Wisdom cultivated by age

As I sit back and take stock of what advice I 

consistently tell my kids, believe to be true, and 

are mantras to living the best life possible, I 

thought I would share them.  I have discovered

them to be true.



1) You are the company you keep


I'm fortunate to

have a wonderful

group of talented

people surrounding me. 


They push me harder to strive to be better.

I continue to work at being the best they believe 

in me to be.



2) Make others proud of you


I often think 

that my father

is looking down

from heaven and

cheering me on.


My father could offer advice, he could hold 

me accountable, but he never failed to show 

his unwavering support of me.  He would not

tell me what I wanted to hear when life was a

struggle, he would listen.  Then he would say: 

"what's the pay off?"

3) Life IS about choices


The choices we make are not always the best, 

and we can end up scarred or with a few bruises

but we have to believe that our reasoning for 

doing what we did, was because we thought it 

the best option at the time.



4) What did we learn?


By sticking to our path, doing what we think is 

right for us at the time we do it, we make mis- 

takes.  But from those mistakes do we reflect 

upon the life lesson? Do we avoid it the next 

around?  Does our vibe send a warning signal?



5) Failure happens 


How we react to failure becomes our legacy.  

Did we extrapolate from it the lessons that we

needed to learn?  Would we do it again exactly 

the same or would we do it differently.

6) Listen to others


Did we have the chance to get advice from 

others wiser and choose to ignore it? Why even 

bother to ask for an opinion if we're just going to

do what we want anyhow?



7) Bees and honey


You attract more bees with honey than vinegar: 

should resonate among my children's minds 

often.  I have said it so many times, they can 

finish it before I finish with "bees".  People will 

react more favorably when you frame it with 

niceness, politeness and manners.



8) Show gratitude


Never fail to find an opportunity to thank some-

one.  If you show appreciation, you will be 

rewarded as often as you express gratitude.



9) You are the company you keep


Be wary of those that want to tarnish your talents

or destroy your confidence or put you in harms 

way.  Misery may love company but you don't.

9) Please your soul


Play some music, paint or draw or write or cook 

a fabulous creation.  For it is something you 

enjoy. You aren't doing it to please others.  Do 

whatever sings to your heart and heals your 

inner self.



10) Trust your instincts


They could be telling you something that you did

not necessarily see but felt was wrong.  

11) Optimistic and positive


It isn't always possible to stay upbeat, positive

and optimistic.  Life has a way of pushing you 

when you step outside the boundaries.  It is

just that sometimes you need a reality check. 

Get over it.  Take a hot bath.  Reflect more on

what you should be thankful for.



12)  Recovery


How you recover from failure or disappoint-

ment or from being off track will determine how 

far you can  reach.  Did you fall to the bottom, or

did you catch yourself before you did a complete 

tumble?  Were their others there to help catch 

you?  Did you stop yourself or ask for help when

you needed to avoid self-destruction?

13) Goals and dreams


Goals are dreams with deadlines.  Do you have

a vision on where you would like to end up that

is not fueled by greed, envy or power?  Your

success will likely be determined by the value

it represents.

14) Believe in yourself


Often it is only oneself who can decide if we are

on the right path.



15) Discover your purpose


Allow that purpose to drive your passion, path,

and continual learning.  It is then you will likely 

discover what it is that you love to do.


I hope my kids read this and remember the 

times we had discussions around any of the

wisdom shared and reflect upon the situation

that caused it.  They know they have my 

permission to hold me accountable.  The worst

part of it is that I didn't always listen to myself.

The best part is when they toss my words back

at me.

the CLUBHOUSE project

The clubhouse project
Wooohooooo I'm on another 4-day weekend and I've been doing things that are treasured by me.  First and foremost lately it has been painting objects that turn into repurposed art.  

Repurposed art
About a year ago I started painting on objects that I'd had for a while and just goofing around painted them.  It was so fun and some of them really turned out very cool.   The homes I found for them even cooler.

A birdhouse with a purpose
As I started painting a birdhouse an idea blossomed.  What if I could use the birdhouse as a clubhouse that housed my dreams, goals, where my favorite people could either gain admittance or become members.

Membership
I holistically considered who would be allowed in my clubhouse?  It wasn't too hard to figure it out, they would be people who I wanted to be surrounded by.  They would be:

• talented
• exceptional
• smart
• creative
• caring
• motivational
• friendly
• innovative
• humble
• humanitarians
• artistic
• share positive messages
• injected with humour
• from across all walks of life
• cultivated from among the world's best
• they give, they promote, they help, without expecting anything in return.

The givers, innovators, creators

By words, art, photography, beauty they create a world worth living in.  Those would be the persons crowded into my little Clubhouse.  Lucky for us, there are foodies and entertainers and scholars and teachers and musicians and artists, curated from across many social media platforms and life.

Where would my happy place be?

As part of my clubhouse project, I would imagine the location of such a happy place.  I was divided among the options that bring me solace and peace:

• My home
• My garden
• A new surrounding:  on a beach, beside the ocean
• 
  

What would be in it?

No home, no vacation, no location would be complete without the right things in it:

• Music
• Art
• Photography
• Beautiful decor
• Family
• Friends
• Pets

6 partitions with 5 sides to life

As a form of therapy of sorts, I reflect upon the clubhouse to create the five sides of life.  I began by imagining who and what would go in it.  To be expanded upon when I'm feeling discouraged, let down or a strong passion for wanting my life to be on track in a way that I make it possible.  

What and who goes in it

Complete the options before us.  We only let the people or things that matter to us inside our Clubhouse projects.  They bring us positiveness, beauty, inspiration.  We leave out those that hurt us, lower our self-esteem, cause us harm in any way.

The outside defines what is on the inside with five sides dedicated to making it a unique piece of our mind, our hearts, and dreams.

The front door

Is welcoming and a place in which we find ourselves safe, at peace, surrounded by only the good and wonderful we imagine it to be.  We want it to be welcoming because it will attract only the best of everything anyone or anything.

My garden

What I like to do is reflected on my entrance pane to my clubhouse project:  gardening, beautiful flowers, bright colors, happy faces.  A solace for dreaming, creating, beautifying where we spend our time.  

My goals

Are the levels on which I climb to reach my ultimate destination.  Whether it be career, writing, creating or being this side defines what I think will make my life complete.  They are realistic and achievable.  

My dreams

What do I see when I look outside the window of my clubhouse?  What would be the most perfect world imaginable.  Certainly gut-wrenching reflection because it defines the who, the what and the where long before economic reward brings the "things".  Things don't belong in my dreams.  Things are static and stationary, never evolving.  

The where

Where do I see my dreams blossoming the most?  What would I be looking at by my surroundings?  Beauty, sunshine, tropical trees, a lake, ocean or pool with billowing white puffs of cloud that don't bring darkness, but only shed light on the brightness where my inner peace can be found.

The bottom

Is where my secrets, disappointments, hurtful memories, failure, toxic people or events remain.  I place them there, on the bottom, to let go, get over and forgive.  Once those memories go to the bottom, they become dormant and never again allow me to regret, feel hurt, or hit my confidence.  

The roof

Unadorned and plain.  A place where I sole away dreams discovered, cheques or money seep into to make the dreams happen and the goals achieved.

It's about possibilities

The Clubhouse Project is about setting about making what is possible a reality.  Not to dwell on regrets or disappointments, it is filled with optimism.  I am in control of what goes on and in my Clubhouse to arrive at utopia and happiness.

Make your own CLUBHOUSE

Find your own birdhouse:  at a store, a garage sale or a thrift shop.   Design it in a way as described above.  As you paint it, you define the four key components:

• What do you want others to see when you welcome them?
• Who would the people be that you would allow to be members?
• What will you see when you look out your window? ::  the goals, the dreams, the realization of all that can be made possible by you.
• Where would it be?  How can you create the where?  Is it where you are, is it where you will need to be, or a stop along your travels to utopia?
• What will you bury?  Who are the toxic people that you have removed because they block you from creating your intended destiny?  What are the awful memories that keep you frozen with fear, replayed over and over again.  Letting go when they go into the part of the clubhouse that is not opened again.  Who do you need to forgive?  Or, who do you need to forgive you?  They go in there, part of the past.  Let go to allow you your wonderful future.  If you replay failures, memories, hurt or heartache, they belong here.

Create your own clubhouse

Once it is created, decide all the ingredients and write them down on a piece of paper and put it through the welcoming front door.  Draw out your floor plan or surroundings as you imagine them to be.  Put in pictures of people that matter most.  Cut out images from magazines or print off photographs and insert them inside.  This is where they belong.  Write the list of people, things, memories or events you will let go of or forgive others or yourself for.

Creating the life you want

Only you can decide what it is that will bring you peace, happiness and excitement.  Nobody else.  Only you can determine your goals, decide on your dreams.  It is your own Clubhouse project.  Creating the destiny you and fate have aligned.  Understanding that you reap what you sow.  This is your CLUBHOUSE where you begin to imagine the possibilities of a life fulfilled with love, happiness and dreams come true.  

Try it.  Let me know how it goes,

 or let me know if you want to post yours on PINTEREST

I will invite you to share your post or your images!

and REMEMBER :: ...........

Tip toe thru the tulips of time

Do you just ever wonder?
What it was like waking up and finding yourself back in the glamour days.  When Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra were of this world.

You dress up
or you didn't go out!  Back in the time when ladies had to be ladies, and fellows were gentlemen around the ladies.  It is such a bygone time, don't you just wonder what it would be like?

Gloves and hats
Were just important as the gown, dress or outfit that were defined by clip on earrings, that you can't give away in garage sales now.

A pinch of this and a pinch of that
If you didn't behave in church, or were moving around restlessly, you could find yourself pinched.  The almighty pinch was worse than a dirty look or a raised voice.  Back in the time, when you didn't have the belt as much as parents of parents, today, want to think.

A generation's generation
who champion manners, a lost grace in a large part of our society.  We were suppose to be scarce between dinner and sun down.  This was the best time of the year.  Right now.

Red rover, red rover
We thought we were pretty smart then, not unlike our own children do.  The sneakiness was different in those times.  When we scattered at the last beloved 30 minutes before the sun was starting to fade.  Grabbing hands, laughing loudly, as we ran through the throng of neighbourhood kids to evade being caught and having instead to do the catching.

The rules relaxed
When there was fun to be had.  The parents slowly stepping off stoops, starting out to call their children indoors.  Instead, assembling, smiling at each other, parents in the Good Parent Club as we bought a few extra minutes of outside time because no one parent would want to be the first to disrupt such a marvelous coming together of children, kids, having fun.

 A tide or an era 

We weren't sure, nor did we care.  We were so caught up in the moment, of laughing, running, catching those last glimpse of the sun.




  






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When a neighbourhood BBQ or a gathering of friends and family, usually meant, we could be out playing in the street lights, with the hustle of dancing, by parents, with neighbours, friends, sisters.  

The spirit of the moment
Where being together was the most important event of the day.  Often happening.  Looking back I never thought we took anything for granted.

A harmony of spirit
A collection of the brave, who faced challenges but never beating down us.  We were outside, we celebrated summer like a gift that would never be returned.  Because it was the thought, the caring, that was the biggest present of all.  

The expectation of a gathering
was never far, always dear.  Not unusual.  Often ever near.  After church, long weekends, or simply a mere assembly of those that live near.  

Hats and gloves
I would squirm through just to return to those bygone days.  Take the time to embrace it.  Hold it even more dear.  

A one day and only day
You never really knew.  Until you grew older, the magic that you lived through.  Blessed and remarkable, even though challenges were plowed through.

Creating a memory
that you would love to return to.  Accompanied by your children and loved ones to know what you knew.  Experience the wonder of feeling special to tip toe the tulips of time.

"Simplicity is never simple." 

~Jeannette Marshall

Two Cheery Cherries by Andes Design #bestofeverything 

"Cream always rise to the surface. 

 Except cherries, 

of course." 

Jeannette Marshall #quote

 ~..~