How easy is it to fall in love with Fall?? Autumn is wrapping herself all around us. Take a look and enjoy the eye-candy I saw last weekend.
You may also like Café Saturday and Autumn Has Arrived.
Fall In
Author: Roxanne
InnerPeace – Is Family Everything?
You’ve probably heard the phrase “family is everything.” Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself. But stop and think. As DH said to a friend, “Are you on automatic pilot when you say this?”
The idea that “family is everything” is a common North American cultural fiction. “Family is everything” may sell Hallmark cards and wall plaques but it doesn’t reflect reality.
Most of us can think of at least one person, from our family of origin or even adult children, who has NOT treated us even remotely the way family members should treat each other. In this case family is most definitely not everything. Relationships with people who treat us badly should be minimized or even better, eliminated – genetic linkage not withstanding.
Conversely, you probably have someone in your life who has been very kind to you but isn’t directly (and who decides what constitutes “directly”?) genetically linked to you. Foster and work to maintain these kinds of relationships.
The truth is that if you go back far enough, everyone is family. We are all part of the human family. All are family. So categorizing people genetically is completely arbitrary.
Therefore, “family” really means anyone who cares for us, supports us, stands with us and is trustworthy. Likewise, we offer care, support and are trustworthy with them too.
Reassess. If “family is everything” then we must ask, “Who do we consider family?”
You may also like InnerPeace – Conversation or Recitation?, Truth or Consequences and What is Your Story?
Living the Minimalist Life
It’s very interesting to read about the choices he is making regarding how he wants to live his life. I admire him for questioning the cultural assumptions that we should work, buy a car/house, get married in our twenties – and other cultural myths. I also admire his desire to include many rich and varied relationships in his life and “un-include” materialism.
On the other hand, don’t try this if you need health insurance (there isn’t any) or if you have a serious medical emergency. Likewise this is not a lifestyle conducive to pets or children – though many women are forced to live as Joseph does with their children. Nevertheless, read on. I hope we hear more of his story in the months to come.
Itinerate writer talks of living, and dreaming, on $20,000 a year
By Joseph Fonseca
“I am a perpetual stranger, moving to a new city every year. I’m not a businessman, or an international superstar for that matter. I’m a writer. My average yearly income hovers just north of $20,000 and comes from waiting tables and manning the till at bookstores. I live on little. I plan and I save.
When my itinerary was loosely designed six years ago, my main motivation was to gain greater life experience to inform my fiction. Much like people who save money to buy a house or to pay for their children’s education, I budget to live a writer’s life.
Seattle will be my seventh city in seven years. I have never before set foot in this bastion of coffee and computers. I arrive with only a few contacts in my phone and a roommate whom I’ve met through e-mail and Facebook. There is no work lined up for me, and my bank account holds just enough money to last me a couple of months before paying rent becomes a crisis.
This is where you panic. This is where I get started.”
To view the entire article, go here.
You may also like Be A Tourist in Your Own Town, Other Options – Alternative Living Choices and The Richness of Simplicity.
Be a Tourist in Your Own Town
A good friend of mine visited the Twin Cities this past summer. It was fun to spend the day with her and visit my own town as if I was a tourist. There is so much to see and do. We merely touched on a few things in one day.
For another perspective, it’s always good to take a look at your own city/town with new eyes. Sort of like taking a vacation without leaving home.
In addition to MidTown Global Market, a lunch of falafel, schwarma, turkish tea and red velvet cake at Shish on Grand Ave. and a walk at Lake Nokomis, here are a few of the things we saw.
Of course there is so much more. But we decided to stay outside in the perfect weather. Then we simply ran out of time.
You may also like August Evening Picnic, Evening at Lake Harriet and Just for the Fun of it.
Rochester – Mayo Clinic
Not to worry, I’m perfectly healthy. But I did have the opportunity recently to visit a friend who lives in Rochester, Minnesota. While I was there she gave me a mini tour of the Mayo Clinic. It’s at the center of most things in Rochester and one of the top three medical facilities, attracting people from around the world.
The hospital, originally started by Charles and William Mayo with the Franciscan Sisters of Rochester in the late 1880’s, gradually became a center for medical training, medical education and research.
Below I’ve posted pictures of the view from the 15th floor. Above you can see the sculptures of Dr. Mayo with a Franciscan Sister exhibited on the plaza in front of the clinic. As it happens, my friend is a Rochester Franciscan sister too which is why she made the perfect “Mayo guide” for the day.
During my visit we stopped at Chester’s Kitchen and Bar (it was packed) to taste their delicious sweet potato fries. In addition I had a grilled citrus shrimp salad that was really fresh.
Downtown Rochester is accessible, while offering shopping, dining surrounding the Peace Plaza. The Plaza is used for weddings, performances as well as market shops and live music during the summer. People can shop, walk, eat and enjoy the music
.
While we often seek physical healing, sometimes healing occurs in other ways – maybe psychologically or spiritually instead. Are we prepared for other ways of being healed?
Here was the sunset when I returned home.
You may also like Stillwater Stop, Duluth Day and Cabin Fever.