awakening to ourselves ~

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful flower. Her name was Lily. She did not know what incredible beauty was contained within her. She felt that it was easier to hide her unique beauty. She thought that the very idea of opening was scary. She felt vulnerable and sometimes very alone.

But one day someone said to her: "Whether we open up or not, the beauty is always there within us. We can choose when it feels right to blossom. It is up to us and always happens at exactly the right time." This gave her strength and she found that she could no longer contain her closed stance. Her petals began to open, slowly, and all in good time.

And so it was that, in time, she found herself totally exposed, but not afraid. She was free and she was ready to share her beauty with the world.

it's official - i just turned into my father...

skuldoggery ~

Those of you with dogs in your lives might know this maneuver. To communicate the pressing desire to go for a walk or perhaps to get fed, it can be very worthwhile (and fun at the same time) to steal any item highly valued by the humans. Sophie knows that the dishcloth is one of these items (how i love doing the dishes!). By flagrantly waving the stolen item in front of us, she then allows us to chase her around and around the house...until we catch her.

She has learned over the last five and a half years that this method of communication is incredibly effective.


In fact, it probably works 99.9% of the time.

it's holy work to move past your own fear ~

spoken by Marianne Williamson, excerpted from her book A Return to Love

turkey vulture ~

I was planning on a more uplifting photo today after yesterday's post, but couldn't resist posting this turkey vulture as an addendum.

so many veils and illusions ~

So many veils and illusions separate us from the stark knowledge that we are dying. When we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.

sogyal rinpoche, from glimpse after glimpse - daily reflections on living and dying

mental slavery ~

If I don't know I don't know, I think I know. If I don't know I know I know, I think I don't know.

r.d. laing

on the road to freedom ~

for terry ~

last weeks seagull ~

seagull of the week ~

friendship ~

rocks and the peace that passeth all understanding ~

i loved coming across these rocks because they startled me with their individual beauty and yet they were also very much together. a gentle puzzle in the soft light of the afternoon. everything held perfectly in place. all at once a sacred space.

if dogs run free ~

If dogs run free, then why not we across the swooping plain? My ears hear a symphony of two mules, trains and rain. The best is always yet to come. That's what they explain to me. Just do your thing, you'll be king. If dogs run free.

If dogs run free, why not me across the swamp of time? My mind weaves a symphony and tapestry of rhyme. Oh, winds which rush my tale to thee so it may flow and be. To each his own, it's all unknown. If dogs run free.

If dogs run free, then what must be must be and that is all. True love can make a blade of grass stand up straight and tall in harmony with the cosmic sea. True love needs no company. It can cure the soul, it can make it whole. If dogs run free.

If Dogs Run Free by Bob Dylan

staying calm in the face of it all ~

stories ~

Chimamanda Adichie - Danger of a Single Story

any rules for sous-chefs out there?

this one is clearly overstepping her boundaries and making it difficult for me to do my job...

our light ~

" Each person who follows his or her own light is a light in the web. When what we do grows out of inner conviction that whatever it may be that we choose to do in a moment or in our lifetime is meaningful, there is soul in the choice. Who we are inside needs to find authentic expression in how we live. The love we feel for what we do brings us joy. The belief in the capacity of the human heart to love in spite of the expressions of despair and hatred that we see happening keeps the light glowing. It has to do with keeping faith; to believe that we matter and can make a difference, or even act as if this were so until it becomes an inner conviction. The child and the wiseperson are the lightbearers in the psyche who need to prevail over the fear of appearing naive and/or foolish, which the mind may counsel. Within ourselves and in the world, there are cynical forces that try to snuff out the lights - to make us distrust our intuition, devalue the wellspring of perennial wisdom that the soul otherwise naturally drinks from, and in fear choose power over love."

excerpted from Crossing to Avalon by Jean Shinoda Bolen

it was a crow...

that forced this red-tailed hawk to leave the picture frame!

starlings ~

seals at seal cove ~

one of those days ~

There are days when you would really like to speak to someone who has died. You want to speak to them on this side, not on the other side. You want to speak to them in the here and now over your favorite mugs of tea with the sun shining warm in the room. It seems like such an unaturally long time ago that you have last spoken. You have so much to tell them. It would be so great to hear their voice, listen to what they have to say...

from somewhere else ~

It feels like this rock landed from somewhere else onto this beach. It feels like it might contain some special information on how to be kind and gentle in this world. It felt like that to me anyway.

watching the gannets go ~

I was very lucky yesterday to be able to sit on a wooden structure right on the basalt rocks by the lower Bay of Fundy and watch the gannets fly by (very close) on their way south. Apparently, they go as far as Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

Their flight is exquisite and fast (series of wingbeats and a glide). They are fairly large seabirds with a wingspan of approximately two meters (about six and a half feet, Leila) .

Sometimes they would swoop down ever so close to the water and dip the very tips of their wings just slightly in the waves. Their wingtips are black like they have been dipped in ink.

These gannets were on the move, not fishing, but winging their way down the shore. You could feel their focus.

Gannets are a bright (in the sunlight) white bird, and when they flew towards the sun, they would for moments become invisible, sort of disappearing and reappearing depending upon how they were angled toward the light. The most i saw in one grouping was nine. Nine gorgeous gannets.

seagull of the week ~

smoothness ~

fools rush in ~

I tried acrylic painting for the first time! If you wanted to you could re-work the same painting all day and far into the night. Unlike with watercolours it seems, you can paint over what you have already painted - layer upon layer - in fact, the sky in this painting has already changed to pink and blue. I have no idea if I am doing it "right," in fact I strongly suspect that I am not! One thing I have noticed, is that now whenever I look outside I see everything as a painting, and wonder how I could possibly capture the colours! It comes as a revelation to me that all the colour in the world can be created from red, yellow, and blue (white helps too!).

surf's up!

joy of joys ~

sometimes...

the wind makes you wild - it makes me run down hills with my arms outstretched and through the grass all higgledy-piggledy - I forget to care what is underfoot - the dog gets caught up in it too and twists and twirls and runs in circles. after a while it all calms down and we go back to plain old regular walking.

flexing my tiny manifestation muscles ~

Here is a story of a humble manifestation involving some wooden candlesticks. I thought I would share one of my recent stories with you about manifesting, as I find sharing can be helpful when we are practicing and learning.

The story begins a few weeks ago when I was driving around some backroads of nova scotia. I stopped into a roadside apple orchard with a self-serve shed containing a freezer full of frozen juice. After placing my money in the can provided, I noticed that there was also a small variety of used items for sale. It was here that I saw a pair of wooden candlesticks. A jolt of pure unadulterated excitement entered my heart.

Due to the fact that there was no price on this pair, and that I had already been scrounging around for the correct change for the juice, I decided to let these candlesticks go. However, without being aware of it, I had already kick-started the manifestation process with the jolt of pure excitement and the love that I felt for them. For some reason, the fact that they were made from wood only increased my love.

Shift forward two weeks, give or take a few days, and I find myself rumaging around in a second hand store. By this time the candlesticks are far from my conscious mind, although apparently not far from my unconscious mind. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of a pair of wooden shapes that could be construed as candlesticks. My heart soars and I feel that same excitement again. I push aside some stuff only to reveal a pair of wooden salt and pepper shakers. "Oh well," I think to myself, "I will just have to manifest candlesticks at some other time..."

Little did I know how quickly they would manifest. I continue to slowly make my way along the bins of goods. I wait while a woman combs through an area before I move in. Then suddenly I see them! A pair of wooden candlesticks stand before me. I am full of awe, excitement and gratitude as I take them in my hands. Because of the juxtapostion and order of all the circumstances, it seems and feels like magic, and deep in my being I know that it is.

I believe, that in order for us to manifest, a strong feeling of excitement must be present. For me it is a deep and true feeling without the intervention or involvement of thought - a child-like joy untouched by the analytical mind. It seems like the letting go is important too. In the process of manifesting the candlesticks, I had to let go of them twice. The beauty of it all seems to be that manifestation can't be faked. It is the answering in the physical dimension to the joyful calling of your soul.

I suspect that many, if not all, of you out there have a story like this? Please feel free to share by leaving a comment.

eider ducks in the wind

apparition ~

sitting with yourself ~

seagull of the week ~

when your heart is on fire ~

i am a rock ~

loon medicine ~