A favourite poem

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


© Robert Frost. All rights reserved


I have loved this poem since I was a child. I don't know why but every now and then it just pops into my mind and off I go to find it and read it again. It just brings me to a place of peace and stillness and I simply love it.

Figures in the waves

Watching the sunlight
dance on the waves
My mind slowed, almost to a halt.


I watched, astonished
by the sight
of a thousand dancing bodies there.


I thought I dreamt
and closed my eyes
But opening, saw them still.

A thousand, no - more
ten thousand perhaps,
bodies rising up from the sea.


I felt no fear
They were holy somehow
A wave of spiritual love.


I knew they came
to tell me something
So I sat and watched them play.


The message came
I hear it still
It rests within my heart.

Faces

"Sun Child" (Number 1) by Michael Shapcott

I am feeling so much better these past couple of days, thank goodness. I am nearly there in terms of having a bit of energy but not yet quite enough to start painting again yet. How I would love to have even just a corner in my home which I was able to leave set up permanently so I could just stop by and draw or paint for half an hour, or even less. No...it involves digging everything out of cupboards and drawers, setting it up on the living room table, and then, when finished, tidying it all up and putting it all away out of sight again. Imagine having your own little studio, how wonderful that would be!

Anyway, the whole palava of doing all of the above is just too much at the moment but in the meantime I enjoy myself by finding beautiful pictures that touch me deeply....and today I have pasted one of those here. I have, amongst many other boards, a Pinterest board called "Faces 3 - Faces that touch my soul" and this is on there. What a beautiful face and I am so moved by the way the artist has made use of colour and imagery. What do you think? I thought I would look into these lovely eyes and try and read his (I think) face and see what imagery comes to my mind. I will have a go .... and add it here later.

A shift in understanding....

Three of my closest friends came to see me today and their kindness and understanding of the mess I have been in lately has helped me so much. I realised today that once more in my life my emotions have played havoc with my ability to think straight and to see the clear path. They know who they are but if any of you should read this, thank you with all my heart.

Today my own personal understanding of me shifted again. Quite a big shift really as I saw myself as a bit foolish and someone who I do not want to be. Earlier in my life I was so strong and courageous and yet lately, the last year or so, I have withdrawn more and more into my shell, almost allowing the world to grind me down. That isn't me. Now...it may take a few days more but I have decided...I am coming back to who I really am.

What a life........ :-)

Feeling a bit better....

Just popping by to say hello. I am beginning to feel a bit better so hopefully will be around again soon.

I started incorporating this chant daily into my life a couple of months ago after my friend Veronique suggested it to our group on Freeing Your Wings. I let is slip a bit during December when I was struggling with a bit of depression again but part of my new year plan is to get back to it. I use this clip from Youtube to help myself focus and for me at the moment, it is the right length of time and leads me into a quiet meditation at the end. I am combining this with my daily meditation from Mark Nepo's book, "The Book of Awakenings" which I hope will help me start my days in a much more uplifted and calmer way.

The other thing I am doing is walking every day...for pleasure...so shopping and errands will not count (I have let myself do that in the past). I have managed it so far even in this wind and rain. With the seafront at the bottom of my road, I really should be able to commit to this properly so I intend to give it my best shot. I was shocked earlier today at how easily I had gone "downhill" in my mood after yesterday which shook me into walking this afternoon and, as I should have learned by now, it helped.

I hope you have some intentions set for the new year that will bring you peace and tranquility too. Please do let me know if you have by adding a comment here.

Love Lynda xx

Time for some positive thinking....

.....because creativity keeps me positive! :-)

Emotions....why do they get the better of us?

Goodness, apart from my wonderful walk by the sea yesterday I felt pretty low. Taking down the Christmas tree was not a good start to the day, it always makes me sad but the whole day felt really hard. I was irritable too which is not like me. I am one of those people who get sad, upset, anxious and depressed but not often cross. Still I felt it yesterday and did not really know why. I don't like feeling like that. That has been replaced today by feeling pretty low and anxious...a more normal state of mind for me. I wish I didn't. Still I found this picture which reminded me that even when we feel sad there is beauty all around us that we just need to remember. I rather liked this idea of being covered with beautiful flowers even when your insides feel bad. I am going to try and imagine myself covered in flowers just like this today and hope that gradually the sad feelings are overcome by the beauty and tranquility of the flowers.