When the World Shifts

The Beauty of Others - from 

Our Beautiful World and Universe on Facebook

Kids....

pray.

Pray without ceasing,

even

-and especially-

if your prayer is

simply:

Thank You.

Kids, my thought in writing this was to be mindful about saying prayers of gratitude often, not just prayers of supplication. Because when life is ordinary and uneventful, we don't realize how absolutely blessed and fortunate we are....until something happens.

As I was ready to post we just received word that my sister's friend's   23 year old son  dove off a ledge yesterday into the river and didn't come back up. They didn't find his body till this morning. His mother is in shock, and her everyday world has  transformed to what will be a long journey of grief. My heart goes out to her.

Cherish your normal life with awareness. It all can - and often does - change so swiftly. 

On Gifts and Gratitude

Kids, this morning someone dear sent this link to my inbox. If you have a few minutes to watch it, it will make you SO GRATEFUL to be a human being on this beautiful planet full of other amazing beings. The images are spectacular, and the philosophy spoken is heartwarming and wonderful. This video is my gift to you in this season of giving.

I want to tell each one of you who comes to my site, whether you leave a comment, or read and click away, how absolutely blown away I am by the fact that you are coming to read my words from wherever you live on this glorious planet of ours. And how very much I value your friendship, your kind and encouraging words of support and appreciation.

Because of each one of you, I went from a dry spell of barely writing at all, to writing almost daily. You have walked with me through a difficult year and, often, it was your words that I clung to, your support that helped me make it through.

I so look forward to another year of sharing our poems, our philosophies, and our life journeys. May 2012 be our best year of writing yet.

Who's Awesome?? YOU are!

[image from the internet]

When I started this blog, at the encouragement of a friend and fellow poet,

I had four followers: my friend, and a couple of family members.

To my amazement, I now see I have 94 followers.

It absolutely knocks me out that

people all over this old planet are reading my words,

and leaving me lovely heartwarming comments.

I just wanted to say:

you make me happy!

Thank you so much!

You are awesome,

and I appreciate

each and every one of you.

It's a Gulag Out There, Charlie Brown!

[Stephanie's Window]

Outside for three days in a row, the gray winter pall that hangs over this valley lifted off and we have had blue skies and sunshine, which lift the spirits, but bring very frigid temperatures. No snow yet, but frost so thick that it looks like a light layer of snow. My wolf dog is relishing the coldness. I am too, but comfortably indoors, in fleece lounging pajamas.

I am waiting till the celebrations start, around the world, hoping the far side of the world begins early enough for me to catch some of the displays before inevitably I am too tired and have to totter off to bed.

It is the last day of this year, which has been a hard year in many ways. But was a year which also brought me this wonderful world of blogging, of belonging to a fantastically talented and creative community of poets, something my life here sadly lacked till I found all of you.

To each one of you who has visited my blog and left kind and encouraging comments, and to each one of you whom I have visited and will continue to visit in the new year, I want to express my profound gratitude at how you helped  to reawaken my writing life, which had been hibernating, and for stimulating me with your voices, your amazing writing, and the back and forth give and take which just means the world to a writer, without which I stagnate. Each one of you has re-energized and breathed new life into my writing - and my life - and "thank you" is not big enough for what this means to me.

I look forward to some great writing - and some great reading - from all of us in the new year.

Wishing you all good things in 2011. You made 2010 a watershed year for me:)