Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Beauty #1
A couple of years ago, we visited with a woman who lives on Whidbey Island. An important aspect of her life is her love affair with rhododendrons. When I first heard of this love of hers, I was a bit bewildered. How could anyone have a love affair with a type of flower?
While we were on Whidbey, the woman took us to Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens and then to a private garden.
Oh, my! I got it! I could see why someone would be in love with rhododendrons. Well, sort of...
Last night as I went through my photos looking for some Buddha shots to send to a friend, I got so much enjoyment out of looking at the beauty of these graceful flowers that I thought I would share some of them over the next few days.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
- Rumi
While we were on Whidbey, the woman took us to Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens and then to a private garden.
Oh, my! I got it! I could see why someone would be in love with rhododendrons. Well, sort of...
Last night as I went through my photos looking for some Buddha shots to send to a friend, I got so much enjoyment out of looking at the beauty of these graceful flowers that I thought I would share some of them over the next few days.
Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
- Rumi
Monday, February 14, 2011
Love in Six Words
Happy Valentine's Day!
SmithMag.net is collecting six-word love stories. Most of the contributors don't seem so happy.
SmithMag.net is collecting six-word love stories. Most of the contributors don't seem so happy.
Here's one of the better ones:
Happy Anniversary: four heart-exploding years together.
Happy Anniversary: four heart-exploding years together.
One of the not-so-sweet ones:
Women fake orgasms... Men fake relationships.
Women fake orgasms... Men fake relationships.
Here is mine:
Learning to Love Like Never Before.
Learning to Love Like Never Before.
(Happy Valentine's Day, my sweet Mr. CfP!)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
What Springtime?
A few hours ago, I wrote that I would be standing outside in spring-like weather today. Ha! Curses, you trickster weather!
The sun didn't come out from hiding behind a big gray cloud until 1:29 p.m. We end our vigil at 1:30 p.m. Aaaahhhhh... the timing. The temps were not all that warm, due to the lack of sun and the fact that we were standing on packed snow and were surrounded by much more snow. We were standing in an icebox. And because I dressed for SPRING instead of donning my big, chocolate marshmallow coat, I was cold.
Today it came to me to (inwardly) say "I love you" to every driver and pedestrian I could connect with - a slight variation from the wishes of previous weeks. It was so much fun! And I got to find the unloving places in myself.
A young woman drove by. She was slouched in her seat and didn't even glance our way. I said "I love you", but realized that I didn't feel it. I was judging her. She seemed lazy. I had to ask myself if I can only love people if they don't seem lazy. Nope! I love her even if I make up a story in my mind about her being lazy.
A young man was throwing snowballs at his friend while waiting for the bus. When he sat on the hill behind us with a snowball and a devilish grin, I wondered if he would consider aiming at us. I found that I loved him even if he threw a snowball at me (which he didn't do - whew!).
When I play with connecting with the humans that pass me by, I have so much fun. AND as long as I was loving people, I would forget that I was cold! Double bonus.
I also thought of Egypt as I stood in the non-spring-like weather. Before the vigil, I told a woman that I was so happy for the people of Egypt, and she replied, "Oh, yes, but the work has just begun." Well, yes... I have also read comments where the biggest concern was that the price of gas might rise, due to whatever might come of the protests.
HELLO!!!
These people just performed some of the bravest actions known to mankind. They were willing to suffer (and die) to be free. I LOVE that they followed their hearts. Even if a "bad" government comes in, it cannot take away the fact that these people stood up. When someone gets well from a disease, we don't squelch his or her happiness by saying "Yeah, but you know you will probably get sick again sometime, and you WILL die, you know...". No, we CELEBRATE!
I love the Egyptians even if their actions give me higher gas prices and even if it brings in a government that I don't like.
The sun didn't come out from hiding behind a big gray cloud until 1:29 p.m. We end our vigil at 1:30 p.m. Aaaahhhhh... the timing. The temps were not all that warm, due to the lack of sun and the fact that we were standing on packed snow and were surrounded by much more snow. We were standing in an icebox. And because I dressed for SPRING instead of donning my big, chocolate marshmallow coat, I was cold.
Today it came to me to (inwardly) say "I love you" to every driver and pedestrian I could connect with - a slight variation from the wishes of previous weeks. It was so much fun! And I got to find the unloving places in myself.
A young woman drove by. She was slouched in her seat and didn't even glance our way. I said "I love you", but realized that I didn't feel it. I was judging her. She seemed lazy. I had to ask myself if I can only love people if they don't seem lazy. Nope! I love her even if I make up a story in my mind about her being lazy.
A young man was throwing snowballs at his friend while waiting for the bus. When he sat on the hill behind us with a snowball and a devilish grin, I wondered if he would consider aiming at us. I found that I loved him even if he threw a snowball at me (which he didn't do - whew!).
When I play with connecting with the humans that pass me by, I have so much fun. AND as long as I was loving people, I would forget that I was cold! Double bonus.
I also thought of Egypt as I stood in the non-spring-like weather. Before the vigil, I told a woman that I was so happy for the people of Egypt, and she replied, "Oh, yes, but the work has just begun." Well, yes... I have also read comments where the biggest concern was that the price of gas might rise, due to whatever might come of the protests.
HELLO!!!
These people just performed some of the bravest actions known to mankind. They were willing to suffer (and die) to be free. I LOVE that they followed their hearts. Even if a "bad" government comes in, it cannot take away the fact that these people stood up. When someone gets well from a disease, we don't squelch his or her happiness by saying "Yeah, but you know you will probably get sick again sometime, and you WILL die, you know...". No, we CELEBRATE!
I love the Egyptians even if their actions give me higher gas prices and even if it brings in a government that I don't like.
It Feels Like Spring
After a few weeks of snow and frigid temps, I walk outside to let the Buddha dog do his morning duties and I breathe in spring air. The Birds are singing. My computer exudes exuberant voices from Egypt.
It's a new day.
Spring-like weather may not last from now into the summer, but the high today is expected to be almost 50 degrees and I will enjoy it as I stand for peace.
The exuberance of the Egyptians may not last indefinitely - after all, there is much to do to ensure that they get a government they want - but they are enjoying the results of their work right now and so am I.
When one person is willing to free herself, we are all freed.
Because it will be a warmer day to stand in vigil and because I'll be standing in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Egypt, I have brought out one of my favorite shirts to wear:
It was designed by my friends, Emma's Revolution:
Thank you, people of Egypt. You have shown me the power of the human spirit.
It's a new day.
Spring-like weather may not last from now into the summer, but the high today is expected to be almost 50 degrees and I will enjoy it as I stand for peace.
The exuberance of the Egyptians may not last indefinitely - after all, there is much to do to ensure that they get a government they want - but they are enjoying the results of their work right now and so am I.
When one person is willing to free herself, we are all freed.
Because it will be a warmer day to stand in vigil and because I'll be standing in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Egypt, I have brought out one of my favorite shirts to wear:
It was designed by my friends, Emma's Revolution:
Thank you, people of Egypt. You have shown me the power of the human spirit.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Invisible Wars
I've been trying to figure out why I can be accepting and understanding of the behaviors of someone who has Alzheimer's/dementia, but it's not so easy for me to play along with someone who is less-than-rational/logical/kind but has no diagnosis...
Guess I need to imagine a certificate on the wall announcing that the person in question has a certifiable disease so that I can be as patient with them as I am with my dad.
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, which I think I've posted here before, but it bears repeating (that is, for me, it bears repeating a few times daily):
Guess I need to imagine a certificate on the wall announcing that the person in question has a certifiable disease so that I can be as patient with them as I am with my dad.
Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, which I think I've posted here before, but it bears repeating (that is, for me, it bears repeating a few times daily):
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My New Profession
Somehow Mr. CfP decided that I would be his new barber. I am not quite sure how this all came about. I must not have protested loudly enough and sincerely enough, because last week, an expensive pair of barber scissors arrived at our house via UPS.
Those scissors sat in a drawer for a week while I searched the intertubes for instructions on how to cut a man's curly locks. Hair Cutting For Dummies arrived from the library one day but that book did NOT inspire confidence.
I hemmed and hawed and read and thought. Meanwhile, Michael's blossoming 'fro was starting to resemble Linc's from the Mod Squad (if you're too young to know what I'm talking about... well, never mind...)
(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Finally, we decided that today was going to be the big day. The haircut was long past due. Today would be the THREE MONTH anniversary of Mr. CfP's last haircut and my hair-cutting debut.
And, well, my worst nightmare didn't happen (or at least not THIS worst nightmare). Mr. CfP will not have to make a hair appointment in order to get his wife's mistakes fixed. There are probably MANY mistakes in his 'do, but none appear to be noticeable enough for the untrained eye to care about.
Ta-daaaaaa!
Too bad I didn't take any "Befores".
I think that I'll wait until I've cut his hair a couple of more times before I open up my own salon. You'll be invited to my Open House.
Those scissors sat in a drawer for a week while I searched the intertubes for instructions on how to cut a man's curly locks. Hair Cutting For Dummies arrived from the library one day but that book did NOT inspire confidence.
I hemmed and hawed and read and thought. Meanwhile, Michael's blossoming 'fro was starting to resemble Linc's from the Mod Squad (if you're too young to know what I'm talking about... well, never mind...)
(photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Finally, we decided that today was going to be the big day. The haircut was long past due. Today would be the THREE MONTH anniversary of Mr. CfP's last haircut and my hair-cutting debut.
And, well, my worst nightmare didn't happen (or at least not THIS worst nightmare). Mr. CfP will not have to make a hair appointment in order to get his wife's mistakes fixed. There are probably MANY mistakes in his 'do, but none appear to be noticeable enough for the untrained eye to care about.
Ta-daaaaaa!
Too bad I didn't take any "Befores".
I think that I'll wait until I've cut his hair a couple of more times before I open up my own salon. You'll be invited to my Open House.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Stillness
Open the door to darkness;
Without seeing what's before you, take a step.
You are safe,
even when stepping into the void.
Close the door behind you
and rest in the still water.
You are supported,
even if you can't understand how.
Look, listen, feel.
There are no boundaries.
You are a star in the universe,
and all you see is... nothing.
Over time, you become
a body in a womb
You are nurtured
and there are no needs.
You realize this body is breathing
and digesting; heart beating, blood flowing.
You aren't making it happen,
couldn't if you tried.
Amidst the quiet comes
a knock on the door.
You emerge, done with this journey
Or are you?
Ahhhhhhhhh....
(Mr. Cfp and I each experienced our first floats in float tanks yesterday.)
Without seeing what's before you, take a step.
You are safe,
even when stepping into the void.
Close the door behind you
and rest in the still water.
You are supported,
even if you can't understand how.
Look, listen, feel.
There are no boundaries.
You are a star in the universe,
and all you see is... nothing.
Over time, you become
a body in a womb
You are nurtured
and there are no needs.
You realize this body is breathing
and digesting; heart beating, blood flowing.
You aren't making it happen,
couldn't if you tried.
Amidst the quiet comes
a knock on the door.
You emerge, done with this journey
Or are you?
Ahhhhhhhhh....
(Mr. Cfp and I each experienced our first floats in float tanks yesterday.)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
One Heart
May you be happy.
I have sent those
wishes
for weeks to every eye,
every steering wheel-grasping hand,
I could see.
Silent vigil.
Much can happen in silence. An
intimacy
with every human who passes.
Leaving the
ego,
the self-consciousness of
standing before an audience
of cars and passersby. Only
a silent wish remains.
Yesterday,
no wish for happiness
could manifest.
Instead, the day called for an
open heart;
connecting one open heart
to all hearts.
Remaining open,
kindness
compassion
acceptance
fearlessness
That was the intention.
Was the extraordinary
symphony
of honking horns, were the
visits from bus stop waiters,
a result of
above mentioned open heart?
It would take a
return
of ego and self-consciousness
to claim such a thing.
Am not sure
if there is
such a thing as
coincidence.
But there sure was
a fine
dance
of hearts
happening on
that street corner
yesterday.
I have sent those
wishes
for weeks to every eye,
every steering wheel-grasping hand,
I could see.
Silent vigil.
Much can happen in silence. An
intimacy
with every human who passes.
Leaving the
ego,
the self-consciousness of
standing before an audience
of cars and passersby. Only
a silent wish remains.
Yesterday,
no wish for happiness
could manifest.
Instead, the day called for an
open heart;
connecting one open heart
to all hearts.
Remaining open,
kindness
compassion
acceptance
fearlessness
That was the intention.
Was the extraordinary
symphony
of honking horns, were the
visits from bus stop waiters,
a result of
above mentioned open heart?
It would take a
return
of ego and self-consciousness
to claim such a thing.
Am not sure
if there is
such a thing as
coincidence.
But there sure was
a fine
dance
of hearts
happening on
that street corner
yesterday.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Foxy Lady
A red-blond fox just walked across the street in front of my home. He walked onto my neighbor's driveway and stopped to look back for a moment, then went on to places only he knows. It was 12:30 in the afternoon, broad daylight. We don't normally see foxes in the middle of the day - they seem to like dawn, dusk, and the night better.
Tonight is a Rusty Z kind of night.
I have known my friend, Jim, since I was in 9th grade.
He was the guy that walked the halls of our high school while playing a finger piano, long before I knew what a finger piano was.
He was the friend who wrote a song about me when my knees were a source of constant pain: "Louise has a disease in her knees". Don't ask...
He and another friend came to my house one day when we were probably 16 years old. They asked me to come out and walk to the park with them. As we were walking, they pulled out a bag of green stuff and said that we were going to smoke it. I was the unblemished, naive girl who had only moved here from small town Kansas a few years before. Still, I have to say that my friends' over-acting was enough to cause suspicion in anyone, and I finally got the truth out of the young men: they were testing my reaction by tempting me with a bag of thyme or basil or some other herb of the non-getting-high-type.
Anyway, after that long introduction, I want to say that Jim now goes by the name of Rusty Z., and Rusty Z has a really funny hypno comedy act (much funnier than a bag of herbs) that I bet he can bring to your local comedy club or office party, if you ask nicely. (Okay, it might take a lot of moolah in order to get him to the U.K., but ya never know!)
Rusty Z will be doing his thing at a local comedy club tonight and Mr. CfP and I will be in the audience. I could use a good laugh about now...
I'll call him Tom.
We barely knew each other while still in school, but we "re-met" at our tenth high school reunion and became friends. After both of our marriages ended, we dated for a year or so. There was a lot of messiness in our relationship - I won't bore you with the details. Our friendship didn't survive our break-up and I have held some not-so-comfortable feelings around our relationship for over 16 years.
A few people from high school days will be in the audience at Rusty Z's act tonight - Tom will be one of those people. My first reaction when I saw his confirmation on my Facebook page was: I can always cancel our reservations. But some wiser part of me recognized this as an opportunity for healing (plus, if I canceled, I'd be embarrassed to tell Rusty and others the real reason why I canceled).
So I asked myself some good questions and I waited to find out what the answers might be. The worst part of the process was when I realized that the real reason I had icky feelings was because of my judgments about myself and how I handled the relationship. OUCH! Did NOT want to go there!
But I did it anyway.
And now I realize that all that happened ended up leading us to where we are today and today is GREAT! So, I look forward to seeing Tom. I feel a lot of warmth for all that he contributed to my life and who I am now.
Back to the fox.
We have a pile of "Medicine Cards", cards with different animals on them, and a book that describes the "medicine" that each animal can bring to us. I don't remember exactly how it works - maybe you're supposed to pull out a card and then read the "animal medicine" for that card.
Anyway, I like to look up the "medicine" for any animal that I happen upon in my day-to-day life.
According to this book, the fox has to do with being invisible, needing to step back and be the observer. And if you find that the card is upside down when you pull it out, that could be about the possibility that you have been too invisible.
I tend to be the invisible type and it would be easy to want to be an invisible observer tonight when Tom walks into the room. But instead, I am going pretend that the message that the sweet-looking, beautiful-coated fox intended me to have was: "It's safe to be seen. And forgiving. And grateful."
Just call me "Foxy Lady"! :-)
Tonight is a Rusty Z kind of night.
I have known my friend, Jim, since I was in 9th grade.
He was the guy that walked the halls of our high school while playing a finger piano, long before I knew what a finger piano was.
He was the friend who wrote a song about me when my knees were a source of constant pain: "Louise has a disease in her knees". Don't ask...
He and another friend came to my house one day when we were probably 16 years old. They asked me to come out and walk to the park with them. As we were walking, they pulled out a bag of green stuff and said that we were going to smoke it. I was the unblemished, naive girl who had only moved here from small town Kansas a few years before. Still, I have to say that my friends' over-acting was enough to cause suspicion in anyone, and I finally got the truth out of the young men: they were testing my reaction by tempting me with a bag of thyme or basil or some other herb of the non-getting-high-type.
Anyway, after that long introduction, I want to say that Jim now goes by the name of Rusty Z., and Rusty Z has a really funny hypno comedy act (much funnier than a bag of herbs) that I bet he can bring to your local comedy club or office party, if you ask nicely. (Okay, it might take a lot of moolah in order to get him to the U.K., but ya never know!)
Rusty Z will be doing his thing at a local comedy club tonight and Mr. CfP and I will be in the audience. I could use a good laugh about now...
I'll call him Tom.
We barely knew each other while still in school, but we "re-met" at our tenth high school reunion and became friends. After both of our marriages ended, we dated for a year or so. There was a lot of messiness in our relationship - I won't bore you with the details. Our friendship didn't survive our break-up and I have held some not-so-comfortable feelings around our relationship for over 16 years.
A few people from high school days will be in the audience at Rusty Z's act tonight - Tom will be one of those people. My first reaction when I saw his confirmation on my Facebook page was: I can always cancel our reservations. But some wiser part of me recognized this as an opportunity for healing (plus, if I canceled, I'd be embarrassed to tell Rusty and others the real reason why I canceled).
So I asked myself some good questions and I waited to find out what the answers might be. The worst part of the process was when I realized that the real reason I had icky feelings was because of my judgments about myself and how I handled the relationship. OUCH! Did NOT want to go there!
But I did it anyway.
And now I realize that all that happened ended up leading us to where we are today and today is GREAT! So, I look forward to seeing Tom. I feel a lot of warmth for all that he contributed to my life and who I am now.
Back to the fox.
We have a pile of "Medicine Cards", cards with different animals on them, and a book that describes the "medicine" that each animal can bring to us. I don't remember exactly how it works - maybe you're supposed to pull out a card and then read the "animal medicine" for that card.
Anyway, I like to look up the "medicine" for any animal that I happen upon in my day-to-day life.
According to this book, the fox has to do with being invisible, needing to step back and be the observer. And if you find that the card is upside down when you pull it out, that could be about the possibility that you have been too invisible.
I tend to be the invisible type and it would be easy to want to be an invisible observer tonight when Tom walks into the room. But instead, I am going pretend that the message that the sweet-looking, beautiful-coated fox intended me to have was: "It's safe to be seen. And forgiving. And grateful."
Just call me "Foxy Lady"! :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)