saw & see

in a moment with t. tonight, while eating gelato and conversing, i caught sight of the church steeple from where i sat. i noticed how it resided in the patches of blue in a cloudy sky. content. sure of itself. a flash of beauty and a moment of appreciation.

while walking home less than an hour later i was nearly blinded by the sun's light bouncing off the window panes of a building. taking a closer look at this building i noticed that it's one side was covered - almost entirely - with ivy. green, luscious, alive. i wonder - did the ivy send the (nearly) blinding light to get my attention (a lightening bolt of sorts) so that i could see it and receive some of it's green-ness, luscious-ness, alive-ness?

blocks later, nearly home, i look up and bow to the triangular shimmering opening of blue in the clouds?

this is what i saw.

and, this is what i see:

* freSH air * spaCIOUSness * being wrapped up in LOVing arms * hEALing & strengthening my body * mindFULLness * prESence * prACTice * crEATing * hOMe * simplicITY *

no excuses

sacred life june summer sunday

for this i offer this:

"Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth. / Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself. / Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here... / Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you."

~ Nancy Wood, from Many Winters

and this:

"Tangerines are hanging heavy, glowing marigolden hues / Teasing a half pale moon / And I feel a pull to the blue-velvet dark and stars...

Together we glide through the blue-velvet dark and stars...

All it takes is a little faith, and a lot of heart / Sweetheart."

~ "Stars" by The Weepies

wishing you a day of holding - especially holding on to what you must do, glowing, gliding, faith & heart.

the goods: list 14

• two of my current anthems: Right Outta Nowhere by Christine Kane & Hold It Up To The Light by David Wilcox. "Right outta nowhere / You open your heart / And believe in everything / You're going somewhere / And all you need to know / Is that you're free..." (Christine Kane). "It's the choice of a lifetime - I'm almost sure...This far it feels so right / I will hold it up - hold it up to the light" (David Wilcox).
• "Staying with our bliss, our calling, over the long haul has in fact brought me and Vivian our happiness. And that means staying with it in times of unhappiness. Riding out the storms, the times of bewilderment, and hanging on and staying with it...It will happen...We need to allow things the time to come into their own. To their moment of flowering, of opportunity, and to be there and intersect that opportunity, to be taken and lifted by that opportunity onto the next one, which will then include the next dark time. Probably. No doubt. There will be more bewilderment. / It requires a surrender to the call. And the call is both graceful and demanding. It requires wholeheartedness. That is the key. It is the opposite of energy leakage, of things drifting off or being bleached away or being stolen from you. Energy leakage is the opposite of wholeheartedness. It is whatever drags me down and sideways and steals my energy. It steals my devotion. Devotion is wholeheartedness." - Fritz Hull (interviewed by Rod MacIver, Heron Dance, Issue #35, Summer 2002)
• 
  
• hours with my bro yesterday evening & night. he worked on repairing my pc laptop for hours & hours, even after i tucked myself into bed.
• this evening's collage making. creating a whole of pieces. the words, "It's all about connection to what really matters." and, these words: "source" & "love" & "home" & "magic" & "shine on" & "thank you." these images: a butterfly, a heart, a girl cartwheeling in a field, a sparkly fish, the beach, a ladybug & a leaping frog.
• today's sunlight.
• listening to a mix made for me by lovely t. sweet*ness.
• thinking about what i value after reading this by Magpie Girl. on my values list: connection, partnership, creation, wellness, healing, presence, beauty, simplicity, service, awe & magic.
  

Friday Fill-Ins: this late june 2009 friday

graphic by Tonya.

1. She had a great trust in life, people, the world.

2. bella is by my side, always.

3. I know this: this (feeling disoriented & totally out of my element, following my heart, taking a step & another & another...) will all be so very worth it.

4. i need to be still.

5. These words apply to me: devoted, hopeful, adventurous, grateful, generous & creative.

6. in my dream the sun was shining.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with my bro & flipping through pages of magazines at the bookstore, tomorrow my plans include sleeping in (not setting an alarm), preparing my space for my move in 5 weeks, writing & creating and Sunday, I want to attend a worship service with m. & see how the day unfolds!

t.g.i. friday

trusting: myself with my life. all will be well.

grateful for: tonight's visit with an old college friend; tomorrow's summer solstice ceremony; weekend time with the fam, celebrating dad & sharing delicious meals; and, next week's monday to wednesday whirlwind journey north to create my next steps in my "one wild and precious life"...

inspiring: a little heart shaped stone sitting on the altar beside my computer. love. is. everywhere.

read more about trust gratitude inspiration friday here. tell me: what are you trusting, grateful for & inspired by this friday?

Sacred Life Sunday: flag day '09

happy !

i send you "Orange Sky" by the brilliant Alexi Murdoch:



may your day be filled with nourishing delicious*ness, connecting/reconnecting time with peeps you love & like, belly laughter & soulFULL music...

xo,
gem

ps happy flag day, bella! i know how you loved celebrating holidays like this one. i think we'll all always think of you on flag day. i love you, babe. so much.

the goods: list 13

• wednesday night's teleseminar with Christine Kane. topic: "5 Major Mindset Shifts for Taking [My] Life to the Next Level this Summer." some notes/reminders: intend my week; know my vision; "in my perfect & effortless life - who am i being?"; "if it's not a 'hell yes' it's a 'hell no'"; "energy flows where attention goes"; eliminate "attention splatter"; and, "experience completion."
• a friday afternoon nap.
• saying, "thank you, thank you, thank you" - face to face, heart to heart - to the abundance of generous beings here, in this city, who have made the biggest, life-saving difference to me all of these years...
• watching season 1 of Bones on hulu & dvd. i heart the characters.
• receiving a text from a wyoming love: "Thinking of you, my friend. Hope you're well. Love you."
• receiving an e-mail from a sister: "all will unfold in absolute Divine perfect order." this is one of my mantras these days.
  
• creating a cleansing, joyful & magical summer solstice ritual for saturday, june 20th.
• Vivacious Photography
• sitting across the table from a friend, sipping iced teas, witnessing & acknowledging how incredibly awesome he is. passionate, talented, committed, healing, brave, awake, alive - himself. he is truly a rock star. it's been a gift to be a big sister to him these years & offer him the cherished treasure of being seen & understood.
• listening to Sinead Lohan.
• Away We Go - funny, touching & sweet.

Friday Fill-Ins: this rainy & gray (still!) june friday

i heart !

1. I grew up thinking the smell of my momma's spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove was one of the best smells ever to come home to.

2. the site for the movie, Away We Go, was the last website I was at before coming here.

3. Why don't you pause for a moment & feel your feet touching the earth?

4. giggling helps me relax.

5. Thanks for the support, ideas, connections, conversations, nods, glee, yes-es, yippee-s & the tearFULL understanding when i tell you about the great & hopeFULL leap i am taking.

6. excessive noise is very off-putting.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet night, a bit of cleaning, perhaps a visit to a friend's block party & early to bed, tomorrow my plans include seeing Away We Go & perhaps having indian food for lunch or dinner at one of my favorite spots, and Sunday, I want to attend my book club, sip tea with a friend from seattle, dine with a beloved circle of people & listen to her live!

the goods: list 12

• DARE
• Sacred Artist Interviews
• Karen Walrond's guest post on listening, trusting & following our inner voices at Superhero Journal.
• a new CD by Christine Kane is coming out!
• how 'bout a penpal? check out Artful Penpals.
  
• finger puppets!
• "Throw your dreams into space like a kite, you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love..." ~Anais Nin
• this evening on my walk home from work i caught sight of the most brilliant tattoo - these words drawn on a woman's back: "love travels."
• magic by jen gray: whirlwish & path.
• after weeks of waiting, today i picked up this book at the library:

i carry your heart with me

by e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)