Spring Time at the Auckland Domain

My only gripe with spring is in the words of Mark Twain "In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours." 

and of course that makes me sick, and sneezy and eyes watery and... and... but oh what a beauty

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

Have you ever read or perhaps seen the movie of Alice in Wonderland?  This is the famous dialogue she shared with the Cheshire cat

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cheshire cat.

“I don’t much care where – “said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go” replied the cat.

From my personal experience it is true – in those times when I planned what I wanted to accomplish, I was most like to achieve what I set out to do. I guess the important key is to know what you want, and where you want to go and defining for yourself how to get there.

Not everybody would take the path you chose, and well you might get a few raised eyebrows, but at the end of the day, you know that success is arbitrary and so is failure. 

Focus on what you really want and what makes you truly happy. It could be your little boy’s laughter, the husband’s warm smile and tight embrace.  A day out in the ministry or a walk in the park…or simply as mundane as dark chocolates with a hot espresso.

However, at the same time, you have to strengthen your strengths. Living the life you want after all really means knowing yourself and the things that are important to you.

I often ask myself, “If I do not have to think about anything else, and money is not a question what do I want to have, do in my life?” And I often find myself answering in this line of thought…"I would like to be embrace in beauty, to look good, to feel good, and to be happy.”  I would then think of ways how I could manifest that feeling so others could feel that too.  It may sound “self-helpy”, but then again, you can never negate the power of the mind and positive thoughts can really lift a person’s mood.

I am not writing these from a life expert point of view, but I am articulating these thoughts for the benefit of no other than myself.  Because mind you, I can expertly drown in my own drama and I could really make mountains out of molehills you see….   

I guess the bottom line is, do not be like Alice.  Know what you want. Be like my 4 year old.  Last week he wanted McDonalds for his weekend treat, and just this morning he told me, he wanted 5-dollar pizza for this week’s weekend treat.  Such a tiny human being but can politely (“Please mommy, I want 5-dollar pizza, thank you”) and firmly tell me what he wants.  I guess it works for him, because he seems very happy.  Sans the tantrum moments when he is sleepy or tired, he is always either laughing or singing. 

So which way ought you go from here? Well, dream a little, plan a little, decide what you want, shutdown that laptop and go out there live that life.

 

Have a lovely weekend you all! 

Well hello there Spring!

It is a truth universally accepted that (channeling my inner Jane) spring always holds a promise of good things to come.  It’s more than just about hearing birds chirping early in the morning, or an official start to longer days and shorter nights.  While it has a lot to do about the weather, but I think it’s more than that; it’s nature’s way of telling us all that winter has finally bid adieu and won’t be back for the next 6 or 7 months.

..if we could all see the world through the eyes of a child
 we would see the wonder and beauty of everything...

There are many things to love about this season. Sunshine and spring showers always equate to rainbows! Any who doesn’t love rainbows?  The grass is green and the trees are in bloom and so are the pretty flowers (cherry blossoms and tulips are just love!). And there’s the anticipation that summer is just around the corner... and so, you start to plan your holidays! Ah Spring!  It makes us feel all young again.  It’s a clearing, refreshing and renewing season and it literally puts a spring in your step (it does to mine)

However, having said all that, spring still is not my favorite season :).  I am a late summer early autumn kind of gal when autumn is chasing summer away and the latter is adamant to stay. The season when farmer’s market and the grocery aisle spoils you with bountiful produce.   I digress! 

Well anyways on to spring, despite it being the prettiest and daintiest season (me thinks!), there are also several reasons why it is booted out as being my fave.  I am not really keen on the fact that the weather send really mixed messages, so you never really know when you need a hat or bring an umbrella.  And on top of that, bugs, bugs and more bugs! So you better do your spring clean.  And while pretty flowers brighten your day, the dreaded hay fever surely does not. It also means that seasonal cyclists are back on the road. Oh yeah…it’s probably me being a lousy driver and having inhibitions of sharing the road (oh well…)

But still you can never ignore the beauty of spring.  I know these snippets of photos will never do justice to the true beauty of spring but anyways soak in the splendor of New Zealand spring.

"Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?"

~Neltje Blanchan~