Tag Archives: Cord X.

Gems 6.49

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

6.49

Photo by TC Perch.  Graphic art by Niki Flow.

“I used to read five psalms every day – that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man.” -Billy Graham

Good Friday was always a rough day for me.  The Stations of the Cross were brutal.  I hated to think of anyone going through that ordeal let alone this person I loved beyond measure.

Good Friday got easier. I grew up and learned I could save myself the heartache. It was all just a fairy tale.  We’ll be teaching Christian mythology someday, I told myself.  So I no longer sobbed on Good Friday.   That could only be a good thing.  Yet when I lost my faith, I felt it profoundly.  It felt very cold in the universe without it.  So, I kept searching.

Now the only thing I know with certainty is that I know nothing.  The “through a glass, darkly” is a real thing and it’s not like it’s getting brighter as time goes on.  More the opposite.  Letting go of the need to know has been a saving grace.

So, I return with pleasure to that emotional child’s memories and comfort her. The beauty of this love story is enough, and the mystery of not knowing only enhances it. What is life if not a beautiful mystery? Anything can happen, especially miracles.

If this story is one you love too, you may enjoy Easter Morning, Mary’s Song.  The music won’t be finished in time for Easter again this year (my co-creator is on a walkabout) but I’ll get back to you next year.  There’s that beautiful mystery again.

Next week, I hope to feature more from Cord X and Johnny O.  Cord has shared some gorgeous flowers from San Antonio recently and John is full of plans in Denver. He’s never without a pen and an idea for a poem, a garden, a friend or a city. I can’t wait to share their creations with you.

I hope we have a great weekend. Happy Passover for those celebrating. “Next year in person,” right? I really hope so, for all of us. And whether you celebrate Easter or not, may you feel the miracle, the mystery and the love of this story every single day of your life.

♥

Newsletter-Video 1.20

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I hope you’re having a beautiful weekend. ♡
This week on ¤ under1000skies.org ¤

Gems 5.194
Photo “Happy” by StaffordGreen0, Pixabay.

“Every living thing has its own creation song, its own language, and its own story. In order to live harmoniously with the rest of creation, we must be willing to listen to and respect all of the harmonies that are moving around us.” ―Sherri Mitchell, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change

Gems 5.195
Photo “Milky Way” by Skeeze, Pixabay

“We are all tied to a lineage of love that has existed since time immemorial.” ―Sherri Mitchell, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change

Gems 5.196
Photo by Pexels, Pixabay

“As we seek this healing, let us do so with the knowledge that oneness is not sameness. It is the transcendence of our differences and the weaving of our diverse expressions into a tapestry that is harmonized and aligned with common purpose.” ―Sherri Mitchell, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change

Gems 5.197
Photo by Cocoparisienne, Pixabay

“I don’t know what it is, and I don’t want to know because it’s too precious for me. I don’t want to destroy it by knowing it. I want to be in wonder the whole time.” -Marne van den Heever

Gems 5.198
Photo by “Black Pansy” by Cord X.

“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Music “Smile” by BenSound.com.

Thank you all! Cheers to a great weekend!

♥.

Gems 5.193

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

5.193

Photo “Saturday Sunshine” by Cord X.  Thank you!

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.”  -Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

Thank you Johnny O. (John Olander) and Cord X for a week of poetry and beautiful photos.  So grateful.

I hope we have a beautiful weekend.

♥.

Gems 5.192

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 5.192 (1)

Photo “White Sage” by Cord X.  Thank you, Cord!

“Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound.” – Edwin Curran

I don’t know which poem today’s quote is from but I thought it perfectly matched Cord’s beautiful white sage flower.  Edwin Curran published his first book of poems in 1917.  He was born in 1892, so he was 25-years old at the time.  I found this first poem in that book so captivating and sweet and so full of hope that I know I’ll share more of his poetry in the future.

THE FUTURE – IF WE WIN

I leaped here out of time and saw ahead
into the years still locked and chained and still;
I leaped into that great sleep, yet still dead
And saw there all the power of the human will,
All the toil of ages gathered and unfurled
Into a thing of beauty on a glorious hill,
The Flag of The United Nations of the World!

The sea was full of ships, great argosies in white,
With sweet wines, silks, sandalwood and wheat;
The fields lay heaped in gold and far abroad
The marts of all the world wore jewels of light.
The mountains laughed and peace was in the street
And gloriously, the world was happy as God.

On still the Vison took human sense
Beyond the world and down the path of men
Thru happiness immortal, then the centuries
And on forever and forever hence
Past earth and time and space and back again,
Thru the endless joy of marvelous eternities.

-Edwin Curran, First Poems, 1917

Edwin Curran sig

It makes me wonder what tucked away poems are lost in time.  If we live forever, will we find them all eventually and read them to each other, do you think?

♥.

Gems 5.191

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Gems 5.191 (1)

Photo, “Passionflower, Unfurled” by Cord X.

Cord took this photo in San Antonio, one of several.  There are many stages in the blooming of a passionflower.  This is the first I have ever seen, in this photo.  It’s just gorgeous.

Cord generously shared two photos of this beautiful flower during different stages of her growth over the past month. On the left is the passionflower after the fruit has been picked. It looks so unlike any flower I’ve ever seen.  And on the right is the passion-flower fruit.

Thank you, Cord, for the gift of these photos, and for all your beautiful contributions over the years.

tizzdivider

 

How We Love
Beth Nielsen Chapman

Life has taught me this
Every day is new
And if anything is true
All that matters
When we’re through
Is how we love

Faced with what we lack
Some things fall apart
But from the ashes new dreams start
All that matters to the heart
Is how we love

How we love
How we love
From the smallest act of kindness
In a word, a smile, a touch

In spite of our mistakes
Chances come again
If we lose or if we win
All that matter in the end
Is how we love

How we love
How we love
I will not forget your kindness
When I needed it so much

Sometimes we forget
Trying to be so strong
In this world of right and wrong
All that matters when we’ve gone
All that mattered all along
All we have that carries on
Is how we love

 

It seems to me that love and a passionflower were a natural fit for the quote for today’s Gem.  This beautiful song about love was a new one for me this year and it’s one of my top favorites now.  My friend PJ told me about this one day when we were talking about favorite music.  PJ lives in Scotland, so a lot of the music he heard growing up was a bit different from mine and totally new to me. I love discovering new artists.  I found that same beautiful discovery with our Ivor, the Down Under Plumber/Poet and music lover.  So many new songs came to me this year by way of Ivor.  Thank you PJ and Ivor!

All photos in the video (created for my friend PJ on his birthday this year) were by the talented and generous Photography Volunteers at Pixabay.com.  Thank you!

♥.