Death pushed me to the edge. Nowhere to back off. And to the shame of my fears, I danced with abandon in his face. I never danced as free. And Death backed off, the way dark backs off a sudden burst of flame. Now there's nothing left, but to keep dancing. It is the way I would have chosen had I been born three times as brave.~Mark Nepo

Thought for the day: Knit and Purl

"These stitches are the fundamentals of knitting and are the basis of every garment. The knit stitch is a series of flat, vertical loops that produces a knitted fabric face and the purl stitch is its reverse. One side is smooth, the other bumpy. Knit is what you show the world; purl is the soft, nubbly underside you keep close to your skin." ~Kate Jacobs, The Friday Night Knitting Club

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Quote for the Day

Whatever you are, whatever you do, be in love. ~ Rumi

Poem of the Day

Mea culpa for being a bad blogger lately. Between hot summer weather, vacations and a new computer, well, you know how the time just seems to slip by. I happened on a Pablo Neruda poem that I had on an old inactive blog. THought you might enjoy it.


DON'T GO FAR OFF, NOT EVEN FOR A DAY
Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don't leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you'll have gone so far
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?

Pablo Neruda

Quote for the Day

"I am so grateful that you have come. I will pour out everything inside me so you may leave this table satisfied and fortified. Blessings on your eyes. Blessings on your children. Blessings on the ground beneath you. My heart is a ladle of sweet water, brimming over." (The Red Tent, Anita Diamant)

I have always had this book on my 'to read' list, knowing the accolades of many women readers. The book has been bought by me, sold by me, and rebought again, but I never did read it until now.

The quote above is one of the lines in the prologue. Sort of similar to the reason for writing a blog, no? Not meaning to minimize the talents of this world-acclaimed author, Diamant's words do seem to be transferable to communicating feelings, desires, experiences, aspirations from literary form to electronic media...just a thought.

Quote for the Day

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle. ~ Deepak Chopra

Quote of the Day

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond. ~ Jelaluddin Rumi

(Photo courtesy of internet)

Quote of the Day

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. ~ Alfred Hitchcock

Quote of the Day

All things change, nothing is extinguished. There is nothing in the whole world which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement. — Ovid

There is always Something you can do ....

Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth. ~ Ayn Rand

Quote for the Day

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth. ~ Quincy Jones

Quote for the Day

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make.
Something you do. Something you are. And, something you give away. ~ Robert Fulghum

Quote for the Day

Shadow and Light


How does
a part of the world
leave the world?
How does wetness
leave water?

Don’t try to put out fire
by throwing on more fire!

Don’t wash a wound
with blood.

No matter how fast you run,
your shadow keeps up.

Sometimes it’s in front!

Only full overhead sun
diminishes your shadow.

But that shadow
has been serving you.

What hurts you,
blesses you.

Darkness
is your candle.

Your boundaries
are your quest.

I could explain this,
but it will break
the glass cover
on your heart,
and there’s no fixing that.

You must have
shadow and light source
both.

Listen,
and lay your head
under the tree of awe.

When from that tree
feathers and wings
sprout on you,
be quieter than a dove.

Don’t even open your mouth
for even a coo. ~ Rumi

Quote for the Day

Never regret something that once made you smile. ~ Amber Deckers, Mental and the Good Sense Guide

quote for Today

And if it happens that you cannot
go on or turn back and you find yourself
where you will be at the end,
tell yourself
in that final flowing of cold through your limbs
that you love what you are.

Mark Strand

Quote for the Day

Each one is a gift, no doubt,
mysteriously placed in your waking hand
or set upon your forehead
moments before you open your eyes. ~ Billy Collins, Days

Quote

What fun is it being cool if you can't wear a sombrero. ~ Calvin and Hobbes

Quote - Re-energizing

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. . . . Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
~Carl Jung

Quote

No matter how careful you are, there's going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn't experience it all. There's that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying attention. Well, get used to that feeling. That's how your whole life will feel some day. This is all practice. None of this matters. We're just warming up. ~ Chuck Palahniuk

What the heck, take the leap! 'You only live once'. As I get older, I agree with this more and more.....Have a super adventurous day!

Quote for the Day

Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. ~ F. Buechner