When warm
(Or even temporate)
Rain raps on the roof,
It provides a reassuring
Rhythm that soothes.

When Winter-chilled rain
Taps it’s icy fingers on
Window panes,
It does not soothe nor
Reassure.

Sometimes our animal friends really do “get it” in ways we need to emulate.

Aphrodite (aka Te Te) left this world last week, but not before spreading her love and wisdom far and wide.

Here is some of what she taught in her last days:

~eat whatever you want (but make the portions small)!

~let it all hang out (and don’t be a bit embarrassed).

~sit on as many laps as possible, for as long as possible.

~spend some time outside each day (fresh air is a healing balm).

and as cats know so well:

~maintain your sense of self and your confidence (that is an attractive feature that most cannot resist…even the dogs)!

Back in the 90′s I read a book called Codependent No More and have on and off over the last two decades read from a daily devotional book named The Language of Letting Go.

It seemed almost “cool” at the time to call myself a codependent, as almost all my friends were using the title as well…like an elite club that we belonged to that only accepted special people.

This year something happened. This year there was a shift, an internal recognition that this was not an elite club nor something to be proud of. This was serious. This is serious. Not in a morbid, morose, hang your head in shame and bury yourself under the covers kind of way, but rather an “aha” kind of way that makes the clouds part and the sun stream into places that have been dark and sad for a long, long time. The kind of moment that Oprah Winfrey talks about, or Saturday Night Live pokes fun at.

Since I am a therapist and an artist and the two get tired of living separately, I brought them together for this pre-holiday healing/art project.

I started last week. Everyday I read the daily message from The Language of Letting Go and I make a jewelry piece in response to the reading. My commitment to myself is that I will do this until Christmas. My commitment to you is that these one of a kind pieces will be available for sale starting today, November 15th (click on the date to purchase).

It has been a wonderful mindfulness exercise as I hold the message in my heart, ponder its meaning in my head, and allow my body to manifest it in physical form.

Here is an example of the one I made for November 12th. Timing “Today I will  let go of my need to control by waiting until the time is right. When the time is right, I will take action.”

If you click on the date link above you can follow my journey and see what I am making from now until Christmas.

This beauty stopped by this afternoon and stayed for quite awhile.

Usually I am aware that hawks are messengers reminding us to lift ourselves up out of our earthly mire and get a higher perspective.

I am guilty of needing that message right now!

I did a bit of research and also found this:

As the Hawk, you will develop the ability to use your words as he uses his beak and talons to rip the heads off snakes; i.e.,the enemies or disbelievers in your life. Be mindful of your words so as not to shred those who oppose you, but take the higher road and fly above them and their way of thinking. Deliver your messages with tact and patience.

And this:
The average life span of a hawk is up to 14 years. Hawks mate for life.

I swear this one was looking right at me! My message? Any thoughts?

This is a representation of the use of words for the past few weeks on this blog.

(Click on the word cloud to see a larger version of it.
☟ Then, share it with your friends.)

dragonflies are a lover’s best friend
they do not pursue one another with that
bashful fear we often see in humans
they go after each other with playful glee
and do not stop until they are attached
one to the other

The butterfly effect.
I step out of my door early in the morning
And choose to let my foot drop to the ground
Where it will.

Today, that footfall happens to be on a small
Creature, barely visible if I had taken the time
To look there and notice it.

I will never know the form that was to be
One of nature’s beauties. Today, a worm.
Tomorrow, a colorful, flying painting:
Handiwork of God’s unmitigated love for
This creation of which I am a part.

And now, I have changed it forever.
By that one choice that I did not even count
As a choice at the time. The heaviness of
My foot is astounding compared to that
Tender, unassuming God-made wonder.

I have wrecked a tiny part of creation’s
Fabulousness. I confess and know my part.

Let today be the day that I seek my way back
To the bliss of knowing creation’s beauty.

I saw a man standing — glassy-eyed
And upward looking — at the side of the path.
There were a few things he said that I cannot
Be at all sure what they were.
But these came through clear and bold:

“I am OK.
It is your choice to believe me or not.
I do not wish to control what you think or
What you do with what I tell you.

May divine blessings go with you whether
You bless or curse me.

My belief is that this is what I can offer you.“

~ by Stan Stewart
Copyright © 2011 by muz4now, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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….. new Gemini’s to share birthday week with me!  Yahoo!

There will always be days like this: a finger holding onto a toe, a runner’s high, Elvis Costello singing softly in my ear. Dr. Phil shows up nodding, giving me that slow, pathetic Texas half-grin. I hate his face. He will never be pink cotton candy or my first morning sip of Pete’s coffee. There is way too much confinement in his bald head and badly shaped mustache.

old clog sandals and new beaded necklace

We believed him.

We stayed up all night, missing the fire’s beautiful changing colors. The expensive bottle of wine drunk but not tasted. The closeness that we shared was only the sounds of side by side scratching pens, hurrying to fill in little white boxes; a race to a finish line that held nothing promised.

But today, after another, “this is all too much”, the bright yellow daffodils lining the sidewalk were beating in a heart out of control and you were my most comfortable pair of Dansko clogs — slipped on — ready to hold me the way I like: not too tight (with plenty of wiggle room), solid, secure, and totally along for the ride.