the dream catcher

a question...from a friend

just the other day i received the following --- Rainer Maria Rilke (Letters to a Young Poet)
from a friend. it came at just the right time for me to feel the impact of the message.
my hope is that it might provide your own pause for a book written in a language only you,
over time, can decipher.

here is the writings of the amazing Rilke:

"Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves as if they
were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign
language. Don't search for the answers, which could
not be given to you now, because you would not be able
to live them. And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in
the future, you will gradually, without even noticing
it, live your way into the answer."
--- Rainer Maria Rilke

Sweet Olivia

remembering the stories of fairies we shared...the kind little girls believe in...the kind i told her i believed in...we became fast friends. forever. the physical world is more hollow with out your smile, your breathtaking face, your girlie secrets and childlike giggle, your charm and intelligence beyond years, your understanding of GOD, which always left us speechless.
your beautiful soul- energy vibrates all around me- everyday.
francie-b paws at your presence even still.
oh how i miss you sweet olivia.
with love, such love,
always, my angel...linda

remembering cody dawg

there is something wonderful about the way animals can both give and receive love freely.
i must admit over the course of my life i have become less open, perhaps less generous, and i know i have my doubts about unconditional love.
i have become guarded with my expressions of self, love and what i hope for from life.
i feel somewhat weary of people, wondering what it is that keeps them beside me or sends them running.

but animals show me the best view of openness, play, generosity, and true relaxation.
in particular a few fine dogs have provided me ample illustrations of unconditional love.
they wag their tails when their happy, they sleep when tired, they play when they meet other dogs and delight in the attention and affection we give them.
no wondering, no language, no long explanations. they seem to be able to say exactly what they need in the most direct ways possible.
i hope to learn as much before i die.
in all regards, cody was one fine animal. smart, gentle, playful, loving and relaxed.
she showed patience towards wrilgley's rambutios puppy nature and her never-ending energy.

wrigley had a fine mentor.

it is never easy to say goodbye to a living being. pets are no exception. cody left us in the nite and i hope she finds her little paws in a better place. a friend promises me there is a dawg paradise!
for me, i will keep the memory of her spirit nestled deep in my heart - helping to remind me to stay open, be patient, play often, sleep hard and remember that unconditional love is possible.

wrigley will miss her. the boys; josh, trevor, & bob will miss her. lisa and marty will miss her. i will miss her.
we loved that codydawg.

linda

too long gone for a pause

lately my life has felt very complicated with changes. shifts are making me really stretch my comfort zone.
when life gets to feeling this uncomfortable and stresses me out, i have to learn to refocus my attention onto the smaller details in life- just to help me keep my perspective.
i have decided these days are meant to be just about turning my focus to the details around me.
or to recall the things that my mind captured at moments i remembered taking a long pause of amazement.
these are just a few...

the color of plates embued with the warm glow of the passing of day into evening, making them appear almost jewel like in their saturated palatte.

or perhaps the texture of paint as it has aged. peeling, tearing and turning itself away from the surface it has so long been attached too. creating in it's speration, a new image, a map of the time it has seen.

or the dancing of shadows on the wall that play a little with time and space.

or the feel of a cloud passing overhead that brings you a pause, makes to lean way back and wonder what color will come next.

i wonder what gives other people their pause.
linda

what happened to the month?

such a strange feeling when you lose track of time.

i just looked at the calendar and it finally struck me with a combined sense of angst, urgency, and shock- that we are once again at the end of a month.
just what happened to those 30 days in this new year?
have I gotten all that i wanted to start penned into my date books,
written into journals?
my wistful projects ready to dream into existence on my wish list?

no time to waste…i have to get to it.
stop the ride I’m on for a short pause to reflect on what it is that I want the new year to hold for myself. look at what I hope the days ahead will show themselves to be, long before december 31.
i’m not one of those resolution gals, preferring instead to create a “wish book, a dream list, a things to shoot for tally" of sorts- to project my hopes into.
only in this calendar glance at january 30, 2007...did it occur to me that I might have started that a bit to late.

so the list will begin…to be posted tomorrow.

1. remember to breath

yes, this always seems a good place to start.

linda

happy blissful 2007!

one of my favorite things to do on a weekend is taking long hikes with wrigley in the woods near my house.
this conservation area has loads of winding paths.
offers the occasional glimpse of deer nestled in the deep grasses and swampy bogs.
cardinals and blue jays unobstructed by leaves now in the monochromatic winter setting.
but what i take away from our visits is this...
it appears that i have the perfect companion during those walks, in my ten month old female golden-named wrigley.

i know this, because she finds complete amazement, energy, spontaneity and pleasure in the simple act of walking (running is probably more accurate) in the natural setting.
in fact, i know she finds it just as enjoyable to be there as i do, and probably even more so.
perhaps the only difference is that i don't come home with my belly covered in path mud.

okay, then there's the fact that i don't proudly carry, drop, sniff...and recapture oversized mossy sticks...pertruding from my mouth thoughout the hike.
nor to i return home pocessing the pungent smell, found when wet wooly hair, becomes saturated from a good cold splash in the ponds along the way.
(although, based on her reactions, to anyone of the descriptions i just recreated...i have been temped to join her on a forage or two just for the pure delight she exhibits.)

however, tempting as that sounds...i think i'll resolve to be content to do just the walking and leave the mud to her!

so, besides the mud, sticks and wet fur, what we do share when we return home is the happy, tired and ready for a nap bliss-fix from nature.

wishing everyone the joy found in simple blissful moments and someone to share them, even if it's the dawg!

happy new bliss-fix year.

from wrigley and linda

just a few days left of 2006

the count down has begun in pairs...towards the end of 2006 and the arrival of 2007.

what will we have to say of this year behind us?

i have celebrated and struggled with a good many things in the sixth year of this new millenium, yet my hope will be that i gather strength, wisdom and joy to fill the bags i carry with me into the next approaching year.

i am partial to the symbolism we surround ourselves with during christmas and like the passing of the year from one to the next, am equally melancholy at the taking down of the tree, putting away the tidings of the seasons, packing the old away.
while simultaneously, readying myself for the new arrivals that time, my imagination and God will provide for me in 2007.

so here's to enjoying the reflection upon the old year, the glow of the tree before it comes down and the time we have had, good and bad.

time, is afterall, not such a trivial thing. nor can it stand still for us.
there were lessons for me to learn (many i fear i will repeat).
but what the heck, it can't be all smooth sailing, or i/we'd get bored way too quickly.
storms which freighten and test us, even the dead calms that keep us fixed in one place for contemplation, they all make it interesting for us on the sea of life.
they keep us readying ourselves for the unknown.

i respect that unknown in life - though at times i fight it - like the gail winds crashing into a small boat.
never certain of what exactly is the right manuver to keep the boat upright...when perhaps in fact, i am suppose to be swimming.

so...acknowledge the unknown...yes, it comes dressed as a new year ahead...

embrace it, respect it or fight it, all of them will be required of us at some point.
but, hold onto hope and reach for what you want from this world...becasue time is also too short.

make it count too.
embrace them when you need. float when you must.

readying myself for the arrival of the New Year in all her glory, by the glow of my christmas tree.

happy and woeful days of 2006...farewell.

linda

wintery blue

time for relection…
the solstice is over.
Christmas has come and gone.
yet, the true spirit of the winter season -with all of its call for joy, peace and remembering of family and old fiends - is still present in my heart.

what i’m looking forward too…
another heavy snowfall.
in it’s wake, winter’s snowfall has always provided me with
intense quietness created from winters icy blue coating. The pillows of snowflakes gathering themselves together never fail to amaze…muffling the most congested wrestling of traffic, providing glittering reflections for moonlit skies, offering one the peace to hear your own breath rise and fall as you walk through the woods.

great are the wonders of winter time.
inspiring visions of togetherness in all of its varieties...
reflections of time spent with friends who have past,
room for laughter yet to be shared in the gatherings to come,
the sleeping seeds of spring silently waiting to share their wonders.

yes, time may be reaching it's measured close of 365 days, but winter has still more to share with us.

may the wonders of the season rest with you for the remainder of the year, while the quiet of snowfalls yet to come – allow for the heralding of all that is waiting for you - in the new year ahead.

peace

linda

snowday!

on december 1st, mother nature delivered lots, and lots of snow...over 15" at my house!

it was impossible to get my car out of the snow drifts, so i decided to get myself inside and stay put, get warm, and sip hot coocoa...like you're supppose to on a snow day.

one of the best parts of the day (other than not having to commute unlike some of the insane 3-5 hour reckless travelers) was getting to watch my dog wrigley react in total uncontrollable joy, warm-coated-retriever-bliss, snow romping for the first time in her life!
she was beside herself playing with and in the snow.
it made my entire day. i couldn't stop smiling and laughing at her...with her.

i repeated the same things during each of the 12 times (at least) that i took wrigley outside.
she'd go running into the deepest snowbanks she could find, push her nose deep into the snow and pop her head out, then go running to the next clean fluffy pile she could find...hopping like a rabbit through the deep deep snow, me loping, being dragged behind.
the snow was wet, heavy and easily finding it's way down my boots, up my pant-legs, into my eyes, and layering my entire body. needless to say, i was not as nimble or graceful as wrigleydawg was in "dashing through the snow."
we'd be out about 25-30 minutes and then i'd have to tease her back towards the house...boundry lines gone that distingushed yard, from sidewalk, from driveway, from road...it was a winter landscape that begged for exploring.
but, when my feet couldn't tolerate the snowpacking they were gathering in my boots it was time to head inside.

the day incldued everything one should experience on the first snowfall of the season.
excitement.
big, fluffy flakes that fell for 12 solid hours.
my first december snow angel.
a fire on in the fireplace.
hot cocoa on the stove.
boots and soggy mittens at the front door.
rosy-colored cheeks from the brisk fresh air.
no work.
a good book.
and, your best wet-hair-smelling cozy dawg at your feet...sleeping off her romping, until the next round in about half an hour.

yes, it was a perfect snowday.

wishing you such simple joys of the season.
linda

thankful

this weekend gave me pleanty of time to reflect on the things i am most thankful for:
my faith
my family:
kind, loving, supportive, generous parents,
strong, intelligent, bullheaded, big hearted brothers,
sensitive, kind, also intelligent and affectionate sister-n-laws,
fiesty, smart, talented, athletic and fun (nephews and one niece),
faithful, trustworthy, supportive, honest and caring friends,
for my gentle but furry companion; wrigleydawg,
for the pleasure in noticing the little things that pass before my eyes...
while walking, waiting at the train depot, driving in my car, sitting on the train, looking out the plane window, waiting for my flight to be called...
for my house and the warmth it holds for me and hopefully all that come to visit,
for the kindness of strangers,
for my morning coffee and newspaper and the people who provide them both,
for the rain,
for spring flowers and the scent of all things new just waking-up,
for the wind,
for snow, deep and packable...(but perferrably without the wind-and a day off from work!)
for the sun; especially coming through my bedroom window; on long walks in the woods near my house and always when getting to await a sunrise and sunset,
for the moon; never ceasing to amaze and inspire me,
for rainbows and all the mystery and promise they hold,
for the giggle that only children can elicit,
for toast with melted butter and all the other things toast can provide such yummy accompaniment;
for other great feasting opportunities too numerous to list when you can afford more than toast,
for maps and all the possibility they hold,
for music in all it's forms,
for my memory; that it hold out for many years to come and provide me with the richness in perspective that it has been offering up to me for these many years already...
for my job with all of its hats,
for cultural diversity,
for the soldiers providing for our freedom,
for emotions...tears, laughter, struggle, glee, contentment, restless, joy, thoughtfulness, grief
for touch,
for forgiveness,
for the quiet at the beginning and end of a day,
for love...the bold, the subtle, the gentle, the unquenchable, the bliss of it all kind of love, the new and the old of love,
for the ability to love...and be grateful of it all.
for blessings too many to name...
thank you
god bless you and yours
linda