Sacred Gifts

Where thou art - that - is home" . . so said Emily Dickinson.  " Wherever I lay my hat, thats my home " sang Marvin Gaye.  "Home is where the heart is" - a well known idiom! There's probably a hundred or so examples of prose, poem or other with a reference to home.  Today, the sun warmed our walls for a minuscule while. Its still very very cold, still cloudy but today we had a blink of sunshine. As we did all things around me, in our home, seemed to come to life. Animated & alive, pulsing with vibrancy & contentment. It suddenly struck me, I've lived here for 21 years. Perhaps for the first time, very real first time, I acknowledged this place here upon the hill as MY Home!! For the last 21 years :) I've called my parents house - Home.  Soon I will have lived South longer than I lived uptd North. It was an interesting feeling . . . one of great satisfaction & paradoxically one of great bewilderment. Twenty one years seems such a long L O N G time yet now looking back it has flown by, so many months gone, so many days totally disappeared with only memories remaining. Life never seems to work out the way you plan it as a teen, life never works out as you plan it any age :) But, age & maturity have graced their presence within my thoughts today.  Sometimes, I can create an illusion, thinking I have done so much with my life, achieved so many things & am most happy with my lot (which I am but,, thats the thing there's a but :). Other times, when age & maturity knock at my senses I realise I have still so much yet to do, so much yet to become.  Simultaneously I'm sure I have nomadic blood flowing through my veins, a Soul of a gypsy, a wanderer's heart & explorers appetite for curiosity, a travellers thirst for knowledge. Yet today, in the sunny minuscule moment my family & home became a welcomed part of my travels . . my heart wandered around the nooks & cranny's, browsed the Spring awakening in the garden, watching in awe the chickens, cats & pup all enjoying the first rays of Spring. A travellers retreat, a haven of pleasures, comforts & peacefulness to aid relaxation & bliss. We had family round for a traditional Roast Dinner, whilst preparing the Roast I also baked a Victoria sandwich cake style gateaux for dessert. Without meaning to, I realised we usually miss this time of year & all its cyclic unfurling. Usually at this time of year we're in Bulgaria  ( skiing ).  witnessing their March Spring affair. Which then got me thinking, is it the 2nd or is it the 1st of March, well anyway its called Ladies Day, a day full of celebrations, true gratitude &  celebration of Women &  Mothers. The men give their women folk a snowdrop, I think traditionally its a snowdrop as I was given one last year from a female friend :) (they're much bigger than our indigenous ones) but can't be sure. They also have a bank holiday & celebrate all weekend.  Maybe my energy just recognises, regardless of where I am, that as Spring approaches, there's much to celebrate. Maybe there's something quite inherent which awakens such appreciation.
Looking out of the window I admired all buds, bloom & colours. I noticed all our neighbours snowdrops are in full bloom ..  he has loads.. many many more bunches then my sporadic wild ones. Seeing my 'Yellow Hedge' :) is starting to bud & blossom.  All looked so beautiful, I then made a wish, for all of the WOMEN IN THE WORLD  . . "A very happy Ladies, Mother, Woman's day" :)  "May they all feel love & be love." We Ladies have such great hearts, such wonderful compassion.  So much to complement society. We should celebrate our uniqueness & differences - together. We're very different to men & so we should be. We all have so much to bring to the world, so much to celebrate & so much to give. Women have so much to bring to society, villages, community & the home. Just as men do, but its different. Women are naturally designed to nurture & nourish, cherish & censure. Create loving homes, a vibrant heart amongst neighbours. The world needs nurturers, carers, lovers & the endless creativity & multi tasking, the ingenuity of intelligence, instinct & intuition of Women.   Sisterhood, at one time, girls looked out for girls, supported each other & shared the many roles, chores & duties. We had the Grandmother Elder, the Wise Woman, the Medicine Woman. .  all respected & cherished. Yet, today's ladies . . well it appears the importance of our femininity, our feminine qualities all seem to be a bit confusing for many at the moment. Roles of both sexes have changed so much.  There seems to be some  demand, or competition with the males for equality, or even for some women, competitiveness with other females!  I'm all for equality but not in things we're not naturally equal in .. like gender!  I'm not one clued up on the History of the female gender but at what point I wonder did we lose the respect for our Mothers, for our fellow Sisters, for each other . . perhaps thats a wee bit unfair but things do seem very different, lives & attitudes. Expectations of Women in our society have changed & not all perhaps for the better. Anyway . .
It was soo gorgeous I thought I'd go outside, enjoy the few rays of sunshine upon my skin.  As I sat in the garden, just contemplating all things, celebrating the essence of Women's day, rejoicing the Spring affair , fully initiated within me I smiled & took a deep breath. Realising, in that moment, the blessings of life. Becoming aware of all around me . . I was home, home in peace & loving my home, loving all who share my wee world at this moment in time.  It made me aware how important such feeling are. To share such love of life, home & family. We should all be overwhelmed by such quiet peaceful yet fulfilling loving moments :)   Soon, the moment will be different,  work will command my attention, family will have things they need doing, the house will need decorating, the cats will need cleaning, the chickens will need worming, the dog will need walking, the garden will need tending . . but for the moment captured in stillness, a lifetime of contentment is created. From feelings to creation, here is the moments of a moment in my life - to share within a moment of yours.

The Girlies

Little Cat . . LC . . sounds like Elsie ;)

Bulgaria

Mother Cat . . MC . . 

Our Snowdrops

Puppy Dog .. 

Our Sunshine Yellow Hedge 

Always the first smile of Spring

along side the daffs

the girlies were interested in the buds too 

Puppy Dog relaxing

Hydrangea newness &  ooh must dead head the old ones!!!

Mmmmm Victoria Sponge Cake with 3 jams & fresh cream

Spring is almost here :)

As many moments fill an hour, a day, a month . . a year! During your lifetime .. May you celebrate your Love, being loved & being love. Celebrate the many gifts you are being a Woman, may you bring much love, kindness, compassion, caring, nurturing & teachings to all who share your wonderful qualities. Celebrate & belong, share all you are & make a difference in the lives of those who need such Maternal Love. Creating such peace & happiness. There is an old saying, it takes a village to raise a child!!  Love has the power to heal many a broken heart, soothe a worried mind, restore a weary body & an abandoned Soul. .  to believe & belong  . .   share the Love & kindness we were born to shower upon all. . :)   Happy Ladies Day.
There is no room within the beauty of humility for the wickedness of the ego, there is no place for the ego in a womans heart. Love all with all of your Love. :) May the Spring affair remind you of all the  great love in your world.

Hesitation

Tonight its the 'Dark of the Moon' a time when the ancient mystics believed there was but a fine veil between worlds of consciousness & subconscious , empathy & telepathy, a veil between worlds of magic, mystical revelations & visions. Which got me thinking,  soon, before too long we will be celebrating when the length of day & night are in equal balance, the magic of Springtime & the Spring  Equinox, the sowing of seeds in certain hope of many things yet to grow, bloom & blossom.  Natures consciousness seems to host splendid vision, relentless trust & unwavering certainty of continuity, of rebirth and change, transition & transformation .. all & more without the slightest hesitation. Energy - the management of power - I guess just like Nature we have unknown resources of power to hand, to utilise & nurture when required. Necessity providing what is often necessary. Yet unlike the consciousness of Nature, we fear our power, we even fear fear itself.  Tethered emotional resources chained to restraints, restrictions, reasons & consequences. Perhaps without hesitation we should unleash our power of creativity, to bloom & blossom as Natures intended, conquer the workings & mechanics of the mind, release the unlimited source of unconditional Love to fuel our every waking moment in the essence of creation. To belong as part of the Earth, an integral part of the Universe . . to manage our power . . to live creatively, authenticity being the trust guide, the inner voice which spoke long before our mouths spoke a single word. Knowledge & wisdom borne from natural adaption & survival, evolution & creation.  Ingenuity a rampant quality before the conditions of the family were engraved, etched within our minds. To believe yet never to belong.  Yet to belong, you have to believe ..  but not only in the 'family' but in thine self, know thy Soul, honour its guidance & serve our uniqueness & simultaneously our place, role & purpose as a member of a much bigger family. A valuable place within our communities - society as a whole. Each of us to bring the gifts of our uniqueness  for us all to share.  Yet how many of our own  hesitations are actually borne from another's conditionings & expectations, influenced by another's understanding.  When we deny our truth, the authenticity, we are denying the very trust in truth that we all need , truth only to be found in our specific differences.

March is a month of change, the winds & equinox, the seeds & sowing, the re birth & renewal, buds bursting from containment. Something tell me we're all going to have to be creative, all going to have to rely upon each other whilst honing our own skills . A time when we need to remember we are going through many transformations during transitional times, now more than ever before we have so much change, so many challenges to rise to on a worldly stage & scale. Now, more than ever before, we need Love, we need neighbours, family & friends . . villages & communities . . together as one to solve the humanitarian crises , the fluctuating instability & uncertainty.  Never before have we known such mass movement of lives, crossing continents & cultures. Never before have we needed to share such tolerance & respect towards our differences. Together we can bring optimism, give each other hope, share a Universal vision, to instil trust & a sense of belonging regardless of all changes, knowing Life is meant to be cyclic, meant to be a hotchpotch of all things  . . a mixture of lessons to learn from, a life when we understand the many essential experiences, A life when we have little or no fear of fear itself, or fear & confusion over sadness, or loss or change.

We need all sorts & all things to become whole,  without hesitation we need to thrive & adapt. Realising that emotional pain or physical suffering isn't something to be frowned upon, this blame another for our own accidents & mistakes or ill health, we seem to have given birth to a culture of 'suing' when things don't go the way we 'expect' them to, when things don't go our way.  Ultimately such deep changes of attitude & personality traits are having a profound effect on our ability to maintain & regulate homeostasis, harmony & happiness. If always we think being sad or losing out on something is wrong, never will we find the true value & essence of all we have within. The courage & trust it takes for a seed to grow into an Oak tree, for a caterpillar to believe in metamorphosis :)   Taking responsibility for our own feelings, owning them  & learning from them would be a wondrous gift of Spring... as opposed to the suing mentality, the blaming others for our own shortcomings. Heres to rebirth, here's to renewal, rejuvenation & repair however it may occur. To sunsets & sunrises .. after the longest, coldest darkest Winter .. Natures knows soon it will be Spring . . warmth & light, fruits & harvests. Guess its all about balance, to accept chaos creates  . . its about never fearing hardship & change .. my motto for Spring fear only staying the same as we could miss out on a whole explosion of life bursting from containment :) Roll on lighter, longer, brighter & much MUCH warmer days!!! :)

Is it really February

Firstly, its 2011 right?.  Okay this really does need just a quick mention then dismissed to the bowels of the ludicrous.  The nifty note is not because the item is worthy of considering but the values of why its been created & why it would be purchased are most worthy of contemplation . Love itself doesn't seem to swathe any of the retailers or purchasers values or needs!! Uuurgh , without further ado.. without any taste or dignity whats so ever sensed even when reading the article !!! (read in a daily newspaper . . news .. NEWS .. oh dear!!!)  They present the latest trend/offerings for couples,  . . forget honest communication, forget basic encouragement of honour, respect or trust . . for sale . . today in 2011. . (sadly it isn't April 1st)  . . a Chastity Garter ..  (ASBO tags & Chastity tags  :D )   For Sale, at a hefty price to mankind :)  for those with a suspicious mind ..  (oooh the romance of it all!!)  Two designs Chastity Lace & Chastity Silk.  Complete with a hidden microchip, automatic text messages sent to alert the husband or boyfriend, detection of temperature rise .. . .  I won't go on!!

Here am I, thinking yet still there's so much room for further growth in the understanding of 'Unconditional Love'  between couples,  thinking just how liberating responsibility & ownership of ones own feelings really is, to love another so much you want them to soar high & far within the many multiple dimensions & realms of their own dreams even if they differ from ones own. How  wonderful for all to know how to love so nourishingly, with such deep respect & regard for each other's own uniqueness & purpose without ever feeling insecure or that the relationship could be threatened by such individuality.  Then, I read an article like this,  my thoughts & hopes for the evolving, entwining power of unconditional Love, to be an awakening essence within this generation of lovers crumbles into delusional nothingness . . not even an ounce of the vaguest comprehension of such unconditional love between the givers & receivers of such 'luxury' There's even a website, even a detailed description of how & why the belts were made in the first place. Really too much tasteless details.  Yet, you too can  . . blah. Ooh dear this really is unlike me but really . . Chastity Belts.  The underlying emotions seem far from loving, seeming to be much more about control, fear, unsavoury demands & absolutely no trust whatsoever in their partner, in Life, its process & of Love in all its many splendours.

A modern luxurious Valentines Gift, product of the wild & free loving 2011 . . for those who love nothing but control  . .  contemporary gift influenced by the middle ages!!! Its April 1st right?? April Fools day??