Until we see love as the meaning of life, life seems to have no meaning at all. The sense of meaninglessness produces chaos, and the chaos produces fear.

There is only one way out of this, and that is to see every moment and every situation as an invitation to love.

- Marianne Williamson

We're not all of the things we say we believe; we're all of the things we do @lovedoes

- Bob Goff

Curatives for judgement. (Please read before you interact with other humans.)

“Have compassion for everyone you meet, even when they don’t want it. What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.”
- Miller Williams

He was rude. He cut you off in traffic. She’s aloof, cold, curt. He’s on the corner asking for a hand out. She lies. He’s money hungry. She’s grossly overweight. No one returned your phone call. They left without saying goodbye.

You might never know the why behind someone’s less-than-ideal, not-the-way-you-wish-it-was behavior.

Here’s a curative for the sharp judgement that often accompanies our disappointment in others — just a single, surprising expansive phrase: You just never know. Use it before you jump to conclusions that someone’s a jerk, or that they need an attitude adjustment, or that they could be doing better than they are.

The Mantra of Practical Compassion:
“You just never know.”

I’ve been to enough ridiculous self help workshops, heard enough stories in airport bars, and had enough one-on-one conversations about so-called “success” to know that there’s a story behind every demeanor. I’ve kept my own pain hidden in plain sight and thought, “If they only knew”. But you just never know…

You just never know if
: someone has just been diagnosed and is thinking about all they have to lose.
: their lover just texted them to say, “it’s over”.
: he wakes up every day thinking he’s about to fail, fearing that everyone else in the world knows something that he doesn’t.

You just never know if
: she’s in the middle of a divorce and is about to go on stage.
: before he was your driver, or your waiter, he was a doctor in his homeland.
: their spirit was fractured as a child by unspeakable things.
: she is frightened — all the time.
: he resists life itself — all the time.
: they are frail from lack of love.

You never know if
: they’re faking loving the heart-hollowed life they fought so hard to make.
: chemicals are coursing through them in destabilizing ways.
: she hasn’t slept through the night in months and months.
: they’ve experienced a loss that will leave a gaping wound for the rest of this incarnation.
: today is especially hard and they’re doing their best, while they wish for just a little more than what they’ve got.

Suspend judgement as a practice of your faith in something true, common, and bigger than today.

Avoiding conclusions can be a monumental act of love.

- Danielle LaPorte

http://www.daniellelaporte.com/inspiration-spirituality-articles/curatives-for-judgement-please-read-before-you-interact-with-other-humans/

One can live at a low flame. Most people do. We're afraid to look foolish, or feel too extravagantly, or make a mistake, or risk unnecessary pain. One fears intensity. But, given something like death, what does it matter if one looks foolish now and then, or tries too hard, or cares too deeply? A shallow life creates a world flat as a shadow. In that half-light, the sun never burns, risks recede, safety becomes habit, and individuals have little to teach other.

- Diane Ackerman

The more you talk about It,
the more you think about It,
the further from It you go.
Stop talking, stop thinking,
and there is nothing you will not understand . . .

- Sengstan

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.

- Victor Hugo

Happy Mother's Day!  


Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own. 

- Nikos Kazantzakis

Once Upon a Time . . . 
2013

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”

Dang, if that quote is not a shovel made to dig up every past relationship we’ve ever had, then I don’t know what is. Stephen Chbosky, you are an absolute BOSS for coming up with that pretty little ditty and leading an entire generation of readers to scavenge through their beings for worthiness and love. 

Without any real prompting, I started searching the curves of my heart for every incident, every relationship gone wrong and weary, every kiss stolen, every heart given back in shambles to understand the truth in this quote.

We accept the love we think we deserve. We accept the love we think we deserve.

It must explain why so many of us are in broken relationships. Why we cannot walk away. Why we settle for less and just learn to be thankful that it is anything at all. Why we shirk away from compliments. Why we cling to others as if them, and their imperfect flesh, can actually fix us and concoct the sunshine in test tubes on days when nothing in the world can seem to go right.

This. Must. Be. Why. Because we think we are deserving of less. That we, ourselves, could never handle someone who thought us to be lovely and original and delicate all in one breath. And so we settle, and we chalk it up to what we think we deserve. It’s our fault, Baby, it all becomes our fault. 

This is the kind of quote that could make you dust off your hands from the chalkboard of your yesterdays and say, “That’s that. That is what I deserve, and so that is what I should have.”

But no, I actually have to revolt against this quote. I actually have to believe that there exists an expiration date when it comes to accepting the love we think we deserve.

Either we keep ourselves stagnant in never moving, always draining relationships or we learn the truth: we deserve so much more than the little we give ourselves on a daily basis. And that there is a love that exists in this world that would adore marching right up to us and saying, “You know what? Screw your stupid limitations. I am bigger than you. I am stronger than you. And I have known you and what you deserve long before you ever started passing your heart out like the ice cream man. You are more precious than you will ever credit yourself for. So. Let. Me. Lavish. Upon. You. Instead.” 

Love is so much bigger than we ever boxed it up to be.

Yet we strap our definitions and our limitations upon it after the very first day we realize that hearts break and grow rusty when we let another in. But still, still, it gushes like a waterfall on the day you decide you are worth more than the mediocre dripping faucet. Than the broken plates. Than the empty bed. Than the half-said apologies. Than the bruise left after the beating.

We will always, always, always be the ones who cut ourselves off at the knees. That will never change.

We will always, always, always be the ones who cut ourselves off at the knees unless we are start accepting a love we don’t think we deserve. And hey, maybe it is a love that we will never actually deserve, but it comes to us regardless, and we’ve got the chance to get all wrapped up and tangled lovely in it.

We’ve got the chance to paint the world with it.

We’ve got the opportunity to tangle other people up in it and make them think now what is this mystery, and why do they love me so?

I’m not saying you will ever believe you actually deserve it. But do you accept a gift that’s given? I am not claiming I will ever believe it either. But regardless, I’ll accept it because it is so much better than any stingy kind of love I could make with my own two hands and a broken, broken heart.

- Hannah Brencher 

http://www.positivelypositive.com/2013/05/08/a-love-that-gushes-like-a-waterfall/

All Things with Great Love . . . 

We are all so blessed to have found each other here . . . though my visits are few and far between these days, I cherish the G+ friends that have graced my life and touched my heart . . . 

+Gene Bowker, my dear friend, I wish you the sweetest of days today.   I hope you can feel this G+ outpouring of Love in your heart and soul . . .   You have touched so many lives . . .   

For your love and support, your thoughtfulness, your kindness, your generosity, your gentle coaching, your art, your friendship . . . I am profoundly grateful.    

Happy Birthday, my friend!
#happybdaygene 

I wrote the piece below some time ago, and I find it relevant today for me . . . so I thought perhaps it may be valuable to others in some way today too . . . 


August 2011

Life Lessons From My Beautiful Daughter

My daughter is a sensitive little girl.  With first grade looming, we’re on heightened sensitivity alert.  My gentle attempts to build her enthusiasm and prepare her for re-entry seem to be working – excitement is building, she’s asking insightful questions, she’s actively engaged in the preparation process – but she is also clearly feeling the effects of the stress and anxiety that come with anticipated change.   After all, she is only human, and she is only 5 years old. 

For the record, I think (I hope) I’m a wonderful mother.   I’m an enlightened, low-pressure, attachment parenting, giggle-loving mom trying to nurture their minds, their bodies, their hearts and their souls.  Am I a perfect parent?   Well, no.   Who among us is, really?   We all have bad days, bad hours, bad moments.    

One thing I am tremendously proud of - I acknowledge my human frailties and my parental naiveté, and I am open and willing to learn.  I am always learning.  Every single day.  I think I learn more from my children some days than they learn from me.  I think that’s healthy.  That’s the way it is meant to be.  

Just as they were delivered to us in an act of Divine Providence, we were gifted to them to assist them in fulfilling their great potential as individuals and to gently guide them to seek and live out their life’s purpose.  We teach each other.   We grow together.  That’s what family is all about – providing a safe, comfortable and loving environment where everyone can learn and grow together on this great journey we call Life. 

So, what did my beautiful daughter teach me this week?    Sometimes we have to meet the other person on their own terms.   Sometimes we need to drop the parental power trip and meet them right where they are in the moment.   Not where they were yesterday or where you want them to be tomorrow or where You are – but exactly where They Are Right Now. 

Children are no different than adults.  They often take two steps forward and three steps back.  It’s part of life.  Part of the learning process.  How we incorporate change into our lives.  Sure, there are times when we make quantum leaps, and we succeed at achieving real and lasting change.  Those times are rare.  Sometimes we need to open our hearts and honestly assess where our little people (or friends, or family members, or spouses, or co-workers) are developmentally, emotionally, physically and intellectually In The Now. 

Meet them on Their Own Terms.  Not Yours. 
 
With Unconditional Love.  With Empathy.  With Compassion.  

And With Gratitude for the Lessons They are Teaching You.   

With Love & Gratitude –       

       Stephanie Anne 

Listening is giving the other person the experience of being heard.
- Bix Bickson

http://www.daniellelaporte.com/inspiration-spirituality-articles/listening-is-giving-the-other-person-the-experience-of-being-heard/

I ache for shared silence, not the awkward lulls in conversation where we reach for something - anything - to cover the tension of trying to be with too much of the other and too little of ourselves, but the moments of fullness that let each of us unfold and know who we really are. 

I long for silences with another where there is nothing to forgive or explain or justify, where we agree to abandon quickly spoken words for a time so we do not abandon ourselves or each other, the silences where no one asks me to choose between belonging to myself and being with the world.

And when these silences come, I feel how I am working my way home through whatever they hold - terror or tenderness, grief or celebration - spiraling
ever-closer to a sweetness I have ached for all my life.

~   Oriah Mountain Dreamer from The Dance

The Guest House 

This being human is a guest house. 
Every morning a new arrival. 

A joy, a depression, a meanness, 
some momentary awareness comes 
as an unexpected visitor. 

Welcome and entertain them all! 
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, 
who violently sweep your house 
empty of its furniture, 
still, treat each guest honorably. 
He may be clearing you out 
for some new delight. 

The dark thought, the shame, the malice, 
meet them at the door laughing, 
and invite them in. 

Be grateful for whoever comes, 
because each has been sent 
as a guide from beyond.

~ Rumi 

Loosening The Clenched Fist
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It's been a challenging week around tending my parents' needs (both have Alzheimer's) but it made me remember this little trick I sometimes use when I recognize that I am worrying. Sometimes just noticing is not enough to stop the cycle of obsessing about possible worst-case scenarios. 

Mostly the "trick" is just a way to help me loosen the mind's death-grip on the certainty that disaster is bound to ensue and, on a less conscious level, the unfounded and erroneous belief that bad things can be averted by ceasely reviewing, anticipating and worrying about things we cannot control. The worrying mind is like a clenched fist wrapped around some preoccupation. The "trick" is to get the fist to unclench.

When my sons were young we lived on very little income, and I often found myself worrying about our finances. I am not talking about the mental work sometimes needed to figure out a way to take care of something that needs tending but the mental obsessing that does nothing but wind us tighter and tighter around fears of "What if.. . . ?" What I discovered was that no matter how limited our finances were, the easiest way to stop this compulsive monkey-mind-worrying was to give a little money away- make a small donation or give a little cash to someone I knew needed it. It was almost magical how quickly that gave me some mental breathing room and stopped the cycle of worrying about money.

I suppose it's sort of a homeopathic approach to breaking a mental loop we know is not doing us or anyone else any good and is robbing us of the joy of the present moment. The trick is to match the act that stops the spiral to the imagined fear.

So, if I am feeling ignored or badly used by someone (sometimes it actually happens and sometimes we just imagined it happened- and either way I for one can obsess) and I start worrying that I should have done something on my own behalf or have failed to take care of myself, I make a point of really seeing others I do not know, others with whom I will only have momentary interaction (and may be inadvertently treating as invisible:) I slow down and hold the door for a stranger; look a cashier in the eye and thank her; greet a fellow tenant in my building, asking them about their day and listening with real curiosity; send an anonymous note of appreciation for the tax revenue agent who gave me the information I needed to complete my forms. (True story- made me smile to think how that must have surprised someone!)

I'm careful with this- I was raised to revere martrydom I don't want to go into denial about feeling crappy or having a concern. And, of course, there may well be places where I need to speak up on my own behalf or be more assertive. But what I am talking about here isn't about strategies to create a better outcome in the situation that concerns me. I'm talking about ways to press the pause button on the monkey-mind obsessiveness by doing something small in the direction of my fear. Fearing economic scarcity I give a little money away and the mind's terror loosens; feeling ignored or misused I acknowledge another anonymously and being invisible becomes part of the pleasure, does not interfere with good self-care or generosity toward others.

So, this week- imagining and worrying about possible future scenarios for my parents (and whether or not I will be able to meet their needs-) I offered to help an elderly neighbour whose family lives far away. It was a small thing that took very little time and energy. My parents' needs are real, and I am in no position to assume on-going responsibility for other elderly folks. But the act of offering small in-the-moment assistance stopped the obsessive worrying, reminded me that no one does this alone, that people everywhere offer what they can, that what can be done in the present moment is all we need to do. As the worrying mind was hushed by a small action, I heard once again the words of Arthur Ashe I often use as my calming mantra: "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

The thing about the joy-destroying clench-fisted nature of worry is that it often cannot be stopped by either giving it free reign or by pulling away from it. The former just feeds the beastie and the latter just increases the tension and tightens the mind's grip on its obsession. And if it's picked up enough speed and energy, sometimes trying to calmly watch it doesn't slow it down much at all. But sometimes, doing something that echoes the fear- of not having enough, of not practicing good self-care, of being overwhelmed by the needs of others- interrupts the cycle and restores perspective.

And for that, I am deeply grateful.


Oriah (c) 2013 (You can subscribe to Oriah's weekly blog at http://oriahsinvitation.blogspot.ca/ )

Hug and kiss whoever helped get you - financially, mentally, morally, emotionally - to this day. Parents, mentors, friends, teachers. If you're too uptight to do that, at least do the old handshake thing, but I recommend a hug and a kiss. Don't let the sun go down without saying thank you to someone, and without admitting to yourself that absolutely no one gets this far alone.

— Stephen King

On Reason and Passion
Kahlil Gibran

Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against your passion and your appetite.
Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.
But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. 
If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.

I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house.
Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.

Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows -- then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason."
And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky -- then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion."
And since you are a breath in God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.

For David.
by  To Write Love On Her Arms.
https://www.facebook.com/towriteloveonherarms/info
https://www.facebook.com/notes/to-write-love-on-her-arms/for-david/444276064657

i sort of hit a wall last week. It’s the feeling that while the story I get invited to tell is impressive to some, the story that i actually live is not. i feel lately like i live a story about a guy who rides on airplanes and in rental cars and hopes the pillow is comfortable in the hotel room. The smiling irony in the whole thing is that I get invited to tell people about community but then that turns out to be something I don’t really have in my own life. i have access to it but community is something you have to choose.
 
So last week i started to feel the weight of too many airports and too much time away from home. But i was already committed to going to an event. In fairness, this event was a gathering that i was honored to be part of  and it would mean the chance to catch up with friends. But there would also be a lot of folks i didn’t know, which meant there would be a lot of first day of school moments where you answer the “what do you do?” question and hope that people like you. (These moments are not fun for introverts, especially tired introverts who wish they were at home.)
 
But instead of impressive people attempting to impress each other, i found a group of people willing to be human, willing to be honest and vulnerable in admitting the broken parts of their stories. There were confessions of mistakes and questions and doubts. There were grown men with tears in their eyes, willing to go there in front of people they didn’t know. 
 
There was a man with cancer in his body and with his wife at his side, he spoke of the pain of the last year, the fear and embarrassment of the seizures that find him now. He spoke of the kindness of his friends, the miracle of the thing we call community. He spoke with love for his five year-old daughter and there were questions that did not require words. 
 
We were invited to pray for him, to put our hands to his body and ask God to heal him. i have no idea how that works, why God fixes some people and lets others die. i don’t write much about faith because i feel like almost all of the words have been abused. I’ve become embarrassed by most things called “Christian” but i still believe in a God who loves people. Anyway, we were invited to pray and I knew i had to go. i made my way close to him, to where i could reach through the crowd to touch his right arm. Different people prayed out loud and i don’t remember the words but I remember crying and i remember the feeling of wanting this man to be okay. 
 
i walked back to my chair, tears falling down my face but without shame. And it struck me that this moment had happened inside a gathering that I had feared might be a shallow celebration of folks with lots of answers. Instead, the moment that moved me most was the one without answers. It was a group of us meeting our friend in his enormous question. i go to so many things where it’s experts and leaders and public speaker people. There is a strange circuit of people that the world calls important. 
 
This is not a “Come to Jesus” blog. It is simply a confession that with all that I’ve seen in the last few years, all the events I’ve been invited to and all the people that I’ve met, I am less and less impressed by “impressive” things or people who are presented as having lots of answers. i am impressed by people who are honest and kind. i am inspired by moments of vulnerability, moments of confession and compassion, moments where someone makes it clear that they are a person in need of other people and someone else makes it clear that the first person is not alone. 
 
We’ve done some winning in the last few years. There have been some bright moments and surprising open doors. MTV and USA Today and Rolling Stone. CBS News. None of it meant as much to me as that moment praying for that man, when crying was the most appropriate response, because there are tragedies in this life that deserve our tears. I will not forget the privilege of standing in the small sea of strangers, reaching into sickness and mystery and hoping God might be real and hoping that he loves His children. 
 
Be loved. Be known. Love people and know people. Be so brave as to raise a hand for help when you need it. Make friends and make sure they know they matter. Be loyal to them and fight for them. Remind them what’s true and invite them to do the same when you forget. If you do some losing or you walk with someone else in their defeat, live with dignity and grace. It is a middle finger to the darkness. 
 
In the event we live to be old, i doubt our last days will find us aching for success or achievements. I doubt we’ll ask for bigger names or internet followers or virtual friends. If influence comes then let it come but it was never the point of the story. We will look back and smile at the moments that were real, the people who knew us and the people that we knew, the relationships and conversations, the days we walked together, the story that we told. We will consider the moments when we were allowed to show our beauty and our mess and the miracle moments when we were embraced by people who loved us even at our worst. And they loved us not for any sort of fame but simply because our stories had joined somehow and that miracle of friendship had taken place. 
 
An hour after the prayer, it was time to say goodbye. The man, who I now consider a friend, told me that on his darkest nights, he wears a TWLOHA shirt to bed. He said he does this to remember that he’s loved. 
 
Peace to you tonight.
jamie
 
PS: “Friendship is a diminishing of distance between people.”
– Keith Richards 


_____________________________________________________
With profound gratitude to +Jeremy Cowart for sharing this on FB . . . 
- Stephanie 

Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. 

The dry seasons in life do not last.

The spring rains will come again.

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change. And how ironic that the difficult times we fear might ruin us are the very ones that can break us open and help us blossom into who we were meant to be.

— Elizabeth Lesser 

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.

― Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Do not be afraid, dear one. You can trust your bliss. That is why it was delivered to you in the first place. You can trust the finely tuned crosshairs of your dream because it knows exactly where to go and what to do. And it will inform you as you go. Your only job is to receive.

- Suzanne Falter-Barns

all of life is about feeding yourself, with love and art and people and books and music and acts of kindness. we are nourished by the lives we build, layer by layer of detail and experience, pain and mistakes. these things have to be our own. there is no way to copy it or will it or wish it into being. revelations are all around us. sometimes they take great loss to reveal themselves.

- Amy Grace

Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.

- Henry David Thoreau

A Course in Miracles asks, “Would you rather be right or happy?” 

Clearly, the loving response is to choose happiness over the ego’s need to be right— but happiness can be hard to achieve when you believe you’ve been deeply wronged. 

A lack of forgiveness hurts us in nasty ways. When the ego blocks us from forgiving, we inevitably take on certain fearful archetypes. Here are some of the personality traits we pick up from the ego’s unforgiving ways. 

The Daily Victim: When we’re unwilling to forgive, we wake up each day feeling like a victim. We hold tight to our past hurt and resentment, replaying it in our mind over and over again. This automatic replay reinforces the ego’s illusion and strengthens our perception of being the victim. Eventually we identify so closely with the role of victim that we begin to establish that dynamic in all our relationships. 

The Angry Boxer: When the ego feels attacked, its immediate response is to attack back. The ego has faith in fear and believes that we’re at the mercy of a cruel world. So it keeps its boxing gloves slung over the shoulder, always on alert to fight off an attack. These defensive thoughts and energy bleed off the angry boxer and inevitably create more negative experiences. It’s a wicked cycle.

The Shutdown and Protected: This is the person whose ego has convinced them to shut themselves off from the world for fear of being hurt again. The shutdown person lives small, hides out, and evades all potential conflict by avoiding intimacy altogether.

These are just a few of the many ways the ego’s lack of forgiveness holds us back in relationships. Letting go of our need to be right and surrendering to forgiveness is the only way out of the ego’s unforgiving nightmare. If we truly want to enjoy our relationships, we must respect them through the miraculous act of forgiveness. 

A Course in Miracles suggests we use this affirmation: “I could see peace instead of this.” When we choose for peace, we’ll put down the boxing gloves, come out of hiding, and throw down the F word. The process of forgiveness requires willingness to see things differently. The Course doesn’t suggest we pretend like nothing happened — rather, that we acknowledge our ego’s experience and choose to perceive it with love.

By Gabrielle Bernstein, May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness

There is only you and your camera. The limitations in your photography are in yourself, for what we see is what we are.

- ernst haas

You cannot save people. 
You can only love them.

- Anaïs Nin

RESHARE:
A bit of a replay for a girl short on time to process these days . . . 

Love & hugs, my friends . . . 

S.

Reshared text:
At various times in our lives, we struggle with loneliness, relationships, finding our voice, illness, loss, trying to leave the past behind . . . .

(Here’s a hint: Maybe you should try to Embrace your past.  And Forgive Yourself in the process.)

We all want to be Better, Faster, Stronger.  We are all striving to succeed.  We all experience failure.  

We have hopes, fears, goals and dreams – both on the surface and buried deep within us waiting to be unearthed.  We are all searching – for love, friendship, understanding and respect.  For Answers.

We are complex creatures.   In the same moment, we can feel happy, sad, angry, frustrated, exhilarated and empowered.   Though it may sometimes feel like it – we aren’t Crazy, we are Simply Human.

The key is tapping in to our Humanity.  Opening our eyes to what we have in common.

Recognize and acknowledge the humanity in another and you possess the ability to make a powerful connection with that person.  Rather than objectifying or labeling them, open yourself up to the reality that They are like You – Happy, Sad, Joyful, Lost.  Growing.  Becoming.

The unfriendly grocery clerk, the ex-wife, the awful boss, the guy who won’t stop tailgating you. They are all human.

How do you handle people who bring negativity or sadness into your life?  Know that they are on your path for a reason.  They have been sent to you to challenge you, teach you and elevate you to a new, higher plane.  To teach you patience, compassion, conflict management . . . the list is Endless.

The real Power in these moments?   You can extract the lessons learned and use what you have learned to elevate others.  Live and learn.  Pass it on.  Pay it forward.  We are all on this journey together.

You can have a major impact on the life of another person by simply recognizing them for who they are, respecting the significance of your connection and opening yourself up to what you have to teach one another.

You never know what is bubbling under the surface for someone else.  What lurks that they are afraid to share but so desperately need to in order to Let it Go. To grow. To overcome obstacles.

Be there for them.

I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time trying to determine how to focus my efforts – how to change the world in a meaningful way.  What I finally realized is that you don’t have to solve world hunger to make an impact.  You simply need to follow your heart and make yourself vulnerable in the world.

Do those things you fear most.  Take a chance – reach out in large and small ways to touch the hearts and lives of other people.  Lift them up as you would want someone to lift you.  Share with them the gifts they so desperately need from you. There are concrete ways that we can touch the lives of other people and make an Enormous difference.

Be grateful for these opportunities and take the leap.  You’ll be glad you did.

It is so easy to walk away and leave an opportunity on the table.  Do you really want to take the easy way out?  Or would you rather live your life as an agent for change?

You have the opportunity every day to be Someone’s Angel. Someone’s Mentor. Someone’s Hero.  

Wouldn’t you want them to take the leap and be Yours?

With Love & Gratitude –

Stephanie Anne

What we strive for
in perfection
is not what turns us
into the lit angel
we desire
what disturbs
and then nourishes
has everything
we need.
—David Whyte

You are goodness and mercy and compassion and understanding. You are peace and joy and light. You are forgiveness and patience, strength and courage, a helper in time of need, a comforter in time of sorrow, a healer in time of injury, a teacher in times of confusion. You are the deepest wisdom and the highest truth; the greatest peace and the grandest love. You are these things. And in moments of your life you have known yourself to be these things. Choose now to know yourself as these things always.

~  Neale Donald Walsh 

RESHARE:
Hoping your day is filled with Love & Laughter  . . . 

Reshared text:
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
2012

http://youtu.be/8At8zfh_o3E


Because dreams tend to be so precious and potent, many people keep their dreams to themselves. A dream is a sacred thing to share, and doing so melts boundaries and calls forth commonalities and resources of all kinds. When you know someone’s dream you look at that person differently— with more tenderness, respect, familiarity, sympathy, and generosity than before. 

Look at everyone you meet this week and actively think to yourself, “I wonder what their dreams are?” Ask at least one person what his dream is. You can do it subtly, like, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” or “What did you want to be when you were growing up?” Or you can just go direct: “So, like, what’s your big dream?” So many people never get asked that. Even fewer are really listened to when they answer. 

The guy in the cubicle next to you may be working on a novel about extraterrestrials and espionage. Your sister might be fantasizing about her own cabaret breakout performance. Your postal carrier may be patenting the next great invention. Make no assumptions about your partner, your workmate, or the bus driver— everyone has a dream in them. Small, mighty, seemingly impossible, or simply pure… when you know what someone’s dream is, your perspective leans toward openness. 

I dream of Morocco and Paris, and a koi pond in the backyard. Making art, supporting art, learning art. Late-night talks with soul sisters who make me feel crazy blessed and motivated. Stage presence. Books and more books. Film. Belly laughs. I dream about communion. My man. Our son. Always. I dream of sitting around a fire with leaders and lovers of progress. Being able to give yeses that open doors and new dimensions for people. I dream of tenderness and innovation. I dream of invitations that humble me, and magical connections with people I recognize on a cellular level. I dream that we band together to leverage change. I dream of feeling more electric and sweet every single day. Mostly, I dream of being amazed. 

How ’bout you?

Laporte, Danielle (2012-04-17). The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (Kindle Locations 1485-1503). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
#FireSS

RESHARE:
Sharing a few of my favorite G+ posts this week . . . 

xoxoxo
S.


#GMAPP3  #GMAPP3auditing

Reshared text:
I have had the great fortune of being chosen to participate in the Summer Session of the +G+ Mentorship Program for Photographers with +Robin Griggs Wood.  The last nine weeks have been a great journey of self discovery and practical application of artistic principles.  I thought I would share my recent post to the class, as it applies to all of us.  

Enjoy the day and all that it brings, my friends!


PLUS Post
Week 8

I spend a good deal of time late at night cruising through the G+ stream and watching photography videos . . . lighting . . . portraiture . . . film work . . . feeding my brain after long days coaching and cuddling two little people.   It's bliss, this soaking in of information, this eye candy, swimming in this deep pool of inspiration.   I have said to those who know me best that it is my goal to produce work that stops people in their tracks.   In order to do that, you must feed your brain.  You must practice.  You must experiment.  Indeed, You Must Play.

I pass on two treasures this week that I found inspiring and comforting all at once . . . 

An outstanding episode of Film that reminded me that we are all human and that our work is colored by our choice of tools and toys as much as it is by our life experience.

http://framednetwork.com/episodes/film-14/

And a quote that I shared on my G+ page that you may have missed - it speaks for itself:

1. Art is made by a human being. 
2. Art is created to have an impact — to change someone else. 
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording… but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art. 

Being artful is pouring your soul into it. When we’re giving our best, we’re artistic. When we’re intentionally making something more beautiful, more understandable, more accessible, we’re artistic. 

When we reach below the surface and bring something thoughtful forward, we’re being artistic. It’s happening all of the time. 

When you’re bringing your whole self to the party, you’re practicing your art form. Be it in conversation, on the canvas, or on the court, when you’re creating something from your soul, you’re making poetry happen. 

“Life itself is a creative act,” declares Patti Digh. “I see poetry everywhere— in the way a waiter hands me my vegan enchilada, in the way the train doors close at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, in the reflected smile of a cab driver in his rearview mirror when I ask about his children whose pictures are so proudly displayed.” Patti is the author of Life Is a Verb and a diversity trainer. I attended a teleseminar of Patti’s called “Playing with Your Creative Blocks,” in which she posed this question:

If you knew that your art would support your life, how would you live?

Laporte, Danielle (2012-04-17). The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (Kindle Locations 2182-2196). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

So, go live your art . . . 

Many thanks +Robin Griggs Wood for your kindness and your words of wisdom . . . 

Yep.
2012

Do not pray for easy lives.
Pray to be stronger men.
Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.
Pray for powers equal to your tasks.
Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.

— Phillips Brooks

Emotional discomfort, when accepted, rises, crests and falls in a series of waves. Each wave washes a part of us away and deposits treasures we never imagined. 

Out goes naivete, in comes wisdom; out goes anger, in comes discernment; out goes despair, in comes kindness. 

No one would call it easy, but the rhythm of emotional pain that we learn to tolerate is natural, constructive and expansive . . . 

The pain leaves you healthier than it found you.

― Martha Beck

Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
- Desmond Tutu

Long March
2012

Over and over, we are broken on the shore of life. Our stubborn egos are knocked around, and our frightened hearts are broken open — not once, and not in predictable patterns, but in surprising ways and for as long as we live. The promise of being broken and the possibility of being opened are written into the contract of human life. Certainly this tumultuous journey on the waves can be tiresome. When the sea is rough, and when we are suffering, we may want to give up hope and give in to despair. But brave pilgrims have gone before us. They tell us to venture forth with faith and vision. Rumi speaks for them all when he says:

Drum sounds rise on the air, 
and with them, my heart.
A voice inside the beat says, 
I know you are tired, 
but come.
This is the way.

May you listen to the voice within the beat even when you are tired. When you feel yourself breaking down, may you break open instead. May every experience in life be a door that opens your heart, expands your understanding, and leads you to freedom. If you are weary, may you be aroused by passion and purpose. If you are blameful and bitter, may you be sweetened by hope and humor. If you are frightened, may you be emboldened by a big consciousness far wiser than your fear. If you are lonely, may you find love, may you find friendship. If you are lost, may you understand that we are all lost, and still we are guided — by Strange Angels and Sleeping Giants, by our better and kinder natures, by the vibrant voice within the beat. May you follow that voice, for This is the way  — the hero’s journey, the life worth living, the reason we are here. 

     Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open

We can't help but wonder how much difference one person makes in the world. We look inside ourselves, questioning if we have the capacity for heroism and greatness. 

But the truth is, every time we take an action, we make an impact. Every single thing we do has an effect on the people around us. Every choice we make sends ripples out into the world. Our smallest acts of kindness can cause a chain reaction of unforeseen benefits for people we've never met. 

We might not witness those results, but they happen all
the same.

- Jake Bohm, Touch, The Road Not Taken

But hope is no less realistic than despair.
It is still our choice whether to live in light or lie down in darkness.
― Rick Yancey

Let's Dance . . . 

I haven't had much time to shoot recreationally lately . . . for some reason, this oldie has been swimming around in my head for days . . . so I thought I would share . . . 

Hope this finds you all well, my dear friends . . . Miss you . . .

Structural Enhancements
2012

Life in the big city . . . 

Enjoy the day and all that it brings your way, my friends . . . 

xoxoxo

Good Morning, Dear Friends . . . 

Peace, Love, Laughter to you and yours today . . . 


For what is it to die,
But to stand in the sun and melt into the wind?
And when the Earth has claimed our limbs,
Then we shall truly dance.

― Kahlil Gibran

Falling In
2012


Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters 
by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost. I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in; it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it. 

V

I walk down another street.


Submitted for +PhotoSquared curated by +Gene Bowker #PhotoSquared

Good Morning, My Friends . . .

Peace, love and joy to you this fine day . . . . . 

 You can only know as much happiness and joy as you can know vulnerability.
- Kahlil Gibran

Mark Isham - My Wife With Champagne Shoulders

In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.

You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,

but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.

—  Rumi

2am @ the grill
2012

Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, love me.
Of course you do not do this out loud,
Otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still, though, think about this,
This great pull in us to connect,
Why not become the one who lives with a full moon
In each eye that is always saying
With that sweet moon language
What every other eye in this world
is dying to hear. 

-   Hafiz

Sweet Dreams . . . 

Good Night, My Friends . . . 

Mark Isham - In a Silent Way (Milestones)

A little touch of Summer warmth today . . . 

May your day be filled with Love & Laughter . . . 

One last shot (an old fave that hit my radar again this week) before I log off today . . . the lights are flickering, and it's only a matter of time before they konk for good . . . See you on the flip side of Sandy . . . 

May your day be filled with Love and Laughter . . . . . .

 

I spent some time helping the good people of The Baltimore Free Store this past weekend, and I thought I would share a few snapshots of mine . . . 

http://freestorebaltimore.org/

Port in the Storm
2012

Stay safe, my friends in Sandy's path . . . 
xoxoxo

Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.


― Derek Walcott

The windows of my soul I throw
Wide open to the sun.
~ John Greenleaf Whittier

The Dance of Dreams
2012

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know 
if you will risk 
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are 
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you 
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know 
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone 
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming
The Invitation

Soon
2012

Yes - Soon [Live 2002]

Simple Life
2012

Incoming
2012

The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.
― John Green

In art, in history man fights his fears, he wants to live forever, he is afraid of death, he wants to work with other men, he wants to live forever. He is like a child afraid of death. The child is afraid of death, of darkness, of solitude. Such simple fears behind all the elaborate constructions. Such simple fears as hunger for light, warmth, love. Such simple fears behind the elaborate constructions of art. Examine them all gently and quietly through the eyes of a boy. There is always a human being lonely, a human being afraid, a human being lost, a human being confused. Concealing and disguising his dependence, his needs, ashamed to say: I am a simple human being in a too vast and complex world. Because of all we have discovered about a leaf...it is still a leaf. Can we relate to a leaf, on a tree, in a park, a simple leaf: green, glistening, sun-bathed or wet, or turning white because the storm is coming. Like the savage, let us look at the leaf wet or shining with sun, or white with fear of the storm, or silvery in the fog, or listless in too great heat, or falling in autumn, dying, reborn each year anew. Learn from the leaf: simplicity. In spite of all we know about the leaf: its nerve structure phyllome cellular papilla parenchyma stomata venation. Keep a human relation -- leaf, man, woman, child. In tenderness. No matter how immense the world, how elaborate, how contradictory, there is always man, woman, child, and the leaf. Humanity makes everything warm and simple. Humanity...
— Anaïs Nin

Speed
2012

And at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There's the little empty pain of leaving something behind ‒ graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There's the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There's the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn't give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There's the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens. 

And if you are very, very lucky, there are a few blazing hot little pains you feel when you realize that you are standing in a moment of utter perfection, an instant of triumph, or happiness, or mirth which at the same time cannot possibly last ‒ and yet will remain with you for life.

Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. 
― Jim Butcher

Remember who you are today . . . 

An old favorite for my dear friends . . . 

Enjoy the day and all that it brings your way . . . 

This is how it works. I love the people in my life, and I do for my friends whatever they need me to do for them, again and again, as many times as is necessary. For example, in your case you always forgot who you are and how much you're loved. So what I do for you as your friend is remind you who you are and tell you how much I love you. And this isn't any kind of burden for me, because I love who you are very much. Every time I remind you, I get to remember with you, which is my pleasure.
― James Lecesne

Light is precious in a world so dark. 
― Kate DiCamillo

Keeping our fears secret only gives them more power.
- Susan L. Taylor

I'm compelled to share this tonight after a conversation with a dear friend . . . I wrote it last year . . . 

It’s been over 25 years since we last spoke.  He was my guiding light and my advisor.  My biggest supporter.  My champion.  My mentor.  My father left us when I was a sophomore in high school.  He had a fatal heart attack. While sitting on the sidelines at my sister’s soccer game.  

The images are burned into my brain.  Noticing that he was slumped over in his chair.   Knowing immediately what had happened.  Jumping down from the stands, slamming my bag into the ground so hard that it shattered my make-up, covering everything inside with a fine, pearly dust that later proved impossible to remove.  (As if I needed another constant reminder that he was gone.) Running across the field, eyes wide, terrified as they checked his pulse, knowing that it was too late to save him.

Fast forward.  The surreal feeling of the funeral home.  The endless chatting. The huge crowds. The heat. The emotional haze. Realizing for the first time that I could be strong in ways that shocked and amazed me. My life would never be the same.

He gave me some advice before he left.  He sat me down one night at the kitchen table, fully aware of what fate had in store.  He said everything he needed to say before going, coaching me through the remainder of my life in one marathon session. 

I look back on that night, and my eyes fill with tears.  I ponder often what might have been had he lived.  How my life would be different.  How I would have been braver, stronger for having had him in my life longer. 

These movie scenes that are your life . . .  

When my grandmother was dying of lung cancer years ago, a hospice nurse visited on a regular basis – caring for my grandmother, caring for us, our hearts broken.  I had never known such love and compassion from a complete stranger.  I’ll never forget writing the long, lyrical thank you note, tears streaming down my cheeks, to the Angel that coached and loved us through those dark days.  A lesson in Gratitude.  A lesson in Love.

The memory is still vivid, as though it happened yesterday. 

Saying “I love you.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Climbing the steps to the second floor.  Steps I had climbed hundreds of times in my youth - on weekends and during long vacations in the hot city, the smell of melted roofing tar permeating the thick summer air.  Drifting off to sleep. Waking up to the news that she was gone.  Hearing sounds and conversations you never want to hear.

Sometimes there are No Tomorrows.   

Say Everything there is to say.  Say it Now.

Love.  Live.

Like There is No Tomorrow.

With Love & Gratitude,

         Stephanie Anne

Marshmallow Night
2012

Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  

- George Eliot

Broken Down
2012

Adversity is a natural part of being human. It is the height of arrogance to prescribe a moral code or health regime or spiritual practice as an amulet to keep things from falling apart. Things do fall apart. It is in their nature to do so. When we try to protect ourselves from the inevitability of change, we are not listening to the soul. We are listening to our fear of life and death, our lack of faith, our smaller ego's will to prevail. To listen to your soul is to stop fighting with life--to stop fighting when things fall apart; when they don't go our away, when we get sick, when we are betrayed or mistreated or misunderstood. To listen to the soul is to slow down, to feel deeply, to see ourselves clearly, to surrender to discomfort and uncertainty and to wait.
― Elizabeth Lesser

I so miss my Wonderful Friends here . . . . Hoping your day is filled with Love and Laughter . . . 

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run.
― Henry David Thoreau

A lovely way to view your portfolio . . . 

If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.
― Émile Zola

Crossing Over
2012

To live content with small means. To seek elegance rather than luxury... listen to stars and birds and babes and sages with an open heart. To study hard, think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions. Never hurry. In a word, to let the spiritual, the unbidden and the unconscious rise up through the common. This is my symphony.

~ William Henry Channing

When we have arrived at the question, the answer is already near.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Matters Most . . . 

From a leaflet in the entry of a Benedictine monastery that I adore: “Above all, prayer holds the first place in the monk’s day and nothing must be preferred to this activity. Prayer involves coming into contact with divine life, in openness to the mystery of love which is written in our hearts.” The monks are encouraged to stop their chores if they feel inspired to pray. The longing to pray comes before work and all other tasks. The brothers pray seven times a day in collective chanting and in solitude. True, most monks needn’t worry about organizing staff parties, their wardrobe stress is nil, and they’re not juggling Junior’s soccer practice and piano lessons. But the optimal concept here is passion coming before tasks. It doesn’t matter whether you’re living off the grid or high on the hog; devotion requires… devotion.

How many mornings do we choose email over meditation, or let deadlines pull rank on stretching, cuddling, or a glass of water swallowed slowly and appreciated? How habitually do we override the call from the interior of our being? The call to pray, or listen, or just to be fully awake in noticing what is being said to us— whether it’s our heart, the dog, the trees, or our fellow humans speaking to us?

Have mercy.
Keep them safe.
How lovely.
Courage, please.
I need you.
I love you.
Thank you.
Yes.

Prayer comes in all forms and every one spoken brings grace to the day. Our hearts are the altars. Each day lived is another chance to reap the deep rewards of sacred prioritization. Attend first to the divine and the work at hand becomes art.

Laporte, Danielle (2012-04-17). The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (Kindle Locations 2665-2683). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

So many people are looking for it: their Big Life Purpose.

Becoming YOU is your purpose. YOU are the very purpose of your existence.

Realizing what lights your fire and floats your boat— that’s your life purpose.

What else could it be?

If it gives you true joy (not the seemingly happy high that is fleeting, but the reliable, always-there kind of satisfaction) to rock that guitar, to make people laugh, to discover the world, to make things a little more beautiful wherever you go, to feed, to stir it up, to clean it up, to execute the plan, to bank the cash, to be a compassionate citizen, to explore nonstop, or purely to seek pleasure… then, that’s your life purpose!

Your life purpose is what you say it is.

Who could tell you otherwise?

Laporte, Danielle (2012-04-17). The Fire Starter Sessions: A Soulful + Practical Guide to Creating Success on Your Own Terms (Kindle Locations 674-684). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition. 

He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. 
- Henry David Thoreau

Good Night, Dear Friends . . . 

I love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight what may not bless my waking eyes.
― Anne Brontë

At various times in our lives, we struggle with loneliness, relationships, finding our voice, illness, loss, trying to leave the past behind . . . .

(Here’s a hint: Maybe you should try to Embrace your past.  And Forgive Yourself in the process.)

We all want to be Better, Faster, Stronger.  We are all striving to succeed.  We all experience failure.  

We have hopes, fears, goals and dreams – both on the surface and buried deep within us waiting to be unearthed.  We are all searching – for love, friendship, understanding and respect.  For Answers.

We are complex creatures.   In the same moment, we can feel happy, sad, angry, frustrated, exhilarated and empowered.   Though it may sometimes feel like it – we aren’t Crazy, we are Simply Human.

The key is tapping in to our Humanity.  Opening our eyes to what we have in common.

Recognize and acknowledge the humanity in another and you possess the ability to make a powerful connection with that person.  Rather than objectifying or labeling them, open yourself up to the reality that They are like You – Happy, Sad, Joyful, Lost.  Growing.  Becoming.

The unfriendly grocery clerk, the ex-wife, the awful boss, the guy who won’t stop tailgating you. They are all human.

How do you handle people who bring negativity or sadness into your life?  Know that they are on your path for a reason.  They have been sent to you to challenge you, teach you and elevate you to a new, higher plane.  To teach you patience, compassion, conflict management . . . the list is Endless.

The real Power in these moments?   You can extract the lessons learned and use what you have learned to elevate others.  Live and learn.  Pass it on.  Pay it forward.  We are all on this journey together.

You can have a major impact on the life of another person by simply recognizing them for who they are, respecting the significance of your connection and opening yourself up to what you have to teach one another.

You never know what is bubbling under the surface for someone else.  What lurks that they are afraid to share but so desperately need to in order to Let it Go. To grow. To overcome obstacles.

Be there for them.

I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time trying to determine how to focus my efforts – how to change the world in a meaningful way.  What I finally realized is that you don’t have to solve world hunger to make an impact.  You simply need to follow your heart and make yourself vulnerable in the world.

Do those things you fear most.  Take a chance – reach out in large and small ways to touch the hearts and lives of other people.  Lift them up as you would want someone to lift you.  Share with them the gifts they so desperately need from you. There are concrete ways that we can touch the lives of other people and make an Enormous difference.

Be grateful for these opportunities and take the leap.  You’ll be glad you did.

It is so easy to walk away and leave an opportunity on the table.  Do you really want to take the easy way out?  Or would you rather live your life as an agent for change?

You have the opportunity every day to be Someone’s Angel. Someone’s Mentor. Someone’s Hero.  

Wouldn’t you want them to take the leap and be Yours?

With Love & Gratitude –

Stephanie Anne

Cheers
2012

Waiting for Charlie
2012

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another, when we are there in the most attentive or caring way.

This simple and profound intimacy is the love that we all long for.

These moments of touching and being touched can become a foundation for a path with heart, and they take place in the most immediate and direct way.  

Mother Teresa put it like this:  "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

- Jack Kornfield

Take a Spin Around the Block With Me
2012

There will always be suffering.
But we must not suffer over the suffering.

—Alan Watts

Sip
2012

Where there is great love there are always miracles.
- Willa Cather

The Thing Is
to love life, to love it even
when you have no stomach for it
and everything you’ve held dear
crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,
your throat filled with the silt of it.
When grief sits with you, its tropical heat
thickening the air, heavy as water
more fit for gills than lungs;
when grief weights you like your own flesh
only more of it, an obesity of grief,
you think, How can a body withstand this?
Then you hold life like a face
between your palms, a plain face,
no charming smile, no violet eyes,
and you say, yes, I will take you
I will love you, again.
- Ellen Bass

Good Morning, My Friends!

A little flower album for you . . . 

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
-  Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

Pagoda
Patterson Park, Baltimore City
2012

Blue Collar
Baltimore City
c. 2012

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Night Through My Eyes . . . 

Enjoy the day and all that it brings, my friends . . . 

Miss my time here among friends . . . 

Night, the beloved.  Night, when words fade and things come alive.  When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again.  When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree.  
-  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

We are here to abet creation and to witness it, to notice each other's beautiful face and complex nature so that creation need not play to an empty house.
- Annie Dillard

if i told you that i love you, would you hold me til the madness ends . . .
2012

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
― Plato

Love . . . 

Good Night, My Friends!

Silo Point
Baltimore

Drive By Shooting
2012