One Spirit

We rise up and breathe,

we seek and reach out,
we plan,

we play,
we dream.

We move through our days
in countless ways.

We fight,
we fall,

we mend,

we love,

but all in One Spirit
we live.

Gratitude

When the hounds of time
are on my heels,

and tension rises in my throat,

You send the rays of evening sun
and the cooling breeze of an autumn day
to kiss my brow and restore me.

When my day full of ups and downs

comes to an end

and I'm tired and stressed and angry,
You open my eyes
to see all the ways

that You whisper to me
"I love you".

Fast-forward Life

From the moment I awake,
the lack of your presence haunts me,
following me every second of the day,
pushing, shoving, taunting
and I don't dare take a moment to rest.
The gaping hole goads me on as with the sting of a whip,
laughing in my face at the list of my tasks.

The absence causes me to fear
and I lash out in anger,
hurting those whom I love the most.

Why do you exist?
Why is there never enough of you?

From where I stand,
you only exist to give me reason
to prioritize...
the ones I love, the moments I cherish, the passions I choose,
and for this, I must love you.

And yet,
I hate the way that you torment me,
Time.
 

The need for Beauty

 An incredible rainbow that spans the sky
amidst the smell of fresh rain...

The warm glow of a sunset, shining through majestic storm clouds,
reflecting hues of pink and purple in the bedroom of a little princess...
 

When we are in the presence of beauty,

there is no other response,
but to be silent
in awe,
taking it in with every breath,
wishing the moment would last forever.

Light in the Storm

I prayed for a rainbow

but got a storm.

While the rain poured

with stones of hail,

I looked for shelter
and found a tree.

Beneath the leaves,

through torrents of rain,
I saw a light
that shone so bright

 no thunder storm
its strength could touch.

And I smiled as I

began to see

the rainbows reflecting 

around me.

Alive

Why do we feel more alive
in the spring and in the summer?

Is it because of the beautiful dance of life
blossoming all around us
as nature gradually unfolds?

Or is it, perhaps, quite simply
because our senses are once again unveiled
free to join in and rediscover a world
where our hearts truly belong?

The Delight of Mini-Creations...

 How delightful it is to not only behold a beautiful creation,
but to be, oneself, a mini-creator!

 

 To create anything,
From a simple pencil drawing to a self-composed song,

from a batch of freshly baked brownies to a hand-made card,

a painted vase of hand-picked flowers, a home-sewn soft toy,

pieces of wood and stone, selected with care and lovingly adorned,...
the list of possibilities is endless, and thankfully so.

For it is in these moments of mini-creations
that we feel a joy,
a sense of connection of taking part in the process
of discovery, and life.

In the Wind

In one gust of wind...

I smell a myriad of lovely scents, from nature's sweet, wild kitchen,
I feel the warm touch of summer and the cool breeze of fall,

I see my best days of childhood, as lost dreams are revived.

In one gust of wind...

I taste the sweet kiss of love.

When the Earth turns Green again...

 Wild children of the forest,
once a lushful jungle green,
brave, kind and strong are we...
and it calls us to be free!

Its powerful force, staggering beauty, gentle whispering flow draws me in...
and I know this is where I belong.

 With trembling, and in awe, I answer the call. 

To bo one, to be whole, to be home.
I am a child of the forest.

Dream of Home

The Path Unknown...

What does it mean
to follow your dreams?
To step out and face the unknown?

Excuses?
No more!

Fears are real,
but we face them head-on
and keep our eyes fixed straight ahead.

Song of the Dawn

Why not be terrified?

Dreams.
Most of us have them.
I've always dreamed of being a writer, of inspiring people with words.
And so I started to write, for better or for worse.

It took a little over a year just to write, rewrite and edit my first professionally published children's book 'Home'.

And now I'm a published author!
So what?

Honestly, I'd like to just go back into hiding. The 'damage' is already done.
Seriously, how much rejection can a person take?

But we didn't just stop there. We decided to self-publish.

In total, we spent more than two years on this project as we also needed time to select and work with a skilled artist on the illustrations and lay-out of the book before sending it off to be printed.

Now you might wonder, why would we choose to go down the route of self-publication?
Isn't it very time-consuming, not to mention, expensive.
And there's no guarantee for the outcome.

Yes. You're right. All of the above is true.
And diving into the deep end used to terrify me as a child. 
It wasn't so much the jump itself.
The worst part was when the water was so dark, you couldn't see what you were diving into.

But, as our good friend Steve used to say: "Why not?"

Why not step over the edge, giving all you've got, and maybe learn something along the way?
Why not be terrified?

Fear can either be our greatest enemy, when it holds us down, or our greatest ally, when it propels us to follow our dreams.

In the past, facing my fears has only made me stronger.
Like the time when I dreamed for months of riding a motorbike.
The idea of the power I would have to harness terrified me, especially since I had never even sat on a motorbike before. But I could just feel the wind and taste the freedom in my dreams.
And I did it! We got the bike.

Then came the reality, the hard part of learning to ride.
And yes, I fell. Often.
But it was one of the best times of my life. 

Fears will always be there.
Sometimes little, like my ridiculous fear of eight-legged bugs.
And sometimes large, like my fear of starting a new life on the other side of the world.
And yet I have to choose, one way or another, what to do with them.

It's a bit ironic that my first published book is about a little boy who takes a big risk...
And here I am: a big girl afraid to take a little step forward.
Maybe in this coming-of-age tale 
I'm the one who's really growing up.

My 9-year old son is scared of going ice-skating. Of stepping onto thin ice and falling, then being ridiculed.
And yet, he's doing it!
Because he's even more scared of not trying. Of not knowing what it's like to glide across the smooth surface and feel the wind in his face.

So maybe, when we think of our dreams, that's the true recipe for success: 
The guts to go for it anyways, sprinkled with a bit of insanity and a whole lot of social support.

Because, let's face it, I wouldn't have come so far without my crazy husband believing in me and coaching me on.
And the friends and family that stand behind me remind me that it's okay to fall.
The only real failure is to not try at all.
As my hubby recently shared: "If you're not terrified of your dreams, you're not dreaming big enough!"

That's what it means to be alive, to know the sweet taste of sacrifice and humility and come through it.

So, what have I learned from this process?
Honestly, that still remains to be seen.

But tomorrow we stand at a new precipice.
And would I do it all again?
As Steve would say: " Why not?"

Thanks, Steve. 😊

"Home" at Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/elphomeus

What matters...

Once again, 

I am reminded that

when all is said and done,

when we have finished our searching,

our trying and our chasing after the wind,

what truly matters

are people.

Moon Glow

It always amazes me how

stepping from my busy, noisy indoor life

 outside into the peaceful evening, even just for a minute, 

inhaling the cool, fresh breeze in the glow of the moon,

brings a sense of tranquility.

Unexpected Gems

Beauty in the simplicity of a cold winter's morning.

Winter sunset on the beach, ... a hint of magic in the air.