Friday, October 31, 2014

I have always been drawn to Buddhism because I really love its concepts and teachings - they all teach us something about ourselves that we often don't even realise or know we have within in.  Below are three powerful elements of Buddhist philosophy, called "The Noble Truths," (Dukkha is the overall concept, if you will) and how you can incorporate them into every day. Incorporating some of the concepts could change your life.

Dukkha: Life is painful and causes suffering.

One of the Noble Truths is translated as "Life is suffering." Sure, life is tough but what does that teach us?  We can actually cultivate more suffering in our lives by trying to avoid or suppress the difficult emotions. Yes, our lives are inevitably punctuated with various unpleasant feelings: loss, sadness, fatigue, boredom, anxiety and they appear and reappear during our lives. Attaching yourself or clinging to particular expectations, material items, and states of being is often a cause for acute frustration, disappointment, and other forms of pain. So rather than fear our suffering or seek an ultimate resolution to it (and become frustrated by our lack of finding one), we can learn simply to recognize our suffering and not buy into the idea that you're broken.  Death, aging, illness, suffering, and loss are all a part of life and we each have our own traumas.

Practicing "non-attachment" and acceptance, embrace imperfection and your beautiful flaws and let go of the idea that life should be this way or that way.

Anitya: Life is in constant flux.

Anitya means temporary or uncertain, which is what life really is, no?  It's unpredictable on the best of days and nothing is for certain. We can never access the moment that just passed, nor can we ever replicate it. As each day passes, our cells are different, our thoughts develop, the temperature and air quality shifts. Everything around us is different. Always.

When we are feeling especially uncomfortable, the concept of impermanence can be, paradoxically, comforting. In other words: if nothing is permanent, we know our pain will pass. If we accept the idea of impermanence at face-value, it can be incredibly liberating.

Celebrate the idea of change. Accept that everything is constantly changing. It's kind of amazing, when you just think about it! And even when the idea of impermanence might feel scary, it helps us appreciate everything we are experiencing in the present: our relationships, body, mood, health, the weather, our favorite shoes, our jobs, our youth, our minds.

Anatma: The self is ever changing.

Our culture has led us to believe there's a concrete, constant "self" tucked away somewhere in us. Buddhism, however, assumes there is no fixed, stable "self." In line with Anitya (impermanence), our cells, memories, thoughts, and personal narratives — all of the "matter" that ultimately comprises our identities — change over time.

Instead of focusing on "finding ourselves," we ought to focus on creating the self we wish to be at every moment.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Some of the Professional Photog's pictures from our friends, Tara and Erik's wedding in August 2014

 






Tons more after the jump..

Tuesday's Thoughts and Weekend Recap

I recently read an article over at Mind Body Green and without sounding cheesy here, it really spoke to me.  In particular:

[...]

 You may feel like you "shouldn't" have to fight anymore...because you know each other so well. Or that you "shouldn't" have to deal with big challenges...because you're settled now. Or worse, you may even feel like you "shouldn't" ever feel bad about having issues...because you're "lucky to have found someone."
 
The author was so right, that IS a recipe for failure.  And the article further discusses ways to reignite that spark that you once had.  One of them being knowing how to give constructive criticism when something annoys or frustrates you.  Not yelling or criticizing (like I have been known to do).  Here is a good example of how that should play out:
 
You: "Hey [your partner's name]...
Can I give you some feedback on something? It's okay if you give me some push back."
 
Partner: "Okay."
 
You: "Whenever you leave the dishes on the counter after I cook dinner, I feel frustrated because I think that you don't care about what I did for you, or keeping our kitchen clean. I know you're not doing this to hurt me or frustrate me, but I wanted to bring it up so we can figure out a solution together."
-------------------------- 
 
When I'm talking to Jeff about what's bothering me or frustrating me, I most often say things like, "You always _______" or "You never ________________", which both never go over well because they're dripping in negativity and it sets a tone of where the conversation is headed, blaming and accusatory without being direct, but not abrasive or going to end up hurting feelings.
 
No matter what, every relationship requires effort and work and I always need to remind myself that men do have feelings too.  Ok, not always but deep down they feel, they don't always run on auto pilot.  I need to remember that my relationship is a garden and must be constantly nourished: without water, light, or food, it will wither. All good things take work in order to thrive.  After 13 and a half years together (and over 6 years married), I still need to work at it. 
 
-------------------
 
Weekend was fabulous!  Went home around lunch on Friday and spent the afternoon with him and evening with my mom shopping.  Saturday morning I got up bright and early, showered, made coffee and made pancakes for Jeff and I to enjoy together before I headed out to Collingwood for the next 24 hours with three of my (girl) friends.  We left around 9 a.m. and got coffee for the road.  We had our ears chatted off the entire flippin' car ride (but whatever).  We went to the liquor store first to get some bevvies to drink at the hotel.  Next stop: Scandinave Spa.  This place was like a cozy chalet in the middle of nowhere, nestled among the beautiful colours of fall - oranges, yellows, reds.

 
The Spa

  After the spa, feeling mellow as fuck....

We settled in at the spa and waited for our massages.  We had duo massages, so we were paired up with someone we came with (me being with Lisa, and Tara with Emma) and we had a 60 minute Swedish massage and let me tell you, it was something divine.  My right quad has been a bit tender in the last two weeks, I think I may have strained it while doing all the squats and lunges that I do on a day to day basis.  So I've been heating it with a magic bag in the evenings when I remember and told the Massage Therapist on Saturday that my leg was a bit tender.  When she massaged it, it felt like the slight pain went up into the hip.. so I'm going to have to watch out for this and make sure it doesn't become a full blown injury where my gym life and mobility becomes affected.  Must learn to listen to my body when it aches!!!!!!  After the massages, we spent some time in the waters, doing hot then cold, adding in the sauna, a eucalyptus sauna (which was divine for clearing out the sinuses!) and after a couple of hours, we headed out and checked into our hotel.  I've never stayed in Collingwood before (a ski-town, crazy busy in the winter, but not so much in the summer - this weekend was particularly busy my friend said, in comparison to other years) -  so it was a cool and unique place to visit.  We didn't get up to much other than lots of chatting, some drinking, good food and good laughs. 
We got up early in the morning and then headed out for breakfast and then home.  I then spent the rest of my day enjoying my time with the man and my two fur babies  <3 p="">



 Loved this little store and it's quaint objects :)



The store had various things that were odd, funny or just adorable.. This being, odd and hilarious!





About to head home



 
 
We settled in at the spa and waited for our massages.  We had duo massages, so we were paired up with someone we came with (me being with Lisa, and Tara with Emma) and we had a 60 minute Swedish massage and let me tell you, it was something divine.  My right quad has been a bit tender in the last two weeks, I think I may have strained it while doing all the squats and lunges that I do on a day to day basis.  So I've been heating it with a magic bag in the evenings when I remember and told the Massage Therapist on Saturday that my leg was a bit tender.  When she massaged it, it felt like the slight pain went up into the hip.. so I'm going to have to watch out for this and make sure it doesn't become a full blown injury where my gym life and mobility becomes affected.  Must learn to listen to my body when it aches!!!!!!  After the massages, we spent some time in the waters, doing hot then cold, adding in the sauna, a eucalyptus sauna (which was divine for clearing out the sinuses!) and after a couple of hours, we headed out and checked into our hotel.  I've never stayed in Collingwood before so it was a cool and unique place to visit.


 


Friday, October 24, 2014

Well, well, well, it's that time again. Friday has creeped up on us...

 
I love this.  This is totally me. 
 
I am taking a half day at work today.  I (or I should say, we) ended busted my ass to go pick up these clocks for a retirement thingymabob and it ended up being over an hour away and so because I went above and beyond and did what no one else wanted to do, I was given a half day in lieu for my efforts and appreciation.  Totally nice of her, wasn't expected that's for sure.
 
So I'm off to do a 30 minute Jillian Michaels BodyShred and then take the bus home and meet up with my man to spend the rest of the day with him and the boys.  I'll be going out shopping with my mom later tonight, as she wants to get me some winter boots as an early birthday gift, and maybe an outfit or something.
 
Tomorrow, I'm off to Collingwood and more notably, Scandinave Spa for a massage and to also enjoy their salt waters.  I'm headed up there with three girlfriends and we'll see what the night brings us.  Hopefully no bullshit, or drama, but then again, girls bring the drama most times, don't they?
 
So have a great weekend all!! xox

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Life lately

LOL


Road trip up north last weekend to Jeff's parents house
In Bala, for Cranberry Festival

Jeff's parent's yard

Monday, October 20, 2014

Dive Pictures from Barbados.. Okay seriously, the last pictures of Barbados. LOL

We didn't take as many dive pictures this time but more videos. In fact, almost 10 hours on video.. I'll have to post some when Jeff edits them down. 

Snorkeling, just after we got there..



Seahorse!!
 A Cushion Sea Star... So pretty

Barbados .... Part 4 (Fuji Pics).. The last of the Fuji pictures





A MASSIVE crab we nearly stepped on crossing the road one night... We all thought we heard Jeff's show hit some trash in the road.. Oh no, it was a MASSIVE crab. 






Literally, taking our luggage down to check out, about a half hour before we were getting picked up to go to the airport... *insert sad faces*

 
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