Gratitude...Your Word for this Day.

Pre-decaf and very early morning...my horse friends always greet me here.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”  ― Melody Beattie 

Gratitude always finds me here...in this field of sweet grass, and morning dew...

And, in the soft soulful eyes of my most dearest horse friends, who'll nuzzle their heads, a little closer still...and simply to say, 'hello.'

Gratitude always finds me here...with pant legs soaked, from the trail's trek in...and a heart that is spilling over with dreams...

And, always, it seems on those days when the weight of this world has done its very best to bring me down...

But, not ever for very long...because, you see, my dears...the morning always comes again...

And, rest assured, gratitude will always find you there...

Namaste, my *most* beautiful friends...today, I am grateful because of you.

Gratitude: Louie Schwartzberg

You Are...

 “If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible.” ~ Paulo Coelho

 My most beautiful friends...

I must apologize, as I have had a rather rough couple of days ~ the result of taking on far too much, too soon and without those much needed moments to to breathe.


I was exhausted in every aspect of my life and my being.

My spirit cried for a full two days ~ as I stayed, tucked safely away from this new battlefield that life created for me.

In these moments, it's so very easy to believe that our dreams have all but slipped away...

But, my dears, our dreams are only ever as far as our hearts will allow them to be.

And all that we must ever really do...is simply just believe.

I had almost allowed my pain to take me away from that one thing that matter most of all...

So, my dears..my most beautiful friends...on this day, I choose to dream once again...

And, next time...when the rain comes...I shall see renewal.


Namaste, my most beautiful friends...always remember, "you are the atmosphere of beauty through which I see life."

Poem, Who Are Your Really?

“you are not a name
or a height, or a weight
or a gender
you are not an age
and you are not where you are from

you are your favorite books
and the songs stuck in your head
you are your thoughts
and what you eat for breakfast
on Saturday mornings

you are a thousand things
but everyone chooses
to see the million things
you are not

you are not
where you are from
you are
where you are going
and i'd like
to go there
too”
― m.k

The Greatest Speech Ever Made ~ and With a Little Modern Twist.

"You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure." ~ Charlie Chaplin

I have always loved Charlie Chaplin – for his brilliant wit, and for his most gentle soul.

Oh, and that smile ~ with enough loveliness to light up this world.

In his most brilliant 1940 film, The Great Dictator, Chaplin takes aim at Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and the Nazi party...openly mocking them as, ""machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts".

Interestingly enough, for a man who built his career in the silent movie era - this was his first true 'talking film.'

And oh, just look at what he had to say.

Charlie Chaplin's epic speech, with just a splash of modern imagery. I was absolutely transfixed by this new rendition of this old classic.

Namaste, and much love this day...

 Song: Window by The Album Leaf

What Inspires You?

The day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.” ~ C. JoyBell C.

I read the most beautiful thought online this morning, and one that has left me ponder-wandering through my first cup of decaf.

The question was quite simple, "What is the most inspiring sentence you've ever read?"

And just like that, my mind was on fire...thinking through the many years of beautiful words that have been strung together in such a way as to form the most inspirational thought I had ever heard.

I thought of my challenges over this past year, and my health, most specifically...which brought to mind, that "the darkest nights produce the brightest stars..."

I contemplated Camus' "in the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love."

I thought of those immortal words of Steve Jobs who believed with all of his being that the misfits, rebels and troublemakers of this world...are the ones who'll inevitably change this world.

I think of my dearest friend who sat with me each day just to say these words, "you are beautiful"...because, one day...I 'woke up' and finally believed him.

I think of my most beautiful children, and the many times they've said to me, "Mommy...I love you..."

But, I suppose the most inspirational sentence I have ever heard in my life consists of one simple word, "believe"...because, in that one word...all things are possible.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends...and I'm curious to know what sentence most inspires you on this day? 

Make Good Art (Neil Gaiman)

Just this...

Five Simple Things to Remember.

In Buddhism, there is something called the Upajjhatthana Sutta—or, more simply, "Subjects for Contemplation" 

And, more specifically, known for the 'five remembrances' - these simple facts about life's fragility and our true inheritance. I have always felt that when one is always mindful of these truisms, that they may be more grounded in their day to day - and much more settled of heart. 

I believe also this to be an important step in letting go of our earthbound attachments. 

As follows, with translation:

1. "Jarādhammomhi jaraṃ anatīto".... I am sure to become old; I cannot avoid aging.

2. Vyādhidhammomhi vyādhiṃ anatīto.... I am sure to become ill; I cannot avoid illness.

3. Maraṇadhammomhi maraṇaṃ anatīto.... I am sure to die; I cannot avoid death.

4. Sabbehi me piyehi manāpehi nānābhāvo vinābhāvo.... I must be separated and parted from all that is dear and beloved to me.

5. Kammassakomhi kammadāyādo kammayoni kammabandhū kammapaṭisaraṇo yaṃ kammaṃ karissāmi kalyāṇaṃ vā pāpakaṃ vā tassa dāyādo bhavissāmī.... I am the owner of my actions, heir of my actions, actions are the womb (from which I have sprung), actions are my relations, actions are my protection. Whatever actions I do, good or bad, of these I shall become their heir. 

We grow old, we get sick, we die...and everything we love, is lost. Where is the joy in this?  

But, it's in facing this reality....our very own impermanence...that brings us to this state of mindfulness. Remember always that you, and everything you know and love - is so very fragile, at best. The reality is that all can be gone in an instant. 

But we never like to think of those things, now do we? 

In our minds, it's always someone else who'll get sick...who'll lose their job...or, who'll face a great life's loss. 

In our minds, it's always someone else sitting alone and waiting for the doctor's visit. 

These remembrances are not intended to cause doom and gloom ~ rather, more so, they are intended to help bring about a little more mindfulness in our day.

Life is beautiful ~ when you understand the real gifts within it.

I thought I might offer one of my most favorite quotes, from Pema Chodron:

“Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody's eyes because you feel you haven't got anything to lose--you're just there. The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. We'd be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldn't have enough energy to eat an apple. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.”

 Namaste, my most beautiful friends...

A Little Something on Gratitude.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

~ Melody Beattie

Gratitude...what a most simple concept, to be ever thankful for each of these moments in our day.

To let gratitude fill our hearts ~ to let this life, and living be 'enough.' 

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive...to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love-then make that day count!”  ~ Steve Maraboli

Indeed, that is the truest gift of this life and of living. 

A Poem to the Bullied and Beautiful.

“One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.” ~ Michael J. Fox

I was bullied growing up - humiliated each day by a group of young girls who knew nothing of life, and the sensitivities of our delicate human spirit.

I dreaded waking up, as I knew it meant another day of facing them once again - these horrible beasts who made such a game of torturing my soul.

And, much later on in life ~ I faced a bully of quite another sort, one who used "love" as his armor.

There are those who'll urge you to simply "stand up for yourself"~ but, how do you stand up for you, when you don't know who you really are?


That's when the bullies will try to take you down...a final strike when all of the 'fight' is gone.

But, they can never take that which isn't surrendered ~ those indomitable pieces of spirit, which from the ashes always rise.

With this recital of his celebrated poem, 'To This Day,' Shane Koyczan tells his most beautiful tale of 'taking his heart from its hiding place under the bed' and out into this world again.

This is his tale of rising above.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends ~ and here's to those pieces of spirit that never let go.

Koyczangives Koyszan tells his own story of rising up once again...facing the

A Little Something On Believing.

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” ~ Steve Maraboli

My dearest friend came to me just this other day, and sounding...to me, at least..just a little discouraged.

We all have those moments when we struggle under doubt's massive shadow. But still, if we believe...we must find a way to go on.

And it's never really easy, isn't it ~ this 'trying to do the impossible'? And it's so very hard, I know...existing in that space between that which we know must be done...and that which we believe can be done.

These are the moments that define our very spirit. And they are the moments which most test our fears of continuing on.

Doubt challenges every sense of our being. But we must be strong to carry on.

At times, we may feel these moments are designed to break us ~ but, it's in that breaking that we discover one of life's most absolute truths, that is...

"Heartache makes the heart grow stronger."

It's in these moments, that our own resilience is born.

For those who'll still believe...even when doubt tries to convince us otherwise.

Poem: Solar Eclipse, Diane Glancy

Each morning
I wake invisible.

I make a needle
from a porcupine quill,
sew feet to legs,
lift spine onto my thighs.

I put on my rib and collarbone.

I pin an ear to my head,
hear the waxwing's yellow cry.
I open my mouth for purple berries,
stick on periwinkle eyes.

I almost know what it is to be seen.

My throat enlarges from anger.
I make a hand to hold my pain.

My heart a hole the size of the sun's eclipse.
I push through the dark circle's
tattered edge of light.

All day I struggle with one hair after another
until the moon moves from the face of the sun
and there is a strange light
as though from a kerosene lamp in a cabin.

I pun on a dress,
a shawl over my shoulders.

My threads knotted and scissors gleaming.

Now I know I am seen.
I have a shadow.

I extend my arms,
dance and chant in the sun's new light.

I put a hat and coat on my shadow,
another larger dress.
I put on more shawls and blouses and underskirts
until even the shadow has substance.

Breathe.

Breathe and you know you are alive.
Breathe and you know that all is helping you.
Breathe and you know that you are the world.
Breathe and you know that the flower is breathing too.
Breathe for yourself and you breathe for the world.
Breathe in compassion and breathe out joy.

Breathe and be one with the air that you breathe.
Breathe and be one with the river that flows.
Breathe and be one with the earth that you tread.
Breathe and be one with the fire that glows.
Breathe and you break the thought of birth and death.
Breathe and you see that impermanence is life.

Breathe for your joy to be steady and calm.
Breathe for your sorrow to flow away.
Breathe to renew every cell in your blood.
Breathe to renew the depths of consciousness.
Breathe and you dwell in the here and now.
Breathe and all you touch is new and real."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

What Does Success Really Mean?

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.”

~ Bessie Anderson Stanley

I'm Just Watching the Wheels.

"People say I'm lazy dreaming my life away,
Well they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me,
When I tell that I'm doing Fine watching shadows on the wall,
Don't you miss the big time boy you're no longer on the ball?" ~ John Lennon

 

Oh, and isn't that a brilliant testimony to life these days?

I often think of this song during these moments of simply being. I think of John Lennon as he stepped outside the limits of the life he knew so well, and on into a life not yet discovered.

And, he did it simply to enjoy those moments. You know which ones I mean, right? Those moments when life pauses gently, and just long enough for us to breathe in.

It's those moments when our children screech with delight as they race through a cloud of bubbles.

It's those moments when we watch a hummingbird come to visit outside our window.

It's those moments when all of the notes of this life come together in a most beautiful symphony.

And, it's those moments that make this life worth living.

I think John got it right when he left it all behind, to embrace those moments he most wanted to know.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends...and for today, may we all have a chance to watch those 'wheels go round and round...' and may those wheels, fill us every corner of our spirit.

My Dear Friend Limitless.

I'm really proud of myself this beautiful morning, as I have accomplished something that I have never done...not once before.

I don't often get to use those words these days, to say "I am proud of myself" is a hard thing to do.

I suppose I've slipped into this habit ~ of allowing my limitations to define my role in this world. In everything I do, as I walk...as I live...as I breathe...I have been always 'mindful' of what I can and can not do.

When we experience the awfully very physically side of this life and of living ~ whether through illness, or simply by way of just growing older...we begin to see ourselves through a different 'view.'

Last night, and as I struggled to keep mind, body, and soul fully 'functional' - and just as those tears were starting to form...a most brilliant peace washed over me in the form of one simple word....

"limitless"

I thought back to my childhood racing through those woods, knees torn and fingers caked with the dirt of that day...and into the setting sun, and well past the mosquito's 'feasting hour' I ran... I ran and ran and ran...until my spirit breathed that final, "yes!"

Because, in those days, my dears... I was limitless.

And so, last night as I fumbled my way through these late evening doings ~ and just as my mind prepared that god-awful, "you mustn't push yourself, dear" speech...I heard that sweet, soulful word...

"limitless"

My dears, our limitlessness is our power....our source...and our whole reason for being....

As travelers...explorers and fearless life adventurers...we must never lose faith in our limitlessness...

And it can't be constrained by our notions of self...because, my dears, limitless just simple is. 

Namaste, and all of my love...my most beautiful friends...and please welcome, my old friend, "limitless."

Paying it Forward With a Simple Cup of Coffee.

“There is no wrong way to perform an act of kindness.”  ― Catherine Ryan Hyde, Pay It Forward 

Some things we take for granted ~ like that first cup of decaf that we hold thoughtfully in our hands as we make ready for another, brand new day.

We don't often think about those who'll go without. Coffee is coffee, after all...right?

But it's just these small comforts that bring warmth to our heart and spirit; that one little thing that no matter what, we will be alright.

And now, coffee shops all over the world are offering a 'suspended coffee' - in which, when you buy yourself a cup...you can also buy a cup for someone else. The purchase goes into an account, and can be claimed by anyone and at anytime they need a little love. And in doing so, not only does it allow coffee patrons to exercise a little early morning generosity...but, it also builds a much needed sense of community by 'creating a shared experience between those who can afford the luxury of a good cup of Joe and those who cannot." So, on your way home today ~ why not stop off at your favorite coffee shop, and ask them if they are participating in this program. And if they are, remember...a few extra dollars in your pocket can't help much at all, if you don't bring it out occasionally to share a little love.

Video: Suspended Coffee

Your Most Amazing Quote of the Day.

 

“In your light I learn how to love. 

In your beauty, how to make poems. 

You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, 

But sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.”
― Rumi

I love this poem. I love the image it projects, that of a love so beautiful that it resonates within our whole being...becoming the artwork of our life, and this universe.

When you think of love in this way, it surrounds you ~ manifesting in all these most wonderful things that fill our days...

Like the soft hues of my hydrangea blooms, or the sound of the rain falling gently against the steel frame of my window pane. Or, in the cool crispness of the breeze that gracefully lifts the hair from my face.

In this way, love is all around us.

But most of all, this love that you feel connects us all.

A Lesson in Empathy.

"I’m here. I love you. I don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me." ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

I love this short film which was developed by the doctors and caregivers at The Cleveland Clinic. It's intention is to guide us to look past the many faces we see in each day, and see...really see...the human.

"Our lives intersect with others all day, everyday. Sometimes we know these other lives well; frequently, though, the points of connection are brief and transient. Who are these people? How might they tell their own stories? What thoughts preoccupy their minds? What joys and troubles are coursing through their feelings? This short film, produced by the Cleveland Clinic, reminds us that empathy is our tool for beginning to know these things. It asks the question: If we could catch a glimpse of others' stories, would we treat them differently"

This film, in so many ways, resonated with me. It moved me, as I stopped to consider the many times I have felt lost in my own story ~ sitting in waiting rooms and watching those faces passing by...


We all have a story to share. And our stories are very much what define us.

My hope for this day is that we may all pause just long enough to consider life outside the confines of our own racing brains—so that we may, in some small way, embrace the stories of others.

I have learned well this past year, that in order to really heal—there needs to be an inseparable connection between body, mind and soul.

Namaste, and much love this day.

CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, shared this video, titled "Empathy," with the Cleveland Clinic staff during his 2012 State of the Clinic address on Feb. 27, 2013.

Sitting in Love's Judgement.

"Love is the absence of judgment.” ~ Dalai Lama XIV

 There was a time not so long ago, that I had sworn off love for the remainder of this life on earth. 

I had been hurt by love, in a way that felt was so forever, never-ending.

"I only love you 60 percent today," he would snarl with a twisted smile on his face.

Those are the words that are often never ending - inflicting the deepest wounds on that unprotected part of our spirit.

And we are never once again, the same.

But still, our spirit remains...and it aches for that which is most needs.

Love wasn't easy for me, in those days...I had to 'work for it.' And each day, I walked away in the shadow of 'never feeling quite good enough' and cowering in the corner of 'my being alone.'

And then, one day I realized....true love never judges...because, true love is what sets our spirits free.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends ~ and here's to love's freedom this day.

Your Most Amazing Quote of the Day. {Rumi}

“You were born with potential.

You were born with goodness and trust.

You were born with ideals and dreams.

You were born with greatness.

You were born with wings.

You are not meant for crawling, so don't.

You have wings.

Learn to use them and fly.”

― Rumi

We see potential in most things. 

In the way the trees bend to reach the path beneath us, and to know that they won't break on this day.  

In the way the flowers make their way through the soft earth, and to know that their cycle is never ending.

In the laughter of children...we hear innocence. 

In the smile of a friend...we feel love.

In the smallest act of loving-kindness...we allow our faith to be restored. 

And yet, each morning when we look into life's 'mirror' ~ how often do we see the truest potential of our very own self?

There is a potential in all and everything which surrounds us each day ~ but, the greatest potential is always right there within you.

You have wings, my dears....today is the day you learn to use them and in order to fly. 

Much love, and namaste...

Nuzzling Deeper Into the Soft Scented Earth.

“She thought herself awake when she was already asleep. She saw the stars above her face, whirling on their silent and sleepless axis, and the leaves of the trees rustling against them, and she heard small changes in the grass. These little noises of footsteps and soft-fringed wing-beats and stealthy bellies drawn over the grass blades or rattling against the bracken at first frightened or interested her, so that she moved to see what they were (but never saw), then soothed her, so that she no longer cared to see what they were but trusted them to be themselves, and finally left her altogether as she swam down deeper and deeper, nuzzling into the scented turf, into the warm ground, into the unending waters under the earth.”  ― T.H. White

I took the liberty of making a small change to this beautiful quote, and in order to bring it up closer to this present day.

Where I sit and ponder-wander myself in these fields, feeling those grass blades rattlings against my shoulder blades. 

We gals so very much love to notice those much smaller things—like nuzzling deeper into the soft scented earth.

Namaste, and much love this day ~

My Little 'Flower' Girl.

There was a knock, again, at my door today.

And as I looked out, I could see her standing there...sniffling, and all kinds of 'little girl' shaken.

"What's wrong, my little one?" as I knelt closer to hear.

And as she sniffled her way through each gaspy breath, she replied, "That boy...called...me ugly."

Oh, that last word just made me cringe ~ as 'ugly', is one of my least favorite words of all.

You know, I have always explained to the little girls in my neighborhood ~ that flowers bring out a girl's 'inside, most innermost' beauty.

So, I took this little one by the hand and led her out to the best part of my garden.

"Do you remember what I once told you," I leaned in and asked, grabbing the most beautiful bloom from my Hydrangea bush.

"Flowers make you beautiful," she knodded and softly answered.

"Yes, that's right...flowers make you beautiful—and, all the way from your insides and down to your toes. There's not even a hint of ugly anywhere inside of you."

And, oh how she smiled—looking into these blooms. I could tell just from the glint in her eyes—that her faith had been restored.

She raced off with bouquet in hands, finding her way back to that little boy—where she pulled her shoulders back proudly, and smiled...

"Flowers...make...you...BEAUTIFUL..." she screeched, thrashing him about the head with her bouquet of hand picked blooms.

Yep, I don't suspect ugly will be coming around here again, soon.

Namaste, my most beautiful friends...and remember, 'flowers...make...you...BEAUTIFUL!"