Find inspiration in the world about you however dark the day! Do you have a sense of wonder?

Inspiration - Daffodils

Every day, even when I am working at home, I make sure I get out of the house and go for a walk.

Today, I didn’t want to go – it is a dark, cold, grey kind of day and I wanted to stay inside in the warmth and comfort of my home. But I pushed myself and got out there.

Wasn’t I pleased that I had! Even in suburban South London, there the signs of early spring and these are as bright as sunshine!

Inspiration - Primroses

I found a small clump of primroses shyly smiling at the world.

In sheltered spots there were the first dafodils!

And there it was, my Mother’s favourite, forsythia; blooming away and determined to flash its colours to the dismal sky.

They made me feel inspired and so when I came back in, I decided to write this post!

You see we all can find inspiration around us! And it is not just in nature!

Inpiration - Forsythia

Are there books that you have always loved? How often do you go back to them? Do you remember the books that thrilled or mesmerised you as a child. Have you even thought of going back to them and reading them again with a childlike innocence and an open mind?

Inspiration - Shakespeare's Sonnets

What about poetry? Have you read Shakspeare’s sonnets? Sound boring don’t they! But if you like words, try them! You might just enjoy them – all life is here. Here's a link to the sonnets!

Inspiration - Monet's Garden

Do you like pictures? Did you know that you can find whole galleries of pictures on line. Here is a link to all the pictures in the National Gallery. They have pages where you can learn about art

Is there music from your past that you love? Why not find it and listen to it again. I love doing this – I have a whole collection of sixties pop music that I play to myself very loudly when I'm alone - a guilty pleasure!

It doesn’t really matter what it is? It can be the smile of a child or the call of a bird – see and hear with innocence and an open mind and you can be inspired!

Life can be hard!

Just now many of us are having to deal with a whole rlot of misserable things!! This can range from the effects of climate change to our warped and damaged world economy! Or on a personal level - the effects of illness, age or loss. The disappointments and difficulties of ordinary life come to all of us. It is all too easy to feel overwhelmed!

How can you deal with all of it and still stay positive!

Well there are still so many things in the world for us to wonder at, if you look out for them!

Try to spend a few quiet moments each day seeking them out!

Look for your inspiration and you will find it. And if you want to share it here, so much the better!

Friday Recipe - Catalan Fish Stew - Rick Stein

Friday Recipe - Catalan Fish Stew - Rick Stein This is an everyday Catalan fish soup that is more like a stew and has several variants. Like so many Catalan dishes, it starts with a sofregit of fried garlic and tomato. A hearty Catalan fish soup; a meal in bowl. Catalan fish stew Ingredients 6 tbsp olive oil 1 large Spanish onion, chopped 2 fennel bulbs, chopped 150g/5oz chorizo, diced 1 red chilli, finely chopped 1 tsp fennel seeds, ground 2 cloves new season garlic, crushed ½tsp sweet paprika powder 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tsp saffron strands (optional) 3 fresh bay leaves 1 tin plum tomatoes 100ml/3½ fl oz fish stock or water 150ml/5 fl oz white wine 500g/1 lb 2oz mussels, cleaned 650g/1 lb 7 oz firm white fish (bream, pollock, cod, monkfish), filleted, dredged in flour and fried in olive oil 100g/3½ oz toasted almonds, ground To serve 1 lemon, cut into wedges steamed potatoes and spring greens Preparation method

A Lakota Peyote Healing Song by Robbie Robertson

A Lakota Peyote Healing Song by Robbie Robertson YouTube is full of music that claims to be Native American from North America and usually it isn't. It may be quite beautiful music but it is not what it claims to be. And in my view it does not have the same power. This is authentic, beautiful and powerful Singer, song writer and guitarist Robbie Robertson was born Jaime Robert Klegerman in 1943, in Toronto, Ontario. He was born to a Jewish father and a Mohawk mother and took his stepfather's last name after his mother remarried. He had his earliest exposure to music at Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation , Ontario where he spent summers with his mother's family. He is best known for his membership in The Band. Here is a translation of the words

Something Sacred To Start Your Day - Navajo Early Morning Blessing

Something Sacred To Start Your Day - Navajo Early Morning Blessing ly Morning Blessing "Hooghan" from the album Sacred Mountains by Louie Gonnie courtesy Canyon Records (www.canyonrecords.com). Graphics by Rezboyz Designz Translation "The mountains were put there - in holy way, they told us that that will be our spiritual home. In the middle of the home will be a fire burning, there will be a door, there will be a fire poker (Sacred to Dine'), You're thoughts will be good, You will have plans to make, Life will be blessed, There the hope will stay." Singing Translation The home is there, prayer in the home, pray in the home, in the beauty way with the scared pollen pathway, the home is there, the home is there!

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