Finding room

Recently I took a vacation from Facebook.  It's turning out to be a long vacation.  From being a total timewaster to also thinking I'm 'connecting' to people I realized that more of my time was spent there rather than face to face or phone calls.   Now with google plus and the revamp of Facebook it seems there are more bugs aka changes to get over, meaning the learning curve keeps getting curvier, i.e. more time spent on the web.  The digital age keeps bringing more and more technology but how much of it is really helpful?  Yes, Facebook is a great way to connect but it also brings a new problem of communication dysfunction.  A comment can be misconstrued moreso that what someone actually says in person.  And a message can be completely taken wrong, leaving the person on the receiving end to think one thing while the sender believed to be saying another.   What's the common denominator in these scenarios?  My vacation continues...

A new blog

Cheers to finding my space and deciding upon a url.  Yes, it was a decision.  For one, why?  After multiple email addresses, business start ups, websites, user names, etc I decided to make things mine by literally putting my name on it.  Calling it mine and having my name on it to me means there's no mistaking who this belongs to or who is providing content.  Secondly, I am tired of checking old addresses or explaining what certain things mean or meant.  Jennie O Six is my name, period.  So onward we go. 

Old poetry 2005

Last night the women got together
The women got together to share
To share about their experience,
strength, and hope.
Experiencing a life that is not always happy
Having the strength to reach for another day
And the hope to experience another day.
And the women prayed for the one who was not there
The one who needed their experience, strength and hope
but was lost.
And they prayed to the universe for the lost one
as the stars shined brightly in the clear night sky.
They say miracles are just coincidences,
strung together by tiny pearls of collective wishful thinking.
But if you were there with the women you would know
that on that very night there were no coincedences.

On Living

Once I was small, born
pushed into this world
and someone cared for me
fed, changed, clothed
made sure I was warm
loved the best that they could
until I was able to do it myself.

First moving
fingers, hands, seeing
then the many movements
wobble, then small steps
until run, leap, turn
all in the many ways to live this life.

Frustrated at how time can stand still,
change things, and leave some things the same.
Waiting for or with or yearning for something to happen now or yesterday,
not realizing how lucky we are to just be here at all.

Mt. Baker

This is my picture, we're up at Mt. Baker in Whatcom County, WA.  You're looking down at a glacier stream.  I spent a few hours with my dear friends carefully traversing over snow pack that was melting, but not enough to open the rest of the area before winter's approach.  We got to experience the quick weather changes, it went from really cold to warm in a matter of minutes.  We carefully went to one of the many waterfalls that were carrying the melting snow pack to the streams and rivers below.  And that crisp mountain air filled my lungs and gave my heart a little boost.  I love snow.

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.