Truth

Macy took these pictures in her photography class at Omega Institute this past summer. These are pictures of the "joy of play .....it is never too later to have a happy childhood class."
and as you can see...they had a lot of fun!!! They made this big water slide on one of the hills.
This week was kind of emotional for me....just crazy stuff...like Mira dealing with some mean girl stuff because she refused to wear her cheer uniform to school and then me putting up with a meeting at work where there was a lot of meaningless fighting and finger pointing was going on, then we got some extra bills that we did not need because our van was having problems.
but then I think about what is really real for me ......like different friends coming out of the woodwork to help for our Christmas projects we have going on(...bringing stuff over for Macy's homeless project.) , and my friend that is really sick and dealing with cancer but she is busy gathering stuff for Macy's project and wanting to go with us to deliver them even though she is really short of breath and feeling lousy, and then there is my dad stopping down Wednesday night to see our dog Dusty.....and he took him home for a "sleep over".....the joy in both of their eyes when they see each other is pretty powerful..............and then there is my cousin Chad who has come back home and decided to live a sober life.....and talking with him about his new sponsor and his love of writing and his struggles to stay sober......and I now realize what TRUTH I want to focus on.....and what I want to let go. I see so much beauty in the world........and that is what gives me hope and faith.
hope you like the quote below.
love,
Michele




"I have faith in the truth, in its ability to find us....
If the truth often seems elusive when we seek it directly,
perhaps it is some consolation that it also relentlessly
reveals itself to us in our lives, our dreams,
and the stories we tell one another."
~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

faith

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing, that we see too late the one that is open.

- Alexander Graham Bell

who is insane?

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

the golden rule

Macy took this picture at Omega.....quilt patch from a quilt hanging in the dining hall.

Prayer to Practice the Golden Rule

May I be an enemy to no one and
the friend of what abides eternally.
May I never quarrel with those nearest me, and
be reconciled quickly if I should.
May I never plot evil against others, and
if anyone plot evil against me,
may I escape unharmed and
without the need to hurt anyone else.
May I love, seek and attain only what is good.
May I desire happiness for all and harbor envy for none.
May I never find joy in the misfortune of one who
has wronged me.
May I never wait for the rebuke of others,
but always rebuke myself until I make reparation.
May I gain no victory that harms me or my opponent.
May I reconcile friends who are mad at each other.
May I, insofar as I can, give all necessary
help to my friends and to all who are in need.
May I never fail a friend in trouble.
May I be able to soften the pain of the
grief stricken and give them comforting words.
May I respect myself.
May I always maintain control of my emotions.
May I habituate myself to be gentle, and
never angry with others because of circumstances.
May I never discuss the wicked or what they have done,
but know good people and follow in their footsteps.

Eusebius of Caesarea

What is the right thing??

uhh.....we really like books!......Marko took this one.



Do the right thing no matter what!
Ethics is a matter of black and white - not grey. It’s either right or wrong, good or bad, hello or goodbye, you are either in the way or on the way. Easy to say but hard to figure out? Not really. How do you know whether something is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do? If you have to ask, it’s the wrong thing. You always know the right thing, you only have to ask the question when it is the wrong thing. So do the right thing even when it is unpopular or might cost you money or be embarrassing. In the long run, consistently doing the right thing will pay off every time, without exception. Do the right thing with your kids, your spouse, your family, your boss, your employees, your customers and the stranger in the car next to you or the one you pass on the street and do the right thing with your taxes too! Never compromise your future success by short-changing your present by doing less than the right thing in every circumstance.

-Larry Wignet

ah man, are you listening???

If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient.
It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.
-Winnie the Pooh

hidden secrets

below is Marko and Ranger Woody at Omega Institute
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around
you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most
unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find
it."

-- Ronald Dahl

resisting

"To the extent that you devote time and energy to resisting
something, you allow that something control over you! To the
extent that you ignore something, that something has no control
over you!"

- From "Shaman's Notes #5, One Practitioner's Personal Truths"

music

took this picture last summer at Baldwin Wallace College when we dropped off Mira for strings camp.........beautiful...eh?
Love,
Michele

Relationships

well the nutcracker is over.....the San Jose Ballet is leaving tomorrow at 10am....back to normal life....above is my dear friend Arlene, my cousin Eliza and Macy.......I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.
tis the season!!!
Love,
Michele




"Everyone wants to be able to trust their relationships.
We want to trust our partners, children, friends - those we're close to.
But the funny thing about trust is that even a small breach
can cause separation between family members,
friends or business partners, that often lasts for years - or forever.
Trust is loaded when we put others in a box made of our expectations.
It sets up for disappointment and hurt. Trust is really an inside job.
As we build trust in our own heart we become secure in ourselves.
Then we can enjoy people without being so desperate about trusting them."
Doc Childre

Allowing

If you are unhappy, be unhappy.
Do not judge yourself for being that way.
It is wonderful to be unhappy, it is God expressing emotion.
Love your unhappiness. It means you are ready for change.
You are ready to go forward, yet you mourn for the old;
you are not ready to let go.
Allow the unhappiness, there is purposefulness in it.

Remove from your life everything that inhibits you
from being the totality of yourself. That is called "becoming".
Remove from your thoughts all the have to's, should's, must's.
Remove the images you think you must be and just be.

Embrace your life. Know that you created it.
Love all that you have been, said and done.
Know it was all purposeful.

Never see anything as a failure.
See everything as an accomplishment.
Love the hurt, the pain, the sorrow.
For what an experience! What a wonderment!
What jewels of wisdom are now in your treasure!

Be your own teacher, friend, counsel.
Confide in yourself, speak to yourself.

Seek answers that feel right within your soul.
Your soul knows what the truth is,
and it will tell you through feelings.
Always listen to your feelings. They know ... they know.

Live, experience, feel. Do not seek to identify yourself.
You will never have a point of understanding from which you
can say, "This is who I am!", for in each expanding moment
of consciousness, of being God, who you are will have
changed into the next moment of being.
To know who you are is to feel what you feel each moment.

Never do anything, no matter how far you are into it,
if you lose the joy of it and it becomes monotonous and mundane.
Do away with it and do something else that brings happiness.
For perhaps what you needed to learn from it
you have already achieved.
Go wherever you want to go,
Do whatever you want to do,
for as long as you want to.

Create only for the mere joy of creating.
When you create for you, you will soon find youself living in joy.

Don't ever strive to have anyone understand you.
If they wish to understand, they will.

Love everyone. Have compassion for all other entities.
You do not need to go and take care of them.
Love them by allowing them to express however they choose.
That is the greatest thing you can do!
If they are angered or disappointed by your life, love them
by allowing them to be that way.
Then you have become a great god, a great light!

Author Unknown

My favorite Catcher in the Rye

Marko



Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game
in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids,
and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me.
And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do,
I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff -
I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going
I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.
That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.
I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.
The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield in Chapter 22

that is what I would like to be too (when I grow up!)!!! Love, Michele

authentic self

“We don’t always know what makes us happy. We know, instead, what
we think SHOULD. We are baffled and confused when our attempts
at happiness fail…We are mute when it comes to naming
accurately our own preferences, delights, gifts, talents. The
voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even
strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations. The
tongue of the original self is the language of the heart.”
— Julie Cameron

coming home

I have arrived.
I am home.
My destination in each step.
-Thich Nhat Hanh