Contemplation

First up, I’d like to congratulate the winners of last week’s competition. WOOT!

I’ve had a wonderful week of doing blog revamps. As well as writing and reading, I’ve found, when I open Photoshop, I get lost in another world. I feel so lucky that I have three things I can do where everything fades away except for what I’m writing, reading, or creating. When I’m in no mood to write, I usually open PS and lose a few hours.

So, for those returning to see how the blogs turned out, they are listed below, plus some blogs I did for others this week. It must have looked like I’d vanished off the face of the online planet, because once in PS, I was away with the fairies. Fab week.

Amber Skyze – Winner. Amber chose a pre-made template. I’ve had many complimentary comments in email about this blog. Thanks for those, guys!

D.L. Jackson – Winner. I created a custom-made background for this one. Sci-Fi. Much fun to make.

Melisse Aires – Winner because it was her birthday on the day I picked the names out of the hat and I couldn’t resist! Melisse chose a pre-made template but wanted a cream middle section instead of the white the template originally had. I adore the pink of this one.

Tonya Callihan – Winner of the book cover contest but became a blog client. Custom-made template. She chose a lovely colour. And that cowboy…yummy!

Taylor Tryst – Client. Taylor’s blog was a pleasure to create. Custom-made template. Love the colours and the lady. Taylor is partial to the man candy LOL.

Cari Quinn – Client. Now this one…don’t ask me why, but I got it into my head that Cari needed a custom-made, “painted-look” background. I wasn’t going to rest until I achieved what I wanted—and I had to hope Cari liked it after I’d finished (hahaha!). If she hadn’t, of course I’d have created something different, but I’m happy to say she loved it. Phew!

Today I have some avatars to create and a book cover for a friend. I also have a new book release as Sarah Masters, so I need to spread the word on that, and then—dun dun duuuun!—the dreaded housework and laundry.

But for now, here’s my main post…

I just heard the most bizarre sound. Like a donkey braying in a neighbour’s back garden, or a child honked a hand-held horn. At one point, I thought I was hearing things. Turns out, when I went to my back window to look out, geese were flying over. It gave me one of those moments where you pause and “life” disappears. The simplicity of those geese heading to warmer climes, or wherever they’d decided they ought to fly today—Hey, let’s fly to the next lake over and seek out those fish, man!—sort of “got” to me.

I swear sometimes, that these moments are sent our way to help us take a step back and think. There is beauty in many forms on this planet, and none of them cost a penny. Some days we may not see them because we are too busy, our minds full of what we have to get done, what’s up ahead, worries, stress, all manner of things, but after seeing those geese, I told myself I’m going to look harder for the simple beauty presented to me every day. It could be so many things—the snap in the autumn air, the miracle that every year the leaves fall, the cycle the same as the decades pass, and every year they come back again. The glare of the sun on the windows of the houses across the street—I see it out my window now—and the white garage doors which look so bright. The cloudless sky, or even one full of grey-bellied clouds. It’s all amazing and beautiful when you really think about it.

I marvel at nature sometimes because it’s one of the constants in life. There will always be the weather, the cycles—sometimes so pretty it takes your breath away, and conversely, so frightening it takes life away—and no matter what we do, how we’re either plodding along or racing here and there, nature is there, something we can look to in order to get some semblance of peace.

I probably sound crazy. I’m not even sure anyone else will “get” what I’m trying to say. I mean, I’m a woman who, when things are troubling me, gazes at trees. {Yeah, Whacko Alert!} I have many at the bottom of my garden, and I only need to look at them for a little while and things come into perspective. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they speak to me—no, the men in white coats are not needed here today—but I do tend to think more clearly once I’ve had a tree gaze.

{We interrupt this post with a warning that Natalie Dae could possibly be going insane...}

This makes me wonder about whether the star signs we’re born under really do influence our thinking. I’m the Earth sign, so it’s hardly surprising that I love trees and sunrises, sunsets, the rising moon, a bright, can-almost-reach-out-and-touch-it sickle moon.

D’you know, I have no clue what I’m trying to say here. Perhaps I need a time of reflection, to think about all the things I’m grateful for, how lucky I am in so many aspects of my life. To forget about the things I dislike and wish were different, and concentrate on what I can change and revel in what I do have.
So, I’ll end this post with a couple of questions.

Do you feel the star sign you were born under reflects you as a person? For example, if water, do you love the ocean?

And also, what makes you stop for a moment and contemplate life? Would it be like those geese flying, or something different?