love thursday 11.29.12 ~ do you feel it?

Where there is great love there are always miracles. 

Willa Cather 

I love Salma....

'Nuff said.

soon i'll be ready

We don’t teach meditation to the young monks. They are not ready for it until they stop slamming doors. 

Thich Nhat Hanh 

to Thomas Merton in 1966 

I love this! 

I've always thought of meditation as a way to get myself to stop slamming doors. Perhaps I have it backwards.

I'm much better than I used to be at holding onto myself. I do still have my moments, as those who know me can attest. 

Note to self: Daily practice = stop slamming doors.

they know who they are

Know, first, who you are and then adorn yourself accordingly. 

Epictetus

one with everyone

Each one according to [their] means should take care to be at one with everyone else, for the more one is united to [their] neighbor, the more [they are] united with God. 

Dorotheus of Gaza 

An abbot who lived in the sixth century spoke words that we still need to hear today. Whether you believe in God or not, what is true is that we are all connected. The sooner we realize this, the more chance we will have to save us all.

Granted, I am not always willing to help a panhandler, though I have been known to do so. This isn't about giving handouts to everyone. This is about recognizing that we share the human condition. 

If you suffer, I suffer. If you celebrate, I celebrate.

We are in this together.

It's as simple as that.

to sleep, perchance to dream

i love it when grandma comes. i get to sleep in the guest bed.

I never thought there was the possibility of getting that close to a dog before. There were nights when it was so cold out that I would have him crawl into my sleeping bag with me just so I could stay warm.

Marine Cpl. Joseph Singer

on his bonding with a bomb-sniffing dog while in Afghanistan 

Sometimes...okay, often I am at a loss for words. I have a warm bed. I am safe. I love my cats and they love me. 

I will never know what it must be like for Corporal Singer and his dog. I thank them both for their service. 

May they be safe. 

May they be warm.

May they know they are loved.

Thank you.

the million dollar quartet

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins 

Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it....

Tallulah Bankhead

I suspect a million dollars is a bit low in today's economy.

have you ever tickled a leopard?

Those who do not feel pain seldom think that it is felt. 

Samuel Johnson

love thursday 11.22.12 ~ what my sister found on her windshield in the morning

Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard. 

Anne Sexton

She walked out of the house one frozen morning to go to work. This is the message she received.

May we all remember this every morning.

light within

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. 

John Muir 

Light exists in all things, if only we have eyes to see it.

honeyboy's new place to hang

Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment. 

Rumi

He does all right for being a 3 legged boy. I am often bewildered by his cleverness.

what the dog does when he is home alone

a man, a lioness, and her cubs

wounds

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. 

Jose Narosky

I have no idea how I did this. No war...not even a battle. No injury that registered on my screen or made me say ouch.

Many warriors have wounds that don't even show up this much. If only we could get it that even though their wounds may not show up on the outside, their souls are bruised and battered.

May we find peace. And may we take care of the soldiers whose wounds show and those whose wounds don't show.

basketball

We are always the same age inside. 

Gertrude Stein

At the beginning of the month, Mom and I went to Wyoming to visit my sister and her family. While there, we went to a middle school basketball game. See #5? He's in the foreground. That's my great-nephew. He made the first basket of the game!

Go Dalton!

love thursday 11.15.12 ~ self love

I used to allow other people to mistreat me. I wanted to be loved so badly I thought the attention they paid me, even negative, was love. One day I realized abuse, disrespect, neglect, rudeness, control, etc., is never love. The day I started respecting myself was the day I stopped the self-abuse of allowing other people to abuse me. 

 Regina Victoria Cates 

Self-love is sometimes the hardest lesson. It's okay if it takes a while to put your finger on it and see that you are being mistreated. The point is seeing it and taking action.

The more practiced we become, the quicker we see it and take appropriate action. Abuse is never love.

stop digging

Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. 

JK Rowling

And once you hit rock bottom...see above.

four lanes of traffic stopped

a small rant

One of the benefits of being a mature, well-educated woman is that you are not afraid of expletives. And you have no fear to put a fool in his place. That's the power of language and experience. You learn a lot from Shakespeare. 

Judi Dench

I will try to refrain from the expletives in this post on general principles. Just be aware, I am a mature, educated woman and I am not afraid of expletives...nor am I afraid to use them.
 
This will be brief:

I fucking hate the new blogger interface. (Oops...that was short-lived.)  It's unfriendly and won't do some of the things it used to. Those things-it-won't do are things that made my postings quick and easy. Now? Not so much.

My daily posts come in batches now. So check back when you can. I'll try to catch up and keep up. 

lonely?

The only answer in this life, to the loneliness we are all bound to feel, is community. The living together, working together, sharing together, loving God and loving our [neighbor], and living close to [God] in community so we can show our love for [God]. 

Dorothy Day

What do you do when you feel lonely?

I used to pick up the phone and call one of a dozen people to chat or get together to do something. Seems like spontaneity is a thing of the past when it comes to social interactions.

Give me some hints....

chooka parker...he makes it up as he goes along

a moment in time

love thursday 11.08.12 ~ speak only love

The tongue, like a sharp knife... 
Kills without drawing blood. 

Gautama Buddha

I need to heed my own words. I wish I could catch some of them before they come out of my mouth. For the times I don't...I apologize.

may we learn this lesson

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. 

Swami Vivekananda 

I don't know about you, but I am glad this election season is over...well, almost over--all but the instant replays.

Learning to work and play together was one of the lessons of elementary school, wasn't it?

Perhaps it is time to return to basics.

be informed

A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. 

Mark Twain

Today is election day. Vote or not. It is your choice. However, if you do vote, please be informed. Check your sources. Don't just assume that if the stories you hear support your prejudices they are accurate.

 

create

Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something. 

Kurt Vonnegut

The important thing is...DO SOMETHING.

You will feel good for having done something...even sweeping the floor.

more than one way

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. 

Friedrich Nietzsche

The cat climbed the ladder to get into the tree. Is that wrong? 

No judgment.

humor has saved more than one person, i'm sure

Humor has bailed me out of more tight situations than I can think of. If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows. With luck, success comes, too. 

Jimmy Buffett

 And I'm gonna go see my sister. Laughter will prevail.

dream a little dream

The thing you have to be prepared for is that other people don't always dream your dream. 

Linda Ronstadt

Or a big one. But whatever you dream...make sure it is your own.

love thursday 11.01.12 ~ a prayer worth saying

I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend against its force. My love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day. 

 Og Mandino