Seasons in the Sun

 To everything there is a season,
 a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.

ecclesiastes 3:1-8

“And you would accept the seasons of your heart just as you have always accepted that seasons pass over your fields and you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.”

Kahlil Gibran

We can never predict, I've found, how life can change from day to day. In such a rapid shift,we move from joy to sadness. How can I stay continually prepared for the different seasons? My heart is learning to never become complacent in either  joy nor sorrow. For each shall pass. 

Without discipline, you haven't a leg to stand on

I really thought I'd just jump right in and start listening more. Naive girl, I am. So this week I thought to be as good a time as any to start my new discipline of listening. Whoops? Did I say discipline? Something perhaps I never considered I'd need to shift from talker conversationalist to intentional listener.

Today  disproved any preconceived notion I might have had that I could listen. That poor lady ! Seriously,  I wanted to pop her and make her quit interrupting what I was trying to say. And just like that, I realized, my first attempt at listening - sincerely shutting my mouth, not thinking of the next words I wanted to say, and allowing another to complete their thought without any input from myself - had failed. 

To listen well, is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation

 

 

I'll be listening in 2012

Listen ..... yes, I've settled. That's it. My power word for 2012.  After reading several articles on the power of focusing my New year's resolution toward one main word, I decided this idea was perfect for me - the one who tends to forget easily. My initial thoughts on this led me to Love but then I began to think a little deeper on this. I feared that to learn and live more love came more from a place of interest all my own and well, sometimes left on my own, I don't always see, hear, or even want to follow my privilege of divine direction. So, in an effort to get this year 'right', I thought I would spend some time reflecting, praying, and asking for my word instead. Continually I am led back to the word Listen.

Now, at first, I assumed I was simply to listen to my God, to be still, and really listen this year. It didn't really tickle my fancy as an exciting word for the year as daily I try to practice this listening. But then, in a intriguing way, I heard more. I heard that listening to myself too involved building confidence in the divine directions I felt I'm being given. And then, I became even more excited when I realized just how powerful this word would be for me this year. This listening would certainly incorporate listening with intention to others also.

This whole thought process began on Christmas Eve. Up until this point , my days spent photographing the homeless and low income seemed to be the direction God had been leading me. It seemed that He, indeed, could take my eye for photography and use it for His honor and glory. Throughout the year of 2011, I felt this movement. Always a little unsure of how the pictures would play into the grand scheme of things, I followed along anyway. But then...

On the eve of Christmas as my homeless friends came through the line for their Christmas portrait, I began to feel something different. It was more than the actual portrait, itself. It was the moment in time where I was able to ask each and every one of the 75 visitors their name. It was the moment when I touched their hand and said sit here , you're beautiful. It was the moment when we laughed and smiled together during our little mini sessions. And it was then, the idea of listening was born in me.

That moment was huge. But not near as huge as the moment I realized this week how God had encompassed it all together. Listen to Him , Listen to Others, and Listen to Myself. I could cry right here. The word which seemingly meant little seems to cover everything I struggled with in 2011. Well, maybe struggle is not the right word. Maybe, this word is simply building onto the foundation He has been laying for me. I don't see the picture clearly but somehow I have a sense of peace with this word. Listen feels like a guide for the upcoming year. So - that's it - in 2012, I'll be listening. Let it be.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

Ernest Hemingway

 

 

post script: ironically after finding the above photo via internet, I realized that may initial leaning toward the word Love was not so incorrect after all. I can already see I will grow much toward love this year.

A Warm Fuzzy Tale

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived two happy people called Tim and Maggie with their two children, John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days.

 

You see in those happy days everyone was given a small, soft Fuzzy Bag when born. Any time a person reached into this bag they were able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy. Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever someone was given a Warm Fuzzy it made them feel warm and fuzzy all over.

In those days it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Anytime that somebody felt like it, he might walk up to you and say, "I'd like to have a Warm Fuzzy." You would then reach into your bag and pull out a Fuzzy the size of a child’s hand. As soon as the Fuzzy saw the light of day it would smile and blossom into a large, shaggy, Warm Fuzzy. When you laid the Warm Fuzzy on the person's head, shoulder or lap it would snuggle up and melt right against their skin and make them feel good all over.

People were always asking each other for Warm Fuzzies, and since they were always given freely, getting enough of them was never a problem. There were always plenty to go around, and so everyone was happy and felt warm and fuzzy most of the time.

One day a bad witch who made salves and potions for sick people became angry because everyone was so happy and feeling good and no one was buying potions and salves. The witch was very clever and devised a very wicked plan. One beautiful morning while Maggie was playing with her daughter the witch crept up to Tim and whispered in his ear,

"See here, Tim, look at all the Fuzzies that Maggie is giving to Lucy. You know, if she keeps it up she is going to run out and then there won't be any left for you!"

Tim was astonished. He turned to the witch and asked, "Do you mean to tell me that there isn't a Warm Fuzzy in our bag every time we reach into it?".

And the witch answered, "No, absolutely not, and once you run out, that's it. You don't have any more." With this the witch flew away on a broom, laughing and cackling all the way.

Tim took this to heart and began to notice every time Maggie gave away a Warm Fuzzy. He got very worried because he liked Maggie's Warm Fuzzies very much and did not want to give them up. He certainly did not think it was right for Maggie to be spending all her Warm Fuzzies on the children and other people.

Tim began to complain or sulk when he saw Maggie giving Warm Fuzzies to somebody else, and because Maggie loved him very much, she stopped giving Warm Fuzzies to other people as often, and reserved most of them for him.

The children watched this and soon began to get the idea that it was wrong to give Warm Fuzzies any time you were asked or felt like it. They too became very careful. They would watch their parents closely and whenever they felt that one of their parents was giving too many Fuzzies to others, they felt jealous and complained and sometimes even had a tantrum. And even though they found a Warm Fuzzy every time they reached into their bag they began to feel guilty whenever they gave them away so they reached in less and less and became more and more stingy with them.

Before the witch, people used to gather in groups of three, four or five, never caring too much who was giving Warm Fuzzies to whom. After the coming of the witch, people began to pair off and to reserve all their Warm Fuzzies for each other, exclusively. When people forgot to be careful and gave a Warm Fuzzy to just anybody they worried because they knew that somebody would probably resent sharing their Warm Fuzzies.

People began to give less and less Warm Fuzzies, and felt less warm and less fuzzy. They began to shrivel up and, occasionally, people would even die from lack of Warm Fuzzies. People felt worse and worse and, more and more, people went to the witch to buy potions and salves even though they didn't really seem to work.

Well, the situation was getting very serious indeed. The bad witch who had been watching all of this didn't really want the people to die (since dead people couldn't buy his salves and potions), so a new plan was devised.

Everyone was given, free of charge, a bag that was very similar to the Fuzzy Bag except that this one was cold while the Fuzzy Bag was warm. Inside of the witch's bag were Cold Pricklies. These Cold Pricklies did not make people feel warm and fuzzy; in fact they made them feel cold and prickly instead. But the Cold Pricklies were better than nothing and they did prevent peoples' backs from shriveling up. 

So, from then on, when somebody asked for a Warm Fuzzy, people who were worried about depleting their supply would say, "I can't give you a Warm Fuzzy, but would you like a Cold Prickly instead?"

Sometimes, two people would walk up to each other, thinking they maybe they could get a Warm Fuzzy this time, but one of them would change his mind and they would wind up giving each other Cold Pricklies instead. So, the end result was that people were not dying anymore but a lot of people were very unhappy and feeling very cold and prickly indeed.

The situation got very complicated since the coming of the witch because there were fewer and fewer Warm Fuzzies around and Warm Fuzzies which used to be free as air, became extremely valuable.

This caused people to do all sorts of things in order to get Warm Fuzzies. People who could not find a generous partner had to buy their Warm Fuzzies and had to work long hours to earn the money.

Some people became "popular" and got a lot of Warm Fuzzies without having to give any back. These people would then sell their Warm Fuzzies to people who were "unpopular" and needed them to feel that life was worth living.

Another thing which happened was that some people would take Cold Pricklies--which were everywhere and freely available-and coated them white and fluffy so that they almost looked like Warm Fuzzies. These fake Warm Fuzzies were really Plastic Fuzzies, and they caused additional problems.

For instance, two or more people would get together and freely give each other Plastic Fuzzies. They expected to feel good, but they came away feeling bad instead. People got very confused never realizing that their cold, prickly feelings were because they had been given a lot of Plastic Fuzzies.

So the situation was very, very dismal and it all started because of the coming of the witch who made people believe that some day, when least expected, they might reach into their Warm Fuzzy Bag and find no more.

Not long ago, a young woman with big hips came to this unhappy land. She seemed not to have heard about the bad witch and was not worried about running out of Warm Fuzzies. She gave them out freely, even when not asked. They called her the Hip Woman and disapproved of her because she was giving the children the idea that they should not worry about running out of Warm Fuzzies. The children liked her very much because they felt good around her and they began to follow her example giving out Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it. 

This made the grownups very worried. To protect the children from depleting their supplies of Warm Fuzzies they passed a law. The law made it a criminal offense to give out Warm Fuzzies in a reckless manner or without a license. Many children, however, seemed not to care; and in spite of the law they continued to give each other Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it and always when asked. Because they were many, many children, almost as many as grown ups, it began to look as if maybe they would have their way.

As of now its hard to say what will happen. Will the grownups laws stop the recklessness of the children?

Are the grownups going to join with the Hip Woman and the children in taking a chance that there will always be as many Warm Fuzzies as needed?

Will they remember the days their children are trying to bring back when Warm Fuzzies were abundant because people gave them away freely ?

The struggle spread all over the land and is probably going on right were you live. If you want to, and I hope you do, you can join by freely giving and asking for Warm Fuzzies and being as loving and healthy as you can.

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.”

 

 

Author, Claude Steiner

The Message

Why do I do the things I do not want to do?

Why, when I am aware, do I do it anyway?

Romans 7:15-25

The Message

 ^14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
 ^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
 ^21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
 ²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
 ²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Have you found life to be full of contradictions?

A Horse With No Name

 

 

I am open to the guidance of synchronicity,

and do not let expectations hinder my path.

 

Though I expected the sun to set as I headed west in anticipation of capturing it, I wasn't sure I would find just the right spot to sit and watch it descend. I drove hurriedly, searching the horizon as the sun changed from one side of the highway to the other. I felt anxious that if I did not soon find a spot , I would miss it altogether. Off to the right my eye took in a reminder that I was not in charge, that if it were meant for me...it would offer itself up. I need only wait....and watch .

A peace fell over me, my energy relaxed itself and in that moment, I let go of any expectation that today would be the picture perfect sunset chasing Sunday afternoon and with intention  I decided to just enjoy the moment . 

Driving on westward, I slid  in my favorite cd , grooved into my seat, and patted my Zoey dog on the head...content to just enjoy as the sky before me glared in a myriad of amber rays.

What I could have never expected was what met me as I  rounded the very next curve. Delighted as though I had come to the end of the rainbow and therein, found a pot of gold. 

Expect Nothing,

and you'll never be disappointed.

 Location: Rural South Georgia
 Photography : Peacefotos 
 Music: America ~ A Horse With No Name (1972)

Shake the Dust

This is for the fat girls.

This is for the little brothers.

This is for the school-yard wimps, this is for the childhood bullies who tormented them.

This is for the former prom queen, this is for the milk-crate ball players.

This is for the nighttime cereal eaters and for the retired, elderly Wal-Mart store front door greeters. Shake the dust.

This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them,

for the bus drivers driving a million broken hymns,

for the men who have to hold down three jobs simply to hold up their children,

for the nighttime schoolers and the midnight bike riders who are trying to fly. Shake the dust.

This is for the two-year-olds who cannot be understood because they speak half-English and half-god. Shake the dust.

For the girls with the brothers who are going crazy,

for those gym class wall flowers and the twelve-year-olds afraid of taking public showers,

for the kid who's always late to class because he forgets the combination to his lockers,

for the girl who loves somebody else. Shake the dust.

This is for the hard men, the hard men who want to love but know that it won't come.

For the ones who are forgotten, the ones the amendments do not stand up for.

For the ones who are told to speak only when you are spoken to and then are never spoken to. Speak every time you stand so you do not forget yourself.

Do not let a moment go by that doesn't remind you that your heart beats 900 times a day and that there are enough gallons of blood to make you an ocean.

Do not settle for letting these waves settle and the dust to collect in your veins.

This is for the celibate pedophile who keeps on struggling,

for the poetry teachers and for the people who go on vacations alone.

For the sweat that drips off of Mick Jaggers' singing lips and for the shaking skirt on Tina Turner's shaking hips, for the heavens and for the hells through which Tina has lived.

This is for the tired and for the dreamers and for those families who'll never be like the Cleavers with perfectly made dinners and sons like Wally and the Beaver.

This is for the biggots,

this is for the sexists,

this is for the killers.

This is for the big house, pen-sentenced cats becoming redeemers and for the springtime that always shows up after the winters.

This? This is for you.

Make sure that by the time fisherman returns you are gone.

Because just like the days, I burn both ends and every time I write, every time I open my eyes I am cutting out a part of myself to give to you.

So shake the dust and take me with you when you do for none of this has never been for me.

All that pushes and pulls, pushes and pulls for you.

So grab this world by its clothespins and shake it out again and again and jump on top and take it for a spin and when you hop off shake it again for this is yours.

Make my words worth it, make this not just another poem that I write, not just another poem like just another night that sits heavy above us all.

Walk into it, breathe it in, let is crash through the halls of your arms at the millions of years of millions of poets coursing like blood pumping and pushing making you live, shaking the dust.

So when the world knocks at your front door, clutch the knob and open on up, running forward into its widespread greeting arms with your hands before you, fingertips trembling though they may be.
Written and performed by Anis Mojgani


 

Looking for a Hippie

Sometimes I wish I could return to the same mindset of that at eighteen years of age. A time when nothing mattered but the present moment, a time when my ideals were less defined, and a time when I found it exciting to just make a connection with a guy whether he fit the bill or not. Now, why would I wish such things? Everything we learn in our maturity leads us to make better choices in all areas of our lives. This should be good, right? Though it seems, and I speak from my experience, that finding a mate in life as we enter middle age, is not near as easy as when we expected so much less.

So, I ponder, do we expect too much? Are our ideals too lofty for others to meet? Is there even any possible way to find the one whose criteria matches our list? Somewhere along the line of opposites attract and looking for one with similar interests and ideals, I have become confused. I tremble at the thought of living life with an opposite. Yet, with my hippie mentality, I can't help but wonder if two of us similar in nature would have enough get up and go to get much done. Someone has to be responsible, yes? lol...I laugh but in reality I am tired of being the driving force in managing life. In my fantasy, I desire a responsible hippie. Yes, I'm confident...this would complete me. * thinking as I recede into my little world of day dreaming*

Sometimes in my quest to align myself with reality, I admit I google random thoughts just to see if anyone out in the atmosphere ever has thought the same. Such was the case just recently. I decided to google Looking for a Hippie *giggles*. Okay, you may laugh with me but don't think me insane because suprisingly enough I found that there are, indeed, others who wish upon the same star. I ran across a Hippie Forum where hippies looking for other hippies can make exchanges. Lo and behold, I found that many free spirits are wanting to share their lives with like-minded ones. I felt a bit of comfort in the fact that all of my ponderings on this are not futile. I have now determined that the philosophy we hear of opposites attract has little validity and perhaps I have come to a better mindset by evolving into a likeness attract way of thinking. 

I feel more confident now that I have settled this matter within myself. I would be well to note here that I did not join the forum....I still believe in the natural occurence of events and will hold out, continuing to keep my heart and mind open for the one. I've noticed that I have a tendency to rationalize potential mates into being the one I would want. I've also noticed that I stay in a quandry mentally when I do this...is this love that I'm feeling? I think I may be growing up, I no longer find myself interested when confusuion sets in. I feel like I have shifted positions...finally...from caring who likes me but rather who is it that I like. It's taken quite the years to love myself enough to want the very best for me.

Dreams come true and without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them 

J. Ruskin.

We don't just dream because we are unhappy with our lives, we dream because the nature of life around us 'incites' us to look at what else we can have in our lives.

Music: Lenny Kravitz ~ Let Love Rule

Why Walk When You Can Fly

 

More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if you can conceive of such a combination.  

~Wilbur Wright~

 

 

 

In this world there's a whole lot of trouble, baby
In this world there's a whole lot of pain
In this world there's a whole lot of trouble
But a whole lot of ground to gain
Why take when you could be giving, why watch as the world goes by
It's a hard enough life to be living, why walk when you can fly

In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
In this world there's a whole lot of shame
In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
And a whole lotta ground to gain
When you spend your whole life wishing, wanting and wondering why
It's a long enough life to be living, why walk when you can fly

In this world there's a whole lot of cold
In this world there's a whole lot of blame
In this world you've a soul for a compass
And a heart for a pair of wings
There's a star on the far horizon, rising bright in an azure sky
For the rest of the time that you're given, why walk when you can fly

 

 

 

 

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

 

 

 

 

Come Away With Me

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.

That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.

Edgar Allan Poe

I experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. I am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream.

Vincent Van Gogh

A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.

Michelangelo

What is really beautiful must always be true.

Stendhal

She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short.

To pay homage to beauty is to admire Nature; to admire Nature is to worship God

 

 

Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I didn't ask for it to be over, but then again, I never asked for it to begin. For that's the way it is with life, as some of the most beautiful days come completely by chance. But even the most beautiful days eventually have their sunsets.

The Law of Attraction

A traveler nearing a great city asked an old man seated by the road,

“What are the people like in this city?”

“What were they like where you come from?” asked the old man.

“Horrible,” the traveler responded in disgust. “Mean, untrustworthy, detestable in all respects.”

“Ah…” said the old man thoughtfully, “you will probably find them the same in this city as well.”

A few hours later another traveler passed by and asked the old man the same question.

“What were they like where you come from?” he similarly asked.

“They were fine people. Honest, industrious, generous, caring; I was sorry to leave,” the traveler responded.

“You’ll find them the same here,” the old man replied.

Parables teach us great truths. 

Get yourself right and your world will be right. If you want authentic meaningful relationships with others, look no further than yourself. Become authentic. Become yourself.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

We Wear the Mask

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.
 

~Jim Morrison

Masks obscure honestly. Masks keep others at bay or else, masks attract others to a false pretense of who I am. Masks are not sad personas, often they are much the opposite. I'm quite the guilty one of a smiling and laughing mask when if it were pealed off, there would be a reflection of loneliness and discontent. But not always, sometimes my smile is genuine ,my laughter from a deep a happy state. So how are you to know in my inconsistency? How are you to know which day I am revealing my truthful self? .....How am I to know your truth?

Few of us, I've come to realize, rarely are as authentic as we were created to be. Why is this? Why  do I (or you) mask our truth? I began by thinking of others and why people mask themselves. Quickly it was reflected back to myself .  In my there humbled state, I came to an awareness that I, too, am fearful of exposing, at times, my genuine self. It was quite the surprise, to yet again, have this revealed, having spent a great many years pealing back the masks to discover who I am today. 

This tells me to be gentle with myself, whereas my first inclination was to be angry with me. For you see, I've come a long way and undoubtedly thought I was there. There? Where is there? I suppose I thought it was a plateau, one where I stood tried, true, and truthful to my genuine self. I laugh out loud now. Never will I be complacent in my growth. To not be growing and gaining awareness of who I whole- heartedly was created to be...well, suffice it to say, that day will find me at the end of my journey.

So for today, as I look into my morning mirror, I remind myself that I am loved just as I am and thankfully so. I am loved completely without mask; I am loved when I forget that and done my mask anyway. But somehow, this morning, I am finding it intriguing  to realize that the times I wear those masks, I do so to please others. My epiphany is this: there is but One I must please. He already knows me and to wear any other mask but my natural affront is a self imposed prison, the mask, a wall that keeps others out.

Today I will practice entertaining guests. Some may enjoy themselves, others may not. But I will be content in knowing I am  Free to Be Me.

Summertime in Fotos - Repost

zoom out and celebrate what is good in life.......


Last summer, I spent most of my time kayaking the river in our area and brought back some really cool memories. However, things inevitably change. Drowning my camera has hampered my kayaking and photographing, my kayak chica ran off to Cali. and my kayak hippie dude of a friend can't seem to pencil me in his schedule. Are ya feeling my sadness?

But

This summer, I have been lucky to have access a few blocks from home to "the creek" and what we call the blue hole.The last couple of weekends, my bff and her hubbie have boated up the creek and picked me up on their way . My latest mode of floating cost me 3 bucks, won't turn over, and is lime green just like my kayak.....don't be hating ;)

>

So what we have here is just a little (of 400 some odd fotos) of what summertime means to me. Who are these people? I have no idea, but after a while they became pretty friendly to my camera.

Hope you've had a great summer. School starts tomorrow!


The Blue Hole
(continuing to be enjoyed generation after generation)

Peace, Love & Summertime

peacegirlplace
2010