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RELIEF FROM A HARD DAY
I’ve been meaning to make a collage of soothing, endearing pictures or writings that seem capable of 
producing those gleeful brain chemicals. Since I haven’t made time to do it, and I have access to my computer, I thought I’d
group them together here, where I can get to them when I need them.
.
BEYOND WORDS
Originally in Tahoma Literary Review by Michael Schmeltzer, via CheriLucas Rowlands
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JOY
Grandbabies
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Memorize this if you can–
Imagine that you are being filled with a soothing white light that permeates your entire body, then say to yourself the following, as often as seems useful:
I release to the light all my past… I release to the light all my negatives… I release to the light all my fears… I release to the light all my human relationships… I release to the light my future… i release to the light my death… I release to the light my inner self…
I am a LIGHT BEING I RADIATE the light from my light center throughout my being I radiate the light from my light center to EVERYONE I radiate the light from my light center to EVERYTHING I am in a BUBBLE of light and only light can come to me and only light can be here now.
(Optional: Thank you God for everything).
The above meditation was given to me by a man who lives/lived on top of
Black Mountain, N.C. 35 years ago.
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MORE JOY
Grandbabies
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THE MIST
The fog that touches
ground is mist
and by it all that
grow are
kissed.
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Read her entire post! Great pepper-upper:
NOTQUITEOLD ♦ MAY 24, 2016 – Nancy Romans
Nancy Romans
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SELF – CARE
The following is a partial re-blog from the site of Gentle Kindness. For more, see the full re-blog on March 23, 2016, or her original post: https://gentlementalannie.com/2016/03/23/my-top-favorite-self-care-behaviors/
So here is a list of my top 10 favorite self care ideas. Please share your own favorite ideas in the comments below.
1. Wrap up in hot towels from the dryer. You don’t have to be doing wash at the time. Just toss 2 or 3 nice towels in the dryer and dry them on high, for 10 or 15 minutes. Then wrap up in them.
2. Cover yourself in soft blankets. Buy one special blanket that has your favorite texture. Running your hands over pleasing textures can calm the nervous system, similar to petting a soft furred animal.
3. Take a warm shower or bath. You don’t have to wait until you need to bathe. Hot steamy showers have a healing effect and calm the nervous system. Submersing yourself in a bath of warm water will help you be mindful of the present moment.
4. Listen to music that makes you feel empowered. Your favorite music has a direct effect on your nervous system and will generate dopamine and feel-good chemical responses.
5. Petting and playing with your favorite kind of animals. Animals are living spiritual beings. Different people are drawn to different animals for different emotional and spiritual energies that these animals have.
6. Water has healing properties. Drinking clean water…swimming in water… and being near the ocean, stream… or a beautiful sparkling lake…all have spiritually uplifting possibilities.
7. Creating your perfect sleep space. Your sleeping area needs to be a calm haven of nurturing and soothing quality. Alter your lighting with red or other colored light bulbs in a table lamp. Add soothing sounds and textureus. The colors should be ones that are important to you and have an affect on your nervous system.
8. Uplifting words. Read or watch videos by people who inspre you. Your self esteem should feel boosted after spending time with a message that energizes and validates you.
9. Learn to say NO, without feeling obligated to make them agree that your reasons are valid. Being afraid to say NO to people will cause you to be forced into situations that deplete your energy and your self esteem.
10. Create things that are inventive, artistic, authentic or unique. Draw, color, craft, write a poem, sing in your unique voice, write, create a new yoga routine, rearrange items in a unique way, decorate a box, add fringe to your lampshade with a hot glue gun, change the laces in your sneakers to colored ones, make a beaded bracelet, plant some flowers, choose your favorite material at JoAnne fabrics and lay it on your table for a table cloth, buy a bag of buttons at the craft store and sew them onto your tops and jackets, add some coloful garnishes to your dinner plate….explore….create…don’t worry about comparing your creativity to others….be yourself!
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Never slap a man who’s chewing tobacco.
If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
If you’re riding’ ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it’s still there.
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caterpillar
meditates on a branch
butterfly dreams
©Tournesol’16/05/25
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nightowlsinmaine.wordpress.com/2015/12/10/writing-
Come to bed now
The dragons can wait ’til morning
Set your head down
Do you hear the fairies snoring?
In tea cup beds
Their thistle heads
Dreaming of little wishes
And promised
dewdrop kisses
Go to sleep, child
Nightmares cannot hurt you
Your mind is too wild,
And I need some rest too.
Things will be
Better you see
When your heart is rested
The monsters
will be bested
In the morning.
Come to bed now.
Please, just sleep.
RELIEF FROM A HARD OR OTHERWISE DAY:
AFTER reading Mary Oliver’s poem “wild geese” ( ), if you need to, go to number one:
- Laughter with friends – ww.scientificamerican.com/article/why-laughter-may-be-the-best-pain-medicine/
2. Smiling
A. Makes Us Attractive to others There is an automatic attraction to people who smile.
B. Changes Mood If you try, even when it’s difficult, to smile when you are not feeling good, there is a chance it might improve your affect and change the way you are feeling.
C. Contagious Others will want to be with you. You will be helping others feel good.
D. Relieves Stress Stress does express itself right in our faces. When we smile, it can help us look better, less tired, less worn down.
E. Boosts Immune System Smiling can actually stimulate your immune response by helping you relax.
F. Lowers Blood Pressure When you smile, there is evidence that your blood pressure can decrease.
G. Releases Endorphins and Serotonin Research has reported that smiling releases endorphins, which are natural pain relievers, along with serotonin, which is also associated with feel good properties.
3. Making a list of things we are thankful for. Here’s a partial list of mine:
I am thankful for…
creativity…..
curiosity and the ability to reason……
sensitivity to beauty, art, music, dance, poetry, ritual, appreciation of nature……
family……
friends…..
the ability to read and write…..
emergence……
sleep……
consciousness……
humor……
the observation that our fear of death lessens as we age……
the fact that we faint when physical pain exceeds our bearable limits, etc.
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(Your life should be big, not long.)
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The image below is from another survivor’s blog, along with a poem. I follow Sarah’s wordpress site: https://breakingsarah.wordpress.com/find-support/?c=592#comment-592 
As I awake from my peaceful slumber,
my eyes open to the first rays of the rising sun.
They pass through the bay window,
sparkling brightly, as if to say –
“Good Morning”.
My ears hear the delightful sounds
of nature greeting the new day.
The birds chirp in melodious song,
as the morning breeze kisses my face.
I smile, quietly taking it all in.
The sunrise has brought peace
and harmony.
For a few precious moments,
the world, in all its glory,
is exactly as it should be.
© Sarah S. 2014
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An Old One:
There was a great loss today in the entertainment world. The man who wrote the song “Hokey Pokey” died. What was really horrible was that they had trouble keeping the body in the casket. They put his left leg in…Well, you know he rest.
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P E T S
Research has shown that not only are endorphins released in those owning a pet they’re close to, but are also triggered IN the pet (mutual love).
Googleimages
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nightowlsinmaine.wordpress.com:
I Am Not
I am not an artist
I am not a great thinker
I am not a good friend
I am art
The wind that blows cold
And the trees which catch me
The sunlight in diamonds
That shimmer across snow
I am thought
The power of intention
And waves of invention
The bliss of long sleep
And the muse to guide me home
I am friendship
The warmth of love
the laughter that comes after
The longest of hugs
The bond that holds us together
I am starlight
I am shadows
I am the sun that hides the one
And quietly crafts the other
I am more than the container
That holds all these things
I am more then the summation
Of all I can be
I am not the boundary
Of the existence you can see
I am the force that stretches
Beyond the tides
I am life
I am whole
I am me
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INSPIRATION
I don’t know why, but reading the following by Anonymous is relaxing and comforting to me:
After awhile you learn the subtle
difference between holding a
hand and chaining a soul,
and you learn that love doesn’t
mean leaning and company
doesn’t mean security,
and you begin to learn that kisses
aren’t contracts and presents
aren’t promises,
And you begin to accept your de-
feats with your head up and your
eyes open, with the grace of an
adult, not the grief of a child,
And you learn to build all your
roads on today because tomor-
row’s ground is too uncertain
for plans.
After awhile you learn that even
sunshine burns if you get too
much.
So plant your own garden and dec-
orate your own soul, instead of
waiting for someone to bring you
flowers.
And you learn that you really can
endure. . . that you really are
strong,
And you really do have worth.
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If you had a super difficult day and none of the preceding
has helped, then here are some ancient riddles: (answers after the 2 jokes.):
- What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?
- What do y ou call Santa’s helpers?
- What do you get from a pampered cow?
- What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches?
- Why don’t blind people like to sky dive?
- What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup?
- How do you catch a unique rabbit?
- How do you catch a tame rabbit?
- How do you get holy water?
- What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall?
- What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t work?
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Sign on the Christian Fellowship Church: CHURCH PARKING. trespassers will be baptised.
Sign on the South End Baptist Church: WHOEVER IS PRAYING FOR SNOW, PLEASE STOP
I wouldn’t want a god who made others lose so I could win.
(At least not all the time).
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RIDDLE ANSWERS
- Nacho Cheese
- Subordinate Clauses
- Spoiled milk
- A nervous wreck
- It scares the dog
- Anyone can roast beef
- Unique up on it
- Tame way
- You boil the hell out of it
- Dam!
- A stick
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Another Oldie:
After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days. (From the 2004 Darwin Awards?)
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IF I KNEW HOW TO RE-BLOG I WOULD RE-BLOG floridaborn’s “two on a rant” dated 1/28/16 and its responses…
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IF I KNEW HOW TO RE-BLOG I WOULD RE-BLOG ‘THE GREEN STUDY’ AND ITS RESPONSES! about 1/28/16
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Help from books at The Green Study:
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön
Turning the Mind into an Ally by Sakyong Mipham
Finding Beauty in a Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams
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From floridaborn’s “two on a rant”: 2/5/16
Tranquility purrs
the soul to meditation.
Zen sleeps in my arms.
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Ann Finkbeiner wrote the following which Cheri Lucas Rowlands shared on her blog as WHAT HAPPENED NEXT (originally on The Last Word on Nothing: lastwordonnothing.com/about-us/ann-finkbeiner/
My husband died. He wasn’t young any more and was sick and weak but we weren’t expecting his death to come as quickly as it did, within a few days, almost overnight. He just went away. Maybe there are worse things than a quick, quiet death.
Here’s what happened next.
My brother and sister-in-law (who live a couple of hours away) called: We’ll be there tonight, and we’re staying until you make us leave.
A friend: I have some lentil soup, may I bring it over? And may I bring the rest of my family and we’ll all eat it together?
A neighbor: When you need to start sorting through things, may I help?
A friend: The kids and I are coming to Baltimore for the weekend. May I bring them and some pies, and come sit by the fire?
Empathy. These people aren’t indulging in pity, they’re not practicing social niceties. They almost can’t help but do this, this completely familiar and utterly strange ability to feel the pain of someone else in pain, to offer the comfort they themselves would need, to merge the comforter with the comforted.
A neighbor: I experimented with chicken tikka masala and have some left over. Would you like it?
Another neighbor: I really miss your husband. Shall we have some tea?
Another neighbor: I made lemon cookies, here, have these.
Another neighbor: I made too much butternut squash soup. Want some?
Psychology is interested in empathy, partly to understand its famous failures, partly to understand its social role. It turns out that empathy doesn’t reserve its virtues for humans: rats, pigs, and primates react empathically to another rat’s or pig’s or primate’s pain. A monkey pulls a chain, it gets food but a nearby monkey get shocked; the first monkey, even if it’s hungry, refuses to pull the chain again. When I lived in the country, my dog got run over (it lived) and gave a doggy scream of pain; faraway dogs on neighboring farms, dogs I couldn’t even see, howled and howled.
Another neighbor: Drinks tonight? Come over, I’ve got cheese.
Another neighbor: Let’s go out, there’s a nice new restaurant, I’ll drive.
Another neighbor: I made you this little pumpkin cake. It’s good for breakfast.
So empathy isn’t only social or psychological; it’s also something in the brain, conserved over the species, it’s neurological. When a rat or pig or monkey or dog or human sees someone doing some particular action, certain of their own neurons, called mirror neurons, controlling the same action also fire: a monkey sees another monkey picking something up, the picking-up neurons in the first monkey’s brain also fire.
Another neighbor: Come to dinner. I’m making rack of lamb.
Another neighbor: Need help hanging those pictures? I’m an expert at hanging pictures.
A friend: Can we pick up some doughnuts and come over for breakfast?
And the arborist consulting about a maple tree: I noticed your lilac got broken in the storm. Let me trim it for you.
And what happens after that? what happens with the empathized? The only research I could find on the effect of empathy was negative, that is, the lack of empathy for certain people in certain situations, and how this lack was hard on those people. So I’ll tell you the positive effect and you know it already: empathy is pain’s best antidote. It is, says Robert Burton in his astonishing Anatomy of Melancholy, “as fire in Winter, shade in Summer, as sleep on the grass to them that are weary, meat and drink to him that is hungry or athirst.” The pain doesn’t go away; but somehow or other, empathy gives the pain meaning and pain-with-meaning is bearable. I don’t actually know how to say what the effect of empathy is, I can only say what it’s like. Like magic.
On the morning after my husband’s death, I was sitting with him, waiting for the funeral home people to come get him. They did, a couple of substantial guys in suits and oily manners who were having trouble getting him on to the gurney. Just then my husband’s nurses, Bridget and Elizabeth, both Africans, came into the room. They moved deliberately; and with great authority, they dismissed the funeral home men and took over. They smoothed my husband’s hair and touched his cheek and stroked his shoulder, and they pulled his sheet up around him and together, used the sheet to lift him to the gurney, then touched his face again and laid the sheet gently over it. I’ve never seen such a thing — such comforting of a man now far from comfort but comforting him anyway. Like a blessing, a sacrament.
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Hello. I was pleased to read this story [above] on NPR online. I lost my husband recently too (pancreatic cancer) and have found that writing about the process–first his cancer, then the trials of widowhood–has helped me negotiate this difficult territory. My blog is http://www.stephaniejoycecole.com/blog
See Life Issues, this blog, for a posting by Stephanie, and visit her site for even more. Highly recommended.
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photo from catselfie — see more
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Photograph “Autumn Dawn,” by James Jordan via daipayannair Link https://www.flickr,com/photos/jamesjordan
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Mockingbirds
anything, to consider color
in such a way that didn’t
reflect the sky. My stones
were saved for rivers, wishes,
wanderings where I might
need to know the way back,
might need to track my steps
with something older than my
own shallow skin. Begin
along the words you love best.
Memorize their place. Dog-ear
a page or two, a tiny triangular
wave to call you back. Track
your own fingerprints, heart
-beats, song, when you see a
smudge, the budging of a cover,
the wonder underneath that
never fades. Bladesof grass made
Bandaids work, too. Library card.
Business card. Cocktail napkin.
The curious glue that holds to
-gether
(gather)
the years spent being
a scout,
and following
boo.
..
Written for Poetic Asides.
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Songbird Sing Posted on June 7, 2016
Soaring high above the clouds
Of chaos in my mind,
I know there is a song to sing
With words I cannot find.
I hunt and peck and try in vain
To force the music out
And feel the pangs of harsh regret
That feed the fire of doubt.
The time has come to let it go Of peace within my mind,
Where love consoles and lifts me over
All the thoughts that bind.
There are no words to look for here,
No melody to sing;
The music of this sacred place
The Spirit plays within.
So, take the time to let it go
And set the songbird free!
For only when the spirit soars
Can you, the songbird, sing!
Authenticity
The older I get, the more I desire to be true to myself.
That can be a little tricky for women. We have so many faces.
I see my husband – and other men – who seem to have one role, one face. “This is who I am.” they say. And it is who they are all the time. At work, at home, with their buddies – basically the same guy.
But I see women who are mostly like me. We glide from one role to another. We morph and change situationally. Mom and sexpot. Business executive and daughter. Artist and Nurse. Diplomat and housekeeper. Sometimes all in the same day.
I want to be true to myself. But I’ve never been quite sure who that is.
As I get older though, I see that all my various Selves are merging. My multiple personalities are dwindling down. I’m more me.
I’m a laugher. I laugh a lot at both at the office and at home. I even laugh in Yoga. I don’t save it for just one of my personas. Life is mostly ridiculous. Laughing is my consistency.
I’m patient. I wait my turn in line. I stop and let the guy in the beat-up chevy make a left-hand turn. I listen to my husband tell the same story for the sixteenth time. I try not to kill the dog.
I’m an introvert. Oh, I’m a good storyteller and I like people. But I need my quiet time to recharge. I don’t get my energy from hoopla and hubbub. I don’t like team projects at the office and I don’t particularly like parties. Leave me alone. Let me think.
I’m rational and cautious. I think through my decisions. I’m not much of a risk-taker. And despite my tendency to see the funny side in everything, I’m not emotional. I may be a laugher, but I’m not a crier.
And in addition to being rational, I’m also a rationalizer. Consistency? It’s my consistent failing. It may be admirable that I am quick to forgive, but I am also incapable of holding anyone responsible. I’m a terrible boss. I hate to address performance – I rarely even ask for performance. I correct subordinates’ mistakes after they go home. I make excuses for everyone. Most especially, I make excuses for myself.
So I’m not perfect. Which always surprises me. But there’s the plus side – that I can laugh at myself and forgive myself.
And I like myself. In truth, I mostly liked all the various personalities and roles I’ve taken on over the years. But even more, I love the unique and consonant person I’ve become.
NANCY ROMAN, 65
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Dear Daughter
Posted on March 12, 2016 4 Comments
Hush little baby, don’t say a word, Papa’s going to buy you a mocking bird…
Dear Daughter,
I know it’s hard to understand why I couldn’t stay, but somewhere along the path, your daddy lost his way; then a little birdie came to me with good advice to say; I listened hard and held on tight, then up and flew away; that’s how it had to be, so away I had to fly – so very, very far from you, up, up into the sky. Now in California, I could only think of you, but to be a better daddy meant a mission to renew. The daddy that you need, a man that isn’t scared; undeniably reliable and no longer impaired. Wherever we may lay our heads, no count how far apart, I see you in my reflection and keep you safe inside my heart. Somehow, someday you will have to learn that life’s not always fair; press on my dear, and never fear, I promise I’ll be there – then there are the ones who choose to never understand; this disease left daddy ostracized and banished from the land; but it cannot break our bond, nor ever empty my affection; it fuels my fire to inspire the remedy to their rejection.
And if that mocking bird don’t sing, Papa’s going to buy you a diamond ring…
Dear Daughter,
A diamond is forever, and you’re my diamond in the rough, so no matter what else happens, you’ll forever be enough. We live, we laugh, we learn, but the time comes when we fail, get back up and try again, that’s how you will prevail. And when you get distraught; or disgruntled; or disgraced, you can know that I have been there too with mud upon my face. I’ll never offer judgement when you’re not winning the race, just an understanding; just a warm embrace. So my dearest daughter, please hear these words I speak, I’ll advocate to bear the weight as we’re climbing towards the peak. But if your daddy stumbles; if I should tumble down the drop, promise me to carry on and make it to the top. Your destiny is way up high, just work at it and take it, I have no doubt you’ll knock it out and ultimately make it. Your definition of success will be revealed – go along, and what you’ve known as set it stone, might always have been wrong – I challenge you, sweet baby girl, to forge yourself a dream; the highs and lows are how it goes, revel in the in between.
And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa’s going to buy you a looking glass…
Dear Daughter,
I wish I could undo so many things that I have done, not taken us for granted; but made us number one. I regret it every day, that I couldn’t see it coming; I was wrapped up in escaping, indulging in life numbing. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love you or you made any mistakes; I made a choice and lost it all – sometimes that’s what it takes. But I have started to lose sight of that dark and stormy cloud, forever hanging over me, so I can make you proud; and the time that we have lost, isn’t time that’s lost forever – you are my heart and soul, baby girl, my shiny little treasure.
And if that looking glass….ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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quest4peas.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/permanence-of-brevity
Excerpt:
Perhaps art is a single bite of a much larger banquet, but oh, what a delicious bite it is!
the brevity of
cherry blossoms – eternal
in silver and ink
~~The above piece inspired by Kanzen Sakura’s prompt at dVerse, and by this beautiful coin recently released by the Royal Canadian Mint.
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Excerpt:
I feel now having witnessed the seasonal change in all its magnificence I have satisfied my soul, I can leave this world and the pain I endure complete in the knowledge of the restorative power of nature for right now in this moment I am whole.
the pink of the spring
cleanses my soul of all pain
now I feel at peace
Written for: http://dversepoets.com/2016/03/28/haibun-monday-hanami/
For full post see http://summerstommy.com/2016/03/28/haibun-monday-10-hanami/
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To Those Who Have Touched My Twenty-One Years of Life But Are No Longer A Part Of It
To those who have touched my twenty-one years of life but are no longer a part of it,
I hope all is well with you. It’s been a while. It could be a month or two. Or maybe over a decade. Either way, hello.
I turned twenty-one this past January. Crazy, I know. I hope you’ve had beautiful birthdays since the last time we’ve spoken. And I hope the years between those birthdays have been beautiful too.
I’m a lot different since I last saw you. I’m learning more about myself every single day. Sometimes it feels like I’m backtracking, or like I don’t know myself at all. But I can’t even say I’m the same person I was a month ago. So I’ve realized it’s okay to get confused by myself every once in a while.
I wanted to write to you for a lot of reasons. To say hi, to reminisce, to say some of the things I never said that I wish I had. But most of all, I wanted to write you to thank you.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my life. About where I’ve left my fingerprints and where I will leave them in the future. I’ve been thinking a lot about all the choices I’ve made and the people I’ve met and how every teeny tiny decision I’ve ever made and every single person I’ve ever interacted with (directly or indirectly) has in some way pushed me into the trajectory my life has taken and will continue to take.
So I want to thank you.
Because in some way, shape or form, you have been a part of my twenty-one years here on earth. Maybe you had been with me since the very beginning. Or maybe, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow so aptly described, we were just two ships passing in the night. Either way, our lives have been intertwined, for no matter how long or short, for good or for bad. And I want to thank you for being a part of it.
- To the friend who I had my first sleepover with: thank you for letting me leave the hallway light on, it made me feel safer.
- To the girl who taught me how to make friendship bracelets (and gave me my first one): thank you for being my first true friend.
- To the person who co-authored my fantastical stories as a child: thank you for fighting the dragons, flying with the faries and helping me bring my ideas to life. You made my childhood enchanting.
- To the girl who first talked behind my back: thank you for helping me learn the importance of friendship.
- To the boy who was my first crush: thank you for my first butterflies.
- To the bus driver who got me to school safely for nine years: thank you for waiting those extra two minutes when we were running late.
- To the people I rode that same bus with for all those years: thank you for putting up with all the stupid nicknames, coming up with all those silly games and for spending all those miles with me.
- To the teachers who helped my imagination flourish: thank you for giving me that part, for getting me into that class, for encouraging my ideas and for making my parents happy at all those parent-teacher conferences.
- To the teachers who always seemed to want to hold my imagination back: thank you for showing me how much I truly appreciate my creativity.
- To the actors and actresses who acted with me: thank you for helping me nail that spin, for being patient with me when I was learning my lines and for making theatre such an amazing experience.
- To those who turned me down: thank you for helping me see that rejection isn’t the end of the world.
- To the kids who were always “too popular” to be my friends: thank you for allowing me to learn to give everyone a chance.
- To the boy who gave me my first kiss: thank you for making the wait worth it.
- To the coaches who pushed me to my highest potential: thank you for not giving up on me.
- To the coaches who underestimated me: thank you for teaching me that I’m more than what others think.
- To the first person I loved and who loved me back: thank you for opening my heart up and for showing me parts of myself I never saw before.
- To the friend who I would talk on the phone with until 3AM: thank you for making me know how it feels to laugh until I cry and talk about nothing for hours.
- To the club that helped me find my passion again: thank you for finding me a home I didn’t know I was missing and giving me a pen so I could write the stories I needed to write.
- To the person who’s heart I broke: thank you for all of the memories and for letting me go so I could find myself. I’m sorry.
- To the friends who turned their backs on me: thank you for helping me learn what true friendship means.
- To the one who listened to me when I wasn’t okay: thank you for asking.
- To the faces in dorm hallways I would always smile at: thank you for smiling back.
- To the strangers who’ve complemented my outfit: thank you for making my days brighter.
- To the people I’ve met at 2AM in pizza parlors: thank you for understanding me.
- To the strangers who’s stories I’ve heard, no matter how briefly, in gas station rest stops, planes, trains, subway cars and everywhere in between: thank you for allowing me to see a small piece of you; it’s an amazing thing to see.
- And finally, to the thousands of old versions of me and all the future versions of me that will ultimately leave me: thank you for all the life lessons, the tears, the smiles, for allowing me to look back on my life with happiness and for sacrificing yourself so I can continue to find myself over and over again.
Our lives are touched by hundreds of people every single day. Life is, in essence, a mess of connections, of threads connecting each one of us together in some strange way, shape or form.
I invite you to take the next few minutes to maybe think of someone who you haven’t thought of in a few days, a few months, a few years. And send them a silent thank you for the thread, no matter how frayed or worn, that holds you two together
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Edward Killingworth Johnson (British, 1825 – 1896)
via kanzensakura.wordpress.com
://pixabay.com/en/butterfly-blue-and-black-large-1278820/
via WritersDream9
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“I WOULDN’T DO THAT IF I WERE YOU…”
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Excerpt from “The Road to Recovery Is a Bumpy One” by http://www.lisamorguess.com/ coming off her post-operative catheter:
The things we take for granted. Next time you visit the loo, I want you to really be present in the moment. As you listen to that golden shower, and feel the warm flood being released from your body, rejoice. Do it for me. In fact, it will make me very happy to know that people the world over (or the three or four of you who read this blog, anyway) are thinking of me as they shake the dew from their lilies.
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Excerpt from https://hummingbirdredemption.com/
I used to live near a lush reserve, groaning with Weeping Willows. I had a sign on my front door, advising (pleading), for guests to let all the negativity go at the threshold, and come into the house with fresh energy. As a hermit, my house was sacred, a place where I was protected from doom and gloom. A sanctuary where magic existed alongside art and the sound of my typewriter clanging away….I came up with the idea of having a designated Sacred Whinging Spot. I went for a walk, and found the perfect place. It was a covered area with seats, nestled in amongst the Weeping Willows. I would stuff a cob loaf with ricotta, tomatoes, basil and garlic, and take it along with a thermos of Irish coffee to this space, and when nobody was around, I would let it all out. In between operations, I would relay my fears. I wept, I raged, I told people off in my mind and I expressed my irritation at circumstances and situations. I would eat my Cob loaf and drink my coffee, and leave refreshed. Heck, if you are going to have such a sign over your front door, you have to practice what you preach! I lived in this Federation brick house until it was knocked down to build a unit block. It was one of the happiest, most serene of my many abodes, and I am pretty certain that a part of that had to do with my rule. There were no arguments or words spoken in haste lingering in the rooms. Once my aggravations were expelled at the Sacred Whinging Spot, they were pulled into the earth and transmuted into pure energy.
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pets.webmd.com/features/pets-in-your-bed
NANMYKEL.COM 
Wonderful!
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Love the picture of the cat, dog and chickens peering into the house. LOL!
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Hi Mom #3
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