Trusting Life

December 19, 2025December 19, 2025 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

The holidays, no matter what we celebrate, seem to inescapably be a time for reflection. Not in the New Year’s resolution kind of way, but more of a quiet taking stock.

How did you do? Did you accomplish some of your goals? Did you let go of things/people that have been holding you back? Make new connections? Find new inspiration? Have you been taking care of your health, mentally and physically? Have you nurtured your dreams?

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to give yourself credit for all you’ve done and all you’ve tried to do, whether everything was a finished masterpiece or not.

Looking back over 2025, acknowledge all your growth. Be proud of yourself. Love yourself for every little thing. You did good.

I’m sharing this book here because Louise Hay (r.i.p.) has been a guide on my life path for decades, and was one of my first. She overcame a truly and deeply painful past, and rose to become known worldwide for her message of love. How important it is to embrace self love and heal ourselves, and in so doing, the world. This book is a good reminder.

Trusting life isn’t always so easy these days. Loving ourselves can be a challenge. So when you sit down to reflect a bit on your own life, please remember all you overcame this year. Know you are loved.

A Year with Charlie (more than just a cat story)

November 9, 2025November 15, 2025 / still a dreamer / 5 Comments

Never underestimate the reason for an animal coming into your life.

I was hoping that the cat I would adopt in late October 2024 would be an “easy” cat. Every animal I’ve ever had was a rescue of some kind or another, often with unique needs. Charlie would finally be the easy cat.

Apparently, that wasn’t the plan.

I knew Charlie’s history, and of a traumatic event that happened while in his previous happy, adoptive home. Despite his people doing everything possible to help him get past it, it didn’t work out. Back in rescue, he was so gentle and easygoing in a roomful of other cats, it could not have been anticipated how that trauma would play out in a new home.

Let’s just say it’s been a long year with Charlie. And we have aways to go yet. That’s OK, we’ll get there, wherever “there” is. He may not be the easy cat I’d hoped for, but he’s the cat who’s meant to be with me … the one who needs me to help heal and teach him, and who I apparently need to help heal and teach me. And he’s also incredibly sweet and lovable.

Why you never underestimate the reason for an animal appearing in your life is that that animal, whatever it might be and however it shows up, is a gift to you.

Some people say, “Oh, it’s just a cat.” Or “it’s just a dog”, asking why I care so much.

No. He’s not “just a cat.” She’s not “just a dog.” They’re fellow beings on this often god-forsaken planet who have come into our lives to grow and love and help us do the same … if we let them.

Take a moment and a long look at your cat or dog (or whatever animal it is) and love them for who they are right now. Let go of who or what you want(ed) them to be, and just see them in their innocence, their willingness to be the best they are able to be. Love them for their scars and their beauty.

Because that’s how they love you.

When the Ugly Becomes Beautiful

November 7, 2025 / still a dreamer / 5 Comments

A magnificent sky and moon this past Halloween night. You might not even notice at first that there is a cell tower next to the gigantic pine at the left.

When it was announced that a cell tower was to be built behind the last row of houses across the street from my own, my neighbors and I were appropriately incensed. We went to town meetings, complained, and did our best to keep our neighborhood beautiful and cell tower-free. We lost.

One upside — it was built much farther back than we had been led to believe. It’s there, kind of glowering, but not quite as intrusive as expected.

But here is the other upside …

The cell tower is a daily host to an array of crows and/or black vultures. In the morning, they tend to congregate on the lowest tier, but towards mid-late afternoon, they are perched on the top tier. (Seeing both occupied, as in the photo, is actually unusual.)

They chase each other back and forth from the tower to the pines, perhaps playing, displaying dominance, or jockeying for the best position. They sit up top after a rain, spreading their wings wide to dry in the sun, or wrap themselves up in the warming rays to keep out the cold. It’s hard not to watch them.

While the cell tower is not an attractive addition to our local “skyline”, its visitors bring a life and beauty we would otherwise not have known.

So much of how we view life is in our perspective, no?

Walk with Me …

November 1, 2025November 1, 2025 / still a dreamer / 6 Comments

Autumn is settling in, the leaves are crispy underfoot, and the sparkle on the river is courtesy of a sun meeting the trees a little earlier each day. Come walk with me …

The path to the river is thick and overgrown with the remains of summer. It’s just a step over the old, forgotten railroad tracks and through barely matted weeds to the crest overlooking the river’s edge.

Greens become burgundy and slowly drape over a slate walkway.

A faceless wraith overlooking the road to the bridge.

Late afternoon shadows fall across dried leaves, grass, and the road, which runs parallel to the river.

Froggy statuary graces a small garden spot. I am tipping my hat to Portland as I pass.

The Delaware River, looking north, a view that never wears thin, especially when it reflects a sky so insistently blue.

Covered with tombstones, ghosts, and mums, my neighbor’s fence looks even spookier at night with orange and purple lights, a big draw to Halloween night’s trick or treaters.

I never fail to be aware, and grateful, for the beauty and kindness that surrounds me where I live. Especially now. Quality of life counts for a lot.