creative faery

Food for the Front of your Fridge and Life

Today is a day of blessings, and may you be blessed with all that you need this day and everyday of your life.  I just wanted to give you some fridge food, for the front of your fridge.  Here is a list of 50 things to remember and live a blessed life.  Enjoy!  And have a fantabulous day!  I also put it in MS Word at the bottom.

LIFE

1.      Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2.      When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3.      Life is too short to waste time hating anyone

4.      Don’t take yourself so seriously No one else does.

5.       Pay off your credit cards every month.

6.      You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

7.       Cry with someone.  It’s more healing than crying alone.

8.       It’s OK to get angry with God – He can take it.

9.       Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don’t worry; Go never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties.  Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes.  If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save it for a special occasion.  Today is special!

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now.  Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words:  ‘in five years, will this matter?”

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything.  Give time time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your family will.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

34. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

35. Growing old beats the alternative!  - dying young.

36. Your children get only one childhood.  Make it memorable.

37. Read the Psalms.  They cover every human emotion.

38. Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s we’d grab ours back.

40. Don’t audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.

41. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

42. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

43. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.

44. The best is yet to come.

45. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

46. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

47. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

48. Yield.

49. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift.

50. Have a blessed life!

Here is a link to an MS word format so you can put it on your fridge.

Download LIFE.doc

Poetry Exercise - The Messenger

My poetry class this week was exceptional!  We did 6 different writing exercises to get our juices flowing.  I LOVED it!  What I love about these type of exercises is that when you do them, they are full of energy and raw emotion.  Sometimes this is the best writing because you aren't trying to hide anything or cover anything up.  The teacher only let us write about six or seven minutes, so we didn't get to complete our thoughts, but there are still a pile of great starts with no editing!

At first, I was hating it because it's hard to get an idea at first, but then you write through it and sometimes, well, miracles happen.   

Think of a situation where people or objects look all the same yet one stands out.  i.e.  Everyone is dressed alike or looks alike at a football game (team colors) or a party (jeans or tuxes), a stack of all yellow balloons, etc.  What makes someone or something stand out?

I'm putting my first raw draft out there for you to read with no editing so you can see how it looks raw.   The poem is  for my friend going through some tough times.   She doesn't know it yet, when her trials and tribulations are waning, she is going to be this blossom, this messenger for God.  She has to learn first that she is worthy, and that sometimes it's okay to stand out in a crowd.  It is with purpose.

The Messenger

Look out across

The massive field of

Red bulbous tulips

Row after row

They are the same

2 foot tall structures

*

And you

Lone blossom

Head held

One blossom

Higher than

The others

You,

Face tilted

Heavenward

Soaking in

God’s

Secret messages

And piping

Them to

The earth

You

Whom are

His messenger

When the sun

Beats upon

Your tiny shoulders

And you grow

Weary of

It’s weight

May you

Find

The strength

To last a

Little longer.

The world needs your healing power.

                My dear friends, are you the messenger?  I know there are many us out there.  May your shoulders be full of strength and your ears open to receive...and may our world begin to heal.  Have a blessed blessed Sunday!

Poetry is for Everyone!

I'm really enjoying my poetry class!  Though it's strange to be in a class with my husband.  I get to see a different side of him that I haven't seen before, and it's interesting and fun and even touching. 

You see, my husband's story is that he had a teacher in high school who told him what a terrible, terrible writer he was, and sadly, he believed them!  For all these years, he has done very little writing because of his fear that he "sucks."  I have read his letters and poems to me and told him that I have read a lot, and I KNOW that his poetry doesn't suck.  He believes it's just because I'm biased.

Well, in class, he has learned different.  Just by reading it out loud to others, he has learned how his great wisdom and view of the world can touch and inspire the lives of others.  He sees the world through a very spirtual lens.      Last week when we read in class, he was shocked when there were tears in the room and that the teacher commented on how touching it was!  I was proud and honored that he got to feel validation.  And stinkies to teachers who criticize a writer only for their mechanics!

I have enjoyed Mary Oliver's poems before, but I hadn't read them in a collection.  For the first time we read: American Primitive.  All I can say is WOW!  I love the way she weaves golden nuggets into her rhythms and makes me see the world in new and inviting ways...more than once I remember thinking to myself, I hadn't thought of that...or marveled with her metaphorical images or catchy rhythms.  A treat!  really...you should read this!

Frank O'Hara, on the other hand, was difficult to wade through!  I couldn't even finish it...nor did Joe...It felt as if you had to take drugs to understand what he was talking about...mostly it seemed disconnected and disjointed.  Each person I had read the poems couldn't finish!  When I asked my daughter to read just two more, she adamantly refused, "no!"    So, if any one of you, can explain them to me, feel free.  I did finally get a better when I realized he was just taking notes of his walking and riding adventures.

Next up: Lucille Clifton

Hold a boundary - Save a family

I saw my friend this weekend and got home today.  The pain of the cycle of emotional abuse is just crazy.  There are so many ups and downs because you want to break away and choose a new path, but you can't break the cycle because somehow you feel that it is all your fault and you believe that person.  The other person in this marriage is not taking any responsibility...but why should he, because she is taking all of it...right down to maybe she's imagining it all?  The pain for her is most unbearable, and as her friend, I feel it is even more unbearable because I know she is close enough to taste freedom.

But, there were great gains made too...She did some moving...and she got an apartment...but it's difficult to keep moving forward because there is so much she's afraid of losing.  I'm proud of her because she is being strong...and she's getting counseling...though sometimes it is so long before the next appointment.

For now, I'd love to praise women everywhere who are breaking this cycle of abuse!  I'm not saying your marriage has to break...what I am saying is you need to draw clear boundaries and stick to them!  One day, I'd like to be that advocate for women and cheer them on.  But somehow I'm afraid I would feel their pain too much and never be able to rise above.

Have a blessed and safe day my friends.  Hold a boundary.  Save a family.

Voracious Learner

It is the beginning of a new school year, and I forget what beautiful young minds are brought to me...ready...waiting patiently...for any morsel of learning I can provide...It's funny, kindergarten kids grow so much in a year that when the new year comes around I've forgotten all that they've learned...How to be a student.

I know this eagerness that these students bring because I find that I am this kind of learner too!  I long for things that tickle my fancy or bring me excitement or puzzle me!   The trouble is...I can find so MANY things that I can get excited about (as you can probably tell from my blog).  I am a writer and a reader and I'm exploring art...and I love  learning about life and spirituality and I love teaching kids and really really love assisting women in gaining their independence and freedom from things that bind them.   

How lucky am I?  Yet, I am tortured too.  Liking too many things can also keep you distracted and somewhat ADD like.    Hopefully I am not too detoured from my intended path so that I am doing my life's purpose on this earth...not selfishly wandering and learning for myself.  However, I have learned that when I learn something for me, I quickly find ways to get that info in someone else's hands.

After all, aren't we all learning together and building this world to be a better, higher order place? 

For now, I'm enjoying my new adventures in writing both for myself and my kids...now, if I could just sit down and blog?   That's writing...but hey...it's also the sitting down part in the middle of a busy life.

Have a blessed day...remember to count your blessings!  Your friendships are some of my most treasured blessings.