Who paints a house lavender? What were they thinking and if that wasn't bad enough, it had pink plastic flowers in pots! Every time we drove past it, someone commented on the tacky house. It seemed out of place compared to its neighbors but there was some sort of energy emanating from the up stair's window. Finally, one day there was a garage sale sign in front of the house so I pulled off of the street to take a peek. "Come on mom! Don't stop at this one," my youngest daughter begged. There was something for us, I just didn't know what. As we walked towards the house, an elderly man approached with snow white hair and beautiful blue eyes. He was so delighted to see us and I got the feeling he hadn't had much company. There wasn't anything except junk in little shoe boxes but he was talkative and his smile was sincere. I mentioned how pretty his house color looked next to pink and then his story spilled out.
His only daughter had gone into the hospital when she was twenty for a simple operation on her ankle and died from complications. It had devastated him and he worried because he was never able to finish painting her bedroom lavender as he had promised. One day, he decided, what the heck, he would paint the whole outside of the house so she could see it from Heaven. Then he put in plastic flowers because he no longer had his wife who owned a green thumb. My daughter and I exchanged glaring shame on us looks and then said our good byes. The house has been sold to new owners long ago and the color has changed three times but I always feel a special "something" when I drive past the house.
We seem quick to judge others by appearances, place of residence, color and tone of voice. There are stories inside people worth being heard if we would quit trying to figure out the ending and let them speak. Nic Askew, a film maker who has captured the human spirit through his short films of many different people from all walks of life is such an inspiration. He says to come into a conversation without expectation, keep everything in the present moment and soon you'll walk away with a miracle that is beyond words to describe. After the interview, all I could hear were the words, "Be Happy!" www.soulbiographies.com
www.talkshoe.com (Conscious Living)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Spring's Cologne
late night thunderstorm
without a moon
blows scents of lilacs
throughout my room,
reminding me that
dead men hide in bottles
inside drawers and on top
of mirrored trays.
i'm the little girl
who knows this
from women of my yesterdays.
aunt rosie's cries still linger
like the memory of her
boyfriend once
held captive inside
a vessel made of glass.
i watched her smell the liquid
too afraid to breathe or blink
just wanting to smash the glass
and release him to the spring time air.
without a moon
blows scents of lilacs
throughout my room,
reminding me that
dead men hide in bottles
inside drawers and on top
of mirrored trays.
i'm the little girl
who knows this
from women of my yesterdays.
aunt rosie's cries still linger
like the memory of her
boyfriend once
held captive inside
a vessel made of glass.
i watched her smell the liquid
too afraid to breathe or blink
just wanting to smash the glass
and release him to the spring time air.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Soulmate Secret/Arielle Ford
The garden must be prepared in the soul first
or else it will not flourish.
-English Gardening Proverb
There used to be a poster in Mr. Salmon's class that read, "Spring is when the boys start to notice what the girls have been waiting for all winter!" Forever and ever, I have wondered about love and the existence of a soul mate. Mom would ruin things by saying love was a state of mind. No, it was a good looking man who drove fast with a slightly bigger nose, beautiful voice and soft lips, that was love. It was getting your girlfriends together on a new moon to stare into a mirror until the image of your future husband appeared. We were too scared to wait for the results so we'd turn to herbs. Sleeping with honeysuckle and lavender was said to promote dreams of your soul mate while white rose petals brought pure love. Never were girls to try on their mother's wedding rings for fear of becoming old maids. My brother knew the tricks and chased us, trying to sweep the tops of our feet with a broom while teasing that he had a parrot in the house! Bad omens should be taken seriously with concerns of the heart.
Those friends and I are now 32 years married but Debbie still calls for matchmaking advice. "Where is he?" she asks while I cut the deck three times and choose ten cards. Her ring startles me. "Why are you wearing a ring on your left hand?" I ask. "Oh, I don't know" she says. My mom's words ring true! Love is a state of mind and Debbie's mind is still thinking about her failed marriage and the hurt it has caused her. So she wears a fake wedding ring that sends a huge message of unavailability. She had a fear of removing the ring and said she would do it later.
Now for the good news! Arielle Ford, author and Conscious Living guest (www.talkshoe.com)
has a new book called, "The Soulmate Connection" (www.soulmatesecret.com)
and she tells us to get a pen and paper. Write down what you desire in a mate, his eye color, will he or she live close, everything, just write! Sound too easy to be true? It works and age has no rule. A woman in her eighties found her second soulmate through this technique. I loved that she added some magic by placing the words in a jar and placing them outside during a new moon. If you look on her website, you will see a picture of her manifested soulmate. When they met, he said he felt as though he had known her already. Oh, love, how sweet it is.
Debbie and I are going out in a couple of days, think I'll buy her a journal with a pretty pen. I'll probably throw in a pinch of basil that encourages loving feelings and faithfulness for old times sake and good measure!
"The Universe is full of magical things
patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
-Eden Phillpotts
or else it will not flourish.
-English Gardening Proverb
There used to be a poster in Mr. Salmon's class that read, "Spring is when the boys start to notice what the girls have been waiting for all winter!" Forever and ever, I have wondered about love and the existence of a soul mate. Mom would ruin things by saying love was a state of mind. No, it was a good looking man who drove fast with a slightly bigger nose, beautiful voice and soft lips, that was love. It was getting your girlfriends together on a new moon to stare into a mirror until the image of your future husband appeared. We were too scared to wait for the results so we'd turn to herbs. Sleeping with honeysuckle and lavender was said to promote dreams of your soul mate while white rose petals brought pure love. Never were girls to try on their mother's wedding rings for fear of becoming old maids. My brother knew the tricks and chased us, trying to sweep the tops of our feet with a broom while teasing that he had a parrot in the house! Bad omens should be taken seriously with concerns of the heart.
Those friends and I are now 32 years married but Debbie still calls for matchmaking advice. "Where is he?" she asks while I cut the deck three times and choose ten cards. Her ring startles me. "Why are you wearing a ring on your left hand?" I ask. "Oh, I don't know" she says. My mom's words ring true! Love is a state of mind and Debbie's mind is still thinking about her failed marriage and the hurt it has caused her. So she wears a fake wedding ring that sends a huge message of unavailability. She had a fear of removing the ring and said she would do it later.
Now for the good news! Arielle Ford, author and Conscious Living guest (www.talkshoe.com)
has a new book called, "The Soulmate Connection" (www.soulmatesecret.com)
and she tells us to get a pen and paper. Write down what you desire in a mate, his eye color, will he or she live close, everything, just write! Sound too easy to be true? It works and age has no rule. A woman in her eighties found her second soulmate through this technique. I loved that she added some magic by placing the words in a jar and placing them outside during a new moon. If you look on her website, you will see a picture of her manifested soulmate. When they met, he said he felt as though he had known her already. Oh, love, how sweet it is.
Debbie and I are going out in a couple of days, think I'll buy her a journal with a pretty pen. I'll probably throw in a pinch of basil that encourages loving feelings and faithfulness for old times sake and good measure!
"The Universe is full of magical things
patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
-Eden Phillpotts
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