Growing Pains

On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.  -Buddha

We often complain about our lives and how hard they are.  One of the lessons in this short quote is – lead a good, pure life, and the way is not so hard.  

If life is hard, then it is growing pains. The person is moving away from faith and being good and kind and industrious.  When we move off the path of doing things that are right, we grow and stretch our learning, and we hurt our selves and others along the way.  There are not any shortcuts.  It is life.

Blessings,

Judy

Holding The Light

One of the most difficult things to do, I think, is to hold the light every minute of the day, especially when you have to work at a job where this may be difficult.  

Light in this case is defined as goodness, kindness, respect, integrity, unconditional love, and compassion.  The person is without ego, goes with the flow, and lives in gracefulness, without judgement and criticism of others.  Some folks are lucky to be born in this state and to hold it through out life.  Others of us have to work at it.

How do you find ways to keep your light present when people are arguing, or back stabbing, or even crying?

Blessings,

Judy

King Penguin Talks of Old Friends

The penguins at the Calgary Zoo are now doing their penguin walk daily at 10:30am, weather permitting.  Watching the penguins is a joyful activity and brings smiles to most everyone.  I received my reminder to go to watch the penguins and it made me think of their activities.

King Penguins live in the Antarctic and the very southern tips of countries close to the Antarctic.  Their numbers are huge – in the millions – and their colonies are very large.  It is easy to become parted from your friends – those chicks that you grew up with in the crèche.  Finding a friend after several years is an unusual occurrence and one that has some of the same ceremony that human reunions have.

King Penguin shows us that:

• there is nothing quite like an old friend
• affection should be displayed
• life can be full of surprises
• everyone loves to be appreciated

Blessings,

Judy

Otter Water Play

 

Otters are such beautiful creatures.  I think it is because of their playfulness and their loving personality.  This picture grabbed me because it reflects what Otter wants to show us.

• Love and affection are a way of life, and should not be withheld, even from one’s self.
• Water is about emotion.  What better place to practice love and kindness.
• Being of the light and being buoyant seem to go hand in hand.  Buoyancy is associated with water.
• Whiskers are little antennae that help us pick up the information around us.  Otter whiskers pick up love and playfulness.
• Otter tells us to dive deeply into what is holding us back from being utterly loving.

May Otter appear in your life today – in the flesh, in pictures, on billboards, or on TV.

Blessings,

Judy

Love, Love!

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

Mother Teresa

One of the things that makes me the happiest in life, is when people come to our house and tell me that they love the feeling in our house; that they feel sad to leave our house.   I saw this quote from Mother Theresa and I believe that many people feel this way when they leave our house.

May you find people that feel this way in your life.

Blessings,

Judy

Miracle of Life

Picture of the fountain at The Saskatoon Farm in Alberta - taken by J Hirst

‘Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.’ ~Thich Nhat Hanh

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I read this quote several times.  It triggered so many questions in my mind. Why would we not touch the miracle of being alive?

As I contemplated and quested in my mind, I realized that several things come in to play in each of our lives.

• Some of us come with a contract to Earth to do the bare minimum of living.
• Some come to experience a variety of things - drugs, alcoholism, debilitating disease, rejection, becoming a cleric or monk, being a hero, and the list goes on.
• Some come with the ability to enjoy Nature and the little miracles that happen each day but are ignored by many.
• Some come to change the world.

Some are on a continuum of the above that lets them see the miracle of life as they become seniors.  How we live is perfect for why we are here.

Blessings,

Judy

Life Is Balanced

The poster says:

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; And for everything you gain, you lose something else.  It is about your outlook towards life.  You can either regret or rejoice.  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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You choose the pace of the balance in your life.  Choose wisely. 

Blessings,

Judy

A Full Life

 

The poster says:

Eat better. Run more. Lift more. Sleep earlier. Wake up earlier.  Make a good breakfast.  drink water. Read books.  Talk less. Listen more.  Open your eyes.  Love better.  Feel deeper. Be happy.  Experience life.  - Author not known.

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As we move closer to the start of 2026, many of us will begin to make lists of New Year’s resolutions or wishes for the New Year.  The poster above is a wonderful list to start your resolutions. 

Each year, I do a list… 101 wishes for the upcoming year.  You can read my post about it from 2023 at https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/101-wishes-for-new-years-day-2023.html.

This year, I started early and so far, I have 61 items on my list.  I will add some of these ideas from the poster.  I really like:  open your eyes, and love better.

Many blessings,

Judy

Merry Christmas 2025

Merry Christmas to each of you!  May today be filled with peace, love, and humour.  This Christmas is a bit different for us as our dog who turned fourteen years old a short time ago, is now in his final days.  He has taught us so much over the years.  And, he has taught others too, about loving and accepting new people to your life.

I think that dogs are the only beings that interact with humans that know that Christmas, and every other day of the year, is about love.  

The message that came through my meditation was all around love, and especially love with compassion and without limits.  All dogs seem to have that unbelievable ability to love unconditionally and with a sense of compassion that I marvel at.

This Christmas, I noticed that the number of people walking dogs in our off leash park has increased.   I look at the faces of the people with dogs, and those without, and I see that dog owners seem to be more relaxed, and they seem to be happier with what they are doing.

I chatted with several new comers to the dog walking trail, and found that they had decided that rather than give a lot of presents, that they would adopt a dog for Christmas.  They were finding it challenging to fit in many activities plus a new dog, however, all were happy with their choices.

I wonder, sometimes, how the Universe lines up these pairings of people and dogs.  I wonder how long it takes to get to that place where the right dog and the right people are finally able to live out their contract.  I wonder what happens when a matching does not happen.  

I am so very glad that dogs are working with humans.  We are all better off, I think.

 Blessings,

Judy

How To Accomplish Change

 The poster says:

The three C’s of life:  Choices, Chances, Changes.

You must make a Choice to take a Chance or your life will never Change.

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We are in December, the time of year when many folks start looking at their life and wishing it was different.  It may be the unhappiness of family and friends and their dramas.  Or, it may be a dis-satisfaction with the work or career.  Sometimes, it is a general depression that one is not where they thought they would be at this time.  This is a time to look at the three C’s of life.

If life isn’t going the way that you imagined that it would, then life is telling you that you need to change something.  For each of us, that “something” is different.  Yes, it is because we are unique.  Our differences mean that our choices must be different.  

If someone is telling you and one hundred others that you must make a choice to do “something”, then recognize that all one hundred and one of you are being treated the same, and your differences are not being accounted for.

If you keep making the same choices over and over, you are not only in a pattern, you are in a rut!  The only way that you can get out of the rut is to choose to climb out of it.

If you want to make changes, ask the Angels for help.  They will stand with you and help you shift.

Blessings,

Judy

Self Care at Christmas

 

Over the last several years, I have published several articles about self care.  Today, as we are nine days away from Christmas, please take to heart the idea of making your life easier, especially in the kitchen.  Look at “Load the Dishwasher Twice” about the idea of making dishwashing easier….. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2025/08/run-dishwasher-twice.ht…

If you are stressing about how you look for Christmas, check out this post… https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/self-needs-care.html

Lacking energy?  Check out Stretching for More Energy…. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/01/stretching-for-self-care-and-more-energy.html

Here is my favourite post… Self Care at Christmas …. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2022/12/self-care-at-christmas.html

Remember, only we can truly care for our self.  This post about Responsibility for Self talks about what you can do…. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2025/01/responsibility-for-our-self.html

Blessings,

Judy

No Arguments

 

The poster says:

For your own sanity, let people think whatever they want.

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Have you noticed that so many people seem to have only half of the information about a subject and then they want to press their understanding of the subject on you.  

As we listen, we know that their knowledge is lacking and that often, they quote an unreliable source.  We can share with them and point out the facts that they are missing.  This will usually lead to an argument.  

Is it worth your time to argue with someone who obviously does not want to admit to all the facts, and, who may have an emotional attachment to their current belief? 

I have accepted that it is far more important for my time and my energy to let people believe what they will.  It is not my job to correct them.  Part of their life journey is to learn what beliefs and values they hold are true and what beliefs and values are not true.  That is the journey of self discovery.  Who are we to create road blocks on the journey.

Many blessings,

Judy

Build A Door

 

The picture says:

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.  -- Milton Berle

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Many people think that they need to wait for something to happen to them before they can make a change... whether it is about work, home life, or taking a risk.  As Milton Berle says, sometimes you need to build the door to create the opportunity.  

We are not educated as we grow up to look to creating our own thing.  We are taught always to be inside the box.  As we look around, the box is broken and maybe even crushed.  We need to do new things to give ourselves and the next generations a new objective.  

Many of us remember jobs, for example, that no longer exist and technology that is gone that was once state of the art.  As we grow and get creative, we can invent new ways of being.  

Blessings,

Judy

Just Your Life

 

                                                       Picture of Elbow River by J Hirst

What is this? This is just your life. So you do your part, and the rest is clear. It is clear because there has never been anything lacking, despite any beliefs you might have, despite any ideas you might have. There has never been anything lacking. - Elihu Genmyo Smith, "Do Your Best"

 

I really think that this quote says all there is to say about life.

 

Blessings,

Judy

Words Have Power

The sign says:

Dear Life,

When I say “things could not get any worse”, it is NOT a challenge.

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This sign is for all the people that think they have life tough -  and then try to rationalize what they are thinking.   And, we have all done it!

The continuous challenge that each of us has is to speak positively and not in the negative.  We are what we think and speak.

Blessings,

Judy

Three Hornets and Me

 

                   Picture from ridmycritters.com since I do not have a picture of my hornets

In September, we were still having beautiful weather.  I had yard work to do but I sat down to work at my laptop on a project.  As I started to open Microsoft Word, a strange message came up, telling me that I had been hit by a virus and that I needed to download a virus patch.

I recognized the message as a fake, and I immediately turned off access to the internet.  I then tried to use my virus removal software.  However, clever hacker had written the virus to block any program that scanned and removed viruses, Trojans, spyware, or worms.

I was very angry at the hacker that wrote this code.  Coincidently, I was feeling upset about all the yard work that I still had to do, and, I was upset that my dishwasher was not working properly.  I was also sitting in the kitchen.  As I was thinking all these things, three Hornets flew through the open door and settled in the kitchen, at the window, close to my chair. 

The three Hornets were pretty agitated that they could see where they wanted to go – the big outdoors – through the glass, but, they could not get there.  The buzzing got louder and louder.  The Fool in me (the Fool is the first card in the Tarot) laughed and said, “Well, isn’t that Nature imitating Life!” 

I had to laugh too.

Although Hornet has a bad reputation, she is about working with the Earth, about being grounded, about being secluded, and about leaving others alone.  Nothing makes a Hornet angrier than being disturbed in its work.  Again, I laughed.  I was imitating Nature.

Common sense kicked in, and I realized that I would need to fix my laptop, and delete the virus.  I also realized that it would probably take some time. 

Since all things are perfect, I knew that I was not meant to work on the project I was going to start on my computer today. I wasn't meant to do yard work, either. I needed to settle in and fix things.

I am grateful!

Blessings,

Judy

The Tiger Lily

Picture comes from TheMarthaBlog.com because I could not find my picture of lilies.

This post comes from my journal from about ten years ago.  Sometimes, writing something in the past calls me to write it to others.  

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The Tiger Lily always makes me think of my Grandmother who has been deceased for about fifteen years.  She loved the color of the flower, its resilience to drought and to drowning, and she loved that it stands straight up, looking at the Sun.  She would tell my brother and I, when we were five and six, that we should be like the Tiger Lily.

As I am processing big changes in my life, I decided that I would do some yard work.  I realized that my flower beds were looking bedraggled, and decided to go to check out the offerings at the nursery.  I felt like I was pulled over to the perennial section where there was a huge display of tiger lilies and other lilies.  The orange, and yellow, and pink lilies called to a part of my soul, and I went home with six pots of lilies.  

As I thought about my purchase, I realized that I felt happy and peaceful.  I felt the presence of my Grandmother like a warm hug.  Again, I could see Great Spirit’s hand in the way that I was guided out to the yard, and then to the nursery.  I felt the healing presence of great love and compassion.  I planted my lilies and I felt as though the world shifted for me.

Try planting a lily and see if it changes your feelings.

 

Blessings,

Judy

Calm

When everything seems to be in chaos,

Find a place where it is calm. 

Here is the center of creation,

The place where you were born.

Each of you comes from a calmness

Of the Eternal Flame of life. 

It is not your nature to be angry or in upheaval.

You are Elemental.  You are healing.

Remember that most things are not about you;

Indeed, most often life is not about you at all.

Find that place where in the calmness, you can see

That life happens and does not need an explanation.

Be still.

Be calm.

 

Blessings,

Judy

Happy November 1 2025

As November kicks off, people in the Northern Hemisphere are settling in for Winter with its cold and snow and Christmas preparations.  

November is a good month for practicing "letting go" of things, feelings, and family/friends that no longer serve you.  Note that serve does not mean in the sense that they are your servants but in the sense that they do not provide any support or encouragement in your life.  If the person makes your life more difficult by demanding that you do this or that, then that person has an agenda that excludes any benefit to you.

For example, if you want to do something like take art classes and those around you tell you that it is a waste of money or that you do not have talent, then they are an example of someone that does not serve you.  Their most common comeback for what they say is, "I am just looking out for your best interest".  This is a falsehood because it would be in your best interest to experience something new.  They don't want you to move ahead or progress so they make up reasons to hold you back.

Generally, people are competitive and are afraid that you will do better than them, or, be better than them.  Therefore, individuals will try to hold you back, selfishly, so that you do not make them look unsuccessful or lazy or….

Many blessings,

Judy

Think Thoughts That Make You Feel Good!

   

“Think thoughts that make you feel good, make choices that make you feel good, and take actions that make you feel good. Then surrender the outcome, trusting that Life will bring you what you need to grow and be happy.” 

- from You Can Create An Exceptional Life by Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson

Sometimes, we make a decision or choice that leaves us feeling off balance or anxious, and sometimes, guilty.  The only way to avoid these feelings is to think thoughts that are happy and positive.  Those thoughts come from the heart and will always be the right thing at that moment in time.  Thoughts, choices, and actions that come from ego will most often be the cause of all of the drama that shows up in your life.

Blessings,

Judy