Now This Is My Idea of Love....

In wanting to wish You All a Happy Valentine's Day,
I kept perusing over and over again what it was I
wanted to impart..some bit of wisdom that would
feed us all perhaps.  There are so many different
kinds of love in this world that to focus on just one
would be silly really.  But bringing them all together
got me to thinking of The Beloved...and we can
interchange that Creator, God, Great Spirit, The All,
Source, and many others...

Back to my thoughts though...celebrating Valentine's
Day is such a commercialized day for me...on the one
hand it is so sweet to make one 'someone' feel special
and loved on a particular day but on the other hand I
find it much easier to show that Love every day, in
ways that are meaningful, making everyday Valentine's
Day.

Recently I have been re-reading books I own that speak
to my heart...one such read is "The Call" by Oriah
Mountain Dreamer...she is one of my favorite authors.
Her writings always grip my inner core and bring out
stuff that I often don't think about unless nudged by
a spirit that recognizes that very thing...a mirror reflecting
in the waters...so when I was reading this passage it
dawned on me to share it as a Valentine message for
today...in hopes that it will bring Love to you in some
form, essence, or spiritual nudging, rippling out in waves
to meet you wherever you are.  Know that I love you
and cherish your sisterhood, your brotherhood, your
'God-ness.'

An excerpt from the last chapter...Tougher

There is nowhere to rest your eye

that does not behold the face of the Beloved.

There is nothing here but you and God,

and no real harm can ever be done to either,

so what is there to forgive?

Ah, it's so hard to keep this perspective,

to remember the truth when things get crazy

and we fear the worst.

All I can do is go back to my breath

and remember the Holy Spirit

is what fills me with every inhale.

How could it be otherwise?

When we get it, all this anguish seems so unnecessary.

When we lose it, suffering seems to be the only option.

All things have their roots planted in the same sacred soil.

Nothing is excluded from the sacred ground of being.

What would happen if we remember this?

What place would be unsuitable for a shrine?

Brothel or barn, crack house or cathedral:  all sacred.

What person would not be another yourself,

a shining and holy face of the Sacred Mystery?

Remember this when you look at those you call your enemies.

Even your darkest secrets,

the things about your self that make you cringe -

do you think the sacred presence is not large enough to include these?

How small our notion of God is.

How our ideas fail to even guess at the depth of the passion

the Beloved feels for us.

Open your eyes.

See, there is nothing here but you and the Beloved,

and no real separation between even these two.

Now that ought to make you smile.

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer~

May Today WE ALL See the Beloved in One Another

on this Day of Love we set aside each year...

Valentine's Day.

I Love You!

Akasa

Winter Hello's and Christmas Wishes

I'm being a busy gal today...getting
last minute stuff wrapped up, made
one batch of fudge and have one more
to go.  I also have two more loaves of
Banana Bread to get made for Family
Gifting and then start on my oodles of
cookies...Hershey Kisses Peanut Butter's,
M&M Chocolate Chip, and Sugar Cookies
all decked out for the Grands...and maybe
the Adults too, lol.  We will be on sugar
overload I'm sure.

Several years back I started a photo book
for my Daughter and Son...a picture legacy
from the time we began up until now...
The catch is...they have to return their book
at some point within the year so that I can
add to it, to be ready for Christmas.  This
year only my Son returned his.  So I'll be
going through photo's today finding more
to place in his photo book and then I
thought I'd begin making small stories or
comments to add to it, and slip those in
there...like things they mispronounced that
were so cute, and songs they loved to sing,
you get the picture, lol.

For the Grands I made new Drumsticks for
their Drums and gifted them with my Turtle
Shell Rattles to add to their music bags.
My Grandaughter has to pick mine up each
time she comes over so she will be way
beyond excited to know she now is
bequeathed Grandma's Sacred Rattles.

I also made her a Dreamcatcher with an
Angel in the middle, made out of corn husks,
stuck a little bell on that hangs from the top,
and used some beads with a Goddess Pendant
to hang from the bottom.  I have to look and see
what else I can add to it before the day is
over.  I am going to call it Angel Dreamcatcher
and tell her 'every time a bell rings, an Angel
gets her wings.'  She's been bugging me to
release my Dreamcatchers to her, so I thought
I'd make one for her instead.  I know she will
appreciate it. 

As for Firekeeper he is getting older and wants
new books so I found some at the Local Library
that are like new...one is written by Ashley Hopgood
entitled 'Winddancer' and is so beautifully illustrated.
It tells a story about Sage, a young Indian girl,
who must live through the loss of a Mother,
and lives with her Father and Brothers on a rez, and
the challenges her Family must go through.  I think
it will be a good read for him.  In looking back on
Firekeeper to this time last year, my heart swells
with so much pride for him...he has walked a million
miles in his short life...at this time last year he
was just coming home from the Childrens Hospital
in Milwaukee after having attempted to take his life.
He was nine years old at the time.  Today he is a
happy, vibrant child who has gone from barely
making it to 100 percent in school, is coming out of
his despair with the help of so many in the school
sytems where he attends (he goes to a school that
is structured for children who have endured much
and help them to learn how to cope and process
life), and he has learned to use his voice.  That is
huge for a ten year old who has lived the life he has.
So when I say my heart swells it swells hugely!!!
Now, we are on a different walk together entirely,
as I see him becoming the preteen he is, his views
changing, growing up and away from Old Grandma
a little more (that was sad until I realized it is
exactly what needs to happen), and the biggest
challenge of all was to let him do it.  We cannot
hold them safe in our arms forever...at some point
the Momma Bird kicks the Babies out of the nest,
doesn't she?  Being a Grandmother is a little
different but I am learning to embrace it all.  :)

So this Christmas we are living it very simplistically.
No fancy gifts under our trees, as we face the
challenges everyone is facing in our world.  We
learn to appreciate more, and love our family
more than before, as we don't know what tomorrow
will bring.  It makes me happy.  All the years of
being stressed because of lack have vanished out
of the window for me.  I did appreciate those years
don't get me wrong, and I did appreciate family but
I think it has awakened even more for me this year.
It's a Good Thing!

So as I make my way now through the last few days
before Christmas, and remember the reason for this
season of Love and Compassionate Kindness, I wanted
to take the time to Wish All of my Blogger Friends
the Most Happiest of Holidays...may your heart grow
bigger, may you be touched in magical ways as you
go through your days, may Love abound in your hearts
and homes and may Mother/Father God enfold you deeply
in the Their Wings.   You've enriched my life by your
thoughtful comments when you visit, and touched
me more than you will ever realize.

Merry Christmas and Love Be With You!
May Peace Prevail On Earth...

My Inner Child....

My Inner Child was wounded a
million times it seems and so
over the course of my life I had
forgotten who the 'she' of me
actually was.  It wasn't until the
past 15 years or so that I have
finally allowed myself to connect
with her on a very visceral level.

Today...the sting of hurt can come
creeping in at the most inopportune
times, (or so it feels) but in reality
it is always the perfect time as I
am learning even at my age to
embrace the now moments as they
come.  So today is one of those
days where I hold myself gently.  I
have been sitting and rocking her,
talking softly, and just 'be'-ing.  I
love that child, the one who had
so much love to give...and
somehow I came to this song
this afternoon.  I don't believe in
coincidences so the Blessed
Universe must have known I
needed to hear this beautiful
song....and I embrace this too,
fully and without reservation.
For my 'holy' self, for my whole
self, for my loving self. 

Love Yourself Too!

Enjoy and Embrace...

Grandmother Spider...

During my morning musing I see Grandmother Spider busy weaving away...Spinnerettes working finely and in tune with the next body part.  All things working together for the highest good of all. 

As She is Weaving I see the web She is spinning...bringing more and more Sisters of Like-Mind and Spirit together...each with a web of her own...all singing the same heartsongs...but with a definitive 'special' strand that is all her own.  Their own story to share, their own definition of self and how they warrior their way throught it.  How blessed I am today to be able to see the beautiful webs shining in the morning sun...

I realize that we are all connected in a huge way this morning...more than I usually think of it (which is a lot!).  How in mirroring to one another we can help relieve each other in ways that matter hugely.  If but by a kind word or deed, a compassionate lending of an arm to help support, a hug to warm the lonely and battered.   A bowl of soup to feed the hungry in spirit and in soul. 

Valentine's Day is wonderful, but this Love concept should be in our awarness at all moments in time.  We should be busy spinning...especially when there are sooo many out there who don't even know what it is to be loved, honored or treasured.  So in this moment...I'm just saying and sharing...I love you!  Wrap yourself up in that and wear it like your snuggly blanket...I'm sending out more love today...and it feels so good I'm going to weave it around myself too.  Grandmother Spider has woven us all together....let's catch the unsuspecting ones and weave a web of love around them...it can only enhance the strands that connect us!

A'  (the sound of the heart)
Ho! (the sound of completion)
A'Ho!