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Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

~* Forever *~

A thought for the day.

Wise animal, that white rabbit.

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~**~

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words of Gibran and a sweetness like this, captured by an artist unknown.

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“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”

-Kahlil Gibran

~*♥*~

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~* My guy *~

See who’s marching to the beat of his own drum!

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My 6-year-old, on his second week at school. Had put on his shoes like so when I came to fetch him home yesterday.

I thought it was a creative idea but was a bit worried if some of the other kids might say something nasty about his personal choice of a wardrobe.

Oh I don’t care, he said. They’re more fun that way.

Throughout all my years at school, I was always worried about what people thought of me. Timid, quiet, shy, reserved, always worried –  pretty much about absolutely everything. Did all I could and more to fit in. And still, never did.

It’s taken me decades to unlearn all that. And still, l’m only learning.

Then here is my little guy.

There are no words to describe how much he has taught me during his six years in my life. And no words to describe just how proud of him I am.

Today he left for school with the same choice of shoes.

I cried a little.

Well, like a little fountain.

~*♥*~

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Feeling so poignantly captured by the award-winning photographer, Tiina Töyrä.

A moment of which I’m sworn into secrecy… So all I’ll say is that it shall remain carved into my heart, forever.

~*♥*~

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A lesson learned at a yoga workshop yesterday.

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Getting ready and peaceful.
Photo Susanna Soikkeli.

My dear readers, I would love to share with you my experience of a full-day yoga workshop, held by a beautiful soul, the yogi Jack Boken. Although Jack had promised this would be a truly heart-opening experience, little did I know.

That morning I went to class feeling totally overwhelmed by the world, my mind in chaos, so sad. So much so that when Jack asked us one simple question “What has brought you here today?”, the tears just came and drowned me. During the rest of that day, I never managed to gather my poise but that’s just the beauty of yoga… Nobody’s poised and we’re not meant to be. People somehow find the strength to be honest and raw, compassionate and present. And during that day, with Jack’s gentle guidance, we confided in each other on a such a  true and real level, only to be welcomed by acceptance and compassion.

And later when the asanas got sweaty & physical, our bodies were as open as our minds.

Breakthroughs just happened.

For my part, I actually managed not one but five asanas I’d never dared to do before.

Like I pointed out in class, it was a very small step for mankind but a significant one for me – and especially so on a day that had begun with uncontrollable tears and feeling so blocked inside that I’d thought it would be better to give everybody else a break, and go calm down alone at home.

At the end of his classes, Jack asks each student to decide to give up something in their lives, and to commit to something.

Very concrete, very practical, very useful.

This can be something evoked during that specific practice, or anything that feels important. Key is commitment. Not just thinking how I’d like to be a better person but deciding exactly how I could achieve that.

Personally,  I realised very, very, painfully clearly that I need to give up the fears that control and limit my life on so many levels. Or, to put it in yoga terminology, acknowledge the existence of my fears, and then let them go ;). This was why during this very practice, it had been so important for me to battle and conquer my fears of handstands, headstands and other stands I’d never done before and the names of which I don’t even know. To trust Jack not to let me fall flat on my face and get hurt.

No, to just trust myself, no matter how much I was afraid, no matter how I was sure I COULD NEVER EVER DO IT.

Sooooooo liberating.

And if you can kick ass with your fears on the yoga mat, maybe in real life, you can too.

Only, in Jack’s class we’re not allowed any maybes.

There’s no trying.

That’s why I’m still, a weeks on…

Letting. It. All. Just. Be.

With such peace.

~*♥*~

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How a beautiful sentence can carry through a sleepless night.

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I miss my books that are all in boxes.

Thank you Lea my friend, for this page tonight.

~*♥*~

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Ralph Waldo Emerson put it in words. Happy Jack lives it. Dear friends, please watch this. I promise it will change something within you.

Happy Jack

Respect Happy Jack. And Thank You. For more than you know.

I am sending a little prayer to the  Gods and Goddesses on your behalf… But somehow I know they are already watching over your shoulder.

Namaste.

My soul acknowledges your soul.

~*♥*~

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~*♥*~

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Today the universe played a little trick on me… When this old photo came back to me in a context that I find as beautiful as it is symbolic.

Minna Kulmala, the photographer behind this bed of flowers, just now published it on her pages. Together with a poem by Kahlil Gibran: Song of the Flower.

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I was so astonished and even shaken by her choice of poem but then reminded myself – there are no accidents in life. This poem was meant to come back to me, to remind me of something.

You see, some ten years ago, Serge and I visited a wedding of friends in Lebanon. It was all arranged in true Lebanese style; grand hospitality, extraordinary setting, even a trip to Syria for the full wedding party.

On that trip Serge and I, who share a soft spot for adventure in our souls, decided to hop off the air-conditioned, comfortable bus in the middle of nowhere on the mountains of Lebanon, to discover the real country, the real people.

So we stumbled upon this village where Gibran had lived. We visited his old home that dates further than a hundred years back. There still was power, incredible presence in that humble little house. It felt like Gibran’s heritage was present absolutely everywhere in this tiny little town, although he’d only lived there as a young man.

I read the Prophet.

We met some absolutely extraordinary people.

A young man took us to a hiking trip to the mountains, where Maronite Christian priests had built secret churches and hiding places over the hundreds of years of oppression. Carefully, after a while, our guide confided in us. He’d also had to leave Beirut during the civil war. He too was a Maronite Christian, had participated in some forbidden protest and the police and army had his name. So he had left in the middle of the night, leaving behind his university education, his family and  absolutely everything, and disappeared to these mountains. In the early years he had even lived in the woods but now he dared to openly live in the town, a known emotional stronghold of Maronite Christians, dating back to Gibran’s days and beyond.

Still, he didn’t dare to go back to Beirut. He had settled to a life in exile, in his own country.

Hindina. A young woman who had been in a car crash so severe that her legs and pelvis were completely crushed. As we walked past her family’s house, this lively and open Sweetness started chatting with us, even if we only shared a few words of the same language. However, we were able to understand so much that she invited us to her home for dinner – strangers from the street.

We went. Their tiny apartment was so welcoming, so full of warmth, that we instantly felt at home and could almost look past the poverty that was all too overwhelming. They cooked the food on some kind of camping style fire and kettle, we sat on the floor and I helped Hindina’s old mother to peel the potatoes. They seemed to only eat what their tiny piece of land was able to produce and the elderly father was able to cultivate. They smiled, talked and hugged a lot.

Hindina and her mother liked to hold my hand. They spoke a lot, with laughter or tears in their eyes. I felt as if I understood although I didn’t get the words.

The little niece kept on carefully touching my hair, it seemed to be the first blonde hair she’d seen.

Hindina’s sister and niece taught me to dance local dances, very much like belly dancing. We laughed so much.

The morning we left, Hindina cried and held onto me like she didn’t want to let go. She’d given me her phone number and address and repeated Please write… Don’t forget me…
I wrote, sent photos of us dancing, but never got a response. The postal system to the mountains was so bad I’m afraid she may never have received my letters. Once I got a call through, and we repeated the 2-3 words we shared in the same language till the connection died.
But I will never forget her.

Here it is. My Lebanon.

Song of The Flower

I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.

At dawn I unite with the breeze
To announce the coming of light;
At eventide I join the birds
In bidding the light farewell.

The plains are decorated with
My beautiful colors, and the air
Is scented with my fragrance.

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of
Night watch over me, and as I
Awaken I stare at the sun, which is
The only eye of the day.

I drink dew for wine, and hearken to
The voices of the birds, and dance
To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.I am the lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;
 I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.But I look up high to see only the light,
And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn.
Kahlil Gibran
 

~*♥*~

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By Wild Woman Community ♥.

~*♥*~

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