Tuesday, April 7, 2015

HOW TO SAY "Yes!" TO LIFE



Pay attention. Watch for bluebirds                                         
and trains. Distant train whistles are soulful
echoes; speeding cars delight little
boys. Blue wings beat out the rhythm and
colors of hope. Notice the plump song
sparrow - a little body pumping out
music. Trains and birds are accordions, holding
our collective breaths before transforming
us into dance tunes.    

 
Show up. Count the eyelashes on a
sleeping child. Catch the smile of your
suckling babe, when the tiny mouth
opens wide, spilling milk from cherub
lips that dribble down your breast all
sticky, gross and indescribably
precious. Be pen and paper for the
last requests of one you love.




Smooth your hands over your body.
photo by Stephanie Landis
Let hands say with fondness  -my body has
many parts. Marvel over the lines and detail,
having a toddler's no shame. Then, being
gassy is only "peeping."  And, maybe even
marvelous like horses exploding 
into a gallop.


                                                                   



Play with your shadows. Invite your inner 
multitudes to dinner. Notice how love, 
ymiu.com clip art
like sunlight and your own position, 
lengthens or shortens your characters.
Use your best china on colorful linen
cloth. Introduce yourself to yourself; get
to know humanity this way, through honesty,
acceptance, compassion.  

 

Be gentle. Always and above all, be
tender, easy, forgiving your processes, your
angst, your temper, your struggle to love. As you 
do with you, so shall you offer to others.
 Throw 
away your measuring stick; fling your soul wide 
awake. Embrace what is, stomp and kick your way 
to acceptance. Or sigh.

When stuck in the mud trumpet loudly.
Ask for help from the herd. Do your 
hard inner work. And then watch Tim
Conway's Elephant Story outtakes. Laugh,
cry. Wear your heart on your sleeve right
beside the washable dragon tattoo. Set your
Facebook account to pirate lingo.



Listen with your heart to the song of the
moon. It will drop your jaw, like Richard 
Strauss music.  So will the gak gak! of a 
crow harassing an eagle in mid-flight. Lie
on the beach under the splash of milky way,
listening to the night sky. Hear the sound
a soul makes when awed.





Stay with what's uncomfortable. Put 
up a bluebird feeder and nest box for
your dying wife, knowing every time a
bluebird feeds, builds, your heart will rip
apart with loss and love. Allow your farm 
dogs to hunt groundhogs. Gentle souls 
can know reality; predators can lay across 
your lap, cozy. If you turn away, hurl up 
your pancakes after the first kill, embrace 
the paradox. Somehow, it all belongs.   




Say goodbye. No matter how hard or 
full of weeps. Build monuments, cairns of
stone or shell. Gather wood. Stand around
the funeral pyre, the birthing table too, and 
give honor, thanks, dignity. Record your steps. Plant trees, light the fire, look deeply into eyes of loss and place, of memories, of hellos and dreams. Then, when it's time to move on, say goodbye firmly.  

Open your heart.  Let that movie in, fully. Lay 
down your armor; bring tissues, let stories stir 
you to action or sleeplessness. Especially, when 
the little one trips into your room rem-stage 
sleep, and throws up undigested pieces of the day 
on your good quilt.  Hold the sobbing girl, depressed, 
anxious, let her heart open yours. Lie on the 
green grass and stare at the s
ky, until your heart is wide and expansive. 




Cultivate wisdom. Roll over and play dead
when needed. Say no frequently, so your 
yes can be wholehearted; aren’t those fully alive
attractive? And, every time you take off your
shoes, or fall asleep, or sigh into a yoga pose,
practice dying. Slip off whatever is too tight,
and breathe, knowing in your soul – 
after the pinch - freedom!

Honoring the life of the newest angel in our family- Elaine, much loved and newly released from this earth. 





8 comments:

  1. Sharon, is this all original with you?? It is just beautiful. It deserves to be on a poster. I will share it a few places, if that's ok! (Linking to your blog for the share.) Just stunning.

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  2. Yes, I wrote this. Thank you so much, Melodie, for your comment and kind words. You may share; I'd be honored!

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  3. Ohhhh, this is.....Beautiful, Sharon!! I especially loved the "roll over and play dead when needed!" The photos draw me in. I have resonance with many of your images! Reading this makes me want to choose life in its fullest today....AND to practice dying, too.
    (I've shared it too!)

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  4. I love this! Delightful! Keep writing. We need the wisdom in your voice. All God's blessings of joy and peace be yours today.

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  5. Thank you for commenting, Mountain Serenity! God's joy and peace to you as well.

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  6. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!! I, too, would like to share this! I loved the "lie on the green grass and stare at the sky until your heart is wide and expansive." YES!!!

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  7. Thank you Annette! Glad you liked the sky part- the sky almost always fills me with wonder and makes my heart spacious.

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