words and pictures....
May 22, 2015
We all have our sacred places… This is one of my most sacred…
“A place becomes the sacred ground
of my being only when I have tended
and enjoyed it long enough for each
spot and inhabitant to have a rich
history of associations and stories.”
– Sam Keen: Hymns To An Unknown God
Photo: Sandy Point — A Boat on the Beach at the Mouth of the Parker River ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey
May 21, 2015
Relationship lessons are often the hardest ones to get. Try as I may, sometimes it is so difficult to not take things personally. But our reaction to someone else’s actions is often what causes us the most pain. Over time I have tried to move past an issue I have with reaching to people I care about who are going through a tough time and having them not respond. What is most difficult to justify in my mind is knowing that it matters to me when loved ones reach out to me when I am going through a tough time. I treat people as I want to be treated. Alas, we are not all the same. So, I try to remember this lesson…
“Look to see what you are being,
doing and having in any given
moment, not what’s going on with
another. It is not in the action
of another, but in your re-action,
that your salvation will be found.”
– Neale Donald Walsch
May 20, 2015
I often imagine there are faeries as I walk through the woods and fields or along the rivers and streams. The fae folk show themselves to those who believe…
“Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.”
― W.B. Yeats, The Land of Heart’s Desire
May 19, 2015
I’ve been rehabbing a bad back, resting my body, mind and soul and looking daily for the answers to a myriad of questions. This morning I read this quote from Pema Chodron, it really resonates for me…
“This is what we are here to see for ourselves. Both the brilliance and the suffering are here all the time; they interpenetrate each other. For a fully enlightened being, the difference between what is neurosis and what is wisdom is very hard to perceive, because somehow the energy underlying both of them is the same. The basic creative energy of life … bubbles up and courses through all of existence. It can be experienced as open, free, unburdened, full of possibility, energizing. Or this very same energy can be experienced as petty, narrow, stuck, caught… The basic point of it all is just to learn to be extremely honest and also wholehearted about what exists in your mind — thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, the whole thing that adds up to what we call “me” or “I.” Nobody else can really begin to sort out for you what to accept and what to reject in terms of what wakes you up and what makes you fall asleep. No one else can really sort out for you what to accept — what opens up your world — and what to reject — what seems to keep you going round and round in some kind of repetitive misery.” – Pema Chodron
Photo: Storm Brewing over Stage Pool ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey
May 18, 2015
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell
A long time ago I learned that life never quite goes according to plan. If it did, I know my life would such a different life than it is now. Plans change. Expectations fall to the wayside. The seeds from fallen dreams grow into trees with many branches reaching up to the sun longing to find fruition in leaf.
I planned to be a painter when I was young. I planned to be a dancer too. Those plans turned to fallen seeds that planted my talents in my heart and mind and I created new plans in the spring light.
Life is a long series of plans and dreams. Some bud and leaf, blossom and grow. Some fizzle out in the hot sun for many reasons we cannot control. The greatest lesson I have learned about plans that don’t come to fruition is that greater things oft turn out in their wake.
Photo: The Mother Tree at Maudslay State Park ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey
May 12, 2015
Our path is always changing, as is the scenery. One day we find ourselves heading in a completely different direction then we had planned. What happened, we ask ourselves, how did my life change so suddenly without my approval of the plan? Lessons appear in our lives when we least expect them. These life lessons are our opportunities to rise above the adversities in our lives and become more than we were when the lessons presented themselves. How we handle those lessons determines whether we learn from the lessons or stay stuck, wallowing in despair.
Life can be harsh and life can be filled with wonder and joy. It is up to each of us to make the best of what we are presented with each and every day. Each day, I re-mind myself to find even the smallest sliver gratitude, joy and happiness. Even in the midst of the most profound grief and sorrow, we can all find something to be grateful for each day. Gratitude matters. When we strive to live in the moment we begin to transcend the difficulties placed in the midst of our path.
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