life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Gratitude”

27 Nov 2015

to each his own  

 
18 years ago 

I stood at the edge 

of a great abyss 

in life 

a part of me, 

not known until that time, 

had awakened 

now I had a choice to make, 

to accept – 

or deny – 

this part of myself, 

which was revealed 

in such a wild, 

drastic, 

unexpected 

and overwhelming manner 

I knew this would be 

what, ultimately, 

saved, 

or 

destroyed, 

me. 

as I stood, 

still in innocence, 

not really knowing – 

yet, somehow, 

knowing in every way – 

the costs, 

the benefits, 

the responsibility, 

the awareness. 

the long dark road ahead, 

the excruciating valley years to come, 

the sharp, rugged climb up the mountain. 

18 years ago, 

I struggled 

with all of this 

as I stood on a balcony 

and made certain vows 

concerning the choices 

I would make through 

my time of learning: 
I would only follow love. 

No matter how I failed, 

I would remember it is not about how good I am.

 I would try, to the best of my ability, to live the words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. 

I would never make a choice 

simply to benefit myself,

only to get money,

or to be comfortable. 

I would learn to be truthful and fair 

and be the person I wanted to be. 

I would be honest with myself – always – especially when I was wrong, or made a mistake –

yet, I would not live in fear or hate myself if I made mistakes,

I would stay aware and learn – 

so I would not make the same mistake twice. 

I would make the best choice I could at any given moment, 

and then move forward the best I could with no regret. 

I would do my best and give my best. 

I would look for good things every day. 
And with these parameters firmly in place, 

like Eve, 

I bit that apple 

and began… 

for good… 

for bad… 

to make my choices. 

from there I began to grow in wisdom, knowledge and self respect

from there I began the path to healing

from there I began to understand myself and realized each souls value, including my own

from there I have learned all I know about life and love

from there I began the long walk home

💞
AL

 

  
    

   
  I must lie down where all the ladders start,

In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart. 

      – Yeats

 

 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Change, Choice, commitment, Faith, Freedom, grace, Gratitude, Growth, healing | Leave a comment
26 Nov 2015

choices…every day give thanks 

 

          
God of Love,

in a world great with darkness

I drink your light. 
In a world of violence

I soften my heart.
In a world of fear

I deepen my breath.
In a word of grief

I enlarge my embrace.
In a world of shouting

I open my roots.
In a world of fragments

I let myself belong.
In a world of walls

I go out into the streets:
I bear you to those

who are mad with hunger for you. 
In a world of fissures

I return to you,

always to you.
__________________ 

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

   
Wanna build a new life? 

It happens one day…one choice… at a time.  You CAN do hard things. You can make the right choices for yourself. 

Take responsibility. Gain your whole world. Self respect comes only this way. It’s so worth it!!! xo

  

Posted in awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Change, Choice, commitment, determination, do, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery, Reality, Reflection, Relationships | Leave a comment
25 Nov 2015

and then one day…

 

 The road to forgiveness.. after the pilgrim lanes,
and the ruined chapel,

the gull cries and the sea-hush 

at the back of the island, 

it was the way, standing still 

or looking out

or walking, or even talking 

with others in the evening bar, 

holding your drink

or laughing with the rest,

that you realized part of you

had already dropped to its knees,

to pray, to sing, to look, 

to fall in love with everything

and everyone again,

that someone from far inside you

had walked out into the sea light

and the great embracing quiet

to raise its hands

and forgive

everyone in your short life

you thought you hadn’t,

and that all along

you had been singing 

your quiet way 

through the rosary of silence

that held their names….

😍

Excerpted from LEAVING THE ISLAND by David Whyte

   
 photos found at http://www.pinterest.com

Posted in attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, courage, find art at pinterest, forgiveness, Freedom, grace, Gratitude, healing, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Patience, Peace | Leave a comment
24 Nov 2015

it was bouncing around in my brain this morning   – Linda Clark

  
Getting it Right—Write!

I have a notion

I must confess

A notion you see

That has me quite obsessed
It sits in my head 

both day and night

it haunts my dreams

and gives me great fright
It rules my thoughts

this little notion

stirring up doubts

and causing a commotion
It wiggles and niggles

in my brain

with a feverish pitch

it drives me insane
This obsession you ask

what could it be?

My obsession is a task

I seek endlessly!
To get it right

To do my best

To show I’m bright

I can pass the test
This feeling to get it right

Is ever so strong

I work day and night

To not get it wrong
I was given great insight

About this “getting it right”

I just learned recently

A truth that has finally set me free
It’s not it at all

about getting it right.

It’s about happiness and light

and letting your soul shine bright
No have to’s

No pressure

No should’s

Did me a world of good!
So no longer will I labor

to get it right 

I will do my best

to give it a rest! 
So In my chair I sit and write

No longer will I yearn

or worry with concern

it’s quite easy once when you learn
I will change my mantra

and simply ignore

those three little words

I was obsessed with before
What’s my new mantra

you might ask

I’ve changed my word

just a small task
I am no longer worried

about that word right

I will feed my soul

and simply WRITE!! 

🌀

Linda Clark

   

  

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
 Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,

 Transforming our broken fragments

 Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.
Somewhere in us a dignity presides

 That is more gracious than the smallness

 That fuels us with fear and force,

 A dignity that trusts the form a day takes. 
So at the end of this day, we give thanks

 For being betrothed to the unknown

 And for the secret work

 Through which the mind of the day

 And wisdom of the soul become one. 

🔹

John O’Donohue
 

 
http://www.creativesoulsart.com

Posted in attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Change, Choice, compassion, confidence, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Gratitude, healing, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Passion, Peace, People, Poetry, power, Proof, soul and spirit, Trust, truth, voice, Vulnerability, words, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
23 Nov 2015

for the love of all things poetry 💞  

 

 I fit words together, 
hoping they mean something.  

Wanting them to make sense. 

To myself. 

To others. 

Allowing them my raw emotion. 

Willing to give them up freely. 

Creating a monument, 

for this one moment in time, 

to share with the world. 

These words become something tangible. 

A thing, 

a gift, 

a piece of art. 

A part of me, 

stays with them. 

Little pieces of me live, 

like shapes in a puzzle, 

becoming 

a picture, 

a flower, 

a song. 

Small particles of my soul, 

like tiny rose buds,

opening in my hand, 

mesmerizes with it’s 

beauty, 

touch, 

fragrance. 

I write words on a page, 

and feel love 

spreading outward, 

as the flowering happens, 

as this thought blooms. 

As words become thoughts about… 

As the pieces become beautiful… 

As the poem is born, 

of water, 

blood, 

star dust 

and becomes… 

a small piece of my soul,

left behind on pages, 

for others to find, 

sharing a small moment, 

never to be lost, 

because it has been 

recorded, 

acknowledged, 

emptied. 

Gratitude makes room for new 

miracles, 

learning, 

beauty, 

as they find their new home 

ready, 

emptied, 

expectant. 

Waiting for more 

truth, 

goodness, 

love, 

to flow and enter in. 

There is always more, 

and more than enough. 

The heart that gives gathers, 

but never tries to hold anything hostage. 

Love, 

giving, 

pretty much everything, 

about life, 

only works when we allow it, 

all of it –

every sacred cow, 

every color on the wheel,

every tiny wildflower we see,

every spec of mud, 

to be free. 

❣

AL

 

  

  
Photos found at http://www.pinterest.com 

  

Posted in art, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Choice, connection, courage, create, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, friendship, fun, grace, Gratitude, Habits, healing, Letting Go, Love, mystery, Passion, Poetry, Reflection | Leave a comment
23 Nov 2015

I am so much more than I ever thought I was – Sherri Yerkes (speaking from the heart) 

  

So several weeks ago now, Robin Ok called to connect on the upcoming Creative Collaborative Retreat 2015. 

http://www.creativecollaborativeretreats.com

I still remember her words, “I signed you up for some things that you can say ‘no’ to these if you want….

How exciting! My heart already was saying a great, big, fat ‘yes’ – before I even heard the list, which ended with a session on poetry! 

Oh joy!!! YES!!! Ideas poured in…

The retreat weekend came – 13-15 of this month and it was everything, and more, than expected! 

Beautiful, powerful, connecting, art-full, musical, spiritual, abundant, accepting, empowering – on-and-on I can, and will, go. I was overwhelmed with love and joy on many levels, but my greatest bit of on-going-bursting-out-all-over joy is from my poetry session. 

New words were framed, created, brought out of heart-hiding into beings of light, onto old inspiring paper and into the hearts reading and listening. We shared our poems at the end of the hour – no one left with dry hearts or eyes. 

Poems (words)  are living things. They touch us, heal us, bring us joy and create space inside us as we bring forward what was inside and allow new thoughts to be born, creativity always creates anew inside and outside of ourselves. We give to receive and in receiving we give back again. 

This magic has taken root in some great and powerful ways, I am so amazed at the beauty, the power, the courage, the immensity of these poets – new and seasoned veterans – all old souls. 

I am so grateful to have been able to share this session, which helped connect these amazing, gifted women with their inner, living, beautiful poetry. I believe poetry lives inside each of us. The need for beauty is essential for us to live, discovering, excavating that beauty is our life-long, ever-changing, most-challenging and surprising gift. 

Check out Barbara Endel’s new, amazing poetry blog –

https://poetintrainingblog.wordpress.com

🔥

This poem came to me yesterday…kinda summed it all up:

Our poems 

Are like the wart-hogs 

In the zoo 

It’s hard to say 

Why there should be such creatures 
But once our life gets into them 

As sometimes happens 

Our poems 

Turn into living things 

And there’s no arguing 

With living things 

They are 

The way they are 
Our poems 

May be rough 

Or delicate 

Little 

Or great 
But always 

They have inside them 

A confluence of cries 

And secret languages 
And always 

They are improvident 

And free 

They keep 

A kind of Sabbath 
They play 

On sooty fire escapes 

And window ledges 
They wander in and out 

Of jails and gardens 

They sparkle 

In the deep mines 

They sing 

In breaking waves 

And rock like wooden cradles. 

💞

Living Things by Anne Porter

   
  

 
Living in astonished and passionate gratitude for each of you. Thank you for allowing me to inspire you…thank you for inspiring me! 

  
 If you do nothing Nothing will be done. 

Sounds like we should know this, 

right? 

It’s just fascinating to me to see 

the result of a decision to create a newsletter dedicated to good news, 

then to commit to creating that publication for one full year. 

8 full years later, 

as I ended that project, 

to make way for new projects, 

there were over 135 issues 

on a website devoted to that good-news thing. 

4 years ago I decided to begin a daily poetry and quotes blog, 

I now have almost 2000 blog posts.

December 2012, I committed to a poem a day. 

11 months later, 

I had over 700 poems written. 

It’s crazy cool! 

And it has been a huge lesson to me, 

Dreams and Ideas are great, 

but only the commitment, focus 

and actually acting on the idea, 

will call it forth into the world. 

All those words, ideas and poems would still be inside me somewhere, 

if I had not said, yes, to DOING it. 

Nothing gets done without the work. 

Intention and action go together

in order to build the house, 

in order to change the world.

AL

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Blog, Choice, connection, courage, create, Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, inspiration, intimacy | Leave a comment
22 Nov 2015

a graceful feeling

   
    
    

 
  Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself.

― C. JoyBell
  
I spent my weekend with my amazing friends, Kitt, Mike, Rebecca and Christian Haberman, in Louisville. 

I sum this powerful time of connection and sharing with this: 

I learned things. Lots of beautiful things. Things I will have with me always. (Happy Sigh) I am so grateful for all of the great people I have in my life. 

I stayed in the room below (Lesley Haberman being all grown up and off in college) and got ready with these messages before me, reminding me, filling my heart. Messages written by a beautiful, teenage girl to remind herself….remember…remember..

💞

Thank you, Lesley, thank you Haberman Family. Love is so very good to us! 

   
  What a beautiful world… 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, be, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Blessing, Choice, commitment, community, connection, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, Freedom, friendship, grace, Gratitude, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, inspiration, Life, Love | Leave a comment
20 Nov 2015

largely speaking 

  
Sweet Darkness
When your eyes are tired

the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone

no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark

where the night has eyes

to recognize its own.
There you can be sure

you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb 

tonight.
The night will give you a horizon

further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds

except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet

confinement of your aloneness

to learn
anything or anyone

that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.

🔥

 – David Whyte

  

  
I sense infinity 

I open myself to the unlimited 

and with that opening 

I glimpse unending love 

I breathe the cold morning air

Absorb the sunlight dancing on the water 

take in the sight of millions of diamonds 

on blue velvet 

and I struggle, 

reaching, to open fully 

to take in this message 

to understand this beauty 

I sit in silence 

I listen in wonder 

I stay in that moment 

for eternity 

it is for eternity 

as I walk home 

I ask my soul’s questions: 

How will I allow God to love me?

How will I allow love to touch me?

☀️

AL     

 

photo by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT 

Posted in action, Adventure, Alone, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Choice, color, dark, determination, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, healing, home, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Relationships | Leave a comment
18 Nov 2015

create new pathways 

 

 
And here’s what made it happen…
They tell me –

Not to…

Don’t…

Forget the writer, 

leave her be,

Focus on some other things,

words need not be free
They say no need to share adventures..

Stuff the stories, 

hide your truths

Don’t capture the experience, it’s really of no use

They say 

other things need my attention, my energy,
For God’s sake, earn a wage –
I’ll tell you what that does for me –

…finally, finally…finally – 

sends me to the page
And all the walls and stops crash-tumble-trickle down
I sit furious-

typing – 

damn punctuation, tense, pronoun
Does it really matter if they she he we agree?

It’s time to tell my story – for once, for now – for ME

💜

 – Robin OK

   http://www.creativecollaborativeretreats.com

 

  
   

  

And then there comes a moment 

when all you have suffered 

all you have learned 

all you have lost and found 

rise up and become 

and suddenly you are 

here 

you are 

who you dreamed of being 

so many years ago 

suddenly you have arrived 

at what you caught glimpses of 

for so many years 

and the search, 

the free fall of broken dreams, 

broken hearts 

broken everything 

tumbling down rabbit holes 

stumbling over the feet 

of your own lack of knowledge 

is over 

you find yourself on solid ground 

stable 

steady 

raising your Ebenezer 

those tributes to God 

for all the mighty stones of help 

building this foundation on the solid rocks 

you know so well 

and though the pilgrimage may continue 

though the journey is definitely not over 

though life is fragile 

and security an illusion 

there is a new sureness to your step 

a trusting unshakable 

a calm in it all 

a new assurance of provision 

a new traveling song to be sung as you walk forward 

always forward 

always pilgrim ready for new adventures 

forgetting the names of what lay behind 

you press on to your calling 

the prize set before 

reveling in the mercies ever new

for each new day 

there is no stopping now 

you have found something 

which cannot ever be taken 

you have arrived here by your own determination 

reached a place 

both spiritual and physical 

a place of such magnitude 

the light shines from every angle 

it has sealed up the oldest sores

bound up the deepest wounds 

satisfied the deepest longings 

changed everything 

settled old scores with finality 

no longer will you settle for less than you deserve 

no more will you tolerate anything less than your best and highest offerings 

you must be all you can be 

gratitude fills you for this place 

a place so lovely 

it can bear up 

even under the weight 

of our hearts wildest desires 

with just this simple name 

it resounds inside our souls like a bell – 

home 

yes, beloved, 

you are home. 

right where you belong. 

❤️ 

AL

  

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Change, Choice, commitment, community, connection, courage, create, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Passion, Patience, perceptions, Relationships | Leave a comment
17 Nov 2015

even on the hard days    

  Respectfully given,

exalted being

full of grace,

remember to forget:

surrender struggles to catch it’s breath,

then falls soft

as evening prayers at twilight,

gathering into the corners of our hearts

before falling full 

onto the center of our living circle,

 free and happy as a Friday night. 

next morning’s sun fills us, 

each day, each season. 

nurture moves with grace, 

evolving slowly thru 

our caring hands,

our grieving hearts,

our shared experience, 

our acts of courage,

the healing salt of our tears,

the energy generation of our joy. 

with pieces of our true love,

we fly flags, 

of prayer,

of peace,

of poems,

of our own making 

to heal the worlds – 

within us/

without us. 

we allow –

simply complex. 

we understand –

clearly unclear. 

we stand and fill our world with 

the beauty,

the mystery,

of sound,

of hum,

of laughter,

of voice,

of music,

protecting us 

from lesser gods,

the terror all around. 

love is the shield, 

love is the answer,

love is the choice,

love is our glory,

our salvation,

crowning us 

sons and daughters 

of the King. 

at times,

in spite of our broken pieces,

our refusal to believe,

even our darkened hearts. 

 –

astonishing, 

isn’t it?

❣

AL

A sob in the night 

awakens us from dreams,
a crack opens in the wall

and in seeps the dark stream
with pieces of broken things in it,

and blood, and our own ragged edge,
and in seeps the light,

and the voice singing.
We want to pull the wall around us,

the sorrow pouring in,
but it is breached now,

it is only an illusion,
and we are out in the dangerous light,

the fragile street,
tender as everyone else,

ready to duck, ready to weep.
We are all refugees now,

foreigners, except to foreigners.
It’s the egg that is cracked,

the stone rolled away.
If there is a place for love,

for your own brave soul, this is it.
The cord in another’s heart

knotted in yours, 
the hand reaching for you

you can reach out to.
Terror and the stillness,

and the voice singing. 
__________________ 

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

   
   
and for each person in this world 🙏🏻

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