"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars...to change the world"
-Harriet Tubman

Oh dear...Monday I found myself sick again. I quite literally lost my voice. And unlike Tinkerbell it could not be revived with applause and faith. Though at the time I was quite restless about my home bound situation I was able to find time to enjoy the little pleasures of being home. Yet again I was inspired by my kitchen window and the posse of stray cats that seem to call my backyard home. The following is a snippet I collected in my journal. I attempted to venture out to take pictures; however as I have found there are some things that we can capture on film, others we can capture with words, and still others that can never be captured and that remain wild and vivid only in our own minds. So though my words below may fail to capture quite the scene it is my feeble attempt to share something quite lovely with y'all:

-a bright red cardinal is what initially caught my eye. He was hopping about the large evergreen. His bright red color made him easy to see as he poked around the tree.
-its little friend I spotted soon after. A little dark brown bird with a nose like a cranberry kiss and a touch of flame at its breast.
-as they played a patient cat sat at the base of the tree staring into space, but keenly aware of what was happening in his tree. The tree in his mind is clearly his tree. It may be in my backyard; however I couldn't say that a human owner could call dibs on ownership. That is a battle between the cats and birds.
-two other wild cats were playing on the lingering snow, chasing each other merrily.
-touches of the last snow haunt the edges of the evergreen and the battle lines between Spring and Winter are drawn.

So hard to capture in words...and with all the movement impossible on film, but hopefully y'all catch the gist. So many things happen right under our noses...we just have to take a moment to find whole other worlds open to us.

Living in Boston one would think that this post would be filled with snow covered images and things of that ilk. The snow is on my mind (and still on my boots) and I am working on a post about investment that was inspired by this righteous blizzard; however today I would like to revisit a sun drenched day that I had only a mere week ago...

On a whim I had traveled to Broadmoore Sanctuary. Well, perhaps it was less of a whim and more a desire to escape something that has been weighing on me more heavily that the snow on the branches of the trees. I have realized that as of late I have let a certain something steal my light. I believe that we should share our light with others. That we can be the light at the end of the tunnel for one another at times of personal darkness, but we should never let anyone take our light. I say this because I am a positive and lighthearted person yet I sometimes allow myself and my light to be diminished. I encourage all of us to nourish ourselves and if there are situations or people in our lives that are not healthy for us- or that we are in turn not healthy for either- to examine whether or not health can be restored. Furthermore, we often drop the things that nourish us the most when we become busy and when our lives become congested so I further challenge myself and you to-

"Recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings you joy, and care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life"

Jean Shinoda Bolen

And now on to what nourishes my own soul and my respite from little earthquakes....

 At certain points of my walk I felt for sure I was a character in Lord of the Rings. I walked with purpose as if on a quest.

 Everywhere I looked were little patches of mossy beauty. I adore Blue Hills; however there is not often  any sign of creatures of the non human variety. At Broadmoore I heard birds chirping all around me and saw them playing among the trees. Their song brought me hope.

'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence'.

- Helen Keller

Stand tall and shine bright my friends.