Steaming toward the sunrise

The colors of the life we leave behind

will seem pale in contrast

to the life that’s yet to come.

Trust, be brave,

and keep steaming toward the sunrise.

Breathe and smile

However dark the skies,

however disheartening the news may be,

the rose still blooms her playful pink defiance,

proclaiming happiness, and love, and possibility.

Breathe in her cheery scent today, and smile.

The winds of change

Yes, the winds of change are strong:

Don’t be afraid, but use them to propel you

forward into your new life.

The more you own...

The more we own,

the more time and energy

we’ll need to spend maintaining it.

It’s that old conundrum: want vs. need...

Light at the end of the river of tears

For all who mourn a loss today —

whether parent, child, or sibling;

spouse, lover, or friend.

May the river of tears we shed together

carry our loved ones safely through

our mountains of grief

and spill them gently onto a welcoming shore.

Without a white knight...

How shall we proceed

if there’s no white knight

who’ll rush right in and save us?

Say what you're meant to say

You have the power to let your voice be heard.

Use it wisely, and be sure

that what you’re saying is what you’re meant

to have said.

Overflowing with compassion

As water carves its way through rock,

may love for all creation

carve its way into our hearts

and leave us overflowing with compassion.

Waiting patiently...

In patience, we await new opportunities

to explore unfamiliar shores.

One last hurrah

As the day draws to a close

the colors grow more intense:

one last hurrah,

before the darkness falls.

This, too, shall pass

Tie up your sails,

drop anchor, and wait out the storm.

This, too, shall pass...

Glow

Glow with your own unique inner light.

Ignite the world

Open yourself to divine inspiration:

Become the vessel to, through, and from which

revelation, compassion, joy and ingenuity flow.

Together, in concert with that divine source,

we can ignite our own souls and the world.

Drinking in the light

Today would be a perfect day

to just hang out,

drinking in the light...

From the shores of wholeness

You are not as alone as you feel.

There’s always something reaching out to you

from the shores of wholeness,

longing to connect you once again.

Shaped by love

Shaped by love,

designed for the journey before us,

we wait in reflective stillness

for the inspiration to take up the oars

and embark on our next adventure.

Works in progress

Truth is,

we’re all works in progress,

filled with good intentions, but still imperfect.

Be kind to yourself, and to one another,

and do the best you can

with what you’ve managed to achieve so far.

The light at the root of your soul

Try to keep your focus

not on what’s bearing down on you,

but instead on what’s lifting you up:

that inner buoyancy that resists and believes;

the relentless, infinite, unfathomable light

that lives at the root of your soul.

Inspiring resilience

There will be days when death and loss

hit very close to home.

Do not let their proximity

inhibit your capacity to bloom:

By bravely blooming in the face of loss

we honor and remember

that which has gone before

and inspire the world around us to resilience.

Knitting our own prisons

Busily knitting ourselves protection against the unexpected,

We fail to see how successfully we’ve managed 

to box ourselves in...

(Cast glass sculpture: Cocoon, by Carol Milne)

The beauty that is now

Look around you:

Things are always evolving, each minute

different from the next. And yes,

some moments are more beautiful than others.

Stay focused anyway: if you spend your time

remembering the past or imagining the future,

you just might miss the beauty that is now...

Waves of illumination

Like rocks on a thirsty shore,

we hungrily await the waves of illumination...

Infinite oneness

Rest in the moment, rocked by the waves

of the infinite oneness underlying all experience.

You CAN make a difference

As the sea reflects the colors of the sky,

so those around you will reflect

the colors of your moods.

You CAN make a difference.

Hope rises like a flame

Out of the darkness,

Hope rises like a flame:

A prayer ignited and fueled by the light

that lies at the root, at the source of all.

Alone but never lonely

Sometimes it’s good to just sit back and chill out...

Alone doesn’t have to feel lonely.

Not asking for what we need

How often we get the world upside down;

growing angry with others

for things they didn’t do or say

when really the root of the problem

is our own failure to ask for what we need,

preferring instead to righteously assume

that the other person should just know.

For all the times I’ve done that? I’m sorry...

Carved by loving hands

How many times have I walked by this door,

and never really looked at it?

How is it I never noticed how amazingly beautiful it is?

Take a minute today to step out of your head,

out of your preoccupation with what’s ahead,

or what you’ve left behind,

and notice what’s right here, right now,

the beautiful opportunity that is offered you,

carved by loving hands into the present.

The love that lies beneath

Take some time today

to touch into the deeper reality of things.

It may not be pretty.

but in stripping away that rough surface,

you may expose the solid core

of love that lies beneath...

Plans and limitations

The most important lesson my art has taught me is this:

If we determine what we want to achieve

when we start out, then all we’ve done

is to limit where we end up.

All stages of growth are beautiful

Whether you’re budding, blossoming,

or in full bloom, you’re beautiful —

and right where you need to be!