A Look into Loneliness

One of my favorite online journals, Elephant Journal, always has encouraging articles on yoga, spirituality, wellness, being green, etc. I recently signed up to receive their daily "Wake up Call" free newsletter which includes their best articles. I also follow them on Facebook which shows their most popular articles. Lately I have spending less time worrying about social media and focusing my time on reading articles and broadening my horizon and gaining knowledge. Now don't get me wrong I still use some social media but it's not so much for social media as it is for reading the articles I find.

Recently I read a couple of articles on loneliness. I currently do not feel lonely but I have definitely felt the icy cool breath of loneliness. I have suffered through depression and the constant feeling of wanting to be alone, all of the time. I know that loneliness and depression are diseases that effect more people than we realize. This led me into doing more reading into the subject and having the wanting feeling of spreading light on loneliness.

The first article I read was about embracing loneliness.

Loneliness is Here to Stay - Embrace It. 

By Ruth Lera

"... accepting loneliness as a very normal part of the human journey can help us along. By accepting loneliness as a normal condition, we free ourselves up to have more self-compassion, humor, and love for our innate way of being in the world."

There is no cure for loneliness so just embrace it as a part of life.

After reading this article I got to thinking on how I feel about loneliness. I enjoy spending time with myself. Honestly it is a relief. It's stress free. I'm not trying to impress or please anyone else. I can completely be myself. In a world full of judgement my alone time with myself is just for me. I need to start embracing and cherishing this time for me more. Next time you are feeling lonely think of reasons why you could be feeling the way you are. Maybe you just need some you time. I know I definitely feel this way sometimes. I believe it is okay to feel lonely. When you realize that most people in the world feel lonely, it's easier to accept feeling this way. Being lonely does not make us inadequate. It doesn't make us a bad friend, a bad spouse, or even a bad child. But when we first learn to love ourselves we are one step closer to feeling less lonely. When we can accept that loneliness has inevitable become a part of most people's lives and that someone we are close to maybe feeling the same way we can begin to pull ourselves out of loneliness' icy grip and begin to see the light again. We are the only person that can pull ourselves out of loneliness. But sometimes it doesn't hurt to find help or find comfort in someone we love.

The second article:

The Other Side of Loneliness.

By Anokina Shahbaz

In this article Anokina talks about how loneliness follows wherever we go, that in this case it must be lonely too. She also talks about how loneliness must be carrying an underlying message for us, telling us to pay attention to what is happening around us. It is a sign of what is really hurting and want needs tending to. For me this got me asking questions about what could be happening in my life that I am not happy with or somethings that needs changing. Is there something that I am not happy about with myself? Could it be a relationship issue? Is there something in my life that is causing me to feel this way? Loneliness forces us to answer these underlying questions that we may just day-to-day be pushing under the rug, hiding from whatever it is that we are afraid to face. Do not hide from it. Embrace it. Because as Anokina states "What's on the other side of loneliness? Everything." There is a light at the end of the tunnel. And you can begin a journey to find that light, by first beginning to figure out what your loneliness is ultimately trying to tell you.

If you are feeling lonely or even if you aren't but you may know someone who is or you just want to learn more on the subject I can't suggest reading these articles enough. They definitely put some perspective into my life and I hope they do the same for you.

Namaste my friends.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
I have been working on this post for a couple of weeks now.
Figuring the right words to say to all of you.
And these still may not even be the right words.
But this is how I feel on the subject.
I hope that it brings even the slightest bit of light into your life.
Let's talk.
Because sometimes that's all we really need.
Feel free to leave comments or send me an email.
I hope everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas or Holiday.
Whatever you may celebrate I hope you found peace and love this season.
Namaste.

The Westcott House

During the Thanksgiving Holiday I mentioned I visited my extended family. They live in Springfield, which with every trip I take there I find is a pretty interesting city with a lot of history. So first let's begin with some history. One of the historical sites in Springfield is a Prairie style house built for the Westcott Family in 1908. It was designed in 1906 by Frank Lloyd Wright himself. If you are unaware of this fact Frank Lloyd Wright was the most important architect of his era. The Westcott house was sold from the Westcott family to another family. In the early 1940's the house was turned into a multi-unit apartment building. This changed the architecture of the original design. The house then became an undiscovered, lost Wright artifact for many years.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and the Westcott House Foundation put into place a multi million dollar restoration to restore the building to all its original glory. Not only was the house done in the recognizable Wright Prairie style but it also contained aspects of Asian architecture with a terrace, lily pond, garden, plenty of windows among other landscape elements. The pergola that connects the detached garage to the main house contains intricate wood trellis, even an intricate bird house makes an appearance. Wright wanted the birds to even have home among this home.

Upon walking up to this house I was already memorized by its beauty. I couldn't wait to get inside and see the rest of the house. My aunt and I took a guided tour through the house. Now as I said the home was restored, a lot of architecture is a replica of the original.

Now if you are ready let me take you through the house in picture style...

Below is a picture of the bird house

This is a picture of the entry way

This is looking down to the front door, which is located on the side of the house.

The next few pictures are of the main floor of the house. The floor plan is very open and you will notice all of the windows.

Children's playroom with play table.

This area was used for relaxing and homework in the evenings. The children would sit by the fire and work on their homework after school.

This is the dinning room. Look at that table, also designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as most of the furniture you'll see in these pictures was. The kitchen is off the dinning room. 

That far wall is the ice box. The door that is open shows where the ice would have been delivered, from the street and placed right into the ice box. All of those little doors are the ice box.

This stove is not the original it is a replica.

I would kill for this much storage space.

This is the ceiling located up the stairs in the main entry way.

For my aunt and I this would have been a reading nook. To the Westcotts it was used to display sconces or statues. What a waste of good reading space. Throw a couple of pillows and a blanket up there and I would never leave.

Inside one of the walk in closets.

I would kill for a footed tub. One of the five bathrooms in the house. Mom and Dad each had their own bath room. The kids shared a bathroom and the help had their own bathroom. They also lived on the same floor as the family, which was not normally heard of. But to the Westcotts their help was like family.

Fireplaces in the master bedrooms. Yes plural. Mom and Dad each had their own rooms, but they were connected.

An old fashioned electrical circuit box. Pretty cool.

The laundry room. On laundry day, it would have taken a whole day, this room would have been full of drying racks because the rich did not hang their dirty laundry outside to dry. That was just unheard of.

This is the door that we exited through. 

This is what we exited into. The gardens. Which I'm sure in the Spring this garden is blossoming but in Winter it is mostly dead. Yet I can imagine how beautiful it is.

The light fixtures. They are not the original. There are only two in existence still and they are behind a glass case in the gift shop.

This is the pergola I was talking about in the beginning, the one that connects the garage to the main house. The garage is now the gift shop. In the garage/gift shop there are pony stables where the children's ponies lived. Lucky little children. The pony stables are very nice. 

If you are in the Springfield area I highly recommend a visit to the Westcott house. Or to one of the many other Frank Lloyd Wright buildings around the United States. There is one located in Pennsylvania Falling Waters. 

*Picture is taken from the Falling Waters website and is not my own.

I would love to visit Falling Waters one day. I mean hello, breath taking.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*

I would live in this house.

Fireplace and a reading nook in the main bedrooms.

Plenty of open space.

Plenty of windows that bring in natural light.

But it is a little out of my price range and not for sale.

Sigh.

Christmas is Coming

I don't have much to update you on, life has been hectic around here, what with Christmas coming up and fast approaching us. One holiday already passed. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family and love. Mine was wonderful. It was my first big Thanksgiving with extended family in years, usually it is just my parents, my brother and I and maybe one or two other people. It was nice to be surrounded by my extended family. My cousin's kids running around keeping everyone on their toes, a hearty meal served up with all of the Thanksgiving essentials, the turkey tryptophan sinking in making me desperately want to take a nap. Yet finally to my realization no nap would be in my future. The women then found themselves in the kitchen cleaning up the scraps, the dirty plates, the leftovers with a glass of wine in had. The only way to do things right. *grin* Of course I missed my parents and my brother, but I will be seeing them at Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas I cannot believe how fast it is approaching us. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and for once I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done with the exception of a few stocking stuffers. I am ready to go ice skating on the duck pond near my house but the weather here is warm for this time of year. It is upsetting to me because I haven't seen snow in about five years. I am ready for some snow fall, for there to be snow on the ground when I wake up. So far there has only been snow up in the Cleveland area. *sigh* 

However besides no snow my tree is up, there are presents under it, and my house is semi decorated. This year I am not putting up a lot decorations because I am constantly in and out of the house. Yet whenever I see Christmas lights while I'm out driving around I slow down and soak in the Christmas spirit.

I have a couple of Christmasy activities planned in the coming weeks that I hope to be blogging on so keep an eye out for those. But for now I am going to enjoy my life as best I can. I am still keeping up with my yoga and with my Pilates, loving both of them.

Let me know how you are doing.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
Went to a rap concert last night.
That was interesting.
I am not into rap.
I do enjoy a few songs, but for the most part it is not my taste of music.
However one of my very good friend's brother was DJing for an artist.
I went along to support him.
It was a good time.
Very interesting.
His brother was amazing.
A very talented guy.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Only 20 more days until Christmas!
Namaste.

Finding Your Christmas Spirit

Donzell's brings back a lot of memories for me.
Around this time of year I get excited about visiting there.
Being in Florida however does not always make that possible.
However last year I was able to go because I was up in Ohio visiting.
This year I am living here.
So far I have not felt the Christmas Spirit.
I was having a hard time finding it.
This was weird for me, seeing as I usually start watching Christmas movies in September.
This year it seems I can't even make it through one.
It partly has to do with being away from my family.
I needed a boost of Christmas Spirit.

I found out last weekend was Donzell's Christmas Open house.
Now Donzell's does it all out for Christmas every year.
T, who went with me has never been to Donzell's for Christmas.
I was more excited for her than I was for myself.
One of the many things that makes me happy is sharing places close to my heart with other people.
I could not wait for her to experience the magic as I have for many years.

The weather was good.
A bit cloudy but with a chill in the air.
Which is perfect weather if you are looking to find that Christmas Spirit.
Walking up to the building I immediately got butterflies in my stomach.
I could see the brightly lit Christmas trees glowing in the window.
The smell of Christmas was in the air.
With hat and gloves on the warmth of the building was welcomed.
T and I browsed through the selection of artificial trees.
Some with twinkling lights, some bare waiting for you to add their glow.
Then we found our way into the rest of the building, where all of the ornaments and Christmas decor is located.

As usual we decided to browse around the store first, grab our doughnut and coffee, and then go back and pick out items. This was easier said than done. We took turns pushing a cart around and the store is packed; the isles are small already and then add a mass of people into the mix. We eventually made our way around the store checking out the different sections. It was not easy to look around at everything either. I am sure there are things that I had missed. Another trip will just have to be made.

This year Frozen even had it's own section.

Out in the garden center is where we found Fairy Land. And of course the doughnuts and hot apple cider.

I mean what a magical place to live. I wouldn't mind living there myself, escaping to a wonderful magical land.

There was lovely live music.

We even found our way out to the succulents. 

Donzell's is divided into sections, sections with different themes, some have to do with color and some have to do with animals. Yet all are very beautifully put together.

Get your Department 56 needs.

Polar Bears and Pretty Purples

I love Donzell's and it always puts me in the Christmas Spirit mood. It's a wonderful feeling being there. Although I do wish it was a bit colder here. I would definitely like a little bit of snow. 

I did not leave the store empty handed. I got items for some Christmas gifts as well as a couple of ornaments and a peacock mask for myself. I was pleased with my purchases and left Donzell's feeling satisfied. Although it was packed and hard to maneuver around in I had a pleasant trip. One that left me filled with a little bit of Christmas Spirit. T found some good items as well. A beautiful center piece for her Thanksgiving with her family was in her mix.

Christmas is fast approaching us.
Only 36 more days.
I am slowly getting excited.
I am excited to be giving gifts!
I am excited for the lights.
And the smells.
I am excited for the movies.
I am excited for the overall cheer the holiday brings.
Thanksgiving is first though and I am looking forward to the holiday.
To spend time with my extended family.
Making memories.
Family is a wonderful blessing.

I hope if you have been missing the Christmas Spirit you found a little in this blog post.
Visit my Facebook Christmas page for even more Christmas Cheer.

xo

*Shine like Glitter*
Don't get overwhelmed with Christmas and forget about Thanksgiving.
It's a wonderful time to spend with family and reflect on why we are thankful.
The people of Paris suffered a tremendous tragedy Friday night.
I am thankful for my life and those people overseas will be in my prayers.
#PrayforParis
Reflect on your life and the life you live.
Be thankful to be around your family.
Forget everything else that is going on.
Love.
Namaste.