happiness

It's been a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Absolutely, insanely busy - but still wonderful. Full of laughs and dancing, friends and family, toasts and good food. I'm ready to sit back and reflect back on my past year, to discern where I grew and where I fell; somewhere in a beautiful place of nature where all is quiet except for the calls of birds and soft sounds of the wind through trees. Rosary in hand, I will pray that I will continue along my personal path to God, a path I hope to continue treading along for this new year and forever after.

I am completely and utterly happy right now. Perhaps it's the sunshine. Perhaps it's God's grace flooding my soul. Perhaps a little of both? All I know is - today is a wonderful day. God is good.

I haven't felt such happiness in a while. I have been happy, but I haven't been this happy. I am a prism flying in a sunny room, iridescent colours shimmering and reaching even the darkest corners. An effortless, vibrant happiness.

I'm finding it hard to describe this in words... I so desperately want to share with you all how good life is right now. Because life is indeed good. I pray that if, reading this, you are having trouble relating to my words, you will eventually be able to. All of us have ups and downs in our lives and faith journeys. Making it through these difficult valleys is what strengthens us to climb even further up the mountains. Even if it doesn't seem like it now, life will get better. Just hold on. Christ will bless you for your faith. 

A blessed Christmas and a happy New Year to all you lovely people!

November Musings // and a new name

After months of trying to come up with an original new title for my blog, I've given up and have decided to revert back to the title of my first debut into the blogging world, from quite a few years ago: Knots of Thoughts. More and more lately I've been using this space to write on just that - my knots of thoughts. Writing has always been a form of therapy for me. It's a way of sorting out my jumbled mind into something more clear and coherent, and also a way of releasing those emotions that can sometimes get too intense for me to handle. This is why I have a personal diary. Sometimes, though, I feel the need to share these thoughts and emotions, which is why I also have this blog. And I don't only like to share my thoughts - I also love sharing little snippets of this beautiful life and world we live in, whether it's through photography or other little mementos of existence. I do not have many readers, but I do appreciate the few ones I have. Many thanks to you, dear readers, for your comments, your own wonderful blogs, and your friendship.

Now that I've announced this change, here is some of what I've been up to...

ENJOYING

This wonderful time of year. That glorious feeling when you step outside on a sunny day, being able to soak up that vitamin d, and yet still having to bundle up with boots and a scarf because of the oncoming winter chill.

READING

Ice Road by Gillian Slovo

An interesting novel, and full of Russian history that I admit I'm finding difficult to distinguish and keep track of. It is a good read however.

PLAYING

A bit of Grieg. I'm working on memorizing Notturno, op. 54, no.4. "Notturno" means "nightpiece," and my favourite thing about this work is that it brings you right into its setting. When I play it, I can actually hear the stillness of nighttime, the sounds of nature, and nocturnal animals at work.

LISTENING

To more podcasts. I'm finding it a great use of my time while driving or doing chores like raking leaves (the entirety of one side of our property is lined with maple trees, so you can imagine the amount of leaves there are to rake up...)

PONDERING

Something that was brought up in a Catholic Answers podcast I listened to recently. Which is greater: to love, or to be loved? Not disregarding the importance of the other, but the answer is that it is greater to be loved, for God loves us insurmountably. What a comfort that is. To know that you are always loved. Always cared for. No matter what you do.

Starving for Wisdom

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Lacking in some causes an imbalance in others. Today, it is easy to become obsessed with knowledge and information. To discover the secrets of the universe, to uncover the depths of biology, to keep pushing the limits of science to see how far we can go. All are admirable goals; to have a sense of awe and wonder for our world is a very good thing. But if we become so obsessed with finding answers and obtaining all the information our brains can hold, there sometimes is no room left for other gifts, particularly of wisdom.  In our world, the gift of wisdom is one often overlooked. The danger is that our minds will start to drown in information, our souls left starving for wisdom. Wisdom is something that we all want, I think. But we don't always know to ask for it. It is so easy to become swept up in the moment and in the passion of discovery, with the consequences of dealing with unwise choices. One may have all the knowledge of the world, but without wisdom, one cannot know how to use this knowledge for the good of humanity.

Photo from Pinterest