Allure talks about this too, on page 134.

Wear no makeup. Or conversely, wear the same makeup you wore at 18, unless you are only 22 or hit the right thing for you right off the bat, and it is still in style and modern. Or you are projecting a look.

How about staying fresh?
Be open to new ideas — don’t automatically be critical of or dismiss them.

Get out and about. Mingle with others who think differently than you do.

Get rid of things — and beliefs — that are no longer appropriate, don’t make you happy, or aren’t beautiful.

Learn something new everyday. If you’re not a reader, find someone who loves to share new ideas. Let them do the reading. Encourage them to share.

Make choices that lead to happiness.

Try to surround yourself with positive people. Be that positive person. Don’t be a joy-sucker.

Let by-gones be by-gones. Insofar as possible, forgive others, while being wise.

Be forward looking. Look to the future expecting good things.

Help someone.

Give a compliment.

Smile.

Last, do things because you are healthy, not to make you healthy.
When you are active, be like a child who is active because it is what a child does. And as you are active and receptive, you will be less inclined to think or act differently.

I have a dear friend who is up to 7 miles a week on his bike after a severe biking accident. Not only is he demonstrating increasing health, but he is expressing health every day. You rock!

Here’s a Bible promise I try to take to heart

Job 11: 17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid;

And what do you think about all this?
Do you know older men or women whose spirit shines through, and they are beautiful, whether conventionally or not? What makes them beautiful? Is it that you love them?

Who is the most beautiful older person you know?

My Chinese friend tells me that the Chinese believe that you become beautiful if you surround yourself with beauty. That’s not that difficult!

And I want you to know that I always find something of interest in Allure. I am not down on Allure.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-29 12:58:29.

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What an idiot! I’m laughing here, because obviously the guy knows what he is doing. My question is why.

It’s not what you think. He isn’t mountain climbing. He’s descending the mountain at umpteen mph on roller blades and wheeled knee and arm pads. Alrighty then!

I suppose you’d call this an extreme sport, and maybe we have others like him to thank for setting aside limitations that the rest of us know would be foolhardy for us.

And maybe it is safer than risking one’s life to actually help someone in danger. But the latter seems like a ‘better’ way to risk life and limb, if there is such a thing. Or maybe, the sheer joy of this makes it completely worthy of doing. Yikes!

I kept thinking of the motorcyclist being overtaken and passed by this guy. Seems like it would be startling to see something out of James Bond hurtle towards and around you. Or one of the drivers coming up the mountain.

Does it endanger anyone else? Do we need to take other people’s fears and attitudes into account?

At any rate, it is exhilarating to watch. I, frankly, would be an idiot to even contemplate it.

I think this could be used for a movie stunt!

What do you think?

Karin

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The Third Man Factor is an interesting concept. Evidently it should be The Fourth Man Factor, but

It was [Sir Ernest] Shackleton’s experience that inspired the term “Third Man factor” (although for his group it was actually a “fourth man” — T.S. Eliot misremembered the number when he wrote his poem The Waste Land, which popularized the idea). Geiger

The new book out by John Geiger sounds like a fascinating read.

Plus you can get this book for your Kindle.

The Third Man Factor is an extraordinary account of how people at the very edge of death experience the sense of an unseen presence beside them who encourages them to make one final effort to survive. This incorporeal being offered them a feeling of hope, protection, and guidance, and left the person convinced he or she was not alone. There is a name for this phenomenon: It’s called the Third Man Factor.

If only a handful of people had ever encountered the Third Man, it might be dismissed as an unusual delusion shared by a few overstressed minds. But over the years, the experience has occurred again and again, to 9/11 survivors, mountaineers, divers, polar explorers, prisoners of war, sailors, shipwreck survivors, aviators, and astronauts. All have escaped traumatic events only to tell strikingly similar stories of having sensed the close presence of a helper or guardian. The force has been explained as everything from hallucination to divine intervention. Recent neurological research suggests something else. Amazon

You can read a long excerpt from his book here. One of the stories he relates is of Ron DiFrancesco who was the last person to make it out of the South Tower alive. He felt such a presence. It came to him as a voice, telling him what to do, encouraging him to survive, changing the direction in which he headed.

One of the interesting things to me was to learn this phenomena has existed in many places. I suppose I would prefer to think of the man as an angel or of Christ. It reminds me of the Biblical story of the three men thrown in the fiery furnace, but witnesses saw a fourth man walking.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Dan 3:25

Do you find this interesting?
Do you find it as interesting as I do to have a kind of substantiation of the Bible story by modern day experiences? I take things on faith, but it is good to have proofs of a sort anyway, not that all the proofs in the world would change someone’s mind that is already made up.

I can’t say I’ve ever felt a presence per se, but I have had words come to me as thoughts. I have never been in any extreme survival situation.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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In the presence of good

Nicholas Winton, now 100 years old, was a 29 year old London stockbroker who traveled to Czechoslovakia in 1938, where he rescued hundreds of Jewish children from likely or certain death. Winton’s parents were of German Jewish descent.

Even his wife didn’t know about it until 40 years after they were married, he remarked in 1999.

Everything that happened before the war actually didn’t feel important in the light of the war itself.

Winton, alarmed at the time — and rightly — that Czechoslovakia would be invaded by the Nazis and Jewish residents sent to concentration camps, persuaded British officials to accept the children as long as foster homes were found and a 50 pound guarantee was paid for each child. He set about raising funds and organizing passage.

Eight trains carried the children to Britain in the months before the war. A few went to Sweden. Many never saw their parents again, because of the Holocaust.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the rescue, a vintage train carrying about two dozen survivors and their families pulled into London’s Liverpool Street Station this past Friday after three days journey by rail and ferry from Prague. They greeted Nicholas, frail though he was.

It’s wonderful to see you all after 70 years. Don’t leave it quite so long until we meet here again. Nicholas Winton

I never heard about him until today when the story of the kindertransports was retold in our paper.

It’s quite remarkable that someone in the heat of confusing times would be led to act decisively in a timely fashion without regard to himself to save others and give them life. It looks easy in retrospect, but I bet we don’t know the half of it or the persuading that needed to take place. And I don’t suppose that 50 pounds each was a small sum in those days, not to mention the cost of passage.

To me, he is a righteous man. The world would have been poorer without him. He’s another man I’d like to know. I was glad he lived long enough to be recognized for his part. And not to forget the part of all those who aided in giving funds, some of whom might have been their own families. May their memories be for a blessing.

Had you heard of him before?

Don’t be prepared in your life only to do no wrong; Be prepared every day to try to do some good. Sir Nicholas Winton

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don’t steal my posts — you know who you are!

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Andy Pumphrey is a young man from Oakland, CA, now age 23, I’d like to know. He is a friend’s goddaughter’s brother.

He broke his back in a 36 foot fall saving his niece and was paralyzed for a period of time. He has made a remarkable, even some say miraculous, recovery that he and others attribute to the power of prayer. He worked hard for this recovery, and there were others who helped him along the way.

You can see a short video update about him here.

It’s an inspiration to me. I was touched by the love expressed by him and to him.

Something to link with this is BORP Bay Area Outreach and Recreational Program, with a cycling fundraiser benefiting athletes with disabilities.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don’t steal my posts — you know who you are!

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Have you read the story of the 98 year old woman rescued under the rubble of her house after Italy’s recent terrible earthquake?

When asked what she did alone in the dark for 30 hours? She crocheted! What a gal! I’d love to see what she crocheted.

I don’t think it is possible to keep a woman like this down.

My dear grandmother was quite a crocheter but she stopped long before age 98. She made one beautiful bedspread out of the equivalent of string, the thread was so tiny.

Do you crochet?

I like to crochet, but lately I’ve been knitting.

Karin

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