Thank you Theresa for this forwarded email - it's for us all

Pass it on-not sure who wrote it but it's powerful!

It’s your life.

Are you living boldly?

Or are you playing it safe?

Safe is risky. Safe is an illusion. Safe is death.

Whose life are you living? Yours or someone else’s?

It’s your life. Not your parents, brothers, cousins, friends or neighbors.

We are constantly bombarded by the media and sold the lie: “Who you are is not enough!”

We are taught to fit in. To play it safe. To seek approval. To be realistic. This process begins from the moment we are born. We are told who we need to be in order to get love and survive. We learn to play “The Game.” But ironically the better you play the game; the more you lose … YOU.

 

Conform: Don’t make too many waves. Hold back your full self-expression and authentic truth, so that you can be popular.

Settle: Staying in relationships that don’t light you up because it’s safe and comfortable, so that you have security and won’t be alone.

Be practical: Don’t pursue your dreams and true passions. Be realistic and responsible so that you don’t look like a fool in society’s eyes.

Don’t be too happy: If you’re too happy (especially for no reason) people get irritated, so only allow the minimal amount.

 

Life is short and before you know it, it is over. The real question is not “When will I die?” but “How will I live?”

When you get to the end of your life will you be able to say that you lived fully, and did all you dreamed to do, or will you be filled with regret?

Did you lick every ounce of bliss out of life?

 

We glorify saints, but they live in remote lands. We glorify the angels, but their feet do not touch the ground. We glorify superheroes, but they’re not real. It takes true courage to be in this life, with all its mess, it’s ups and downs, light and dark, sweetness and bitterness. It takes courage to be who you really are. Perhaps this is why so many of us turn away, and settle, opting for safe lives of soul-numbing superficial satiation. It’s easier to stay skeptical, be jaded, live in the mind, hide behind sarcasm and erect walls of defensiveness. Sadly, it’s easier to play small and protect ourselves from the disappointment of living full out, with all its risks.

 

Even to the extreme, my friend, when you display great feats, it doesn’t take real courage to firewalk, skydive or climb a mountain. It really doesn’t. It takes courage to be honest with yourself and speak your truth to those around you.

It takes courage to face your addictions, and get help.

It takes courage to reach out and risk vulnerability in love.

It takes courage to pick yourself up off the floor after rejection or failure.

It takes courage to humble your ego, give up defensiveness, and simply say, “I’m sorry.”

It takes courage to open your heart and love, after your heart has been broken or betrayed.

It takes courage to forgive, even when you know that you’re right.

I say it takes real courage to be who you REALLY are.

What is it you really want to be, do, say, live and express?

So:

Dive in.

Do it.

Dare.

Climb it.

Kiss more.

Say it.

Travel it.

Let it.

Laugh.

Commit.

Forgive.

Ravish.

Seize it.

Love.

There comes a moment in your life when you just have to say the 2 magic words!

Be bold. Be you. Go for it.

Say it. Loud……………..

“F&%k it!”

 

The Flood - a poem by me

Funny little anecdotes that people say when you're having trouble,
small things, meant to give some relief or acknowledgement to what is ailing,
sometimes wholeheartedly and sometimes flippant, but intention is there for something.
Like, when it rains it pours, or this too shall pass, or take comfort in the small things
all meant to benefit the receiver with some form of comfort.
But what I would say to you is
"I'm going to build you an ark"
because you, my friend, are in the midst of a flood of biblical proportions
and there is nothing that I can give you to hold back the waters.
Moses, get your fucking ass here now and part the seas!
Noah, get to hauling some trees up in here
cause the sky isn't falling but filling with this water
and unless you've got gills this isn't gonna be pretty.
Forget about the morter and the paste to hold the foundations
the sails, the weather vane to predict when it's all gonna be over
hell, just make it float. 
We just need it to float.
No need to find some way to phrase it pretty or make it make sense
it has no sense at this point
Wild, wicked endless water is pouring in from all directions
and it's dirty, useless and good for nothing,
except maybe for us to all label it definitively,
it's a whole lotta fuckin' water.
Let's not have them drown with our anecdotes and smart things to say.
Make some floatation devices with kind choices of words
because in this kind of weather, I can't build you an ark
I can't give you anything that can bring a relief to what is ailing you
not even a wise word of wisdom because in biblical proportions you have received that water that drowns the whole earth,
been swallowed up whole by a whale,
locust have invaded your lands and killed the crops,
and the tide keeps taking you out way beyond the shore.
But I can still see you out there in the horizon,
dog-paddling, sometimes floating on your back,
sometimes swimming against the riptide,
and that's when I realize
you are your own ark.

Other people's poetry

Mary Oliver 

her poetry is a gift

here is one of them

Photo: Unique Photography Concepts dot com

The Uses of Sorrow
(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)
Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.

A Poem

Flock of Birds by Giedrius Varnas @ Deviant Art

There are all sorts of ways that we can bond:
we can like the same sport or team, tv show or talk show host,
we could have watched the same cartoons growing up,
or loved the same movies.

But most of the time
you are you
and I am over here,
and we bond over failed suicide attempts,
or loved ones who were successful the first time,
or senseless acts of violence we experience.


If we could only remember daily the strangers eyes we look at
could simply reflect our own soul
and maybe we would try harder to bond over a shared smile
an experience of happiness for no apparent reason. 

Remember when the world was new

I saw a friend's picture of her daughter's first grade class.  It was the official school picture, you know, the ones with the teacher standing to the side and all the kids are lined up by height in rows.  Except in this picture, the teachers allowed them to make the silliest faces, just brilliant.  It's more than adorable.  And it just reminded me of what it was like to have the school picture taken.  And that my mom would spend time ordering the pictures.  And that it was a big deal to give one of your pictures to someone, like Grandma and Grandpa.  To get dressed up and make sure that your hair was right because who knew that your hair could actually be wrong?  And wearing your favorite pink shirt was awesome even though it may have been a size too small and stained by chocolate pudding.  Who cares, I'm wearing my pink shirt!  And just how big a deal it all was.
It reminds me of how happy I was as a kid.  How exciting it all was.  What I had for lunch, did we get to play a new game today, what happened on the bus ride home and we were going to go on a field trip to the fish hatchery!  Everything was so exciting.
It reminds me that once, I was very excited about life.  And I still can be.  Can I begin again?  Tasting raindrops, feeling the wind on my face, smelling the ocean, getting all dressed up to go to THE MALL, going to see a movie, writing a poem, petting my cat.  Not just getting excited about one thing, but all things.  Experiencing the taste of life.  It's all we have.  And once, it was everything.

Life on life's terms

Sometimes things can be very overwhelming.  Bad news in the media, at work, at home, in the neighborhood can make life seemingly unbearable and sometimes even horrible.  There's a tendency sometimes to oversimplify, throw out suggestions such as 'make a gratitude list' or even shine over what is going on.  While these have been things that I have done or throw out, they are not really dealing with what is.  I believe that the essence of the statement 'Life on Life's terms' is recognizing the ups and downs on the roller coaster of life.   We are born into this life and we will all eventually die.  Whether we believe we will come back or not is irrelevant to the process of dying and grieving that those who remain will experience.  There will surely be someone in our lives who will make bad, even horrible choices and their decision to act on those choices will affect our lives and the lives of people around us.  Whether they are politicians or lone gunmen, we all have to live with those decisions.  So while these events go on, and seem to go on forever sometimes, where I choose to live is in the now, allowing myself to feel the emotions that come up as a result of these events and staying present with them.  By staying present with what is, not projecting what the future holds but rather allowing myself the experience as unpleasant and grieving as it is, I acknowledge what these events are.  I create space for myself to be just a human being in this place called Earth, and know that I am here to experience what life has to offer, sometimes unkind and sometimes unpleasant.  I know that sometimes all that I can control, is what I choose to respond with. 

What is this feeling?

A large majority of my time is spent undoing some of my thinking and the subsequent feelings that arise out of that thinking.  Lets call it the self-centered wheel.  It's mostly comprised of cynical thoughts from feelings of frustration and inadequacy and it loops forever.  Until I get to a "present moment" place of here and now and what's going on now.  Then I can attach to happy and joy and get out of the wheel.  Sometimes. 

Last Monday night, I married my friend.  And what I can describe adequately as one of the best days of my life.  Yes, there were moments where things weren't quite right.  But overall, everything was perfect, everyone had a good time and all the planning, cajoling, hysteria went away for this perfect evening.  I followed some friends advice and let it all go.  I took that moment that Kevin walked up to get me to walk up the aisle and looked at him and knew this was all about us and our love for each other.  And that we chose to be with each other.  And that it wasn't forever.  Life is finite, it can all end tomorrow with a car accident.  I remember everything, I remember each moment, and I had the best time!

It is a beautiful thing.  And I have been feeling and surrounded by this love from everyone.  I have yet to experience something like this and now in this feeling, in this breath, in this time I have right now, I'm choosing to stay here.   In the love.  In the joy.  In the peace.  For as long as I can.