love begins with a smile

Have you read Left to tell?
It is one of my favorite books in the whole world.
It is about how Imacule Ilibagiza survived the Rwandan Genocide.
Anyway, she has a new book out called Led by Faith.
I must get it.
Below is something from her new book that I just got today from Wayne Dyer ......I hope you like it. It is kinda what I needed to read this morning....maybe you will need it to??

Namaste,
Michele

After the genocide, how could Immaculée find peace in a world changed forever? Immaculée not only found her own miraculous peace but reached out to help others who were suffering. She discovered that love was the key to healing both her own heart and that of her people. The loss of her family left her wondering how she could ever begin to love again, when a friend shared these words:
"Go back into the world and find someone to bless with that same type of love. Give it to someone who has no love at all, such as the homeless, the sick, or the orphaned. Look for the beauty of God in the eyes of a little boy or girl. Find a child whose heart has been shattered, and give him or her some happiness. Remember, all love begins with a smile."

beauty

I took this picture of our vw camper a few weekends ago.
I hope you enjoy the quote below......about finding the beauty in all things.
have a great day.
Namaste,
Michele



"What depths of the human spirit are revealed in these places of darkness!
And that seems to suggest that the beauty is what lasts. And somehow, even in the
grossest of places, beauty reveals itself to humanity and if we can attune ourselves to that beauty we may find our way through."
-James O'Dea

Where I'm From

Where I’m From
By Mira Kuhar

I am from dance shoes,
from Ben & Jerry’s and flip-flops.
I am from the bright colors of tie-dye.
(Bold, flashy, and in every room of our house)
I am from the berry bushes out back,
the patchouli my mom always wore.
I’m from Omega and blue eyes,
from Mark and Michele.
I’m from the she-did-it and its-not-my-fault,
from say what’s on your mind and think for yourself.
I’m from ‘the world is my church, and my religion is to do good’,
as my parents always told us.
I’m from Medina and Holland,
daddy’s toast and oval-tine shakes
From the time long ago, when I was mad at dad,
and told him to ‘go to his work’,
and grandpas unforgettable major baseball obsession.
But the memory box on the top shelf of the closet,
will forever hold memories of my childhood,
good and bad,
to look back upon and smile at.

Exuding love

Do you have people in your life that exude love or have a certain peace about them......someone that you somehow feel better just being in their presence?
That is how I feel about my friend Sue.
This is her picture that I took at a pink ribbon showcase that Mira and Macy danced in last March with their dance company.
They did dedicated their dance, "Amazing Grace"...a Swahili version to Sue.
Please keep her in your prayers as she is going through a very rough period right now with her cancer and she is experiencing a lot of pain.
read the quote below....it kinda describes that love or peace she exudes.
It is a beautiful quote.

The Navaho word hozho, translated into English as “beauty,” also means harmony, wholeness, goodness. One story that suggests the dynamic way that beauty comes alive between us concerns a contemporary Navajo weaver. “A man ordered a rug of an especially complex pattern on two separate occasions from the same weaver. Both rugs came out perfectly and the weaver remarked to her brother that there must have been something special about the owner. It was understood that the outcome of the rugs was dependent not on the weaver’s skill and ability but upon the hozho in the owners life. The hozho of his life evoked the beauty in the rugs. In the Navaho world view, beauty exists not simply in the object, or in the artist who made the object; it is expressed in relationships. - J. Ruth Gendler, Notes on the Need for Beauty

This quote was on my starbucks coffee cup today

"It is amazing how some of these folks can endure the same boring position for years."



My coffee cup quote for today:

By the time executives get married,
take on a mortgage, raise kids, cope with the crabgrass,
climb the corporate ladder, do their best to manage career pressures,
build their net worth and get into their 40's, they've lost touch with what they believe in and care about most deeply.
-Allan Cox

going out of your comfort zone

Macy took the above picture near the sanctuary at Omega Institute.

I really like the quote below......I asked Mira this summer before she started high school to try to do something out of her comfort zone weekly....then I started think that to myself today...what have I done out of my own comfort zone???.
I did go into a forearm stand last night....(well the wall was there in case I needed it for safety)
this is what one looks like:

but somehow...I know I did not look so graceful.....I think I was all red in the face.
but that was for sure out of my comfort zone.....so now I am going to make that a goal.....since I encouraged Mira to go out of her comfort zone weekly...I will do the same....this poem reminds me to do that too.



Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We're afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.
Christopher Logue

our new home

it even has a fireplace and a back porch.
How do you like it?

love....what else is there?

picture of Buddha by Macy




Yesterday I went with my two dear friends, Pat and Michele, to see Carolyn Myss speak here in the Cleveland area. She was amazing. Her books and CDs always seem to talk to me.
Such a beautiful day with some beautiful people.
hope you like some of Caroline Myss's quotes below.
and here is the link to her website.....I tell you she is amazing!!
http://www.myss.com/


below are some quotes by Caroline Myss:

• To be unable to forgive is to live in hell, burdened, miserable, angry
• Get in present time and forgive the people who have hurt you
• There is no such thing as an insignificant act of love
• Being of service is not an option, it is a biological necessity
• A congruent person can afford to empower others

there is only the dance

Except for the point, the stillpoint,
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance.
-T.S. Elliott

Peace

I took this peace pole picture.....guess where....at Omega Institute.
I think I tried to bring a piece of Omega home with me.......and in many ways I have,
I for sure have been meditating a whole lot more.....but for me, it is learning to how to hold that peace with all of the waves that come and go.
haven't quite figured that one out yet.....but I am taking baby steps toward that goal.
Namaste,
Michele





In my lifetime, I have lost my country and have been reduced to being totally dependent on the goodwill of others. I have also lost my mother, and most of my tutors and gurus have passed away, although I now have a few new gurus. Of course these are tragic incidents, and I feel sad when I think about them. However, I don't feel overwhelmed by sadness. Old, familiar faces disappear, and new faces appear, but I still maintain my happpiness and peace of mind.
The Dalai Lama

on balancing

"tubing" at Chautauqua Lake







speech by Bryan Dyson, CEO of Coca-Cola Inc. from 1959-1994

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit ... and you're keeping all of these in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.

How?

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way...

things that don't make sense to me

This is the bumper sticker that we see every morning when we drop off Marko at grade school. It is always parked in front of the school and the mom is always dropping off her three kids in her mini van. I don't understand why she would have a bumper sticker like that on her van and park it in front of a school. but then again I don't know how she was raised or what troubles she faces either. I know she loves her kids because I see her hug them each good bye in the morning. I guess I should not be so judgemental.....When people know better, they will do better.... oh well ...hope you like the quote below.
love, Michele


"I no longer expect things to make sense. I know there is no safety.
But that does not mean there is no magic. It does not mean there is no hope.
It simply means that each of us has reason to be wishful and frightened, aspiring and flawed. And it means that, to the degree we are lost, it is on the same ocean, in the same night."
-Elizabeth Kaye

We are trucking up to Penn State on 10/13!!!!

First time in four years that Dead alumni Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Micky Hart will have performed together on-stage

PHILADELPHIA, PA — (OfficialWire) — 09/03/08 -- The surviving members of the rock band the Grateful Dead have announced plans to perform a benefit concert for U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the group will reunite and perform Oct. 13 at the Bryce Jordan Center at the Penn State campus in State College, Pa.

The date marks the first time in four years that Dead alumni Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Micky Hart will have performed together on-stage.

surrendering

Macy took this picture through a pipe at Omega.....I thought it looked kinda cool.
hope you are having a great day.
maybe you will enjoy the words below......
they resonate with me today.
Namaste,
Michele

Willing to experience aloneness,
I discover connection everywhere;
Turning to face my fear,
I meet the warrior who lives within;
Opening to my loss,
gain the embrace of the Universe;
Surrendering into emptiness,
find fullness without end.
Each condition I flee from pursues me,
Each condition I welcome transforms me . . .
~Jennifer Welwood