pics of John

This picture of John was taken in Europe several years ago. I figured since I am leaving for Europe today I would use this picture. Europeans seem to travel more than Americans. They take more time for holiday and for relaxing. I think that is because material gain is not as important value as we American's see it. I am going to try to "when in Ireland, do as the Irish do" I am hoping that will include for me more relaxation. At this point I am out of my comfort zone. Eight days on the road and many more to go. Newspaper, coffee and bird watching at home have given way to miles of beautiful roads and beautiful smiles. See ya tomorrow or so from the Emerald Isle...it's all good!

Irish Eyes

Tomorrow I fly out to Ireland. I have always wanted to visit Ireland. Ten years ago I had the blessing to meet my dear friend Brother Seamus.

He has been to the States a dozen times to visit us and we had not once been to his home land. Now we head out to see the land that has created this beautiful friend of ours. We will see other great friends too and surely will meet some new ones. After spending 3 days on the playground with my grandson and enjoying laughter, boo boos and many " I love you so much grandma". How can life get any better than this. Part of me could feel guilty... but I won't let it. It is my time to shine. To enjoy and have fun....I do feel a small retionalizatin about to break thru.. humor me.. I have worked very hard and I deserve this. Thank you. I am taking my lap top with me so the blogs may go on...if I can plug in and get an internet connection. What am I most excited about in Ireland.. the music. The pubs and the music. Ready for more stories to share, I hold you all in my heart and you travel with me! Irish Eyes and Emerald Isle here we come!

heart song

My heart song is eclectic. It has rhythm and rhyme. It has great joy and great sorrow. I've yet to be able to truly share the entire song, nor am I even aware of the scope of the music. But I have always loved music and I hear it in the rustling leaves and the tractors roaring by. When I first saw this image by Cynthia De'Robin I knew it was perfect for the Beauty Music I wanted to share. The water, the sky and the contemplation spoke to me of Seamus, Sir Charles and John Two-Hawks. Little did I know then how short a time they had to create beauty music together. We never know how short a time we have to give the world our heart song. So it is time to cast off all fear and doubt and sing your own true heart song into the world. You were created to sing this song and to share it with those who will appreciate the beauty of your soul. Hide it in your heart and honor your own unique song. We each have a song....it is the music of the heart.

the flute within me

Yesterday we finished up the flute discovery retreat weekend in Yellow Springs Ohio. What a

wonderful time it was. Today I carry the flute within me. I am filled with the sounds of music, laugher, tears, wonder and revelation from a weekend spent with fellow wonderers and wanderers. I carry the flute within me. I carry the faces and dreams of each person who I had the incredible good fortune of getting to spend spirit time with this weekend. I see so much healing and hope for the world. We go forth breathing healing intent. We go forth accepting who we are and with lightness we touch the earth and recognize all her beauty. The rain was awesome, the sunshine was a delight. The music healed my soul. Oh how I loved watching the birds outside the windex washed windows. Mine at home are never clean... but sometimes a dirty window is also a blessing.... going to the playground...later

new day 4

Actually this is the 5th day but 4 is just such a wonderful number that I thought I would just call this the 4th day. For all you literal folks, you are probably on the wrong blog. Not much time this morning according to the clock but my intuition tells me different. Do you know not so long ago there were no seconds...and not so long before that clocks, gadgets to measure our every move and people actually still managed, perhaps more consciously. Today I will see my little grandson Jonathan.... I am most excited about that. To play with him, cook for him and love on him is going to be grand. I am actually more excited about this then I was going to the Grammys, but then I don't have to get all dressed up to impress Jonathan and I was nothing at the Grammys but to him I am GRANDMA!! The ultimate award! Nothing much matters about time or schedules when you are playing with a four year old. When Dominick, my oldest grandson was about 5, he and I went to the park. He was on his bike and I was walking. On the way there he said "Grandma, have you ever eaten dirt?" I said "no I don't think I have". He said "I have, do you want to try it?" Being the adventurous type and always up for impressing my grandson...wanting to be the coolest grandma, I said "ok". I thought he will probably forget this before we get to the park. But he didn't. So I got to experience eating dirt that day. It's not all that good. Kind of gritty and yucky... but neither he nor I have ever forgotten the day this cool granny ate dirt. Probably won't write a blog for a couple of days... I'll be at the playground. Later

day 3

Well here I sit in our tour vehicle, with my new laptop pushing and clicking and swearing. Erasing by mistake and finding cool new stuff on the computer. Like life... just when you think wow things are finally going my way. Suddenly bang.. what?#! where did that come from.... I feel like I hear a voice from beyond say to me "don't even try to get in your comfort zone". Maybe I am getting the message, find some comfort in whatever zone I find myself in.... ok I'll try that. Like the old song "Love the one your with" Great Song... honor the moment you are in. At present I find myself surrounded by beautiful open fields of lush green grass, loving friends, and adventure awaiting my every breath. So that is cool! Perspective is a wonderful thing. To find the blessings, the beauty, the magic in this day can afford comfort. I love the line from Iris Dements song "easy's gettin harder everyday". So take that road less traveled, the pavement of faith even though you can't see the next turn and the road is full of pitfalls like the Arkansas back rd that we love to travel. There we discover hidden treasures. That is where you find the awe moments, not on the sofa tuned into channel

C- O- M- F- O- R- T. Maybe I am talking to you here... but I am most definetly talking to ME!

Travel On...

on the road again

Tomorrow we head out. Preparing for the road is a dance of insanity. Retreats, concerts, grandkids, flights, foreign countries... just a few things to pack and prepare for. I have little yellow post it notes everywhere. Ireland stuff note, flute retreat note, business stuff etc. etc. But it is fun and I seem to thrive in the chaos. That is my art, chaos to order. Bringing life to an intention or an idea. Planning, pruning, sweating and delivering. My life, not so bad. I will try my best to continue my writing on the road. I have a new laptop and a wi fi connection. I don't know about Ireland though, but I will write when I can. We will take you all on our journey, ambassadors of peace and healing beings, in our hearts and in our thoughts you travel with us. blessings....peace

breathing

Last night I had a sweet young woman take me aside and say to me " I am on a spiritual journey" she said. I just looked at her, because my thought was 'yes'.. 'and' ..because she might as well taken me aside and said " I am breathing". But I snapped out of my duhh mode and tuned in to listen to what she was saying. Basically she was saying I recognize who I am but I live in a world that seems blind to who I am. I listened and made my profound suggestion. Attend a Mending Medicine retreat. That is all I could think of because that is where I feel surrounded by people who are surrounded by spirit and live in spirit as effortlessly as breathing. We are all on a spiritual journey. Eating, sleeping, working, playing.. it is all connected to spirit. Each step is a prayer, a lesson, a spiritual journey. We may live in these bodies, but they are no more than a vehicle. Would you mistake who you are and think the car you drive in, is you? Of course not, you step out of the car when you arrive at your destination. You know the car is not you, certainly this body is not us. We will step out of this body when we arrive at our destination.
This is most certainly a spiritual journey. Do I know what and why and when. No. But I can figure out that we can touch each other spirit to spirit. I can figure out that it is all a circle and we will certainly step out of this cramped body into a larger, free and loving place.

Circle of Love

Recently someone told me that a person they spoke to said what does your community "do".
I have been pondering this question. And as I think over the individuals that are connected with our group, I would have to write a book to come up with what they "do". But we like to focus more on who they are, rather than what they do. Oh believe me they do plenty, donating time, money and effort to The World Drum Project, Heifer International, White Bison, Haiti relief, Pine Ridge relief and on and on. They are generously giving of their time, prayers to people in need and looking after the planet in a mindful and loving way. They are becoming people of spirit and conviction. The Circle of Nations Community is a consciousness based community. It is not a political or religious group. It is as difficult to describe the Circle of Nations Community as it is to describe the wind. It is a community made up of people who care and are connected to the plant people, the winged, the four legged, the water, wind, earth, fire. We are a people who love each other and this planet. We walk in truth and beauty. We are not perfect, we are not flawless. Our flaws actually make up the beauty of our bouquet. We laugh together, cry together and pray together. We rejoice in each other's triumphs and grieve with each other's losses. We do not judge but rather encourage, we do not exclude but rather include. I can see your faces and hear your laughter. I can feel your pain and know your longing for a better world. You champion justice, you right the wrongs and give away what truly matters. You are love, we are love... that is the Circle of Nations Global Community.

crazy world

Does it seem a little too much lately. I don't need to tell you about the ocean turning black the hurricane and the tornados and on and on. You can see that on tv, read it in the paper or just feel it deep down in your bones. Sooooooooo what do you do. You can pray, you can love and you can do your best to walk softly on mother earth. What else...Only one things comes to mind. Hold on and go with the flow. Love deeper, laugh louder, work harder, rest with more intention. Fear is useless and this crazy world needs no more negative energy. Get close to the earth, take a walk, eat vegetables ( after you thank them) Read a book of jokes, watch children play. Admire a wildflower and find a way to listen to the birds sing directly to you. This is not denial, this is keeping your center as the world spins faster and faster. Get to the middle of the Merry-go-round, you will find some balance there. The breeze still feels sweet and a kind word spoken to a hurting soul still heals the world.

6:00am

So this is what 6:00 am looks like. It's just me and the crows...even the finches have the good sence to sleep in. Well with coffee brewing I will let my eyes begin to focus on the day. I do love sleep. I know that is probably a sin of some sort but just add it to the list. When I wake up and it is 9:00 am, I feel like I have accomplished a great feat, like I am some kind of laid back gal. Ha Ha you who know me better probably wonder if I sleep at all. I do and I love it!! But being a woman and being connected to so much around me, it doesn't take a whole lot to disturb my sleep. Things to do, people to care about, prayers left undone and a miriad of brilliant ideas swimming around in my head can awake me from the most awesome dream. Last nights dream I was just about to head to a shore line of a beautiful beach on a sunny day to sun bathe and swim. Suddenly I am awake thinking about dirty windows... What!!?? So here I am 6:00am and way too tired to wash windows. Isn't being human fun... rise and shine friends!

motherhood

No word more epitomizes love than mom. I realize all of us had human moms. Some were not so good and some were incredible. I was one of the lucky ones to have one of those GREAT moms. I consider myself a pretty great mom and I know that my daughter, who is mother of my three grandsons is a GREAT mom.
So perhaps the great mom DNA has traveled down the family line. When I was little and I said what I wanted to be when I grew up, it was always a mom. I have been so blessed to have been able to fulfill that wish. I have no granddaughters so perhaps the mom DNA from my side will end with my daughter. I am so proud of her.... she is the modern mom, career, kids, facebook, cellphone glued to her head. She loves her boys, her husband and she is incredibly hard working. I have two sons that I am also so proud of. Thank God one lives close to me the other kids and grandkids are all far away so I only get to see them a couple of times a year... this is the sadness I carry. But the gladness is to have them to visit and love and send Christmas, birthday and just general I love you stuff. Being a mom is not easy, it is the most difficult task in the world. It will break your heart, leave you bleeding and fill you with more inadequacy and fear than you thought were possible. But when you place the pain on the scale it never seems to outweigh the pure joy of magic and moments and laughter and kissing boo boo's Mom is love.....

beautiful beautiful

ok... now I know she is gonna kill me but I am gonna risk it all.... cause I like to live on the wild side.
I don't know that I have met anyone lovelier than this lady, although I am sure there must be many and certainly you all know one. She is witty and smart. She is generous and hard loving! No body's fool. Life is about special moments and special people. We always remember how wonderful they were when they are gone. I am not gonna do that I am going to experience how wonderful she is while she is here. This Cherokee woman of wisdom is my sister, my friend and is as diverse as the forest. She can dance in the pow-wow, enjoy Nascar, create, pray and laugh all in the same moment. I saw this incredible photo and knew you would all agree she is one in a million. She is gonna kill me! Shower the people you love with love... I can never give back to her all she has given me but I can at least say I think she is beautiful, beautiful

too busy

Ever been too busy. The day just seems to slip away...then a week.... a month....a life
that is how I feel today. I meant to write my blog this morning but now the sun has set and I am closing in on David Letterman. My list is lost under the pile of papers I planned to sort thru today. My good intentions have been eatin up by the phone, the computer and energy spent being just too busy. Maybe I need therapy, but who has the time. I have been wanting to Blog about Garth Mansion. John and I spent last weekend there. It was wonderful fun and I made myself stay an extra day because I needed the beauty and the nurturing of the historic mansion and the hospitality of Julie and John ( the Inn keepers)
I needed the humor of their son Sean and the laughter and teasing that Julie dishes out along with her incredible homemade, cooked with love meals. She is the one who taught me about happy sugar. So I needed that time for myself and it has put me behind on my list, which I can't find anyway. Tomorrow is another day...maybe I will just make a new list goodnight

make a wish

Would you believe that I still believe in making birthday wishes. Those are strong wishes because they only come once a year and only work if loved ones bring you a birthday cake with candles. I never wanted to waste them so my first wish was for 3 more wishes. Even a little trader back then. The second most powerful wish maker is the one you see here. But you have to be able to blow the entire weed clean, too much work and no cake after, therfore second.
However a wish is still a wish and a powerful intention on its own. It tells us who we are and what we really want. It is not clouded by what others think we should have or what is responsible or likely to occur. Anyone ever wish for a migraine headache ( I don't think so). Wishing is good especially if you connect it to contentment. It means I want this, but I don't have to have it to be happy. But I expect I will get it because I believe. Simple but profound truth. There are fields of dandelions calling your name. Make a Wish!