December Thoughts

December already. How time flies! Sorry I haven’t been updating my blog for a while, there has been quite a few things needing my attention, and thus less time for blogging.

As we enter the last part of the year, I’m sitting here reflecting a bit on the months gone by. To me, it has been a time of many new thoughts and changes, and I realize this is much due to my decision to become part of the blogosphere. It’s fascinating how the mind can be broadened by reading the thoughts of others and sharing your own. How we can be inspired and come to understand ourselves more fully through the written word. When you think about it; what a wonderful invention the world wide web is!

Also, it has been a year of discovering the joy of photography, or rather; rediscovering it by taking it one step further. There is still a lot for me to learn though, which is good – as I love to learn, and I look forward to spending more time with my camera. Music wise.. I didn’t really get as far as I had planned for, mostly due to lack of time. I did get a few projects started though, and I trust 2009 will hold more opportunities for me.

Finally, and not to forget; I’d like to add a thought of gratitude. Sure, life has its ups and downs but.. isn’t it great to in fact be alive? Perhaps a simple thought, but still – I feel truly thankful for the life and the opportunities I have been given. Then, it is my challenge of course, to be able to seize the day and make the most of it.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Linda

Another Summer

Though there are still a few weeks left, it’s an inevitable fact that another summer is coming to an end. It has been a good summer. We have been traveling more than usual, and spending a lot of time outdoors. I even got to travel a little all by myself, which was also good, allowing me the time and opportunity to take lots of pictures!

I always get a special feeling this time of year; some strange feeling about the passing of time. It’s a mixture of sadness and thankfulness. I’m thankful for each wonderful summer day, for every experience along the path of life, – still; I should have made so much more of this time.

It occurs to me that it’s such a contradiction; Time is a gift. Time is given to us for free. Time is new every morning. Still we never seem to have enough time! How can this be? How can so much time go by so quickly? The comforting thought is; there will be another summer. Another summer to rejoice at the beauty of life and nature around us; a quiet lake at sundown, lazy ocean waves towards a beach, or a walk in the soft rains of summer. When I think of this, the feeling of thankfulness is clearly the most present one.

What’s in the Mail Today?

I remember before my kids were born, I used to have all kinds of expectations of motherhood. One of the things I was really looking forward to, was teaching my kids about life. What I didn’t expect though, was how much they would be teaching me.

This morning when I was heading for our mailbox, mr S wanted to come with me. This seemed to be very important to him, and I asked him why.

His answer to me came immediately: “Maybe there’s something for me?”

“But honey” I said, trying to avoid him being disappointed “You know; normally it’s mostly bills and newspapers. It’s not your birthday yet, and I didn’t order anything for you”

“But mom” he said, looking at me as if I was a child that needed to have things thoroughly explained -

“Sometimes we get things even though we haven’t asked for them. Perhaps God sent me something?”

I stopped for a second. In a way, he did have a point.

Sometimes we do get things even though we don’t ask for them. And yes, perhaps God sent us something. Maybe not through the mail as mr S clearly expected (or then again, why not?)

Anyhow, it’s an exciting thought; God actually does send us things. Every single day we are given new opportunities, a chance to change an unwanted situation, or make the most of our dreams; changing our lives – or even the world – for the better. That is our challenge; being able to see the exceptional in the ordinary. Seizing those moments in our everyday lives, instead of just watching the days go by.

Seeing the world through the eyes of a five year old.

My youngest has a somewhat similar approach to life. He has his own special morning ritual; the minute he opens his eyes, he gets out of bed, running over to the nearest window to have a glance at the world.

And then, the question: “What’s outside?”

Is it rain? Is it sunshine? Snow? Green grass? Is it dark outside? Summer? Autumn? Or…?

From a little boy’s view, the world is new every morning. There is a multitude of options out there, and you never know what might happen. To him, every day is a wonderful adventure.

These were my thoughts as I was standing there with a very impatient five year old by my side.

And I said to him: “You know, you’re right; let’s go check the mailbox together”

After all, we never know what life might have in store for us. There just might be some great adventures out there, if we just remember to seize the opportunities given to us and.. well… keeping our minds and hearts a bit adventurous.

Thanks guys, for reminding me

Painting on Silence

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A painter paints his pictures on canvas. Musicians paint their pictures on silence.

~Leopold Stokowski

A while ago I heard someone say that because music has no physical form or substance, it can never be considered as valuable as the work of a painter or sculpturing artist. From my point of view, this is as far from the truth as possible.

To me music is one of the greatest blessings in life. Nothing is capable of touching our hearts like music; bringing joy and inspiration to the soul, lifting us up or even bringing us down at times, but still – isn’t music the very accompaniment to life? What can possibly be greater than that?

I personally believe music has the ability to make the world a better place. It is also said; what cannot be put into words, can be expressed through music. I can only summarize like this: I’m so thankful for the wonderful language of music, bringing a whole new dimension into life.

Towards the Horizon

Today I let this photo and these words speak for themselves:

Think no small thoughts, dream no small dreams,

’cause you can only travel as far as your imagination takes you

Standing Out from the Ordinary

I attended a ceramics class recently. It was fun, but not quite as easy as it looks. You can see the result of my struggles from the photo below. Most of my projects came out.. well.. not so bad. But the last one.. it was a total disaster. At least that’s what it felt like, at first. But then I reconsidered; aren’t the (almost) perfect ones a bit… boring?

I decided to put them all up for glazing. The glaze melted, filling in the uneven shapes of my “disastrous” pot in many beautiful shades of blue. Definitely the most interesting one of my projects!

Sticking out from the crowd isn’t always all that fun, I guess we have all experienced that at some point. It sometimes takes a lot of courage. Still, aren’t the most interesting people those who really dare to be themselves, standing up for what they truly believe? Isn’t that what brings us forward and helps us develop as human beings; the thoughts and actions that make us stand out from the ordinary?

I came across these wise words just the other day:

“In order to be remarkable, one must dare to be different”

Let’s have the courage to be different, no matter what people say. That way life will become far more interesting, also giving us a greater ability to touch the lives of others.

Wishing you all a great, remarkable day!

Linda

The Truth about Parenthood

I’m spending the weekend in London with my husband. To be honest, it’s quite a few years since our last little getaway together. We have been on several vacations, sure – but we always brought the kids, heading for some family friendly place for the kids to have some fun.

And here we are, 4 days of eating my dinner while it’s still hot, sleeping through the whole night, finishing all my sentences without being interrupted and – no little arms around my neck, no soft hugs, no wet kisses on my nose, no little voices explaining their thoughts to me. Isn’t it strange – when you finally get a chance to spend some time on your own, you start missing your kids!

So we went shopping. For the kids (…) Then I spot these words on the wall of a kids wear store:

What can I say? I remember being both frustrated and exhausted at times, and it is great to have some peace and quiet for once. Still, I seem to carry them with me. Always keeping the thought of them in the back of my mind, thinking of them with a smile on my face. Because being their mom is also… well… wonderful, hilarious and rewarding (!)

I received a message from my mother-in-law (who is babysitting our youngest). And guess what? We are being missed too! I guess we are just meant to be together, the big and the small members of our family. Though we can sometimes drive each other crazy, we belong together, beyond time and distance. Isn’t family the greatest blessing in life – I mean, when it really comes down to it.

Linda

All these Bubbles

How fascinating. All these bubbles. And when I touch them, they simply vanish. I’d really like to keep them, but I can’t seem to figure out how. I wonder what I must do to make them stay in my hands.

Welcome to My Voice

But let me take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Linda, I was born in the southeast of Norway on September 22nd 1970, so that makes me 37 years young. I am the mother of 3 great guys (who really know how to keep me on my feet all week!)

I enjoy the silence of nature and all kinds of outdoor activities with my family.

As long as I can remember I have been writing; stories, bit of poetry, music.. I welcome every opportunity to practice and improve my English, though it hasn’t been much of that lately – so please bear with me as I will stumble into a few mistakes here and there. I’ll try my best to explain what I’m thinking. Hope you’ll enjoy my blog!

Thanks for stopping by and welcome back

Linda