Welcome to EOF737′s Mirth and Motivation. This is a positive kismet,motivational blog offering tips, advice, interviews, social media ruminations as well as creative, spiritual, inspirational insights on people, places, and the events that shape our lives. My wish is that this site will welcome, inform, and encourage you to connect and contribute to the ever growing online community and conversations.
One of the fundamental rules of blogging is to manage our message/content by adding value; I plan to do so here by honoring my commitment to you, dear reader, and seeking your expertise and feedback. Something I know for sure is that we all want to be heard, appreciated and respected; that truthful, timely and positive messages are far more appealing than incendiary angling for blog attention. If your blogosphere surfing brings you here, stay a while and share a positive tidbit on your worldview.
So, How should we handle the global economic shift? How do we stay mirthful and motivated? Continue reading →
“Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water bath is to the body.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Etta James – At Last Lyrics via RomanticLyrics.com
At last, my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh, yeah, yeah, at last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clovers
The night I looked at you
And I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to rest my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh, yeah when you smile, you smile
Oh, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine
At last… Do you have songs that make you stop and smile or perhaps, cry? When the mind is restless, nerves frayed, and the body tired, a little music or perhaps a lot of great music helps us settle back into our groove again. Etta James gave us great music. Etta was a dynamic and powerful singer who didn’t hesitate to speak her mind when she saw fit. She was as passionate about her tumultuous life as she was about her music, and in her autobiography, “Rage to Survive,” she shared parts of her darkest hours. Even though she started her career singing gospel songs in church, her musical range covered a number of genres from rhythm & blues, to jazz and pop. Etta left this world on Friday; leukemia-related complications took her from us all. She was 73 years old. RIP Etta…
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato
On Music: At Last And More... Ella Fitzgerald in 1947
Last night, I watched the Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, starring Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni and Marion Cotillard. It’s a complex story about a young couple, who travel to Paris, and have their lives transformed; especially the man who happens to be a writer. No spoilers here. What I loved about the movie, aside from all the great artists/creatives who show up, was the music – Let’s Do It by Cole Porter, performed at one of the parties in Paris. Enjoy Ella’s version above. A little nostalgia goes a long way…
“Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite.” Thomas Carlyle
Sometimes, words don’t do justice to our articulation of the beauty of a musical piece. We just have to listen to it and delve deep into the magic. I love this piece… Jazz guitarist, Ernest Ranglin’s music will calm your heart and soothe your soul… so divine. I believe Marsha of Inside Journeys introduced me to this one.. Enjoy! More below.
“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing that all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become…” Lady Bird Johnson
On The Environment: Thirty Go Green Tips... Help reduce our environmental carbon footprint
“We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology, and yet every one of us, in our own little comfortable ways, contributes daily to that destruction. It’s time now to awaken in each one of us the respect and attention our beloved Mother deserves.” Ed Asner
What do you do to conserve energy, reduce your carbon footprint, and support the planet? By now most of us are aware of the need to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle our stuff to ensure the longevity and sustainability of our planet. Every day, even in smal ways, we consume and discard billions of stuff that add to our landfills, waste energy and deplete our environment. Did you know that at 18 mpg, a gas guzzling car emits about 6 tons of carbon dioxide per year? Below are thirty commonsense, easy to remember tips to help us go green and protect our environment.
♥Buy local produce from your farmer’s market.
♥Fix water leaks
♥Share rides by carpooling
♥Turn lights off when not in use
♥Choose to walk
♥Bring your own grocery bag to the supermarket
♥Use energy efficient “energy star” appliances
♥Do an energy audit of your space
♥Take short showers
♥Buy food items with the “Fair Trade” label
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” Aldo Leopold
On The Environment: Thirty Go Green Tips... Our carbon cycle
This afternoon, I went to the post office to mail off a package. As I stood talking to the lady behind the mail room counter, she suggested I look at the new selection of novelty, forever stamps on file. The one on the environment (see first picture above) caught my eye because it was easy to read and offered practical, smart tips that we often forget. I bought a booklet, took some pictures, and created this post… The muse was working overtime reading up on biochemical cycles. Of course, the irony is that while we are encouraged to conserve energy, protect the environment, pay bills online, and cut back on mailers and paper usage, our post offices continue to offer commemorative stamps for our enjoyment and use. The day will come when we’ll have specially designed, reusable, receptacles for our mail…
♥Create compost with leftovers and use it for gardening/farming
♥Hang clothes out to dry and let nature do the work
♥Recycle more
♥Ride a bicycle
♥Plant trees
♥Pay bills online
♥Use cloth instead of kitchen paper towels
♥Check if your utility company offers green power options
♥Switch off & unplug unused appliances including your computer
♥Stay educated and informed: subscribe, watch, read important information on the environment; Story of stuff, Food Inc, TreeHugger, Worldwatch Institute, Simple Organic, Keeper of the Home, The Daily Green, The Freecycle Network Happy Australia Day! Read more on it onBarb’s blog. More on going green below.
“Empower yourself and realize the importance of contributing to the world by living your talent. Work on what you love. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you.” Catharina Bruns
Serendipity helped me strike gold today. I was contemplating the idea of not writing a post, when Erica V, one of our Daily Post coordinators, posted a brilliant piece on using inspirational quotes as a way to stimulate our creative juices. Her post was the impetus for this one; plus I loved the quote she shared and have used it above. I always use quotes on my blog, and I enjoy searching both online and offline for the right quotes to fit a post. However, as we all know, there are days when nothing quite registers and we have to keep an open mind/eye to other possibilities.
Part of empowering ourselves involves trusting that we can accomplish the goals we envision, and that guidance comes through many channels. We must move our feet first… How do you empower yourself?
As I read Erica’s post and followed her link to Brain Pickings, one thing led to another, and, including the picture above, I found the following inspiring sites worth visiting: Work Is Not A Job: An Inspiring concept and design studio owned by Catharina Bruns TentBlogger: A fellow blogger offers a great post with inspirational quotes Holstee.com: An Innovative store that encourages us to consider a lifestyle design with a conscience.
When we take action to enrich our lives and minds, we are empowering ourselves… More below.
Welcome to EOF737′s Mirth and Motivation. This is a positive kismet, motivational blog offering tips, advice, interviews, social media ruminations as well as creative, spiritual, inspirational insights on people, places, and the events that shape our lives. My wish is that this site will welcome, inform, and encourage you to connect and contribute to the ever growing online community and conversations.
