Words from the Heart

One of the earliest lessons I learned was "not to judge a book by its cover."  This lesson was taught to me by my mother after I had complained about a "crabby neighbor." Mom sat me down and asked me why I thought the neighbor was crabby.  I explained that when ever I saw the older woman, she always had a scowl on her face and simply looked mean.  "Did you say, "Hi!" to her?" Momma asked. "No...she looked mean, Momma," I explained. "Well perhaps, she isn't mean. People wear masks that hide what is happening inside them.  Perhaps, she is sad because her husband died a few months ago.  Perhaps, she is in pain. Perhaps, she doesn't think anyone cares about her.  There are many reasons why people look mean, but many times it is not because they are mean.  Why don't you smile and say, "Hi!" to her next time." As always, my Momma's wisdom ran deep.  The next day when I saw our neighbor,...

Photos of mass grave of Captain Lathrop and his men slain in 1673 Have you ever taken a photo and found something unexpected in it?  Was what you saw something you could explain away, like dust on the lens, rain drops, humidity, smoke? Teal Gray, Tui Snider and I just had a great conversation about spirits and spirit energy on Teal Gray Worldwide ! Part of our conversation was about the two pictures above, but we also shared experiences with the unexplained and discussed two pictures that Tui had captured on two different occasions.  One thought that we shared is how easy it is to dismiss things like the photos above.  However, when "you eliminate the impossible (as Sherlock Holmes would say) whatever remains, however improbable , must be the truth?" So it is! On a serious note, I have always believed in spirit energy (ghosts).  In my life, I have had too many unexplained events not to believe. I also know that many people do not believe. I respect that....

I love to write and have done so professionally and academically for years.  But, not everyone knows that I also am a photographer. Back when my daughters were young, I worked for the York County Coast Star in Maine, covering local events as well as providing the photos to go along with what I wrote. Recently, I have combined my two loves - poetry and photography - and have created memes for my Facebook pages.  What a delight to marry these two art forms into something that others can see instantly and enjoy! The idea of marrying passions isn't new.  When I decided to finish my bachelor's degree several years ago, I enrolled in the University Without Walls (UWW) at UMass Amherst.  In the process of creating a portfolio of the work I had done, my professor pointed out that I had three different, yet overlapping, interests - writing, spirituality and health. Eventually, after spending almost a year honing my portfolio and culling through all the evidence of work ...

  By Solis-Cohen, Myer [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons Card companies would like to have us think that Mother's Day is simply a day to remember women who gave birth.  However, if we look at the history of what was once called Mothers' Work Day , Mothering Day or Mother's Day for Peace , we learn that this day was a call for all women to join together and change the world.   Poet, activist and woman, Julia Ward Howe is credited with the proclamation that brought women together: "Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!" Howe's call is still as powerful today, as it was in 1870.  Back then, she was calling for women to work towards peace in the world. Today, the call might be for peace, for an end to poverty, for aid to immigrants and refugees. No where in the proclamation by Howe does she call for families to spend money on women.  According to The National Retai...