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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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#SelfCareSunday Efforts And Rewards
May 22, 2017
— 3 Comments
cactus
The essence of effective self care is self knowledge. If you begin to understand yourself just as you are it becomes easier to please your senses and intellect. Your body craves healthy food and activity, and your mind thrives on stimulating conversation and reading. Writing, art projects, and journaling lead one to discover inner talents and insights. Clearing or updating personal space is an ongoing project that gives great satisfaction. Creating excellent work and play environments in your own home make life much more pleasurable.
I like simple pleasures like beautiful plants and fresh foods. Since I like to cook and find it therapeutic, I can always spend an afternoon in the kitchen having fun. On Sundays I like to prepare food for the week. Bob takes a meal from home to work with him most days, so I pack a few servings to get a head start on the week. If I also take time to do some deep cleaning tasks on the weekend, my work during the week is lightened, and I enjoy the clean environment. I know cooking and cleaning might not sound like self care tasks to you, but in my mind they are basic. I don’t pay others to do these things for me, so making it an adventure in creative homemaking is my only good healthy option. I feel accomplished and well cared for when I have some chores finished. I then relax completely.
I do not plan an entire day of effort without some direct rewards. I often make sweets and desserts on the weekends, and clean my bathroom extra well. I treat myself to some sweet concoction and take a lovely long soaking bath in my sparkling clean tub. I use essential oils of lavender and grapefruit, and take a tall glass of iced tea to drink while I soak. This is at least as good as being at a 5 star hotel for me, because I don’t have to travel back home…I am home!! I provide my own room service, slip into my own bed with fresh linens, and sleep soundly.
How do you make your weekends work to combine tasks that must be done with some relaxation and fun? Everyone has a personal style, which is why each person knows best how to be true to that style.
cactus
#WritePhoto Haunted Quarters
May 18, 2017
— 5 Comments
weeping window
The tower had been built in the time of the beheadings
Torture and murder were the order of the day
They wiped out knights and murdered the queens
Who did not please the monarch by giving him a male heir
Some of my ancestors lost their heads, fortunes, and means
As players in the center of the Tudor dynasty reign of terror
Some spent their last night in confinement writing poetry
To leave a written legacy to the future subjects of the crown
The sorrow and the suffering of every tortured soul is evident
The stones are carved with the names of the doomed who have past
While the window weeps tears of the ghosts who haunt the present
With their unresolved memories of cruel and heartless treatment
Looking from this point of view we can see the harm done by violence
#writephoto
This poem is in response to this week’s photo prompt from Sue Vincent’s Echo. Join writers from around the globe each week to read, comment, or write your own story for #writephoto.
Newsflash Fever
May 15, 2017
— 5 Comments
thorny
What is the hurry to rush to judgement before the truth is known?
Where is the discernment needed to tell fact from fiction?
Confusion reigns while some are making a living making up news
And others are taking it all in from morning until night every day
Is there a limit to the shadow nonsense information we consume?
We need an intervention from a natural reality with perspective
These newsflashes and their associated contempt and contention
Are fast occurring, tiny openings into the dystopian future we create
Habitually Blind
May 10, 2017
— 2 Comments
hole in the wall
hole in the wall
While time passes by your window and blows through your mind
Where are your connections to the natural world?
Are you just habitually blind?
Does the rising of the tide of hatred sting your immortal soul?
Or do you sit in the corner twiddling your thumbs
When everyone becomes a merciless troll?
Did you have a purpose for being born on earth?
If so you better get to work, because things are getting worse
hole in the wall
#NaPoWriMo Rewind
April 11, 2017
— 1 Comment
Casa Grande Ruins
There is no rewind button for the story of your life
The plot thickens when you fall asleep, depleting shelf life
There is no knowledge of the the time that remains to spend
It could go on forever, or it could suddenly crash, burn, and end
Nature takes time to produce majesty, power, and wonder
In a flash floodwater, centuries of culture are torn asunder
Watch your past for hints of what will reveal itself in the present
Karma is waiting with situations you will not be able to circumvent
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- #GloPoWriMo
Join poets around the world reading, writing, and reciting poetry in the month of April. Follow the hashtags on social media, and find new poetry here, at the #NaPoWriMo site. Try your hand at writing a poem using one of the many prompts available all month. Enjoy!!
#NaPoWriMo Drowning Dreams
April 10, 2017
— 1 Comment
gathering storm
The deck heaved and moaned under the pressure of the storm
No crew, no passengers, were brave enough to go outside
They felt a certain doom as the flooded staterooms forewarned
Death by drowning on the high seas, washing ashore with the tide
No lifeboat nor anchor remained to offer a chance of survival
Lost in the darkness, tossed by high winds, this ship awaits the arrival
Of the grimmest reaper of all, Neptune’s servants fish for treasure
Treacherous currents and winds aloft will assist with the desperate measure
Beware of dreams that drag you from your own familiar shore
Your stable secure feeling may be impossible to restore
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- #GloPoWriMo
Join writers all over the world creating poetry in the month of April. National Poetry Writing Month is for everyone. Find some new material, or submit a piece of your own under the hashtags above, or at the #NaPoWriMo site.
#NaPoWriMo Veracity vs Mendacity
April 9, 2017
— 2 Comments
Cactus in bloom
What happened to our capacity to judge complete dreck from veracity?
How low will we need to go before we recognize the well disguised foe?
Supporting wolves in sheep’s’ clothing will replace our peace with loathing
Pull the wool from over your eyes, look directly at the reasons they lie.
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- #GloPoWriMo
Please join poets from around the world to ride the poetry train in April. Read, write, recite, or compete in one of the many contests. Check out the action here.
#WritePhoto Stone History #NaPoWriMo
April 6, 2017
— 6 Comments
stone arch
When we find the arch of stones standing alone
In the ruins of a once grand castle of a once grand duke
We can feel the hours spent preening to make an entrance
Through the elegant opening that framed the costume
The servants scurried to please His Lordship and his guests
With musical serenades, crumpets, and a silver tea service
No expense nor effort was spared to create the illusion
Of grandeur and pomp, great excess and special privilege
Nothing remains of the era they thought would never end
This pile of stones can’t tell us now if history is foe or friend
#writephoto
Please join a talented group of writers who are inspired each week by Sue Vincent’s photo prompts. Visit Sue’s Daily Echo to read, write, or comment on the posts. It is fun to read all the variation on the same photo inspiration.
#NaPoWriMo2017
April is National Poetry Writing Month. Please bust a rhyme yourself, or enjoy reading some poetry at the #NaPoWriMo site here. There are poets contributing for all over the globe, so this year this had been acknowledged by using the #GloPoWriMo hashtag. Both can be followed on twitter or Facebook for more poetic material.
#GloPoWriMo
#WeekendCoffeeShare #NaPoWriMo Edition
April 1, 2017
— 4 Comments
#NaPoWriMo2017
Dear Gentle Readers,
In April I write 30 poems in 30 days to honor my famous ancestor who was an exceptional poet and a special kind of historian. Today I join folks from around the world to participate in this year’s #NaPoWriMo. Since it is a global initiative it is also known as #GloPoWriMo to make it clear that everyone is invited. You can follow both these hashtags on twitter or Facebook for more information. I invite you to partake as a fan or a poet. You my be surprised at the poet you find inside of yourself. There are many wonderful styles of writing to discover in this treasure trove of artistic expression. Don’t be shy. Write a poem.
#GloPoWriMo
Please sit down, relax, take a load off your feet
While I tell you the story of Ann Dudley Bradstreet
She published her poetry in the Puritan times
Her English is old school, her well crafted rhymes
Were concerned with religion and current events
She made poignant requests to her progeny to stay
On the right side of God’s will, never sit on the fence
She begged us to be ethical, honest, virtuous and bold
Her legacy is eloquent, the details of our family were told
In real time as America took unexpected turns toward liberty
Finding her voice as a woman was a rare privilege, an anomaly
As her descendant I call on her esteemed presence in April every year
I ask for her assistance to drop a few decent beats, to be pertinent and clear
And so, dear ancestor, now scattered into stardust and moonbeams
Visit me with your discipline, your wisdom, and all of your ancient dreams
To follow in your footsteps I am going to require a great deal of your love
Look down on your daughter here on earth, send inspiration from above
in bloom
looking up
If we were having coffee this month I would ask my coffee friends around the table to ride the poetry train if you are able. I know it is corny and may turn perverse. I assure you than in May I will return to verse. The coffee share and the poetry train go well as a duo, in my opinion. Help yourself to coffee, tea, and poetry. For more digital beverages and prose, please visit Nerd in the Brain. The weekly party is always interesting and stimulating.
#WeekendCoffeeShare
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