When you seek respite
from a noisy mind,
or a noisy world,
go to the forest.
She will welcome you in
and never ask you to leave.
She will embrace you and
offer you sanctuary.
She will listen, comfort you
and calm your tired soul.
She will not judge
or ask you why you came.
She will allow you to sit quietly
and just breathe.
And sometimes,
that’s all we need.
TO’K~🌹❤️
A tranquil pathway and quiet shoreline stretching towards infinite beauty, lead me to a peaceful retreat, a hidden refuge of cozy spaces and burrows nestled between the sand, the sky, the ocean and fallen logs.
Unencumbered by humanity, I see the world as it should be. Peaceful.
I’m the only intruder, but I’m not alone.
Burrows along the trail to the beach are home to dozens of rabbits hopping between logs, rose-hip and hawthorn shrubs growing along the edge of the shoreline trail.
I move slowly, so I don’t disturb a mother seal and her pup resting in the tall seagrass near the water.
Eagles circling above, the calls of seagulls, sandpipers and other birds, echo across the sky and add to the magic of this place and fill me with light.
I find my spot and rest on the sand with my back supported against a well weathered log.
With my little companion Bo’ nestled in my lap, I close my eyes, release all worries, surrender to this space, and melt into a state of stillness.
Then, I listen.
It’s in silence and stillness that wisdom is received and peace is born. It’s in this state that the answers come. They always do.
I’m grateful for these quiet spaces and the peace, serenity, wisdom and healing they bring.
If you feel overwhelmed, challenged to meet the struggles in your life, or just exhausted from the noise in your head. Stop everything, step outside and find your quiet space.
Toni O’K~ 🌹❤️
I recently had a conversation with a friend that went something like this;
Friend; “Do you ever worry that the woo-woo stuff you post might put people off?”
Me; (*laughing) “Whats woo-woo stuff ?”
(I knew what she meant, but wanted to hear her say it😊)
Friend; “You know, all that hippie-dippy, peace, love and soul speak stuff you post.”
Me; “Why would I worry?”
Friend; I don’t know, some people might find it weird.
Me; “Well then they’re not my people.”
—————————————————-
What struck me during this conversation was how easily society has accepted what is artificial and manufactured. Yet, what’s authentic and “REAL” is often called weird, kooky or “woo-woo”.
There are a few definitions of “woo-woo”.
I like to think of it as tapping into ones deepest wisdom in the expression of our authentic and creative self.
For some of us, we reach a certain age where the energy it takes to be anything but authentic is exhausting and violates who we were meant to be. And so, we set our woo-woo free. (Yes, I chuckle like a 12 year old, each time I type “woo-woo”)
The world needs your woo-woo
I bet your woo-woo is beautiful!😉
Embrace “the Woo” in you 😁.
If people can’t accept you and your Woo as you are, they’re not your people.
So get out there and get your beautiful, hippie, dippy, woo-woo on and have a fabulous weekend ☮️.
Love Toni ~🌹❤️
We’ve grown into a species of 7 billion people living on one small planet, bumping into each other (literally), sharing the air we breathe, sharing public spaces, leaving our DNA, germs and garbage everywhere.
We are the messiest, most destructive species on earth. We dump our garbage and effluent into the land and oceans providing our food, pump tons of toxins into the air, and then, we wonder why we’re all getting sick and how we got into this pandemic situation.
Our desire to travel globally, consume and purchase goods and services from around the world, and our desires to expand our business, recreational and investment interests into the global marketplace, have changed the way people, products, AND disease travel.
Blaming other countries, other races, even other animals, for this current pandemic is misplaced. With a few exceptions, we all own this mess.
I know I’m part of the problem. I’m part of a generation that consumes too much. I travel and I want to travel again. So, I will have to make decisions that keep myself and those I come into contact with, safe. I don’t see this as an infringement of my rights, I see this as a responsibility that comes with my right to live my life a certain way.
Unless we’re all prepared to stay in our boxes, stop traveling, start growing our own food, start buying local etc., another pandemic is in our future. Not because any one person is going to do one thing wrong, but because 7 billion people move around one little blue planet spreading germs, garbage and disease. 7 billion people who as a species, have not learned how to coexist with other life on earth.
Oh what a mess we’ve made.
If we spent as much time owning our responsibilities to care for the planet and each other, as we do declaring “our rights” hmm, we might stand a chance.
Until we learn how to treat the planet and each other in ways that are gentle, respectful, loving and kind, we will continue down our garbage laden road, leaving a wake of destruction that ends with our extinction.
Toni O’K~🌹❤️
I’ve always been curious. Asking too many questions in school and during business meetings, looking things up, turning over too many stones and exploring abandoned roads and pathways.
At one point I came to believe this was a negative trait because people were always telling me to “shut up” or to stop asking so many questions.
I know now that curiosity is a gift we’re all born with. It’s is an extension of our internal wisdom. Curiosity leads to new discoveries, new advances in technology, medicine and science.
Curiosity exercises all of our senses, awakens our minds and provides the neurons in our brains an excellent workout. Curiosity expands the imagination and takes us to places beyond the realm of every day doldrums. I feel “lit” and alive when acting on my curiosity.
Curiosity did not kill the cat, ignorance killed the cat. The more we know and the more we explore and imagine, the better off we all are.
When we ask questions we understand each other better, we begin to appreciate different points of view, we’re more peaceful, we cooperate and we’re kinder to one another.
Don’t be afraid to water your inquisitive nature and exercise your curiosity muscle. And, encourage the young people in your life to do the same.
We’ve got big challenges across this little blue plant of ours. It’s those active, creative, curious minds who are questioning, seeking and discovering, that will lead us to the solutions we need to heal the world.
And besides, curious minds have more fun. It’s your curious nature that will lead you towards new adventures, new people, new vistas, and yes maybe a bit of trouble, but that in itself is an adventure.
Wishing you a curious kind of day😊🤗
Toni O’K~🌹❤️
My life looks nothing like I thought it would when I started making plans and cultivating my big dreams decades ago. How could it?
When we’re young, there’s no way to fully anticipate the changes we will go and grow through. Changes in the world, changes in our priorities, our attitudes and beliefs, or, how our life experiences and learning will shape us.
I shouldn’t be the person my 20-year-old self thought I would become. There is no way 20-year-old me could comprehend the needs and priorities of 60-year-old me, especially when every decade I seem to emerge as something different than I was.
Yet, I always seem to land where I need to be. Over the years, I’ve learned to surrender control over what I thought I wanted, to make space for what I needed when it arrived, to remain focused on outcomes such as good health, happiness, wisdom, wealth, and love, and not get tangled up in which path I should take towards these things, but instead take the path that presents itself.
When we fixate on what we think we want or where we should be, we might fail to see what we need when it shows up.
Continue to cultivate your big dreams, recognizing the route to those dreams, may NOT be down the roads you expected.
We all get to where we’re supposed to be. How we get there, is not as important as how we live, learn and grow along the way.
Toni O’Keeffe ~🌹❤️
Life became easier when I surrendered my own tenacity and began to live with an open heart and an open mind.
There are things I’ve discovered and learned along the way, which I might never have unearthed if I had remained locked in my own stubbornness.
Our struggles often result from our inability to see the possibilities beyond our own thinking and the doctrines imposed on us.
Living with an open heart and mind means considering alternatives, actively listening to opinions different from our own, being kind before jumping to judgment and being aware of signs along the way pointing you in new directions.
Open minds and open hearts, have created more music, magic, poetry, peace, love and light in the world, then closed minds and cold hearts.
Toni O’Keeffe~🌹❤️
Toni O’Keeffe
My whimsey heart and childlike spirit are oh so playful, inquisitive, excited about life, full of energy, hope and believe anything is possible.
But the lady that looks back at me from the mirror tells another story. She possesses the calm and wisdom of her age, a sense of gratitude for making it this far, a few regrets and a curiosity for what might come next. She knows time is passing, so she embraces the gifts that arrive with each day.
The gray in her hair, folds in her skin and lines on her face are the well-worn roadmap pointing to the places she’s been. Her scars are the badges that honour her life and the lives she has brought into the world.
There is still much she wants to do, to see, to create and love.
As she continues on her path, she will allow her inner child to remain playful, believing she can still be more than she is. Her heart will continue to love and believe in the goodness that resides in everyone. She will remain curious and her gypsy soul will continue to dance. And, her body, well, I will love her as she is.
I hope you live your days, being fully present, grateful and in a state of awe for the adventure that is your life.
TO’K ~ 🌹❤️
Toni O’Keeffe
January, 2021
Don’t chase the things
or people who don’t
want to be caught.
Not everything you’ve lost
is meant to be found.
Not everyone you’ve loved
is meant to be held forever.
When things and people leave our lives,
they create the space for new experiences, adventures and emotions to arrive.
Sometimes, when you take
things out of your life,
you add more into your life.
Trust that what’s meant for you,
will stay, what’s not, will go.
Happy Friday🤗
Toni O’K~🌹❤️
A moment will arrive when you realize it’s time to tread beyond your comfort zone.
In this moment you will know with great clarity, it’s time to allow the things that have been calling you from beyond the veil of fear, doubt and judgment, to be born.
This will be your moment of grace, your moment to shine and shatter the obstacles that have been blocking your path.
The fear may appear larger than it ever has because its standing right in front of you. Still, you will face it, naked in your authenticity, showing the world who you really are and not who they have forced you to be.
The demons will retreat, the fog will lift and you will clearly see the path towards the things you’ve always wanted to do, see, say, and become.
Be brave, muster your courage and set out to do all thats been calling you for so long.
We never know exactly when our journey here will end, but we know it will end. Let this year be the year you leap into the life that’s meant for you.
It’s time to ALLOW yourself to be.
To stop fighting the voices of criticism and finally be comfortable just ~ being ~ you.
Toni O’Keeffe ~🌹❤️
The Whimsey Angel 