Pamela Leavey

words and pictures....

Browsing:

Category: From My Journal

Food For Thought: The Life We Planned

“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

mothertree

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

Related Images:


Food For Thought: On Life Lessons

sandypoint2

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.

Related Images:


The Silent Sound of Snow Falling

snowchurch

The silent sound of snow falling

Reverential as it is,

Touching all like a blessing

That is new, fresh and pure.

For old snow never falls so delicately,

Once it has landed in its place

Snow changes form,

Like a shape-shifter, morphing

With the winter wind.

Related Images:


Poem: In The Stillness

Solo Swan on the River ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2013
Solo Swan on the River ~ c. Pamela J. Leavey 2013

In the stillness
I hear the beating
of the mother’s heart,
in the stillness
I know the pain
of her longing.
I watch, I wait
for her children
to appear,
I know her longing
for it is my own.
I cry out to the Mother
where, oh where could I go,
for I have wandered lonely
in the light of the sun.
She tells me in whisper
Daughter I do not know,
your path is written in the stars
though on the river you do flow.
Sit peacefully in the still
the answers you will know.

© Pamela J. Leavey 2013

Related Images:


Life Is A Journey

Life is a journey. We never know where it will lead us, the destination is always unknown.

We can choose to see this journey as an adventure and rise and flow with the good and the bad, or we can stay stuck driving around the roundabout, spinning our wheels in instead of going with the flow of the journey.

When we grasp the life is an adventure mindset, we open our wings and begin to fly. It is in fact in this mindset that we soar to our greatest possibilities in life.

c. Pamela J. Leavey 2012

 

Related Images:


Narrative Essay: The Day I Met John Kerry

The Day I Met John Kerry

On a cloudy and rainy day, I find myself reflecting on my life, searching for an experience that changed who I am in the world. I have had more than a few life-altering experiences in my 56, almost 57 years that have influenced my life in many profound ways. As a woman of many stories to tell, that all seem to intertwine in the narrative of my life, the one that stands in clear alignment when I map them all out, is the day I met John Kerry for the first time, ten years ago this month, September 2003.  For that day ultimately empowered me and changed my life in many ways. (more…)

Related Images: