life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Blessing”

04 Jul 2013

we are here to share, live and love with each other

What can we hope for?

The wisest man ever once said,
All is vanity
He also said, There is a time for every season.
My four year old nephew figures it out,
asking his mom,
So we just keep getting older
and then we die?
The response is,
Yes, that about covers it.
To which he replies,
Oh man.

An 83 year old loses her mental capacities.
She asks, Why are there cowboys and Indians in the yard?
She curses the surgeon who allows her to continue walking.
I wonder, Has he done her a favor?
She asks me,
Can I borrow your scissors to slit my throat?
When I say, No
She responds,
Awwww man.

In this world we are assured
we will have trouble.
There will also be intensely good,
even great, moments.
Life is our gift.
We choose to make it better or bitter.
We live.
We die.
We seek.
We find.

Why are we here?
That question has been asked by many.
Answered in a variety of ways and meanings.

All I have personally found true is:
We are here for love.
To find it.
To give it.
To receive it.
To allow it to flow in us,
around us,
through us,
to us.
We are here to help each other.
To share love and life with one another.
We are all a part of one.
We are all beloved.

Who am I to judge how we each find this love?
Have I, at long last, become enlightened?
My response to this amazing question,
Oh my!

AL 6/16/13

Posted in Adventure, attitude, awareness, Blessing, courage, Death, find art at pinterest, laugh, Letting Go, Life, Love, People, Writing

01 Jul 2013

5 Comments

somedays I search until my heart says..yes!

OK, it’s afternoon and I still had not decided what to post to the blog today. Unusual, but it does happen. Bible reading, prayer and mediation, 25 to 30 inspirational blogs daily, plus whatever new is happening in the world, Pinterest browsing, add in my own emotion/struggle for the day. I don’t get stuck with what I want to be reminded of for the day very often – most days my heart finds what I need to be reminded of, or express, early in the morning. Yet today…

Here it is 1:30 in the afternoon and I’m still looking. My soul is restless today. A little fragile. A little disquieted. I found out one of my best friends in CT lost her sister yesterday to a tick borne illness complicated by long-term alcoholism. I am dealing with dementia and illness as a caretaker right now and yesterday was a bad day. Today I am tired. I am discouraged. I am lonely…

And then…I’m on Pinterest and suddenly I see a beautiful pin.

Oh my, I know that blog!!! It’s the Yes and Amen blog by Junelle Jacobsen ~ jj http://yesandamenblog.blogspot.com/

LOVE HER!! and so I headed over to get some inspiration and found my heart beating faster and my shoulders relaxing ever so slightly as I smiled and read what she is doing! I featured her last year in one of my favorite newsletters ever! I went back and read it…you can read it here: http://songsfromthevalley.com/August%2012%205.13%20Inspiration.pdf

Amazing! Inspiring! Joyous! Glory! Turn-my-day-around fun! THIS is why I live looking for inspiration – it can totally change your day! God is so good to us to give us such rich and diverse gifts to share! Thank you JJ for sharing your amazing and beautiful soul and talents! Sending you love and prayers today – for whatever you are struggling with! God is certainly with you and, to God be all the Glory!

Posted in Alone, attitude, awareness, Blessing, Blog, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest

16 Jun 2013

Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly. – George MacDonald

There is a spot that has become me
A small spot in the world,
yet it brings me great delight –
and even a whiff of wonder –
that it is mine.
I have this 4 feet of place
looking out to the trees
which are mine to borrow.
A place to dream.
A place to create.
Bringing pieces of me
into being,
to share with the world
from this tiny new place
filled with love.

AL 6/15/13

Posted in art, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Blessing, courage, create, find art at pinterest, giving, inspiration, Life, Love, Miracles, soul and spirit, success, thankfulness, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

13 Jun 2013

5 Comments

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. – The Dalai Lama

To get the most success out of life have no agenda other than to give whatever you can in the present moment. A smile, a laugh, a quarter, a helping hand, an introduction or just your listening ear is more powerful than you can imagine. Beneath every gift is the knowing that the Universe is abundant and that you lose nothing by giving away what you have. Others will feel comfortable in your presence and all good things will find you – WITHOUT seeking them.

– Jackson Kiddard

Posted in attitude, awareness, Blessing, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, Relationships, soul and spirit, Trust

08 Jun 2013

Peonies by Mary Oliver

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open–
pools of lace,
white and pink–
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities–
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again–
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

Posted in attitude, awareness, Blessing, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, Miracles, nature, Poetry | Leave a comment

02 Jun 2013

1 Comment

simple

I am unleashing the power of the universe
I am stepping into this place of mystery
I have been advised to keep it simple,
which demands I stay aware.
Simplicity is the most difficult
elegance to achieve.
I must look for the needs of today,
always stepping forward
into the next moment.
looking back will get me no where.
looking at what is not mine yet
will destroy me.
I must stay aware of what I have,
what I can give
and
in so doing I will open to receive.
It is the universe’s grand plan.
It is the law of compensation
Today this is my goal:
to do what my hands find to do
with beauty,
kindness,
and truth.

AL 5/31/13

Posted in attitude, awareness, Blessing, Choice, commitment, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, People

01 Jun 2013

keep looking

Posted in Blessing, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Life, Smile, soul and spirit, thankfulness | Leave a comment

30 May 2013

2 Comments

what needs to be done today?

Don’t dwell on what happened in the past.
Instead, focus on what to do next.
Spend you energies on moving forward …. – Denis Waitley

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Maritta Terrell
Thought for Today
Thoughts are also posted at:
http://thoughtsaday.blogspot.com

Posted in Blessing, Choice, create, find art at pinterest, giving, Love, People, Purpose, Relationships, soul and spirit, Thoughts

29 May 2013

blessing

O Infinite Blessing,
a forest of your grace rises in me,
a sea of blessing caressing every shore,
a desert whose light and air are blessing,
a city in me, a million blessings living there.
In me your blessing is a spring
welling up to eternal life.

Like light I radiate your blessing today
on all whom I meet, friend and stranger,
this moment and the next, blessing,
blessing the ones I love and who are hard to love,
blessing those on the street and in traffic,
blessing peoples far away and foreign,
blessing those who suffer and those who toil.
Each moment today will be a moment of blessing,
asking of me only compassion
and an offering of good will for all living souls.

And if I should tire,
if I should doubt my calling or weary of my task,
I will rest in your blessing
like a spring welling up
until it overflows agin,
flowing out from me,
out into the desert,
giving joy to thirsty creatures,
turning parched things green.

O Blessing One, O Cherishing Love, this day
may I shine with the light of your blessing.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net