Meri's Musings

What gave me joy this week? Little people to help with the Christmas tree. Curious cats. Taking pictures of Oliver. Meeting friends for appetizers at a new-to-me watering hole. What’s your joy source? 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Then click the NEXT box (or the time) to choose an image  from the post to insert in Mr. Linky's list  so people get a sneak peek.  (And if you just can't get it to work,  email me and I'll try to link it for you.) 4. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's start an epidemic of JOY!

Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go. -     Truman Capote

From my poetry chapbook Calypso Red Lesson Learned Once my name was Made-Herself-Invisible. I conjured my disappearance not through incantations or potions concocted from essence of larkspur and eye of newt but by hiding my light in a man's shadow. Now my name is Never Again.

fall morning sun casts her spotlight on you time for your swan dive  This week's Haiku My Heart offerings can be found at Rebecca's place.

This Share the Joy Thursday is a day of  plenty, family and friends, and taking the time to reflect  on gratitude. Among the many blessings in my rich, passionate life, I am grateful for our local non-profit indie theater that shows the best of independent film and for the volunteers that staff the concession stand where all members can get their free small bag of Orville Redenbacher popcorn with or without real butter. I'm grateful for locally-owned bakeries that offer tasty treats and heavenly smells and bicycles parked outside. I’m grateful for the color blast that autumn brings even if we have to withstand the Pacific Northwest November monsoons. I'm grateful that I chose to participate in  Deepak Chopra's 21 Day Meditation Challenge. What gives you JOY? What in your life are you celebrating with gratitude? 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. c

“We go on. Because it is the hard thing to do.  And we owe ourselves the difficulty.”        -  Nikki Giovanni Do you ever wonder why so many good people have such difficult lives? So much pain and sorrow? I found some insight in Harold Kushner’s book When Bad Things Happen to Good People , that helped alleviate my urge to blame God when shit happens. Maybe there’s a tempering effect when we’re thrust into the crucible and manage to withstand the searing pain that accompanies our time of trial, emerging somehow changed, transformed into better, wiser versions of ourselves. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said that the most beautiful people are the ones who’ve known defeat, struggle and loss and learned to find their way out of the depths. It is surviving the challenge – slaying the dragon – that imbues them with a gentleness and inside-out compassion. Beautiful people, says Kubler-Ross

All too often, I gauged who I was in relation to others. Daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend. Those, however, are roles. . . not who I am. Who am I? Soul healer, dream weaver, joy activator Seer, sage and storyteller Cultivator of peace Mystic beloved a well of stillness beautiful soul I am

It’s raining tears this morning. "Il pleut les larmes" created by MeriMagic  (that's me!) on Polyvore Soft, wind-blown tears are falling. I can see Douglas firs swaying from the window in my workspace. It’s a good day to be inside, listening to my faves iTunes playlist, playing at Polyvore and knowing that I should venture out for a shower present (how appropriate) and then do some real writing..  Wonder what I'll really do. p.s. I saw Lincoln yesterday - no, I'm not communing with the presidential dead - it's fabulous. Go see it!

                   pale skin of winter thick crust of snow blankets earth inside, white orchid Haiku My Heart

  I was so busy writing today that I completely forgot to tackle Share the Joy. Do I need to say that writing is a source of joy? So is meditating    and listening to that voice whispering within that tells me what I need to know. What gives you joy? 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Then click the NEXT box (or the time) to choose an image  from the post to insert in Mr. Linky's list  so people get a sneak peek.  (And if you just can't get it to work,  email me and I'll try to link it for you.) 4. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's start an epidemic of JOY!

This is one of my favorite quotes from Anne Lamott's memoir Traveling Mercies .  Who hasn't been in this place? The death of someone you love, the demise of a significant relationship, the loss of something by which you defined yourself. Any of these can transport you to a dire place. The hard thing to remember is that, while we can’t control the things that happen to us, we can choose how to respond. Suffering is optional, not inevitable. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to get the truth of this. Glad I finally did.  Even if I have to occasionally pull my finger out of the socket.

I am left-handed, at least in some respects. Forks and spoons are operated by my left hand. So are writing implements. But in other activities, I use my right hand. Knitting, golf, tennis, batting, cutting, Throwing and catching (how inconvenient). I was once in a conference room for a meeting of lawyers and of the 12 people in the room, 9 were left-handed. I wonder if there are any statistics about left-handedness and certain professions? Sounds like a Google search to me.

Most nights, the lights go out about 11 and I wake up when the early morning light starts peeking through cracks at the edges of shade-covered windows. Last Thursday night was an exception. Because by 11:05 on Thursday night, I was at the hospital. Waiting for this little person to be placed in his mommy's arms. Watching my first son welcome his second son and then take a well-deserved nap as Oliver and his mommy (my beautiful daughter-in-law) got better acquainted. Postcards from Paradise

"Blood 21" created by MeriMagic on Polyvore

I’ve been looking through a lens again after taking a break for no particular reason spending lots of time writing and other things I love to do. Listening to the new Vicci Martinez album and perfecting my Itunes favorites playlist. In other words, I’m a happy woman. Too bad my eyelashes aren't this glamorous. What gives you joy? 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Then click the NEXT box (or the time) to choose an image  from the post to insert in Mr. Linky's list  so people get a sneak peek.  (And if you just can't get it to work,  email me and I'll try to link it for you.) 4. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's start an epidemic of JOY!

a quote from His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

"Don't forget—no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.”                    — Charles de Lint When you’re drawn, as I am, to writing narratives based on life and all of its glorious and gritty details, sometimes you find yourself questioning whether your story matters, why anyone would care, if you have the right to write it down and put the narrative out into the world. At least I do. It’s odd, when I think of it, because I never question whether it’s appropriate to bring my visual images into being, no matter how silly or surreal they might be. Viewers of my pieces often see symbolism that I didn’t consciously include, think they know something about me from the symbolism they think they see. Somehow, that doesn’t seem as revealing as putting your truth down in words  where people can examine them, one by one,  and measure your imputed worth. DeLint's q