Riches vs. Wealth

Being rich is having money;
being wealthy is having time.
~ Margaret Bonnano





Ehmmi

Journal - Inspiration

What a lovely way to start a new journal - with something colorful and creative.

Happy Father's Day Dad's

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.

and . . .  Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's to be.

I Saw God

I saw God during an evening meditation on my pier on the lake.
It was brief and enlightening. He is with me at all times.

10 Benefits of Plants in Your Home

Plants bring natural beauty to our living spaces. By creating texture and balance, a room or patio can be transformed into an environment that both comforts and welcomes.

1. Plants have been proven to reduce stress so well that one glance at a plant lowers your heart rate.

2. Plants help clean the air we breathe by absorbing toxins and acting as little oxygen factories.

3. Plants simply make us feel better.

4. Plants ease mental fatigue

5. Plants improve air quality

6. Plants lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension related to stress

7. Plants help us relax and focus, leading to increased productivity,creativity, idea generation, and problem solving capabilities.

8. Plants help patients suffering from medical issues, for example, plans help patients who are recovering from surgery and they also ease the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and cancer.

9. Plants have been shown to relieve the symptoms experienced by children with ADD. 

10. Plants enhance meditative practice

To summarize, plants manage to find themselves an indispensable part of your home life!

Divorce or the Alternative

This is a story that has circulated on the internet for some time. I don’t know the author. I found it to be sweet and touching.

Carrying My Wife

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, “I’ve got something to tell you.”

She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking.

“I want a divorce.” I raised the topic calmly.

She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, “Why?”

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, “You are not a man!”

That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; I had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew, a woman at my work that I had developed feelings for. I didn’t love my wife anymore. I only pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement, which stated that she could own our house, 30% shares of my company and the car. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly.

Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce that had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that for that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into our bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door each morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife’s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. “No matter what tricks she tries, she has to face the divorce,” she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, saying, “Baba is holding Mama in his arms!” His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms.

She closed her eyes and said softly; “Don’t tell our son about the divorce.”

I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest.. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the every day workout made me stronger.

"Our son came in at the moment and said, 'Dad, its time to carry mum out.'"

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me; she was dying. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at that moment and said, “Dad, its time to carry mum out.” To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad.

On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, “I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy.”

I drove to the office and jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind… I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, “Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.”

She looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead. “Do you have a fever?” She said.

I moved her hand off my head. “Sorry, Dew,” I said, “I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart.”

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote: “I’ll carry you out every morning until deaths do us apart.”

The small details of our lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, the property, and the bank balance that matters. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real and happy marriage!

Micro Living / Micro Homes

How much fun can you have in 24 square meters? Or, if you don’t want to take up that much space there is a smaller version which takes up just 13 square meters? UK Manchester based architects Dwelle produce these gorgeous little structures which pack in more than you could imagine. Originally the company was called “Sheds for living” but later re-branded, wisely we think, as Dwelle, making their little abodes Dwelle.ings.

Intended to be ‘off grid’ and carbon zero, they can come with wood burning stoves or renewable energy sources such as solar panels and you can, should you wish, connect them to main utilities.

DIY Outdoor Mat

Using a pain outdoor mat and some paint will transform you outdoor mat from drab to fab!!

Before:



After:

DIY Garden Art

Not a green thumb? No problem. Brighten up your lawn this summer by making a solar stake garden and adding some colorful rock art and DIY painted flower buckets as a finishing touch.

Temptation - Buddah's Point of View

“The Tempter masters the lazy and irresolute man who dwells on the attractive side of things, ungoverned in his senses, and unrestrained in his food, like the wind overcomes a rotten tree. But the Tempter cannot master a man who dwells on the distasteful side of things, self-controlled in his senses, moderate in eating, resolute and full of faith, like the wind cannot move a mountain crag.”

~Buddah

Caution

BE CAREFUL of your thoughts, for they will become words.

Be careful of your words, for they will become actions.

Be careful of your actions, for they will become habits.

Be careful of your habits, for they will become character.

Be careful of your character, for it will become your destiny.

—Source unknown

Happy Valentines Day

When I Get Sad

no worries:-)

You warm my heart

Making the most of winter with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Yummy!

New & Exciting

Great Minds

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Teacher

When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

Painting

Today is a great day for painting a happy picture.

Cold Winter Day

I can find ways to have fun on a cold winter day. I bundle up and battle the cold and simply have fun.

Bedtime Routine

Finish off your night with a gentle yoga routine and chammomile tea, followed by reading something uplifting and finally a few minutes of quiet meditation before dozing off. This is a sure way to wake up in a good mood.

Sweet dreams to all of you.

Bees, Honey, Vinegar

Yes, it's true as the old saying goes - you will catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

All We Need Is Love

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
~Aristotle

Interesting Soap Dispenser

I spent the whole day at the shopping mall and only spent $15. Here is what I got. It's an Umbra Penguin soap dispenser. I plan to make my own soap, so I wanted a pretty little dispenser to motivate me.

Happy Thoughts for You

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye.