Letting Go

chalk art by Mira :)

Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. The past is closed and limited, the future is open and free.
- Dr. Deepak Chopra

Butterfly

Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly...
Suddenly I awoke...
Now, I do not know whether I was then
a man dreaming I was a butterfly,
or whether I am now a butterfly
dreaming that I am a man.

-Chaung Tzu

Freedom

Fear can be like a prison. It is, however, a self made prison.
Many are imprisoned by fear.
No one else can liberate them from this prison.
Others may inspire them
but they must liberate themselves.
-Mr. Prophet

On our choices

Dusty is a big baby!!!


The rest of your life is a long time
and whether you know it or not, it's
being shaped right now.
You can choose to blame your circumstances on fate
or on bad luck or bad choices, or you can fight back.
Things aren't always
going to be fair in the real world,
that's just the way it is, but for the
most part, you get what you give.
Let me ask you a question.
What's worse:
not getting everything you wished for or getting it
and finding out it's not
enough?
The rest of your life is being shaped right now
with dreams you
chase, the choices you make and the person you decide to be.
The rest of
your life is a long time
and the rest of your life starts right now.

Mark Schwann

true self

My second grade friend, Lily made this......she is an indigo child.
hope you like the words below!!
Namaste,
Michele



“There is something in every one of you
that waits and listens for the sound
of the genuine in yourself.
It is the only true guide you will ever have.
And if you cannot hear it, you will all
of your life spend your days on the ends of strings
that somebody else pulls.”
-Howard Thurman

Diversity

Hidden treasure

The most secure place to hide a treasure of gold
is some desolate, unnoticed place.
and so it is said,
"joy is hidden beneath sorrow."
-Rumi

No Problem!!!

Actually, we have no problems
- we have opportunities for which we should give thanks...
An error we refuse to correct has many lives.
It takes courage to face one's own shortcomings
and wisdom to do something about them.
-Edgar Cayce

Growth

"The purpose of our journey on this precious
Earth is now to align our personalities with our souls.
It is to create harmony, cooperation, sharing,
and reverence for Life. It is to grow spiritually.
This is our new evolutionary pathway.
The old pathway - pursuing the ability to manipulate
and control - no longer works.
It now produces only violence and destruction. "
~ Gary Zukav ~

Sheer Miracles

How do you like this tree house???
This was taken yesterday on our way home from the parade.
Our friends, Holly and Tom are such a big breath of fresh air!!!!
I was thinking of going over
and drawing this tree today....but it is raining :(
maybe tomorrow.
have a great day!!!
and enjoy the quote below.
Namaste,
Michele

Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly rediscover the world.
I have learned that what I have not drawn,
I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing,
I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.

- Frederick Franck

beautiful!!!

Here is my favorite part of the Memorial Parade today!!!
Hope you are having a great day
and that you enjoy the words below.
Namaste,
Michele

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people,
things, literature, music--the world is so rich,
simply throbbing with rich treasures,  beautiful souls and interesting people. 
Forget yourself.   ~ Henry Miller

Karma

Marko playing ball.


PEOPLE GET INTO A HEAVY-DUTY sin and guilt trip, feeling

that if things are going wrong, that means
that they did something 
bad and they are being punished.
That's not the idea at all. The idea 
of karma is that you continually get
the teachings that you need to 
open your heart. To the degree
that you didn't understand in the 
past how to stop protecting
your soft spot, how to stop armoring 
your heart, you're given
this gift of teachings in the form
of your life, 
to give you everything
you need to open further."

~Pema Chödrön on karma,
from "Start Where You Are"

blue heron

above is a picture that I drew at work with the kids tonight.
I decided it was a blue heron .....so I looked up the information below after I got home.
kinda cool.
Namaste,
Michele

The Meaning of the Blue Heron

The blue heron is a totem (symbol) of someone who has chosen to claim their life as their own.

According to North American Native tradition, the Blue Heron brings messages of self-determination and self-reliance. They represent an ability to progress and evolve. The long thin legs of the heron reflect that an individual doesn’t need great massive pillars to remain stable, but must be able to stand on one’s own.

Blue Herons have the innate wisdom of being able to maneuver through life and co-create their own circumstances. Blue Herons reflect a need for those with this totem to follow their own unique wisdom and path of self-determination. These individuals know what is best for themselves and need to follow their hearts rather than the promptings of others. Those with the Medicine of the Great Blue Heron may sit until the rest of us lose patience. And, when they choose to follow the promptings of the heart, they are one of the most magnificent when they soar.

This is the message that Blue Heron brings.

Peace!!

Mira made this on our driveway yesterday. :)


Think enough and you won't know anything.
-Kenneth Patchen

Sunshine Daydream!!!

it is that time.......time for orange van to come out and play!!!
hope you enjoy the poem below. My friend Jay sent it..........very beautiful.
Namaste,
Michele

Whenever I water flowers

somewhere

a hummingbird appears

and dances.

For a long time

I've watched that dance

not knowing

what moves me so.

Today

I see.

In a hummingbird's dance

there is no bird

only movement.

The dance

danced without an "I"

is the dance with a heart.

-“Don Juan Matus,

translated by Ok-Koo Kang Grosjean

Joy

Can you find Joy in this picture?
I found this joy on my friend, Arlene's beach. :)
I hope you like
the words below!!!
love,
Michele


I believe everything is one thing only. That said, there are some questions in my life that I don’t know...I’ve stopped asking. At the very beginning of my life, I wanted to have answers for everything. And now I respect the fact that I can’t have answers for everything.
-Paulo Coelho

Opening

Above are pictures from Medina Strings' (grade 5-8) concert on the square today.
beautiful day.....beautiful concert.
Hope you like the words below!!!
Namaste,
Michele



Today is a day of rest, a day of meditation, a day of going inward. It is a day to surrender the past, to forgive, to let go of the aspects of your life that no longer work. It is a day to affirm the essence of who you are and to open yourself to a new vision of the future. -Paul Ferrini

Hidden post

This post is hidden :)


Here is Mr. Chronister's teacher gift.
This is a back door on my blog so nobody will see it unless I link them to it.
Each student's thumbprint is turned either into a football or a buckeye.
I hope he likes it...the kids had fun making it.

advice from a lake

Lake Chautauqua......
a magical place!!!
hope you enjoy the words below!!!
Namaste,
Michele

Advice from a Lake
Be clear
Make positive ripples
Stay calm
Shore up friendships
Take time to reflect
Be full of life!!!!!

-unknown

dreams come true!

Peace

See my friend Sue?????
search and find her.
hope you like the words below.
love,
Michele

There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.
--Peyton Conway March

Miracles

This is a picture that was for sale at Hessler Street Fair.
doesn't look cosmic?????
hope you like the words below!!
Michele



To be alive, to be able to see, to walk, to have houses, music, paintings----it's all a miracle. I have adopted the technique of living life from miracle to miracle.
- Arthur Rubinstein

love

I took this picture on Conventry Street last Sunday.
I thought it looked pretty cool.
and so are the words below!!!
love,
Michele



You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.
— Henry Drummond, Love and Gratitude

being here now

Mira took this at Hessler Street Fair :)



We cannot be present and run our story-line at the same time. -Pema Chodron

Our task

Mira took this picture at the Hessler Street Fair on Sunday.
enjoy the words below!!!
love,
Michele



Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. -A Course in Miracles

your heart

Above are pictures from the Hessler Street Fair....a magical place!!!! hope you like the quote below.
Namaste,
Michele

Many things will catch your eye.
A few will catch your heart.
Pursue those.

-unknown