Suffering on Purpose?

Even though it is our heart's wish to be free of suffering, sometimes we are most comfortable in our pain.

A friend of mine recently relayed a story to me from the Old Testament, where a prophet marries a prostitute and though he offers her freedom from her duties as a prostitute, where she is degraded and treated poorly, she chooses time and again to return to the degradation because it is where she is most comfortable.

You will have to forgive me for my rudimentary take on this tale. What I gathered, is that often we will do things we know will make others unhappy, and puts our own selves in a precarious predicament, purely for the fact that it is familiar; we know the most likely of outcomes and we know we can handle whatever curve balls come our way, as we have danced this number before.

Our spirits are not extinguishable. They are the life light that burns in our core and gives us our fire and breath that allows us to live. We can find ourselves lost, at times, and unable to distinguish a good choice from a bad one. We may realize, eventually that we have made certain life choices out of habit.

This does not make those around us feel better with the minute exception of the distinction that they are not crazy when they feel like they have been here before. Love is a funny thing and can burst forth like a shield, to form a protective barrier around us when we are in need. If you are facing diversity, within or around your own life, remember that things are not always what they seem.

If any of this sounds like exactly the nastiness that has plucked up in your life, at the moment, it very well may help you to know, you are not in this alone. I am by your side, armed to the teeth, fighting the proverbial good fight.

Have You Ever...had one of those lives????

Do you ever wish for an end in sight?

For every made-wrong thing to be set right?

And do you remember the next day

The things which kept you up at night?

Have you felt the fear of saying goodbye?

In your head, hoping it’s all a lie

Feeling so spent, like you could not try

Simply      ONE      MORE      TIME?

Your heart fragmented, shaken deep

Gaining weight and losing sleep

Eyes cried out raw and red

Never wanting to get out of bed

When you think of the future

Is the picture clear?

Can you see it the same as my view from here?

Have you ever felt the cold wind blow

And known its bone-splitting chill?

Have you had your ears assaulted

With promises fashioned of swill?

 And realize your former strapping will

Is       ALL      USED       UP?

Anticipation of failure close at hand

Free falling, not knowing where you’ll   land

Have you ever felt like you’re running through sand?

Then you are     JUST     LIKE        ME.

The Empty Chair

If we have experienced loss, we carry that with us daily. It becomes part of our breath and as each day passes, the strain is a little less and our heavy hearts grow a bit lighter. During the holidays, however, our lost loved ones occupy the space at the forefront of our beings. They pop up there, with their warm smiles and memories of contagious laughter. They sit there, as a reminder of the love they had for us and the unique connection we shared.

People maintain different theories and beliefs about what happens to us, once we leave this earthly body. Some say we become part of the earth and creation; while others are sure we will return, to complete our unfinished work. Whatever your understanding is, I think that we can all agree that the energy of a person who has passed, a person who we spent a lifetime loving, still remains with us, long after the physical body is gone.

Love's energy is enormous and has no end. It can fill many spaces and is always with us. As we prepare for holiday festivities and find our hearts heavy anew, processing loss once more, wishing for one more embrace, one more glimpse of our dearly departed...

Breathe and remember that the empty chair at your table,  is not at all empty, rather it contains a vast energy that will never be gone. That kind of love is too grand to dissipate. Our hearts are capable of so much and hold close the memories of times before, cherish family and friends, and intrinsically know, we are never alone.

A Season for Miracles

This is the time to dig deep into ourselves and give from the very space that giving was created; our hearts.

A season of thanks is upon us. We all can have something to be thankful for. Some are thankful for food on their tables so that their family and loved ones do not have to go to sleep hungry. Some are happy to have jobs in these uncertain economic times. Others are grateful to have a solid, stable roof over their heads and warm beds to support sweet dreams while they slumber. Thanks are felt towards family members who are there when needed and on standby always. Thanks are offered up to pets who love unconditionally; who sleep on our feet at night and wait by the door, excited for us to come home whether we have been gone five minutes or a week!

We are thankful for troops everywhere, who give us protection without second thought. We thank teachers and mentors and gurus and yogis for unwavering support in our endeavors of self development and growth. We thank our bosses and colleagues, with whom we spend many hours a day, days on end, each year. We give thanks to our children, nieces and nephews, who keep us young at heart. We appreciate kind words when we hear them and try our best to remember to speak them daily. We learn from experience and gain knowledge by watching the goodness that goes on in the world around us.

The miracle that happens each day, is that despite the dark times that plague our society...evil doers, meanness, and acts of hate, despite all of these harsh things, we still feel love and see goodness in people. We still reach a helping hand out when our hands are already full. We dig deep in our coin purse to give our last nickel  to one we know whose need is greater than our own. We allow negative talk to be muffled and let in only sweet words that compliment and raise us higher. We open our ears and hearts and embrace others into our lives. In doing such things, we create community and friendships where before we were separate and strangers.

Miracles are often not as rare as we think, we only have to start recognizing that miracles often masquerade as small kindnesses and they are all around us! I give thanks to you all for the miracles in my life, which you are responsible.

Dia De Los Muertos

A poem about dem bones...

Henry and Lotte haven't their bodies

Simply bare boned are they.

Brittle and White, a frightening sight

With no beating heart, Til Death do us part

Together forever in bliss

Chantilly lace veil, mothers' before her have worn

With hauntingly sweet, deep set sockets

His top hat is dusty , he shuffles his feet

Nervous, hands shoved in  his pockets
In their fanciest dress clothes set to party with zest
Arm linked with arm, they walked the aisle
That would forever seal their fate
How exactly they died, this groom and his bride

Is a mystery we may never know

What, though, is clear and what we see here

Is the bond that secures their union

Eternally joined in true love they've sworn

Echoing faint and gentle sounds of laughter

A hollow eyed gent walks next to his lady

Mischievous and not short of shady

But kind and giving, though just a bit living

These bones, dem old rattly bones

Have found they have Vida, in spite of being muerto

And do not have to fly solo here-after...

Approximately 1,829 miles to Graceland

Graceland. Utopia. Land of Milk and Honey...what is your perfect place?

For so many, it is a place that is steeped in luxury; dripping with gaudy jewels and solid gold everything! For others, it is quiet and calm which they relate luxury to. Me? I am on the fence about what perfection is. Part of me rebels against perfect anything. I love a flaw. I love imperfection and character. I gravitate toward the odd and unusual. Part of me understands the need for standards to measure against, only if to appreciate something.

I listen to the ideals of perfection and cannot help but wonder if our faults are in our need to outdo, be better than, and be greater at stuff than our fellow Earth mates. Why do we strive for perfection? Straight A's in school, 100% on tests, Top of the class, Head of the job, Top executive...all of these things are no better than their counterparts of B's, below 100%, average student or employee.

It is the emphasis WE put on things that give them their value. What if one day we said that blue wasn't blue, instead it was yellow! What chaos it would create! What turmoil to say that marred and scratched is the new beautiful and  that pristine was wretched to look at! Do you see the point?

Graceland was a home to Elvis. It was his palace because it was full of things which he loved, where his heart was and where he hung his proverbial hat. All the things he cared about were there. It is the value he gave Graceland that made it important. Our lives are no less important than the person's you deem most important in your eyes! 

If we start believing our own worth we will understand our value and know that we are no better than anyone at all. We are all equally lucky in life. We all have something that is perfect in our eyes. We are all worthy of love from someone! To that someone, we in turn, are perfection!

Every person has to believe he or she is valuable, in order for others' to see it too! Open your eyes and look around and you will behold perfect beauty in the flaws of being uniquely you!

On my way to Graceland! See you there!

my favorite time of the year!

I love the fall. I am enamored by the smells of fires burning and thrilled by the crisp edge to the air! Fall kicks off the holiday season,,,Halloween , Day of the Dead,  my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and of course, the New Year!
Most folks who know me say this is the perfect time of the year for me as I cannot ever get enough of a good Horror flick! So this becomes my time! Blood and gore, bring it on! Ghosts and goblins become my chums and my sweet tooth get satiated frequently, as well! October is a magic time full of spooky whimsy and it is a time to try out your alter egos!

November beholds the "F's"...football, friends, food, family, fuzzy blankets, free time and frost! I HEART November! This is also my birth month! I usually am able to sneak in a vacation during this part of the year...this year is no different and I cannot wait to get away to a place where I can visually partake in the beauty of the fall season!

Christmastime to me means cookies and carols! I can out-wit even Cookie Monster in a cookie eating fest! Each year, I am determined to discover a  new, never- before- heard version of some old favorite yuletide carol ! Last year was a success!

All in all, this is the time of year I am the happiest. It means apple picking and cider pressing, snuggling up and cocoa with marshmallows, peppermint ice cream and stockings! These are a few of my favorite things!  

Hello fall! Hello wind! Hello rain! Hello leaves changing! Goodbye Porpoise Spit! xom