Words from the Heart

Photo Credit: (c) 2018 LMRNeas   In the year of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, an unprecedented 102 women were sworn into the United States Congress, yesterday.  Not only was the number a first for the history of the US, but other firsts included the first Native American women, the first Muslim women, the first Black women from two New England states and the first Hispanic woman. Why is this so important, not just to the US but the world?   I am not a political science major by any stretch of the imagination. My expertise lies within the realm of literature, poetry, spirituality and healing. That said, I believe that the importance of this huge shift is that it is signaling a shift in the mindset of this tiny blue planet back to our maternal origins.    Humanity, at one time, was maternal. Women, because they brought life into the world, were honored, listened to, respected. Then, there was a s...

For the last few years, I have picked a word on New Year's to be my point of meditation.  Last year was Light and I explored all the ways "Light" is used in our lives.  This year, my word is "health."   As I get older, I am becoming more and more aware that our health has so much more to do with our mind and spirit than it does our actual physical selves.  So, I have begun the year improving, working on and developing my creativity.   Seems that when we decide to do something, Creator sends all kinds of help, so it was not surprise that my dear Soul-Sister, Eliza Fayle was thinking on the same tract as I was.  She is facilitating a great workshop, The Artful Joyful Me Project through her website, Artful Joyful You . Just learning about the project got me all fired up into researching how creativity helps reduce stress.  There are so many new reports available that it is mind boggling!  For Christmas, I gave my daughters adult col...

Quite a few years back, I realized that making resolutions for New Year's was often a futile and humiliating process.  After all, most people never make it past the first month of the new year, let alone all twelve, before failing.  Once I realized this, I set about changing. A resolution should be something that A. is easy to accomplish, B. brings you as much satisfaction as it does anyone else and C. add to your life (and to the betterment of the world).  In the past few years, I have found gratitude daily, looked for beauty in each day, discovered moments of joy, etc. Rather than getting to the end of another year feeling like a failure, I have come to the end of the year feeling such wonder, gratitude and joy!   Joy was the word I chose last year.  At first, it took a bit of imagination and creativity to find joy-filled moments, but before long, my daily list was endless!  Yes, and that includes the difficult days.  Let me explain! Take for...

JOY!  JOYFUL! JOYOUS!   This is the word I chose to focus on during this coming year.  For me, 2014 is the year of JOY!   So how am I going to find joy in the mundane, everyday moments of life?  How will I find it when pain, frustration and anxiety rear their ugly heads?  How will I find it when the world appears to be filled with so much terror, fear and hate? My teachers would all say, "Look within."  But, I add, "Look out, around, in between, under and over!" Joy can be found in the silences of a Sunday sunrise and in the giant's clap of thunder.  Joy lingers just outside the window on any given day!  See it in the birds at the feeder, in the snow melting like liquid crystal and in the plants morphing through the seasons. Joy appears to me in the eyes of my grandchildren.  Joy speaks to me on the lips of my loved ones.  Joy sings to me in the songs my Roger writes. Here are some examples via a little photo diary....

  We found Joy visiting the Peace Pagoda with our Bridget over the holidays. New Year's Day 2014 is nearly over.  I find myself restless to begin this new year.  There is this feeling of standing back stage waiting for your cue to be given - part fear and part anticipation.   I don't do resolutions, as such.  I believe they are traps that cause us to think less of ourselves because, almost always, we cannot accomplish our resolution. Life gives us enough opportunities to struggle, why make more? So, I dream or wish and my dreams have come true, as witnessed this year when I published another book and became an ordained minister.  This year brought friends from near and far to visit, gave me time with my growing number of grandchildren and allowed Roger and I to escape for an overnight to a lovely Bed and Breakfast in Vermont. What to I dream of this year?  My biggest dream is to go to the Provence with Roger.  We are nearly there....

Sitting at the window, I am watching the chickadees dart back and forth like magical winged puffs of the Creators breath.  The fly so fast, stop, grab a seed from the feeder and then speed off again.  I wonder at their ability to move so quickly without seeming to focus on obstacles in their way. A wise man once told me to look at Nature for lessons.  I have found that when we are quiet and simply observe, Nature has many lessons to teach us.  The four-legged, winged and finned inhabitants of this plant have so much to give, if we but stop awhile to ponder.  Even the trees, bushes and flowers have lessons to share. Last week, as I walked through the woods at my daughter's new home, I came across this tranquil spot.  The woods were silent, but for the occasional bark of the dogs or the distant swish of cars passing along the nearby road.  On this beautiful morning, we walked through the woods, our breath streaming behind us in the cold air. ...

Today we have a wonderful guest, Christine Cunningham, who is sharing her thoughts on New Beginnings.  Christine writes fictional stories to uplift and inspire. She is a life-long student of happiness and how to attract it. She compiles what she learns and weaves it into an understandable, enjoyable story.  She is the author of Eternal Beginning (non-fiction); Amazon bestseller, First Snow (romantic fiction); and 30 Day Guide to apply Eternal Beginning (non-fiction) - click on the picture above to view Christine's trailer . Life has a distinctly funny way of changing me. I get what I call “itchy feet.” Now, bypassing the silly remarks about athlete’s foot and better hygiene, let me tell you what I mean.  I’m in the enviable and sometimes not so enviable position of wanting everything to change and everything to remain the same. I’m not quite sure when this dichotomy began, but it continues to plague and pleasure my life.  Nearly a year ago, I was working at...

Image via Wikipedia Every January 1st, millions of people around the world make resolutions to give up, do without, change, recreate, and/or begin something. They look back on the past year, see the areas in their lives that could have been better, could have been more, could have been happier and resolve to make it so in the year ahead. One problem, almost always, most of these resolutions suddenly fizzle out around mid-February. Why? I believe it is because they are made without the recognition that in order to bring about true change, one must remove the root of whatever it is that is causing the problem. For instance, we can try to lose weight, but, if we don't recognize and change our behavior - i.e., realize that we eat when stressed - then we will only resort back to that behavior. After fifty some odd years of resolutions, I have decided to approach resolutions from a different angle this year. Instead of changing something about me - weight, attitude, etc. - I would...

Image by paul+photos=moody via Flickr It is day two of the New Year.  I am up before the sun on a gray winter's morn doing a bit of self-reflection on the past year.  As an optimist, my reflection is all about counting my blessings; however, I also want to take stock of what didn't work this year. The highlights of the past year have been many. My daughter, Kathleen was married. My daughters, Gwendolyn and Courtney each gave birth, adding to our ever-growing family. My daughter, Elizabeth moved back to New England. Many friends and family visited the Enchanted Cottage. My second book, Gogo's Dream: Swaziland Discovered was published. I reconnected with several old friends via the internet. My quest to become a minister of peace and justice through interfaith dialogue has moved forward. Just a few of the things that have not worked for me include, being unemployed, being sick, and not being able to exercise.   As we enter 2011, I am determined to continue my s...

Many of you who know me well know that I am not one to follow blindly the trends of others. In fact, tenacity r' us, especially when I feel strongly about something. So it is, also, with some of our traditions. Whoever came up with the idea that in order to make a resolution you have to give something up? Why do we take the negative view on things? It only defeats the purpose. "Giving up" food we love, things we like to do, etc., sets us into a negative frame of mind. Is it no wonder that we fail to keep our resolutions? Being positive, I believe, helps make things happen. If I resolve to allow myself more time to walk each day, I will eventually begin to see a change in my body. Exercise is good for the metabolism. This idea is so much more positive than, "I am not going to eat." The "not" is what gets us subconsciously. Therefore, the resolutions I want to make this New Year's Eve are: I will allow myself more time for walks, dancin...

I have sat here before, in this little chair beside the windows of the garden looking for inspiration. Almost always, the Muse meets me halfway and the words flow onto the screen. Yet, today, I feel empty of words, empty of ideas. Resolution: Never give up hope! (Never, say never!) Hope eternally! So, I look into the archives...the dusty pages of hand written scribblings, the faded pages of type from my old typewriter (yes, many of my first poems were typewritten, literally!). I find a few offerings, my New Year's gift to you all. NON-PRODUCTIVE Holding the pen, I strain to push thoughts onto the paper. My being is heavy with the memories of the past, thoughts for the future, and reflections on the duties due the present. The phrases that appear have no rhyme, no reason. Frustration and weariness push dreams away... the words are gone... I am empty. The mind would continue this madness, but the heart rules. Rest and quiet will fill the empty spaces. Sleep will bring inspiration...