Category Archives: Sweet Breathing
One Vast Awakened Thing
“I have lots of things to teach you now, in case we ever meet, concerning the message that was transmitted to me under a pine tree in North Carolina on a cold winter moonlit night.
It said that Nothing Ever Happened, so don’t worry. It’s all like a dream. Everything is ecstasy, inside. We just don’t know it because of our thinking-minds. But in our true blissful essence of mind is known that everything is alright forever and forever and forever. Close your eyes, let your hands and nerve-ends drop, stop breathing for 3 seconds, listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot, which was taught in immense milky way soft cloud innumerable worlds long ago and not even at all. It is all one vast awakened thing. I call it the golden eternity. It is perfect.”
-Jack Kerouac
Goodbye 2017 (and thank you); Welcome 2018!
As 2017 comes to a close at midnight, my heart is full with memories. I know more with each passing day that the sweetness is in awareness. Awareness of all of the magic, majesty and wonder all around, in every single second. In the trees, the wild ones, the big night sky, the wind, every snow flake, the fragrance of pine, my dog’s intent gaze, the eyes of a stranger, the touch of my beloved… The moments of wonder stitch together in a tapestry of hours, days, weeks, and thus this year was made. Moments of awareness, of being here now, slowly weave together our lives. There is so very much to treasure, absorb, experience, and be with. How beautiful.
It leaves me breathless for all that 2018 may bring… It is a precious thing to be alive in this world.
So…goodbye 2017 and thank you!
And to 2018, sending heartfelt wishes for all of us to write on our hearts, pause in the silence of the forest, visit the area of the soul where words don’t penetrate, be peaceful and wild, and Love, Love, Love, in the wondrous moments that will create our new year!
“Write it on your heart… that every day is the best day of the year.”
-R. W. Emerson
“Pausing to experience the silence of the forest during winter months is a gift of presence.”
-Andrea Fereshteh
“Some events are in the area of the soul where words cannot penetrate.”
-Neil Cassady
“There is peaceful. There is wild. I am both at the same time.”
-Nayyirah Waheed
“What is done in love is done well.”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Christmas at Midlife
Christmas at Midlife by Mary Anne Perrone
“I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn the best candles on ordinary days.
I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean; I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.
I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me; It’s just not their task
I am no longer waiting for the perfect children; my children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.
I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived.
I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now.
I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.
I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment; my heart can be stilled whenever it is called.
I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace; I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.
I am no longer waiting to do something great; being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.
I am no longer waiting to be recognized; I know that I dance in a holy circle.
I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness. I believe, I Believe.
-Mary Anne Perrone
A Great Presence Stirring Beside Me
In honor of this Winter Solstice… homage to the darkest of our days, as we welcome back the sun’s increased presence.
This Rilke poem and the beautiful art below by Sha’an d’Anthes were originally paired on Dreamwork with Toko-pa’s website. Check out her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DreamworkWithTokopa/?hc_ref=ARTk9RUC0IRzfTgBfv6vMarLzO_YzVEPNZm3SHBE-xpONW_Y3tI7c-rh69H92c2fCEo&fref=nf&pnref=story
“You, darkness, of whom I am born —
I love you more than the flame
that limits the world
to the circle it illumines
and excludes all the rest.
But the darkness embraces everything:
shapes and shadows, creatures and me,
people, nations — just as they are.It lets me imagine
a great presence stirring beside me.I believe in the night.”
-Rainer Maria Rilke
Artwork below by Sha’an d’Anthes
The Little Joys
“Do not overlook the little joys!”
-Hermann Hesse
Be Thanksgiving
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Wild turkey picture taken from home…
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In the Absoluteness of Wild Earth
“I walked on, talking in my head. In all the miles no silence lived. Inside my thoughts, I realized finally that, more than in wind or cold or Breakup, the power and absoluteness of wild earth resided in its huge uncompromising silence.”
-Seth Kantner (from my favorite book of this year, Ordinary Wolves)
Peace
“We shall find peace. We shall hear the angels, we shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”
—Anton Chekhov
“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”
—Baruch Spinoza
“Peace has never come from dropping bombs. Real peace comes from enlightenment and educating people to behave more in a divine manner.”
—Carlos Santana
“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”
—Jawaharlal Nehru
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”
—Malcolm X
“If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
—Moshe Dayan
“Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh
“First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.”
—Thomas Kempis
With Love and Reverence
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
-Henry David Thoreau
“Love they said burns you and builds you!
But with you, there is no ash,
Just Light.
-Kamand Kojouni
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.”
-John Milton
