Tag: inspiration

Crossroads: Second half of Life

“The second half of my life will be black to the white rind of the old and fading moon. The second half of my life will be water over the cracked floor of these desert years. I will land on my feet this time, knowing at least two languages and who my friends are. I will dress for the occasion, and my hair shall be whatever color I please.Everyone will go on celebrating the old birthday, counting the years as usual, but I will count myself new from this inception, this imprint of my own desire.
The second half of my life will be swift, past leaning fenceposts, a gravel shoulder, asphalt tickets, the beckon of open road. The second half of my life will be wide-eyed, fingers shifting through fine sands, arms loose at my sides, wandering feet. There will be new dreams every night, and the drapes will never be closed. I will toss my string of keys into a deep well and old letters into the grate.
The second half of my life will be icebreaking up on the river, rainsoaking the fields, a handheld out, a fire,and smoke goingupward, always up.”Joyce Sutphen – Crossroads.
Sandra Bierman

New Year Prayer

Blessings for a New Year
May you be blessed with sudden insights and inspiration May you be graced with quiet moments of simplicity and reflectionMay you be supported by your loved ones when you need them May you be a source of strength to those around youMay you received embraces from parents, children, and long lost friends. May you cry at a good movie with a person you love May you read a newspaper and react to injustice- both in mind and deed May you pick up a hobby that you have always wanted to do May you say goodbye to habits and thoughts that have become a burden for you May you forgive those who have hurt you, and May you have the courage to make amends when needed May you take a long awaited trip, maybe to Israel May you travel to new places inside yourself May you win the lottery! And then…May you build the world you have always wanted for yourself and others May you have late mornings with a good cup of coffee, and enjoy the fresh air, and May you feel healthy- physically, emotionally, and spiritually May you hear the joy and the sorrow of this great universe in which we live…And may you –and us all- be blessed with peace.
Shanah Tova U’Metukah- A Happy and Sweet New Year
-Rabbi Frederick L Klein
“ A Loving Heart Is …
The Truest Wisdom .”
~ Charles Dickens

Run the Dishwasher twice

A friend shared this and I really liked the lesson~ sharing is caring. 
RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE. 
When I was at one of my lowest (mental) points in life, I couldn’t get out of bed some days. I had no energy or motivation and was barely getting by.I had therapy once per week, and on this particular week I didn’t have much to ‘bring’ to the session. He asked how my week was and I really had nothing to say.“What are you struggling with?” he asked.I gestured around me and said “I dunno man. Life.”Not satisfied with my answer, he said “No, what exactly are you worried about right now? What feels overwhelming? When you go home after this session, what issue will be staring at you?”I knew the answer, but it was so ridiculous that I didn’t want to say it.I wanted to have something more substantial.Something more profound.But I didn’t.So I told him, “Honestly? The dishes. It’s stupid, I know, but the more I look at them the more I CAN’T do them because I’ll have to scrub them before I put them in the dishwasher, because the dishwasher sucks, and I just can’t stand and scrub the dishes.”I felt like an idiot even saying it.What kind of grown ass woman is undone by a stack of dishes? There are people out there with *actual* problems, and I’m whining to my therapist about dishes?But my therapist nodded in understanding and then said:
“RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE.”
I began to tell him that you’re not supposed to, but he stopped me.“Why the hell aren’t you supposed to? If you don’t want to scrub the dishes and your dishwasher sucks, run it twice. Run it three times, who cares?! Rules do not exist, so stop giving yourself rules.”It blew my mind in a way that I don’t think I can properly express.That day, I went home and tossed my smelly dishes haphazardly into the dishwasher and ran it three times.I felt like I had conquered a dragon.The next day, I took a shower lying down.A few days later. I folded my laundry and put them wherever the fuck they fit.There were no longer arbitrary rules I had to follow, and it gave me the freedom to make accomplishments again.Now that I’m in a healthier place, I rinse off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher properly. I shower standing up. I sort my laundry.
But at a time when living was a struggle instead of a blessing, I learned an incredibly important lesson:
THERE ARE NO RULES.RUN THE DISHWASHER TWICE!!!By Minerva M Cruz

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Join Mitchell’s brilliance

“I don’t know if I’ve learned anything yet! I did learn how to have a happy home, but I consider myself fortunate in that regard because I could’ve rolled right by it. Everybody has a superficial side and a deep side, but this culture doesn’t place much value on depth — we don’t have shamans or soothsayers, and depth isn’t encouraged or understood. Surrounded by this shallow, glossy society we develop a shallow side, too, and we become attracted to fluff. That’s reflected in the fact that this culture sets up an addiction to romance based on insecurity — the uncertainty of whether or not you’re truly united with the object of your obsession is the rush people get hooked on. I’ve seen this pattern so much in myself and my friends and some people never get off that line.But along with developing my superficial side, I always nurtured a deeper longing, so even when I was falling into the trap of that other kind of love, I was hip to what I was doing. I recently read an article in Esquire magazine called ‘The End of Sex,’ that said something that struck me as very true. It said: “If you want endless repetition, see a lot of different people. If you want infinite variety, stay with one.” What happens when you date is you run all your best moves and tell all your best stories — and in a way, that routine is a method for falling in love with yourself over and over.You can’t do that with a longtime mate because he knows all that old material. With a long relationship, things die then are rekindled, and that shared process of rebirth deepens the love. It’s hard work, though, and a lot of people run at the first sign of trouble. You’re with this person, and suddenly you look like an asshole to them or they look like an asshole to you — it’s unpleasant, but if you can get through it you get closer and you learn a way of loving that’s different from the neurotic love enshrined in movies. It’s warmer and has more padding to it.”Joni Mitchell
Saint Laurent/photoShe knows this truth intimately. Joni has always been and will forever be an extraordinarily  remarkable human being. I’ve said many times before she helps me feel very proud to be a member of this human family. 
How about huuuu?
Her music and paintings do all the talking. Thanks for sending this.
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