Love letters

You may not know this about me - I write myself love letters - sometimes daily.

The way I write is also the way I dialogue with myself...a soothing way to self-talk.

It's something I taught myself to do...re-parenting the child in me...with love and kindness.

Try it....watch how it will changes the way you feel. Here's a couple of my letters:

 

Dear precious one

I will always protect you…watch over you…

keep you safe…you are my beloved...

beautiful child...sleep peacefully knowing that

I am watching over you…caring for you…protecting

you from harm… I love you, baby girl…you mean the

world to me.

Dear beloved child

I know you feel insecure and have a fear that others

won’t love you…remember that I LOVE YOU…

SHINE, my love…you are the child of my heart,

my breath, my world…know how much you are

loved today, tomorrow and every day…

Fall safely into my arms of protection…you are safe

…you are loved…rest assured my child,

ALL IS WELL.

******

 

Some of my favorite photos of my partner, Jack

 Jack and Kayla

 Gotta love that face!

 Always reading the paper...

 And smoking his cigar.

Really Jack...talking on your phone while biking?

******

All you may know of heaven or hell
is within your own self.

Edgar Cayce

"I am safe. I am loved"

Letting go of "stuff"

We hold on to so much stuff that weighs us down and makes us feel bad

grudges, regrets, outdated dreams, crummy beliefs about ourselves

even ratty clothes...

 but we just don’t get rid of them for some reason.

wouldn’t today be a great day to let some of it go

to get rid of it???

Just try….

just a little bit, then a little more tomorrow

it’s Spring cleaning time

time to let go of anything that is weighing you down, beautiful soul!!!!!

You’ll fly better without all of that stuff.

                                                   

 Melody Ross - www.bravegirlsclub.com

***

We can't be afraid of change.

You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in,

 but if you never venture out of it,

you will never know that there is such a thing...
 as an ocean, a sea...

 

C. Joybell C.

 ****

"I let go and trust it's all happening perfectly"

What is my purpose?

 “Joy is the best makeup” -Anne Lammott

 

*****

Today life is simple, quiet,  and peaceful - lots of space to just "BE". There was a time
though, I would have felt like jumping out of my skin, having so much quiet time.
I was used to being a "DOER". But being a DOER was depleting - it had a profound
 effect on me - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

So what is my purpose? It used to be to "save the world" (ha-ha - my ego must have had
 fun with that one). Now my purpose is to take care of myself - to do things that bring me
 happiness and fulfillment ( FYI- this is not being selfish- it's called self-care) and to help
others (serve God).

****

"My mission in life is not merely to survive,

but to thrive; and to do so with some passion,

some compassion, some humor, and some style"

 Maya Angelou

"I practice the art of talking pretty to myself"

The things I can change

Do you see the frog hiding under the other frog (just his eye is showing)? They

were finding refuge from the heat under the cool papaya tree leaves.

“There is so much about my fate that I cannot control,
but other things do fall under the jurisdiction.
 I can decide how I spend my time,
whom I interact with,
whom I share my  body and life and money and energy with.
I can select what I can read and eat and study.
 I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life...
whether I will see them as curses or opportunities.
 I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which  I speak to others.
And most of all, I can choose my thoughts.” 

Elizabeth Gilbert

******

Inside the flower blossom is the beginning of a papaya. Yummy!!!

“I want God to play in my bloodstream the way

sunlight amuses itself on the water.” 

E. Gilbert

****

"I will create the life I desire"

Growing wings

*****

There are times in every one's life when the losses outweigh the gains, when despair is

so great it is amazing we don't die from pain... During these radical times of desperation

I have learned there is an opportunity.

My most powerful lessons resulted from having faced my own crucifixion - felt it,

witnessed it, and died to the life I had before. I could not have resurrected stronger,

and truer, without such a radical deconstruction.

... Deconstruction means letting go of the struggle...We must allow the stripping of our

past selves, let every layer that isn't truth fall away, and trust that a new life lies past

this curve in the road.

From the book "Growing Wings" by Kirsten Jongen.

****

I've often been asked how I managed to survive the loss of a child. Kirsten's words help

explain the pain and how it changes you... My pain stripped me of the things that were

"false" about my life. The pain didn't just take from me...it gave me gifts too.

******

Naked and on my knees

years of good enough were callously stripped away

an angel took mercy and held my hand

fear not my love

good was merely insulating you from vastly great.

K. Jongen

*****

"I trust my lessons - even the hardest ones"

Saying "yes" to your dreams

 Another page from the book "Attempting Flight" by Kirsten Jongen. She writes about
taking the risk to pursue her dreams, even though the process is uncomfortable.

"Taking flight is like being in labor; with every frantic inhale and exhale, the question
 arises whether or not it's worth it. Should I shrink back into the life I had before...?

I want to live a maximum life, a life of actualized potential. I want to be limitless...
When I'm challenged to fly in a new direction, I will consciously try on yes.
And not look down.

 As I say yes to each new dream, I'm still the gangly teen who doesn't fit in...

I didn't realize I'd feel inept and out of place and even a fool at times... But I can't go back.

 I have seen the possibilities and felt the exhilaration of my first take-off. "

*****

I too,  found a lot of buried insecurities when I started my own business. There was
a voice in me that would say "who do you think you are". I felt unworthy... It was a
quite a journey overcoming some of those fears. But to achieve success, first we
must discover everything that blocks it.

*****

"I am no longer interested in living my life full throttle;

the wear and tear on my nerves is too much....

I have traded full throttle for full rich...

I want to live with purpose instead of panic..."

K. Jongen

******

"I will be all that I was created to be"

I surrender...

TWO of my favorite "bath tub" books are"Attempting Flight" and "Growing
Wings"- both written by author and artist- Kristen Jongen. Here's a sample of
 her book "Attempting Flight". She writes about her first experience taking her

 young daughter (who has an auto-immune disease) to a camp for disabled children.

   "Illness is not a secret-secret here... So, as my daughter had her first experience
away from home, we joined a new world- a world that is safe for her;
a world that understands her; a world where she can meet others going
through the same things.

I have been in the refuge camp, angry with God for making me feel isolated,
picked on and betrayed. I have been Mama Bear at her worst; furious.
 screaming, and enraged at the attack on her innocent cub. As we begin
to embrace this disease...there is solace... After a year of running, cursing, 
and blaming, the peace I have been looking for rest within. It is
a place where our family can look truth straight in the eye and instead
 of being horrified, feel mercy. And in that moment, I lay down our armor
and rest..."

****

I RELATE...many times I've had to lay down my sword, but not until I gave
 it a good fight...kicking, sobbing, bargaining...then when I have spent all my
energy resisting what I don't want to accept...I surrender.

*****

Having flown through my own limitations,  
it is impossible to ever-again live
contently on the ground.

K. Jongen

****

"I surrender my need to control my circumstances"

A path with heart

One of the best feelings in the world is the feeling of gratitude - the feeling that everything
is as it should be - and being thankful for it.

 

Thank you God...

for helping me design a life of ease and grace

for teaching me what's really important

for all the teachers you have placed in my path

for helping me see the world differently
for softening my rough edges

for filling my life with inspiration, hope, and love

for the extra nudges to move forward I have needed at times

for all the rainbows, as well as, the thunderstorms

for taking this journey with me

*****

...to find the air and the water exhilarating;

to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;

to be thrilled by the stars at night:

to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring ...

these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

 John Burroughs

****

"I trust the inner voice that guides me"

The search for happiness

“We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the busy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.”

****

“When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely... Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.”

*****

Quotes by Elizabeth Gilbert from the book "Eat, Love, Pray".

“This is a good sign,

having a broken heart.

It means we have tried

for something.”

E. Gilbert

****

"Happiness comes from within "

A tender heart

If there is a space that exists...
 between your mind and heart...

build a bridge...
heal the gap.

The heart...
is for vulnerability...
self-honesty...

an outlet for your expression of love.

The mind...
is for learning...
expanding awareness...
solving problems.

Build a bridge between the two...
find the balance...
love deeply...
think kindly.

******

My adorable nieces Chloe (above) and Jasmine (below).

I didn't take these photos. I 'm not sure who took Chloe's pic- Jasmine's photo
was taken by her dad (Joe Parisi) who is a gifted photographer.

*****

These are heart-openers! I didn't take these either. They were sent to me in an email.

****

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart"

Confucius

****

"I keep my heart soft and open"

Softening our pain

“Sadness... is not the opposite of happiness. The opposite of happiness is a closed heart.
Happiness is a heart so soft and so expansive that it can hold all of the emotions in a cradle
of openness. A happy heart is one that is larger at all times than any one emotion.
 An open heart feels everything – including anger, grief, and pain – and absorbs it
 into a bigger and wiser experience of reality."

                                    

Elizabeth Lesser

*****

“While pain is real, a good portion of what we feel is
not the pain itself, but our resistance to it. 
The false ego uses pain as a defence mechanism,
and in doing so magnifies our discomfort tenfold. 
In fact, we rarely experience the pure sensation of pain. 
Instead, we layer on top of it fear and
 anger, judgement and anxiety. 
When pain arises, we have choice to make... 
 We can resist the pain, or we can soften our resistances,
experience the raw sensations,
and move through them into an expanded consciousness.”

Elizabeth Lesser

*****

“Learn to master the challenges of life –
harmonize mind and body,
overcome habits and destructive behaviours,
learn to relax...
face life and the world openly and without fear;
 tap into the miracle that is living.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

*****

"My faith lifts me above my fears"

Simple abundance

 

“Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday.
Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you
 hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits."

*****

“Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing
we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time.
  Time to dream, time to contemplate what's working and what's not, so that we
can make changes for the better."

*****

Every day offers us simple gifts when we are willing to search our hearts for the place
that's right for each of us. "


Sarah Breathnach


*****

Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how

to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world

 break your heart. And I will take you to the places

where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead

make my heart whole again and again.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

*****

"I will live life to the fullest"

The good girl syndrome

The “good girl”…

 doesn’t let you know when she’s mad or hurt…

seldom makes requests because it makes her feel selfish for asking…

does everything she can to avoid feelings of being mean, insensitive, selfish…

doesn’t disagree or express criticism directly.

She learned to do this as a child…

as a way to survive…

trying to keep others around her happy…

not wanting to make waves.

She thinks if others are happy…

she will be loved and accepted...

but the “good girl” can’t be truly happy…

 because she is stifling her essence.

Through perservance…

she releases her attachment…

to being “good’…

stepping into new risky territory…

 learning how to be more real.

****

Courage is never to let your actions

be influenced by your fears. ~Arthur Koestler

****

Courage doesn't always roar. 

Sometimes courage is the little voice

at the end of the day that says

I'll try again tomorrow. ~Mary Anne Radmacher

*****

"I release my need to people-please - it's another form of dishonesty - it's unfair to others and myself "