“I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.” – John Burroughs
Month: December 2018
Our Share of Night to Bear ~ Poem by Emily Dickinson
Our Share of Night to Bear
Our share of night to bear—
Our share of morning—
Our blank in bliss to fill
Our blank in scorning—
Here a star, and there a star,
Some lose their way!
Here a mist, and there a mist,
Afterwards—Day!
Emily Dickinson
Emotional Storms & Grieving
In Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again I journal about emotions that swirled about me. I had to learn to live with them or be overwhelmed by them. Here is an excerpt about the emotions I experienced from Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again:
“I think about the emotions that flood me without notice. They arrive with gale force winds in any environment and spark from any trigger. I sum up how my emotions affect me in four simple, easy-to-understand words: It hurts like hell.
It hurts in a way only one who experienced the pain of losing someone they love understands. What does it feel like? It’s not physical pain, yet I experience it physically deep in the pit of my stomach, with a clenched jaw, or through the endless tossing and turning at three in the morning when sleep does not return. It hurts like hell.
I run from away from dealing with my emotions by engaging in exercise, prayer, and writing. Even in those times of distraction, my emotions rear their ugly heads into my space, grab ahold of me, and throw me to the floor. My emotions stand over me, waving their fists and daring me to get up, all too willing to knock me down again. I wearily rise to my knees. I stand again, my legs wobbly. I try to clear my head. It hurts like hell.”
Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again is available in print and eBook formats worldwide. eBooks can be downloaded from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo and eBooks2go.com
Peace ~ Poem by Sara Teasdale
PEACE flows into me
AS the tide to the pool by the shore;
It is mine forevermore,
It ebbs not back like the sea.
I am the pool of blue
That worships the vivid sky;
My hopes were heaven-high,
They are all fulfilled in you.
I am the pool of gold
When sunset burns and dies,—
You are my deepening skies,
Give me your stars to hold.
by Sara Teasdale
Tip 6 of 6 Writing Tips by George Orwell
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous ~ George Orwell
Never Quit – Inspiring Quote from William Alger
“After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul’s indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer.”
—William R. Alger
Greiving Support Groups Were a Blessing
Participating in a Grieving Support Group Taught Me I Wasn’t Alone
The following is an excerpt from Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again:
I was among strong women who endured suffering. They went on living and caring for those around them “while they grieved. They were aware of their need for help in the grieving process and had the courage to seek it. I listened to a woman openly cry while telling the story of her husband who died of a heart attack in her arms. I thought of how strong she was to recognize her need to grieve. She wanted to be healed. Another woman described how her husband of 54 years died unexpectedly this summer. A woman sitting next to me, Chris, showed me her ring finger with a tattoo of her deceased husband’s name, Nick, on it. Even though a tattoo isn’t something I would personally do, I empathized with her heartbreak. Terry, who sat two seats over to my right, still mourned the loss of her dad after four years. Her sadness was etched all over her face. Her loss, like mine, resided in the deep, dark places of her soul. Each woman spoke with honesty, searching for comfort amongst their deep losses. At times, they spoke of the physical suffering they were experiencing.
“At times it feels like I can’t breathe my heart hurts so much,” a woman named Janet shared.
For each of us, our suffering and pain manifested itself in similar and different ways. In the end, it led to the same place of grief. We hurt. We ached. We wondered if we would ever be happy.
Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again is available in paperback and ebook formats from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo.
Faith & Hope ~ Quote by Rumi
Knock, And He’ll open the door
Vanish, And He’ll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.” ~ Rumi
Joy & Sorrow ~ Poem by Kahlil Gibran
Joy and Sorrow
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was often times filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
Choose to Live
Excerpt from Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again
“M continued, “It doesn’t matter if your steps are small. It doesn’t matter if you trip and fall. When you stumble forward, dare to rise and take another step. Each time you rise and courageously face your suffering, you look to the future and signal to your mind and body you choose to live. Don’t count the times you stumble, Ray. One day you’ll wake up and realize you’re walking without stumbling. You’ll stop walking or doing whatever you’re doing and give thanks to God. Until the moment arrives, continue to stumble forward. Keep acting on that choice. There’s a short Chinese proverb that’s very fitting for you right now, ‘Talk does not cook rice.’”
Dancing Alone: Learning to Live Again is available in print and eBook formats worldwide. eBooks can be downloaded from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo and eBooks2go.com
