zoo adventure

We had such a good time at the Nashville Zoo last February, we've been longing to go back and become members ever since. This morning seemed like the perfect time. We were there right after it opened and enjoyed some lively time with the animals in the cool morning. I felt blessed with some lovely connections, from feeding the beautiful lorikeets with their sweet little clingy feet to a powerful moment with a peaceful giraffe (my mom might remember her as Htebazile).

sweet adventure

Learning this week to balance my compulsive drive to keep gobbling down poems with my desire to savor and keep the process fun. So in this spirit I'm just going to share one verse from a current favorite: "Last night, as I was sleeping" by Antonio Machado:

Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt - blessed illusion! -
that I had a beehive
here inside my heart.
And the golden bees
were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old bitterness.

Although I will say that if you want to read the full poem, it pretty much knocks one's socks off. Have a beautiful week!

poem adventure

Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year,
I felt a door opening in me and I entered
the clarity of early morning.

One after another my former lives were departing,
like ships, together with their sorrow.

And the countries, cities, gardens, the bays of seas
assigned to my brush came closer,
ready now to be described better than they were before...

So after my post last week an amazing poem dropped into my lap, "Late Ripeness" by Czeslaw Milosz. Oh, it has been fabulous company! Learning a poem like this is such a pleasure. It feels good in one's mouth and throat to speak such beautiful words and I love how the various meanings of the poem unfold as one gets to know it better. Eventually, there's a fabulous point of union where you feel both like you're in the poem and it's in you. And here's the craziest part - other than the cost of printing it off, it's free! While driving I would recite it out loud, adding a few words at a time. While waiting for the bus I would recite it in my head, testing myself on new sections. This has provided hours of entertainment, a workout for my brain, and deep nourishment for my soul. I was a little stumped on how to read a line in the last stanza and when I found this video I felt like I was in heaven. Enjoy!

poetry adventure

Lately I've been catching up on a rather amazing backlog of my favorite magazine, The Sun. As you know, for some reason for the past year I've craved memoirs of women going through soul searching times. And now the tide is turning again. I've been able to catch up on a lot of issues, still have plenty more to go, but I'm getting there. It was a delight recently to read the interview in the December, 2010 issue: "Written on the Bones: Kim Rosen on Reclaiming the Ancient Power of Poetry" by Alison Luterman (one of my favorite writers for The Sun).

As often happens with The Sun, this article spoke directly to my soul. I have a profound respect for the power of poetry. At times I've memorized poems that have been great friends to me when I've been in despair. And then when life speeds up again I find I'm moving too fast to give poetry the time and space it needs and it falls off my radar. Just in the same way that losing my sense of humor is a danger sign for me, I really would be well served to notice if I'm able to slow down enough to enjoy a good poem. And, thankfully, these days I am.

This conversation between Kim Rosen and Alison Luterman focuses on the power of reading poetry and learning poems by heart. While they touch on the power of writing poetry, they're really talking about the appreciation and enjoyment of making great poems part of one's life. It inspired me to check out Rosen's book, Saved by a Poem, and wander the anthology section of the library's poetry collection.

There I found an amazing series of books, which I'm just diving into, but so far would highly recommend: Roger Housen's Ten Poems series. I believe there are five books in this series so far: Ten Poems to Change Your Life, Ten Poems to Open Your Heart, Ten Poems to Set You Free, Ten Poems to Last a Lifetime, and Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again. Right now I'm reading Ten Poems to Open Your Heart (who's surprised?) and I love the format. He's selected ten excellent poems and after the text of each one he includes a beautiful exploration, not a scholarly essay. He looks at the themes in really human ways, often bringing in examples from his own (fairly messy) life. This is good, soulful stuff. If you've been wanting to explore poetry, but have been put off by dry study of the classics in school, I would encourage you to visit your local library and check out one of the Ten Poems series and try it again.

Have a beautiful week!

summer learning adventure

I thought this might be a nice time to let you know how all my summer e-courses have been going. Well, they've all been wonderful! And I've signed up for more, which I'll be sharing with you. But let's start at the beginning...

So, the Fear Cleanse, which is coming to a close this week. I'd signed up for this class mainly because I really liked the women leading it when I listened to their free call about the class. And I still do! Gabrielle Bernstein and Christine Arylo are fun and inspiring women who are willing to share their own struggles and stories. They don't shy away from the truth and have a lot of wisdom to share. This class was especially wonderful for me around really valuing my body. I've shared with you my anxiety around visits to the doctor. Perfect timing! I got to work with one of my biggest fears right in the middle of this class - a routine, annual doctor visit that has the potential to elevate my blood pressure for weeks in advance, in anticipation of the dreaded cuff! So that morning I sat down and really opened up to what my fear was in that moment and realized that the biggest problem around these visits is that I totally abandon my body. I am not my body's advocate at all. I totally dissociate. I'd taken my blood pressure that morning and knew that it was really good. I told my body that I was't going to pay any attention to the numbers we got at the office, that I wasn't going to add that on top of the already existing stress. I felt so much love for my body and the really good job it does for me all the time. I wasn't going to let this dear friend down. I was just going to stay in as much of a loving space as I could and not give into the panic and fear. So, I went to the doctor and the cuff went on. I could feel myself start to panic and come out of that peaceful and accepting place. And then the little mantra we've been given for the class popped into my mind. I could still feel my heart pounding, but I had this supportive statement to say and I just stayed with that. And my numbers were great! So, not to say that will happen everytime, but I'm so grateful for this tool and this insight. Two thumbs up for the Fear Cleanse!



To say that my life has been transformed by my Centering Prayer class really would not be an exaggeration. I am in awe of what a perfect journey it has been and continues to be. Let's just say that this has been exactly the right thing at the right time and so many pieces seem to have fallen into place.



And then there are my wonderful photography classes, the Slice of Life Project and Superhero Photo, which started on the same day and run the same number of weeks. Why two photography classes, you might ask? Well, I'd already signed up for the Slice of Life Project when wonderful Andrea Scher announced her plans for a class and I love her and all of the classes I've taken with her, so this was an easy Yes. And I haven't regretted it at all. Darrah and Andrea have really similar, kind teaching styles and the classes are both about having fun with your camera and seeing the beauty all around you. I can use as much support as I can get in this area, so twice is nice! Here are photos that I took as a result of their encouragement that I wouldn't have taken otherwise:











So I think that's everything I'd shared with you. Since I last updated you on my classes I've also signed up for a Welcoming Prayer online class, which works in conjunction with Centering Prayer, and is also rocking my world, joined the Goddess Circle and am just starting the Goddess Haven e-course, and am looking forward to the SouLodge beginning on August 8. So much goodness out there, people! And I'm just saying Yes, Yes, Yes! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

savoring adventure

So enjoying a relaxing weekend off with my sweetie and wanting to share some great stuff:

The amazing August Art Bash at Dandelion Seeds and Dreams.

This movie blew me away this morning!



I loved the spirit of this post from Keri Smith, even if I don't have the technology to use what she's describing. The last part has stuck with me all week, though. May have to become my new motto:)

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend and here's to a beautiful week!

church adventure

Who saw this coming? But I will tell you that finding this gorgeous refuge this past week was like gold. It's amazing how our lives flow and I'm reminded of John O'Donohue's poem that I've quoted here before, but must quote again:

Fluent

I would love to live
Like a river flows,
Carried by the surprise
Of its own unfolding.

It is a huge surprise to find myself seeking out a church and relating to it in this new way. I was longing for a place to do centering prayer at lunchtime and have been led back to my roots. And for now it feels like home. It's delightful to have a new way to relate to an old friend. The coincidences these days are many and it's like I'm catching glimpses of angel wings flying around corners, just out of view. It feels like a summertime ripening of these seeds I planted last winter. Ah, life!

Also wanted to share a project I've been working on with a really dear friend who made it all happen. Hope you enjoy!



Oh, and if you've longed to leave a comment in the past and been stymied by Blogger, give it another try. I've changed to a slightly different comments interface and am hoping that makes it an easier experience. Thanks and have a wonderful week!