My hiking partner and I have taken to bringing along gallon ziplock bags and tupperware, and our hikes take twice as long. The recent heat has encouraged the berries to further flourish, and there is an embarrassment of riches to be had for the price of picking. But what price picking?

I type this with fingers still dotted with small wounds and tips of thorns embedded in my skin. My fingernails and cuticles are purple, and there are scratches on the backs of my hands from reaching into wicked brambles to reach the sweetest fruit. Leaning into the bushes invites stickers in some of my most prized bits. Long sleeves and denim keep the worst of the stabs away, and the wide brim of my hat has often prevented me from sticking myself in the face with brambles. Thus protected, I am roasting in the heat.

Nonetheless, I lean too far, and stick my fingers into prickly thickets to reach that fat cluster of juicy goodness just out of reach. Repeatedly. The sweat trickles down the back of my neck, and into my eyes. It stings but I don’t care much.

I return home from these hikes with hands streaked in blood and berry juice. My forehead is festooned likewise, from wiping my sweaty brow with stained mitts. I look in the mirror in the bathroom after I wash my filthy hands and laugh at the sight of me. Dirt and blood and blackberry juice streak my happy face.

There is a kind of simple wonder to be had in gathering berries. It is a miracle to me to take a walk and come back with food. On top of that, I’ve learned how to make jam. Really good jam, made from the wickedly wild blackberries I picked myself on some sweet summer mornings.

I put the new half gallon of gathered berries into the freezer. My fingers are sore from the insults of the thorns, and there will be more bits to fish out of my skin tomorrow, because I’m going gathering again in the morning.

The jam is worth it.

Blackberry jam recipe: Smoosh your berries. Put berries and sugar (ratio 2:1) plus 1 tsp lemon juice per 1 cup sugar (2 cups berries). This makes a tarter jam that has a more complex and fuller flavor, to me. The original recipe called for 1:1 ration of berries to sugar, but I found it far too sweet for wild ripe berries. Bring to boil and boil on high for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer merrily for 15 more minutes, stirring frequently. Pour into sterilized jars and freeze after cooling or process in traditional water bath for 10 minutes and allow to cool before storing in cool dry place. Blackberry jam is one of the few that really doesn’t need any pectin.

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Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Confidence on tap

Far away from care

And let me write, or think and dream

Perhaps just sit and stare at nothing, sweet nothing.

Let me be still

For I strive far too much

In this workaday world

Out of sync with rhythms primal

Habits simple, out of whack.

I could use some soothing

Sounds of water, hawk, wind

to wash away my busy mind.

Small miracles catch me, bewitch me

And then I remember to breathe deep

So life fills me to bursting

Bursting, I tell you.

“Become” I hear, “…become”

Be. Come. I overthink

And then I get lost. Again.

Sit with me, friend.

Abide with me in companionable silence

Let your breath ebb and flow

As the sweet day passes softly

Beneath our bare feet.

Give over your cares and concerns

Lay back and count clouds.

These moments are too precious

To waste in staying busy.

There is always more to do

More to accomplish

More to achieve

It’s all so wearying sometimes.

Abide with me, friend

Let the day slip by.

Leave the pressures

Of your very important life

The world will keep spinning

While you do

Nothing.

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Sometimes I get bogged down in my resistance. Sometimes I get carried away in my enthusiasm. Whatever it is, I rarely do anything in half measures.  I love spontaneity and adventures. I want delights and engagement. Give me surprises, music and romance and celebrations.  Let me frolic, romp, revel in this one wild, precious life of mine.

I do not wish to live a quiet life of contemplation. Lost on me is an existence built on prudence, caution, shyness and loss mitigation.

Boldness. Risk. Grabbing life by the short and curlies. For me, these are amongst the Great Virtues.

The cadence of my different drummer beats in my blood. I am driven to dance. Humdrum is no drum at all.

Occasionally I despair that I am not more strategic, more business driven, more to the liking of the masses. I wonder at times how to reconcile my impractical desires with my need for security.

And then, much like a summer squall, the internal struggle dissipates and the atmosphere is clear and clean. All I want, all I need, I have created or am manifesting. I am loved, cherished, appreciated. Ultimately, I am safe and secure.

Sometimes it’s just good to get to gettin’. To say not much in order to say everything. To do a bit and thus accomplish miracles. To believe, and from there, really see.

So, no SEO optimization today. No clever keyword strategies. No embedded links, no strategic topic, no exhortation to greatness or pontificating on some lofty topic. Just me, getting unstuck by talking to you about nothing in particular. About me. Maybe you can see part of yourself in these mostly random musings. Maybe you see another point of view that is so unlike your own that you wonder how other people can live like that. Maybe it’s enough to reach out just for the sake of connecting. Like now.

Ain’t life grand?

I’m going to Disneyland!

I’m going to the Hollywood Bowl!

I’m gonna see James Taylor, \”Sweet Baby James\”and Carole King. 3rd row seats.

Awesome. Totally made of awesome.

I get to spend time with good people doing things I absolutely love. I am being made to feel utterly welcome, and my holiday schedule is full of delights. There’s free wifi in the airport, and all is right with the world. This is optimal. Ahh, and free power so my battery is not depleted before I get to my destination . Okay, Oakland Airport is bland but handy. Blandy?

I have an idea that is dancing ’round my brain what says I would be well served if I set some intentions for this vacation. Other parts of my brain are trying to throttle that part and have mounted a full frontal attack. I don’t hold out much hope for the worker bee portion of my brain right about now. It’s about to lose gloriously to the “F*ck it, let’s have fun!” parts, which outnumber and outweigh the poor little bee right about now.

Heh. How much fun is this? Tons. Gobs. Metric buttloads.

And you can quote me on that.

See ya after a hearty dose of FUN. Later taters!,

—————————————-

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence

http://www.lifepurposeworks.com

“Even before I begin, I am made of win!”

Jonny Lang Thankful

Jonny Lang, \”Thankful\”

Now mind you, I didn’t start out with that “tapping the subconscious” wisdom in the forefront of my consciousness. I just wanted to play with the new toy (themes) and like any light-hearted treasure hunt, found a jewel I liked, and took it. Then I began to notice a change in how I felt when I used this new theme, and how it continually makes me feel even now. A sexy curiosity indeed, but it’s not where I started. It’s only in hindsight evaluations that I came to these ever so advanced and enlightened observations about subconscious engagement and subliminal messaging as a powerful tool.  And that stuff ain’t no news.

What’s fun for me is that once again, I’ve done the smart thing without consciously realizing it. I think of this as a “Reverse Homer”. And once again, it’s lead me to an insight about conscious behaviors and habits that translate brilliantly into Jim Dandy confidence tools.

To make the most of the next blog post, you should start to notice all the teeny tiny things you surround yourself with and say to yourself (or allow yourself to take in), and what their individual and aggregate impact is.

The follow up to this post will take you through the logic and practical applications (the “Just the Facts”) of this stuff. Stay tuned.

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Even before I begin, I am made of win!”

Very practical people who know about such things advise me to plug up the hole where they have gotten in. They wisely counsel me to evict them and rid myself of all that annoyance, citing the obvious nuisance and destruction and filth and such. Got a great estimate to fix it, too. Nuisance abatement, they called it. It’s very good advice indeed, and makes a great deal of sense. I feel absolutely no regret in refusing it. You see, here’s the thing about those damned dirty, thieving, destructive birds:

I love them.

Last year they had babies, which resulted in intermittent flurries of ravenous peeps emminating from my ceiling throughout the day. During that time of year I sit without music, listening intently as I type, eager to enjoy the sounds of new life flourishing above my head. It’s one of my favorite springtime delights at home. Can’t wait for this year’s clutch to hatch out. Should be soon.

Starlings are undoubtedly bad for my roof, but they’re very good for my soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“Everyone can use an extra confidence boost every now and again.”

Forehead Tittaes

Yervelcum.

Gabourey Sidibe takes confidence to new heights!

“Nuff said.

VITALITY

Which we have already ascertained is cool for being a peculiarity, amongst other things. Now let’s talk about vitality and Life Purpose.

The daily practice of Purpose driven living encourages you to expand your present relationship with the peculiar quality of vitality that is yours alone. Through the discovery and use of your unique Life Purpose, your experience and expression of vitality is enhanced and deepened. You’ll find this increases your satisfaction in every aspect of your life, from your work to your love relationships to your spirituality to your playtime.

You’ll also become more keenly aware of all the things in your life that you have to be grateful for, and you’ll become better able to express that gratitude with ease and joy. This effectively engages the Law of Attraction on your behalf, creating ever expanding opportunities to be grateful.

You’lll notice that one of the synonyms for vitality is strength. I posit that this is because vitality bespeaks a kind of inner resilience and solidity borne of an acute awareness of one’s own Life Force. Further, it is this solidity that translates into the other synonym for vitality, stability. To possess an abundance of vitality naturally implies the stability that is indeed synonymous with reliable strength, both with vigor of body as well as of spirit.

An increase in vitality is one of the effects of knowing your Life Purpose, and of living it. When you do what you’re meant to be doing, you’ll experience an increase in overall happiness, satisfaction, and vitality just by doing it.

Abundant vitality, now that’s MY kind of peculiar.

Do you fully experience YOUR vitality?

Molly Burke CPCC MSU
Queen of Confidence
www.lifepurposeworks.com
“I’ve bottled confidence and you can, too!”