Inspired

Samhain Moon

Samhain Night

When the moon on a cloud cast night
Hung above the tree tops' height
You sang me of some distant past
That made my heart beat strong and fast
Now I know I'm home at last

You offered me an eagle's wing
That to the sun I might soar and sing
And if I heard the owl's cry
Into the forest I would fly
And in its darkness find you by.

And so our love's not a simple thing
Nor our truths unwavering
Like the moon's pull on the tide
Our fingers touch our hearts collide
I'll be a moonsbreath by your side

Loreena McKennit

 

 

My background is Gaelic and although my grandmother was a strong Scottish Presbyterian, there were broad swathes of the ancient and mystical Gaelic traditions woven into my upbringing.  A firm believer in spirits and ghosts, my mother told stories that left me breathless when I was sent down a dark hallway to an even darker pantry, to fetch preserves and supplies for dinner!

In the Celtic culture, Samhain was one of the main pastoral celebrations of the year and was held the night before first of November.  It was thought to be a time of malevolent spirits, often in the form of birds, when all the forces of the other world were loosened. Then, countryside and human were believed to be threatened. The god sun mated with the raven-goddess and ceremonies had to be most solemnly performed to ward off the evils that came with the decline of the sun.

(The photograph is one I took several years ago but I’ve overlayed it with a texture of birds in flight which I found at Michelle Black’s website, via the lovely Georgianna Lane .  I am so in love with Georgianna’s beautiful floral photography.)

 

May bonfires burn brightly for you on this night…

Stuck For Words

 

This image came to me in a dream a few weeks ago…I actually saw it as a tumor in my throat and when (in the dream) I had a scan done to see what it was, it showed up on the screen like this! 

A big tumor full of unspoken words.

Even in my dream I knew I had to do something creative with the image and that the message was one to heed.  I think many of us hold back our thoughts and feeling and have done so, for much of our lives.  We may not want to hurt someone’s feelings or we may fear the consequences of expressing our feelings.  I find there’s sometimes a fine line between 'emanating my own truth' and blasting with a fire hose!  Finding the right words, the caring words, and still honouring my truth can be tricky! 

A few days ago I heard this quote here, which of course was just what I needed to hear…”whatever you’re afraid you’re going to lose by telling your own truth in this moment, you’ve already lost”.  If we’re afraid to speak to someone for fear they may take their business, their love, their job, their friendship away, then we didn’t actually  have that person’s caring and respect to begin with. 

Lack of self love is absolutely the greatest lack.

I haven’t done much digital work for ages so it was quite fun to play around with it and I’ve never before had the experience of telling myself in a dream that I had to create something...while I was still in the middle of dreaming it! 

Thanks for coming by dear friends and I’d be interested to know if you have any words that need to be spoken, yelled, coughed up or written out!

Happy Friday blessings to you,

(as I was reading this over I realized that it's no surprise that I have a sore throat!  The answers are always there if we're prepared to be open and listen.)

October Roses

 

Where did the past week go?  An alternate dimension?….a time warp?   Maybe both of those things…we’ve been looking after E. our five year old grandson while his parents were on a well deserved holiday, so need I say more? 

We fell into bed every night just after he did and woke up in the morning with a wee boy and a dog lying between us.  It was hectic, tiring, fun and rewarding.  He very generously shared his cough and sore throat with me too, so today I’m literally speechless.

 

  

Other than reading bed time stories, snuggling, hanging out at playgrounds, packing school lunches, playing games, doing puzzles and using all the tools I know to distract rather than say no a 1,000 times a day…I haven’t been doing anything exciting.  I’m in recoup and regroup mode now and looking forward to an upcoming trip to Hawaii.  Bliss.

(the roses are struggling a bit right now but still bravely budding)

Blessings dear friends…encourage one another,

Renovations

Things may look a little discombobulated around here for awhile during my “renovations!”  I’m also looking after my five year old grandson for the next five days so I’ll be working at it as time allows…or not!

Kate

What If I Told You…

 

Sending some inspired love your way today via Jen Lemon…

What if I told you…

that everything you’re worried about right now would fade and even be hard to remember clearly in just one year…

that the answer to what’s troubling you is not more cash or more time or more anything…

that your longings are actually a path your heart is learning to trust and follow…

that you’re not crazy for wanting something else, something more…

that in one instant everything can change and you can find yourself overwhelmed with the goodness that is yours now to hold…

that every difficulty you’re facing will accomplish something essential in you, something you’ve always wanted to be different but didn’t know the way…

that these troubles are temporary, that everything changes, and more completely than you think…

that in all this confusion and uncertainty that you can be held and known and loved in a way that makes sense to you…

what if you knew in the end you would always be loved…always, always, always.

sending you deep hope today, that you would believe me if I told you, and that if you told me, that I would believe you, too.

If any of you are struggling…and most of us do, in some way, over some thing…I hope this helps.  It brought a beautiful sense of peace to me when I read it...like I had just been wrapped in a soft and cozy blanket.  The photograph is of a red polka dotted heart that hangs on a door knob in my front hallway and acts as a bold reminder of all the love that’s present in my life…and for which I’m so very grateful.

Blessings dear friends and peace to you all-ways,

Light Reflections

The windows of my soul I throw
wide open to the sun. 
~John Greenleaf Whittier

 Life doesn’t seem to slow down…just got home from a couple of days away and off to a workshop tomorrow.  I’ll be back in a few days to tell you all about image transfer techniques! 

(The photo above was taken at my kitchen window.)

Beautiful Autumn blessings,

My Sign

 

Graciel at Evenstar Art struck a match when she read this post by debi.  One line flew off the screen, begging to be spoken aloud

... "life is just overwhelming at times, and we are all standing on a corner with a sign in our hands needing something". 

 Reading that sentence inspired Graciel to take up the torch and ask “what is the sign in your hands?  What. do. you. need?”

We all have our “signs”...our needs... but we usually try to keep them hidden from the world.  At times they emerge in behaviors that sabotage what we truly want and need.  I wonder why it’s so difficult to openly ask for our needs to be met?

My sign tells of a need that no one can give to me, but me.  And I ask myself…why is this so difficult to do?  Why do we ignore and fail to listen to our amazing and beautiful hearts? 

My sign won’t end up on a street corner but it will be on my bathroom mirror reminding me…shouting if necessary…to listen.  And I’m discovering my heart has has much to say to me.

Thanks to Debi and Graciel for asking the question that we all want to hear.

What would be written on your sign?

Blessings dear friends…peace all-ways

10-10-10

Energetically speaking, a new wave of is upon us on this 10-10-10...a new energy of love and potentials.  An energy of new beginnings and with beginnings there are always endings.

To be happy, close the door on an unhappy experience that you hold in your memory.

To create love, be grateful for every unloving teacher you have had, for their purpose was to help you find love within yourself.

To know your new life purpose, embrace where you are in this moment and everything you have learned.

To be at peace, be grateful for every experience of chaos and that you have the power to choose the energies that manifest in your life.

Embrace your new potential as you give yourself the gift of the endings that make beginnings possible.

Jennifer Hoffman (Uriel Heals)

Are we ready to let go of all that isn’t working for us anymore…the blaming, the finger pointing…all those feelings of victimhood?  I know I am and truly, any day is a good day for that!

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada…so to all my fellow “Canucks”, have a wonderful day of love and blessings with family, friends and strangers too...who are just potential friends after all!

And blessings to all of you, dear friends...I'm happy you stopped by.

Small Gifts of Flowers

These hands belong to a bronze sculpture of a fisherman.  He sits on a bench by the edge of the sea, forever holding his tackle box on his knee, while attaching a hook and lure to his line. 

There’s never been a day in the nine years that I’ve lived here, that I’ve walked by and there haven’t been flowers placed in his hands.  Someone…in fact many someone’s…pick a flower and place it in his hands as they walk by so that by the end of the day, he always has a lovely bouquet.

I doubt the sculptor ever thought of this happening when he was designing the piece but there’s something about human nature that loves to give a gift and there’s something about hands that love to receive and to hold.

Everyone stops to look and/or take a picture.  I don’t know if it’s the interaction of nature with an inanimate object or the idea of interacting with the art or just the shear delight of creating and sharing beauty…but whatever it is, these small gifts seem to give residents and tourists alike, so much pleasure.

view of Sidney by the Sea from the walking pier 

I’ve been absent from this space for awhile again.  We were away at my dad’s and then he came back home with us for a visit so life has been full.  My old companion…fatigue…has come calling once again so I’ve been trying to relax into that and not fight it too much.  This past year I’ve been feeling quite well so it’s a bit disconcerting to be dealing with this again, but I know it will pass.

the view from the walking pier looking out at Sidney Island and beyond that, the islands of the US with Mt. Baker barely visible in the August Haze.  Mr. Baker is a live volcano and the second most active in the US after Mr. St. Helen’s.

 

Meanwhile, I’ll take the time to be creative again.  I’ve started painting a background on a canvas and my plans for that involve an image transfer workshop I’ll be taking next weekend.  I’m very excited about this as it’s something I’ve been wanting to learn more about for a long time.  I’ve also been working on a new blog design which will be finished in a few days.

I’ll be back soon and meanwhile I’ll leave you with these lovely words of wisdom:

Existence is whispering in your ear right now
that everything you could ever hope to be
is already who you are.

Michael Beckwith

Could you let yourself believe this? 

I'm going to believe that I'm already a person who's not tired! 

Blessing dear friends,