Punishment??

The closed gate by me


Wow! I loved the note below!! Had me thinking that what if when someone committed a crime (ie: drug use, stealing, beating up someone), we loved them unconditionally and built up their self-esteem and told them what we liked about them instead of reinforcing the negative.......
............by calling them a bad person........what would happen to them???
Would they learn to love and appreciate themselves and not want to harm themself or others???
read below!
Love, Michele

In the Baemba tribe of South Africa, when a person acts irresponsible or unjustly, he is placed in the center of the village, alone and unfettered. All work ceases, and every man, woman, and child in the village gathers in a large circle around the accused individual. Then each person in the tribe speaks to the accused, one at a time, about all the good things the person....has done in his lifetime. All his positive attributes, good deeds, strengths, and kindnesses are recited carefully and at length. The tribal ceremony often lasts several days. At the end, the tribal circle is broken, a joyous celebration takes place, and the person is symbolically and literally welcomed back into the tribe. - Alice Walker

I've learned

Mark, Marko and Marko's baseball team at the Akron Aeros game.
What a beautiful poem below. Love, Michele

Written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy.......

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the
feet of an elderly person.
I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made
my day!" makes my day.
I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is
one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being
right.
I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a
child.
I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't
have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires
you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to
hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the
block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an
adult.
I've learned....
That life is like a roll of
toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us
everything we ask for.
I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make
life so spectacular.
I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell
is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What
makes me think I can?
I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the
facts.
I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you
are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person
is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted
with a smile.
I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with
your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.
I've learned....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love
with them.
I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will
take the ones you miss.
I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will
dock elsewhere.
I've learned....
That I wish I could have told my Dad that I love
him one more time before he passed away.
I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and
tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve
your looks.
I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose
what I do about it.
I've learned....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your
little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the
mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs
while you're climbing it.
I've learned ...
That it is best to give advice in only two
circumstances; when it is requested and when
it is a life threatening situation.
I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more
things I get done.

Fashion????

This is a picture of Carlos in 1984, my parents had a garage sale and he decided to have a fashion show to drum up business....I told you that he is my most fun friend! I smile whenever I think of his energy. Love, Michele


"Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it?"
Caroline Myss

Infinity of the Human Soul

Sad Eyes by Michele


And when we look into the face of another person, we look into the infinity and the mystery of the human soul, and when we look into the mystery and the infinity of the human soul, it mirrors the infinity and the mystery back into our soul, and that’s what connects us with this infinite field of universal love -Jean Watson

Dusty

My mom and dad

This is a picture of my parents. They will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary in August.
They met on a blind date 50 years ago.
Anyway, tomorrow they leave for an African Safari for a month. They fly into Johannesburg and then will be off to Botswianna, Nimbia, Victoria Falls and Zambia. They are going with my uncle Dave and his son, Will. This trip is Will's graduation present. I guess they are not aloud to go anywhere without an armed guard. Have a great trip mom and dad.......I love you!!!
Love,
Michele

On our growth

This is our friend Kato Kailin....remember him? We met him in the L.A. airport just after the famous O.J. trial...He rode the "red-eye" home with us because he was scheduled to do a radio interview that next morning in Chicago.....weird that is the exact same time as the Rwanda Holocaust....but our eyes were pealed on O.J. and Kato Kailin.
Life is sometimes absurd. Love, Michele

No person is your friend who demands your silence,
or denies your right to grow.
-Alice Walker

How to really live

Look I think I made a waterfall......."filling up and spilling over....its an endless waterfall."
the below note was written about David Lytle....below is the link.
very cool!!! love, Michele

David Lytle 2/21/68 - 6/16/07

Tonight I write in memory of my cousin, David Lytle.

David's life might not have been so significant had it not jumped course when he was 24. That was the summer he moved to Georgia and, being new to the area, allowed his friend to drive him home. His friend plowed the car into a concrete barrier, and David never walked again.

At first, David lost hope when the doctors told him the extent of his injuries. But, after only a few days, he realized he had two choices. He could sink down into self pity, or he could live his life beyond his perceived abilities. David chose the latter.

There was only one word that did not exist in David's vocabulary, and that word was "can't." David had a way of making his wheelchair invisible. He went skiing after his accident, learned to drive a modified van, and went skydiving. He travelled Europe, went on the most terrifying rollercoaster at Cedar Point in Ohio, and forever changed the lives of the people he met along the way.

Back home, David became a motivational speaker for others with spinal cord injuries. He gave hope to others by showing them that if he could pursue his passions, they could, too. He became an inspiration to able-bodied and differently-abled alike.

Over 600 people attended David's wake. Visitation hours had to be extended over two days, and yet the funeral home still stayed open two hours late on the last day to accomodate all the visitors. Sterling, the company he worked for, sent his coworkers in shifts to pay their final respects. David was an activist, a friend, and a truly beloved man, all while being sarcastic, side-bustingly funny, and a great ass-kicker.

David had three words he lived by - Move Your Ass. David's passing made me realize how petty all my bullshit is and just how long I've been sitting still. It's time to get my ass moving.

The are three phrases that describe a wasted life - could have, might have, and should have. Like David, I will strive to live so that those words cannot be applied to me. Nothing's too big, nothing's too hard, and not one thing has the power to hold you down unless you let it.

Thank you, David, for making me see - M

P.S. Go to http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=f6cd85b0-a0d1-4280-8e1f-51c02a3fb0ff&f=00 to see a clip of David in support of his best friend, Kassie, and her fight against lupus.

http://tinyurl.com/24lp4z

Love

you like my picture? Have a great day! Love, Michele


We were talking
about the space between us all
and people who hide themselves
behind a wall of illusion
never glimpse the truth
then it's far too late
when they pass away

We were talking
about the love we all could share
When we find it
to try our best to hold it there
with our love, with our love
we could save the world
if they only knew

Try to realize it's all within yourself
no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
and life flows on within you and without you

We were talking
about the love that's gone so cold
and the people who gain the world
and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see
Are you one of them

When you've seen beyond yourself
then you may find
peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come
when you see we're all one
and life flows on within you and without you

--George Harrison

love

Macy dancing at relay for life. do you like the song below???? One of my favorites. Love, Michele


Love
by John Lennon

Love is real, real is love,
Love is feeling, feeling love,
Love is wanting to be loved.
Love is touch, touch is love,
Love is reaching, reaching love,
Love is asking to be loved.
Love is you, You and me,
Love is knowing, We can be.
Love is free, free is love,
Love is living, living love,
Love is needing to be loved.

Love is Alive!!!

below is a memorial that my friend Paul created for his late wife, Donna. And below that part of a speech that he made to the graduating class of Saint Mary's grade school when presenting the Donna Whalen Memorial award to the two students. As you read below, you will see why Paul is such an amazing person to me. I am so grateful for his friendship and for his insight into things.
Namaste,
Michele

Thank you Donna, you are the one who flipped the switch for me. I am not where I want to be but at least I now recognize the journey I am on.

This appeared on her birthday, 6/17, fathers day.

Love

Paul

Let me give a bit of insight into my wife’s character. Perhaps it will give you something to reflect on and be a guide in your journey.

"When I think of the dark days that surrounded all of us near the end of Donna’s life I also have to think of how my wife was strengthened because of her faith, her belief in a God that is pure unconditional Love. I am reminded not only how that belief sustained her but actually transformed her. Here she was her body completely destroyed, she was wholly dependent upon others to assist her in all of her physical needs. And yet while all this was occurring to her, the love she held for others soared, she illuminated the room with her presence, touching all those who came near her.......................................For when everything else is stripped away, only love remains. In the end its about love."-Paul Sherlock

What is the end....What is the beginning?

Good Day!!! Above is a picture that was in my high school yearbook.....like from October 1981.
We were in this club called Y.A.R.C. (I think youth association for retarded citizens???)
Anyway, we went to the achievement center a lot. (this school /workshop for special needs kids/adults) We sponsored different parties and dances for the people. This was a Halloween party.
Leslie and I are in the center being cowgirls I guess. Leslie is one of my very dear friends. I met her in the 7th grade. Through the years of our friendship as teenagers, Leslie was always the level headed person...and I was always the crazy manic person...so we had a good combination which allowed for a lot of fun but never went too over board....well except for the time I threw a glass of water on a motor cycle guy and he chased us all over town and kicked Leslie's parent's car and dented it and I tried to get out of the car to apologize and he wanted to choke me and Leslie had enough common sense not to let me out.
Leslie's spirituality is found in connecting with nature. She started bringing me up to Chautauqua lake with her since the 9th grade and she has such a connection with that lake that it was contagious. She is also a very creative soul....Her tastes are very unique and she can make something out of nothing!!!
She was my maid of Honor.....she married Mark's room mate/friend, Steve. We are still close.....Steve and Leslie have two beautiful kids. Her son Matthew is good friends with Marko. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the poem below....one of my favorites.
Love, Michele

“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall and the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for but heard, half-heard,
in the stillness between two waves of the sea.”

~ T.S. Elliott, excerpts from Four Quartets: Part IV Little Gidding

AND WHERE IS SPIRIT FOUND??????

Kuhar Rockers 11/02

AND WHERE IS SPIRIT FOUND??????

Everywhere we go, we must be creators and guardians of sacred space.

Our communities are ravaged by spiritual famine.

And we must remember and recall for our communities what we already know:

that there is nowhere where Spirit is not to be found.

For thousands of years, we have had this one thing in common:

that we join in this one practice of performing ordinary worldly acts as worship.

We know, when we pull a baby into the light of the world, it is worship.

When we cradle a dying man in our arms, it is worship.

This is easy, and almost anyone could see it.

But we also know:

when we sweep the floor, it is worship.

It is worship when we dance, when we sing, when we light candles.

Weeding the herb garden, settling disputes, cooking rice, cooking rice again

-- all these things and a million more we have practiced,

always searching for the light of the Beloved within each moment,

always questioning, is it here?

Yes, it is. And here? Yes, here too -- And here -- and here --

Perhaps in ancient times there did exist "spiritual professionals," but we know that for contemporary priestesses/priests, the sacred work is interwoven,

as it must be, in their daily living.

Everywhere we go, into every common action, we weave golden threads of devotion and prayerful remembrance. It is not what we do that is holy, but the attitude, the spirit, with which we do it.

[These lines are paraphrased from "The Voice of the Priestess."]

Let It Go

Hope you like the poem below.....I made the picture above when I was at work as an art project with the kids on the unit. have a great day! Love, Michele



Let It Go

let it go - the
smashed word broken
open vow or
the oath cracked length
wise - let it go it
was sworn to
go

let them go - the
truthful liars and
the false fair friends
and the boths and
neithers - you must let them go they
were born
to go

let all go - the
big small middling
tall bigger really
the biggest and all
things - let all go
dear

so comes love

~ e. e. cummings ~

(Complete Poems 1904-1962)