Summer days, summer evenings...

Summer is almost gone...The air is crisp now and the sun doesn't treat us with the same strength as it used to two months ago. 

Here are some pictures I took to keep the warmth and fragrances alive:)

"A perfect summer day is 

when the sun is shining, 

the breeze is blowing, 

the birds are singing, 

and the lawn mower is broken."
- James Dent

Strong woman vs. woman of strength - controversial Oonagh

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape ...
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...
A strong woman isn't afraid of anything ...
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...
A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her ...
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...
A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
a woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them...
A strong woman walks sure footedly ...
but a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls...
A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face ...
but a woman of strength wears grace...
A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey ...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

I first read this poem when I borrowed "The Voice of Silence" from a local library. A random but lucky choice what often happens to me when I don't look for a particular book.
Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo - a nun turned nurse, turned missionary in India, turned midwife, turned wife&psychotherapist) made me realise many things:
- how important it is to give time to a new-born baby to get used to the world and light(!) as a baby lived in darkness, and also to a mom to accept her new role,
- that children need time to think - picking up flowers, fishing for crabs or admiring sunsets, painting their own images in the firmament as they watch the clouds rolls by,
- how important it is to take time and get a rest as recreation re-creates us ("recreation, laughter,travel and curiosity can fire the heart"),
- that everyone needs to be "wounded" in order to be able to help others,
- that life is full of blessings in disguise,
- that two people who have a harmony together will include everyone in it,
- that "illness frequently occurs to bring us to an awarness of ourselves and to a higher understanding of our destiny",
- that death = re-birth,
- "if we are caught in seeking the approval of others we are wrestling with a finite, mortal and fickle element. If we get ourselves entangled in what others do and say and think, we lose our own identity. We lose our way." And so on and on and on...

She looked after the Duke of Windsor, Princess Diana through hard times in their lives.

It is believed that Oonagh betrayed Princess Diana (by selling a story to press), she denied but their friendship ended right afterwards.
I don't know if it's true nor do I agree with everything she said but I hope that through her book she will teach and cure a few more people.

"Each day can be a pursuit, a discovery...Your life, my life, our lives are surely for living and loving - and for being happy."

"All we need is Love but love without knowledge falls short."

"All the "shoulds", the "musts" and the "oughts" can so easily obscure our path and help create seemingly deep holes into which we can fall time and again.[...] Yet in these deep holes we can still look up and see the stars (our heavenly latterns)."

photo: karmicrelief.com

"The happiest of people do not necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything that comes along their way."