action | life: acoustic & amplified

Archive for the category “action”

10 May 2016

preparation = always ready

WAITING TO GO ON
…It must be

we are waiting

for the perfect moment.
It must be

under all the struggle

we want to go on.
It must be,

that deep down,

we are creatures

getting ready

for when we are needed.
It must be that waiting

for the listening ear

or the appreciative word,

for the right

woman or the right man

or the right moment

just to ourselves,
we are getting ready

just to be ready
and nothing else.
Like this moment

just before the guests arrive

working

alone in the kitchen

sensing a deep

down symmetry

in every blessed thing.
The way

that everything

unbeknownst

to us

is preparing

to meet us too.
Just on the other

side of the door

someone

is about to knock

and our life

is just

about to change
and finally

after all these

years rehearsing,

behind

the curtain,
we might

just be

ready

to go on.
…

From ‘Waiting to Go On’ by David Whyte

The piano,

not played,

is still a piano –

patiently waiting

the music lies quietly

still inside

ready

not going anywhere else

not making itself heard

not anxious

or demanding

all it takes is the right hand

to touch the keys

to fall in love

and the song begins

the strings within

warm to life

always ready to play

💞

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Choice, connection, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, music, mystery, soul and spirit, transformation, Trust, truth, Uncategorized, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

08 May 2016

I don’t think that anything happens by coincidence. No one is here by accident. Everyone who crosses our path has a message for us. Otherwise they would have taken another path, or left earlier or later. The fact that these people are here means that they are here for some reason.

💞

― James Redfield

I make a distinction between relationship challenges that are sourced in trauma and those sourced in developmental stages. Quite often, they are inextricably linked, but not always. Sometimes what is blocking someone’s emotional availability and fueling dysfunctional behavior is primarily related to unhealed traumas. But sometimes the deeper issue is that they are at a different emotional stage. In the latter case, it is not simply a question of holding the space for their healing. It’s a question of waiting, often for years, in the hope that they reach the stage you are at. An impossible scenario, both because you will have to stop growing yourself if they are to catch up, and because you really don’t know who they will be at the next stages of their developmental journey. They may grow into someone perfectly compatible with you, or they may move in another direction altogether. Perhaps the most important questions we can ask about a partner relates to their emotional age: How emotionally mature are they? What areas have they developed and integrated? What aspects are still under-developed? And how will their stage of development intersect with ours? Don’t be fooled by chronological age. Stage—not age—is what matters most.

💞

(~Jeff Brown an excerpt from ‘Spiritual Graffiti’)

I am no teacher

To teach you how to love,

For the fish need no teacher

To teach them to swim

And birds need no teacher

To teach them flight.

Swim on your own.

Fly on your own.

Love comes with no textbooks

And the greatest lovers in history were illiterate.

💞

~Nizar Qabbani

We must not give up. It takes so much time to heal because we are not just healing our own wounds- we are healing the world’s wounds, too. We think we are alone with our ‘stuff’, but we aren’t. With every clearing of our emotional debris, with every foray into a healthier way of being, with every excavation and release of old material, we heal the collective heart. So many of our familial and karmic ancestors had little opportunity to heal their pains. When we heal, their spirits breathe a sigh of relief. We heal them, too.

💞

– Jeff Brown

Lissette Hesmadt

Lover’s Leap Bridge

January 2016

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, courage, determination, Faith, find art at pinterest, Growth, Habits, healing, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, People, Reality | Leave a comment

06 May 2016

make the most of it

Setting priorities is a difficult process…
No, it’s not!

That’s just what I keep saying.

But, it’s really very simple –

Just this…
What is the most important thing(s) in my life?
How do I reorganize my life around

the most important thing(s)?
Am I willing to do the work focused on that/those?
Those questions are on me.

The answers are very clear,

very simple.
YES!
Ok, then…

Get busy

make your music happen

Focus

Work

Do it!

This is it!

Set your sites…

Now…

Go…

💃🏻

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Career, Choice, confidence, connection, courage, create, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, focus, fun, grace, Happiness, inspiration, Joy, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, music | Leave a comment

04 May 2016

suddenly

simple

yet so very complex

the layers of this human experience

energy

emotional

baggage

layers

fears

behavior

we struggle with virtues

our humanity

our ego

our need to be accepted

with family dynamics

childhood evils

haunt us

like fairytales

we create stories

we sabotage our own living

trying to heal

to find acceptance

to be loved

to figure out our path

to untangle our pain

our bad choices

the choices of others

our destructive relationships

suddenly after an eternity

a lightening bolt hits

clarity comes

we see why

we let go

we forgive

as fall into a deep pool

of peace

where we begin again

from this place

to build new stories

and make new dreams

this will be our new platform of learning

until it happens again

and again

and so our story unfolds

always leading us towards our best selves

if we will just be open

and do the hard work

of surrender

of resilience

of continuing

of allowing ourselves

of becoming ourselves

knowing we are

strong

and we are each

beloved

❤️

our happiness

was when the

lights were

out

the whole city

in darkness

& we drove north

to our friend’s

yellow apt.

where she had

power & we

could work

later we stayed

in the darkened  apt.

you sick

in bed & me

writing ambitiously

by candle light

in thin blue  books

your neighbor had

a generator &

after a while

we had a little

bit of light

I walked the

dog & you

were still

a little bit  sick

we sat on a stoop

one day

in the  late afternoon

we had very little  money.

enough for

a strong cappuccino

which we shared

sitting there

&  suddenly

the  city was lit.
🌃

our happiness by Eileen Myles

Posted in action, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beliefs, beloved, Change, Choice, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, moment, mystery | Leave a comment

30 Apr 2016

graceful surrender

Start close in,

don’t take the second step

or the third,

start with the first

thing

close in,

the step

you don’t want to take.
Start with

the ground

you know,

the pale ground

beneath your feet,

your own

way to begin

the conversation.
Start with your own

question,

give up on other

people’s questions,

don’t let them

smother something

simple.
To hear

another’s voice,

your own voice,

wait until

that voice

becomes an

intimate

private ear

that can

then

really listen

to another.
Start right now

take a small step

you can call your own

don’t follow

someone else’s

heroics, be humble

and focused,

start close in,

don’t mistake

that other

for your own.
Start close in,

don’t take

the second step

or the third,

start with the first

thing

close in,

the step

you don’t want to take.
…

START CLOSE IN by David Whyte

Days of wine and focus

of hanging on

of staying strong

of keeping faith

of sitting still

of being silent

of standing in my own shoes

of letting go

of allowing the mystery

of hearing the call

of accepting what is

of not crossing borders or boundaries

of opening and opening

of trusting the journey

of seeing the face of God

of surrender into something bigger than I can know

of making the daily commitment

of acknowledging the grace

of thanking for everything

of looking for the miracles

of talking to trees

of taking time to prepare

of expressing my thanks

of helping in time of need

of following my own path

of obedience rather than sacrifice

of love and love and love

of all things love

💞

Posted in action, Adventure, awareness, balance, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, confidence, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, healing, intimacy, Joy, Life, Love, soul and spirit, strength, transformation, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

28 Apr 2016

risk it all

We are here essentially to risk ourselves in the world. We are a form of invitation to others and to otherness, we are meant to hazard ourselves for the right thing, for the right woman or the right man, for a son or a daughter, for the right work or for a gift given against all the odds. And in all this continual risking the most profound courage may be found in the radical and simple willingness to allow ourselves to be happy along the way…

😄

LONGING by David Whyte

It’s not how we leave one’s life.

How we go off the air.

You never know do you.

You think you’re ready

for anything;

then it happens, and you’re not.

You’re really not.

The genesis of an ending, nothing but a feeling,

a slow movement,

the dusting of furniture

with a remnant of the revenant’s shirt.

Seeing the candles sink in their sockets;

we turn away,

yet the music never quits.

The fire kisses our face.

O phthsis, o lotharian dead eye,

no longer will you gaze on the baize of the billiard table.

No more shooting butter dishes out of the sky.

Scattering light.

Between snatches of poetry and penitence

you left the brumal wood of men and women.

Snow drove the butterflies home.

You must know how it goes,

known all along what to expect,

sooner or later …

the faded cadence of anonymity.

Frankly, my dear, frankly, my dear, frankly

💞

Only the Crossing Counts by C. D. Wright

Well I won’t back down, no I won’t back down

You could stand me up at the gates of hell

But I won’t back down
Gonna stand my ground, won’t be turned around

And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down

Gonna stand my ground and I won’t back down
[Chorus:]

Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out

Hey I will stand my ground

And I won’t back down
Well I know what’s right, I got just one life

In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around

But I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down
Hey baby there ain’t no easy way out

Hey I will stand my ground

And I won’t back down

No, I won’t back down

This day maybe be rough and bloody and heartbreaking but it is here and it is now and it is bursting with untold potential and possibility and our response to it is of utmost, urgent importance.

– Rob Bell

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Choice, connection, courage, determination, do, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, fun, Letting Go, Life, Passion, risk, soul and spirit, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

24 Apr 2016

grateful

Thank you whoever tuned the radio

to rain, thank you who spilled

the strong-willed wine for not

being me

so I’m not to blame. I’m glad

I’m not that broken tree

although

it looks sublime. And glad I’m not

taking a test and running out of time.

What’s a tetrahedron anyway?

What’s the sublime, 3,483 divided by 9,

the tenth amendment, the ferryman’s name

on the River Styx? We’re all missing

more and more tricks, losing our grips,

guilty of crimes we didn’t commit.

The horse rears and races then moves no more,

the sports coupe grinds to a stop, beginning

a new life as rot, beaten to shit.

Whitman grass stain,

consciousness swamp gas,

the bones and brain,

protoplasm and liver,

ground down like stones in a river.

Or does

the heart’s cinder wash up as delta froth

out of which hops frog spawn, dog song,

the next rhyming grind, next kid literati?

Maybe the world’s just a bubble, all

philosophy ants in a muddle,

an engine inside an elk’s skull on a pole.

Maybe an angel’s long overdue and we’re

all in trouble. Meanwhile thanks whoever

for the dial turned to green downpour, thanks

for feathery conniptions at the seashore

and moth-minded, match-flash breath.

Thank you for whatever’s left.

💦

Spring Reign by Dean Young

on the edge of flying

the verge of breaking through

standing in the pouring rain

hoping to find you

somewhere in the darkness

of this dark and stormy night

questions with no answers

crashing through my soul

bloody battles all around

as I stand within my pain

holding on to faith in something

in the middle of this night

at the end of living

not knowing what to do

tears, they match the weather

flooding from my soul

release me for a moment

there’s work for me to do

💧

find photo sources at http://www.pinterest.com

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, Prayer, Reality | Leave a comment

20 Apr 2016

goodness runs wild everywhere

Too bad you weren’t here six months ago,

was a lament I heard on my visit to Nebraska.

You could have seen the astonishing spectacle

of the sandhill cranes,

thousands of them

feeding and even dancing

on the shores of the Platte River.

There was no point in pointing out

the impossibility of my being there then

because I happened to be somewhere else,

so I nodded and put on a look of mild disappointment

if only to be part of the commiseration.

It was the same look I remember wearing

about six months ago in Georgia

when I was told that I had just missed

the spectacular annual outburst of azaleas,

brilliant against the green backdrop of spring

and the same in Vermont six months before that

when I arrived shortly after

the magnificent foliage had gloriously peaked,

Mother Nature,

as she is called,

having touched the hills with her many-colored brush,

a phenomenon that occurs,

like the others,

around the same time every year when I am apparently off

in another state,

stuck in a motel lobby

with the local paper and a styrofoam cup of coffee,

busily missing God knows what.

☕️
The Sandhill Cranes of Nebraska by Billy Collins

On vacation I witnessed
birds and whales

that had traveled farther than I.
They take with them

their memories, their songs

and the sacred longing
that guides their migrations,

that leads me

in all my rambling,
the silent knowing

that seems like hunger,

seems like not knowing,
the sure desultory path

that is life, the way

that is the blessing,
the holy wandering

to life that awaits,

always toward you.
__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Choice, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Habits, Happiness, Love, Miracles, mystery, nature, Poetry, Reality | Leave a comment

19 Apr 2016

go your own way

a thousand miles
in silence

a thousand miles

alone

a thousand miles

to get here

a thousand miles

to go

a thousand smiles

to cheer me

a thousand more

to know

a thousand miles

of learning

a thousand more

I’m home

🏡

The path of the spiritual warrior is not soft and sweet. It is not artificially blissful and feigned forgiving. It is not fearful of divisiveness. It is not afraid of its own shadow. It is not afraid of losing popularity when it speaks its truth. It will not beat around the bush where directness is essential. It has no regard for vested interests that cause suffering. It is benevolent and it is fiery and it is cuttingly honest in its efforts to liberate itself and humanity from the egoic ties that bind. Shunning strong opinions in the name of spirituality is anti-spiritual. Spirituality that is only floaty-soft is a recipe for disaster, allowing all manner of manipulation to run amok. Real spirituality is a quest for truth, in all its forms. Sometimes we find the truth on the meditation cushion, and sometimes we find it in the heart of legitimate conflict. May all spiritual warriors rise into fullness. This planet is lost without them.
– Jeff Brown