Affirmation

"i blow the wind of encouragement your way..so your boat will move just a little further from shore and catch the wind already waiting for you in the middle of the ocean of all possibilities

"Let your heart be your compass...and your mind the sails. And let the wind of Love take you far and wide..to where you belong ♥

Commitment = Dancing in the Rain

Too many people only decide whether they like their partner's strengths..but that's actually not even a decision. That's merely falling in love. Staying in love is deciding whether you are okay with your partner's flaws.

I think that's what committed relationships are really about. Can i 'put up' with someone's weaknesses as well as i 'put up' with their strengths? That's what we really need to decide in forming a long term partnership: "Can i LIVE with YOUR 'FLAWS' knowing you may work on them or not, and that even if you work on them..just because you love me enough to try..they may never go away?"

If you can say yes to that..and mean it, you'll both get through the storms that WILL come. Rain is inevitable..it's a law of nature. Better just to choose your umbrella upfront..then you can dance in the rain ♥

A beautiful woman

There is nothing more beautiful to a man than a woman confident despite her
flaws,
and nothing more valuable to a woman than another woman who
shares her struggles..

A beautiful woman embraces her flaws and makes them her allies, not her foes

Love..Flows

Water follows the shape of it's container..ever flexible..
and yet it always stays water..
no matter what shape it takes.
Water is gentle..yet cuts through rock


Let your LOVE be... like water ~

Love..Releases

All things in life have seasons..
and all relationships have a PURPOSE..
those we link with are mirrors
and some do not stay..
as they need to be on their own journey
as we are on ours

some can only grow
if they leave the shade of our branches..
a tree does not go after those who leave her side..
she stays constant
knowing she is there with open arms
BOTH to Embrace and to Let Go..

ALL relationships are a test of our own NEED

Walk into an open field holding on to a balloon..
say a prayer for what was and how it's blessed you
then open your hands and LET GO

ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE
LOVE makes sure of that at all times ♥

The Power of One..Multiplied

Each bulb is shining bright, because that's what it's meant to do.
All connected to the same power source.
Go far enough..and you can see: The power of one.. Multiplied

JOY

“A laugh is a smile that bursts” ~ Mary H. Waldrip

Ode to Shiloh

I made a postcard for my friend Leo Lemon of his cat Shiloh..
He framed it up (thank you Leo!)
and here is Shiloh - sitting proudly under his very own
"Ode to Shiloh"

TOOO precious
gorgeous kitty...i LOVE it ♥











Here's the postcard :)

Open Skies

When i was 10, i had one dream..to travel. I wanted to see OPEN sky. I lived in a small home, with iron bars on every window..and the houses crowded next to each other. It was lovely though to just have a home. We started out in a wooden house in a village and that seemed poor but it was heaven to me because it was surrounded by nature..and i could run free outside. Here in the city behind iron bars i was grateful to have the washroom inside, where i could turn on a light, instead of outside..where it was pitch dark. Yet i had traded a safer washroom for my ability to run outside and play. Outside cars passed by and i was kept in all the time where it was 'safe'. So i got used to those bars..but i never stopped dreaming that somewhere was a life for me without bars and with plenty of sky. Someday i would be free to BREATHE in the open air.

At 18, I earned a scholarship to study in New Zealand - also known as Aoteroa. Land of the Long White Cloud. Which meant it was FULL OF AMAZING OPEN SKY. All my dorm rooms in New Zealand had no bars and always, i got the room with a view of open sky. I travelled all of New Zealand during summer and had my fill of open skies. My dream had come true. I cherished and savoured every minute of it.

I still look for a patch of open sky every day. Standing on a beach, driving in a car, sitting at a park, standing in my yard with my eyes upward. I NEVER take it for granted. It reminds me where i was once was, and where i am now. Open air and open skies remind me daily that DREAMS DO COME TRUE ~




Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page on Monday, 24 May 2010

Space for Darkness

If we go far enough into outer space..we see that the earth is both night and day at the very same time. It's then we realise that both night and day are ONE and the SAME..the difference merely a matter of timing and perception.

It helps to accept that pain has a place in this world. It helps to accept the sunset and give yourself freedom to receive comfort from some stars on moonless night. And if there is no moon, find a single candle. Anything that makes it OKAY to be in the dark for a while. For however long you need to, to heal.

Only - fight to stay AWARE that the Sun is STILL shining even though you can't see it.

Sometimes it takes a tornado to tear down what's already dilapitated..because we just won't move on to a safer, better home or make the necessary repairs and changes. But when a tornado happens and it's destroyed..we feel the pain, but almost a sense of relief even that it's finally over. THEN at last we have the reason to pick up and do what we needed to all along.

An oyster makes dirt into a pearl.
Our pain and darkness too - can be a seed for great Beauty and LoveShine.

Today - I allow myself UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE AND LOVE ♥


Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page on Wednesday 26 May 2010

A Letter to My Daughters

Girls, each of you have been a precious gift to me. I could never have learnt as much as I have, grown so much, experienced so much of life, without being your mother. You are each amazing people, and it's a privilege to watch you bloom.

Yet, some days you must feel you are a burden more than a joy to me. The truth is, on those days it's my own sense of lack, my own feeling that I can't be enough for you, that makes me sad and distant - even angry. That is hard on us both.

I love you. But its not enough to love you deep down, I know you need to feel loved high up too. So I think we need to accept this about each other - that sometimes I must love you high up in ways you prefer and that at other times I can only love you high up in ways that I prefer. The point I want you to see is that whatever the way, I am loving you. Accepting this would mean we can truly enjoy each other, without the burden of high expectations placed on each other.

Loving you is not a chore, so I won't make it so.

Loving me is not a demand, so don't act or think like it is so.
Let us love each other freely, simply because
we are meant to be together,
because it is written in the STARs..
That I am your mother..
that love will flow from the Universe to you from me
and that it will return to me from you.
A complete circle, a constellation neither you nor I can ever undo..

Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page Friday 16 July 2010

Light the Candle..of your heart

And these three remain: faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is LOVE

Everyday..whether a song, a short movie clip, an excerpt of a book..or merely watching someone lovely for 5 minutes..or a flower even..awaken LOVE inside you

This is the poet's way..or else his words, his music or his brush will still...and the world will mourn after he is gone because he wasted away in silence..And they will regret that they did not shield him more from the darker parts of reality..so that he could brighten their days for more and for longer..

But what if YOU are the poet? Then seek all that will keep you shielded..all that will keep you safe in your dream..so your candle will remain burning and become a great fire that can never be engulfed..

And your brush, your song, your words..will flow freely..
blessing many as it finds its way back to the ocean of love.


Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page on Tuesday 3 August 2010

Honouring Space for Pain

Taking in the laundry..a gecko rushed frantically away from me, as i reached for the sheet on the fencing. Poor soul..it didn't know i meant no harm. Anyone who knows me could tell that gecko, i would never deliberately harm. But perhaps it thought i may harm it by accident? I can't be sure.

All i do know is that gecko reminded me of so many people i have met in this lifetime..who shrink away from a meaningful encounter. From a relationship. From an opportunity. From a second chance. Because like that little panicked gecko..they are wary from memories of the past. Or avoiding the uncertainties of the future. Scarred by what has been and by imaginary could be's - they merely react. And never truly give themselves a chance to respond to what's contained in the NOW.

Yet just like i understood that gecko, i understand their panic. I am no longer hurt when another rejects me, or runs the other way. I understand now that it's never truly about me or against me. I need not feel hurt..not by a panicky gecko, not by a judgemental stranger, not by a distant friend nor an angry lover. Instead, now when someone runs away or rejects me..i see a gecko. I accept they have some form of pain. Accept that there is no need to judge them or myself. Accept that there is no need to become defensive..but to simply honour the other's need for time to heal and move on. I think this was one of the greatest acts of kindness given to me when i was a gecko not too long ago..and i am glad to now pass on the love.

Original post on Facebook Fan Page on Sunday, 22 August 2010

Free as the Wind

When you stand in a strong breeze ..if you close your eyes and stay in THAT moment alone..no past nor future..and if you choose..you can actually SEND a part of you along with that breeze..

Stand facing the wind..
Close your eyes..or open them if the view soothes your soul
Open your heart and then focus on 'jumping into that wind'
Then actually visualise the breeze going THROUGH you
and a part of yourself going away with that breeze
as it travels on..
it's VERY powerful and healing


i imagine all that is negative in me..
the debris of remaining negative energies i am unconscious of ..all of it going away with that breeze

and in that moment..

i feel VERY free and wild
and sometimes...i can see places i am not at and i know..
it is part of me in that breeze traveling on
free as the wind ~~


Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page on Wednesday, 25 August 2010

Normal..is just a setting on my washing machine

When you have a challenge..like bipolar, or autism, or depression..or a weak kidney.. you actually have two choices: Live It Up or Survive. To me, it's an opportunity to finally Live It Up because now you get to REALLY live life fully. A challenge makes you wake up and make choices and really push limits and know what you are all truly capable of achieving in life. So many people have routine lives and get bored to death inside. But a challenge provides just that extra ingredient in your life that can make you live your best life EVER.

There is no such thing as a disability..in God's eyes all of us are disabled in one way or another..a fiery destructive temper, silent passive aggression, stubborn irresponsibility, thoughtless critic. Are't those disabilities too? (In fact, they actually wreck far more lives) So 'disability' is actually just a pointless label. Heard of the woman who has no arms who can fly an aeroplane? The man with no limbs who can swim? I see them and i think..who's actually disabled? More like the people who complain that life is tough and do nothing but expect others to make it easier for them. Or those who could do something to ease the burden for others, but choose to stay indifferent. These are the true 'disabled' in my eyes.

Nope..if you have a challenge (even if it IS a fiery destructive temper) - you actually have the opportunity to have a better life than most. You can become more conscious of your choices and responses and by doing so, live better deliberately - you Live It Up.

Yes, you will have rainy days - who doesn't? Nature even has typhoons and floods hit the landscape, why should your heartscape be any different? Rainy days are NOT a measure of the quality of your life. It's what you do when the sun is shining - that truly defines an extraordinary life worth living

Originally posted on Facebook Fan Page on Friday, 27 August 2010

Relationships...

All things in life have seasons..
and all relationships have a PURPOSE..
those we link with are mirrors
and some do not stay..
as they need to be on their own journey
...as we are on ours

some can only grow
if they leave the shade of our branches..
a tree does not go after those who leave her side..
she stays constant
knowing she is there with open arms
BOTH to Embrace and to Let Go..

ALL relationships are a test of our own NEED

Walk into an open field holding on to a balloon..
say a prayer for what was and how it's blessed you
then open your hands and LET GO

ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE
LOVE makes sure of that at all times ♥

Love is...a RISK everyone takes

i risked a lot..gained a lot..lost a lot..still have a lot..
in the end..LOVE always WILL FIND A WAY

trick is loving..not because you need to
but because you want to

heart love not mind love is what endures..
because what is rooted in our soul cannot perish

20 years with the same man
name it..we've been through it
which is why i say..
LOVE WILL FIND A WAY

to those who rush into romance without care
it is the fervour of youth and adventure
but hey..aren't we ALL supposed to experience something like that once in a lifetime?

just need to forgive ourselves and the other.
not to blame love
but realise that it's okay..it's okay..
to be young and have to learn from the school of life
open back the heart
even to the same lover who has hurt you..
after we have made peace with ourselves
it's actually our own reflection in the mirror
we need to love most
and then..quite naturally,
our heart will be a true compass
pointing north to the one
we are meant to have companionship with
for the parts of the journey where two are better than one ♥

Where LOVE Roams Free

Why do people live with limits willingly? I always wonder why they choose the pain of being trapped rather than the pain of working towards their dreams. It's pain both ways after all. Isn't it more torture to be trapped? Or maybe the cage becomes a safety net..against the risk of disappointment. If you don't try then you can always imagine you could have..but if you try and fail? You don't even have the dream anymore.

It's the word FAIL that i see as the real cage. Is it true..that failure is not getting what we want, the way we wanted it? Or is it true that failure means you didn't get it at the pace others have set for you to attain their version of YOUR success? If it's YOUR dream..then how could anyone else understand it? And if they cannot fathom it, how could they ever be qualified to judge it..and deem it a success or not?

That you DARED to DREAM is success.
That you DARED to TRY is success.
That you DARED to take the WALK ..one step at a time..is success.
That you DARED to be TRUE to YOUR OWN HEART..is a success.
Most of all..
That you DARED to REJECT FEAR and JUDGEMENT..is the greatest success of all.

There is no failure..except one..that you stayed in a cage content to live with the sadness of being unable to use your wings.

But what if merely cherishing your dreams is what makes you happy after all?
What if living within limits becomes your comforter..and makes you secure and more able to love others?
Then i can see..

That to DARE to live WITHOUT NEEDING DREAMS TO COME TRUE...can be success,
BUT ONLY IF it is what fuels the love within you to flow freely to yourself and others.

For perhaps you are a Penguin or an Ostrich or a Kiwi bird..and need not actually fly at all.
Or perhaps like a pampered parakeet, you actually prefer your humble home and sing best in it.
So then, if limits, your 'cage' does not make you love less, or halt love from flowing freely from within you..
perhaps that is all your dreams are FOR..to stay a mere inspiring sunset upon the horizon.

For LOVE doesn't take count of HOW you let your love flow free..as long as it does.
And i would do well to emulate Love..and never again judge, what is the best path to freedom.
It would seem, as different as we all are..we have as many different ways of getting there..
where LOVE roams FREE.

On the Wings of Failure

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much you've tried. You will still fail.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how much you have believed. You will still fail.

At the end of the day, it doesn't' matter how much you've loved. You will still fail.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how far you have come. You will still fail.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how strong you have been. You will still fail.

Because failure is measured by standards others set..
and not by a measure of what we are capable of.

Because failure is measured by what others choose to see..
and not what you know to be true.

Because failure makes others comfortably right in their own weaknesses..
regardless of how brave you have been in dealing with the blows.

No matter what, you will fail.
Because people want a security blanket and are glad when you provide it.

Success isn't really something anyone outside of you can actually measure.
In fact, accepting failure is like gaining wings...

Knowing you will eventually fail in someone's eyes can grant you the power to go the distance, keep on loving and continue giving your best shot.

Because once you accept failure is a mere perception, a judgement and a projection of another person's personal beliefs, and not a just measure of your truth, failure loses its sting.

In its place remains a conviction to be affirmed and valued for who you are. You gain inspiration to pursue what your heart alone yearns for. And whatever that is, success is yours the moment you choose to obey that inner call. Because the moment you choose to accept that failure is a mere label, you stop fearing it and rise above its power to immobilise. And THAT is the greatest success of all.

My Hero: The Seed

Like a seed in the ground..
pushing it's way
out of the dark casing, the dark soil..

nobody can see
it's there and struggling daily..
fighting all odds
to just pop out into the open..
and see the sun

it just keeps going..
focusing on using
whatever God has already stored inside it
when it was made
for as long as it can..
and on establishing roots that will steady it for life.

Oh my hero is the seed
in the ground
that turns into a might oak
in time

merely from it's tenacity
to go with the flow of the elements
however kind however harsh
focusing only on the simplicity
of making it through
just one more day
no more no less

and in time...
it gives amazing bounty to the world around
all the while
still doing the same
it's always done..

..reaching for the sun
and steadying it's roots
come what may.