My French summer has begun. I need to carry on packing what I want to keep from my parents’ house so it can be sold as they now both need care. Can it be a summer of grief and delights? I trust my soul can hold both at the same time. Isn’t life made of contrasts? Light and darkness, Yin and Yang , positive and negative, finite and infinite, bitter and sweet, permanence and impermanence, certainty and uncertainty. 

3 QUOTES

• “The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces.” Robert Greene

• We might instinctively dislike uncertainty, but in truth, we would be so bored without it. Imagine watching a movie and always knowing how it turns out, or reading the same book over and over. We want surprise, adventure, and possibility.” Leo Babauta

• “When I left Queen’s my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does.”
   L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
   

2 IDEAS

• Anne also said, “I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” She likes to rename things and places: the Avenue "The White Way of Delight", Barry's Pond  "The Lake of Shining Waters", an area in Mr. Bell's Woods is named "Violet Vale". When places or objects have evocative names, it influences tthe way we look at them. Why not rename your familiar places, people and objects? My home is now “the old, gracious lady”, my garden “the wild gorgeousness”, the beach in Brittany “the friendly sands of shining waters”. Have fun with this' 
   
• Write a postcard. Whether you are on holiday or not, at home or away, forget about posting an update on Facebook or Instagram and make someone’s day by sending a handwritten note. Postcards are quick to write but will put a smile on a dear one every time they look at it.

1 QUESTION

Can you allow yourself to fall in love with the uncertainty of your life?

Valerie 

http://valeriemarsh.com