“When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.”
–Unknown
My Uncle would have been sixty-seven today. As we move towards the holidays, I find myself really missing certain individuals. People who made life easier to live, to enjoy, etc. He’s one of those people. Te amo.
“No one forgets that they were once captive, even if they are now free.” ―Yaa Gyasi
“Because even in trying, even when it seems like absolutely nothing is happening, it’s happening.
Close your eyes & feel the slow edging of truth, of change, of who you really are.
Feel it all wash over you.
The old scabs & demons, feel them, too.
Sit still…
As so much flies and swirls all around you.
Let the past be gutted out of your bones; let it crumple, and be but a whisper of a distant, echoing memory.
So that only truth,
Only here,
Only now,
May fill & crash like the infinite ocean of beauty that is waking up inside you.
Let it spill into every crack and crevice and reservoir of your existence.
That’s how big you really are.
That’s how beautiful.
Feel comfort.
For change, it’s not always pretty, like they say it will be.
Let it be messy. Wild, too.
And know it’s okay—
Even as white hot tears and fear and sweat and pain and confusion comes to the surface to make itself known.
Even when it seems too hard.
Because you are doing it.
You’re changing.
Sometimes, it may not seem like much, but it’s everything.
Bend and sway with these wild currents of energy, of emotion, of release, that run up & down your spine like uncoiling snakes–and trust it.
You’re changing.
The old fear that kept you so small, it snaps and rips and peels, leaving your skin and heart raw enough for your soul to peak through.
The breeze, a hug, a breath—never felt so magnificent.
Because as you change, you won’t ever feel less.
You will only feel more.
The strong softness embedded in the fierce humanness you are.
Cherish it.
Cry.
Howl.
Touch.
Dance.
Surrender to softness.
Feel everything.
Come home to yourself.
It’s time.
For change is the invitation to embody ourselves in an entirely new way.
Don’t care about external pressure, about circumstances, about how it will look, or what people will think.
This time, you have to do it for you.
Be that bold.
Be that hungry to radiate from your soul.
Be that unrelenting in your thirst to be truth.
To be the love and stars and pain and hope, and all that you are.
You’re changing.
Trust it.
And this time,
It’s different than ever before.
Do it.
Just.
For.
You.”
–Sarah L. Harvey
“By being beautiful and kind you are doing your part to create a more beautiful world. When you are kind to people in public you become a force for good, and you are teaching everyone who is watching you. People know love when they feel it; your heart speaks to their heart. People don’t care what you say, only how you make them feel, so try to create pleasure for every person you encounter. If you do this, your life will change forever, along with the lives of those you have touched. We are both thinking and feeling creatures. We must, therefore, devote our lives not only to rationality, but also to kindness. There is no greater intelligence than kindness and empathy. Kindness is the supreme intelligence. Let your brilliance be expressed through kindness. If you can be kind to people, you will be a genius in this world.”
—Bryant McGill
“Flowers spring to blossom where she walks.
The careful ways of duty;
Our hard, stiff lines of life with her,
Are flowing curves of beauty.”
– John Greenleaf Whittier
“By being beautiful and kind you are given favored status and opportunity in life. Love can take you from any depth, and place you on the highest mountain. Choosing beauty and love does not mean being uninformed or weak; it means you clearly see the ugliness, but choose love anyway. Beauty is so simple, and it is all around you if you look. Beauty is reaching for you if you will hold out your hand in good faith. A blessed life will not come and force you to receive its blessings; receivership is a handshake requiring your earnest reach. Spirituality is very much about putting yourself in proper order. Strive to become a beautiful person. Live with kindness, integrity, and care. Comport yourself with grace under pressure. Don’t hurt people. Be an asset in the lives of others. Put people before things and live from your heart. Be intelligent but know it is better to be kind than smart. Be a peacemaker who values peace and takes peace everywhere you go. Learn to understand your energy and how you create with your energy. Have among your priorities the characteristics of politeness, compassion, and patience. Avoid making rash assumptions. Be a believer in true love. Have faith in people. Seek deep communication with others and with yourself. Laugh and make the best of every situation and understand that life is not perfect.” —Bryant McGill
I may have shared the quote below last year around this time, or not. If it’s repetitive, it’s not intentional.
My mind has been focused a lot these days on home and my deceased loved ones.
Some people leave their hometowns and eventually feel no ties to wherever it is they’re from. I’m not one of them.
Home is deeply engrained in my soul. Going back is painful. And yet, the streets know my name and my blood feels calmer there. It’s more than a place, more than memories, and more than one particular moment. It simply IS.
When asked where I’m from, it’s an automatic reply. In Massachusetts, they ask because I, “talk funny”. It rarely occurs to them that I simply don’t have a Boston accent. Having filmed periodically over the last few months, I have noticed that, on film, I don’t sound the way I do in my daily life. I have, however, noticed that my accent (Which is one of many. Polyglots can often find themselves “stuck” in an accent if they’ve been thinking in a language and actively using it. I regularly take on an accent if I’ve talked to someone who isn’t American and speaks a language I know, or am extremely familiar with. In regular conversation with a friend, he jokingly noticed my “perfect London accent.” As I type this, I can hear his voice and in turn, my brain switches into the accent he mentioned. I’ve been doing it a lot lately without realizing it. 🤷 He refers to it as “Star Bird Lisa”. That’s a compliment.) is this overly perfected, “middle of nowhere” American English. I NEVER noticed the gradual change until my best friend pointed it out. But when I’m exhausted beyond words, I hear my accent completely change. Inevitably, each one will end up on film. Hopefully I’ll amuse someone besides myself.
Where was I going with this? Home. It’s not just a place. It’s my heart.
Sleep well, mes amis. 😗
“The tears I feel today
I’ll wait to shed tomorrow.
Though I’ll not sleep this night
Nor find surcease from sorrow.
My eyes must keep their sight:
I dare not be tear-blinded.
I must be free to talk
Not choked with grief, clear-minded.
My mouth cannot betray
The anguish that I know.
Yes, I’ll keep my tears til later:
But my grief will never go.”
―Anne McCaffrey
*In Memory Of My Grandfather…Великою людиною дійсно ніколи не може бути втрачено або забуто- A great man can never truly be lost or forgotten.*
“If you’re going to try, go all the way.
There is no other feeling like that.
You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire.
You will ride life straight to perfect laughter.
It’s the only good fight there is.”
–Charles Bukowski
“Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.
Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.
Some lose both and become accepted”
–Charles Bukowski
Written by LISA MARINO-Molchanova 