If only you knew what bliss I find in being nothing.
Words attributed to Rumi
Photo by Enchanted Seashells
Bliss
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Category Archives: Poetry
A Hopeful Walk
She walks
With such a knowing
Of all that has been
And such a hope
For what is not yet seen
A Poem by Athey Thompson/Art by Paula Jones
Unexpected Magic
“But once in a while the odd thing happens,
Once in a while the dream comes true,
And the whole pattern of life is altered,
Once in a while the moon turns blue.”
W.H. Auden
Photos from Pinterest
Learn And Love
You will learn by reading,
But you will understand with LOVE.
— Shams Tabrizi
Image from Pinterest
Another Happy Solar Return!
Something to think about on the day of my birth, in addition to yummy cake and prezzies!
Listen up
Then just pipe down
Speak up
but don’t speak too loud
Don’t be dull
but don’t be wild
Be fun
but don’t act a child
Age gracefully
but don’t look old
Know your mind
but do as you’re told
Embrace your curves
but don’t get fat
Love yourself
but not like that
Know your worth
but not too much
Else they might feel
inadequate
Wear make-up,
look natural though
Stand your ground
but don’t say no
Choose the right path
but for who?
Right for them
or right for you?
Right for who
they’d rather see
Or right for
who you’d rather be?
Listen up
I’ll tell you this
This life of yours
is yours to live
Becky Hemsley 2023
Excerpted from: What the Wild Replied
Act of Kindness
“Your acts of kindness are iridescent wings of divine love, which linger and continue to uplift others long after your sharing.” Rumi
Here’s my act of kindness…with literal iridescent wings…
As I was on my hands and knees cleaning out winter’s leaves from my little pond/waterfall in the garden, prepping for no more rain so I could fill it again, I heard a strange fluttering sound.
I looked up, and right above my head, I saw a Mourning Cloak butterfly held captive in a spider’s web, desperately trying to break free.
I immediately sprung to my feet (well, not SO immediately because I’m still careful not to further injure my torn meniscus that I’m stubbornly refusing to surgically repair) and freed the butterfly from certain death.
S/he fell to the ground because a very tiny bit of sticky web was holding freedom hostage and s/he couldn’t open her wings and fly away.
I sat next to her and very gently pulled off the remains of the spider web, hoping I hadn’t damaged anything, and the butterfly took off like a rocket. I couldn’t believe how fast s/he was. I never saw it again.
Poor little thing was a bit battle weary and bedraggled, but seemed to be OK after the ordeal with the spider web.
Have you ever touched the wings of a moth or butterfly and gotten some “powder” on your fingers? If you look through a microscope, that powder is actually tiny scales.These scales give butterflies and moths their scientific name Lepidoptera (from the Greek Lepido = scale, and ptera = wing). Each scale can be a different color and when placed next to each other, the mosaic makes up the color patterns we see. Curated from essig.berkeley.edu/exhibits/butterflywings/
Interesting, huh?
While it’s best not to touch a butterfly’s wings because it might inhibit their ability to fly, there was really nothing else I could do to save him/her. https://essig.berkeley.edu/exhibits/butterflywings/
Here’s the spiritual meaning of a butterfly with its wings stuck together by a spider web: It holds a powerful, dualistic spiritual message, often representing a, tension between the need for transformation and the reality of entrapment or stagnation. It suggests that a, period of metamorphosis or personal growth is being hindered by fear, limiting beliefs, or external obstacles. That’s pretty intense, don’t you agree?
No matter what it means, it’s a good feeling to help a wld creature.
What Is Enlightenment
“Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.”
It’s always a good idea to start out a new week with a positive message from Thich Nhat Hanh, even if I’m not 100% sure I know what it means.
I’ll have to cogitate on it because the nuance is a bit elusive right now, like I think I get it, but it’s just out of reach, which is annoying.
Joyful Full Flower Moon on May Day!
"The moon, like a flower in heaven's high bower,
With silent delight sits and smiles on the night." — William Blake
This is a great time to make a wish because there will be two full moons in May!
The first one is the Flower Moon (in Scorpio) and will reach its peak tomorrow, May 1, while the second full moon, the Blue Moon (which is also a micromoon), peaks at the end of the month on May 31.
This full moon symbolizes the peak of spring, blooming, and full expression, urging us to step into our potential and allow our personal growth to “bloom”.
It’s also May Day, to honor the arrival of spring (Beltane).
Beltane traditions include dancing around maypoles, creating flower crowns, and placing flowers on neighbors’ doorsteps.
I’ll try to remember to place my crystals on the deck to absorb all of the positive and cleansing energies of the full moon, along with a carafe of water to charge with lunar energy for intention-setting and healing.
It’s the best way to kick off my birthday month and the best day of all to celebrate, Mother’s Day!
A Grain of Sand
To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wildflower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour
-William Blake
Sometimes all you need is to lie in the sand and breathe.
Orchid Rescue
A while back a neighbor was tossing out a few orchid plants that she thought were dead or dying. I rescued them, gave them love, and patiently waited.
I’ve been rewarded with not one, but two of them throwing spikes and blooming at the same time!
Best of all, they’re one of the few flowers that don’t trigger my allergies!
Slightly different shades of fuchsia bring joy.
I don’t know why anyone would discard an orchid; they’re not that difficult to maintain and there’s immense satisfaction when they rebloom.
I found an obscure poem about orchids by José Santos Chocano, written in the 1920s:
The Orchids
Freaks of bright crystal, airy beauties fair,
Whose enigmatic forms amaze the eye—
Crowns fit to deck Apollo’s brows on high,
Adornments meet for halls of splendor rare!
They spring from knots in tree-trunks, rising there
In sweet gradation; winding wondrously,
They twist their serpent stems, and far and nigh
Hang overhead like wingless birds in air.
Lonely, like pensive heads, all fetterless.
Lofty and free they bloom; by no dull chain
Their flowers to any tyrant root are bound;
Because they too, at war with pettiness,
Desire to live, like souls that know no stain,
Without one touch of contact with the ground.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 