Thanksgiving ... and Sunsets in the Garden

By loving, forgiving, and serving, 

it is possible for your whole life to become one single vision 

of the sublime beauty of God.

~Hazrat Inayat Khan

Don't you just love that quote?! I get daily quotes and lessons sent to my email daily, called "Bowl of Saki" and so many are just incredibly thoughtful and beautiful. Thanksgiving seemed to be a perfect day to share a few of them.

These photos are from various evenings in my parents' cactus garden. (Ojai, California) For some reason, it's one of the most beautiful places to watch a sunset! Perhaps it's the grand sculptural shapes or the way the light reflects off the hills in that particular part of the valley, but I find myself often running outside to that garden when the sun is going down.

It is not the solid wood that can become a flute,

it is the empty reed.

~Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

the commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

It is not solid wood that can become a flute, but  the empty reed. It is the perfection of that passiveness in the heart of the messenger which gives scope for the message from above; for the messenger is the reed, the instrument. The difference between his life and the life of the average man is that the latter is full of self. It is the blessed soul whose heart is empty of self, who is filled with the light of God.

God is within you;

you are His instrument, 

and through you He expresses Himself 

to the external word.

~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within oneself' means inside one's body ... If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his being, he would think, act and feel differently; but with all his width, depth, and height, if man is not conscious of them he is as small as thinks himself to be. The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom.

There are those who are like a lighted candle:

they can light other candles, 

but the other candles must be of wax-

if they are of steel,

they cannot be lighted.

~Hazrat Inayat Khan

It is a very high stage on the path of love

when a man really learns to love another

with a love that asks no return.

~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

Many blessings and much light to all of you.
Happy Thanksgiving dear friends!

Making Memories ~ Palm Springs and Seal Beach

Rejoice with your family 

in the beautiful land of life!

~Albert Einstein

Somehow, we'd never thought of it before! Then, came an email. An idea, from my cousin Kate, asking if all the girl cousins would like to get together for a "Cousins' Retreat" at her family's timeshare, in Palm Springs. Immediately, emails started going back and forth. Yes, yes, yes! 7 out of 9 had RSVPd in the first 24 hours.

All 9 of us were able to make it. 

Palm Springs, California

It was the first weekend in October, that I picked up my cousin, Allie, who also lives in L.A. and headed to Seal Beach to her sister Jen's place. Then, we hit the road to meet the rest of our cousins, in Palm Springs.

We all arrived Friday afternoon and I don't think anyone expected that we would barely leave the room until the next day, to hang by the pool. Usually, when we get together there are 40 (?) of us, with the aunts, uncles, kids, and so on. This time, it was just my generation and it was ... really, really, special.

Kate said they'd never had one huge round table in a room, at this timeshare, before. All 9 of us could fit around this one large table and tell (ghost) stories, and funny stories, and laugh and cry ... and laugh again. It was perfect and meant to be!

These sunset shots were taken from our patio.  Beautiful, huh?

Call it a clan,

call it a network,

call it a tribe,

call it a family.

Whatever you call it,

Whoever you are,

you need one.

~Jane Howard

 Here's the time share ...

Palm, looking up from the lounge chair ...

That evening we all went to dinner in town and then walked around, ending up in a hat shop ...

Where we got super silly and took a million pictures. No idea how long we were in there!

Oh, and if you're curious, we span 25 years! 25 to 50!

Families are like fudge -

mostly sweet

with a few nuts. 

~Author Unknown

(And I might be the biggest nut in the bunch! ;)

Sunday we packed up and headed to breakfast in town.

It was such an amazing time, it felt weird to leave, but we made sure to make our plans for October 2015! Can't wait!

Jen, Allie and I headed back to Seal Beach.

Allie and I decided to stretch our legs, with Jen and her husband Phill in Seal Beach, before heading back to Hollywood. As you can see, it was a gorgeous day!

Jen and Phill

The happiest moments of my life

have been the few 

which i have passed at home

in the bosom of my family.

~Thomas Jefferson

Jen and Allie on the pier ...

My amazing, wonderful, hilarious, crazy, fun, smart, beautiful cousins ...

Can't wait until next year!!!

The first night, after chatting around the table for hours, I showed them a video I made of all of us. Well, a slide show with music, that spans about 40 years. (It jumps around but you can tell a lot by the clothes.) It's 2 songs long. And yes, there are boy cousins, and they are in the video! ;)

My sister and I spoke that following week, a few times, and we just kept saying how lucky ... how blessed we are!

And, thank you cousin Kate, for your beautiful idea, and making it happen!

I hope you are blessed with a wonderful family. Whether they are blood or not, it doesn't matter. You you love them, and you hold them dear. 

You don't choose your family.

They are God's gift to you,

as you are to them.

~Desmond Tutu

Blessings and light!

Hotel Casa Del Mar ... and a Camera

Things have been a little busy in the last week, but I have gotten a lot done! The dentist, dermatologist (you know, the stuff you put off) registration for Italian 102 and Art History, finishing an edit for a slideshow presentation and editing the photography job I had last weekend! Yes, that is right. I got paid to take pictures!

It was for two banquet nights at the Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. As you can see, it was a very nice place on the water. It's actually right next to the famous Shutters on the Beach (Managed by the same man.) Wouldn't it be nice to stay there? I became a little obsessed with taking pictures of the Venetian chandeliers and of course the sunsets.

Anyway, the majority of the 395 (edited down) photos were of people but these are some of the more atmospheric shots.

The woman who hired me was very sweet, making sure I had something to eat. This was my cannoli and tiramisu! Yeah, went a little off the health food thing, but I did have some protein first!

By the way, the sunset shots were actually MUCH more vivid before uploading them to blogger. Why do photos always seem so much paler after being uploaded? Anyone?

Anyway, I worked at the art studio doing the front desk yesterday and today and tomorrow I'm hoping to work on a pastel that was giving me a little trouble. After that, I'm planning to head over to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, before the visiting Rafael leaves on Monday.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

Hope you are all having a beautiful weekend and thank you again for all the amazing comments on my last post. I have been truly moved by all of your sweet words and support.

You rule! :)

Seek to get in touch with the perfection of all things.

Know that you will be exactly where you have to be

in order to experience

exactly

what you choose,

as you go about creating

Who You Really Are.

~Conversations with God Book 3

Neal Donald Walsh

Ahhhh ... Gratitude!

Wake at dawn with a winged heart

and give thanks

for another day of loving.

~Kahlil Gibran

I have a friend who doesn't get mammograms because, she says, the stress would kill her. I know what she means. I might suggest she do it anyway but frankly, once someone hits eighty years old, they get to do whatever they want!

When I used to volunteer doing hospice at the VA hospital, I became friends with a lovely, sweet man who loved cherry cordials. Nothing gave this man more pleasure. Every few weeks I would sneak in a fancy little gold foil box with two little individually wrapped cherry cordials. His eyes would roll back in his head as they melted in his mouth. I admit it was against the rules but the man was 92, and had been stuck in hospital for 8 years and if he wanted chocolate, he was going to get it. Frankly, from what I could see it did him good! After 92 years, with all his mental faculties, I figured it was up to him!

Anyway, back to the stress of tests. This week I had a test done and did my best not to freak out while waiting two days for the results. Mostly I busied myself watching movies and hanging with friends. Well, good news! All is well and I don't have to go back for 6 months. Hurray! It's amazing how taking care of yourself can actually be a bit of a stressful process!

The blessing is the renewed sense of appreciating all of the amazing things in life and the incredible beauty that is there when you open your eyes to it. And for being well, of course!

If you are well, and I hope that you are, please take a moment to offer up a grateful prayer. Think of how great it is to have whatever abilities you have, to do things you want to do and spend time with the people you love. Be grateful for more sunsets and flowers and adventures ... even if they are vicarious ones!

I am feeling grateful for so much that I could list a thousand things but for now I will say I am grateful to have met an amazing community of people through blogging and that I am so inspired by all of you! Thank you for sharing your amazing gifts and open hearts. I haven't been visiting quite as much lately with some of these distractions but I will be doing the rounds this week!

First, I have a play date with a 5 year old! I am taking my nephew out on the town. Or maybe we will watch a movie. It doesn't really matter. :)

Enjoy your weekend and make a mental or physical gratitude list. It will bring a smile to your face and remind you of your true riches.

Blessings and light,

Lucinda

Sunset Cliffs

Last weekend, I spent a beautiful few days in San Diego with friends.

I lived there from nineteen until I was twenty-three. For such a short time I have so many amazing memories. My friend Kristen (who I have written about and known more than 30 years!) and I saw these amazing clouds in the distance and knew we had to drive over to Sunset Cliffs to take in the sunset.

We did our best to stay bundled up and not slip on the rain soaked mud and sand of the cliffs. There is something about sunsets that make us patient, I think. We become more in the moment ... watching the beauty unfold ... letting life unfold.

This is from the little book Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie that I love and have quoted so often ...

Do more than trust the process

the journey you are on

Become so awestruck by it that you respect it too

Respect your feelings and the timely manner

in which they surface, heal and lead you into new discoveries

Respect your experiences, the places you've been

the scenarios you've been through

Respect the way you've gained gold and jewels

the treasures of the soul, from each one ...

Respect the darker moments,

the more difficult times when you're uncertain

and don't know what to do next

Respect the timing as your life and the journey unfolds

Don't murmur about why such and such has to be the way it is

Don't limit how your growth can happen ...

Learn to respect the path of others.

Learn to respect your own.

~Melody Beattie

from Journey to the Heart

Have a beautiful week my friends!