9.24.18 Knit Me Back Together

Nature has a way with restoration

with piecing together the pieces of me

that have begun to pull apart

Stepping into a world of green

the interconnectedness of bough and root

remind me that no part of ourselves 

can be lost from the whole completely 

Silent steps on fallen pine needles

usher me into a place of contemplative quiet

where no burden of daily routines can find me

Why is it that the sound of rushing water 

doesn’t make me hurry?

Why does the blast of racing wind 

set my heart to still?

I think we have become so talented at crowding our senses

senselessly

Filling our minds and our hands with various forms of distraction 

from the beauty that most deserves our attention

Anxious thoughts can’t keep company 

with the tranquil breaths I breathe

My worried mind is finally clarified

when focus is paid to sure feet and steady hands

There is healing in the body seeking higher ground

as if heaven is somehow a tangible opportunity

rather than a far off, distant dream

And what enlightenment there is in realizing this side

can sometimes see holy too

In the promising curl of an infant vine

In the assurance of a rock that still stands so still

In the sacrifice of a fallen, sheltering limb

In the delicate bending of light between darks

Nature has a way with restoration

with piecing together the pieces of me

that had begun to pull apart …

but somehow knit me back together

 

Be well friends,

Elle

9.16.18 Choose You

In his book, Choose Yourself, James Altucher says, “Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back …” in other words … choose you! 

I find this somewhat difficult to do. At times, I feel like unless I am being productive, achieving something (regardless of how menial it may be), or pursuing accomplishment, I am wasting time. More and more I am realizing that both society and I have been lying to myself. Sometimes … more than sometimes, we need to do nothing more than refill our own cups, renew our own spirits, and realize our value comes from being, not doing.

In her infinite four-years-older-than-me-wisdom, my sister bought me a fabulous book for my birthday (and dress and boots to wear while I read it!). More of a journal really, it’s called 3,000 Questions About Me, and I absolutely LOVE it. More often than not my sweet family and friends and anyone who is stuck in my vicinity for more than twenty minutes will hear me chime in, “Hey, let’s play the question game.” This means that from would you rather to what’s your favorite, let’s pretend, to what if … I will pretty much ask you questions until you turn blue in the face from answering them all. (Sometimes I secretly applaud myself for choosing my occupation of teaching so I have an educational excuse to pepper those little angels with as many questions as I want to!) The thing is though, I rarely ask myself to answer the questions I ask, and this book has been giving me permission to do so.

So Friday night, my family went to a fun park, and I chose myself. I did some housework, I grocery shopped, and then I gave myself forty-whole-minutes to answering questions about me. Honestly, I didn’t know the answers to quite a few of them, and in some ways this thrilled me. Choosing you is like giving yourself permission to meet and interview the parts of yourself you’ve not really paid attention to recently – or ever. I don’t know what my most marked characteristic is … I’ve not decided what the next wonder of the world should be … I don’t know my Chinese zodiac sign … I’ve yet to explore what food best describes my personality … but the good news is, if I choose myself a few more Friday nights, I might begin to, and the better I know myself, the better able I am to be authentically known by others.

Choose you – because in doing so, you are allowing more of yourself to be open to the world that longs to know you better.

Elle

9.8.18 Today, I Shall Make-A-Wish

“I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.”                     Simone de Beauvoir

Today I shall make-a-wish. It is my 36th birthday, so I suppose I am owed one officially, but in reality I actually make wishes on a daily basis. I wish on stars. I wish on prayers. I wish on eyelashes. I wish on the clock when it says 11:11. I am a supreme believer in the power of a wish, and even more so because of all the wishes-come-true I’ve experienced in my 36 years.

I am loved.

I am a mommy.

I have the best of best friends and family.

I have readers who care and actually look forward to what I say!

Could I be more blessed? I think not. One of my greatest faults, I think, is that I am a bit too much of a forward thinker … a “what’s next,” eager soul jumping at the chance for tomorrow. But what matters most, I think, is today. Bella Grace Magazine, just published the most beautiful September issue, and I hope you will read and embrace it. I have a piece in there about the beauty of friendship and the importance of relationship NOW.

Ironically, I am also published in Grace Notes, Bella Grace’s affiliate blog with a piece on “Living Our Legacy Now.”

Don’t wait precious friends. Love who you need to love. Make wishes when they present themselves. Make that lunch date today. Be your best self, right now.

My wish today is all of you,

Elle

9.2.18 Take a Breath Vlog

“What would it be like if you lived each day, each breath, as a work of art in progress?” – Thomas Crum

I hope that this weekend you are able to breathe … that you take a moment to lounge in a bookstore, to read the last chapter of a long unfinished book … that you daydream your way into a luxurious nap. Make time for conversation with your extra day. Go for a walk, and take the long way. Sit down with those pets you love and talk to them for awhile. Make a new dinner. Find a new treasure. Just be.