Happy Birthday Jason #33

I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it.

Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight.

And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings.

You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.

—Maya Angelou

Happy Birthday 85 & 90!

Ivan 90 today!!!

Pond

You are most like a Pond! Other people see you as an easy going individual, someone they can relax with and attain a sense of calm and serenity. To you, bigger isn't always better and you never lust after the material items and luxury. You're low maintenance and laid-back, so it comes as no surprise that you carry a light hearted attitude and a stress free lifestyle. You like to treat others in the way you would prefer to be treated, only with most upmost honesty and respect deserved. Negative energy and weak character are two things you avoid, achieving a balance between mental strength and a pure heart in the process.

Permission

“Single people want relationships, settled people wonder if they’re missing out on something, traveling types miss stability, stable ones are restless, old friends want new friends, new friends miss old friends, and basically almost everyone my age has some dangling worry trailing around after them everywhere that they’re somehow not doing everything, that what they’re doing is not altogether the right thing, that they are missing out. … Do not be ashamed. The doubt is natural, and everyone you know – yes, even that person – carries it sometimes too. Allow yourself to be peaceful. Allow yourself satisfaction in what you have. If you really don’t like it, allow yourself permission to make changes.” 

-Lillian Schneid

Slowing down

By slowing down and relishing the unfolding of every experience, you aren’t choosing to be less accomplished or productive than others.You’re choosing to be accomplished and productive in ways they may not even understand. You’re choosing to change what’s within your own heart and mind, thereby becoming a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem. By no longer rushing through, you’re choosing to stop focusing so much of your energy on the wanting and yearning, the wishing it was done, the frustration with what hasn’t happened yet; and to make, instead, the most of every experience as it unfolds at its own pace.
~ Nea Justice

Poem 16 Hearts Calling

Sometimes Longing 

sometimes,
the longing of me-
waits at the edge,
of me-
stirs me awake,
eyes wide-
staring at the ceiling,
of my life-
yearning for meaning,
reasons pass-
the hardness of living,
still longing and living it-
with complete joy.
oh but sometimes,
longing is wanting-
a simple pleasure,
desiring-
a good cup of coffee,
resting on white sands-
with the ocean,
folding herself-
on my feet,
the sun meeting-
the sky’s end,
with the moon swelling-
golden hues against,
the darkest of blues.
sometimes,
I long for-
human love,
for the breath-
of you upon,
my neck-
tangled sheets,
feeling the heat-
of loving,
meeting longing-
devouring it,
with fulfilling-
loving deeply,
again and again and again-
life with,
dreams dreaming,
and taking-
all of it,
holding it close-
and sometimes,
letting it go-
and many times,
longing it all
for you.

Author Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg © 

Apache Prayer

Love and Light

"When you live in love and light, you will not go unseen; ignite the world with every flame of your being."
- Alexandra Elle

Silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.

~ Rumi

Quiet

Express yourself completely,
Then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature;
When it blows, there is only wind;
When it rains, there is only rain;
When the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
You are at one with the Tao
And you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
You are at one with insight
And you can use it completely.

If you open yourself to loss,
You are one with loss
And you can accept it completely.
Open yourself to the Tao,
Then trust your natural responses;
And everything will fall into place.
~ Lao Tzu

Keep still

Regular periods of keeping still are important aspects of personal development and harmony in relationships. The most restful person may not be the one who sleeps twelve hours a day, but the one able to grab catnaps while cruising at 600 miles-per-hour at 35,000 ft. Learning to act when it is time to act, and to keep still when it is time to keep still, is the key to obtaining the peace of mind which helps you stay focused when clear focus is needed. 

Consider the spine, which serves as a switchboard for all the nerves of the body that mediate movement. When the spine is kept flexible and healthy through proper rest and relaxation, active movement can always be undertaken without strain. When the spine is held erect in a balanced sitting posture, the inner balancing of meditation can take place. 

Treat your energetic vitality like a candle in the wind -- protecting it as though it were your only light in a dark forest on a moonless night. Avoid external conditions and relationships that threaten to snuff out the flame, and be careful not to suffocate it with your own ambitions or worries. 

Time out. Relax, take your shoes off, and sit a spell. Let go of thinking. Breathe. Meditate.