perfect! great idea!

Fill 'Er Up

lol!

Deaf woman hears for the first time.   :D

ohmygosh...............wow.........wow..............
really makes me think of ALL that i take for granted!!!!
great post!

that's a great couple sentences. finally saw steve's commencement speech.

Dare To Dream

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

you go Dan!  ROAR! :-bd

Counting to Sleep

I got to thinking about something I'm dealing with and something a friend of mine had said and came up with this.

i think ANY time someone lays blame at your feet, you shouldn't pick it up and carry it around. :) 

Hi Terri--

Can I just add this favorite? It always gives me wings.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CGd9TqjhANI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

rosalind! that is so funny! i remember displaying stuff on my bed! lol! oh my gosh.....what a journey it's been! nice to see you!!!

Notes  of gratitude to myself, my heart, my friends and a few folks who don't know me and may or may not want to hear from me:

I decided that I need to get some notes out today to remind myself of all the moments that made me smile, laugh and feel worthy and connected today.

Dear Self,   Today was an amazing day… One of those kind of days where everything and everyone seems to be breathing together and it feels like we’re being ourselves rather than watching ourselves. I bow to your beauty....... my heart center recognizes and applauds your compassion.

Dear Officer of the law,  Yeah, that was me who called your boss today. Uh huh, I got your car number as I drove by and wrote it down. You just don't see your kind behaving the way you were today very often. I was just so encouraged to see you helping the young man with the flat tire this morning. Thank you for showing our youth that you are as human as most and more human than the rest of the beings out tending to business in a harried and inpatient pace as is usual for only two days before a big holiday, when there are thousands of cars out trying to get to the mall to get the prime parking space before the next guy beats him to it. I’m sure his parents are appreciating your kindness too and  I thought that your boss should know what a great job you’re doing. Thank you for showing my sometimes cynical mind that it should not be so judgmental.

Dear, dear son boy,  David.... How many times do I have to tell you dude? The unrinsed dishes go in the left sink and  the rinsed dishes go in the right sink. Actually….they should all be rinsed and put in the dish washer. But thank you for not leaving your dirties all over the house.  I miss your heart already. Thank you for cleaning up before you left the other day. Have a safe, but fun holiday. And call me!!!

Dear neighbor lady down the street,  I don’t know your name, but I’m sure it’s lovely. No, I don’t have any beer to give you and No… you can not borrow my car to go to the store to buy some and No…. I will not give you five bucks to walk to the store to buy beer…. I'm thinking that you had already drank plenty . Pace yourself mam.... it's a three day weekend....you got plenty of time to tie one on. But thank you for thinking of me and asking. Really… Thanks, you made me smile and giggle and that probably should’ve been worth five bucks. Maybe you can hit me up tomorrow and I’ll have a softer heart.

Dear Soul,  You did an amazing job keeping us held tight today for two more sessions of radiation. We’re almost done and I have so appreciated you working with me on this. Thank you, thank you….oh thank you.

Dear Laura Schlesinger ( or however you spell your name),  I have giggled so many times today thinking of the letter that the kind professor wrote to you and I love to giggle, so thanks for giving us a reason (as perverted as it is) to have these happy thoughts and musings. Thank yous all over the place for that. I can not thank you, however, for the belly laugh yesterday that made my tummy hurt and caused me and my coworkers to wet ourselves. I’m giving all the credit for that to Karla.

Dear Karla,  You have an amazing gift of reading. I could’ve sworn that you was the professor himself standing there reading that letter to Laura, if I hadn’t seen with my own two eyes that it was you. Thank you for Act II today, it was even better and we all had the forethought to tighten up our bladder sphincters, so as to not wet ourselves again. Thank you for the warning and thank you so much for the reading.

Dear Heart,   Today was really hard in therapy between treatments. This grief work is a really big deal, but you’re gonna do just fine and you’re gonna come out the other end of all of these pieces,  of all of these ordeals ever so much stronger than when you went in. Thank you for holding it together as well as you do when you need to and letting it all fall apart when the timing is right. I love you for that.

Dear Tapping Team,    You’ve done it again gang….you were all there giving 100 % to my need for Nurturance, Protection, Wisdom and All Encompassing Joy. You guys are my heroes and I can’t say thank you enough for all you do for me everyday when the going is tough and exhausting and I think I want to give up. Thank you for holding me up to the same expectations that I'd have of you and up to the powerful healing energies of the Universe so that I can do the work that I need to do to be whole again. You probably didn’t even realize that you all have so much power yourselves that you can do this for me all day long if I need you to. Thank you for the honor of having you guys on my team. It means the world to me to have you "tapping in " with me.

Dear Terri,   You’ve been the greatest friend and source of All Encompassing Joy that I’ve never met. Yep, it’s you that I’ve added to my team (No, I didn’t ask yet, but I will) and it was you and that car full of goof butts that made me smile and laugh more today than I have done in a very long time Thank you Terri for doing that for me and for so many other things that you have done and said that leave me in awe of life. And thank you for confirming my belief in the Universe and the Sacred and the Spirit that is so kindred and familiar. I love you for that.

Dear Universe,   For giving me the best set of circumstances I can have, given the circumstances I’m in… I am most gracious and blessed. Thank you for my Self, Mr. Law Officer, my dear son boy, my neighbor lady, my soul, Laura Schlesinger and the professor, Karla, my Heart, my Tapping Team, my Terri and thank you for you. I love you too you big ol ball of amazement and beyondness.

And neighbor lady......PLEASE Come back tomorrow. I'll just give you the money or I've got an old half drank fifth of Patron that I'll just give you. It's left over from last Summer's Estrogen Fest, but I think it keeps forever, doesn't it? Just come over, cuz I'm gonna be alone and it's Christmas eve tomorrow. And I really like your slippers.

 

Having a hard time finding my Ujjayi this morning....ok Suz, inhale in..really big....let it out, empty yourself, try again....not happening. Ok.....walk away from the mat and sit your butt cheeks down... down good...get grounded and figure this out. Why am I fighting this whole "christmas season" thing.

 Well.....I came up with a few reasons, ok... a lot, but I think that paramount to to the rest was just this whole attitude of frustration in what I perceive to be a commercialized ploy to reach deep in to our wallets instead of our hearts. The frustration in my wanting to just grab people gently and say, "Come on, really? Can't you see all of the beautiful gifts that we already have before us that are free for the taking, have far deeper meaning than the material gifts that we'll get, that mostly get put away somewhere or end up filling up our land fills. Can you please just consider some alternatives?"

My very most favorite gift when I was a child....and remains my favorite to this day, was a simple piece of paper that my Uncle Buddy had made in to a certificate. I still have it and I cherish it deeply. It was a certificate that was good for a lifetime of walks with my "Buddy" in my favorite park in San Francisco. Anytime I wanted!!! For the rest of my life!!! And we took many of them. I don't get to SF Children's Park so much anymore because it's too far too drive for a walk, but I still have the certificate..... my favorite park now is wherever I want it to be and Buddy is with me always in Spirit. And we walk A LOT!!! And OMG....what a gift he gave me. He taught me about what is really important in life and about the gifts that we should be giving to those we love. My kids and grandkids have gotten lots of paper gifts from me over the years and they still have each and every one of them. The LEGOs and the Nintendos and the Barbies??... I saw a butt load of them being boxed up a while back to go to donations...and  a lot of the other stuff has gone to the dump.

Ok...I'm climbing down from the soap box and getting back on the mat.

Louie is the best, and I  think his talk on Gratitude should remind us all of what the best gifts in life are, what this season is really suppose to be about and how we can find a certain level of gratefulness in everything we have before us..

http://youtu.be/gXDMoiEkyuQ

 

Some great Rumi.....

 http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2Fq1Jq9q&h=JAQFxiAQSAQEb6s-y11cjG3PUgrWV1tQqe-QAECuNractZA.

One of the clearest Rumi expressions of this love... ♥ The moon orb wanes. Then, for three days, you could say that there is no moon. That is the moon that has drawn so close to the sun, it is nowhere. And everywhere. Send us someone who can sing music for the soul. Though we know such longing ...cannot rise from a lute or a tambourine; not from the sun or Venus, or any star. As day comes, give back the night fantasy things you stole. Admit your arrogance as the stars do at dawn. When the sun goes down, Venus begins bragging, claiming light, arguing her loveliness over the moon’s. Jupiter lifts a gold coin from his bag. Mars shows the sharpness of his blade to Saturn. Mercury sits on a high seat and gives himself successive titles. That is how it goes in the middle of the night. Then dawn. Jupiter is suddenly poor. Mars and Saturn have no plans. Venus and the moon run away, broken and terrified. Then the sun within the sun enters. And this night and day talk seems a meaningless convention, the lighting business.

 

More notes of gratitude...Thinking that I should try to do this every day...cuz these are the moments that help fill my cup and keep it from running low on good stuff....

for Dec. 24

Dear Self,  Thanking you for hair....I'm thinking that it feels much better to run my fingers through than a bald head would : ) Thank you for helping me to remind myself that I am more than capable..... and ........ ...I am worthy of self love as hard as it is to say out loud

Dear Mr. Texaco Man (Tristen, if I remember right)  You saved the day with your sharpie marker. My sign was so much easier to read after you touched it up for me. Thank you for that....And thank you for letting me give you the first hug of the day...It truly set the landscape for humility and compassion. Now go home and be with your wife and your beautiful little girl. And thank you for sharing your pictures of them with me. You have a beautiful family.

Dear lady who was feeding your parking meter,  Thank you for reminding me how humiliating it must be for folks to be out on the corners flying their signs.  My sign said "Free Holiday Hugs".... it didn't say "Will hug for food" or "Free Hugs....but I really want your money." Cuz I wasn't looking for your money or anybody else's money. I was just looking for folks who needed a hug and I expected absolutley nothing in return, but thank you for giving me that glimpse into the reality of my friends who do fly signs.....It is truly a humbling experience. So, Thanks.... it was a really nice gesture, but keep your money. Or better yet, go over to the shelter behind me and spread it out to a few folks who could really use it.

Dear Spirit,     Sweet, concerned Spirit.  I love you man.....but you have got to quit thinking and feeling so deeply sometimes. Sometimes you just need to step back and keep spinning your ring.... that's what it's for.... Thank you for caring so much, but sometimes you feel too strongly about things to express things appropriately.....Thank you for caring so much, but let's us.... all of us... try to think more before we speak. And thank you for not kicking my ass too hard once we realize these mistakes.

Dear Caden and Shiana,    Thank you guys for the beautiful hand made Christmas cards and that marvelous clay bowl that you shaped, painted all pretty and put all the butterfly bling on. You too know that I LOVE butterflies more than just about anything else in the world and you remember those pieces of me in your art and your giving and that is just priceless....it just is and I love both of you for that. You're my favorite biological grandkids (ok, you're my only two biological grandkids, but you know what I mean).. Thank you bigger than the world. Thank you bigger than infinity. I hope you are having a great Christmas with your mom and dad and other grandma. I just bet you are. I'll treasure my bowl forever.

Dear neighbor lady from down the street,  I still don't know your name, but that doesn't really matter...Thank you for not stopping by after all yesterday. When I got home from giving hugs, I took that bottle of Patron and had myself a little holiday cheer. That shit really does keep for months, heck.... maybe years.... and it makes one good margarita. Course when you only drink once or twice a year, it doesn't take much.... doesn't really matter what the alcohol content is....just a bit kicks my butt cheeks and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. So....yeah, thank you for not stopping by yesterday, but I still have some left if you find yourself alone and could use some company today...

Dear huggers,   You guys rocked my world yesterday. Thank you for giving me more than I could ever give you all. Thank you for letting me come and hang. Thank you for your stories, thank you for your hearts, thank you for your children's smiles. The best Holiday  gift anyone could ask for, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. As I told you yesterday..... I'll be back later today and I'll bring some blankets and my son's jackets and coats that he doesn't need anymore and all of our extra gloves and hats that just sit in our closets. We really don't need them, but you guys sure do.  I appreciate you guys and your acceptance of me with no questions or expectations. Thanks.

Dear Universe,   I have so darn many things to be thankful for, but I'm running out of time here. I get to chat and share time with new friends over at Terri's FB page. We get to talk to each other. Please don't let her be too upset with me. Please let me make it up to her, if she'll let me. In the mean time.....there are so many other things  that I am thankful for from yesterday, but I want to do this chat thingie. I love my new friends so much.... so, so much.

A few people thought that this whole hugging strangers calling was a bad idea for one middle age woman to partake in by herself. "Keep your phone on and keep it handy"."Make sure that you've got dispatch's phone number programmed in." "Wear gloves and a hat and lots of clothes... those people downtown and in the homeless shelters usually have head lice or scabies. You just never know...." "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....."  "Why don't you just go to a nursing home and sing or hug or whatever?" "Are you sure you're thinking straight, couldn't you find something else to make you feel better about yourself?" "Why? Why this? Why now?"

And a few folks thought it was a great idea....they wanted to do it too..... several were wanting to do it with me....and they were gonna. But when it came right down to it.....yesterday they were all pretty busy - with preChristmas running around....and today, well it was Christmas and maybe they ought to stay home with their families, cuz that what families do on Christmas... Well yeah, but didn't you know that about Christmas yesterday when you told me you'd be ready by 2:00. Some of them were honest enough to say ..."Ya know, I thought about it and I changed my mind. It's just not my thing probably."

It's all good. It is my thing.... it's one of lots of "my things". Cuz I'm a thing kinda gal. But mostly.....I'm a people kinda gal....What can I say? I am fond of most all of them, all human beings -  but something about these folks....the ones in the shelters and out on the streets today, with families and without families....there's just something about them that makes me want to pull up a chair or a crate or a curb and just be....just listen, just encourage, just acknowledge......just hug. No pretenses, no hidden agenda, no tit for tat.......no strings. Just be.

      "how do you describe the joy of being with someone for no other reason but to be?"

Sometimes you just can't describe that joy.....sometimes I describe it as being like getting a great big, gentle....yet persuasively firm hug from the Universe. And who wouldn't want to spread that kinda feeling of joy every chance they had the opportunity to?

It never ceases to amaze me how unique, yet similar we all are. How many people are sorta hanging back, but wanting it real bad. How many people just need to know it's ok....there's no tricks, no strings attached, no they deserve it more than I do, no I don't deserve it at all and no why would you want to hug me, you don't even know me? Once they know it's ok.......it's just like tasting the stars.

And so, it was another successful day on the streets of Boise. I may have to start doing this every weekend since I'm snowed out of my cabin now.

 

 

susie! i am sooooo glad you found this spot to write some stuff out!! this is great reading for people and good for all of us!~ thanks for being here.....

Notes of gratitude for Dec. 25

Dear Self,    Thanks for getting up early and puttin on your big girl pants again. Thank you again hair, thank you cheeks, thank you eyes....thank you hands for having the courage to feel and acknowledge. And thank you voice for speaking up for this self of ours. All these pieces of this self... you are all very vital and you are all very cool. Thanks for showing up!!

Dear Terri,  Dear, dear Terri....Thank you for giving me the blueprint for this courage and self love stuff. Your sharing is making this journey so worth it. Thank you for reminding me that all those pieces are vital and worthy. I love you for that...and now I can know that when I say that, I'm really saying it to me too and now I really, really am saying it to me and believing me when I do... for real. Thank you so much.

Dear Jason and Mike and Crazy Stan and Jacob,  Thank you so much for letting me try out your skate boards today. I didn't know that I still had it in me - but I do kinda, don't I? Not really, but thanks for going along with me thinkin so anyhow. That was very nice of you to try to teach me that pop shove it ollie whatsit thing...Thank you for doing that...I enjoyed watching you guys do it but my bones are just getting too old for that stuff. I am gonna maybe practice on my son's board next Spring though and  I'll be back to show you what I've learned. Thank you guys for inspiring me to stay goofy. No thanks to the chronic though.....I am definitely too  old or too chicken to smoke pot with you guys right out there in front of god and the world....You guys are nuts!! Thank you for the big bear hugs...they were awesome - just like your shove it pop ollie whatsit moves.  Too much!!!

Dear Universe,  Thank you for another beautiful day.... not too cold, but cold enough to put some of that sense of gratitude and humility  right there on my shirt sleeve where I will be reminded constantly that 42 degrees might be warmer than, say 18 degrees, but it is still too cold to have to be outside all day until the shelter opens up for the night......Thank you for keeping me in check always. I need it and I appreciate it.

Dear Josh and Noah,   Thank you for helping us all get together yesterday and helping me find myself when I got lost.  You guys are a riot and you're so good for your mom. I love the way you guys love her. And thank you so much for sharing her with all of her BoneSigh peeps. Did I say that you guys rock? Well you do!! and Thank you for letting me play along with the rocking chair caper....I miss my boy, but you guys make that easier. I'm gonna be so much more careful about watching for praying mantiss when I mow from now on.. Thanks again guys.................

Dear tons of huggers at Corpus Cristi, the skate park, the corners and cross walks,   Can you see me bowing to you? No? Well I am. Thank you, thank you, oh thank you for all those warm fuzzy hugs..... and stories and watchin Louie with me, and the pizza, and the hugs.... and the trust and the acceptance and the lack of questions. Sometimes the stuff that isn't there means as much or more than the stuff that is. Thank you for the inspiration.....but mostly.... thanks for the hugs.

Dear Heart,    Thanks you so much for reminding the Soul and the Spirit and the Sacred that we're all in this together and that we operate so much smoother when we're cooperating and validating each other and picking up the slack when one of us has a tummy ache or a nose bleed. We're gonna do this thing and we're gonna come out the other end like gold, cuz we are that kinda Alchemist and we know how to do this.

Dear C,     How can I thank you for your kindness and your ever gentle, yet firm prodding that keeps me from getting stuck. You have no idea what you're helping me out with here, you just know that you're helping and that's all that matters. And that's what I love and appreciate about you. Thank you for being there, for popping up at the most needed and opportune of times. Thanks for always making sure I have a fresh Pepsi, cuz you know how I get when I don't have it..... Well kinda,  I haven't shown you the ugly, scary addict in me when I don't have me some fresh Pepsi.. You don't wanna go there dude, you don't wanna see that ugliness.  Just kidding, but please keep that Pepsi coming when you see me coming.. Thanks again for all you do. And oh yeah.....thank you for the beautiful necklace. I was thinking about taking a picture of it and showing my friends here.

Dear Kota,   Thank you so much for Common Threads. I'd been looking for that on DVD since I dont have a VCR anymore!!! You found it!! You still rock this free world dude. And I love that about you. Did you see Uncle Buddy when you guys watched it? Did you have Mom and Dad watch it too? No matter....just know that I am thanking you from the bottom of my heart. It's kinda wierd cuz I was just telling my friends about the gift certificate he gave me when I was little. Do you remember that? I still have it and cherish it so, so much... Thanks for all you do.... You need to get a FB going brother man...

Dear Bone Sigh freinds,   Thank you so much for being out there, for letting me spill my guts and my feelings here. It's really nice to put it out here and then let it go to the Universe. Thank you for listening and encouraging and teaching and validating and inspiring and thanks for being there. It means so much and I am so thankful for all of it.... every single bit of it.

You guys make it so easy to keep bringing on the wonder!!!!!

For some reason, I can't get the picture of my pretty new necklace on here, but it's on my FB if anyone wants to see.  It's real purty. Thank you C. I sure do like it and you know that I just can't get enough Peace....

Dan to the rescue.....I love learning something new....I really do. And just now, as i was putting the picture on.....I noticed a button up there that says   Quotes - that's gonna be the next thing I learn about.

 

 

 

Moments of Gratitude for Dec. 26

Somedays are harder than others to be able to recognize and pull out these little moments. I was kinda thinkin that yesterday, Dec 26 -that was one of those days and I was thinkin.....Maybe I'll go to work after all....then I won't have time to write about things that I'd have a hard time pulling up....Maybe that'd be a way to not worry about gratitude today...But this is one thing that has almost always come easily.   I think maybe that's part of what kept me awake most of the night....maybe just thinkin that and sayin that doesn't sit well with me anymore....Maybe.....just maybe.....I have finally come to a point where I know deep down that there is ALWAYS something you can find to be thankful for - always.....and those days when you wonder if there is - and you think there's not....those are the days that you better sit your butt down and figure out what those moments were.  So.....I'm gonna draw deep on my gratitude part of my heart this morning....Bear with me if it takes awhile today....It's 5:01 in Boise _ let see how long this takes...

First one's easy......

Dear Dan,  Thank you for noticing....seems like you notice lots and your noticinngs are always very kind and thoughtful kinds of noticings....they are the kind that make people shake their head and say WOW. So thank you for all that noticing you do....and thank you for friending me.... and thank you for liking a whole lotta chickenfoote....which kinda rhymes with chicken shit.... which kinda reminds me of this question......Just how much chicken shit does it take to ruin a good chicken salad? Not much in my book - but that's whole different topic. Thank you Dan. ...Now that I'm doin this.....I gotta say thanks for giving me a little wake up rememberance about gratitude. You gave me the easy one.... and now....I think the rest are gonna come flooding. So thank you Dan for that. That is huge for me.

Dear Self,   thank you for the good heart shower last night. This self's heart feels a little brighter today and I'm sure it's gotta smell better since you washed some of that chicken shit off of it. That stuff is nasty and it'll ruin more than chicken salad. And I still can't thank you enough for having hair and hands and cheeks and eyes.... and a nose for chicken shit....thank you self for all of that. I really do love all those things about you and I recognize that there are some people who don't have one or any of those things....so thanks.

Dear May May,   thank you for encouraging me to write and talk about what's real and right.....And thank you for being thoughtful and kinda firm in your map making ideas that you're putting out there for me... and thank you for the hugs....your great big, full bossomed hugs....wait that doesn't sound right....but you know what I mean.......great now I'm crying again....you have touched me and filled me with me Sorrow and Joy.... and I'm gonna carry that close to my heart all day today. I can't thank you enough for sitting with me on this stuff.....Thank you. Thank you, Thank you. I was gonna tell my dr  when I see him today to give me something to stop all these tears - but now I'm wondering if I should hold on to them and nurture them instead.

Dear Heart,  thank you for being able to feel....sometimes I wonder if you're the only part of me that's still working right. Thank you for all of the little reminders about how, if you turn off the hurts kinda feelings....you are, by default, turning off all of the joyous feelings too...and once you do that....well.... then  this dance is over - and I really don't want to quit dancing!  And so thank you for that and for keeping all these fabrics and weavings real and plentiful. I gotta be able to show Terru these beautifala nd amazing dancing shoes one day. Thank you.

Dear Dr. Judy,  Thank you for scheduling me for extra sessions last week and this week. I know you're real busy and I very much appreciate you fitting me in so that we can keep working on all of this stuff. One day, we're gonna be able to actually talk about all the stuff that I started seeing you for in the first place. Those things are still really important to me in this journey.  Thank you for teaching me how to pull in myTapping Team anytime of the day or night to help me get through the tough moments and to always remember why I have this awesome team. Thank you for all you do..... it's some amazing stuff we're doing!!

Dear Tapping Team,   thank you for being there....thank you for understanding when I'm having a hard time pulling you all together.....thank you for all of the visuals that make me smile and giggle and thank you for making me feel safe, nurtured, knowledgeable, full of joy and in some control, sometimes....I love each and everyone of you so, so much. I love what you do for me....I love that Terri  gets to actually see her name here and know that I appreciate her. I wish the rest of the team could see their gratitude recognition......but this is too Sacred... this place of healing that Terri has given us. Thank you again  guys for always being there and just for being.

Dear Ter,  You have been my rock lately. You really have.... you've been my rock and my roll...Thank you from the bottom of my heart for that, Thank you for taking care of you. Thank you for being able to put us down for awhile and take care of Little Terri and Big Terri and Butterfly Woman and the guys. I miss you terribly, but it's a good kinda missing.

Dear Universe,  I know that things are always shifting up here in there in your big expanse, but I'm wondering if you could me a little warning when  you're gonna shake things up here. I don't do well when the ground is spinning and you drop the floor out from under me and that kind of stuff.....BUT,  thank you for giving us a neverending sense of awe and amazement at your beauty and your caring about us all of us as One. You do amaze me several times every day and I love that about you.Thanks. and- finally Universe....... thank you for my self, thank you for Dan, thank you for my heart.... and thanks for May May, dear May May, and for Dr. Judy, and for my Tapping Team, and for Terri...my Kindred Spirit,,, thank you deeply..... and for our Bone Sigh road trips and all the folks who come along for this amazing journey, whether they realize it or not.....Thank you for making those trips available  whenever I need  a reason to smile and laugh....You're the apple of my eye Universe!!

@Susie...
I love Rumi. 
:)

"she looked out at her new day - and believed again."

This will carry her for today. For tomorrow...... she'll look out again and go from there.

But for Now - She's got Now covered.....and all we have is Now.

nice timing for me.......

So glad to see you back Terri and even happier that you had such a great holiday break with allof your guys. Thanks again for the holiday chat...it brightened my day immensely. And thank you so much for knowing that I needed two bridges...I didn't even know that, but you must of....The healing has begun and I'm hopeful that it will be just the beginning of a whole lot more to come. All of this.....you, your art and writing, all of the other amazing people who share their stories here, and all of the extraordinary healing that happens within these pages....it all came into my life just when I needed it most and it has given me strength and courage. I am blessed.

hey, susie.......yep! i'm back! in and out and up and down like always.....but i'm back!

Ter,  If it's even a tiny fraction of what it means to me....I think I have a pretty good idea.

:)

Right back at ya, Ter. :-h

I think a chicken ate my poem........

~:>

Actually, my computer does this weird thing where if I move my hand just right over the little mouse mover part...... everything in my box just disappears. I'm gonna take this as a sign that either this poem didn't need edited or it needed to go to the chicken.....

Or maybe I need to quit holding my hand near the mouse mover thingamujiggie when I'm typing....??

some really nice lines in here, sus.......

A slow and uneventful day is planned......an empty day.... and I have had a few of those lately. Slow days don't fit my nature.... they're unfamiliar and I've found them to be annoying and somewhat scary. Too much time to myself.... too much time to be in my head. But, as with all things; a little practice  and familiarization seems to calm the tides..... or at least teaches you how to predict those tides and how to stay out of their way as much as possible.

So this morning I got up real early for a Sunday..... took care of all my regular daily activity "stuff" and prepared to empty the day. Starting with day one of the Winter Feast for the Soul, participated in the opening ceremonies and then sat in Supreme Silence for 45 minutes. I was just about to turn on some music..... because it seems that I need to always have some background noise..... some external chatter to help occupy my mind; and the thought came to me that I don't need this when I'm in my happy place or when I'm at my mountain......Why can't just being here, in my home, alone...... just being....... why can't that be a "happy place" without distractions, chatter and background noise ? Why can't I just be here and be mindful without being completely empty in a meditative state? So, I left the music off and tried it out.

And here's what I realized: I delighted in the slowness.  What I noticed in that slowness was that there is an unfolding always happening.  We cannot stop it, we cannot force it or speed it up, but we can at times make such a ruckus in our daily lives that we are not aware of it.  We are not aware of this subtle unlocking of our being.  To me, this calmness........this just being is just that--a great  unfolding...... a great laying down of our swords that we have carried with us from our pasts.........swords meant to protect us from this unfolding. And if this unfolding is inevitable......why not put out the red carpet and let it come? It is time to stand with our chest open, face lifted high to the sky, and shoulders back.  What would it be like to stand here and just observe the unfolding that is already taking place within our being without noise, without fear, or without trying to control it or even maximize it? 

What a proposition, eh?  So that is what I have done for the past 5 hours. It's been awesome, but I've had enough for one day...... Emptiness and unfolding are wonderful and I am learning to treasure the gift more and more each day..... but I need music too. I need voices and words. I need to be doing.........something. Sooooo....... the rest of the day today, at least the next 5 hours of it, I'm going to be doing, but it will be a mindful doing. As I make some braceletes today, I will be paying attention to how that whole process unfolds for me...... why different bracelets become.... why they have such different messages when they're complete..... why I chose to make them as I did...... all of those unfolding questions.

So, I say we can join each other in that simple act of standing tall, opening wide and in observing of this great unfolding where we not only become the bud but we see that we are also the bloom. And then we need to turn on some tunes. Whatever kind of music makes your soul sing. And while we are standing tall with our chests full and our arms open wide to the Universe......put all of your weight on one foot, then put your other foot behind that foot.....being careful to use your arms for balance.....bring yourself up on your toes of your front foot  and PUSH OFF with your back foot...... push off as hard as you can..... and spin.... and spin and open to the beauty of yourself and your life that is unfolding before you.

                                                         ;)                                                                                                :-*

           :x                          :-)                                 (*) 

 :-)

           

I had to share this.  Read the performance notes.

ms susie.......you're getting awfully zen here. i'm loving it.....

An amazing story.