Project Finding Beauty

Sweet is Spring!

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen

Spring is really sweet after a long and trying winter. This past Sunday, I was resting on a bench by the lake and soaking up the warmth of the sun when the magpie (pictured above) flew in. It perched itself right in front of me.

If you are superstitious, you might be saying: “Oh, a lone magpie! Sign of bad luck.” But not me. These birds can be silent companions. And this one obviously thought I needed a companion, as it tried to impress me with its acrobatic stunts.

 Sweet is spring after long winter.

Anyway, I don’t know what is it that I’ll be planting this spring. Perhaps, listening to life and trusting that whatever it is I’m supposed to sow will reveal itself is what I do should. How about you? What are you planting (literally and metaphorically) this season?

Wishing you a restful Sunday & Happy Spring!

Project Finding Beauty

On Loving Myself Just As I Am

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen

To me, being old and beautiful are not mutually exclusive, regardless of the modern society’s unrealistic standards of beauty. 

Loving myself just as I am.

My essay, I. Am. Beautiful., won a third place for the 2022 Body-Positivity Essay Contest. You can read it at Navigating the Change.

Once again, thank you Kathy Garland and Keisha D. Edwards at The Real Peri Meno for this encouragement to tell my stories.

Yours faithfully in those Then & Now photos!

On days I’m tempted to complain about weight gain, I remind myself that an elephant trunk weighs far more than I do. Yet an elephant is comfortable in its own skin. How’s that for some perspective! Mind you, there are days I still complain, because I refuse to buy new clothes.

Project Finding Beauty

Looking Up

Posted on by Khaya Ronkainen 
I'm starting to look up again.

backstory: With the war raging nearby, I have no choice but to tightly wrap around my grief like a warm scarf given to me with love, put on my shoes and go outside. Because who knows, if the sun will shine tomorrow! This is to say, I’m starting to look up, search for beauty again, more so now that it hides itself from me.

So, I’m slowly returning to blogging. But I might be less interactive than before as I’m still trying to process it all. That doesn’t mean I’m not reading your blogs though and appreciate the comments you leave here. Thank you for your support!

How are things on your side? Where do you find beauty, these days?

PS: A few days after drafting this post, I came across this article “Feeling Pressure to Grow from Grief.” It was as if the author had read my thoughts. This article was the beauty I found that day, and it goes to show that beauty comes wrapped in many forms. Many thanks Rommy Cortez-Driks for introducing me to What’s Your Grief, it has become one of my go-to resources.