life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the category “Grieving”

25 Nov 2012
1 Comment

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from it;s presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn’t interest me where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Oriah from The Invitaion
http://www.oriah.org/

Posted in action, Adventure, Alone, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Choice, courage, Dreams, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, healing, Joy, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, People, Solitude, soul and spirit, strength, success, truth, Vulnerability
08 Oct 2012

When you welcome your emotions as teachers, every emotion brings good news, even the ones that are painful. – Gary Zukav

;

WE CAN CHOOSE HOW WE MOVE THROUGH EACH STEP IN OUR STORY!

The path we take makes all the difference!

Vulnerability is the path to intimacy and peace in every area of life.

It’s hard. It takes awareness and then making the choices – every time! Keep showing up. Don’t numb it, don’t apologize for it, don’t fight it. Just feel it all fully and allow it to be. It is what it is. And now make the choice to honor it. And to allow it to make you stronger, better, more fully yourself and more fully aware of how this connects us all together. We are one. When one suffers – we all suffer. That’s human, animal, the planet. If we want to end suffering, we must not want anyone to suffer. We must heal ourselves of these things so that we can truly heal others. Let it flow. Choose to look for and find any beauty right where you are. Choose to embrace the glory in the gray. Choose to speak words of life.

http://songsfromthevalley.com/October-09-2.19-Tears.pdf

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/10/best-tip-for-effective-time-management/

20121008-143539.jpg

Posted in attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Choice, courage, determination, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, inspiration, intimacy, kindness, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, Mother, Newsletter, Peace, People, Quotes, Relationships, Solitude, Songs from the Valley, soul and spirit, strength, Tears, thankfulness, Thoughts, Trust, truth, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
26 Jul 2012

…feel it deeply…but don’t get stuck…

Dealing with Disappointment
A Bridge to Acceptance
by Madisyn Taylor

The gift of disappointment is to bring us into reality so we don’t get stuck in the realm of how things might have been.

Whenever we do something in life with an expectation of how we’d like it to turn out, we risk experiencing disappointment. When things don’t go the way we had envisioned, we may feel a range of emotions from slightly let down to depressed or even angry. We might direct our feelings inward toward ourselves, or outward toward other people or the universe in general. Whether we feel disappointed by ourselves, a friend, or life in general, disappointment is always a tough feeling to experience. Still, it is a natural part of life, and there are many ways of dealing with it when we find ourselves in its presence.

As with any feeling, disappointment has come to us for a reason, and we don’t need to fear acknowledging it or feeling it. The more we are able to accept how we are feeling and process it, the sooner we will move into new emotional territory. As we sit down to allow ourselves to feel our disappointment, we might want to write about the experience of being disappointed—the situation that preceded it, what we were hoping would happen, and what did happen. The gift of disappointment is its ability to bring us into alignment with reality so that we don’t get stuck for too long in the realm of how things might have been.

As we consider other disappointments in our life and how we have moved past them, we may even see that in some cases what happened was actually better in the long run than what we had wanted to happen. Disappointment often leaves us feeling deflated with its message that things don’t always turn out the way we want. The beauty of disappointment, though, is that it provides us a bridge to its other side where the acceptance of reality, wisdom, and the energy to begin again can be found.

www.dailyom.com

Posted in attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, beloved, Burnign Bridges, Change, Choice, courage, determination, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Grieving, healing, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Lonely, Losing, Love, People, Prayer, Quotes, Relationships, Respect, soul and spirit, Tears, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, truth, Writing | Leave a comment
18 Jun 2012

life is about change…let it flow

Each new step in life is also a leaving, a surrendering of an old reality to move into a new one.

Be grateful for the love that surrounds you, and for the opportunities you have to love. Be mindful of your place in this world, and your connection to people you care about. Never doubt that you are loved, though those who love you may be far away. Spend your love recklessly; it will never be wasted. It is the spending, not the result, that enriches us.

Pay attention to the moment that you’re in. It will pass. It is a transition, not a final destination. Love in this moment. Receive what this moment offers you. Be lovingly attentive to what is, in the present moment. What comes next is full of promise, not the least of which is this: that there will always be more love. Trust this, and let God’s delight fill you.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
http://www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in attitude, Change, Choice, compassion, Death, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, healing, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Passion, People, Prayer, Seasons, Smile, soul and spirit, strength, thankfulness, Thoughts, Today, Trust | Leave a comment
17 Apr 2012
1 Comment

even so…come quickly

For seeing that something always comes
to fill the empty places.
For making spaces,
and not being afraid of
the empty places —
for letting all the moments be
these empty containers
sure of the filling of God.

– Ann Voskamp
http://www.aholyexperience.com/

I have waited a lot over the years, for many different reasons. In 1997 I stepped out in a leap of faith, and my life exploded in ways I certainly never expected and I began a walk of faith that has been quite an incredible journey with God. It certainly was not what I would have picked for myself, yet, I do not question the way. As the song, Heal the Wound says, ‘I have not lived a life that boasts of anything, and I don’t take pride in what I’ve done, But I’ll build an alter with the rubble that you found me in, and every stone will sing of what you can redeem.’

In 2008 I waited on God for 52 days. It was an indescribably difficult time, in so many ways, and it changed me. It took my relationship with God and my faith to a new level. It was a time of learning and trusting God way beyond anything I had ever done before, and it set incredible things in motion over these next years. It took me to places of growth and healing that I did not expect, yet and so grateful for.

As you can probably tell by this blog over the past week or so – I am at another place of waiting, and, as I walk thorough it I am so thankful I have the prior experiences to encourage me as I walk through this time. Yes, patience is a virtue because it’s HARD!!! haha Certainly doesn’t come naturally for me…how about you? I want to make things happen! Shake up the people involved! Get something resolved – RIGHT NOW!!!! And yet I know, if I wait on God, if I am patient, it will be the right resolution, not just an end, or a beginning. Living with faith, having patience, putting life’s tough issues into God’s hands – then not worrying about them, and just waiting for Him is a practice of strength, discipline and courage – it is a choice which adds maturity, peace, joy, abundance, and so many other great benefits to our lives. It also allows us to grow in intimacy with God in ways that are like nothing else we experience.

As I read Ann’s words above, I, too, am sure (and eager) of the filling…and so I wait…

Posted in Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Change, Choice, create, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Grieving, Growth, inspiration, kindness, Life, Love, Patience, People, Poetry, power, Prayer, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Solitude, strength, success, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, truth, Vulnerability
13 Apr 2012
1 Comment

Into the silence

I am still
I wait
I pray
I clean
I am alone
– for the most part
Solitary
– even in a crowd

I wish for it
– interruptions come
some enjoyable
some annoying
I am present, yet not

I know the answer will come
I know movement is coming
but for now
It is the silence
That I embrace
and endure
with patience
and courage
at other times I have even been cheerful during this time
but not this time

This time,
I am in mourning
Grief surrounds my heart
heavy sadness
– for choices made
– being made even now

I long for intimacy
I long to be the choice
I wish I could help
but I can’t

Only God can do what needs to be done
– and He can only do it if the choice is made by you
– to ask, seek, knock – even the slightest opening He can transform
the choice is personal and must be freely made

and so we wait –
me and God
Jesus puts his arm around my shoulders
and pulls me close
I feel the Spirit holding my heart and bringing me comfort
I close my eyes and hear his promise,
‘I will never leave you or forsake you’
and my sadness is blurred
with the surge of peace and joy

The silence is good
we know each other here
in the waiting
we have been here many times before
I have learned to wait
– Even enjoy this path
the answer will come soon enough
this is the place of intimacy and trust
where we know each other most

Life will move forward
and I will spring into action
and do what is being set for me to do in my waiting

I do not question the way
– I am a willing vessel
Mine was a shattered life
which has known your healing touch
you, so lovingly, put my pieces together again
and mended me with love

My God knows the way
– mine is a heart of thankfulness
I am the grateful follower
waiting to love you and share with whomever I can
Not for any other reason except love

You have allowed me to glimpse
My belovedness
My value
The value of each soul you have created
The depths of your love is unending

I desire only to please you
My creator, my savior, my lover, my friend

I long to share this love
with the ones you allow me to

And so I wait
I stay in the silence
until my answer comes
and God speaks
I am listening, Lord
As You have before,
Speak when you are ready

AL 4/13/12

Posted in Alone, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, commitment, courage, determination, do, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, healing, inspiration, Joy, Letting Go, Life, Lonely, Losing, Love, Miracles, Passion, Patience, Peace, People, Poetry, Prayer, Purpose, quiet, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Solitude, strength, success, Tears, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, truth, Uncategorized, Vulnerability, worry
25 Feb 2012

face the truth

Where the Wild Things Are

Go with him
into the deserted places
where mind won’t survive,

deep in your wilds, exposed,
with the beasts,
feral, shifty, wise

in their wordless ways,
their primal hungers,
their devouring instincts,

disappearing easily
into your canyons and outcroppings.
You don’t vanquish them,

you watch,
and learn to survive among them,
and witness the mystery,

how they lie down beside him.
Even they know
these washes and gulches

are a palm.
In this extremity,
you find your place

among your terrors,
your wastelands,
your angels.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

Posted in Adventure, America, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dancing, Death, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Hope, Imagine, Joy, Life, light, Love, Miracles, People, Poetry, Prayer, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Solitude, strength, Tears, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability | Leave a comment
23 Feb 2012

Can you feel the music?

A lot of the daily messages I get right now are about Lent. I didn’t grow up with Lent and so I find it somewhat exotic. Over the past several years I have observed the practice and have found it so beautiful and beneficial. It is an important event, and it is a time to go deep into some tough issues. The messages I get in my daily inspirational doses are great (for the most part) and present Lent as both difficult, but joyous! Which I believe is true. We must begin to be vulnerable to our brokenness, if we want to feel our deepest joy!

It is interesting to me the contrast of when I hear people talking about Lent in everyday conversation. Like at my job, or in a restaurant. It seems a lot of people feel like Lent is about deprivation and punishment. I over hear them dreading ‘giving up’ chocolate, beer or meat and wondering if it will interfere with their entertainment schedule, or if is just too hard. Most of them seem to be dreading it. When I can, I try to insert myself into their  conversation (I hope they appreciate it at some point! ha) and assure them that is not what Lent is about – we are not called to punishment! We are called to a deeper experience of life. We are called to freedom, love and joy! Life is beautiful  – that is the message!

I try to encourage the people who feel this way to turn it around this year. Don’t be punished by ‘giving up’ use the 40 days to ADD something special. Write a 40 day journal and concentrate on looking for one good thing a day to be thankful and write about!

Lent is about reflection about deepening our lives in every way. Let’s try to get the message out that Jesus never wanted religion – his beautiful life and death was because of love to give us truth and freedom. He wants our love, relationship, communion, fellowship, passion. Yes, it’s all about love.

 

Posted in Adventure, Alone, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dancing, Death, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Joy, kindness, laugh, Letting Go, Life, light, Lonely, Love, Miracles, music, Party, Passion, Patience, Peace, People, power, Prayer, Proof, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Smile, Solitude, strength, success, Sweet, Tears, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability, words | Leave a comment
16 Feb 2012

love sets free

Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. – C.S. Lewis
Today is a ‘Freedom Anniversary’ for me! It is a big deal! My life has been a progression of stepping towards freedom.
The battles have been long, dangerous and hard to win in order to free myself. Both physically and spiritually. I am not completely there yet – it is a life-long exploration and journey to free myself. The chains and bars in my prisons, because I find they are legion, are very strong. My Alcatraz type barren -rock islands were such a long way from shore, with many snipers, predators and sharp rocks in the water and on all sides of the shores. My guards were very alert and ready to shoot me, or keep me locked down and in solitary for my whole life. They were gleeful when I fell and happy over my pain and destruction.
And yet, the love, the words, and truth, of God were so much more powerful than any of these things, that no prison in this world could not hold me and, for 22 years now, I keep walking out of my prisons into the brilliant light and sunshine of the free!!!!

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage|
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

http://songsfromthevalley.com/July-09-2-14-Freedom.pdf

Posted in Adventure, Alone, America, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Blog, Burnign Bridges, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dancing, Death, determination, do, dominance, Dreams, Encouragement, force, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, Happy Holiday!, home, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Joy, Judging, kindness, laugh, Leadership, Letting Go, Life, light, Lonely, Losing, Love, Miracles, Mother, music, Newsletter, Party, Passion, Peace, People, Poetry, politics, power, Prayer, Proof, Purpose, quiet, Quotes, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, Seasons, Smile, Solitude, Songs from the Valley, Spring, Stars and Moonlight, strength, success, Sweet, Tears, Tenderness, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Uncategorized, Vulnerability, Winning, words, worry, Writing | Leave a comment
13 Feb 2012
2 Comments

The Importance of Personal Responsibility

's avatarHeartWork

An Invitation to Wholehearted Living hosted by Elaine Hansen and Margaret Rahn

http://heartworkguides.com/brene-brown-the-price-of-invulnerability-and

The importance of vulnerability and tenderness has become increasingly into the forefront of my thinking over the past couple of years. It is one of the most important choices we have to make as humans and the choices we make over this is a ‘life or death’ kind of choice. There are little decisions we make over this that lead us to live a false life.

Our society seems to encourage and celebrate ‘badness’. ‘Good girls gone bad’ seem to make people laugh and admire them for going this direction. Tiny example of this – I heard a father singing a song with his 8-year-old daughter, ‘…whips and chains excite me’. WHAT?????? WHY???HOW????? Can we truly believe we can sing and laugh over these types of words and actions and our lives and relationships will move into happy directions? Words are soooo important!!!!

Somehow we have decided we don’t want to live in reality. There is much pain in life – there is also much joy in life and in order to truly experience life, we have to allow both of these things to be felt, embraced, and accepted. We are here to help each other be better, to heal, to give love and lift each other up. We are given the choice of how we experience and share these things! And we have the power to live a happy, or an unhappy life.

Mostly we just react to life. We don’t realize we are choosing, we just strike back when someone hurts us, not realizing what we are doing. It feels natural. It feels powerful and good in that moment. But the consequences are very grave. As we choose to shut down our hearts, as we choose darkness, anger, revenge and blame, our actions become more desperate to ‘feel’ and so we spiral into addictions, abuse and secret behaviors that lead us further and further into darkness and way from shame. We begin to believe lies and forget that we are the beloved creations of God and we are loved beyond what we can ever comprehend.

If you click on the link above you will find out about a workshop I went to on Saturday and will also see two TED talks by Brene Brown on her vulnerability research. Sooooo good!!!

I have lots more to say about this…but I am out of time for this morning…think about these things!!! Make choices towards your own personal responsibility and happiness! Determine to seek it out for yourself! This is your personal life story – don’t let someone else rob you of your happiness and love!

Posted in Adventure, art, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Beliefs, Blessing, Career, Change, Choice, courage, create, Dancing, Death, determination, do, Dreams, Encouragement, Freedom, fun, Gratitude, Grieving, Growth, Habits, Happiness, home, Hope, Imagine, Impossible, Joy, Judging, kindness, laugh, Leadership, Letting Go, Life, light, Love, Miracles, music, Passion, Peace, People, Prayer, Purpose, Reality, Reflection, Relationships, Respect, strength, success, thankfulness, Thoughts, time, Today, Trust, Vulnerability, words

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →