Beneath The Breath October 11, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Life Balance, Meditation, Mindfulness.2 comments
That great silence behind/beneath the breath offers solace without ceasing.
It is always there for the asking . . . once we allow our thoughts to settle.
In the silent stillness, love lies waiting.
Aah . . . that’s better!
To Climb or Not to Climb October 7, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Humor, Life Balance, Mindfulness, People.11 comments
At the moment, I’m not “hungry” for anything.
Nope. Not even cake!
I am content with the status quo and keep my fingers crossed that the next hurricane won’t blow the status quo to bits. 😀
When we don’t have an itch to scratch, maybe that means that we are not “meant” to climb the next mountain (or molehill as the case may be).
That said, may you have the chance to climb and SUMMIT every mountain that beckons.
Aah . . . looks like he made it!
What about you? Faced any challenges lately? Any mountains (or molehills) beckoning to you from the horizon? Do you enjoy being a beginner at new pursuits or a dab hand at familiar ones?
Does the time of year impact your choices? By way of example, does the cooler weather of fall encourage you to get outdoors or expand your horizons in other ways? Or do you prefer to hunker down at this time of year, by entering hibernation mode in front of a blazing hearth?
More Thoughts On Travel October 3, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Animals, Humor, Nature, Travel & Leisure.28 comments
Now that we’ve established that I (and many of you) don’t like traveling with a large posse, what other parameters govern my/our retirement traveling preferences?
First & foremost: No long distance travel for me.
I prefer to avoid the high carbon footprint of air travel, as well as the hassles of airports, timetables, border crossings, security checkpoints, packing restrictions, over-crowded tourist venues, pick-pocketed passports, and digestive upsets (such as Montezuma’s Revenge, The Curse of the Pharaohs, or the “Green Apple Quick Steps”).
I much prefer local day trips and occasional weekend jaunts augmented with travel videos of more exotic locales.
Lucky for me, BFF agrees.
But how can we “broaden our minds” without packing suitcases and jet-setting around the world? Books, movies, and . . . armchair travel.
Watching travel DVDs allows us to enjoy narrated tours with “close ups” of amazing wildlife without the time, expense, and attendant safety risks of traveling.
We needn’t attempt sleep in a canvas tent while hungry lions shake, rattle, and roll on the far side of a flimsy fabric flap while humming the Stone’s “Midnight Rambler” between heart-stopping ROARS!
As you may know, behind-the-scenes segments on nature videos often reveal that the crew endured 3-4 weeks of hardship and inconvenience, risking frost-bite at the poles, or trudging through hot, humid, snake-infested jungles, day after day, swatting malaria-riddled mosquitoes and picking off blood-sucking ticks and leeches, while carrying heavy equipment and hoping against hope to capture a few frames of usable footage of a thought-to-be extinct dodo bird or a rare duck-billed platypus or an endangered tree frog or (GASP!) a charging rhino, hippo, lion, or bear.
The crew’s hard won footage becomes our easily-gotten gain as we enjoy shot after spectacular shot from the comfort of our La-Z-Boys while listening to David Attenborough recount the many travails of the trek!
In short, being armchair travelers GUARANTEES there will be sightings of the sights to see.
Except, of course, for Nessie. Nessie is not inclined to pose for selfies!
What about you? Do you enjoy long distance travel? Does the thrill of setting out on an adventure outweigh the challenges and inconveniences? What do you enjoy most on trips ~ the food, the scenery, the culture, the relaxation?
Do you have any horror stories about travel hassles you’ve endured? Care to share?
Do Tell!
What Do You Want To Do? September 27, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Balance, People, Travel & Leisure.18 comments
During my senior year of college, I went on a 10-day trip to St. Thomas by myself for Spring Break. It was only the second time I’d flown and the first time I’d planned a trip by myself for myself.
Quite the adrenaline rush!
When we landed in Puerto Rico, I was surrounded by a sea of Spanish with only a small window of time to catch my connecting flight to Charlotte Amalie.
I went to the ticket counter and tried to piece together what the agent was saying using my rudimentary High School Spanish. No luck. I hadn’t a clue.
“Hablo English?” She nodded and switched with a fluency I envied.
I started the week with complete freedom, independence, and autonomy, knowing no one and being beholden to no one . . . but that changed F~A~S~T.
As I met fellow island visitors, we made plans to meet for dining, dancing, the beach, sightseeing, shopping, etc. I went from having to consult no one to having to coordinate schedules and interests.
It was an exciting and rewarding, albeit tiring, experience. And nothing at all like recent travels with BFF as my sole traveling companion.
When BFF & I travel overnight or on day trips, our interests are so similar that we flow from one activity to the next without lengthy consultations.
It’s all very fluid.
Except when it isn’t.
Whenever we vacation with another couple, or as part of a small group, I’m back in St. Thomas during Spring Break, wasting precious time figuring out what everyone else wants to do and when:
“So, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
“Well, for one thing, I don’t want to stand here talking about it. Let’s just do it!”
“Great, so what do you want to do?”
So, what about you?
Do you prefer perfect autonomy, freedom, and independence . . . or more communal exploits when on vacation?
If you prefer traveling with a group, what’s the upper limit before it gets a bit too cumbersome?
Aah . . . freedom!
He’s Back! September 23, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, People, Writing & Writers.24 comments
Despite Donald’s desperate dastardly dictatorial efforts to gag Jimmy Kimmel . . . by strong-arming ABC and Disney to stifle him . . . via Brendan Carr’s threats to do it “the easy way or the hard way” . . .
WE THE PEOPLE thwarted Donald’s efforts to get Jimmy Kimmel’s Spot-On Commentary off the air.
How?
Easy – Peasy.
People, lots of people, cancelled their Disney Plus and Hulu streaming subscriptions, sending Disney and ABC a very clear message:
Stand up for the First Amendment and reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Stand up to the Bully-In-Chief in the White House (and his appointed minions) by ending Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary suspension.
So, after only 3 days off the air, Jimmy’s back!
Huzzah!
Government Censorship has NO PLACE in America.
Long live Freedom of Speech!
Bunny Buddhism September 19, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor, Mindfulness, Writing & Writers.comments closed
I just enjoyed a charming read, Bunny Buddhism.
If you are on Twitter (now X), you might have come across Krista Lester, Creator of @ BunnyBuddhism.
I’m not on Twitter, so I did not.
A few of my favorites aphorisms from the book (subtitled “Hopping Along the Path to Enlightenment”) are:
The wise bunny does not worry if no one knows of him; he just seeks to be worth knowing.
The bunny who makes a mistake and doesn’t correct it is making another mistake.
The wise bunny knows the carrot will not hop to him.
Every hop is joy and every breath is peace.
Wise bunnies and foolish bunnies both have things to teach us.
A potato is a potato no matter how much I want it to be a carrot.
There is nothing wise about being an unhappy bunny.
May wisdom and compassion guide our hearts and our hops.
Aah . . . that’s better!
A Mosquito Kill Bucket August 24, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Health & Wellness, Home & Garden, Nature.comments closed
If you are plagued by mosquito bites . . . Popular Science has a DIY project for you.
It’s effective, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and kills mosquitoes at the source. One larva at a time!
To read more:
How to Build a Mosquito Kill Bucket
Aah . . . that’s better!
Unstable June 13, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Life Balance, Magick & Mystery.comments closed
Leaning too far into the future
Trying to peer into the crystal ball
Can cause disequilibrium
RX = Time Travel
Lean into the past
Go antiquing!
Aah . . . that’s better!
I Am On A Roll April 24, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Fiction, Life Balance, People.comments closed
Until recently, I’ve had a string of bad luck when it comes to selecting books. I might finish them, or not, but none could be coined a compelling read. None had staying power. None provoked thought.
Until recently.
The last FOUR books I’ve read have provoked thought, placing me in situations and circumstances that kept me turning pages until I reached the finish line.
None, except perhaps the last (which I haven’t finished yet), provided a typical “happy ending,” but each (in its own way) offered up a satisfactory conclusion ~ a resolution which provided a glimpse of hope for the future after chaos, confusion, and countless cloudy days.
And who can’t use a dose of hope these days?
While quite dissimilar, each acted as a reminder that we cannot predict the future with any degree of certainty. Somewhere (behind the clouds) the sun is always shining. Hold on, because anything is possible.
The Book of Fire, by Christy Lefteri ~ set in Greece during and following a devastating forest fire that claimed lives, trees, homes, and possessions, dampening the spirit and resolve of an entire family as mother, father, and daughter come to grips with all they lost in the flames. When the smoke clears, and the scorched earth begins to heal, the family re-finds its footing. Life goes on.
The Cliffs, by J. Courtney Sullivan ~ set on the coast of Maine, as an alcoholic historian is coming to terms with the death of her mother, the death of her marriage, and the death of her esteemed career. From the ashes, the phoenix is reborn. When one door closes, another one opens.
Black Butterflies, by Priscilla Morris ~ set in Sarajevo during the onset of the siege in 1992, when an artist and art professor stays in situ after sending her husband and mother to England to live with her daughter for a few months. Despite increasing hardship (no heat, little food, no electricity, increasing scarcity, and intermittent water), she finds continued inspiration for her art as well as the necessary resiliency for living in the midst of war. It is often darkest just before dawn.
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, by Lynda Cohen Loigman ~ alternating between Augusta’s childhood in 1920’s Brooklyn and her arrival at a retirement community in Florida in the 1980’s (following her “forced” retirement at age 80). Life continues to surprise us with twists and turns and serendipitous happenings that lie beyond our ken.
If you’ve read any of these books, what did you think?
And thank you Sally for recommending Black Butterflies on your blog. You got the ball rolling by giving me courage to choose darker fare than is my norm!
* * *
BTW: I realize that in writing this post, I have likely jinxed myself. So be it. I had become inured to unsatisfying reads that seemed interminable or which required me to pull the plug prematurely. I am full of gratitude that that “dry spell” is behind me. For now. Write on!
As the Dust Settles . . . January 3, 2025
Posted by nrhatch in Home & Garden, Less IS More, Life Balance, Mindfulness.comments closed
As a few of you may already know/suspect, BFF and I have had a busy few months.
First, back-to-back mandatory evacuations for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, followed by the decision on 10/23 to sell our villa in Bradenton which had been HOME for the past 16 years.
Before the villa even hit the MLS, we found interested buyers . . . or the buyers found us. We were under contract within an hour of when the couple toured our place. The villa passed inspection with flying colors, and we had to hustle to find a place to live . . . because homelessness is over-rated.
Finding a place to live (near our niece’s family) entailed several 6 hour round-trip visits to Gainesville to house hunt. Due to time constraints, we switched from house hunting to apartment hunting.
Once we found an apartment, we had to pack UP belongings, pick UP a moving van, load UP the van, drive UP to Gainesville, and move in to our 2nd floor apartment by going UP in the elevator.
We tried to stay UPBEAT even when extreme fatigue threatened to dampen our spirits!
During the moving process, we shed a literal ton of furnishings, including 4 tall bookcases, a TV, 2 large dressers, bedside chests, a king bed, a sofa, a loveseat, and 3-4 tables. Plus lamps, books, dishes, glassware, shelving units, ladders, etc.
* * *
We started moving into the apartment on December 3rd. In the spirit of the season, I decorated for Christmas as I unpacked. As a result, much of our year-round decor got stashed in closets and cabinets awaiting the post-Christmas season to find more permanent accommodations.
Because I was anxious to see what our new apartment would look like without trees, and Santas, and reindeer ruling the roost, we packed up the Christmas decor on January 1st ~ about a week earlier than our norm. Once the Christmas stuff was safely stashed, I began to “set things to right” which took ample creativity given the lack of shelves and surfaces on which to place our various knick knacks and paddy whacks.
Some, of course, did not “spark joy” in our new apartment and they have been donated to Goodwill for re-housing with another family. Including our Christmas Tree, an area rug, several not-too-valuable pieces of artwork, etc.
When minimalists say “less is more” . . . they are correct.
It is MORE challenging to find the right balance and MORE satisfying when you do.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Spirit Lights The Way 