The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 665

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Yesterday I was asked a mindfulness question about feelings in a general discussion and I replied as follows:- feelings come in all sorts of waves. They can be negative, angry, fearful, sad, but in mindfulness we don't judge them - they are just what they are. We tend to find some emotions more difficult than others but we simply observe these feelings in a peaceful and silent manner and often with curiosity and non judgmentally accepting them. What is very important is that we respect the feelings of others and our own. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Monday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 664

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. It is another Sunday and a day my Mam used to say was a very special day and a day to focus on loving God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength and all your soul. I always try to focus on these words and actions in my daily life and stay away from the other matters in life that can lead you astray such as the other aspirations of other people, fame, and also it is easy to become distracted by daily issues and problems. Our beliefs lay a firm foundation for us to stand firmly on our feet and let peace and the love of God, our family and friends flood our hearts and souls. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Sunday best smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 663

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. There is no doubt that there is too much noise going on in our world. Too much outside noise. Our lives are frittered away with detail. We live mindlessly and this takes a huge toll on our lives. What I find really healing is when there is too much noise I sit in a quiet place in silence, focus on my healing and pray, giving thanks and praise for what I have in my life, even the problems. This joyous discipline helps me live in intimacy with God and all around me. It is very healing and a thankful heart has plenty of room for everyone. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Saturday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 662

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Last night was a beautiful night in our home as the male members of our family prepared and cooked a beautiful meal for the ladies of the house. It was always a big tradition in West Limerick and it is lovely and thoughtful to continue this costum and show appreciation for all the good work and kindness that the females in our world show us. Dad used to always cook a goose for Nollaig na mBan but a goose was not the choice for this evening - we had venison and wild boar. It was all amazing. When we show love and appreciation from the bountifulness of our own love it has a far reaching influence on the lives of other people. This love has the deepest power of prayer. Today really marks the beginning of the new year so continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Friday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 662

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. As I gaze through my window of wonder I ease my way into a new year in a mindful and thoughtful way. As the day is breaking I think to myself we are certainly sons and daughters of the darkness and now the emerging light of a new day. For this new year we all desperately need a new and gentle light to guide us safely to a place where our souls can shelter and reveal to us our ancient belonging. Each day is a new journey and all creativity is renewed within us and the light of a new day comes in the form of a new blessing for us all. From here we can discover how to balance with Mother Nature and light is the mother of life. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Thursday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 661

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. There is great peace and happiness in not wanting to go anywhere, in not going anywhere other than where I am. Sit, rest, work in peace in the farm or in the gardens, alone with oneself; weary, just drinking in Mother Natures fruits. Living joyfully without desire, listening in silence to the sounds of nature. When I live in these moments I am released from dependence on the future. I have no wish to be anywhere other than where I am, here at Ballinwillin House. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Wednesday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 660

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. At the start of the year I always try my best to renew my vows with mindfulness and to try and be more mindful than before. Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love it gives one clarity and compassion for life. We must treasure and love every moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments and places therefore each moment is vital and affects the rest of our lives. When we live each moment to the fullest a succession evolves and we proceed to live our lives to the full. Happiness and contentment will follow and peace and harmony will flow in and fill your heart for a happy life. For this year think now and continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Tuesday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 659

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Over the years I have been blessed with a great work ethic and work, combined with prayer, especially when I work outside on the farm or in the gardens, combined with blessings make my meditation time complete and relaxing. It is important in life not to evaluate your achievements be they trivial or monumental. Instead, when you wake up every morning, give thanks and appreciate everything you encounter on your path. Enjoy nature, the plants, the trees, the animals. I saw a beautiful rhododendron shrub about to blossom. These are all here for us to enjoy. Watch the sunrise, listen to the birds sing, the children gaily at play, the wind as it softly massages the tall trees, drink it all in. Uncle Jack said "there is no way to happiness but happiness is the way." Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Monday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 658

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Covid rampaging all around us and people will say it is a destroying influence and making a mess of our world but we have to be strong during this very long strain and realise that the big things that affect us in this world are all made up of little things. If we live by faith and not by sight and work and live by this principle and enough of us do this and live life like this and are true to our principles of love, honesty and kindness then this year ahead can turn out to be a better one than any year before. So we must all be super positive and continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Sunday best smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 657

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. This morning as I gaze through my window of wonder I give thanks for the gift of a New Years Day and I let the dead weight of the last year fall from my shoulders and may we all be able to dance and balance with the new year and bring us safely home always. For this year, may the nourishment of the earth by yours, may the clarity of light be around us always, may the fluency of the ocean be always bopping around our soul. May the protection, love and guidance of all our ancestors be yours and may the mild wind wrap a cloak of love and warmth around all of us for the years and years ahead and mind us all and our loved ones for the rest of our lives. On this great day of opportunity continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your new years day smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 656

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre and welcome to a new years eve. As the year draws to a close I give thanks for the year that has passed. I give thanks for the gifts it has brought us as neither time nor tide can touch them. It brought many surprises from the forgotten corners of the old fields of the mind and many pierced every sore with salt. There were dark days that dimmed my confidence, days when the beloved faces of my family shone brighter, many a buried tear was loosened. We give thanks for what we have learned during the year, for whom we have loved, mourned for those wonderful friends we have lost. Deep down we realise that each year is a holy experience and that somewhere in us a dignity presides that is greater than the smallness from outside that finds fear and farce and we look forward and pray for the new year 2022 where wisdom, soul, happiness and health will be one. Happy new year to you all out there continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your smile every day.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 655

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. I had a beautiful and meaningful experience this morning when a neighbour and great friend Padraic visited. We had a long chat about the reading and understanding of life. We felt we were both well qualified by life's experiences as both of us are in our seventh decade. We spoke of friendship and agreed we are both blessed with great friends and that we were good friends to each other. We agreed to treasure our friends and no matter where we travel to in our soul that there would be love, warmth and happiness surrounding us and then we went our separate ways. We may not meet up for another year and may not meet again but our empathy will allow our wild beauty of the invisible world to gather and influence all belonging to us. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 654

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. All through childhood years, my teenage years, right through to the present time, I was always driven by and reminded by the words of my parents "work and prayer are the two forces that will ensure success" followed by the words "go forward gladly always and be unafraid." Wonderful advice that has served me well. I have found over the years when working on the farm or in the gardens that work and prayer feel beautiful together and I found that the light of my soul always blessed my work with love and warmth of heart also. Work and prayer always calmed my soul, consoled and renewed me and the days were never long or exhausting. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Wednesday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 653

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Yesterday was so mild I decided to do some work in the garden, pruning, transplanting some rose plants and some weeding. It was really fulfilling and peaceful. I had great company. Robin red breast was bounding around me and chirping in approval of my work, the blackbird was watching and chirping from high up and singing joyfully for my enjoyment. The freshness of the earth filled my heart with happiness and I was reminded how lucky I was to be able to absorb this gift of sweetness that flows from Mother Earth. All these senses combined reminded me that the fragrance from my breathing garden were refreshing my heart and instilling in my soul that I am a child of this wonderful Earth. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Tuesday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 652

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. This morning as I sit in meditation I am creating a circle of kindness and healing for someone near and dear to me. As I sit here in peace and silence I hold this person in my minds eye and I repeat silently "may you be well. May you be happy. May you be free from suffering." As I do so I feel that I am standing over this person, holding them, hugging them and pouring kindness and healing throughout their body and freeing them so that their body and mind can be seen and felt as a Holy sanctuary. This will help them walk again to a new freedom and dawn. Continue to pray for someone special today and power healing and peace towards them. They will feel it and appreciate it and it will make you feel better too. Don't forget to be happy and wear your Monday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 651

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Today is always referred to as St. Stephen's day, usually a day of rest after all the hard work of turkey, ham and dessert eating but this year it is also a Sunday, another day of rest, the Sabbath. St. Stephen was the patron saint of stonemasons and deacons and was one of the seven deacons to help organise the early Christian church. He was also known as the patron saint of horses and that is why hunts took place all over rural Ireland back in the day and now, many horse race meetings. Stephen was looked upon as being a man of strong mind, a strong faith, having much grace and was full of the Holy Spirit. He was known to have worked many wonders and miracles. Not a bad role model for us all to think about on this day and to prepare ourselves for the year to come. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Sunday best smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 650

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Happy Christmas everyone. You know, when I was a child Christmas was all about Santa, midnight mass and a big thanksgiving supper in the house. After midnight mass it would go on until about 5 or 6 into Christmas morning. All the neighbors would be present and my Dad would cook his specially prepared ham every year. It was a huge event and always a very happy one. He would always have another ham and a turkey for the main event, usually around 3pm. There was much talk about this time about all the wonderful people who have passed and the elders always joined in prayer as they believed that they all came and joined us in prayer at Christmas time. So today, dance with your loved ones that have passed like no one is watching. They are your guardian angels, seek their help, guidance and advice. For those who are still with us, give like Santa and love them like Jesus. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Christmas day smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 649

Good afternoon everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Christmas eve is usually a time of wind down here at Ballinwillin with all the major tasks of the year either completed or rescheduled. It is a day of reflection on the farm and in the garden a time to pray. A time to find peace with God, a time to rest with Mother Nature and all she has bestowed on us for the past year and a time to be thankful for the good, the bad and the ugly. When I am in the fields or in the garden I listen to my hidden voice in my heart and it calls out for peace, freedom and creativity. We can linger for years without realizing the grandeur of our spirit but if we live truthfully and generously our spirit will lead us to be an artist in our field by living in the now and close to Mother Nature and here is a question prompted by the loss of a very good human being earlier today - what would we all do if we were asked the following question "what would you do if you had more time?" Reflect today, pray, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Christmas Eve smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 648

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. It is the time of year for peace. It is the time of year that we shed and radiate peace not discord wherever we go. A peace that brings lifes music to every beating heart, a music that will help change the mood, music of the world. Let us not forget also at this time of year that for those of us that enjoy the privilege of peace, we must not forget our brothers and sisters of the world who have been visited by torment, and for them during this season that no harm will visit them along this holy world. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick

The Mindful Farmers Daily Diary Day 647

Good morning everyone and welcome once more to Ballinwillin House Farm, gardens and RetrEat centre. Yesterday was the shortest day of the year and from now on even though the winter will be cold, wet and long, we will have more sunshine hours each and every day and heat us all up. This is a very symbolic time of year as it marks the death and rebirth of the sun. It was always celebrated in West Limerick in the old days by making yule logs, making wreaths for Christmas, lighting candles, planting seeds but for me it was the setting up of the meditation space beneath the huge tree on the bank of the river. My Mam used to say that it was a place of our own to give thanks for the past year, pray for the coming year and all the happiness it will bring but above all she would say to give thanks for our growth during the past year and pray for its continuance into the future. We would sit in silence and pray and then merrily go on our working day way. This was always an amazing experience and oftentimes during the years I return to this place and now I have recreated my own meditation centre for the very same purpose. Continue to pray, bless, power healing and peace to all who need it and wear your Wednesday smile.

The Mindful Farmer

Patrick