Dear Loving You

Dear loving You, (says the moon)

I see you lying there
held with earthen hands.
Your radiance reaches me
in an arc of divine light.

Your warmth is like a blanket of love
draped over your friends, family, and kin.

I see your light reflecting upon all that you touch,
the nearby waves shimmer with
your gratitude and devotion.

Dear loving You,
Your companionship has been unfailing.
Each time I seek you
you have always been there.

You are my familiar friend -
So wise and still full of surprise.
You are a beautiful mystery,
A paradox of known and unknown.

You and I breathe into the space
between us, dear One.
I, too, feel this expansion --
now filling again with light – yours
(I am a mere reflection of your light).

I wonder how it is
that you can be so loving?
such radiance pours from you. . .

I am illuminated with gratitude, dear You
(says the moon).



Poem by Meredith at Graceful Presence and comic from Ineffable Bliss

Dwelling Together in Unity

While I was on retreat a few weeks ago a Hebrew prayer began to sing through my being. Often since then I've found myself in moment's of reverence singing this tune. The other night I looked up what the prayer is about... what is the message that arrived to me in Hebrew's harmony, stirring in me a connection that I know runs deep in my soul.

He-Nay Ma Tov-u Ma Nayim, Shevit Acheem Gam Ya-Chad
He-Nay Ma Tov-u Ma Nayim, Shevit Acheem Gam Ya-Chad
He-Nay Ma Tov, Shevit Acheem Gam Ya-Chad
He-Nay Ma Tov, Shevit Acheem Gam Ya-Chad




This prayer comes from the beginning of Psalm 133: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

I'm still feeling how this touches me. For now it is the Hebrew and melody of the prayer that stirs me most. This morning, the English is sitting with me in an echo of, "See, feel, experience the peace of us being together, living our unity."

Happy Heart Day

I'm all about celebrating the heart... so happy heart day to you!

Since there is no way that I could give a tangible token of my love to all 250 students
that I work with, I decided to turn myself into a valentine day card.
My front seen above and the back below.

And this is the blog version of my valentine to you!

And here's a picture of me in a Kindergarten class!

A Dear Companion

Settling into the sacredness, I lie in the moon's light . . .

her radiance bathing me in divine light
showering upon me a familiar blanket of love

so close... family... kin

a wave and another and another
of gratitude and devotion

memories of how this moon has been
such a dear companion throughout life
for me. with me

familiarity
safety
surprise
so much dependability and so much mystery

lying here in the moon’s light
i feel the earth supporting my back

i breathe into the space between me and the moon
i feel my space -- my self --
filling to touch her light
i feel the warmth between me and her
as my sense of self
she's so close

how can she be so loving?
such radiance. . .

Good Experiences

Cathy introduced me to a new site, Good Experience, the logo is from their Good Experience Live conferences GEL.

"Our mission is to encourage the creation of good, meaningful experiences in business and life."

I'm intrigued... and so am watching some of their videos to find out more. But mostly, they roped me in with some awesome games. Right now I'm having fun with Grow and Castle Smasher!


Oh the little treasures on the internet that are revealed at 3 o'clock in the morning!

Recent Waves of My Life

Lately my writing practice has returned to it's roots... I'm hand writing in my journal. I have been reunited with an old pattern where my journal lives as a friend and companion... with whom I share, explore, discover, uncover, inquire, set intentions, pray, cry and celebrate. Up until recently my journals had become a mixture of personal journal and notebook for thoughts, ideas and projects. Now I've returned to having a relationship with my journal (which is my self, Self, God, others, and sometimes even future readers).

With this new practice and the waves of my life I haven't been writing here much. I'll tell you a bit of a picture story.

The other day, a foggy damp day, I opened my front door and was really moved by the scene that welcomes one to our house. It's beauty, simplicity, color and style touched my heart. I felt welcomed into my own home.

Much of my journey lately has be about welcoming myself into my own home. Literally there are transitions happening in my home as Thomas is now living part time in Port Townsend and our relationship is shifting to new dimensions. Kara has also been living with us off and on, inviting a new experience of community.

More powerfully, however, I am symbolically being welcomed into my own soul-home. A 5-year-old once said to me "I'm moving into a new house inside my body." I feel like this. I feel like I am coming into a new relationship with myself. I am learning how to love and care for myself in new ways... how to lean deeper into my own being and deeper into my relationship with God/Spirit.

Life has been a polarized experience bouncing from wide open, expansive and reflective spaces to the intensity of water's chaotic power. I am learning about my center, about core places of stillness, about my habits, about trust and acceptance.

These photos were taken a week and half ago when I went on retreat by myself. A friend graciously offered me her family's beach house where I retreated to "host myself in ways that I host others." It was a powerful, centering, grounding and opening experience. "I feel myself connecting with a sweet, dear child who is me. Me who is longing to be known {by me} to be felt {by me} to be loved {by me}." That time was a real gift and so is this time of integration and continued learning.

I smiled with the perfection of life when I found this picture in my mailbox at school today. Kids can leave me notes or pictures or requests to see me. Today I recieved a mailbox of love letters and valentines from some first graders. This one now hangs above my desk at home... reminding me of the rhythms of the waves - that come with all their intensity and also pass, the stillness of the expansive empty sky, and the radiance of light... all wrapped in an innocent and genuine offering of a child's playful love.