“May you never be subservient.
May you never fall prey to fitting in.
May you always swirl in all the directions the sacred winds want to take you.
May you never hush your laughter nor your tears.
May you breathe without restriction.
May you show up every single day to the calling that is you and may you always know the courage of your heart.”~
~Fig Ally
art: Catrin Welz-Stein
“Don’t plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me – choke those little bad days. Choke ’em down to nothing.”
~ Tom Waits
I fell in love with this poem, feeling the totality of each word around 12 years ago .
I thought about this poem several days ago and could not recall the title. I had been printing , saving, collecting data and meaningful things to blog about over 20 years , now in storage , or some out of date . I am behind in my effort to complete this part of my mission and move on to the next one.
The Journey
THE JOURNEY
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old rug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.
~ Mary Oliver ~
Photo: Art Print by Tammy Wampler
Archaeology for the Woman’s Soul
Einstein is quoted as saying the religion of the future would combine science and religion and that would be Buddhism .
When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was:
– Do you believe in God?
And he always answered:
– I believe in the God of Spinoza.
Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.
(Spinoza) : God would say:
Stop praying.
What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve made for you.
Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That’s where I live and there I express my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don’t blame me for everything they made you believe.
Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can’t read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son’s eyes… ➤ you will find me in no book!
Stop asking me “will you tell me how to do my job?” Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.
Stop asking for forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I’m the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?
Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.
My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.
I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.
➤ I can’t tell you if there’s anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there’s nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won’t ask if you behaved right or wrong, I’ll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…
Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don’t want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?
I’m bored being praised. I’m tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That’s the way to praise me.
Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you’ve been taught about me.
What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?
The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.
– Spinoza
“None of us have the promise of tomorrow. God forbid this is my last day on this beautiful earth, it won’t be spent listening to some news person telling me how rotten we are, how rotten life is, heck no, I’m going out and seeing how beautiful life is.
As humans, our time on this planet is very limited…
Turn off, tune out, and turn on your life. Peace.”
~Frank Zappa
May the sun bring me new energy by day. May the moon softly restore me by night.
May the rain wash away my worries. May the wind blow new strength into my being.
May I walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of my life.
🧡🤎🧡Words from an Indigenous Native blessing | Art by the late Floyd Cooper
“For sixteen years, her husband beat her.
But on this night, Tina Turner washed the blood from her face, wrapped a cape around her bloodied clothes, covered her eyes with a pair of sunglasses, and placed a wrap on her head, because the swelling was so bad, she couldn’t wear her wig.
She ran out of the hotel, hid among the trash cans, and then ran to the Ramada Inn, where she begged for a room.
All she had was thirty-six cents and a Mobil credit card.
But after sixteen years of cruelty, she finally walked out on Ike Turner.
To be clear, it wasn’t easy. She was so worried about her safety, she stayed with friends, paying her way by keeping house. It got so bad that Tina Turner—the Tina Turner—had to use food stamps.
And yes, it’s incredible that Tina Turner built her career back from nothing.
But what’s even more incredible is the battle cry she repeated inside her head—the battle cry that gave her strength: “I will die before I go back.”
Never forget it: No matter how deep the hole is, you can always find a way out.
In their divorce, Tina Turner gave Ike nearly everything. All their money. And the publishing royalties for her compositions. “You take everything I’ve made in the last sixteen years,” she said. “I’ll take my future.”
From HEROES FOR MY DAUGHTER, by novelist Brian Meltzer, 2012
WHEN A HOLY MAN WALKS INTO YOUR LIFE.
You will be confused, at first it will seem selfless or not very intense. You would think there’s something off about him, or that you’re not the center of his attention.
When a sane man comes to you, he’s not going to put you in a state of delirium and demand, he won’t demand attention and he won’t harass and control you.
When you attract a healthy man, they will have some things in common, but he’s not going to make the effort to love you and be nice all the time, he’s going to show for himself.
When a healthy man comes to you, he shares his peace and calm with you, he includes you in his life without training you and he respects your time.
He will show you who he is instantly, the masks won’t come off after a few months that will confuse you.
He will not waste space, he will listen to your silences and know your cycles.
When you attract a healthy man, only then will you know you’ve broken the repetitive pattern of attracting toxicity and violence, and you’ll know you’ve healed what was broken inside you.
Wish you all the things you deserve.
Patience visited me
And it reminded me
That good things take time to come to fruition
And grow slowly with stability
Peace visited me
And it reminded me
That I may remain calm through the storms of life
Regardless of the chaos surrounding me
Hope visited me
And it reminded me
That better times lay ahead
And it would always be there to guide and uplift me
Humility visited me
And it reminded me
That I may achieve it
Not by trying to shrink myself and make myself less
But by focusing on serving the world and uplifting those around me
Kindness visited me
And it reminded me
To be more gentle, forgiving and compassionate toward myself
And those surrounding me
Confidence visited me
And it reminded me
To not conceal or suppress my gifts and talents
In order to make others feel more comfortable
But to embrace what makes me me
Focus visited me
And it reminded me
That other people’s insecurities and judgements about me
Are not my problem
And I should redirect my attention
From others back to me
Freedom visited me
And it reminded me
That no one has control over my mindset, thoughts and wellbeing
But me
And love visited me
And it reminded me
That I need not search for it in others
As it lies within me.
Tahlia Hunter
GreatCosmicMothersUnite 