Posted by Anita Bondi on May 26, 2010 under Anita Bondi | 
It is a big joke in my family that I always take the day off on my birthday. Why not? I think everyone should! So, happy birthday to me and all the other zany, creative, funny Gemini’s in this world. I could tell you about starting my birthday week yesterday with my dear friend Patti, or my astrological update with sweet Mel, or my spontaneous dinner with my honey, but I really want to tell you about looking for the Lady Slipper. She is a rare beauty of the forest that blooms around my birthday.
My sister and fellow Gemini (although she says we are nothing alike!), Louise was the perfect partner for my early morning sleuthing. We started out at 6:30am. The woods were quiet and wet with dew. The beauty immediately woke me up and gratitude filled my lungs as I breathed it in completely.
Since the pictures will no doubt be worth a thousand words, here goes:
We were almost to the top of the mountain when we spotted her a bit off the trail, surrounded by a small rock circle, as if someone had thought to protect her; possibly seeing her beauty for the first time, as I had some years ago, and with breath catching in their chest, had known that she was fragile and needed care. She was completely alone and very small although her presence in the rocky landscape felt huge to me. The pink pouch drops off of the plant and looks like a slipper. The pouch is used to catch the insects needed to fertilize the flower. Lady Slipper is in the orchid family and is the state flower of Minnesota…..just a shout out to my InterPlay friends in the land of lakes….have you seen any lately? Send pictures!!!!
Next up: A birthday nap with my buddy, Scout! 
Posted by Anita Bondi on May 2, 2010 under Anita Bondi |
I think I may have been at a friend’s house when I first saw the poem, Imagine a Woman. This year it is celebrating its 15th anniversary which means I was an early “thirty-something” when I read it and was ripe for its message. I had just opened the Holistic Arts Studio (now Wellspring Holistic Center), and had been teaching and mentoring its message since my twenties. Of course, now in my late 40′s I realize how little I knew back then, how much more I understand now, and how far I still have to go I in living its inspiration! Join me on May 3rd, as Mandala Design Works launches our partnership with Patricia Lynn Reilly ( the author of the poem) and Imagine a Woman International. We are a perfect match, as we all choose empowerment through self-acceptance, passionate living, and community spirit! Join the birthday celebration and imagine all women in love with themselves! Here is the whole poem (and me 15 years ago!):
Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.
Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.
Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past’s influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.
Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.
Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.
Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.
Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.
Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.
Imagine yourself as this woman.
My sister and fellow Gemini (although she says we are nothing alike!), Louise was the perfect partner for my early morning sleuthing. We started out at 6:30am. The woods were quiet and wet with dew. The beauty immediately woke me up and gratitude filled my lungs as I breathed it in completely.
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