Went running through the desert
with William
tonight
I thought of the kangaroos I drew
with deep admiration of
their hefty legs
Our hearts beating
lungs exchanging energy
alive
love
No Mud, No Lotus
“Without suffering, there’s no happiness. So we shouldn’t discriminate against the mud. We have to learn how to embrace and cradle our own suffering and the suffering of the world, with a lot of tenderness.”
THICH NHAT HANH
Thich Nhat Hanh goes on to say that we are so afraid of facing our suffering (worrying, anger, despair, fears, loneliness) that we go look for something to eat, or drink or watch TV. And many people do all of those at the same time. Even if there is nothing interesting or satisfying to watch, we are afraid to turn the television off, because then we will be left to face our suffering.
But it is necessary to face it.
It makes you stronger.
It makes you lighter.
It leads to happiness and nothing else will.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are my new favorite flower. I just learned that they are “hyperaccumulators”! They absorb toxins and pollutants so well that thousands were planted in Chernobyl to absorb radiation. They were also planted in Fukushima to clean up that toxic spill.
The trick is to harvest and destroy them before they produce toxic seeds that birds could eat. 
Lion
#1: When your computer breaks down and you have to type and publish your blog on your cell phone, ROAR like a lion.
#2: When the bonus they promised to deliver in December gets postponed to February, ROAR like a lion.
#3: When Pinterest tells you that someone in Russia has hacked your account and you can’t reset your password (see #1), ROAR like a lion.
#4: When you start to feel overwhelmed, anxious, angry or depressed, ROAR like a lion.
Or…close your eyes, breathe deeply and know everything is fine.
Rose-Colored…
For so long, the world seemed like a bleak and hopeless place
my days were blotted with sorrow and fear
but I stopped fighting reality, I cleaned my own lenses
all is good and light now that my vision is clear
Unbound
On an atypically warm Antelope Valley morning,
the llamas blink a declaration of hunger at me
I walk down the dusty, winding trail
surrounded by mountains that remind me of my great inconsequence
It’s Thanksgiving and my dog’s eyes brim with unflinching love
as she accompanies me, untethered, down the path
I’m beholden – we all are – every single one of us,
to those who have embraced us and to those who have pushed us away
Don’t Destroy the Majestic
The need to possess trophies speaks to a weakness within the consciousness and a tantrum of the ego.
Let nature be. Appreciate her in all her glory.
Evolving?
Peacocks (male peafowl) are believed to display their fantastic feathers in order to woo peahens. They are never aggressive in their courting…
which makes them smarter and better than (some of) their human counterparts.
Twigs and Bones
When I walk among the trees,
I drink in the rays of light
that peek through the leaves
and my feet crunch the “dead” things
but they are not lifeless
see here?
insects march and work
fungus and lichen exchange food
the twigs lie in wait
to service fires and soil
and you are not dead – never were –
your spirit lives on in everyone you ever met
Peribology = The Study of Etymology on Symbolism
“Enraged, Diana turned Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.”*
*http://www.ecbdflowerstore.com/108103.php
Kismet 