Gratitude

Gratitude

Gratitude, a word.

Someone says write it on your glass

And the water you drink will be pure

Someone says list everything you’re grateful for

And you will be resonating at a higher vibration

When I begin my list it really works

I begin to feel so good

I forget all the things I yearn to do

All the things I want to have

All the people I have to see

All the business awaiting me

It moves me way outside my head

And opens feelings of joy instead.

My list is long and starts with me.

And all those close and whom I love

And then I think of friends so dear

They fall into that same affectionate pull

And animals too and my bed and my home

And my work and my skills, and my safety, and my dreams

It’s amazing how long I can carry this on.

But the thing that begins to awaken in me

Is how seeing the same tree be bare and then budded, and then green and then orange

Makes me just as happy this year as last

What is that?

And how feeling sand under my feet, or the rhythm of a wave

Stirs me up every time.

And then there’s that amazing truth.

That when I connect again with someone I love

That feeling springs up that is full and joyful.

What is that?

And when I suddenly feel warmth on my shoulder from that funny yellow dot in the sky

Or hear rain on the roof

Or Beethoven’s fifth, or Clair de Lune.

What is that ? How come it always works?

Is it God? Or is it me? Or Is it you?

Or is it just that honest truth.

That it is All, it is Divine, it lives IN us, in you and me for we are one.

And I am so grateful.

Stay In Touch With Your Soul!

I just finished viewing the award ceremony at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where Steven Spielberg was presented with this year's medal of Liberty for his amazing index of movies expressing the indomitable human spirit. It was the final show of a list that I've seen this weekend beginning with Oprah's interview of Mike Tyson, a movie made in Quebec titled The Courage to Love, and a show featuring charities that are accomplishing wonderful opportunities for individuals in our country. I felt breathless. I wept through many of these shows, and especially during the Awards presentation.

Whoopy Goldberg topped the list of speakers as she acknowledged who Steven had to be personally to be aware and to be willing to produce such amazing epics of life. With humor she truly embodied the reality of what Steven has given us.

President Bill Clinton, was very impressive also, but the prize tonight, still went to Steven, for his expression of the importance of art in our world today. He spoke of his parents encouraging him to memorize The Declaration of Independence, or The Gettysburg Address. He spoke of how lyrical they are, and how that ingredient alone keeps us reminded of the important values they express. Beautifully he wove his presentation back to the importance to all of us of the arts, how they nourish us, inform us, and inspire us; how we must continue to support the development of art all over the world. He also, reminded us of how the arts keep us in touch with our own soul. I stand reminded and grateful to Steven for what he's done with his career, for his reminders and his gifts to life on this planet. I will stay in touch with my soul, Steven. Thank you!

I also, salute television this weekend. I have observed programming at other times which was less than wholesome, but this weekend my time in front of the tube was very sacred.

With love and gratitude,
Denny Daikeler

Getting A Life

It's Thursday. I've had lots of work with organizing space with clients this month. It makes sense as it's September; time to leave the summer behind and get serious. At least a little more serious!

There's lots of yearning for beauty in all my work, but underneath is such a yearning to be able to move through life and one's home environment with ease, comfort and wholeness.

It is truly amazing how NOT having the home created to now support the life that wants to happen is deadly. Wanting to move into a project, to create social get togethers, or even live easily, things need to be "set up." If every movement forward involves a hunt for, a clearing of, or a distraction, the life is chaotic.

I'm telling my clients that the first step is being sure all appliances, systems, and utilities are working and in good repair. The second is to setup all systems (laundry, food, relaxing, dressing and grooming, so you know that they have a designated space and all the tools needed to do the job are there. The third is clearing the space of everything that has nothing to do with the present life, every day (more popularly known as decluttering.) All of these steps are so important, but that third is paramount. Many of this week's projects were filled with reducing storage in the "vital" areas of the home, to only house the minimum needed for the next month! Where does the rest go? The answer is to some space removed that is also organized and accessible. (And that space needs to be orderly enough also, to support the life.)

Careful examination of what you need in this season of your life to make you comfortable, effective, happy and inspired will assist all of the above. And don't forget, it varies with every one of us. You wouldn't care one hang for the little white polar bear sitting next to my bathroom soapdish, but I would miss him deeply.

Let's organize, synthesize, and put in place exactly what turns us on. Then our new season can happen powerfully and beautifully.
Blessings to you, your space, and your willingness to "Let Go" and "Create New."

What Do I Do?

I received an e mail today that was long and complex. It's contents were a summary of someone's exploration into the new flu vaccine. There were many links to investigate, each suggesting possibilities and warnings, a lot to digest. As I began taking in the e mail I was having a peaceful morning. As I ended the e mail I was no longer feeling good, joyful, but instead fearful.

I stopped. I considered how disruptive I had allowed this information to be, and I made a decision. My choice was to move into my own power and not into my fear. I closed the e mail, and id something else.

We are truly living in a time where we are bombarded by more opinions, more drama and more hype than ever before. Technology can truly bring us into a flurry of warnings, news, and chaotic thought It therefore, becomes our responsibilitty to "delete" what we do not want to take in. We get the chance to discriminate, to find the place we want to live and to let the rest of the world to "fall victim" if they so desire.

I think the most important part of what I've just said is the word choice. Each one of us has it. But our seat of choice is much easier if we have done our inner work and decided where we want to be with predictions. So much of the information suggests that we are victims, that we don't have the power to heal ourselves,more comfortable when we have gone deep within and found out that we do have power, we don't have to be controlled by a fear of our emotions or our physical well being, and we can choose gratitude and joy.

That e mail had momentarily destroyed my joy, Its darkness had taken away my power.. Of course, I had let it, but when I saw that I was giving time to fear, I quickly chose differently. "What do I want to do right now that will bring me joy? instead of Oh my God, there is so much I must do to save the world!

I love Howard Thurman's quote that goes like this:
DON'T WORRY WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS.
ASK WHAT MAKES YOU COME ALIVE AND DO THAT.
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS
ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME ALIVE.

FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY AND DO THAT

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE!

It's Sunday morning in spring. I've just wakened.
I see the gray outside, and hear a heavenly, soft wind through the crack in the window.
The wind sounds like music.
I smile and turn over remembering it's Sunday.
Sunday, a day I often set goals like any other. What shall they be?

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE!

The wind talking, the trees bending, the leaves changing the melody.
I reach to the stand beside my bed and slip in A Beethoven CD.
I can't seem to get enough of him since 33 Variations and The Soloist.
I stay still lulled by the sounds and the wind.
My mind drifts to the dance concert last evening with Barb.
The National Dance Co. of Spain.
Amazing choreography to Debussy and Schubert.
Dancers barely clad, no color, only amazing bodies.
Strength, motion, form, sound.
Somewhat like the wind and the trees.
All a meditation.
My drive home an experience of being one with my car.
I stay with Beethoven, I stay with daydreaming, I stay connected.

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE.

I am naked in bed, inspired by the body forms that I'd taken in.
Wanting to feel the simplicity, the form of me.
Still bird songs outside. I smile, pleasuring.
Thinking of treasures, Thinking of love.
Wonderful memories of a Granddaughter's birthday, a Grandson's swim lesson.
Wonderful moments of the week past.

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE.

I climb out of bed, smoothing the sheets and spread to my liking.
What next?
I suddenly know I must stay with this sensuous dance.
It's a commitment. It's important.
I don a soft patterned caftan, tights, my silk T.
No elastic strips, no tightness. Only soft, sensuous.
My gray hair looks soft and right in the mirror,
A constant challenge always.
A face wash,, a warm rinse, slow, dear.
I reach for the cologne, my favorite scent,
And allow myself its essence,


I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE.

A cup of coffee?
A snack? Or breakfast?
I remember the baked sweet potato strips, the horseradish dip
Tucked neatly on the frig shelf. For breakfast?
They accompany me to my deck, closer to the wind, the songs, the green.
Sweet tastes, fresh air, hot coffee.

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE.

I stare into the woods, so full now, leafed to perfection
I see the tall, dead tree rising bare against the abundance.
That must come out, I think.
It's a flaw.
But the branches suddenly look like arms raised in dance,
The trunk a torso arched by a throbbing heart, topped with a head inspired.
My desire changes. I see the sculpture, the life in the wood,
The message.

I SHOULD GET SOMETHING DONE, I think.

And I have.

Staging for selling your home IS declutteringt!!!

I'm just back from staging a wonderful contemporary home in Bucks County, to be sold. It's on a wooded property that houses deer, birds of all sorts and open grassy areas with gardens. It's truly a find for nature lovers who also want a very open footprint and lots of windows!

My point in writing this blog is not to sell this home. It's to speak to you of what I learned in my process with this client. As you know, "staging" is the way you get a home ready to appeal to the crowds of people who are going to come and see whether this house is right for them. I could even reword that last sentence to say it is the process that hopefully depersonalizes the space so the first potential buyer falls in love! The word "depersonalize" is key.

The way this couple and I began is that I wandered the house alone putting myself in the role of customer, so I could decide what was preventing me from seeing the house clearly. I wanted to witness the architecture, the views, the space, the hominess, the function, the possibilities. I wanted to see if the house showed itself to me with clarity. I made notes of ways to be sure that this objective was reached.

I then presented my "list of things to change" to the owners assuring them that my list had their sale in mind, and was not a summary of offending judgments. They liked the list and we began. We moved anything and everything that hid the structure (the bones) of the house. We took down or removed anything that was extremely personal such as family pictures, religious symbols, extreme styles, and out of balance design.

This space has been home to this couple for twelve years. We all know that amount of time can bring in a lot of new stuff, and it had! Favorite seasonal effects had remained because of their success. Functional needs had been added without the thought to design, Gifts had been incorporated so the givers would be satisfied. New plants and off shoots of old plants had been repotted and given birthing spots on window sills. All told there was a lot of work to do, and I encouraged my clients to let go and see.

Well, the results were dramatic! As we got out the step ladders, filled boxes and shifted furniture slightly, we re-exposed the amazing structure of this wonderful building. Not only that but we brought the awesome views into the space. My clients were dumbfounded. It was such a lesson for all of us about LESS IS MORE! The space began to breathe. The wonderful colors began to shine. The few remaining plants showed off their graceful silhouettes. The walls emerged from behind "overhung spaces."

So you, who are reading this blog, listen carefully. I am speaking about "staging," and I'm also writing this as an ode to overdone homes that have "lost their beauty." Beauty is important. It is TRUTH. I big you to declutter so you will re-establish the beauty that is inherent in your home. Trust that in so doing, you are not only honoring the bones of the space you originally selected but, you are putting an end to over-consuming, you are establishing healthy boundaries, you are simplifying your life, and you are managing a look/style that serves and nourishes the inner you.

It's amazing!