COMMUNITY – Sharing, participation, and fellowship
Welcome to the Saturday Blog Party! This week’s topic is Community. If you are a regular around here, you know I usually kick things off with three posts that speak to the topic at hand but today I’ve decided to do something a little different. I thought it would be fun to introduce the community of Bliss Habit’s regular contributors with a little “getting to know you” questionnaire I came up with for the occasion.
Bliss Habits is a warm and welcoming community because of this incredible group of women. I am delighted to get to know them better and I’m certain you will enjoy it too!
Who do you live with?
January: I live with 1-2 interns (changing every 3 months) at the farmhouse across from the school where I work, at Esalen, an intentional community/center for consciousness.
Tamara: I live with husband Cary, child Natasha and cat Cleo
Chel: Tom (husband), Gracie (kidlet), Chester Ginger & Milo (kitties), Winnie Pt & Herbie (parrots), Jack (leopard gecko)
Lorraine: Bonnie and our cats, all of whom are truly amazing.
Linda: I live with my partner of 27 years and our furry friend Jack.
Kathy: I live with my Sweetie Rob and our girl Jessie, also occasionally with snails, caterpillars, moths and other critters Jessie brings home to share with us. (We also plan to get a cat later this year!)
Name 3 places you have never been that you want to visit.
January: New Hampshire, Maine and New Zealand/Australia
Tamara: Paris, Tuscany, Greece
Chel: Hawaii. Australia/New Zealand. Tahiti. (and any place with crystal blue ocean water that I can swim in).
Lorraine: I’m not a traveller so I don’t have restless feet to visit anywhere. My idea of travelling though, would be to stay several weeks at a time in one spot and be part of the daily life. Over time a network of “homes away from home” would be created where any one of the nodes would feel like family and be welcome at any of the other node-homes. Would that make them hodes or nomes?
Linda: If I had to narrow the three places I would like to visit and have never been to before, I would say, off the top of my head they would have to be Africa, Spain and Hawaii.
Kathy: Sitting here in Hawaii I wish I could invite you all to be here with me! Wouldn’t that be a fun way to meet!! Anyway, I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand, the Galapagos and Alaska.
What is your favorite quote or saying?
January: Oh so many…Whether or not it is clear to you, the universe is unfolding as it should.
Tamara:
Through this toilsome world, alas,
Once and only once I pass,
If a good deed I may do,
If a kindness I may show
To a suffering fellow man,
Let me do it while I can,
No delay for it is plain
I shall not pass this way again.
~Author Unknown
Chel: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman
Lorraine:
There are so many. To pick just one – yikes! I’ll go with this Suessian type poem I awoke hearing in my head a couple of years ago because it’s easy to remember and speaks to the heart of what I most want people to get – be who you are first and you’ll express yourself all over. We focus so much, and get stuck on the how’s in life we forget to be who we are.
“The who in how is always you.
The how in who is what you do.
Don’t confuse the how with who.
Or you’ll hide what’s really true.”
Linda: My favourite saying recently has been never say never. My personal experience has been that you never know what will show up and the circumstance may be such that a never becomes a maybe or yes!, lets do it!
Kathy: My all time favorite from Earl Nightingale is “You become what you think about.” What a revelation that has been for me. From the moment I read this ,25+ years ago now, I knew I wanted to fill my head and life with joy and bliss. My life IS very joyful so I am a testament to this quotes truth!
What are your top 3 favorite “good causes” or charities?
January: Gazebo School 🙂 Sempervirens Fund, Southern Poverty Law center, Habitat for humanity
Tamara: The Fresh Air Fund, Amnesty International, Sierra Club
Chel: For the Love of Cats (the local cat rescue we volunteer with), Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Kiva/Donors Choose
Lorraine: Animal rescues, those improving living conditions (eg. water wells, lighting), those supporting women and girls becoming valued members of the community
Linda:
- World Vision. We have been sponsoring two children for 22 years. It is such a small thing for us to do but it has a large impact on a child’s life.
- Love Is The Answer which is a local charitable organization, recently formed but not new, that works in Africa with orphaned children. I met the founder, Catherine and was immediately impressed with her dedication. www.loveistheanswer.ca
- Anything to do with animals. Hope For Paws is a current favourite. They are a U.S. organization that rescues abandoned dogs. I live in Canada and the problem isn’t as severe here. I think it is because our economy didn’t suffer as much as the U.S. one did.
Kathy: This is My new favorite charity: http://www.savoryinstitute.com/ The work these guys are doing changes lives locally (where they operate) and also has the potential to offset the worlds carbon gas problem. If we follow and support this project to its logical end we could get greenhouse gas under control by 2025! I also LOVE KIVA and Heifer.org
Why do you participate at Bliss Habits?
January: I love the motivation to write, love the prompts/themes being positive and uplifting, Love the opportunity to share with other like minded people. Love your work in the world, Kathy!
Tamara: I need at least one creative thing to do.
Chel: I ADORE being part of Bliss Habits. It makes me think, makes me feel, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to dig deep and share every week!
Lorraine: In a word, to explore. Okay, that’s two words. I love the opportunity to look at life through the lens of each habit to see where it leads – especially those I’ve not considered before. Not only do I get to explore and share what I see, I get to see through everyone else’s eyes too. I love the richness that brings forward. Sometimes we’re seeing in parallel and other times in multiple directions. Every week is a surprise package waiting to be opened.
Linda: I write for Bliss Habits because I was invited to ( who can turn down that invitation?! ) and I love the idea of people coming together to promote and celebrate joy. The themes are varied over the weeks, but because the title of the blog is Bliss Habits everyone finds the nuggets of joy that lie within them.
Kathy: Originally I wanted to see if it was possible to create “more bliss” in my life so I designed Everyday Bliss (the predecessor blog to Bliss Habits) to experiment. In time my efforts evolved into the wonderful community we have now and I continue to participate because, just as I mentioned in the quote question, I know that I will have more bliss if I take the time to think more bliss. Facilitating the weekly discussions keeps me focused on making bliss happen in my life and I love helping others to find it too!.
What “Bliss Habit” would you like to see added to our list?
January: The bliss habit I’d like to see may seem negative: grieving. We all experience change and loss, and spend our lifetimes finding ways to cope with that.
Chel: Self-care and/or nourishment
Lorraine: One’s that come to mind right away as possibilities to choose from – Observation, Inclusiveness, Awareness, Resilience, Uncomfortableness, Reflection
Linda: Again off the top of my head Movement, could be a good one to add to the roster. Movement is inherent in everything on planet earth!
Kathy: Adventure. [And I’ll let you in on a secret, it WILL be on the list next time out. I meant to include it during the last habit selection process but announced the list and realized I had forgotten it. I really do want YOUR input (go here and tell me) but one of the thirteen slots is already filled!]
What is something you’d like this community to know about you?
January: Like many people, when I share my art/creativity, I am almost always sure it is horrible, or that people will find it boring/pompous or just bad. Its my heart on the page, it feels like a big risk. Nothing means more than someone remarking that my words moved them or helped them.
Chel: Even though I’m 39, I still feel like a kid. (I’m working on being brave enough to CLAIM my age with pride, so that was practice, right there.)
Lorraine: As someone who prefers to be behind the camera and not in front, this requires a fair bit of prodding to push me up front. I suppose I’ll say my deepest wish that I hold is for everyone to know and be their true selves in everything they do – be full of themselves really. Take care of the who and the how will follow. Making a difference matters more now than ever, so whatever we can do to help each other show up fully, amazing things will happen. Where I can play a part – I’m all in.
Linda: Something I would like everyone to know about me? Mmmmmmm…..what do I want to reveal? (smile) My company is Go For The Joy and yet I struggle with that more than I would really want to admit to. If you asked me what I find fun, I would be at a loss to give you an answer, but I readily will jump in when fun is presented. I take life more seriously than I should and I guess, in my case, it is the teacher teaching what they need to learn! Thank goodness for The Group!
Kathy: I love what Bliss Habits is becoming because of all of you! I never could have imagined such an amazing community of bliss advocates. It is an honor and a delight to share each week with you! I’m really looking forward to seeing the bliss our continued collaboration creates!
So now dear readers, it is your turn! You are invited to answer the same questions or pick some of your own so that we can get to know you better too! If you’ve answered a similar “getting to know you meme” on your blog then feel free to link it up in the linky below. If you’d prefer to answer in a comment below, you are welcome to share there! In any case, please don’t be shy. You are a huge part of this community too and I can’t wait to get to know you better!
P.S. Next week we will be “Speaking of Romance” and looking for posts and places that will foster this Bliss Habit for our Saturday party!
ROMANCE – To court or woo romantically; treat with ardor or chivalrousness; a strong fascination or enthusiasm for something.
To kick off the Linky list I added an old “25 things about me” post…. just in case you needed too much info about me! lol