Adventure | life: acoustic & amplified

Archive for the category “Adventure”

18 Sep 2016

end of an era

No man is an island,

Entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,

As well as if a promontory were:

As well as if a manor of thy friend’s

Or of thine own were.

Any man’s death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.
—

No man is an island by John Donne

Wild Nights – Wild Nights!

Were I with thee

Wild Nights should be

Our luxury!
Futile – the winds –

To a heart in port –

Done with the compass –

Done with the chart!
Rowing in Eden –

Ah, the sea!

Might I moor – Tonight –

In thee!
*

Wild Nights—Wild Nights! (249) by Emily Dickinson

Good-bye
A woman with a scarf over her head hoists her six-year-old up onto the first step of the school bus. “Good-bye,” she says.
A father on the phone with his freshman son has just finished bawling him out for his poor grades. There is mostly silence at the other end of the line. “Well, good-bye,” the father says.
When the girl at the airport hears the announcement that her plane is starting to board, she turns to the boy who is seeing her off. “I guess this is good-bye,” she says.
The noise of the traffic almost drowns out the sound of the word, but the shape of it lingers on the old man’s lips. He tries to look vigorous and resourceful as he holds out his hand to the other old man. “Good-bye.” This time they say it so nearly in unison that it makes them both smile.
It was a long while ago that the words God be with you disappeared into the word good-bye, but every now and again some trace of them still glimmers through.

~Frederick Buechner originally published in Whistling in the Dark and later in Beyond Words

I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Today is the day. As this blog ends I am so grateful for these past years.

I will creating new things. I believe in poetry….it is foundational in my life and healing.

I will do at least one last post to redirect those interested to my new spaces in the world.

I leave you with a most exciting quote from my friend Peter Block:

Every time we walk into a room the future walks in with us!

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Beginning, connection, courage, create, Death, determination, Dreams, find art at pinterest | Leave a comment

18 Sep 2016

just this…

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, connection, determination, Faith, find art at pinterest, fun, Happiness, healing | Leave a comment

17 Sep 2016

the sensual colors of poetry

I like your wide open window soft abandon

your wild free wheelin rambunctiousness

your inexplicable

untamed

a soft new invention

a wilderness

a concoction of sensual indigenous aromas

and I want to hear you sing

your wild buffalo song

my axe wailing some new chord

with the sun on our backs

cool water in our packs

I want our hikes to go on for days

months years

exploring everything wild

and real

fully contaminated with green forest and wild herbs

till our blood is so fully and completely inoculated

with chlorophyll and light

that our dreams become plainly visible

as the light runs from the skies

and the sun dims

we will lie on warm ground

inventing a new perfume

under a blanket of whispering stars

🔥

Adam A. DeFranco

I’m in an open relationship

with my heart.

How can I contain my passion for snails?

For otters, milkweed in autumn,

the holes in old socks that live

for decades in a drawer,

stray cats, lonely porcelain

Sleeping Beauty and the Prince

salt and pepper shakers,

coyotes moaning in the wetland,

wayward petals that wander

far from their roses

on rain-swollen breaths of September.

Each creature, I’m afraid,

is my favorite partner.

You, you above all.

I say that to everyone, don’t I?

After love making,

the universe and I just lie here

gazing through our tears.

Who is the sweat-beaded Dancer?

Who is the Witness wearing only

a necklace of stars?

One who burns completely,

leaving neither smoke

nor ashes,

becomes pure.

❤️
Alfred K. LaMotte

Yes, God is mysterious as fog,

but please, don’t give me that stuff

about God playing hard to get.

She is so into you

I can’t believe you don’t see it.

She’s flagrant about it.

She writes you the steamiest letters

in the colors of sky and leaf,

in stone and sea and child,

her hands are all over you,

she has moves that—admit it—

make you blush.

He’s in your dreams,

whispers to you when you aren’t listening.

You think those scriptures are some dry text

but it’s him, fawning all over you,

saying your name.

She wears the most revealing outfits,

struts her stuff, begs for attention.

They’ve always been like that.

Going on singles cruises,

trolling the skankiest bars in town,

hoping for luck.

She has no shame, no holding back.

I’d take her aside and talk to her

about decorum and such,

but golly,

I can’t even get in the same room with her

without her climbing all over me.

She’s yours, mate.
Yeah, it’s a little wild. Razor’s edge.

I get why you pull back.

But listen.

Secretly, so in the dark you don’t even know,

it’s your own heart that’s flirting

with everything that moves.

She’s the one

who’s holding you quietly, calmly, murmuring,

“Easy. Easy. I’m right here.

You’ve got me. It’s OK.”
______________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

I want to kiss you forever

I want to lay with you

in a tangle of sheets and tongues and crazy, wild hair

with the rain beating against the foggy windowpane

and touch your face

as our warm

eyes and souls and bodies

melt into one

with God

the perfect trifecta

I want to stay there

forever

and then another endless, beautiful day

I’ll not ever ask for more

than to love

and be loved

like this

by you

💋

Amy Lloyd (AL)

You can

die for it–

an idea,

or the world. People
have done so,

brilliantly,

letting

their small bodies be bound
to the stake,

creating

an unforgettable

fury of light. But
this morning,

climbing the familiar hills

in the familiar

fabric of dawn, I thought
of China,

and India

and Europe, and I thought

how the sun
blazes

for everyone just

so joyfully

as it rises
under the lashes

of my own eyes, and I thought

I am so many!

What is my name?
What is the name

of the deep breath I would take

over and over

for all of us? Call it
whatever you want, it is

happiness, it is another one

of the ways to enter

fire.

~ Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems

Remember: Joy is not a sin; sacrifice is not a virtue.

❤️ Paulo Coelho ❤️

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, Happiness, healing, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, Passion, Poetry, Relationships, risk, soul and spirit, transformation, Trust, truth, Vulnerability, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

11 Sep 2016

world changer

You have to go through the falling down in order to learn to walk. It helps to know that you can survive it. That’s an education in itself.

– Carol Burnett

A KEY TO HAPPINESS — SPIRITUAL HUMILITY

So many religions and philosophies, ancient and modern, set forth paths to happiness, fulfillment and the end of suffering. Many of these paths are filled with great wisdom and deep spiritual insights that have helped countless people throughout the ages. I have been inspired by so many of these spiritual traditions; and I have learned so many hard lessons though my own inner struggles and challenges, as we all have. Consistent with so many of the spiritual traditions, I have found that one of the keys to happiness and finding a deep spiritual connection is cultivating a spiritual humility — reaching beyond our egos as best we can by quieting our minds with a bit of wisdom, by opening our hearts to a bit of unconditional loving-kindness, and by expressing a bit of gratitude for the light and wonder that has been given and that touches us even in the dark times.
1. WISDOM AND THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF ALL EXISTENCE. We — and all of life — are interconnected in a vast and boundless divine tapestry. Our belief that we have a separate, “fixed” self is a delusion that cuts us off from the flow of life and the interdependence of all things. We are nothing but a wondrous part of a larger, interwoven whole. To see all this, even a little, leaves us humble, but also touches us with a deep wisdom that we are connected at our core to something so much greater than we can imagine.
2. THE INNER SPIRIT. As a part of that greater whole, we are truly children of God, at one with the divine essence. Yet, when we come into this world at birth, we put on a limited and fragile ego mask that we wear throughout our lives, believing that the mask is our real self and forgetting our true, inner spirit that is a part of the greater divine radiance. So, we struggle to keep this mask-self safe, closing our eyes to the flow of the divine presence through our lives. Seeing all of this, even a little, we begin to see the futility and childishness of so many of our self-important dramas; and, with the resulting humility, we begin to let go of the ego games and begin instead to focus humbly and joyously on our connection to others and to the greater divine reality.
3. JUDGE NOT. Looking with an open heart at the cosmos, we may begin to see, even if dimly, the presence of a boundless divine power that supports all of existence, guiding the planets in their orbits, causing the flowers to grow, holding all of the law of physics in the palm of a hand, and supporting our very existence. But, when we grasp after our ego-mask self, and forget our own inner spirit and its connection to the greater divine presence, we begin to make judgments, limiting and defining God, ourselves and each other. We think that we know better — indeed, we think we “know” what is really going on — but the mystery and wonder of existence is beyond any knowing. We do not know, for instance, the truth of another person and where he or she is on the spiritual path. Indeed, we do not even know who we are ourselves. How, then, can we presume to judge others and where they stand in God’s plan? How can we truly judge ourselves? And, even more importantly, how can we judge God, the ineffable foundation of all existence and non-existence? Seeing all this, even a little, we can only begin to humbly let go of our limited, ego-based judgments and open our minds and hearts to a gentle faith in the divine, in ourselves, and in each other.
4. SPIRITUAL PRACTICE. So, how do we come to see all of the above and cultivate a joyous spiritual humility? Each must find their own way. For me, it come from a gentle spiritual practice:
(a) First, I try to be mindful of the interconnection of all life, as well as of the impermanence and transience of my own ego-mask self. Then, with a little inner quiet and stillness, I try to watch for the presence of ineffable wonder; I listen for the quiet whispers of my own inner spirit; and I open my heart to the rumblings and reflections of the presence of a boundless God beyond all knowing or grasping.
(b) Next, each day I try to practice a little kindness and unconditional love, as best I can and with as much wisdom as I can muster, quietly shining some light in the darkness on myself and those around me. We all can open a window in our hearts to the divine and let the divine presence shine through us, as if through a glass darkly — but we can polish that glass each day to let in more and more light.
(c) I judge God, myself and others so much. So, I practice not judging by being mindful of how much I do judge, and examining how much of that judgment comes from my own arrogance or insecurity. I then think about the the mystery and power of the divine presence — and the preciousness and miracle of all life, including my own — and stop for a moment and acknowledge, as best I can, that the divine presence is boundless in ways I cannot begin to fathom or judge.
(d) Finally, I try to find reasons to be grateful: for the presence of wonder, wisdom and light, even in the darkness; for the preciousness of my own life and that of others; and for the blessings, sometimes hidden, that grace my life. There are so many opportunities to express that gratitude to those around me through words and deeds; and to God in my prayers and in the songs of my heart. Finally, I try to express gratitude to myself in the words I use in speaking to myself. We all can begin to appreciate more our own inner, luminous spirits. Humility in the face of the overwhelming wonder of the universe may cause us to begin letting go of our ego games, but it also opens our vision up to the magnificence of the cosmos and to the luminous wonder of our place in it.
Simple Inner Truth by Steven Jay

words and eye above by Jen Lemen

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Career, Change, Choice, compassion, confidence, connection, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, forgiveness, Freedom, friendship, fun, grace, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, healing, Hope, inspiration, intimacy, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, Patience, People, perceptions | Leave a comment

07 Sep 2016

i am learning

i am learning to be brave

i am learning to speak my own language

i am learning what i want to become

i am learning what kind of life i want to live

i am learning to stand in my place without flinching

i am learning to go my own way

i am learning not to help people who don’t want help

i am learning to embrace my powerful spirit

i am learning how to build my own bridges

complete with lions to guard against the foot-traffic

i am learning i have value to bring to those waiting to hear my voice

i am learning the intensity of my own burning passions

i am learning to keep digging in the murkiest of my own brokenness

i am learning to accept my imperfections as beautiful

i am learning to think in terms of unlimited possibilities

i am learning i will not always be understood in the way I intended

i am learning to apologize and then move freely forward

i am learning

and learning

new things

every minute

every day

i am a learning to be a part of the healing of the world

because i am willing to learn to be me

💞

Amy Lloyd (AL)

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Change, Choice, confidence, connection, courage, find art at pinterest, inspiration | Leave a comment

03 Sep 2016

inhale to receive exhale to give

Earth our waitress

comes to the table in her rumpled apron

stained with a hundred juices.

“What will it be this morning?”
“Let’s start with some mist

in one of those green valleys,

and a cup of black loam with

a single tree frog.

Then fallen apples over easy

with extra worms,

a side of scattered leaves

in a caramelized sunbeam.”
“That comes with Summer’s last

abandoned bird’s nest salad.

Or soup of the day, fern bog

with skunk cabbage and blue

chanterelles.”
“I’ll take the soup,

a half carafe of Autumn rain,

and a cruller the shape

of a groundhog’s hole.”
She remembers your order by heart.

Old ones keep coming back to this place.

They bring grandchildren.

She knows what you love.
There’s a line to get in.

Sometimes it seems

we have to wait a year,

but its worth it.

🍃

Alfred K LaMotte

Packed in my mind lie all the clothes 

Which outward nature wears,

And in its fashion’s hourly change 

It all things else repairs.
In vain I look for change abroad, 

And can no difference find,

Till some new ray of peace uncalled 

Illumes my inmost mind.
What is it gilds the trees and clouds, 

And paints the heavens so gay,

But yonder fast-abiding light 

With its unchanging ray?
Lo, when the sun streams through the wood, 

Upon a winter’s morn,

Where’er his silent beams intrude 

The murky night is gone.
How could the patient pine have known 

The morning breeze would come,

Or humble flowers anticipate 

The insect’s noonday hum,—
Till the new light with morning cheer 

From far streamed through the aisles,

And nimbly told the forest trees 

For many stretching miles?
I’ve heard within my inmost soul 

Such cheerful morning news,

In the horizon of my mind 

Have seen such orient hues,
As in the twilight of the dawn, 

When the first birds awake,

Are heard within some silent wood, 

Where they the small twigs break,
Or in the eastern skies are seen, 

Before the sun appears,

The harbingers of summer heats 

Which from afar he bears.
🌞

The Inward Morning

Henry David Thoreau

Every night before I go to sleep

I say out loud

Three things that I’m grateful for,

All the significant, insignificant

Extraordinary, ordinary stuff of my life.

It’s a small practice and humble,

And yet, I find I sleep better

Holding what lightens and softens my life

Ever so briefly at the end of the day.

Sunlight, and blueberries,

Good dogs and wool socks,

A fine rain,

A good friend,

Fresh basil and wild phlox,

My father’s good health,

My daughter’s new job,

The song that always makes me cry,

Always at the same part,

No matter how many times I hear it.

Decent coffee at the airport,

And your quiet breathing,

The stories you told me,

The frost patterns on the windows,

English horns and banjos,

Wood Thrush and June bugs,

The smooth glassy calm of the morning pond,

An old coat,

A new poem,

My library card,

And that my car keeps running

Despite all the miles.

And after three things,

More often than not,

I get on a roll and I just keep on going,

I keep naming and listing,
Until I lie grinning,

Blankets pulled up to my chin,

Awash with wonder

At the sweetness of it all.
🤗

Three Gratitudes

BY CARRIE NEWCOMER
these two pictures are from Robin OK’s morning from Michigan. The rest are from my morning walk in Branford, CT with Phoebe Snow Good Times!

adding this below – just sent via text from my friend, Anni, currently in Scotland for her daughters wedding!!

and from my friend, Bill…this day just keeps giving…

and from the lunch table

Posted in Adventure, awareness, connection, courage, create, Encouragement, friendship, fun, Gratitude, inspiration, Life, Love, Miracles, music, mystery, Poetry, quiet | Leave a comment

02 Sep 2016

afterburner

Ask yourself

As you stand there

In the pale grey air

Frozen to these four walls

Feet turned to stone

Decide!

What is worth saving?
Can you will your hands

To grab the memories

You carry only in your heart

Can you pack your boxes full

With the laughter that rings in your ears
The clouds taunt you

Hurry!

There is no time left

Three red flags declare your fate

The defiance of your feet

The moan caught in your throat

Your hands still empty

🔥

This Does Not Belong To You by Salyna Gracie
http://womenspiritualpoetry.blogspot.com/2014/10/this-does-not-belong-to-you-by-salyna.html?m=1

At any given moment

we get to decide what we keep

and what we leave behind

what truly matters

what creates value for us

As my friend, Barbara McAfee, says,

“Who ya gonna be while you’re passing through?”

No one can answer that question for anyone else,

though many times we allow them to do so.

Sometimes it’s a radical loss

we have lost everything we have kept dear

all our treasures in this world

in fire, flood, loss of jobs, health,

bloody battles with power hungry ex’s,

even flukey things never expected.

These are our opportunities

when we only have ourselves left

and we burn as we adjust to this new space of being

the grieving takes us into different,

often difficult, spaces

where we get to (ok, have to) do a new thing

this is where life can reveal our best,

or worst,

because, it’s always our choice!

My wish for us is that

this becomes a beautiful foundation

to rebuild our new ships –

the latest and greatest in technological wonders –

the kind which will catch the best wind

to take us to the next adventure

for which we set sail!

Where our very lives become

our grandest home ever!

The best is always yet to be!

⛵️

Amy Lloyd (AL)

aka The Oracle of Hope & Happiness

When there has been too much pain, we often forget that we have the built-in capacity to move through it to another state. The Divine gave us tears to be cried, the capacity to express our anger, a vast range of emotional devices that, when healthily unleashed and expressed, can clear the toxicity out of us, and lead us to lessons of self-love at the heart of them. In our authentic vulnerability lies our greatest power—the power to re open our hearts after loss and disappointment. The idea that feeling the pain gives power to those who have hurt us is completely wrong. Feeling the pain is an act of self-empowerment and the only way to make a break from the prison of repressed emotions. Reach inside and unlock the door…

– Jeff Brown

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, courage, create, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Grieving, healing, Hope, Letting Go, Life, Love, Poetry, power | Leave a comment

01 Sep 2016

chances are something you give yourself. – The Universe (TUT)

It was a long time ago.

I have almost forgotten my dream.

But it was there then,

In front of me,

Bright like a sun-

My dream.

And then the wall rose,

Rose slowly,

Slowly,

Between me and my dream.

Rose until it touched the sky-

The wall.

Shadow.

I am black.

I lie down in the shadow.

No longer the light of my dream before me,

Above me.

Only the thick wall.

Only the shadow.

My hands!

My dark hands!

Break through the wall!

Find my dream!

Help me to shatter this darkness,

To smash this night,

To break this shadow

Into a thousand lights of sun,

Into a thousand whirling dreams

Of sun!
—

As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes

It’s a story as old as time itself

Girl meets boy

There they go

Falling in love
It’s an ending no tale wants to tell

Girl and boy

Drifting farther

And farther apart
Now she lives in the house of broken dreams

pictures fade

Time stands still

All the shadows standing in their places

Cracks appear

Clock feebly striking on through the gloom

As the tears fall down her face
It’s all just the way it all was then

Just the same as the day when life broke

30 years ago

although lots of things have gathered

into every available surface and corner

Dust falls down

Settling on fading glitter

Grime on glass

Fogging up the window panes

mold grows free

covering years of freeform piles

She still smiles that painted smile

You can’t see the lonely spaces

when you meet her on the street

Life moves on and on without her

It’s illusion that you see
Because she lives in the house of broken dreams

pictures fade

Time stands still

All the shadows standing in their places

Cracks appear

Clock strikes weakly at each hour

As the tears fall down her face
It’s the ending no reader wants to read

Girl and boy

Drifting farther

And farther apart

until he leaves

and she fights

to get something she can keep forever

as she always dreamed it would be
Never letting go

Never moving on

It’s the hardest part

Nobody wants to read this ending

This extreme dirty secret behind estate gates

stone lions eternally guarding

heartbreak frozen in time

hoarding only she can stop

💨

Amy Lloyd (AL)

If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.

– Roopleen

“I have a firm belief in this now, not only in terms of my own experience, but in knowing the experiences of other people. When you follow your bliss, and by bliss I mean the deep sense of being in it, and doing what the push is out of your own existence—it may not be fun, but it’s your bliss and there’s bliss behind pain too.
“You follow that and doors will open where there were no doors before, where you would not have thought there’d be doors, and where there wouldn’t be a door for anybody else.
“. . . And so I think the best thing I can say is to follow your bliss. If your bliss is just your fun and your excitement, you’re on the wrong track. I mean, you need instruction. Know where your bliss is. And that involves coming down to a deep place in yourself.”
Joseph Campbell, “The Hero’s Journey”

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Choice, confidence, connection, courage, create, determination, Dreams, Faith, find art at pinterest, Growth, Habits, healing, inspiration, intimacy, Life, Love, Miracles, Passion, power | Leave a comment

29 Aug 2016

the dr is in

Living systems never really settle down.
– John Holland

We were only to sleep for a short while.

Words stuck in thick layers , they are there and then they are gone …and the fire burns day and night…like some drift wood set a blaze on a lonely hill.

Not many know the fire…not many know the Way…

but that fire keeps setting the sun to blaze; Spirit beats within the body and pages are blank…

It is everything, and it is nothing.

Spirit empties one to naked longing, then traps the soul in a loving embrace.

Vowed to live it’s days on earth, as it is in heaven…

Soul , human body with mystery and mayhem…

With preoccupation with the Holy; with adoration won…with words that ache to be heard but have no expression in this realm…

Veil once torn…eye filled with Light…

Worlds riding within worlds…glances, witness, wonders.

The madness that comes, when you know God,

Come back on a black horse, for the fire will chase all the others away.

Ride like the wind, knowing nothing at all….and living the Fire.

Beauty,

Donna Knutson

Above the ground after a brief silence

they resume their war

before they are even out of the graveyard,

climbing over each other

trying to save their own lives,

clawing at some unseen soil above them,
while beneath he rests in peace,

where, after all, we each long to be,

borne to our resting ground,

cherished and at peace,

soon and very soon.
Could I slip beneath the grass

of my battlefields and travel there?

Can I find a way to live

without that combat,

rest without that death,

to grant to the wicked

the eternal peace of the living?
God, bury me

beneath the feet of my anxieties.

Let them go on without me, arguing.

Let me be a ghost of grace,

untroubled, unbound,

interred in love.

__________________

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

Fidelity by Regina Spektor

all day long

the music inside me

walks me through

every day the song-lists play

weaving themselves into the world

around my going

just yesterday

you created new symphonic occurrences

to be forever included

in my smile

my senses refined by the touch of you

the wind gently touching my face

with delicate fingers

my sweat soaked body

reminds me of that deep burning fire

life plays on and on

with me for this very moment

right here

right now

part of the harmony

a single black, dotted note

creating my little piece

of the grand composition

the masterpiece would be completely different

without me

without you

🎶

Amy Lloyd (AL)

One of the greatest mistakes we make in this life, I think, is losing hope when we don’t get what we want RIGHT AWAY. It takes time to do anything that matters—to change, to learn to love, to build a business or grow a child or grow into ourselves.

—

Sadly, too many of us (myself included) lose heart when we don’t see results RIGHT THIS MINUTE.

—

And when we lose hope, we lose everything.

—

Hope is not this fluffy thing we sometimes think it is. Hope is dangerous. It’s radical. When we hope, we take a tremendous risk, waiting and waking our hearts to something that we know full well may never come to fruition. There are no guarantees in this life. We do not have 100% control.

—

Hope hurts. If it doesn’t hurt, it isn’t hope.

—

And yet I am learning what it means to take LONG view. As I look back over the past 33 years of my life, I realize most of the things I have hoped for have taken DECADES to grow into themselves. It takes a LONG, LONG TIME for things to make sense.

—

Hope trusts the process—that even if we don’t get the thing we want right away, the story is not over. It’s not completely written.

—

Hope is steadfast and unwavering. It keeps going and gong and going.

—

Whatever you’re waiting for, hoping for, wishing for, don’t give up. Keep hoping. Most things don’t make sense until later. Hope is your lifeline. It is your only way home.

🏡
Allison Fallon