Quotes I love ...

" If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time ... But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together" - Lilla Watson

Dance Beneath the Stars

Live among the flowers
Dance beneath the stars
Travel where life takes you
No matter near or far.

Gather up life’s blessings
Drink deep from all you see
Hear the sweetest song of love
As it lifts your heart with glee.

Look up to see the future
Feel safe with earth below
Stretch your wings and fly with me
Now ‘tis the time to grow.

Come for but a moment
Please stay forever more
There lies a magic portal
Just walk through the open door.

Soft the sounds that greet you
Bare feet gently walk the floor
Feel the warmth surround you
Your heart’s bound forever more.

a phone call

Today I called a friend who is dying. She is afraid and she cries …and although she knows her life is almost over, she holds on. She is a woman of great thoughts, great insight, and great passion for justice. She has been betrayed by her body and her emotions for decades. She, as we all, will die one day. Some soon, some later; some too soon.

I think many of us walk the earth every day as if we are already dead. We have given up on ourselves; our loved ones; our joy and our hope. I am not talking about the occasional ‘blues’ we all feel. I am talking about the pervasive despair that we allow to take over every moment. I feel it… do you? I focus on the limitations, the unmet expectations - instead of the inspirations each moment provides. My glass is not only half empty, it is leaking faster than I can fill it up.
Dragging myself out of bed each day, to face another meaningless day at a ‘job’; dredging up just enough enthusiasm at just the right moment to fool those around me into thinking I am living a worthy life; wishing I could close the door, hide away, and shut out life. Does this sound familiar?

Today I called a friend who is dying. She is afraid and she cries…but I am the one who is already dead; I am the one who does not fear death; I am the one who does not cry.

What will I be tomorrow?

Sayings to savor...

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot destroy Peace
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade Eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit

( * author Unknown * )

Christmas 2009

The “cost of living”

As I look forward to the start of 2010, I am reminded that we are still in the throws of economic and environmental crisis. Our troops are deployed all over the world in harms way. Many countries remain troubled by civil unrest and political upheaval. There are people struggling for their basic rights every day on many fronts. Internally, people everywhere struggle with their self-identity, their relationships, occupations and spirituality.

Now you must be wondering what it is I AM looking forward to in 2010?

The true “cost of living” is to show up each moment and to actually “live”! We must be open to the experiences in our lives. We must be able to feel the love and the joy, the pain and the sadness, and come out on the other side ready to face a new day - a proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes. Our world remains uncertain and unpredictable. Surprises abound; and not all of them bring us joy. All of them do, however, give us the opportunity to act – not just react.

The cost of “living” is to continually learn, grow, evaluate, and decide. The cost of “living” is to remain in motion; to stand up for your dreams; to seek higher solutions to conflict and destruction; to advocate for all living things. These are “actions”. While initially “reacting” to something is instinctual – “action” can require much more time and thought. It can take the form of constructing a new opportunity, forgiving the past, renewing commitment to a goal or changing the world. It can herald new joy, or stir up old pain. It will not always feel comfortable, but action must always be taken. To remain inactive, we will only stagnate.

The “cost of living” is to live your life in a way that makes you feel whole; a way that connects you with yourself and with every living thing around you. Live with gratitude and awe for all that you see. Expand your life. Reach farther than you think possible. Never, never give up.

I hope that in 2010 I can look upon my life experiences with awe and gratitude – every moment of every day. I hope I spend more time in action mode than in reaction mode. And I hope I never, never give up.

Wishing you a Happy, Merry, Joyful “action-packed” 2010 … Louise

Thank you !

I do not even know you …know anything about you at all. I do not know your name; where you live; what activities keep you busy; what language you speak. Nonetheless, I am thankful for your presence and the talents, gifts and kindnesses you bring to the world every day.
I cannot wallpaper; I cannot grow mangos or pineapples; I cannot pick sugar cane or raise turkeys. The list of things I ‘cannot’ do far exceeds those that I can. Life is full of “zillions” of things, large and small, that take place every season, month, day…every moment that must fall into place to make life what it is for every one of us. Things that take place in languages I have never heard of, on continents I will never get to visit; things that take place for far different reasons than imaginable.

Thank you !

I imagine that the list of people I need to thank is endless. Each individual offers so much towards the interconnectedness and wellbeing of us all – to thank each for all the things they contribute without even knowing it would take many lifetimes. These days I offer a single collective ‘thanks’ and trust that it will reach the hearts of everyone. Every day I start out with a single statement:

“Thank you Universe for taking care of Everything at the highest possible level”.

I used to try to list off everything, and everyone, I was grateful for. The list was enormous – and grows every day as my understanding of life continues to grow. I used to think that not being specific was a ‘cop out’; like saying the ABC’s really, really fast and skipping over the letters. I used to think I could figure out what was best to wish for for every person on my list – but the complexities of a single life elude me – let alone the lives of many.

I am sincerely thankful for everything. I will never know everything; understand everything; or agree with everything. I am thankful that there is so much to learn and appreciate about everyone I meet. I am grateful for the complexities of the universe and the possibilities that are everywhere. I am humbled many times a day by the people I meet, by the sights I see, and by new experiences that show me again and again how we are all similar at heart and diverse in expression. I am humbled by my failures.

As Thanksgiving approaches this year, I will continue to ‘give thanks’ in my small way and to wish blessings for everyone. I am thankful for everyone I know, and everyone I don’t know. Someday perhaps we shall meet and it will be my pleasure to tell you in person, “Thank you!”.

November 2009

Going Home

What does “going home” mean to you? “Going home” …some days when I am so overwhelmed by life, “going home” means longing for my childhood – when the big problems and big decisions rested in the hands of grown-ups… when I could swing on a tire swing in the evening and inhabit the safe and tiny world I knew as “home”.

“Going home” for a holiday means seeing friends and family…sharing a meal … playing cards…tossing washoes… laughing…catching up on neighborhood and family gossip. It is being with the people I love for just enough time so that I miss them in between visits. It is having the place inside of me where I am still a child, belonging to a family, awakened. It is memories, happy and sad, revisited once again and replaced in the archives in their proper perspective.

“Going home” for a funeral means wearing black on the outside and often feeling sad on the inside. It is the realization that life is tenuous and to be valued. It is seeing the friends and family that no longer gather for the holidays – pledging to get together again for happier occasions - but knowing in reality that the next time you see them will be another funeral. It is shared memories, a longing for that which is no longer, and a sense that the sands of time will run out for us all, some sooner than others. It is being grateful for whatever brings us together because the moments shared become fewer over time and distance.

“Going home” at the end of each day means exchanging things I “have” to do for a living for the things I “want” to do to live. Taking care of the people and the things that replenish and energize me is what I look forward to each day. Tending to the ‘gardens’ I have planted on the earth, in my soul, and in my mind…caring for the people I have invited into my life…seeking out new ways of expressing my concern for mankind…these are the thoughts I carry to and from my home each day.

“Going home” is feeling safe, being loved, encircled by memories and friends and family. “Going home” - wherever you are at right now, mentally, physically or spiritually, you know that deep inside of you there is a sheltered place – a place you call “home” - a place you carry with you; a place you are never far from.

written 6/2/2009