As a lotus flower…

As a lotus flower is born in water,
grows in water and
rises out of water to
stand above it unsoiled,

so I, born in the world,
raised in the world,
having overcome the world,
live unsoiled by the world.

~ Buddha ~

In its own time…

 

 

 

As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow.

We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.

~ Denis Waitley ~

Dear You…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear You,

 

I see you.  I watch you every day, doing your best and finding your way through this life.  I see you struggle and turn on yourself regularly.  I see you hurt and yearn for the more that you know is out there, somewhere.

To be honest, it’s a little painful to watch.  So here are the words I wish you could take in and make part of you.

You have a choice.  In every moment, you have the opportunity to choose both what you do and how you feel about it.

You know.  You know who you are, really, and what you want.  You know that there is love and there is fear, and neither one is entirely good or bad.  It’s all in how you frame it.

You control your lens.  You, and only you, have complete and utter control over the amount of light you allow into your life, and only you possess the ability to open that lens up wide, at any time.

You see it all.  The whole big wide world that lays at your feet, ready to welcome you with open arms, if only you will make a tiny step forward.  And then another.

 

So.  You can live your life in a small way, if you wish.  You can follow the rules that worked for so long and don’t make much sense anymore.  You can dress appropriately and watch your language and sit with your ankles crossed.  You can be polite and be sure that you won’t possibly offend anyone (although, inevitably, you will).  You can fill out the forms the right way, placing one letter carefully above each little _ mark on the page.  You can listen and take to heart everything you are told, never questioning the information you are given.  You can follow the crowd, the herd, the popular consensus.  You can color inside the lines and never step beyond the boundaries outlined in yellow paint.

You can.

Or.

Or you could make like the Jiffy Pop container and slowly expand, until you almost – but not quite – burst.  You could write your own Guide to My Life, making it up as you go along.  You could question every “should” and “ought to” – every single one.  You could wear your hair long and rock ripped jeans and cowboy boots – even after you turn fifty.  You could be compassionate and true and speak your words with care, knowing that we are all here to polish each other into gleaming gems.  You could know that it’s not your fault, and it never was… and that it’s just not your business, unless it is.  You could break out all the colors in the brand new box of 64 crayons and use them on every surface you can find.  You could go get a great machete and cut your own trail, howling at the moon (or singing as off key as you like, very loudly).  You could listen to the whispers within you and ignore the shouting voices from the outside world. You could find joy in absolutely everything you do and revel in being your own unique, exquisitely beautiful self.

You could.

It’s your choice.  And you get to make it, over and over again.

I’ll be watching you, always. You will never be alone.

I have huge hope for you, and even bigger love.

Me

 

The portrait of me was drawn by the lovely Moyra Scott, an Ordinary Courage classmate of mine.  What a beautiful gift – and a great way to introduce you to her work.  Moyra is a talented multimedia artist and does the most wonderful portraits, from photographs.  You can find her work here and on Facebook, here.   Another great gift idea, no?

finding peace…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is in the very depths of our being,

far beyond what we have words for,

below the self we show to the world,

that we find peace.

~ clg ~

 

daring to be…

We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be. ~ May Sarton ~

Shining your light…

This is a reposting from last spring – a first for me, but it seems to be a time when many of us (me included) need to hear this again.

People are like stained-glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.  ~ Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ~

I had dinner last night with my friend, Pamela, from Walking on My Hands.  It was wonderful, as usual, of course… and I won’t even begin to try to map out our conversation for you.  I’d have to send virtual Dramamine, there were so many twists and turns.  Anyway, we talked a lot about light, the light inside of each of us, and she had a lot of questions on that topic.  Here, in part, is what I said. This whole analogy came to me a couple months ago and it seems to be one that most folks can relate to easily…

I see us all as lighthouses. We all have light inside of us, we come that way – think of the way small children glow, the way babies look at you, the knowing in their eyes and the way the room brightens when they enter.  As we get older, though, that multi-paned, 360 degree window starts to get a little dirty, you know?  Daily dust, windstorms, hail and salt spray all add up and before you know it, the grime is thick and gets harder to remove every day.  And the only way to clean them is to take the time and effort to do it.  Only you can clean your window, only I can clean mine, because the mess isn’t only on the outside.  We can help each other with the outer panes, yes, but each of us sees the view from the inside alone.  And just as an oil lamp shade gets smoky when the wick burns too low, if we haven’t kept our own flames going strong, the dirt buildup on the inner panels of glass can require even more work than the salt-encrusted exterior.  You get the picture… only you can tell if it’s really clean and clear, all the way through.
There is a saying, worded in all sorts of ways and sometimes attributed to Dwight L. Moody, that goes something like this – Lighthouses don’t go searching for the ships, they just beam their light from where they stand.  No matter how you say it, it is very true.  We sometimes think it is so complicated, finding our calling in life.  And we can make it so, even in a well-intentioned way.  But if we all do our work, if we keep our wick at a reasonable height, if we take the time and the elbow grease to go out and clean our windows really well once, then spend a little time every day doing whatever it takes to keep them that way, our light will shine clearly and brightly.  We become beacons of good for each other.  We light up the room, our lives and our world.

Take some time – soon – to figure out what it is that keeps your spirit going.  You have so much to give.  Find a way to shine your light and brighten the world.  I can see you from here.


The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.

~ John Greenleaf Whittier ~




What are you thinking about?

A man is what he thinks about all day long.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

We are, aren’t we, often just that? What we think about, the stories we tell ourselves – these things so often make up our lives.

More and more, it seems to me that our thoughts really do manifest in our days. Who knows if that is completely true. I certainly haven’t seen any studies done on the subject, but I don’t see any harm in playing with it.

Why not let yourself dream? Why not, tonight, rather than lie awake worrying about all the tasks that were left undone, fall asleep picturing the way you would like your life to be? Maybe it is seeing yourself in your own home, puttering around in your yard. It might be traveling through Europe – that backpacking trip you’ve always meant to take. Perhaps it is as simple as spending time in your kitchen preparing an elaborate meal for lovely friends you would like to have in your life. It could be ruling the world! That part is up to you.

Make the time, find the dream, let it play out. Let’s find out if dreams come true…