Words from the Heart

Me on the occasion of my first birthday! I am at the end of my natal anniversary and thought I would share some thoughts and wisdom from 65 years on this beautiful, blue planet we call home with gratitude to all who have traveled this journey with me. I would love to share 65 bits of enlightenment, but perhaps we will go with nine as that is my favorite number and the number of my birth month as well as the total number of my birth day and year.  1. Love is the most powerful force on Earth. Never let time pass without telling those you love that you love them.  Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. 2. Children are our greatest asset. We are all responsible for maintaining and healing our Mother, Earth for them. 3. Dancing at random moments in the kitchen or out in the driveway or in the grocery store aisle with the one you love is such a gift, to yourself, your partner and anyone who gets the privilege of witnessing the dance. 4. Never - NEVER - forget to say ...

The older I get, the more I realize that wisdom needs to be shared.  This used to happen when we came together in long houses, around campfires, and at the kitchen table.  Today, wisdom comes in bits and pieces that often lack the personal connection of a parent, grandparent or familial elder.  I find this unfortunate, but, I have also learned from my Elders that we MUST share wisdom with the world NOW.   So, my gift to the world on my last day being 62 is 62 bits of wisdom.  My greatest joy will be to know that you find something here that resonates with you. 62.  No matter how old you are, you are never too old to dream and to have goals.  61.  Gardens are great places of healing.  Visit often. 60.  Water is the life blood of Mother Earth; we MUST protect both. 59.  Children are wiser today; listen to them.  They have a lot to teach us. 58.  Music should be a part of every day! 57.  If you w...

Over a year ago, I had an epiphany that led me to write an eBook, Returning to the Circle: Inspirational Wisdom from Women for Women. This is a work of love created in collaboration with several of my dear Sisters of the Soul, who contributed words of wisdom of their own.  The idea of the book is to reach out, especially to young women and girls, who may not be able to share in the wisdom that was once available to women as they gathered around the kitchen table or at the sewing bee or as they ground corn, prepared food or tended the fire. Within the pages of this book, women will find thirty days of affirmations along with the writings of my "sisters" and I.  Our hope is that it will help them to feel stronger, to have more confidence and to know their value.  One of the saddest things I have encountered in my middle years is the number of women who don't see their own self-worth. If you know of a young woman, girl or even a young-thinking woman, who might benefi...

Image by jondoig via Flickr   Cheyenne Grandmother Margaret Behan Gives a Blessing Mother Earth is in big trouble and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the implications. We are killing the very Life that sustains us.   The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers has been coming together each year, since 2002, to collectively and creatively bring awareness to the problems that we all face and to offer ideas that bring healing and change. This group of elder women from around the world, will meet this year in Anchorage to call on the Creator for "Healing the Spirit from the Light within."  These amazing women are no strangers to the creative powers. Creativity helps solve problems.  Our over consumption of electricity is killing our planet.  The link here ( Virtual Lantern ) offers an idea the Grandmothers have suggested to creatively get people aware of the electricity we waste.  On this site, people a...

Searching the shelf for a book of poems to take to my granddaughter's 5th birthday event, I had not planned on finding a poem that would spur me on to write, today.  The poem, written in my mother's hand was probably originally found in the pages of the Boston Globe or Good Housekeeping magazine, both of which she read religiously.  The Blessings of Grandchildren - My Cherubs 2010 As I read it, tears welled in my eyes.  Knowing my Mom and how much she loved her grandchildren, I know she must have copied it down with the intent of sending it off to one or several of them.    She could see the struggles they had in life, but was not always in the best shape to concentrate on helping them.  In the last years of her life, Mom was not the easiest person to be around.  Dementia and pain made it was difficult.  Visits were few, short and often emotional. That said, I know without a doubt, that Mom loved her grandchildren. My Girls with thei...