Gems 5.108

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

5.08b

Photo “Milky Way” by EvgeniT, Pixabay

“Ecstatic Love is an ocean, and the Milky Way is a flake of foam floating on it.” -Rumi

Morning Edit 22July19 c.8am

I fixed the photo on the Gem.  It’s so gorgeous and I didn’t want any of it cut from the frame. I also posted a link to the photo.  Then I started wondering who named the Milky Way and things went on from there.

I learned it was called the “Milky Circle” by the Greeks.  The story goes, Zeus brought the infant Hercules to nurse from Hera while she slept.  She woke while the baby suckled and pushed him away.  (His mother was a mortal, one of her husband’s many conquests).  A few drops of milk spilled and formed the Milky Circle. The Romans adopted the name and called it “Via Lactea.” Translated, that means “the road of milk.”

In Germany it’s Milchstrasse. In Norway, it’s called Melkeveien. Both translate to Milky Way in English. But in Finland, it’s called Linnunrata (“path of birds”). In Armenia, it’s “hard goghi chanaparh,” or “Straw Thief’s Way.” In Sweden and Iceland, it’s called Vetrarbrautin and Vintergatan (Winter Way). In East Asia, it’s called “Silver River.”

Source:  How the Milky Way Got Its Name

I love the name Silver River best because it comes from the story of the Weaver Girl and the Buffalo Boy. Two of my poems from Elanthian Love Songs are based on this legend, one for the Weaver Girl and one for the Buffalo Boy (also called “The Cowherd.) I was inspired to write the poems after seeing two beautiful paintings by Steph Law about this legend.

Bridge of Dreams Where She Waits

“Bridge of Dreams Where She Waits” by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes.com

 

 

 

Bridge of Dreams Where He Waits

“Bridge of Dreams Where He Waits” Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes.com

 

 

 

under1000skies Newsletter 1.3

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

Here Today Gone Tomato

 
“My muses have always been the people I love.”  -Anonymous
 
Photo, “Jelly Bean and Mommy Morning” by Niki Flow, Kenosha, WI, 1982.  (My first light-filled gem, my oldest daughter ♡ Kelly Jean ♡).
MUSE
I recently rekindled an old romance, a passion born when I was no more than a girl.  More

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Reverence – A Special Invitation

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡

You may know about or have been a part of our 2015-2016 “300 Days of Gratitude” Challenges on KindSpring.org.  I wrote about our journey recently, and about our origin inspiration (Mike Albrough) here:  300+ -The Journey So Far

For the”300″ series, we did 17 consecutive 21-day challenges.  It was great to be connected with friends, love ones and people from all over the world. So, I’m really happy to invite you to today to a brand new series as well as to a brand new challenge called “Reverence.”

Reverence” begins  on June 11th.  It was written by KindSpring and “The Soul of WoMen.” Since this will be my first time with the challenge, I don’t know a lot about it except that it was really well received.

Here’s the link:  https://www.kindspring.org/challenge/join/1661

Our new gratitude series, “300,000+ Days of Gratitude” began in December, 2017.  “Reverence” is the 7th in the series.  For the “300k+” series, we’re doing a challenge a month using the KindSpring templates as well as new and original content.  We’re also continuing the weekly “Gratitude Journal” bonus challenges.

I hope to see you! (=

♡. Niki Flow

 

reverence pythagoras

Photo by Niki Flow

300,000+ Days of Gratitude (vii) – Reverence
☼ Join us for 21 days of shared reverence! ☼
“Reverence” is a brand new challenge designed by KindSpring.org and The Soul of WoMen. Along with 21 daily emails, you’ll be invited to participate in 21 days of a bonus challenge called “Gratitude Journal.” At the start of each week will be a new topic for focusing our gratitude. The practice of recording gratitude, especially in a handwritten journal, has proven to reduce stress, boost resilience, and help us to recover from trauma. This daily, small commitment of time pays off in other big dividends as well. The more we practice, the better we become at noticing reasons for gratitude in our everyday lives. Our focus is sharpened and our clarity returns. Since what we focus on grows, when our attention is turned toward love and gratitude, both blossom in our lives.
☼ All welcome! ☼
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”   -Henry David Thoreau

Gems 4.61

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

4.61 under1000skies 2

Photo Copyright © Joseph Raley 2018. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you!

 

under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 4.56

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

Gems 4.56

 

Photo Copyright © Cord X. 2018. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you!

under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 4.54

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

Gems 4.54 under1000skies

 

Photo Copyright © Cord X. 2018. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Thank you!

 

under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.59

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

closed mouth spoke silent rumi mick

Photo “Age of Silence” by Niki Flow

About Rumi

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی‎‎) (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Sunni Muslim poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions.  His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet”and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Rumi’s works are written mostly in Persian, but occasionally he also used Turkish, Arabic, and Greek in his verse. His Masnavi (Mathnawi), composed in Konya, Turkey, is considered one of the greatest poems of the Persian language. His works are widely read today in their original language across Greater Iran and the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular, most notably in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia.

His poetry has influenced Persian literature, but also Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Azerbaijani, as well as the literature of some other Turkic, Iranian, and Indo-Aryan languages including Chagatai, Urdu, Pashto, and Bengali.

from “Rumi – Wikipedia”

Journey Notes

Our upcoming Spotlight Saturday will be really special. I had the chance to speak to Dr. Bell of Sheltering Grace in Georgia and can’t wait to tell you about that interview.  It just filled me with joy.

News

Monday June 19 to Saturday June 24, we’ll be offline (medical stuff).  We’ll return on Monday June 26th.  The theme for this last week in June is “silence,” “listening,” “stillness,” and “sacred space.”   If you have a favorite quote about any or all of those, please let us know.  Also, we don’t currently have a theme for July.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.

Radical Self-Expression ☼ Radical Acceptance

This is the first and probably last self-portrait I’ve ever done for under1000skies but this is a subject close to my heart. It’s ridiculously terrifying to post this all over the place which is why I knew I had to do it.

From today on, I’m practicing something my friend told me about recently, a Burning Man way of life that encompasses everyone and everything. It’s simple, wise and really beautiful:

* Radical Self-Expression
* Radical Acceptance

He wrote,

“Embracing those two principles starts with [‘Radical Self-Expression’] — being introspective to figure out how to be yourself. What do I want to do? To be? How can I express that? And then you try stuff on. And some of it fails miserably. And some of it is awesome. But all of it can be fun. You always learn something… “Meanwhile, ‘Radical Acceptance’ requires you to suspend judgement of others–to give them room to express themselves. It’s pretty hard to do that and to attempt ‘Radical Self-Expression’ without learning how to give yourself that same room…”

I love simple wisdom because it is the kind that sinks into your bones and extends across ages, cultures, all borders. Like Rumi’s poetry.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
  ☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
   writers, artists & advocates
   serving and connecting
   homeless creatives.

Gems 3.9

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

a-hundred-silent-ways-rumi-gems-3-9

Photo by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

The theme for the month of January is “journey.”  (I realize this quote isn’t strictly about a journey but if you turn your head sideways and squint a little, it works.)  If you have a favorite quote or poem about “journey,” or the journey of life,  please leave a comment!

May you find joy every day on your journey,

♡. under1000skies
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.