“Grateful for my husband encouraging me to stay home from work to further recover from my biopsy. Just completely worn out. Thanks babe!”❤️ (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
“I appreciate my supervisor’s response when I notified him I needed to take a sick day. ‘I’m glad you’re taking time to rest and heal. Please don’t worry about any of the meetings, and no apologies necessary. We should build a culture where we start with the value of taking care of ourselves and each other, and everything else will get done.’l (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
“I am so very thankful my biopsy histology results came back negative for cancer. I’m so relieved!” (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
“I appreciate celebrating the news of no cancer with a dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Malt Scotch with my love.” (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
“Thankful for a husband always in my corner loving me HARD!” (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
“I am thankful to sleep in with my partner on a lazy Sunday.” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
“I am blessed to have a partner as goofy as myself. He woke up and said “I’m hungry, let’s have French Dips for breakfast.” BRILLIANT!!!” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
“I appreciate our walks to the store together with our dog Kiva. I feel so European to walk to the market and shop for the dinner meal.” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
“I am thankful that I found my reusable shopping bag as I dropped it at a crosswalk on the way to the market. Remarkably, it was there when we walked back.” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
“I am grateful for my partner indulging me on my desire to make a chicken dish from another random country. Today was Mussakhan from Jordan. It was absolutely beautiful!” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
Lyrics: Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name? Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name? Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game She’s walking down the street Blind to every eye she meets Do you think you’ll be the guy To make the queen of the angels sigh? Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name? Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game Hello, I love you, won’t you tell me your name? Hello, I love you, let me jump in your game She holds her head so high, like a statue in the sky Her arms are wicked, and her legs are long When she moves my brain screams out this song Sidewalk crouches at her feet Like a dog that begs for something sweet Do you hope to make her see, you fool? Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel? Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello I want you, hello, I need my baby Hello, hello, hello, hello
“Almost always it is the fear of being ourselves that brings us to the mirror.”
Antonio Porchia (Argentinian Poet; November 11th, 1885 ~ November 9th, 1968)
“I have used a special meditation I call the golden mirror meditation. I visualize in my mind an enormous mirror the size of a room, with an elaborately carved, 24-karat gold frame. This is my materializing mirror. Those dreams I wish to materialize in my life are first viewed here.”
“…whatever we visualize in our minds can come to pass in the physical world.”
“Today, find a few minutes to get quiet and journey within. Close your eyes. Visualize a beautiful, large golden mirror surrounded by shimmering white light. This light is Love and it surrounds you, enfolds you, enwraps you, and protects you as you look into the mirror. See the reflection of an extraordinary woman. She is beautiful and radiant. She possess a strong, healthy, vibrant aura. Her eyes sparkling and she is smiling warmly at you. Do you know who this woman is? You feel as if you have known her all your life. And you have. She is your authentic elf. Spend a few moments with her now. What is she doing? How is she doing it? Visit her as often as you like. She is waiting to help you find your way as you make the journey of self-discovery.”
“…there is never a time when you should hesitate to encounter the woman in the golden mirror. She is the highest reflection of your soul, the embodiment of the perfect woman who resides within and she sends you Love to light your path.”
“I watched my partner come a bit unraveled as he thought he had lost a podcast recording that he saved last week. Lot’s of under the breath cursing and angst. It bothered him all evening. My initial reaction was empathy and frustration for him. Then when he became a bit snarky, instead of owning his behavior, I just committed myself to nothing being wrong. In that space I was able to listen and support him in his moment. We ended up having a lovely evening relaxing with one another after a super meal. This was new for me. I often own and fret over others issues and that only leads to more stress for me. All emotions are okay…even frustration. So I let him be there and I stayed in the empathy/helpful space. Truly a big moment for me.” (Heather Houston 1-30-22)
“Today was a huge relief. I had a biopsy on Monday and today I received my histology results. Good new! I have no evidence of cancer. PHEW! During the 3-months it took to get to my 2nd mammogram and then finally to the biopsy, I was chronically worried a a low level. I also knew that worrying does no good at all. Each time the bubbles of worry came to the surface, I greeted the thoughts, acknowledged them and then pushed them to the side. Today’s news was a relief and felt great! I am pleased I didn’t stay in a high stress state for months and instead kept on LIVING.” (Heather Houston 1-30-26)
–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 30-32 of 501.
I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.
My Distilled Life 