ponderings

yes. i’ve got two places i call home. and that is an amazing gift. one that i do not take for granted, and one for which i am extremely appreciative. in both places, i…

the forest by ågelsjön. just outside norrköping, sweden. let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. it will not lead you astray. ~ rumi the archipelago. skeppsgården, sweden.…

“Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how…

i love the beginning of a month. it’s like a chance to start over every 30/31 days. a clean slate. something new. new possibilities. new opportunities. new adventures. there’s truly something about a new…

well, i’m close to finishing 2 of my 4 weeks of vacation this summer. i haven’t been anywhere, but that feels ok. in fact, it feels necessary and important. of course there is the…

i could be angry. but i choose to channel that anger into passion. i could live in fear. but i choose to face my fears. i could feel overwhelmed and give up. but i…

i find myself on sidewalks a lot these days. standing on street corners. waiting for buses. and since i’m waiting around a lot, i’ve got time to think. and people watch too, of course.…

i’ve got butterflies in my stomach. my palms are sweating. my heart is pounding in my chest. mentally, i feel quite calm. but, my body clearly feels otherwise. what’s the deal? i know it…

why is it that yesterday, when i had nothing i had to do until lunch time, i woke up at 4:30 and struggled to fall asleep again; and today, i woke to my 6:30…

my entire bedroom has an orange-pink glow to it as the sun sets. it’s warm & calming. i’m under the covers, computer’s on my lap, and the cat is trying to figure out where…

i feel stressed today. no real reason why, i guess. true, i have quite a bit to do, but it’s not bad stuff. it’s not that tough either, just things that need to be…

how is it possible that today is the last day of june?! where has this year gone? we are halfway through 2012 already. it’s crazy. well, because it’s the last day of the first…

wanderlust. wanderlust. wanderlust. i wanna travel. it’s summer & i wanna get outta dodge. i’m ready for a change of scenery. but, for now, i’m staying home. gonna enjoy some time right here, and…

if you know me, in real life or in the blog world, then you know that most days i am seeking the calm, peaceful, and meditative vibes in life. and that’s just fine &…

“if you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden to click this pic i found myself crawling on the ground, laying in…

today’s photo challenge prompt is up-close. i first took a picture of the bracelet i was wearing, making it look a little artsy. you can see it here. then, i snapped this up-close shot…

my something beautiful from today: our friends’/lina’s “brother’s” newborn baby girl’s hand. we’re aunts again. yippee! good evening, good people. well, it’s the last night of may 2012, and the birth of a beautiful…

“why am i as i am? to understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth must be reviewed. all of our experiences fuse into our personality. everything that ever happened to us…

i kept trying to think of something really creative for today’s photo challenge… numbers. but, nothing came to me. though, i did keep looking at this clock this afternoon and thinking about how time…

well, maybe i’m not really wearing my emotions on my sleeve since i’m not really showing them much these days. it’s not that i don’t want to, but i don’t really know how. its…

with technology, we always think about moving forward. progressing. everything getting better. faster. thinner. sleeker. cooler. smarter. and to be honest, that is what happens with technology. it gets “better” with time. it improves.…

it’s nothing really. just a little case of homesickness… wanting to take my love & head down south to the beaches of north carolina, see my family, and stay a while. deep sigh. peace.…

good tuesday morning, everyone! as i get back down to business (after some hours off yesterday), i wanted to share with you a quote that i stumbled upon. i love it. it speaks truth.…

i did it. i made it. i stood up, opened my mouth, and let the swedish flow. ok, perhaps it didn’t flow perfectly. perhaps i stumbled over some pronunciations and mixed up some grammar.…

sometimes, something comes along at just the right moment. call it karma, providence, serendipity, luck, whatever. somehow it just happens… it’s a mystery. a sacred, secret, wonderful mystery how these things happen. but they…

some days you expect the sun to shine, and instead rain falls from the sky. and then, other days, you believe it will be rainy & cold, only to realize that the sun breaks…

there are four questions of value in life: what is sacred? of what is the spirit made? what is worth living for? what is worth dying for? the answer to each is the same:…

for me, today is all about passion. surrender. and trust. passion for a cause, or a belief, that is so strong that one is wiling to risk his or her life – literally or…

quote of the day: history, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. ~ Maya Angelou today i took this picture of the church where…

quote of the day: “they say the most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you realize why you were born.” ~ Viola Davis, 2012 Critic’s Choice…

i’m hoping to find something at the end of the rainbow today, since it’s st. patrick’s day. i’m hoping that the luck of the irish will shower down on me and at the end…

that’s it. i decided that this cold is gonna leave me and i’m forcing it out by staging a bed-in. that’s a sit-in in a bed. yep. i’ve been in bed all day (ok.…

it has been 4 years since i left my job, my family, my world as i knew it behind. why? in search of what? well, i suppose it was in search of myself. it…

i don’t know why, but i have a french music obsession today. i’m playing one soothing playlist after another. perhaps somewhere deep inside of me i’m tapping into my french-ness. i have no connection…

oh my gosh. where do i begin? life is crazy right now. really good, but crazy. working 1 job 50% and having an internship 50% is about to rip me in two. don’t get…

 me hanging out at work friday night, waiting for the youth i work with to arrive. i drank waaaayyy too much coffee last night at work. can you say hyper & unable to sleep?…

it has worked out that i have some time in front of me to use as i wish. some hours, at least. so, why is it that when i have the time, i have…

for my own mental health, i have given in to the new year’s resolution/promise thing. i figured i needed some discipline in my life. some routine. and it felt like a good decision this…

looking back over this year, i realize that it has been truly, truly amazing! i have completed my first full year as a resident of sweden, traveled around the world some, learned a new…

hey, my dear readers and welcome to the middle days. the ones in-between christmas & new year’s day. and you know what, i’m determined to use these middle days for myself… to take it…

it’s here. the longest night of the year. today is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere of the world. the shortest day of the year, which means that there is more darkness today…

i got this card almost 4 years ago when i visited greece for the first time. i have always thought that icons & images are interesting and beautiful, but when i saw this one, i…

 the december winter sky outside my window. it’s friday. i’m stressed because i have so much to do over the next 3 days. it’s all christmas-related. how is it that we get so over-booked…

on wednesdays it feels like i work forever. and when i finally get home, i can’t help but turn on my computer & click on all my favorite sites… catch up with friends &…

i’m still in the middle of my little personal retreat. i’m not quite ready to share what i’ve read from joseph campbell (the guy i referred to in yesterday’s post). i’m still soaking it…

a rainy window, with christmas lights outside, on the first sunday in advent. last night there was a storm all across southern sweden. kind of a scandinavian hurricane, you could say. it’s been chaos……

sunday was a good day. it felt simple. that’s just the best way to describe it. simple. ordinary. and yet, extraordinary.   i woke a few minutes after ten. that doesn’t happen often at…

ok. finally a teeny, tiny bit of time to write. wednesdays are my long days. i go to both of my jobs. church and then the youth organization where i have a paid internship.…