a simple wish...

A simple wish for you...

May you recognize Love in all its guises
and when faced with a choice,
always err on the side of Love.

simply jag xox

a simple choice...

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those.”

- Michael Nolan

I found this tiny barrette on the floor of my office building today.

It caught my eye AND my heart!

In choosing "simplify" as my mantra for 2009, I'm hoping to break the pattern of saying YES to every opportunity or interest that comes along. That may seem counterintuitive... Should we not give in to the abundance that comes our way?! I've learned - the hard way... the only way... - that I can easily get over-committed and overwhelmed. Then, my body, mind & spirit simply shut down. I thrive when I remember to focus my energy on that which catches my heart: being an expression of God's perfect Love in an imperfect world. That is my simple choice.

simply jag xox

a simple place...

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."

- Hans Hofmann

In October 2000, a crisis in my life lead me to my healing place: Stillpoint House of Prayer in Springtown, Ontario. There, in that place, I experience simplicity in a most profound way thanks to its silence and its stillness. Truly, it is by eliminating the unnecessary clutter of the everyday that I create a space for the Sacred to speak.

...and the message I'm getting is that I need to book my spring retreat soon! :-)

simply jag xox

a simple solution...

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

- Albert Einstein

Almost everywhere I look, I see clutter in my home... Little bits. Big bits. My worst habit is not having a place for everything, so I just set it down somewhere - and there it stays. But sometimes, a simple solution comes forth...

simply jag xox

a simple indulgence...

"Soap and water and common sense are the best disinfectants.”

- William Osler

So often, it's the little things that bring a smile to my face. Little things like soap. :-) Moonsnail Soapworks, from Prince Edward Island, makes the best soap. Ever. Even their new packaging brings me joy! I tend to order $100 worth at a time and then I intersperse its use with my regular soap to give the impression that it lasts longer. My favourite is Dad's Licorice, with the envigorating Spearmint Swirl coming in as a close second.

At $5 a bar, it's a little pricier than what I'm used to. But with just one whiff of this aromatic soap during my morning shower, I am convinced that this simple indulgence is worth every penny.

simply jag xox

a simple pleasure...

"My childhood may be over, but that doesn't mean playtime is."

~Ron Olson

My two nieces (ages 8 and 5) were with us for an afternoon this past weekend. Since they've just recently moved to the city, it was our first time having them without their parents. Needless to say, as a childless couple, we wondered what the heck we'd do with them for several hours!

All hail crayons & paper! All hail crayons and colouring books!

I had originally bought these crayons for myself waaaay back, but it took the presence of two little girls to remind me that, to enjoy the simple pleasure crayons bring, I need to take them out of the box. :-)

simply jag xox

a simple scent...

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination."

~Robert Fulghum

Can anyone resist the scent of simpler times?!

simply jag xox