Best wishes to all my clients, friends, and associates for a joyous New Year filled with love , laughter and joy!
“New Year – a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours. — Alex Morrit
May you write the “story” of your dreams this year.
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all. And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I’ve heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest sea. Yet never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me
~Emily Dickinson
My favorite bird by a long shot is the blue bird. They visit me often in my yard pecking bugs from the garden or hopping into the bird bath for a quick rinse. When my mother was alive, she loved the blue birds and at the end when she could barely speak she pointed at them from her bed which overlooked the garden to let me know that she knew they were there and saying hello. Now whenever I see a blue bird I am convinced Mother sent them from heaven as a harbinger of hope and to say a quick hello to her daughter.
One person’s theory on the meaning of the poem. “Emily Dickinson describes hope as a bird with feathers that perches in the soul. Where it sings without words or pause. The song of hope sounds even in the Gale and in the coldest places. She says that she hears the bird of hope “in the chillest land” and “on the strangest Sea” but it never leaves her alone and it never asks for a crumb of her, even in the worst conditions,”
So next time you see a little bird saying hello, think of it as a harbinger of hope reminding you of the constant singing in your soul.
The Beautiful Flowers of Carmel
I visited Carmel many times before moving here and I always went home with the striking image of flowers in my mind. Everywhere I went in Carmel, there were aways flowers. In people’s yards, hanging from their houses, in restaurants, in the plaza, in the park, in the retail stores and even in front of real estate offices.
I would go home determined to plant more flowers in my yard, which I usually did. I’m not sure there is anything else that is a growing thing that can put me in such a delightful mood! I love asparagus, but it does’t make my heart sing like flowers do. So enjoy some of the “belles fleures” of Carmel.
‘Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” ~Luther Burbank
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ~Henri Matisse
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ~Claude Monet
“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” ~Theodore Roethke
“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”
~Edna St. Vincent Millay
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
~Victor Hugo
I will end with my favorite flower. Talk about making my heart sing – gazing at, experiencing it, and smelling it -a rose makes my heart sing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus of the Messiah.
So I urge you, stop and smell and enjoy and savor the roses and all the other beautiful flowers of Carmel. If you’re somewhere else, smell the sweet gifts of nature wherever you are! But we hope you’ll come to Carmel soon!
“We, the greatest of all creators, with capabilities to build cities and inspire nations, are squandering our time watching reruns of “I Love Lucy”. We have forgotten that whole galaxies exist within our grasp.”
— Pam Grout
