Remember...

Whenever you get the chance.
Whenever there's there's that little space
between what's happening and what's coming next...

Remember to breathe...

Breathe in love, peace, calm.

Remember that in this life, we're learning to live.
This is meant to be, that the things you need will come to you.

Let go of fear, control and negativity...
Find the balance in the present.

Remember to live in the moment...

People are more important than things...

Moments are all we ever have.

Look for good and believe that
good things are what it's all about in the end.

Also remember that it's never the end.

There's going to be so much to get on with...

We are all connected, we share now and forever
in some complicated, mysterious way.

Building Bridges, Crossing Bridges, Burning Bridges...

Which bridge am I willing to burn
in order to cross the one that leads to more connection and deeper meaning.
A bridge built on the foundations of freedom and trust,
where the constants are relax and enjoy
and the only rules are to aid and abet.

The bridge to burn has many names, like security, fear, self doubt, judgementalism,
expectation and whatever its called when you build
strong high walls of protection around yourself.

I long to cross over to a place where it's possible to experience
relationship/connection at a deeper level.

Where the connections are like strong invisible threads that hold lovely things close.
Where it's possible to share a comfortable space that's on one hand
close enough to be invasive, but feels like meant to be.

Where the distance is measured by a heartbeat or the space between
lips nuzzling your neck or hands and fingers that easily entwine,
which is no space at all.

Where being together is something that's headed somewhere in an
exciting and engaging way, which has a certain flow.

Where there's a sense that the journey is as important as the destination
yet there's still anticipation for those magic moments when
your universes collide and for a fleeting moment you have the deep sense
of having really been together.

Going Mad...

I'm wondering about going mad,
and I'm actually thinking at this moment that it's a beautiful thing.

I'm in the clouds...(Flying home)
I'm in-between two quiet men.
One's reading "man fiction" and one's reading about emotional intelligence,
how to get the best of things.

I'm thinking about life and quietly weeping.
I'm thinking about going mad.

It's your minds way of coping with the difficulties life sends you...
It's trying to make sense of things that don't make sense.

I'm thinking about people, about family and babies and how lovely and precious they are
I'm thinking about gratefulness.

This is all happening amid the roar of the engines, the thick blanket of cloud
and the cold air from the overhead duct.

It's funny, jammed in here its a very public/private space,
and we're all literally "up in the air".

I'm thinking it's ok to be old, funny incapable, unable, disabled, dependant,
incomplete...mad.
It's ok, and somehow you're still you...

When you love someone you don't need them to be capable, you just want them to be there,
you want to remember...you want to have a lot to remember.

You don't always know that you love people so much.
It takes something to open your eyes...
Your heart's been open all along.

These are some thoughts that I penned on the flight home from visiting mum earlier in the year.
She was in hospital as a result of being in the last stages of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
The situation at times was surreal, and she seemed to literally be between two worlds.
Thinking of endings is sometimes frightening we want to avoid it rather than embrace it. 
It all made me think...about life, death, love, loss and going mad.
In the end I thought it was ok...not easy but ok.

Courage Is The Key...

Courage is the key!

It's about letting love win over fear...

Somehow finding a way to face all the feelings
of vulnerability, isolation and inadequacy...
and letting that open up what comes next.

It's the only thing that has any chance of unlocking your potential.

Just when you thought''great I've unlocked that door''...
you realise that there's another door ahead....
and so it goes...

Life will always have doors to unlock.
It's about moving forward and finding
''treasures in dark places''

Things That Make Me Happy...

This is a list of things that make me feel good and give me the ''up'', I'm going to add to it every day.

1 Candles

2 Velvet cats

3 Great music

4 The idea of things progressing...getting to the next new bit.

5 Working out more ''stuff''

6 Change that's positive

7 Friends that stay connected

8 Being warm and cosy

9 Things to do with ''the heart''

10 Having choices

11 Wine of course

12 Simple beauty

13 Complex beauty

14  Authenticity

15 People to share with

16 Celebration and Events

17 Things you know you're connected to

18 When you had a dream and you see it coming true, not necessarily in the way that you
     thought...but still it's exciting...it's connected to your vision and passion

19 Longing...when you can imagine how great something could be and you're happy to
     know that the idea will take you a long way and give you hope when you have to
     wait and have patience

20 Friends who ''get'' what you mean

21 Imagination and possibility

22 The feel of something silky

23 Sunsets

24 Dew drops on spider webs

25 Brewed Coffee in the morning

26 The smell of fresh herbs....particularly Basil

27 Having the luxury of ''waisting'' time....
     in other words doing things you want to do
     but that seem unimportant to others

28 Picnics

29 Fairy Lights

30 Recipe Books

31 Making Food

32 Sharing Food

33 Taking Photos Of Food

Just Words....

Today it's just words....

I can't say yes,

and I can't say no.

I want to say yes to your tightrope to the edge.

To having too much fun.

To long lingering looks and soft touches.

Squeezes and deep kisses.

To being lost in a zone that's not often visited.

To being on the other side and to getting perspective.

I want to say no to my fears and convention.

To the unspoken broken trash heap that we've visited before.

No to usual, trivial, fearful.

Yes to acknowledging the complex.

To finding the balance and harmony in the tension.

To beauty and fragility.

To the bit that you let go in order to find the "sweet true spot'

In the other.

Connection and re-connection.

Individual yet seeking the other.

I want to say yes, 

I want to say no.

( To be honest it's not just words..

it's thoughts and wishes and dreams 

and a whole lot of what's hard to get right 

when dealing with relationships in the real world)

Lessons And Teachers...

Trying to "get" the lesson of the day
is sometimes like catching butterflies.

The ideas, or lessons that you're grappling with
can be so elusive and tricky to actually pin down.

But if by chance you take it slowly and fairly quietly,
 you may find that it's not so much about "catching" them
as much as letting them settle.

Then you may  have a chance to have a good look at what the lesson really is.

Warm Words...

She noticed that the words were made
of little  letters with tiny wings.

They floated and shimmered and in their dance
formed a kind of thread which wound around and around
forming a cozy layer that
held all the warm thoughts and feelings close,

But was thick enough to be a protection
against the cold and dark beyond.

Reminders...

On my walk today,
the lonely path ahead struck me as some sort of metaphor...

It bought feelings of sadness, loss and a kind of resignation,
not quite hopelessness,
but never the less a strong sense of aloneness.

I questioned my feelings and was given the thought
 that my problem is somehow to do with time,
 being stuck in time.

Looking ahead means projecting into time
and that can be a complicated thing.

I was reminded that what we  have is now, 
the present
and we can all be part of that in a meaningful way.

Being  open to what is around us in the moment.

Just then I saw a beautiful Dandelion beside my path,
 not old enough to have been blown away 
but just perfect.
I picked it and thought about what it meant
 as I continued on my walk.

As children we called Dandelions "time o clocks"
You blow on them and say 1 o clock, then again 2 o clock
 and so on until there is only the stem left.

Again a reminder of time and the potential packed in there...
all the little seeds being blown in all directions
and settling to start life again.

It helped me think about the present, and the potential...
 to just look around in the moment,
to see the beauty of the sky, the clouds, the light and the lake.
The trees and the sounds of the birds and so many other things.

In a way it all seemed to sing...
 "you're not really on your own"
 you're surrounded by so much life.

One Step At A Time...

 Crossing the river of life seems like a matter
of getting from one stepping stone to the next.

Some are easy, broad and flat.
Some are difficult, slippery or seemingly a bit of a stretch.

We may pause, we may seem to get stuck...
but somehow dear reader we all have to keep on going.

Bridging The Gaps...

There are times in life when you become aware of the gaps,
where there are important bits missing.

 Perhaps you experience a certain loneliness, isolation,
 lack of understanding or support.

That's when it's important to "build a bridge"
find a way to span the divide.

 Sometimes the bridge is made of words,
 sometimes it's actions,
and sometimes it's a patient combination....

Sometimes the bridge is  being built from the other side
and you just haven't recognised it...

 but in order for it to be completed,
you have to allow, or make room for the connection.

Sometimes Life's Like...

Making Bread...

You get some 'stuff' together,
all the right sort of ingredients...
then mix and knead.
Place the pretty round lump in a lovey oiled bowl...
covered with a damp tea towel...
somewhere warm and out of the draughts...
(in other words a lovely nurturing environment)

OK...wait...
everything 'proves'...or 'improves'...
Just when it's all big and beautiful and rises to the occasion, guess what?.
Time to knock it back.
That's right
just bang it back down to flat.
knock out all the 'hot air'
Then when its all curled up in a tight little ball
do a bit of shaping.
Leave it for another round of expansion
Then straight into a really hot oven.

 After a time it comes out all beautiful
crunchy, crusty, soft and tender in the centre,
smelling like home and all the best things about simplicity.
Just begging for butter
to become something that we think of as a staple.

Life is full of ups, downs, twists, turns and knock-backs.
And there are plenty of hot spots...

If it's like making bread, in the end it's going to be alright,
it's going to be beautiful...

The Misty Islands Of Ha Long Bay...

As you drift silently by...
it seems the Islands are much the same,
 but then you notice,
 the water, light, distance and perspectives all change...
It's all how and when you look at it.

You find yourself looking for something...
a connection...
Familiarity, stability, in the midst of the unknown.
but noticing and accepting change.

There are also things going on under the surface.
I'm reminded that's where pearls grow
in the quiet, still, dark,
 silence.

Back Again With A Holiday reflection...

Sitting on the bed in the beautiful cabin of the cruise ship,
 gazing out at the misty islands,
listening to the soft purring of the engines,
 and watching the subtle change and movement of the passing scene.

Rozie thought about floating, drifting and destination.
Peace, tranquillity and the journey.
Is it time out? or time in?..

Time to process and contemplate what's going on...

Sometimes it's what you think, and sometimes it's not.
The trick is going with the flow
going with the moment.

The Gift...

It's what you do now
that becomes
what you once did,
and creates the potential
 or foundation for
 what you can do...

When The Walls Fall Down...

Sometimes, you feel as though you're all boxed in.

But if you can have a bit of a look
 at  what's really going on, get a bit more clarity,
and make a move away from negative controlling influences.

It's like all the walls fall down.

And you find  your heart
has been set free.

Perspective...

It seems that the more freedom you have,
the wider your perspective becomes.

Just A Reminder...

Wear a smile in your heart...

Scars...

Rozie thought of scars as  visible reminders
 of where we've been healed.


As opposed to wounds which are all about the pain we suffer now.

Scars  mark what we've been through
 and how we've moved on.

They're about getting from a painful place to a peaceful place.

Moments...

Rozie started to see things that she'd previously glossed over,
or driven past, on the way to somewhere important.
She began to open up to the little moments
 that are just there waiting to greet your heart
with beauty and wonder.
Moments that offer a glimpse of the misty centre of the woods,
 all quiet and majestic in the morning light,
still with ancient time.
she wondered at the potential for beautiful moments...