It Just Feels Right

I bought a new coat. My old one, a peacoat I purchased at Old Navy literally was threadbare. But I loved it. I loved the way it felt and buttoned, and looked on me. But this season, it was time. So I went on a coat search with my daughter, Sarah. First, it was Burlington Coat Factory. The sight of wall to wall coats was overwhelming. For a second I couldn't breathe, and Sarah went to the other side of the store to let me look. I think she was a bit afraid after seeing the look on my face. Later, she returned, and we went through every row of coats. Finally, I was ready to buy anything just to get out of there! And then, Sarah took me by the arm and we went to T.J. Maxx and there she handed me coat after coat, as I yanked on ones I'd found, too.

And then, I slipped on a wool coat that had an incredible collar and set of buttons to keep my neck safe from brutal northern winds. And the coat was styled much like my worn out favorite. I put it on and smiled, really smiled and told Sarah "this is it!" She came out from the rack she'd attached herself to and stared blankly at me. "Really?" she asked, shocked and relieved. "Yes! I love it!" I exclaimed.

"It's Calvin Kline, too," she said, smiling wryly, knowing the label "whore" I am known to be.

And that was the cherry on the top!

Every morning is a new chance

Friday, I'm in Love: Fantasy of the Week

The weather is just as it is today. I'm in a room, painted a soft yellow with windows circling the room. I'm sitting at a thick oak desk with my laptop in front of me, and on the other side is a vase with red, yellow, and white flowers with greenery.

I am deep into a story I am writing. If someone were to walk into the room, I wouldn't realize it. The soundtrack to a movie is playing and I am writing as fast as I can.

There is a green sofa across the room from me. On the opposite side of the room is a gigantic framed poster of Georgia O'Keeffe's artwork.

It's an old Brownstone I live in and I own it. I'm on the top floor, writing, happy as a pig in mud. Later, I will go downstairs to prepare my dinner, watch a little TV, go for a walk, and call my daughters. It's going to storm soon. I like a candle as evening draws closer and decide to push on so I pull a sweater around me. I've got a couple more hours of writing in me before I call it a day.

Searching for something exquisite I found my voice.

Feed the World

No roast pork buns in Queens today!

No roast pork buns today! It is Turkey Day!  I am home for four beautiful days. I wish everyone a gorgeous day with family, friends, and being with others.

I love the USA because all over this Country everyone has the opportunity to find a community place to sit and eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. It is my wish to all who do to have a beautiful moment, and it is also my desire that we find it in us to give this way year round. When we do, riches and abundance will become evident to us. Even if it is simply whispering a blessing to someone who is in need.

Next Thursday, back to Flushing, Queens and my ladies at the memoir group and a roast pork bun, maybe two. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Whaddya Want Wednesday: What I'm Cooking Up This Week

Harlem's 125th Street 

Duh. Turkey. Beyond the traditional day tomorrow, after that I will make turkey enchiladas, turkey tacos, and then revert back to my latest love: a bag of Caesar salad, combined with diced chicken and cranberries. I also want to make meat loaf and have it with mashed potatoes; haven't had that in a long time. And let's not to forget a sassy turkey soup with big chunks of potatoes and a spicy broth. I'll try to duplicate it like the soup I constantly covet from a middle eastern restaurant around the corner.

What are you cooking up this week?

Exquisite is as Exquisite Does

I realized it as I rode the 6 train, reading "The Law of Least Effort," a chapter in Deepak Chopra's "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success," and there it was, and I quote:

"Completely desist from defending your point of view. When you have no point to defend, you do not allow the birth of an argument. If you do this consistently -- if you stop fighting and resisting -- you will fully experience the present, which is a gift."

Earlier before I boarded the train, I told the angels and my higher self that I relinquish all control. "Please guide me and show me the way. I have tried to control this scene long enough. I give it all to you."

My find.

And after saying this and reading that, I got off the train and saw this: the stained glass at the Westchester/E. Tremont stop on the 6 train in the Bronx.

I knew this was my exquisite find.

"If you embrace the present and become one with it, and merge with it, you will experience a fire, a glow, a sparkle of ecstasy throbbing in every living sentient being. As you begin to experience this exultation of spirit in everything that is alive, as you become intimate with it, joy will be born within you, and you will drop the burdens and encumbrances of defensiveness, resentment, and hurtfulness. Only then will you become lighthearted, carefree, joyous, and free." - Deepak Chopra

I knew I'd found what I'd been searching for and what I had released and given out into the universe. Now, I was lighter, more free, and staying in the present. A true gift.