Wednesday, 3 July 2019

It's over three years since I posted on my Blog.  I became a Facebook fan for a long while.

Six weeks ago I became very,  very ill.  I despaired,  whilst in hospital,  of ever seeing my sweet little flat again.  All the familiar things seemed so far away.

Now I am home,  and the recuperation period is taking soooo long,  I have lost muscle,  core strength,  and each day I have to set an achievable task for myself. 




On Pain

 - 1883-1931
And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.
     And he said:
     Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
     Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
     And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
     And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
     And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

     Much of your pain is self-chosen.
     It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
     Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
     For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,

And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

Saturday, 9 January 2016

"ѕhє wσrє flσwєrѕ ín hєr hαír αnd cαrríєd mαgíc ѕєcrєtѕ ín hєr єчєѕ. ѕhє ѕpσkє tσ nσ σnє. ѕhє ѕpєnt hσurѕ σn thє rívєrвαnkѕ αnd hαd mídníght ѕwímѕ." — αrundhαtí rσч
(painting by Manet)

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .... Enough money within her control to move out... And rent a place of her own even if she never wants to or needs to... Something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to See Her in an hour... A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ... A youth she's content to leave behind.... A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her Old Age.... A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE . A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra... One friend who always makes her laugh... And one Who lets her cry... A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .... A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her Family... Eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, And a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel Honored... A feeling of control over her destiny... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... How to fall in love without losing herself.. HOW TO QUIT A JOB, BREAK UP WITH A LOVER, AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP... When to try harder... And WHEN TO WALK AWAY... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... That she can't change the length of her calves, The width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.. That her childhood may not have been perfect... But it's over... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... What she would and wouldn't do for love or more... How to live alone... Even if she doesn't like it... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... Whom she can trust, Whom she can't, And why she shouldn't take it personally... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... Where to go... Be it to her best friend's kitchen table... Or a charming inn in the woods... When her soul needs soothing... EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... What she can and can't accomplish in a day... A month... And a year... ॐ Written By: Maya Angelou/Pamela Redmond Satran

THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU

The person next to you… Look around you… Who are the people sitting next to you? The people next to you… are the greatest miracles you will ever meet at this moment - and the greatest mysteries. The people next to you… have an inexhaustible reservoir of possibilities, which have only been partially been touched. The people next to you… are a unique universe of experience seething with necessity and possibility, dread and desire, smiles and frowns, laughter and tears, fears and hopes - all struggling to find expression. The people next to you… … are surging to become something, … to arrive at some destination, … to have a story and a song, … to be known and to know. The people next to you… … believe in something, … stand for something, … count for something, … labor for something, … wait for something, … wait for something, … run from something, … run towards something. The people next to you… … are more than any description, … are more than any explanation, … are more, much, much more. The people next to you… are searching… … for meaning, … for inner-peace, … for self-esteem, … for something they already have … they just have to realize that. The people next to you.. have problems and fears, … just like you, … are often undecided, … but are endowed with great toughness in the face of adversity and are able to survive the most unbelievable difficulties and challenges. The people next to you… … are combinations of people met during all of their lifetimes. The people next to you… have something they can do better than anyone else in the world, have strengths they do not even recognize, need to talk to you about those abilities, need you to listen, but do they dare speak them to you? The people next to you… … need a friend, … want to be a friend, … can comfort you, … care for you, … understand you, … and love you. Isn’t that what you want? It’s what they want. The people next to you… are special human beings … and so are you! You will want to get to know these people. Author Unknown

Friday, 4 January 2013

Monday, 20 August 2012

Children

“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For thir souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness. For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable.” Khalil Gibran

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Spiritual mentors

There is always someone who impacts your life immensely - this lovely man has spoken words that still resonate with me years later and many thousands of miles away. His name is Kumi, he is a spiritual teacher at the Spiritual Centre in Craighall, Johannesburg, South Africa. One of his little asides still stays with me, he said 'Flowers are no good on the grave, make sure you give them while the person is still alive'

Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Lovers

There are lovers content with longing.
I’m not one of them.

Rumi






(thanks to inertiaK for image)

Thursday, 27 October 2011

Blessings for Samhain to everyone




DREAMING STONES
Go to a boundary stream with closed eyes, take from the water three stones between middle
finger and thumb, saying these words as each is gathered:

Togaidh Mise chlach
Mar a thog Moire da Mac
Air bhri?gh, air bhuaidh,'s air neart:
Gun robh a chlachsa am dhi?rn,
Gus an ruig mi mo cheann uidhe

(I will lift the stone
As Mary lifted it for her Son
For substance, virtue, and strength
May this stone be in my hand
Till I reach my journey's end)

Carry them home carefully and put them under your pillow. Ask for a dream that will give you
guidance or solution to a problem. The stones will bring it for you.


Apples are significant at this time of year. I light a candle next to an apple and open my front door to
send love and joy to my family and friends.



Blessings



With thanks to Anamcara and Kees Sman

Monday, 17 October 2011

Inspiration!

Whenever I need inspiration from other women, I immediately think of Audrey Hepburn, who, in her youth was stunningly beautiful, and in her last days an ambassador for those less fortunate than herself.

I love this unusual photograph of her!!

Friday, 15 July 2011

St Swithin's Day

St Swithun's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St Swithun's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain no more
St Swithin was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester who gained a reputation for posthumous miracle-working after his death in c. 862.

St Swithun looking very serious indeed
St Swithun's church

A legend says that as the Bishop lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried out of doors, where he would be trodden on and rained on. For nine years, his wishes were followed, but then, the monks of Winchester attempted to remove his remains to a splendid shrine inside the cathedral on 15 July 971. According to legend there was a heavy rain storm either during the ceremony or on its anniversary.
This led to the old wives' tale (folklore) that if it rains on St Swithin's Day (July 15th), it will rain for the next 40 days in succession, and a fine 15th July will be followed by 40 days of fine weather. co



Well, thank goodness it's not raining in East Sussex, it is a beautiful day!!!

Thursday, 14 July 2011

NOD


I was compiling a book of poetry for my seven year old grandchild, remembering the poetry that my mother read to me as a child.  This one was my favourite:

NOD by Walter de la Mare 1873-1956

Softly along the road of evening,  
    In a twilight dim with rose,  
Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew  
    Old Nod, the shepherd, goes.  
  
His drowsy flock streams on before him, 
    Their fleeces charged with gold,  
To where the sun's last beam leans low  
    On Nod the shepherd's fold.  
  
The hedge is quick and green with briar,  
    From their sand the conies creep;
And all the birds that fly in heaven  
    Flock singing home to sleep.  
  
His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,  
    Yet, when night's shadows fall,  
His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,
    Misses not one of all.  
  
His are the quiet steeps of dreamland,  
    The waters of no-more-pain;  
His ram's bell rings 'neath an arch of stars,  
    "Rest, rest, and rest again."


(painting 'Shepherd with a flock of sheep' Vincent van Gogh)

Saturday, 18 June 2011

chippewa medicine man - Sun Bear

Sun Bear 1929-1992



I do not think that the measure of a civilization
is how tall its buildings of concrete are,
but rather how well its people have learned to relate
to their environment and fellow man.




Friday, 10 June 2011

Waterhouse and Tennyson


The Lady of Shalott 1888

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance -
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott. 

I am Half-Sick of Shadows, said the Lady of Shalott 1916


There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
    To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
    The Lady of Shalott.    

The Lady of Shalott 1894


She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
    She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
    The Lady of Shalott. 

Sunday, 5 June 2011

Waheguru (Supreme Being/God/Wonderful Teacher)


see no stranger, I see no enemy
Wherever I look, God is all I see

I don't think of us and them
No one do I hate or condemn
I see God's image – each one a friend.

Of any religion, caste or race
All I see is God's shining face
His smiling face, His gracious face.

Accept as beautiful all His design
I learnt this truth in sangat divine

One Word resounds in me and you
Waheguru ... Waheguru ...
In him, in her, in me and you
Waheguru ... Waheguru ...

Beholding in every being His light
I bloom like a flower in joy and delight.
adi granth - guru arjun dev ji - circa. 1604 

Thursday, 5 May 2011

Peace


Fountain of Everlasting Peace and Healing Balm,
Wash over our wounds of war, violence, and hatred,
Scrub deep the stains that destroy the fabric of Your Existence,
Mend the tattered threads of the Cloak of Your Majesty,
The delicate web of the universe which is Your Life and Love...
A prophet of non-violence You have raised up for Truth,
Reflecting the Source of Your Unfathomable Wisdom,
Flowing from the One Great Abyss of Creation's Glory,
Open our minds to hear Your Voice speaking Peace this day,
Born from One Cosmic Egg, we are one family in You,
Help us to learn forgiveness, kindness, tolerance,
Greatness of mind and heart,
So that destroying all weapons of war,
Burying all animosities and differences,
We may hear the Divine Harmony of Your Love,
Preserving our blue-jewel-earth-planet,
Spinning the dance of a Mother's Infinite Tenderness,
That draws all into Unity in one Compassionate Heart.
Bestow the Blissful Smile of sun and rain which is Your Divine Presence
Making Peace grow in our hearts as seeds for a new era,
Birthing the song of non-violence
Which blesses our world with Peace
Eternal.
prayer for peace day - sister rosemarie - 2006

Saturday, 30 April 2011

The Angel's Message George Hillyard Swinstead

Please share my delight in this lovely painting......

Beltaine, May Day, and the Blessed Virgin's Day

As we approach the 1st of May,  the northern hemisphere is celebrating Beltaine,  the full onset of Spring, the fertility of the season, the bringing of new life.  Those of you in the USA who watched the series 'Mists of Avalon' (never shown in the UK) will have an idea of what Beltaine is.




Beltaine bonfire
 


The Green Man
 


Brigid
 

Maypole dancer


Maypole dancers


The May Queen and the Green Man
 It was mainly celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/p/Beltane_History.htm

Beltaine is considered a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun's progress between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

The word Beltaine basically means 'bright fire'  and the ceremonies which are still observed today, observe this ritual by burning a bonfire through the night of April 30th through the next day the 1st May.  Gaelic folklore has it that Beltaine is a time of purification and transition, similar to Samhain, in this way.

It has been celebrated for years by Maypole dancing in the United Kingdom, and indeed in many parts of the USA.  I still have a photo of me as a May Princess when I was five years old!!  It was a long, long time ago!

The blessed Virgin in Sorrow
In Roman Catholicism,  May is the month of Mary,  and May 1st is the day of celebration of the Blessed Virgin.

Whatever our beliefs,  it is essential that we appreciate our mother earth, and care for her (for she is in turmoil).  To take care of one another, and view each new day as an opportunity to live better and practice our faith with love and respect for all others.


 

Friday, 22 April 2011

Good Friday


Today is Good Friday.  The most important day of the Christian calendar,  not only does it commemorate the death of Jesus,  but gives us the opportunity to be mindful of the importance of forgiveness in our lives.
Love and Forgiveness ripple out affecting both the loved and the lover,  the forgiven and the forgiver, and
continues outwards and onwards to other people like a butterfly on the wing.

Do not meditate on the crucifixion,  but rather meditate on the risen Christ - this is Hope and not Fear