Music by Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Op. 8 from MuseOpen.org
Photos by Niki Flow
Poetry by John Steven Olander, Change Agent, Poet, Performer, Artist, and Rocky Mountain Volunteer Coordinator, under1000skies.org.
Thank you, John, for a week of inspiration. Thank you for your beautiful, creative contributions over the years since we met. Thank you for being such a shining light in the world.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡ Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Niki Flow.
“Hope” – A Spoken Word Performance by John Steven Olander
Hope Written November 18, 2020 by John Steven Olander
It’s hard to keep your attitude straight When daily you are forced to wait. Everything takes so damn much time. A quarter might as well be a dime. What can I do? Where should I go? Is it going to rain or snow? It’s not too long before you’re thinking, Ah, what the hell. I’ll just start drinking. Disaster’s pending with every sip. A sip, a drink, a guzzle, and then you trip! And so begins the predictable fall, And you’ll be mocked by one and all. But don’t give up. Your chance is not gone. From the Spirit above your strength is drawn. So take a deep breath, and sit still. Realize that hope and desire create All you will. But as with any arduous climb, It requires a goal, resolve, lots of time. So concentrate on your goal And ignore the problems at hand. Dig in, grit your teeth and Journey hard to the Promised Land. To live the life you want to live, You’ve got to be committed to give, give, give. And if you feel like you want to whine, Just help somebody else out. You’ll be fine.
Spoken word by John Steven Olander.
Videos shorts by Thuan Vo, Fundacja Dla Biebrzy, Zaidoopro, Alexander Helbig from Pixabay.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡ Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Niki Flow
Joy to Write What do I feel like when I write? Exuberant. Excited. Expressive, Informed, and Unique. Anxiously anticipating a New Creation. Curious, From the Caustic to the Casual. Quick with the quip. Rarely am I at a loss for words. So I feel privileged to discipline the time To be specifically expressive, to really nail the experience in as few words as possible. I am frequently left with the thought, “Damn John, “That was pretty good “We’re going stick with you because we believe you have potential.”
HAPPY NEWS! John will be appearing on television on PBS soon. He submitted one of his poems and he will be interviewed on Monday. We’ll be speaking that day afterward. John has a job and a place to live now and Monday is his only day off so that’s become our new interview day for Volunteer Biographers. As soon as I get more information about the day his show will be aired, I’ll let you know.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡ Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Niki Flow
Anger vs. Heart Am I angry or just compassionate? Do I really care? My heartfelt pronouncements actually SCARE people. My heart is vibrant light. My heart projects my aura, My love, my genuine concern. My anger while well intentioned, backfires. That feeling is understandable. But the application of that feeling constricts my heart. It constrains the veins, the very vessels that fill my body. That said, there is a place for tough love, hard lessons, Calling someone out, being called out. Sometimes a person needs to catch the ruler on the knuckles. Sometimes the negative is required to birth the positive. The heartfelt payoff comes when the enemy who was engaged, stops seeing and knowing everything and becomes a friend.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡ Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Niki Flow
The Stigma and the Turning Point The turning point. We are who we are. A myriad of possibilities. Does it cause me to feel shame that I may be mentally ill? Absolutely. Should it? Absolutely not. Determination. Am I closer to dealing with it? Absolutely. Am I a winner? Absolutely. And not a beginner. Am I bi-polar? Probably. But in the best exuberant sense of the word. I AM exuberant. A full joy and anticipation cometh in the morning for each fresh new day. There are turning points all the time in any person’s life. One turning point for me was my eviction from Saint Francis. One turning point for me was the death of Carol Lee. One turning point for me was Healthy Food for Kids and reminding myself of how great I am when I apply myself and how much I enjoy helping other people do what is right for them. One turning point for me is accepting the fact that I sometimes need help and I need not be ashamed of it. I AM WORTHY OF IT. One turning point for me was using my idle time to pick up the trash of others and saying, “Thank you Spirit for letting me serve your earth.” I am blessed every day in some unknown and unexpected way. One turning point for me was understanding how much support, love, prayers, and loyalty I have from SO MANY others. One turning point for me is understanding that life will go on in so many ways that are completely beyond my control. So in order to be my most effective, I must present the best John Olander I can be. Understand that I am not in control and accept the results whether or not it required the help- of others without shame, knowing that I have done my best. Now that my friends, is a turning point.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by Johnny O.
“Behind the mask of ice that people wear, there beats a heart of fire.” -Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light
Music heals so I’m adding music. Some of my favorite blogs add music (Ivor). Today I couldn’t decide between these two Sting songs. Then I realized I could add both. It’s not like there are WordPress Police watching every move I make.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
CHECKMATE Can’t Wait or Too Late?
The King Needs his Queen, he needs her indeed.
It is not just a matter ardent desire, but of absolute need.
The Army might save him once in a while,
But there is little joy in walking, step by step, single file.
Yes, one square at a time is all he can take,
Teamed with his great Queen they will crush the whole board,
Creating surrender in their wake.
The joy in their partnership expressing is a sight to behold.
Here is hoping I find that Great Queen before we are both too old.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Photo by WildOne, Pixabay
“All’s well that ends better.” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
This is the last in the Tolkien-quotes series. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these as much as I’ve enjoyed creating them. Once again, special thanks to the Pixabay and Picmonkey photographers.
The journey of Samwise, Frodo, and company continues to Rivendell here:
I’m taking a break for a bit and will be back with Gems featuring some new photos from Cord X. and a poem from Johnny O. the week of November 18th. We’ll restart the videos and newsletters every week after that too.
Until then, may all your journeys be green and golden.
“I happen to be privileged enough to be in on the fact that we have been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real.” –Edgar Mitchell, USN, Apollo 14 Astronaut
I Want to Believe
I wasn’t looking for the opposite of “we are alone in the universe.” I found this quote by accident today. I was surprised to learn that the person saying this was a United States Navy Astronaut and the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14. I found the interview above, which is a clip of a longer interview. I used to love the TV show “X-Files,” but I was also content with not knowing. Now, though — hmm! What do you think?
I found my way to Mitchell’s quote while searching for the perfect quote to highlight one of our artists’ photos of a flower which I also need to identify. Still haven’t found either answer. Actually, maybe you can help with that. =)
Two Questions
Can you identify this flower?
Can you think of an inspirational quote that would go well with this photo?
Photo Copyright Cord X. Used with permission. Thank you! ♡
Formerly-Homeless Creatives
In the past year, both our top contributing, formerly-homeless creatives Cord X and John have found shelter and work and are safe. I’m so grateful and filled with joy when I think of this. Shelter and safety are essential to just normal, everyday function. For years, these two fine men not only functioned without it but contributed beautiful creations to share with us here.
Thank you so much Johnny and Cord!
♡. under1000skies
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