What is life without contrast?
Contrast allows us to reflect on the blessings in our life.
It is there to present both sides, in-out, good-bad, up-down.
Even though contrast can represent adversities and challenges it also represents the beauty of nature.
It provides opportunity for inner growth.
And that my friend is what this life is all about.
Inner growth.
How else can we see what needs to be changed?
Contrast shows us.
There has always been much contrast in the world, and with social media, it is quickly exposed and to more people.
Most of it can be hard to witness, and witness we must for it’s the only way to make changes.
I returned to my home town of San Francisco, I hadn’t been there for about 15 years.
I went for a dear friend’s memorial.
A life was taken too soon.
A long term solution to a short term problem.
A beautiful life cut short.
While others are still being lived.
There’s contrast in that.
Life is short and and seeming long when we are in the midst of a problem, an adversity or some such.
It is in the remembering that whatever is happening,
it will pass, the good-bad, or the up-down.
Contrast.
It’s ever present to witness.
See the value in the contrast.
I have been inspired to write you all. Gosh, it’s been 8 months or so since I’ve written here. A friend asked me for some tips, she said she hasn’t received any in a while, so here I am hopefully writing something that is of value during this unprecedented “rona” time.
This is about self love. There is no one who will love you the way you can. You will always be with yourself, from birth to death. So why not love yourself like only you want to be loved. After all we are our own best model to the world how we want to be loved and treated. So why not put your best “face” forward…
I have learned the hard way (like most of us) not to rely on anyone for what I need. Praise, approval, acceptance, love, all these feelings…We can give to ourselves. How? Start by loving and accepting your body, your face, your mind, the uniqueness of you. Everyone else is taken. There is no one else like you. So why not be the best version of yourself that you can.
Don’t judge, compare to others or criticize yourself. Why are you holding yourself up to some fake standard that you think others hold you too? People are only interested in themselves, especially in this time of “selfies.” So it’s best to never mind what others are thinking of you because chances are, they’re not!
Smile at yourself in the mirror, stand naked and see your body and all the beauty it is. Love your curves, the extra pound floating around your middle, the bump in your nose, whatever you think isn’t “right”. Your body is a precious gift from nature. Accept it and cherish it.
Take the time to really get to know yourself. Turn off the social media, the distractions that take you away from you. Be with yourself in the quiet of your heart. If you take the time to really observe, the false falls away and the truths stand up. But you have to be present and listen to the depth of your inner dialogue. That is where the self love begins. The inner dialogue we tell ourselves, where we judge, criticize, or where we love and have gratitude for our self. Only you can be the master of inner change and the outer reflections will change with you.
Give your self some love, get some flower petals and sprinkle them in your bath. Or put some flowers by your bed, it can be a yellow dandelion, or some greens you pick from along the street. Some small amount of attention to beauty for yourself to gaze upon.
You can place some Rosemary or Lavender under your pillow to help you have a good sleep.
Turning off any screens at least an hour before sleep time will help you to unwind.
Keep your bed as only a place for sleep, it is a sanctuary for you.
Getting a good nights sleep is a good way to show yourself love and caring. It also helps quiet the mind.
Meditation is a way into your depths. Whether it is a guided meditation or a quiet walk in nature, taking time and observing the quiet and the beauty. This is a good way for those who can’t sit still.
Take long slow deep breaths to calm and center yourself.
Self love begins within and no one can do it for you. It is not in the latest style of a celebrity, or “the Joneses” what they put on their face or who they are dating, or what they are wearing. This has nothing to do with you, other than to make you feel lack or less than.
What you put into your body, your self talk and what you observe with your senses creates who you are, so be gentle and caring with yourself and your choices.
Begin the inward journey of self love and care. As it is said, “there is no time like the present.” With so much love for you Catherine xx
In my last post, I wrote about forgiveness and I touched on presence. I’d like to share more about being present.
You’ve probably heard that the present is also a gift. And It is our greatest gift in this life. It’s really all we have. Tomorrow isn’t promised, yesterday is gone. The surest way to live fully is to be in the here and now. Within doing anything, be present and give 100% to it. This way you can always know you have done your best. We can only respond with the tools and knowledge we have at the given moment. In this respect it’s good not to beat ourselves up for past mess ups. We did the best we could in that moment.
If your mind is running on the chipmunk wheel, spinning round and round and round, there are a couple of tips I know to pull you back into the present.
You can always take a few long, slow, deep breaths.
Another way I know when the mind is really on a tangent….. is to start listing things about your present moment, for example: My name is Catherine Velasquez, It’s raining outside, I am wearing my striped pajama pants with a white tee shirt, I am sitting on a chair in my kitchen. I can hear the refrigerator motor running, there is a lamp turned on over my head, as I type on my computer. Get as detailed as you need to. Keep going until your mind is far from the spinning wheel it was on. Then perhaps take a few deep breaths and say some things out loud you are grateful for. These techniques will work for you, if you use them.
Having your hair cut when the Moon is waxing (getting bigger) will promote faster growth. Conversely, if you are wanting slower hair growth have it cut when the Moon is waning.
If a metal zipper is getting stuck and not sliding easily. Slide a pencil graphite along both sides of the teeth.
To remove label adhesive from glass, use rubbing alcohol or cooking oil. If it’s really stuck you may need to soak the glass in either the oil or rubbing alcohol for some time.
Time always moves along, with us or without us. The summer has passed by quickly and I haven’t been back to write. I have been uninspired and life has been busy with the day to day. Today I have forgiven myself for not writing sooner!
“Forgiveness is giving up the idea that the past could have been any different”. Forgiveness of self has value. Of course forgiveness of others(within ourselves) is important, however forgiveness of the part we played is more important. It’s the best way to relinquish regrets for the way we have handled situations. I for sure have had a lot of self forgiveness in this life. It has brought me to a more comfortable space within myself. How can we have inner peace if we can’t come to terms with our past choices and regrets? Self forgiveness is the sure way, and one must have a genuine sincerity to be successful. I like to be as present in each moment as possible. Sure we all have to make future plans, whether it be budgeting or planning outings and events. However the amount of mind time we spend on the future or past has an effect on our presence. It is possible to devote an amount of time in ones day for future planning and then just be 100 % in each moment as it comes. Life is more smooth and leaves space for sponteniety. I have managed to be a much more happy, loving and peaceful person in each moment of each day because I learned how to forgive myself.
And here are some useful tips to aid you in your day to day!
Fresh Rosemary is good for memory, have it near you, rub it’s leaves between your fingers and smell it often when needing to learn something new, or to recall something in your memory.
When we have dirty leaves on our houseplants, mix a few drops of milk into some water and use a piece of cloth, paper towel or cotton and wipe the leaves clean. No need to rinse. Leaves will be shiny and clean!
If a kitchen knife needs sharpening in the moment, it can be pulled, flat side of blade edge over the bottom of a ceramic cup’s raw edge, a few times, turning over to get both sides of knife.
When setting about to paint walls with latex paint, add one tablespoon of vanilla extract to the gallon can and stir it in, it will greatly reduce the paint odor in the can, and on the wall, and it will not affect the paint performance.
When doing some hand sewing or using a safety pin that needs a little sharpening, rub needle or pin along your scalp, it will add a sharpness.
In this week’s blog, you will find some general helpful hints and tips.
I have changed the name to Catt’s place and given the site a whole new look, the other name felt too cumbersome to me, maybe to you too! I hope you like the changes. The page features a photo I took on O’ahu at the Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley, Honolulu. I love to loose myself in this photo, I thought you might like to also. The blog has categories now titled General, Flowers and Food so it’ll be easy to search and find a particular topic.
Change is a constant, isn’t it? The more we become familiar with change, the easier time we will have during the changes that happen in life. Change is after all one thing we can count on happening, all the time! Become familiar with it, cozy up to it, love it and you can have a good time expecting the unexpected. I have discovered that in life when we are not taking charge of a change that is needed, when we’ve ignored that inner voice, the Universe will make the change happen and sometimes that can be rough. It’s best to listen to that inside voice called intuition or your gut feeling, and do what is necessary. Change is usually for the better. It may take some time to realize it, however we can be pretty certain it’s for our inner growth. So let’s all embrace the changes that come to us.
As I am opening the wooden drawers on my dresser and they don’t slide easily, I take a dry bar of soap and rub it along the bottom sides of each drawer, it’ll then slide effortlessly.
When I am sweeping and I don’t have a dustpan handy, I will take a sheet of newspaper, or paper towel, any sheet of paper will do, and I will wet the edge of the paper and smooth it onto the floor surface and sweep the dust onto the sheet of paper!
I’m expecting people for a party and I want to stockpile ice cubes. As they are ready, I will place them into a paper bag and roll the top closed then put them into the freezer. This way they won’t stick together. Sometimes I will freeze edible flowers or herbs into the ice cubes, maybe some lemon or orange juice, depending on what I am serving for drinks.
When I have been working hard and my muscles are achy, I will fill a dishpan with water, ankle deep as hot as I can stand it and add two cups of baking soda, stirring to dissolve. I then soak my feet for at least 20 minutes. This will break up the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles, and It will bring relief to the whole body.
The main purpose of this blog. Here for you are some useful tips for your daily life…
When there are odors hanging around, (fish, smoking, funk) and I want them gone, I place an open container of white vinegar somewhere in the room. If it’s cooking odors, be sure to wipe up any splatters off the stove and counter. By a few hours or the next morning the odors will have disappeared!
I use Lavender essential oil to take away the itch from a bug bite. It’s also good for relieving minor skin burns when the skin is unbroken.
It is important to me that I give thanks and gratitude as I go throughout my day. If I’m in a funky mood and need to feel better, I will give thanks for the everyday things like hot water, being able to flip a switch to turn on the lights, or even my feet that carry me everywhere I go.
When I need to clean my precious stone jewelry, I use baking soda mixed with white vinegar in a glass, I always place it in the sink as the mixture will fizz and overflow. (blocking the drain, so nothing gets lost)
When I want to clean any sterling silver, I rub baking soda mixed with a little water onto the object then rinse with plain water.
When I want extra shiny hair, after shampooing I will rinse my hair with vinegar, the smell will dissipate after a few minutes.
When I get a bee sting, I tape a copper penny over it to neutralize the venom.
I hope these have been helpful! Be sure to check back in a couple of weeks for more tips, photographs and words.
