The Lady Prism: The Reason Why

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Reason Why

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." ~ Henry David Thoreau

I love him.

I love the slide of his words and the pound of his passion. Thoreau is the man. Keats is kindling...but Thoreau...he puts the stamp on living.

And me, I am mesmerized. He is my literary Monet. He is my garden and I live in Walden.

I love life largely because of the people who have loved life before me. Their words soak into my soul and I am reborn. For every utterance, for every thread of syntax, for ever breath of emotion, I am inspired to carry on with strength, grace, elegance and a reverential understanding for created moments.

How I wish every child would, at the moment of birth, instantly know - that the secret to happiness is not without but within. Not wanting what can be bought, but planting what can be reaped; Not looking for what is not, but seeing what exists. But of course, this remains to be discovered...such is the purpose of life...

There are blessings I can enumerate but for the moment the largest that looms before me is the gift of nature...the inspiration of Walden. A place I will probably never visit, except inside my heart.

Painting By: Roselle Quin - December 2009

5 comments:

Dana and DaisyJanuary 13, 2010 at 9:01 PM
a beautiful post! I once had an opportunity to stay in a friend's cabin, no air conditioning, no running water, no tv, no computer. But a stove, a bed, a wicker chair, and not a soul in sight all week. I think of it as "my week at Walden"

It was one of the best weeks of my life!
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Brenda PruittJanuary 14, 2010 at 12:36 AM
You write so beautifully and soulfully (is that a word?) You left a comment on my blog post at Cozy Little House that my story is your story. That one sentence says so very much. I didn't see a way to email you, so I'm commenting. I think people like us find much meaning from words, and from writers and artists. It is our history. It is all we have, and it brings us peace.
Brenda
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YayaOrchidJanuary 14, 2010 at 3:03 PM
What a beautiful blog you have here! The photos alone are worth every second of visitation in a busy day's time. What gorgeous greenery exists in your world. The Phillipines? Costa Rica? Miami? I am certainly intrigued. :)
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Lady PrismJanuary 15, 2010 at 5:27 PM
* Dana: That's lovely! I live in the city but there's a place here about an hours drive from where I live with lots of pine trees and fresh air That would have to be mine though I know it wouldn't really compare.

* Cozy Little House: So true! Your story is one that touched me deeply. Thank you very much!:D

* Yaya Orchid: THank you very much for your kind words! I live in the city of Manila, in the Philippines. :D
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beezee~beeJanuary 16, 2010 at 1:29 AM
Cant wait for you to take me to a pretty garden, green place and beautiful neighbourhood you once mentioned when we met, remember?

that'll be soon i hope...i may be there in March or apr :)
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The Lady Prism

Simply somebody who enjoys the company of a few intimate souls. I love the sound of sunbeams and the soothing brush of the shore on a sandy pebbled beach.

I love the ripple of cascading rain and singing brooks. I love the fluttery dance of fireflies and funny crickets on a dewy night. I love the melody of sultry whispers in my ears.

I love the view of a blue moon rising and of the Orion's Belt and of a meteor shower. I love the taste and aroma of French Vanilla Coffee on a Sunday morning in bed. I love moist brownies, almonds and pecans.

But most of all I love the feel of love wrapped around my arms. Welcome to the prism in me!

Mindful

MINDFUL

Every day I see or hear somethingthat more or less kills mewith delight, that
leaves me like a needle in the haystackof light.
It was what I was born for -to
look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world -to instruct myself over
and over in joy, and acclamation.
Nor am I talkingabout the
exceptional, the fearful, the dreadful, the very extravagant - but of the
ordinary, the common, the very drab, the daily presentations.
Oh, good
scholar, I say to myself, how can you help but grow wise with such teachings as
these -the untrimmable lightof the world, the ocean's shine, the prayers that
are made out of grass?
~ Mary Oliver

Leaves Of Grass

LEAVES OF GRASS

" This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence towards the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men; go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and mothers, of families:

read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life re-examine all you have been told at school or church, or in any books,

and dismiss whatever insults your soul. "

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

THE SUMMER DAY

Who made the worldWho made the swan, and the black bearWho made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyesNow she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?

Marriane Williamson ~ "A Woman's Worth"

* Beauty is an internal light, a spiritual radiance that all women have but most women hide, unconsciously denying its existence. What we do not claim remains invisible.....*

* The woman who is truly self-aware knows that her self is a light from beyond this world, a spiritual essence that has nothing to do with the physical world. Those of us who strongly believe in the reality of spirit are quickly invalidated by a worldly power system that senses within spiritual truth the seeds of its own destruction. For if we truly believed in an internal light, we would not believe in the power of external forces, and we would not be so easy to dominate and control. We would not be tempted to see hair and clothes and makeup as sources of so much of our self-esteem and the ideal beauty of a fashion model as a sign that we are not beautiful at all. *

Authenticity Is A Daily Practice!

Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries and to allow ourselves ourselves to be vulnerable, exercising the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made from strength and struggle and connected to each other through a loving and resilient human spirit;nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we let go of what we are supposed to be and embrace who we are.

Authenticity demands WHOLEHEARTED living - even when it's hard, even when we're wrestling with the shame and fear of not being good enough, and especially when the joy is so intense that we're afraid to let ourselves feel it.

Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul searching struggles is how we invite GRACE, JOY and Gratitude into our lives. ♥ ~ Brene' Brown

Next Time

NEXT TIME

Next time what I'd do is look at the earth before saying anything. I'd stop
just before going into a houseand be an emperor for a minuteand listen better to
the wind or to the air being still.

When anyone talked to me, whether blame or praise or just passing time,I'd
watch the face, how the mouth has to work, and see any strain, any sign of what
lifted the voice.

And for all, I'd know more -- the earth bracing itself and soaring, the air
finding every leaf and feather over forest and water, and for every person the
body glowing inside the clothes like a light. ~ Mary Oliver

The Lady Prism

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Reason Why

5 comments:

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