Tag: legacy

The Journey by Mary Oliver

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been printing , saving, collecting data and meaningful things to blog about over 20 years , now in storage , or some out of date .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

The split has begun

My life is calm , if not peaceful, as the unraveling , revelations cast light , that is not seen nor acknowledged by one’s held dear in my heart .

Wobbly is definitely how it feels , and I definitely want and need more on my own time, as I pray and hold patience.

All is not as it should be and that’s coming , soon.

As I hold space , for others, in their own journey , their own destination , while I am in reality holding plan B , and a ” fuck it bucket” for those things I release, those things and people that have no interest in rising to their higher self, the self of higher power , of knowing yourself and your gifts .

For over 20 years , I have exampled the monster in the closet , disposal, hatred and vengeance , the lack of love and respect and a preference to lie , cheat and steal , in order to own power that’s distorted realities .

My miss is my mercy , and so happily , I seek my home , a fall of preparing , a winter of rest and writing , and peace in my heart .

I never wanted certain things to be hopeless, and I prefer to have faith that what’s meant for me will be : Thy Will Be Done .

youtube.com/watch

Cured: A Memoir—Sarah Fay on Giving Everyone the Chance to Heal – Mad In America

Author Sarah Fay joins us to discuss why “cured” is such a seldom-used word in psychiatry.
— Read on www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/cured-memoir-sarah-fay-giving-everyone-chance-to-heal/

Your Gift

YOUR GIFT

Each of us is born with something special,

a gift that’s only given just to us,

a talent or a quirk or a way of seeing life,

a knack of finding light amidst the dust.

It’s your special little gift that’s going to take you,

to the places you’ve dreamed of in your head,

it will open doors and bring in souls who marvel at your skills, it will harvest joy and chase away the dread.

But there’s something that you must be quite aware of, when it comes to knowing just what is your gift,

people search for theirs in vain their whole life through, a thankless chase like that can cause a rift.

Your gift you see, is not always a grand one,

it’s not the being fast, or saving lives,

it’s not always the singing voice, the dancing feet or more, it can sometimes be a simple quirk of life.

Your gift can be a constant splash of colour,

a way of showing light through cloudy days,

your gift could be the way you make others feel at peace, or bring some calm to someone’s messy day.

Your gift could be the ears that always listen,

when someone is in need of being seen,

your gift could be the way you view the world as something small,and believe that we are all just one big team.

Your gift could be the passions that you share,

with others who are not that way inclined,

spreading art and spreading music all across your world, is something that can change a lot of minds.

So take a minute now to look within you,

and see what little gift you’ve stored away,

let it out and show it love and bring it to the front,

your gift will stay with you now, all the way.

Donna Ashworth

From ‘I Wish I Knew’: https://amzn.to/3JVMJlZ

Art by Christian Schloe Digital Artwork

#art #poetry #inspiration #mondaymotivation

Festival of Lammas 7-31

‘’The festival of Lammas (Loaf Mass, the feast of bread) falls on the wheel of the year halfway between Litha, the Summer Solstice and Mabon, the Autumn Equinox. The calendared date for the festival is August 1st or 2nd. This is the first harvest festival of the year. At this festival we experience maturity, the joy of community, and we celebrate collaboration and union. It is a pause, a time to congratulate and express gratitude to our body, our family and friends, partners, community, and the earth. It reminds us of interdependence, giving and receiving, and the need to support and be harmonious.

We are able to slow down into flow as preparation for the winter months complete, the food is gathered in, and the element of water enters into our energy field. Our connection to Goddess and our interdependence on her body for our life is at its peak. Goddess has conceived, gestated, and birthed life. Now she will

regenerate. It is time for her and us to journey inward again. Motherhood and nurturance are celebrated fully at this festival as the Crone, the dark, calls us more insistently. The spring and summer are exhausted. We have completed the outer action. At Lammas we pause, say thank you and release, let go. Like the earth, we are ready to rest, integrate and renew.’’

– Kay Louise Aldred, ‘Mentorship with Goddess: Growing Sacred Womanhood’ – Girl God Books

Art by Holly Sierra

With holding love

“Parents who hold our grandchildren hostage in an effort to have their demands of us met, such as an apology, money, or even a change of behavior etc.., are essentially withholding love from their own children for personal gain. It’s not much different than punching your kids in the stomach every time you get a stomach ache so they can feel your pain.” ~Anue Nue

Wishing you enough

Recently overheard was a father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the father said, ‘I love you, and I wish you enough.’
The daughter replied, ‘Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.’
They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, ‘Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?’
‘Yes, I have,’ I replied. ‘Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?’..
‘I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is – the next trip back will be for my funeral,’ he said.
‘When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough..’ May I ask what that means?’
He began to smile. ‘That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone…’
He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. ‘When we said, ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.’ Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
He then began to cry and walked away.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.
Only if you wish, send this to the people you will never forget. If you don’t send it to anyone it may mean that you are in such a hurry that you have forgotten your friends.
TAKE TIME TO LIVE….
To all my Friends and Family – I WISH YOU ENOUGH

Crone – A woman who has found her voice

”A crone is a woman who has found her voice. She knows that silence is consent. This is a quality that makes older women feared. It is not the innocent voice of a child who says, “the emperor has no clothes,” but the fierce truthfulness of the crone that is the voice of reality. Both the innocent child and the crone are seeing through the illusions, denials, or “spin” to the truth. But the crone knows about the deception and its consequences, and it angers her. Her fierceness springs from the heart, gives her courage, makes her a force to be reckoned with.”

— Jean Shinoda Bolen (Crones Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women)

Painting by Andrea Redmond