March 13, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Sunrise

There is a certain unique beauty to be found in the sunrise. A new day filled with hope and excitement. Well for some people. I must confess I am a night person. The night owl is one of my companions. I will often sit on my porch on summer nights and just meld with the stars and the sounds of the night. There is a sweetness and calm to the night for me anyway.

I was in Watertown, NY with friends many years ago. My friend Rick was a musician doing a gig up there. It was a fun night filled with music and laughter. People began to finally wonder off and my friend Rick and I decided to go for a ride and ended up at a Revolutionary fort and battleground. We sat and talked and talked and did solve the world’s problems. I remember the exact moment the sun began to rise. We sat there and watched it grow and glow. It became breathtakingly beautiful.

It’s beauty haunted me for a long time. It did not, however, change me into a morning person. But those moments, sitting watching the fabulous sun greet us with its pure beauty touched my heart and mind. It is one of those moments you store away to remember another time. These moments are important for us to have. We all need to record the important and impressive moments on our hearts and souls. They are able to help you through the hard times. They can make you smile when no one else is. They remind you of what is important in your life.

“Let every dawn of the morning be to you as the beginning of life. And let every setting of the sun be to you as its close. Then let every one of these short lives leave its sure record of some kindly thing done for others; some good strength or knowledge gained for yourself.” —John Ruskin

No matter how your biorhythms work, make each day count. May we all extend a helping hand, a kind word or an unselfish act. May we all live each day with the goal of creating our highest good.

A starry, starry night

The new day begins with the sunrise

March 10, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

Beautiful Image

Botanical gardens Photography copyrighted by Barbara Mattio

The Romans had a ritual of lifting nieces and nephews to the rising sun. This image bonded the sisters into the circle of family. These women shared in the fruitfulness of their sisters’ lives and symbolically took responsibility for all the children of the community.

Today, we are not bonded in our communities. There is freedom that few experienced in earlier times. But the price is the loneliness that comes from severed connections. We have lost the responsibility for ourselves and the other people around us.

Celtic woman

“This is the day when dawn
receives our saffron cakes
in her sacred temple.
This is the day which honors
the bond between sisters
and the freedom of all women.
There is no slavery today at the threshold of the temple. Today all women
are joined in the joys of motherhood:
for we hold up, not our own, but our sisters’ children to the sun.” –Ovid, Fasti

One Woman, One World, One Family, unending love.

February 10, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

The Blessing of Trees

1000 year old trees in wales

I really love trees and the energy they give off is truly amazing. They are so strong and protecting. They help keep the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Mother Earth needs that assistance.When I was a little girl, I used to think trees sleep in the winter. And woke up in the spring.

“The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.

The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea,
speaks to me.

The faintness of the stars,
the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower,
speaks to me.

The strength of fire,
the taste of salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.

And my heart soars.”
——Chief Dan George

Truly Magestic Tree

Our most secred scripture is the “holy book” of Nature

“It is written on the arched sky,
It looks out from every star…
It is spread out like a legible lanuage upon the
broad face of an unsleeping ocean.
It is the poetry of Nature,
It is that which uplifts the spirit within us…
—Thomas Berry

A tunnel of trees

Oak Alley Plantation, NO; Acrylic on stretched canvas; By Barbara Mattio

Oak Alley Plantation, Lousiana; Acrylic on stretched canvas; By Barbara Mattio

January 17, 2013 by IdealisticRebel

I have had the Peaceful Time of my Life

Hello everyone. I am home and feeling so relaxed and happy. It was a wonderful trip. The light, sounds, smells, and textures of the trip are filling my heart and mind. I met many wonderful people and laughed a lot.

I think if you breathe in love and exhale peace, you see the world as it “really” is. I am so grateful that I won this trip and every day was an adventure. Music, hot tubs, beaches, waters colored by the hand of heaven. My sister and I were walking down a hallway on our way to breakfast. I suddenly thought, wow, I hardly have any clothes on and it is January. It kind of became a motto,”We are doing —–and it is January.

I believe I could have stayed forever except for a few excursions to New Orleans. My favorite city is New Orleans, actually French Quarter.

Peace was woven into our lives during this trip. I heard nothing but reggae music and laughter. People went out of their way to be kind and thoughtful. I heard not one voice raised in anger or hatred. People never were inconsiderate. Neither staff or passengers.

As a person on this planet, I realized that we are capable of kindness, discussion, manners, laughter, thoughtfulness. We are able to live on the One World with love and peace.We can look out for others, care about their troubles and give smiles and laughs rather than hatred and violence.

Walking on deck in the evening .Photo by Barbara Mattio

Abstract sculpture
Photo by Barbara Mattio

July 23, 2012 by IdealisticRebel

Mellow Yellow Monday #4

Photo by Barbara Mattio

t is here again. Monday! I find that Monday’s aren’t as awful since I began Mellow Yellow Mondays. It is amazing what we can change by changing the way we think. It is a beautiful day here and I feel grateful for the magic of the sun. It warms the joints and gives us vitamin D. It lures the growth of plants. It entices the blooms to open and to add their fragrance to the air. The sunshine carries the sound of children laughing and playing. So I am going to enjoy this yellow day and will return tomorrow.