Simply Wonderful: Fall Is Here

September 23, 2014September 23, 2014 / Ally Bean / 24 Comments

I tend to overthink things. I don’t know if that comes to me naturally or if it was instilled in me as a child through well-meaning adults. Doesn’t matter. What is, is.

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I’d been pondering my tendency to overthink when I happened to see this Cary Grant quote. It seemed like the perfect mantra to adopt during my favorite season of the year. Why not think less? Keep life simple. Occupy myself more with doing.

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Later while surfing the net, I stumbled upon this Paulo Coelho quote, which reinforced my newfound desire to live simply. I mean, who doesn’t want to find the extraordinary things? I can do that. I’ll be wise.

So it is with the foregoing in mind that I’ve decided to groove on simplicity for the next few months. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I figure if the Universe has gone out of its way to make sure that I get this “simplify” message, then the message is important. Hallelujah, eh? Make it so.

Almost Autumn: This Change Of Season Suits Me

September 8, 2014November 19, 2015 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

This past Sunday morning was the first day in months where the temperature was below 60ºF and the humidity was low.

Delightful. Refreshing. Clear.

I was able to drink my first mug of coffee while sitting on the deck all by myself. Experiencing the stillness of the early morning centered me in a way that makes me feel whole.

Hopeful. Capable. Calm.

It wasn’t until I looked up into the trees behind our house that I realized how soon it’ll be autumn. And that I wasn’t alone out there on the deck. Two birds, way up high, were keeping me company.

Cheerful. Balanced. Orange.

Autumn is about letting go of what used to work and enjoying what is. I’ve found over the years that I can embrace its message because I’m open to new ideas and seem to have an aptitude for adjusting to what is.

Creative. Grateful. Aware.

Meaning that in about another month this tree, next to where the birds were sitting, will be a showy mess of fall color. And when it is I plan to be engrossed in new projects and a healthier way of life. Hello Autumn!

Determined. Grounded. Focused.

Monet, Spiders And Thoughts Thereupon

July 22, 2014 / Ally Bean / 26 Comments

I took these photos while standing on our deck early yesterday morning. It was foggy outside and the world looked like something out of a Monet painting. Nature’s beauty charmed me, but also lured me into a much too contemplative frame of mind for a Monday morning.

Seeing my world in this hazy way left me feeling grounded + old. I realized that I’d seen it all this way before, but was now remembering that there’ll be a finite number of other times that I’ll see it this way again. Feeling introspective, I was.

But as if on cue, when I went back inside the house to refill my coffee mug, I saw this little spider climbing up the inside of the screen. Now here is a critter who’s living in the moment, I thought. Good for him.

He’s applying himself to the task at hand with all the enthusiasm + strength that he can muster. And perhaps he has the real message of this early morning: get out there, start climbing and do something. No need to get stuck in maudlin contemplation when there’s life to be lived now. Spider Wisdom 101.

I Tried, But The Joyful Bee Would Not Cooperate

May 1, 2014May 1, 2014 / Ally Bean / 8 Comments

“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.”

~ William James

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If there’s one lesson that life has taught me, don’t take yourself too seriously. For instance, when you grab your camera and go out into your front yard to take a photo of the cute flag thingie that hangs from the tree, and the wind keeps blowing the cute flag thingie the wrong way, you do not get upset.

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Instead, you do your best to take a photo that captures the cute flag thingie in action. Giving it a whirl, so to speak. That is what you do.

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And then if after about 40 pics of the cute flag thingie your photo shoot has not gone as planned, you find a way to turn your experience into a charming ~~life lesson~~ blog post.

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