tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90392269177627248242024-02-20T00:36:03.269-08:0052 flowersAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-41497339946003054082014-05-08T05:36:00.000-07:002015-10-19T06:16:05.700-07:00Red<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">This morning my coffee is too strong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I feel everything with a bit more intensity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">My red sweater, bold and sweet,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">It looks back at me in the mirror.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">When I wear it on days like these</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I see my complexion glow.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">The warm color fills my check.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I woke this day and felt you gone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Finally, I could see that maybe </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">there is enough space </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">to let another see me for who I am.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Someday.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Until that day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I can feel myself stepping into each day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I can understand how to earn strength</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">through my own intent,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">though ghosts may come and go.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">This is my lesson.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Alone is not only solitude,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">but a path to let the good in.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I recently found this poem and thought it kind of resonated
with what I’ve been thinking about lately. I’ve been trying very hard to get
myself in a place where I can feel healthy and strong and even brave enough to
blog again, after not doing it for so long. I wonder about the difference
between solitude and loneliness. There’s a very fine line between the two. Some
days I can only see the difficult side of alone and other days I feel so
strengthened by the quietness, the peace that comes in being alone. I
guess that’s part of what I will always be searching for, a kind of acceptance
of both places, even in the voices that come at 3 am.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-36174459250607613242014-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:002014-01-18T07:53:30.043-08:00Destiny<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had to let go of that dream.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was to be me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In that picture of a happy family-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There, on the other side of the world.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sometimes you don’t get the life you think you should have.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What you get is a chance to look closer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A chance to stop wanting more,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and start wanting wholeness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No matter how hard you look,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you will never see that picture with clarity.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Instead,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">one day </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you wake up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and see your destiny.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reaching out to grab you by the scruff of the neck.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Telling you to look at what you created,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and what you destroyed,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">right there in front of you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s funny how that works.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We have.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We loose.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And then all we can do is rebuild.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is no other way around it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The loss lives with you always.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s a splinter of wood in flesh.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There, just below the surface.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A subtle reminder-</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">as you walk with it in your side.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">week 51.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've been experimenting with watercolor. I did this piece that seemed to resemble clouds with rain. It reminded me of a poem I wrote a few years back. Lately I've been thinking a lot about this idea of rebuilding, starting new. I try to accept all the choices I've made, good and bad. It seems every day we have to carry all those choices with us into everything we do, like a kind of scar. To carry the past and rebuild at the same time seem very brave to me. It also seems like a bigger feat than we give it credit for. The past can block us at every turn. The things we tell ourselves can confuse us with their contradictions. What is really the truth of who you are can be so damn hard to see but it seems important to keep looking for it, even in the pain.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-45112417157080786522013-04-12T10:16:00.001-07:002018-07-06T03:42:59.262-07:00Crashing waves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN60e3aVtjmPb2N6mpcu0oIaTXsB937RwCGk_jaPscXbyNvY7Ljn269Sob_dP7_94DPGOEa0TCfAnZ3GfLr_vuiJve5VDnVwIE841KTKmfhvpY4zACCVUr7iv4ONspTMastj98FaV3h9N1/s1600/ocean72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN60e3aVtjmPb2N6mpcu0oIaTXsB937RwCGk_jaPscXbyNvY7Ljn269Sob_dP7_94DPGOEa0TCfAnZ3GfLr_vuiJve5VDnVwIE841KTKmfhvpY4zACCVUr7iv4ONspTMastj98FaV3h9N1/s320/ocean72.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Walking along the shoreline, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">waves crash and the seagulls break the horizon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">This path of rocks and pale bushes meander </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">forever along the pacific coast.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">The voice of the ocean is out there again,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">today like every day,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">following me at every turn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Sneaking tides are at my toes,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">in a whisper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">The edging of the salt water, up to my ankles.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I pick up a shell and put it to my ear,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Is there someone there?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Then out of the blue,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">a wave comes upon me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Crashing into the silence,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">astounding me </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and bringing me to my knees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">I am pulled down</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">but it is only when I’ve fallen that I can see</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">that I am mere grain of sand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">week 50. Message in a bottle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Some days I am looking for messages. I believe if I can look at what makes me suffer then maybe I will learn something about myself, something I need to learn in order to grow. There are times when I feel as though I know something is out there, something with a message. If I look, I don’t always find the answers, but I still need to look. I realize that falling, being brought to my knees frees me. It reminds me that vulnerability is the only way to to courage. To walk though and not around. I believe every time we are faced with something astounding there is the potential to heal.</span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-85546172740897511132013-02-17T12:50:00.000-08:002013-04-13T05:41:34.661-07:00Life's work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Life’s work is done little by little.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Tiny movements are everything.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">There will be creeping crawling doubts that weave though the
dry dirt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and there will be fears and sadness</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">that will wander carelessly into each morning, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">when there is more rain than sun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">To do life’s work</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Means carving, pulling, weeding </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and always dividing in to piles,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">all the stuff that in necessary</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and all the stuff that is not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">To do life’s work</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">requires more digging that you ever thought was possible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">So much so that you’ll think “I don’t even have the right
tools”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">But you’ll do it anyway,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">with your hands,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">because that’s what God gave you.</span><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span>
<!--[endif]--></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">To make something beautiful of this life</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">is the greatest gift you can give yourself </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and those around you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">We are made to stumble upon answers;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Answers are made to be found,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">nestled deep within the earth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">But they are hard earned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">To build a life </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">you can only do everything within you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Only you can go out into it </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and listen to all that pulls you deeper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">There is beauty in the simple little things </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">and there is grace in the digging.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">week 49. Digging<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #134f5c;">Digging is one of the best ways I know to describe the act
of searching for the truth of who we are deep inside. I always think about how
I try to make things beautiful in my own eyes. I want the to see the beauty
even when it’s not beautiful. I’m not the first to say that living really is
messy business. We confront, we fight, we defend, and most of all we have to
get in there and figure out the path. It all requires so much energy. So why do
it? I guess it’s purpose is so we can get a tiny bit closer to our own truths.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-4701431574035153312011-03-11T07:46:00.000-08:002014-05-08T04:39:19.152-07:00The story<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FrS9tkajbwGzGuTFcUXZOwBp0uFJ-hBBiUOVq68OiMcBuHEdMhub1eB3OEDwmcCvZ7e0NCqR-BuEf1XgK4gsp7PbyMkHDn5Mb_S7AjfK50GlPNmDPJVf1RNLvaragmEhVUFHHbaj5Lo7/s1600/spring+flowers+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FrS9tkajbwGzGuTFcUXZOwBp0uFJ-hBBiUOVq68OiMcBuHEdMhub1eB3OEDwmcCvZ7e0NCqR-BuEf1XgK4gsp7PbyMkHDn5Mb_S7AjfK50GlPNmDPJVf1RNLvaragmEhVUFHHbaj5Lo7/s400/spring+flowers+72.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582850597696780786" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 324px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FrS9tkajbwGzGuTFcUXZOwBp0uFJ-hBBiUOVq68OiMcBuHEdMhub1eB3OEDwmcCvZ7e0NCqR-BuEf1XgK4gsp7PbyMkHDn5Mb_S7AjfK50GlPNmDPJVf1RNLvaragmEhVUFHHbaj5Lo7/s1600/spring+flowers+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><br />
<div>
<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">I have a book</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">With many pages </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">nd many stories </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">bound to tell.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">If the mood is right</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">I will read these words</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Without regret,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">only tenderness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">In this book of many pages</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">There are leaves pressed between.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Dividing chapters and events.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">A birth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">A death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">A change of address.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">In this book of many pages</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">There are blank pages too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Without text or image.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Unsaid words.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Places I’ve yet to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Colors I’ve not yet seen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">I'm so careful not to break </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">these fragile flowers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Which remain tucked away</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Aging day by day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Slowly fading back into</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">The yellowed pages </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">where they were born.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">And just as ashes bring forth the springtime, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">so the story goes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Memories remain </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">on this shelf.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Between the leaves,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">in my book of many pages.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-USfont-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">week 48. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Sometimes the spring just seem too far away. I need something to remind me it's really on it's way. At times like these, I like to imagine a different life. I dream of a life where I can finally achieve all my heart yearns for. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">But the truth is there is no better life waiting on the other side. We have what we have, right here in front of us. There will always be parts unfinished, relationships undefined, feelings that need time to heal. All of it is a work in progress. We have good years, we have bad ones, just like crops and plantings. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">At the end of winter I like to open my old books and look at the dried flowers and leaves. I like to see how they fared, maybe just to remind myself that the story goes on.</span></div>
<!--EndFragment--> </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-28649310264108953842011-02-12T18:09:00.001-08:002014-01-18T06:28:09.181-08:00River stones<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWK6XsLJH8NKkBxbjqh9F7uXwb6-ANjSJPipWKI0UP__rfsdakZoDYXzpEAmOqlquI87g_ltegocmSorFR3Xlhzi5dfSfDhv-feBuBHo75FKedQeucX02viDid2SpI0_cVUY5RGlPMq9t2/s1600/stepping+stones+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWK6XsLJH8NKkBxbjqh9F7uXwb6-ANjSJPipWKI0UP__rfsdakZoDYXzpEAmOqlquI87g_ltegocmSorFR3Xlhzi5dfSfDhv-feBuBHo75FKedQeucX02viDid2SpI0_cVUY5RGlPMq9t2/s400/stepping+stones+72.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572991428350984098" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 356px; width: 360px;" /></a><br />
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWK6XsLJH8NKkBxbjqh9F7uXwb6-ANjSJPipWKI0UP__rfsdakZoDYXzpEAmOqlquI87g_ltegocmSorFR3Xlhzi5dfSfDhv-feBuBHo75FKedQeucX02viDid2SpI0_cVUY5RGlPMq9t2/s1600/stepping+stones+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a> <!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">The shifting plates of the earth,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">they move with a subtly that almost goes unnoticed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">The way the clouds roll past, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">those too, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">mere, small increment for the gods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">But the unsettling nature of how huge that can be </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">can throw me off,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">even today, with steady footing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Such a place is familiar, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">when all I know is the way to the next stepping-stone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">I skip across them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">One by one.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Somehow, next one to arrive beneath me foot.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">How is that?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">So let the stillness have its way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Let the silence break my every doubt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Because somewhere up in the sky </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">tomorrow may hold </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">that small lessons </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">lost on today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> Week 47. Stability<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">On my walks through the woods I always cross over a brook on my way to the pond. One day I thought about the rhythm I felt as I jumped from stone to stone. It’s funny how you need to trust that the next stone will be in the right spot, nice and steady beneath your foot. This made me think about the way we must trust the paths we choose. We never quite know for sure if the path we choose will be solid but we must follow through regardless. Unsteadiness is always a possibility. The unknown can be scary but it can also be exciting. Sometimes I think if you can balance both the fear and the excitement of it your not doing too bad.</span></div>
<!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment--> <br />
<div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-24465929325010260382010-12-29T15:04:00.000-08:002011-11-10T06:32:45.010-08:00Stars<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62sXRhWsWnt4tfSXLGiA5jDs7A8L1izU_j2WquB4D6E9MCou0oCE4Vsocmr0NzW39QRcfoQUHFXK-oE-R4hwROWn-yumx9L6Q8lmkNz6fxvQ-s7XD2oaA6AdJKahoTDTGZGEqjCSjRwVq/s1600/stars+pink+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 388px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62sXRhWsWnt4tfSXLGiA5jDs7A8L1izU_j2WquB4D6E9MCou0oCE4Vsocmr0NzW39QRcfoQUHFXK-oE-R4hwROWn-yumx9L6Q8lmkNz6fxvQ-s7XD2oaA6AdJKahoTDTGZGEqjCSjRwVq/s400/stars+pink+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573167492770875378" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuwPLrbW8EhvO4prIPn8wHvpwjmTTBm4SuBE5YR1_gVdhF7VitEaNc_LINIgT-ZFASsvHM_tdEiOQshSCd6Cm6BOswID9tiu-9YOg4IrBL-wXtsbhKUtmMXL8MQ9JVE4NamjdovcSN29Y/s1600/stars+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I have one last wish for the day.</span><div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">As the sun diminishes </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">into the vast unknown.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I wish for stars </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">tonight,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When the world begins again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When I promise compassion.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Despite everything I gave</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and everything I could not give.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When I know the beauty </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of looking forward and backward </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">at the same time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When I see what has remained</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and I love it anyway. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">All I need is something small. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">A tiny glimmer,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Something way up high</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">that will lead me </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">where I cannot see.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Yes, I wish for stars </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">tonight,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When the world begins again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 46. Faith.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">During the last week of year I always feel like I’m looking forward and backward at the same time.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I’m contemplating what I achieved through out the year and at the same time I’m reaching ahead for what I can take on, for challenges and for ways to grow. I await the New Year with promise even though there is so much unknown. I define Faith as our ability to allow ourselves to accept what that which we can't see. So I guess that’s what I wish for next year, to continue to discover small lessons of faith each day. I figure if nature can makes sense of this complex world so can I.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-31707635952872375892010-12-22T06:56:00.000-08:002010-12-30T04:11:25.837-08:00Christmas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLV5DHnTjWX4GxXMRPuFOeU41W5AfABtY3-jeJfCSJY-bbxJ2gKfasks-xjvft4rG6fkomaBPjAzgL9Fsam_SXTabwLbkiNK8ONO0acextya9RXgozmDnkx6cGFVpomfOuRz5ZTIuVPTPa/s1600/light+christmas+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 325px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLV5DHnTjWX4GxXMRPuFOeU41W5AfABtY3-jeJfCSJY-bbxJ2gKfasks-xjvft4rG6fkomaBPjAzgL9Fsam_SXTabwLbkiNK8ONO0acextya9RXgozmDnkx6cGFVpomfOuRz5ZTIuVPTPa/s400/light+christmas+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553520896489522402" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Christmas is not far off in the distance.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I can see it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">In the houses illuminated with lights.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Outlining every bit </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of their existence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">In the evergreen.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Standing tall yet swaying,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">when the snow weighs upon it’s branches.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">In the cardinals.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">As they magically appear,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and then are gone again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">In belief.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Belief that what can not be seen</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">is greater than anything that can.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> Week 45. Symbols of hope.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">This Christmas I got to thinking about symbols, but not the images we normally associate with Christmas, the symbols you can’t see. The things that remind me of what I feel inside during this season. One word that comes to mind is “hope”. Hope is believing that there will always be lightness somewhere, even in the darkest of times. Hope is seeing the beauty in small everyday things. Hope is like a tiny little gift. Not the kind we plan for on December 25</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> but the kind that shows up when you least expect it. Just when you think you’re too tired to keep looking for it, somehow, it’s there, right where you left it. </span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-23214991148509155092010-12-17T18:34:00.001-08:002010-12-30T04:11:10.721-08:00Frozen earth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbeYU75sOpPjeIS7OboG1PAvvnOy2hlRbJ21q_Sx7yQrgiNuAOBTn2A0A2DItVNvgN7GD81PbN0wWoecSFcpplYm3VDBNPlUCpoNAGJe9pDN30ZF9SGJkGAscTBjBTC7DGWx3xHutTk3i/s1600/frozen2+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbeYU75sOpPjeIS7OboG1PAvvnOy2hlRbJ21q_Sx7yQrgiNuAOBTn2A0A2DItVNvgN7GD81PbN0wWoecSFcpplYm3VDBNPlUCpoNAGJe9pDN30ZF9SGJkGAscTBjBTC7DGWx3xHutTk3i/s400/frozen2+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552023522642586450" /></a><br /><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I step out into December this morning</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and the frozen puddles crack like shards of glass.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Frost blurs.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Sounds reverberate.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Dirt hardens to rock.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Branches snap.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">It all echoes loudly.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">As the wind whips through,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">the edges of nature </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">brace themselves </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">for a long hard winter.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Then something shifts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Something small.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The wind blows east </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">ever so slightly.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">And for a brief moment, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">There is a kind of clarity </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">that may just be enough.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 44. Refuge moments.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Some weeks I find myself focusing more on where I want to be rather than where I am. The past few days I have been questioning this, wondering why must I always do this. Why must I torture myself like that? Then there is a rare day when I can see what I have. I can slow it down just enough to stop this cycle. On those days, I’m not so overwhelmed by it all. I take a snapshot in my mind because these moments seem so few and far between. At this time of year, when we are faced with the harsh cold, I feel as though I am looking for a warm places to settle into, a kind of refuge. A moment where I don’t have to fight the elements and I can just be.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-68942530694769723382010-12-07T11:04:00.000-08:002011-12-01T05:30:07.020-08:00Brown leaves<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQglKrN4Ky9sA69eSvLSsne_PESRULGwWb8CVD1eKhtTMKKRs4TMMY2I3OMrfZEVO1bUEHZ5380SkENICpftnwosIzYKlAANH7aveKk4u1QtKG1H2ZIJw8wvLpEtxNBoLwPB4gVXb8RMy/s1600/scratch+leaves+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQglKrN4Ky9sA69eSvLSsne_PESRULGwWb8CVD1eKhtTMKKRs4TMMY2I3OMrfZEVO1bUEHZ5380SkENICpftnwosIzYKlAANH7aveKk4u1QtKG1H2ZIJw8wvLpEtxNBoLwPB4gVXb8RMy/s400/scratch+leaves+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548044272465763170" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); "><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">Brown has come.</span><br /><div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">In the piles of leaves that crumble beneath my feet,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">as I walk up stone paths with you.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So much is here, as the sun sets on us.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So much proof that you are here too.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">As we walk through the park at dusk,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I pick through all the fallen leaves.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Somewhere among all this I know there is color,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">even in the dark.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Somehow you have fought the winter,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">even before the first frost has arrived.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 43. The Witness </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">My brother and I went walking through a park in the early evening, when the sun had just set. I could see that the leaves had all turned brown but I was still trying to find some colors in the piles on the ground. That evening I was amazed at how much stronger my brother seemed. He had finished his last round of radiation treatment days earlier and seeing him still so vibrant and inspired comforted me. Slowly he was finding his passion for life again. Even in his frail state we talked like we always had before, about new ideas and funny things we had noticed about people. This was a new life I was seeing immerge and I felt as though I was a witness to a miraculous event.</span></p></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-11289396253540356152010-11-29T13:10:00.000-08:002010-12-13T05:23:49.379-08:00Ginkgo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBwM62TMB6tktdwRX_dsR9fKJv0EBTQmVa7fjxcOMzby4fmTk2KBfFNguI-SmX0ncDenfEjXRw8m-TDtil-P0PQaazrJ1O5Jdr9fz8qO2v9lh2jQ-Rt3C0XJvL0bTC96rotgMoRhRgqxR/s1600/ginkgo+illo+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 332px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBwM62TMB6tktdwRX_dsR9fKJv0EBTQmVa7fjxcOMzby4fmTk2KBfFNguI-SmX0ncDenfEjXRw8m-TDtil-P0PQaazrJ1O5Jdr9fz8qO2v9lh2jQ-Rt3C0XJvL0bTC96rotgMoRhRgqxR/s400/ginkgo+illo+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545082566355042690" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Tiny yellow fan.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">You made your way so far.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">And yet you remain with me still.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I only wish to know </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">what makes you so different from the rest.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">What makes you round and full</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Instead of divided and angled.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I wish that for myself too, you know.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I wish to radiate-</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">To open myself up </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and take in all that’s bound to me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 42.Limitations.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I can’t help but notice how the Ginkgo leaf is so different from other leaves. The Ginkgo has no centerline to divide into two sides. It’s variegations come from the base of the leaf; tiny parallel lines dividing each little part. Seeing these sections, these radiating lines, made me think about the personal areas of my own life. My struggle with boundaries, those dividing lines in relationships. As I look close at the design of the Ginkgo leaf I have to ask myself - is it always necessary to notice the way things divide? maybe in times of transition it’s more important to focus on being open like a fan.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-10126702649027914692010-11-23T13:12:00.000-08:002010-11-26T06:53:48.749-08:00Branches<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfw2PwEkCc2ZVg21gn5bGMxzE1XPFoTz53EGAezyOdDz4w7f6BgTNac1Oko9AoVWj2i4zVpSKbSwA5X8AbxBOozV___5ZFzAd5FqNMwxsw-rquIf2JUJ7SxBlLOYwnDyUUeDzktVqQgDr/s1600/branches+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 384px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfw2PwEkCc2ZVg21gn5bGMxzE1XPFoTz53EGAezyOdDz4w7f6BgTNac1Oko9AoVWj2i4zVpSKbSwA5X8AbxBOozV___5ZFzAd5FqNMwxsw-rquIf2JUJ7SxBlLOYwnDyUUeDzktVqQgDr/s400/branches+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542856694627701394" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I’ve walked beneath this archway <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">of branches so many times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I barely make it through some days;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">as the branches touch me lightly <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I duck and continue onward.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">But there is always a hollow space there,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">made for a path<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">made by the many travelers<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">who have passed this way once before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">As I walk beneath <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I can see how these branches reach to the other side-<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Looking for something,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">anything that could lead the way into winter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">week 41. Connections.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There is one section of the woods, right near the pond where the branches reach low and create a sort of archway where people can walk beneath. It’s almost like a tunnel of a sort. The branches are all the same kind of tree, thin wispy branches with colors that range from pale yellows to red. I got to thinking about how branches reach out to other branches. How we are constantly making connections all the time. Locking into ways to create security, strength and support. The arched pathway is one of my favorite places these woods. There’s something beautiful about the way paths form organically. I guess I’d like to believe that human connections are kind of the same. We meet others, we reach out, we try to form bonds and somewhere along the way we grow, leaning ever so slightly towards change.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-63754561126826881542010-11-16T09:38:00.000-08:002013-06-05T06:11:46.154-07:00Cherry tree<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gA9xRuujiB7gpzHoS50VI81l3OcjFGGdtIycalbrD-W-cWRrTSO3QflLW6t_6N7EJ7S6xaWBebF8WDpuskx_WtD713AaQ_Kyj78h0AhkGJslhEuEVtYTqT9YnTOxUk8zFqsBxNISjb6Q/s1600/cherries+72.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540203615101157730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2gA9xRuujiB7gpzHoS50VI81l3OcjFGGdtIycalbrD-W-cWRrTSO3QflLW6t_6N7EJ7S6xaWBebF8WDpuskx_WtD713AaQ_Kyj78h0AhkGJslhEuEVtYTqT9YnTOxUk8zFqsBxNISjb6Q/s400/cherries+72.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 399px;" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span><br />
<div>
<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">It was not even cold the day we arrived.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">We walked through the quaint northern town,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">gazing upon others as if we knew them by name.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Everywhere we went I saw a red cherry tree.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">In each town square,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">In every field and along dirt roads,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Every time, I had to stop and look from below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Up, into the brilliant blue sky,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Into the specked array of red dots </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">refracted by the sun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Even in November</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">as the weather plays its tricks</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">and the sun filters through each section,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">somewhere the familiar stirrings </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">of the holidays are not far off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">Week 40. The familiar. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;">I went up to Vermont this weekend and traveled around a bunch of quaint New England towns. It was funny, everywhere I went I saw these beautiful trees with small cherry like fruits. They reminded me so much of a kind of mistletoe. This fall the weather has been quite mild, leaving me feeling a bit unprepared for the idea that the holiday season is almost here. Seeing these trees made me think about things that we are all too familiar with in our lives, things that we almost don’t notice anymore because we just expect them. All the things we assume will come without any effort. Sometimes we feel so familiar with those who we care for, maybe even too familiar. The word “family” and “familiar” must be related in this sense. Sometimes I forget how important close connections in my life are, they are significant because they root me back to what I know as true, and sometimes that’s a very good place to be. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #336666;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-6875709313664288032010-11-08T12:51:00.000-08:002010-11-09T06:49:25.129-08:00Tiny red leaves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNSzhIdyqCdw3FIny2dOWA8PqRPFkrSWppFnXko-qnxCsQ2F6VyNWA_C1iNX6IPTFJ0Crnj7ViwiacbCw2wWQxTnHphtrvTkjx5B5iz5j3fVzaSPIKB9g9wheQj9JV6LYr6LR77linsnZ/s1600/red+leaves+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNSzhIdyqCdw3FIny2dOWA8PqRPFkrSWppFnXko-qnxCsQ2F6VyNWA_C1iNX6IPTFJ0Crnj7ViwiacbCw2wWQxTnHphtrvTkjx5B5iz5j3fVzaSPIKB9g9wheQj9JV6LYr6LR77linsnZ/s400/red+leaves+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537284755759138354" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Each tiny leaf has it’s own way.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Some are still pale yellow;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">offering me hope and opportunity.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Some are transitioning into red;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The strange world of two places at once.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">And then there are the deep garnet colored leaves.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The ones that are there to guide me</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Towards letting go of this branch;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">something I’ve waited my whole life for.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 39. Mortality.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I’ve been thinking about how small events are there to help prepare us for greater events. Like for example, letting go. To me, this represents the idea of letting go of my own life eventually. I know that I struggle with letting go of many things in my life. Each one is a kind of preparation. I believe these small things give us tools so we are better equip to handle what’s to come. It makes sense to me that we would need to prepare ourselves emotionally and psychologically for something like death. Looking at the small experiences and seeing connections to a larger event may be one way of processing the big stuff.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-45672197250853354262010-11-01T16:18:00.000-07:002010-11-18T04:40:45.225-08:00A family of leaves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVzqg-uBmQPSoviPMIQ4bjZ-iRPnuhAM1czLTpqK39-VkkRNf5gleSh07aiksXQyLKoWMWZPo-VjERK3NzXoPMs-U4DopHL9sp0-lcak9WkWmH6HDRdqp-sxFnu3U2yauyeQWY0YXBeij/s1600/green+family+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 395px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVzqg-uBmQPSoviPMIQ4bjZ-iRPnuhAM1czLTpqK39-VkkRNf5gleSh07aiksXQyLKoWMWZPo-VjERK3NzXoPMs-U4DopHL9sp0-lcak9WkWmH6HDRdqp-sxFnu3U2yauyeQWY0YXBeij/s400/green+family+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534725352259123570" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I look at each leave and it is clear they are related.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Each one is slightly different.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">One larger.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">One louder.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">One never shows his hand.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So I place them in a line</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and then into sections;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and wonder I how this is fair?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">How can they be the same </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">when circumstances divide,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">creating beautiful imperfections</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and deep rooted scars </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">which forever remain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> Week 38. Brothers and sisters.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I have been collecting families of leaves these days. Examining the small differences between leaves from the same tree. It’s fascinating to notice the spots, the browning edges, and the splattered inky blotches. As I look at the variety within a single family of leaves I think about my siblings. I think about the things that divide us and the things that bond us together. There are things from our pasts that no other person has lived through but us. But now that we are older our lives seem to divide. I watch my brother struggling with radiation therapy and I think about how each one of us must make choices as to how we can help. I have come to realize that letting go of the hurt from the past is instrumental in being able to give unconditionally.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-23114300030359615012010-10-27T13:33:00.001-07:002010-11-02T08:29:19.980-07:00Collecting Leaves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghT7K1nCeePktFyqcemOUyzLOYy3lTR-LirndUrtAPxFPjxnVTlgS4Vc0bV1j3A9nMEllbMN3vg27vvym7ySe4BqNWSbiOQU7o0UI_T1yeTqK2xKJIHNk2oOlbfygsBZDjAYsKCAVN5Nnc/s1600/background+and+leaves.reds+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghT7K1nCeePktFyqcemOUyzLOYy3lTR-LirndUrtAPxFPjxnVTlgS4Vc0bV1j3A9nMEllbMN3vg27vvym7ySe4BqNWSbiOQU7o0UI_T1yeTqK2xKJIHNk2oOlbfygsBZDjAYsKCAVN5Nnc/s400/background+and+leaves.reds+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534974816051217794" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Once in a while, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">when I am walking through a forest, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I look down at the hundreds of leaves beneath my feet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I remember that I have seen many lives,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I have collected them too along the way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Then I go home </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and open a book, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and there are the leaves once again.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Carefully pressed inside,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">fading slowly,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">but there to remind me </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">how far I had to walk.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 37. Organizing.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Some days the memories of the past come in and cause me to slow down and look very close, almost too close at times. I have to stop what I’m doing to reflect on the life I lived, the person I was back then. I know we all go there at times, to those dark places that cause us to want to be alone. There is no cure of coarse, and that sucks but there are moments of hope too, moments when we feel like it’s all been worth it. All the choices are the right ones and it was all meant to be. It seems as though reminders of how we made it through are so important. It can be an object, a song, a poem, anything. It’s remarkable how we need markers, like chapters that divide our lives into sections. I find it fascinating to think about how we are constantly trying to organize our minds the same way we do our everyday lives, seeking ways to put things away, ways to process what we lived through.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-41609027193005945132010-10-20T08:20:00.000-07:002010-10-28T07:17:51.532-07:00The grand leaf<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-6j4InP3ImuJvkxovFEIVcCuMm5CApS15pmfQYDNPPta6edrrtV9g-DV66iZACLHTpUzrK6hjYDa2j4CrCcjrg45nf9WE-EPmi-gc4ouQAgef2Msmoow5fOy2VbvY_YWLRVretM7A-ni/s1600/one+leaf+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 337px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-6j4InP3ImuJvkxovFEIVcCuMm5CApS15pmfQYDNPPta6edrrtV9g-DV66iZACLHTpUzrK6hjYDa2j4CrCcjrg45nf9WE-EPmi-gc4ouQAgef2Msmoow5fOy2VbvY_YWLRVretM7A-ni/s400/one+leaf+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533100993343090386" /></a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Some trees shed the greatest of leaves.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So grand you cannot simply pass them by.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">You must stand and look upon them </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">as more than single sided. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Turn it over you will see hundreds of variegations, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">leading you off into all sorts of directions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 36. The other side. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I found a huge leaf while walking the other day, so big it reminded me of an elephant ear. I turned it over to inspect the intricate network of veins, much like those in the human body. This habit of turning things over I seemed to have picked it up from my good friend Clare. One day, while walking through a flea market together we came upon a pile of interesting fabric scraps. I pulled out a few quilt squares that caught my eye. As I was looking at the patchwork scraps, admiring the color combinations and textures Clare immediate turned each square over to look at the backs. She explained “the reverse sides are always much more interesting”. I had never thought about it like that before. We show the neat, organized self but it seems more important to notice the process of what it takes to get there, the stuff most people don’t see. This idea reminded me of a line in a play I saw recently. One of the main characters said, “It’s more important what we can not talk about than that which we choose to discuss”. It’s kind of the same thing when you think about it. Examining what we choose </span><span style="Times New Roman Italic"font-family:";"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">not to show</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> is really the part that we should look at, how else can we understand how we are made.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-53811447009806068222010-10-14T17:38:00.000-07:002010-10-15T03:44:28.579-07:00Leaves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxf0LwVkXf13dpUwf0XE8StSNCe8OVqxb-mp2_7lQqvcp0fFqOGkXbuRHAN7mMWMCbvwCDwSYUIhK7emO2RBU01b3cHSFogIWtoLF9oRRfQJWxtjI4-i-8GXNkdWiS6QGpfxElxIJQFrl/s1600/geo+leaves+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxf0LwVkXf13dpUwf0XE8StSNCe8OVqxb-mp2_7lQqvcp0fFqOGkXbuRHAN7mMWMCbvwCDwSYUIhK7emO2RBU01b3cHSFogIWtoLF9oRRfQJWxtjI4-i-8GXNkdWiS6QGpfxElxIJQFrl/s400/geo+leaves+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528066834996920562" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I’ve been looking up</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">into the trees.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Into the rays of the sun;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">the way it peeks through the branches,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">allowing tiny pockets of warmth</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and minutes at a time</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">to be still.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The trees are changing that is true.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I continue to walk, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">collecting the leaves as they fall.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Searching for variety;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">for the subtle differences between each one.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Each pattern is a map. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Each possibility natures way</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of saying that every path </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">is the right one. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">week 35. Variations and paths.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I have been walking through the woods looking for leaves these days, seeking out all sorts of varieties of shapes, colors and textures. I began to think about how many possibilities we encounter each day and all the variables that affect the choices we make. Wouldn’t it be easier to have a map or better yet a GPS in order to know which path to choose? I guess I’m much more at peace when I let go of that idea though. When I stop worrying so much about where I’ll end up and just try to notice what’s in front of me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">But my walks in the woods got me thinking about the simple act of walking as well. There’s not much needed really in order to walk, just the desire to move forward and that can be done even with out legs. I think that creating art is the same way, you have to just get in there and do it, there is only so much thinking you can do. At a certain point it’s better to just make the mess and then worry about how to clean it up. Wisdom seems to come from the process of moving forward, what ever the out come we grow from noticing what we feel, what we see, even what we collect along the way. </span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-70108632353181872232010-10-05T13:14:00.000-07:002010-10-07T06:35:33.016-07:00Tears for flowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysL9V-jEkQq-Rfgraxo0bhRK0T9wzVVWY-Wtcd4XYPgyfAejksdQVONs8sfiGMxqPEDNbi2UKQjslF9K5aazgoxQozv1RwPRYSUqBQV5T4Crur6CafGTUNlRRdlMLxOzJZH71nzW53Nbl/s1600/blog+art.tears+for+flowers+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 364px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysL9V-jEkQq-Rfgraxo0bhRK0T9wzVVWY-Wtcd4XYPgyfAejksdQVONs8sfiGMxqPEDNbi2UKQjslF9K5aazgoxQozv1RwPRYSUqBQV5T4Crur6CafGTUNlRRdlMLxOzJZH71nzW53Nbl/s400/blog+art.tears+for+flowers+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524658322580571538" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Rivers have been made from the thousands who have cried.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I know I am but one of the few.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">These tears are small reminders</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of the wounds we carry still to this day.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Yet here I remain, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">collecting puddles of sweet rainwater-</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">my hands cupping each drop as it falls from the sky.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">With the hope that all that has made the world green</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">will one day grow a garden of wildflowers for me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Wild, untamed and free,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">with roots wound loosely into the deep dark soil of the earth.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 34. Rain.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I wrote this poem a few years ago but thought it was appropriate on account of all the rain we’ve been having lately. I remember it was written at a particularly difficult time, right after my ex husband left. I felt as though I had cried rivers trying to come to terms with how my life was unraveling before my eyes. Through it all, I kept telling myself that one day all the pain would make sense. I wanted to be reminded that the rain is for a reason, that it has purpose. I also wanted know that stability was possible no matter how much it rained and no matter how long it took to get there. </span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-28119266843004691832010-09-28T08:20:00.000-07:002010-09-29T05:26:46.506-07:00Chinese lanterns<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5zUZ26EOXNL3h5JaohRSNvQ8lQuPoAInYSyMROAS86RBM_HXeMktc0EoWb6AS7UXCHQDj3QcOGrU69UkTwVMBfgsZcM92z7f94eRVwVcdlbYgn6pcNgqZoF1uGTu4cZpU4BqVZ0ZyzdW/s1600/chinese+lanterns+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 354px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5zUZ26EOXNL3h5JaohRSNvQ8lQuPoAInYSyMROAS86RBM_HXeMktc0EoWb6AS7UXCHQDj3QcOGrU69UkTwVMBfgsZcM92z7f94eRVwVcdlbYgn6pcNgqZoF1uGTu4cZpU4BqVZ0ZyzdW/s400/chinese+lanterns+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521984865846266482" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The Chinese lanterns are perched </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">carefully in their vase.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I watch them slowly fade</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">from the burnt orange hollow</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">to brown lace.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Complete with a tiny red bulb </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">to light the way </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">as time passes through it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">And as I wait for the deep orange glow</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of the Autumn to come</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I see disintegration as opportunity.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Even within these silent dreams that remain</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">there is much that is still quite alive.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 33. Stages of change. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">While upstate I collected a bunch of Chinese lantern blossoms from an open field. I put them in a brown ceramic vase and placed them on my dining room table. As each day passed I admired the variety of textures and colors. Some with bright orange blossoms, others dryer- passing mid stage, and still others completely transformed into a delicate brown lace. I couldn’t help but think about how each branch represented the stages of life. Then I thought about my own life. Which branch would I be? Mid way between the life I’ve lived and the life that is before me. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">What really caught my attention though were the blossoms that were barely even there, the ones that looked as though they were just a skeleton of the lantern form. They were so delicately intact and yet there was something still alive in there. The seeds were still enveloped within the red bulb in the center. There was still hope somewhere in there, still a few small dreams yet to be realized. I began to consider that I too had some dreams yet to discover of my own. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">I’ve come to realize that observing changes in nature can help me learn more about my own thoughts and feelings .</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); "> It’s hard to see change in ourselves, were just too close. But we can see it in others and we can learn by watching others nurture their dreams as they move through the stages of their lives.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-14096197126793247112010-09-21T06:09:00.001-07:002010-10-05T13:36:33.699-07:00chamomile flowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5SnZtx9Km3Ho67lskxUnV0fdkAOaCn8XcZ0kM6E7KT1CJdJIesvZChNYCtepGZKXkbO5OGz_5ARktdlfGH1h7Zz7qlvEnQwo_jqrkKtMjWyCoM8-TwwHSazl1-DnSKn7HDYgbkZBtCgw/s1600/chamomille+72.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 328px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5SnZtx9Km3Ho67lskxUnV0fdkAOaCn8XcZ0kM6E7KT1CJdJIesvZChNYCtepGZKXkbO5OGz_5ARktdlfGH1h7Zz7qlvEnQwo_jqrkKtMjWyCoM8-TwwHSazl1-DnSKn7HDYgbkZBtCgw/s400/chamomille+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519353424586970962" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Tiny little child,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I’ve seen you before.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">When I was just a child myself</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and my mother soothed me back to sleep.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The earth rotated on its axis</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and night would fall</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">but sleep would not come.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So I waited in the hallway</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Next to the glowing yellow bulb</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">of a night light.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">So if I awake again,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">at 3 am.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Please hush away </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">the dust of the past </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); ">with once strong sip.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">And let me sleep soundly</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">tonight.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 32. Rest</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> This weekend I went upstate to visit with friends and found a patch of chamomile flowers by the side of the road. While I was up there I noticed how relaxed I was, how good I slept. I began to think about how my rest falls in cycles just like the seasons. Some periods I sleep well and others I’m up every night. When autumn comes it seems as though nature is in the process of regrouping. Transition is so much a part of the natural process, so why is it that sometimes we need to learn and relearn how to transition? Maybe the guidance of friends can be like a strong sip of chamomile tea- something to help you slow down so you can transition with greater ease.</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-6279435970988908252010-09-14T12:55:00.000-07:002010-10-05T13:35:31.462-07:00acorns<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSAkQjq_uk2RW-jLpeCwDSyl2KCA5iA3F1bOOnrunVa4eySzsZr-vCDlCdMkiic7LJrZmNcvDYe7fy9KITY2pDsesRaV6NKHV81sfspPnsxisrt4d8VW5bdroycAo5xuL4Im_3wy8-oOT/s1600/accorns++72.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 373px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKSAkQjq_uk2RW-jLpeCwDSyl2KCA5iA3F1bOOnrunVa4eySzsZr-vCDlCdMkiic7LJrZmNcvDYe7fy9KITY2pDsesRaV6NKHV81sfspPnsxisrt4d8VW5bdroycAo5xuL4Im_3wy8-oOT/s400/accorns++72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516860546019354162" /></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#336666;"> <!--StartFragment--> </span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#336666;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">Maples and Oaks speak though their gestures.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">They remain lush in these last days-</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">When the sun bides its time, </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">drawing me back to the woods</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">where I can slowly find the familiar.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">The trees are speaking </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">when the acorns fall on my head.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">Hard and abrupt.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">They are reminding me of something.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">Like a ribbon on my finger.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">They are telling me to stop.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">To pay attention.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">To listen to the wind when it softly guides me off the path.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">For the wind and the sun are larger than anything I’ve known.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">And an acorn is small enough to fit</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">into the palm of my hand.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%">week 31. <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;">Reverence</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> </span><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">There is a church I try to attend, though I’ve missed many Sundays this summer. This week the pastor talked about the word “reverence”. He spoke about how there are few things that teach us reverence. Few things make us stop and pay attention. He used the writings of Barbara Brown Taylor to help him to describe his thoughts on the subject. In her writing she described a memory of her childhood. Her father would take her out on their deck, place a blanket down and they would watch the stars falling from the night sky. She wrote, “Reverence is difficult to define but you know it when feel it”. It’s true that feeling something with great profoundness can snap you out of the everyday monotony and force you to contemplate greatness. There seems to be a kind of awe that comes over us when we realize our own limits. How is it that so much of nature inspires us to feel closer to our spiritual beings, to find grandeur in the elements. I think it’s these things in nature that remind us that we are only what we believe, and all the rest is hardly within our control. </span></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-43403176151351489262010-09-07T15:45:00.000-07:002010-09-07T17:59:58.313-07:00climbing flowers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_HZg-9y7BXE-IWgAfAlU7NraGzNMBB_UKoQRh6pWkiSD-aTdUqcYUmY9H2AAw0w8Qei_1GA2H3CjNu-ovbBTdiAfMK4DVy7ZjolyxxYnlQOlS08n7tH5cmB5-3iiZhkjSF-j6Wuv1gXt/s1600/climbing+vines72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_HZg-9y7BXE-IWgAfAlU7NraGzNMBB_UKoQRh6pWkiSD-aTdUqcYUmY9H2AAw0w8Qei_1GA2H3CjNu-ovbBTdiAfMK4DVy7ZjolyxxYnlQOlS08n7tH5cmB5-3iiZhkjSF-j6Wuv1gXt/s400/climbing+vines72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514309090899043538" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The climbing flower winds </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">it’s way around.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Always reaching upward. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Surrounded by the tiny spaces </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">between each sculpted branch.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Spaces to be filled by tomorrow.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Spaces to stop and rest.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">With climbing comes taking,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and this plant knows no other way to ask</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">than to take root,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">grab a hold,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and pull itself up </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">gently from the earth.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">week 30. Survival</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I’ve been trying to relax these last few day left of the summer. I finally had a moment to slow down but it was hard to get used to thinking about what I felt like doing when so much of these past few weeks were focused on what others need. So many things have come in unexpectedly. They never mean to take space in my worrisome mind, at 2 am when I can’t sleep. But they do. I’ve come to accept this is just how I’m made. I worry. I think through details much of my waking (and sleeping) hours, weather I like it or not. This made me think that being there for others is important but it is also important make sure there is room for ourselves.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Anyway, in this process of finding time for myself I started to think about the space that plants take up. Climbing plants just seem seem to fill in the empty spaces. They don’t ask politely. They just climb on in. If the conditions are right they know how to thrive. The survival instinct is strong in all of us, plants being no different. Recently I meet up with an old friend who had been through a difficult experience. We talked about how when life gets hard there is no time to stop and question things. You just know what needs to be done and you do it. This is that survival instinct once again; the body and mind just come to together to find a way to get you through another day. </span></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-18572780492670272692010-08-25T10:39:00.001-07:002010-08-25T10:54:28.365-07:00Green grass<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwXdIfdVIodvFf2dGrSyB_8Q0GFXR7hgrOpYr70pZdIFKiKPzVaiELzsbVbWeI9uP7RHgV1THy7Bsv9xqWVCBThVJZL5xsetoDreOpx765JMDrzGip9r8ULDLVUmDMx2mvwtpgTaPQ9om/s1600/green+grass+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwXdIfdVIodvFf2dGrSyB_8Q0GFXR7hgrOpYr70pZdIFKiKPzVaiELzsbVbWeI9uP7RHgV1THy7Bsv9xqWVCBThVJZL5xsetoDreOpx765JMDrzGip9r8ULDLVUmDMx2mvwtpgTaPQ9om/s400/green+grass+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509403575301135858" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The greens are in full swing </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">this morning </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">when the rain comes to settle in.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">It has rained all nightlong and the grass</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">has gotten long enough to wade in.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I walk with the dogs through the long blades.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Barefoot.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Waitng for the dampness to lift;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">all the while knowing </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I might as well get used to the</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">way the grass feels beneath my feet.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Week 29. Uncertainty</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">This past week my brother came to live with me. It seemed like the best thing for him, considering all the circumstances with his recently hospitalization and rehab. During this time I found myself with many conflicting feelings. I kept telling myself that in time things will get better. In time, things will change. I also kept thinking about this idea of uncertainty. I thought maybe if I could just let all the uncertainty wander in and out of my life maybe that would ease some of my frustration. I know that I will always expect things to get better, but could it be that accepting hard times, not resisting, could help to be more resilient.</span></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9039226917762724824.post-67796768787505311132010-08-17T11:28:00.000-07:002010-08-18T07:56:25.633-07:00Aloe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Xhmg0mFtxk7avJwffQRDB-scwbL9LkrUaLU1CovTa-ywDJl1TsBz1VUUyNkxbKfXDT9OO9gkuQo1GTzVto6scbUigGD5p-dcYCiafBj95Vm3322LgnQZoh693gSbKZHn_gkZMSaQV2V/s1600/aloe+72.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Xhmg0mFtxk7avJwffQRDB-scwbL9LkrUaLU1CovTa-ywDJl1TsBz1VUUyNkxbKfXDT9OO9gkuQo1GTzVto6scbUigGD5p-dcYCiafBj95Vm3322LgnQZoh693gSbKZHn_gkZMSaQV2V/s400/aloe+72.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506447710189263890" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I pushed the wheelchair </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">toward the hospital garden,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and as I stood behind him </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I saw the stitches in the back of his head.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">A train track of them.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Delineating the place where </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The work was done.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I almost thought to touch it</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">but part of the scar seemed so raw.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">Once in the greenhouse, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">we stopped to admire the prickly aloe plants.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">We talked about their healing qualities,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">then he carefully plucked an appendage of the plant,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">squeezed the thick liquid into his palm</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and rubbed it into his large hands.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">He placed the rest in his pocket.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">I continued to push him,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">out through the greenhouse doors</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">and into garden.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">week 28. Healing<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#336666;">The other day my brother and I visited a beautiful greenhouse/garden in the rehab center. There were all sorts of amazing plants there. I noticed small plaques scattered about explaining some unique attributes of certain plants. The signs were designed to give hope and motivation to those challenged with building their bodies and minds back to a place where they could learn to be stronger and more independent. This made me think about the Aloe plant. There are thousands of remedies derived from the Aloe, not just treatments for superficial skin ailments but all sorts of remedies to cure internal issues as well. These days, I watch my brother slowly building himself back physically I know that he is also learning to heal inside as well. He is learning how to live with the knowledge that cancer is a daily reminder of our own mortality. </span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16653788413344734029noreply@blogger.com1