Tuesday, October 25, 2016

It's in the Present Moments...


Today while my soul aches with grief, I sit outside among the trees, the warmth of the sun, the birds and mother nature. She gently reminds me to stay in the present moment and gather the smallest of moments that can drift by without notice and allow them to soften the sharp edges.

"My smallest of moments"...

A postcard of shared sorrow and hope
A friends shared tears and laughter
A small package of thoughtfulness
A meal offered and shared
A welcoming place to be
Animals with unconditional love
Quiet time with healing space
A car taken care of and safe to travel
Projects to work on, made with loving hands and heart 
Surrounded with art that speaks and soothes
and...human kindness that connects us all.






Friday, October 21, 2016

Fish out of water...


"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
Maya Angelou

As my search for my forever home continues, I've realized I'm feeling like a "fish out of water." I'm such a homebody and a home is a place of refuge and a place to recharge from the world for me. But I am forever grateful for the refuge I do have among people who have provided a safe and loving place to be while I turn the page of this new chapter in my and my children's lives. Today in this present moment I will breathe deeply and remember this quote...

"Home is where the heart is."

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Collaging...

I have collaged on and off for years and there has never been a time when I haven't loved it, but I never knew why, not that there really was a reason to know, other then it makes me happy. But recently, as I'm in the space of working on it more, it finally came to me. Being a visually learner, collaging has been my visual affirmations and it is my place that has no right and wrong. It is my space to just be!

Friday, October 7, 2016

Words and Self Forgiveness...


"She could never go back and make some of the details pretty. All she could do was move forward and make the whole beautiful."
Terri St. Cloud

Talking with a friend the other day reminded me again how words can be destructive and hurtful or loving and kind.  Like a mirror held up to my soul I saw these destructive and hurtful words about people that haven't even been in my life for a very long time as something more. Those words were really directed at me and had nothing to really do with them. It shined a light on a place within me that is still in need of self-forgiveness. So today I will pick up this present moment and carry with me kinder more loving words for those around me and myself.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Give Sorrow Words... ~ Macbeth, William Shakespeare

Today - My grief swells like the wave that swells and collects all that lay beneath, then scatters it upon the sand, exposed and raw. Today - I find comfort in others words, words that express more then my soul is able to say.


~Sometimes the purpose of the day is to merely feel our sadness, knowing that as we do, we allow whole layers of grief, like old skin cells to drop off us. ~ Marianne Williamson

~"Ah, I smiled. I'm not really here to keep you from freaking out. I'm here to be with you while you freak out, or grieve, or laugh, or suffer, or sing. It is a ministry of presence. It is showing up with a loving heart." ~Kate Braestrup, Here If You Need Me: A True Story 

~Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical, and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve. ~ Earl Grollman

~"Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot ever imagine you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope." ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

~Those who have suffered understand suffering and therefore extend their hand. ~ Patti Smith

Friday, September 23, 2016

The Wishies...

As I was out quieting my mind this morning, I noticed the dandelion seeds, which I have always called "wishies" and are definitely on my favorite things list, floating across the sky and how they will land somewhere and something will grow. It got me to thinking about how when I put my loving thoughts out into the universe you never know what good or loving things will grow from them. And even when I extend those same thoughts for myself how much better I flourish and feel about each present moment I am in. So today I send the seeds of, PEACE, LOVE and JOY to grow and spread upon all those in need. Take what you like and spread the rest!

Friday, September 9, 2016

The Roller Coaster Ride...

Roller coasters are on my "least favorite things" list, but that is what my life is right now and I am trying to figure out how to "enjoy the ride" with the least resistance. I felt better yesterday, but today I let one little potential setback throw me on the downward spiral and I don't want to go there. If this is my life right now then I have to go with all the ups and downs with grace, patience and love for myself that I can muster. Its hard trusting the outcome, even when you have a plan, things shift, change and that doesn't always mean for the worse. I can expect more then I could have ever imagined for myself and my children and I may have to take a different route and head a different direction. And for those who know me well, know driving and going places unknown is on the top of my "least favorite list!" So this roller coaster ride is quit the challenge for me.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

What i need from You...

Today was a dark day of not being able to see the forest for the trees. Of hope lost and answers to questions that rang hollow in my soul. I need you to hold the space for me. To hold hope, encouragement, kindness and love to see me through when I am lost. I know this too shall pass, but when your sitting in the dark looking for light, and you see non - it gets scary. Your what I hold onto when I forge ahead blindly, that kind word, that small gesture, these are the moments of brightness I use until my strength returns but until then... this is what I need from you.

Thank You

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Reconstructing A Life...

My life goes on... driving, cleaning, cooking, shopping, making phone calls, talking with friends, watering plants, getting dressed... but in the shadow, lingers grief and an unsettled unknowing of how to "reconstruct a new life." The people that surround me have not changed, mother nature provides her constant  beauty that is unwavering, and my children remain ever present and close. These are the things I hold onto as I stumble along, looking for refuge, while newness comes each day asking for my assistance.
I'm reminded that reconstruction comes with time... one step at a time. What was. is gone, you sift through the rubble and hold on to the good, while letting go of all that no longer serves you. You listen closer, now that the noise of the past is silent...and you begin!


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Like an old friend...

I've had this blog for about 7 years, and it feels like an old friend. I've used it to muse my thoughts, to cheer myself on, and to share as a cooperative blog. My life is "floating" between seasons right now ( this is the reference where " floating between seasons comes from -  http://robbell.podbean.com/e/episode-115-seasons/   and I felt the calling to write again. So welcome old friend, I am ready to catch up and share.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Friday Photo...

I nursed it back to health from a small infant... now look at it!!!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Friday Photo

Kitties loving the windows open... me too!

Friday, April 29, 2016

Friday Photo

Taking time to stop and smell the roses!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Friday Photo...

I finally made my granola... And used it to make a sweet treat for someone who had had a hard week!

Friday, April 8, 2016

Friday Photo...

New life - a nest in the middle of a wreath that was hanging on someone's front door!

Friday, March 25, 2016

Friday Photo

A beautiful morning sunrise.

http://gentlegull.blogspot.com/2016/03/friday-photo-spring-on-foggy-morning.html?m=1

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Friday Photo...

Leaves... "in" my car. Anyone that knows me, knows my love for leaves. I even have to have them in my car.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Friday Photo...

I love moss!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Photo Friday...

A sweet note from my daughter!

Friday, January 15, 2016

Photo Friday...

A handmade chime I made for myself... I love it!

This is a cooperative blog I participate in with a friend. If you would like to see her Friday photo - here is her blog
http://gentlegull.blogspot.com/2016/01/photo-friday.html?m=1

Friday, January 8, 2016

A Rainy Day Beauty...

This is a cooperative blog - here is Pam's blog, check out her Friday photo! http://gentlegull.blogspot.com/2016/01/photo-friday-bird-watching.html?m=1