From the Heart
Through our communications we are able to instill love and kindness. Watch and be present in all forms of communication as it does not come with words alone, listen to the world around you, give time to others and watch as the colours of the universe blend with your actions.
~ Liza
The embodiment of graceful, you as you near to me.
as graceful as a big white swan, gliding purposefully.
A gentle sparrow on the wing, the songbird you can see,
the pigeons as they gently kiss, as graceful as can be.
x
So truly very graceful, like the head of a falling rose,
dipping gently towards earth, with dignity not woe.
and as she lies out on her bed, the end is coming soon
gracefully she kisses earth, where her love once bloomed.
I’m thinking about strength today and what it means. I have been thinking about my mum, her mum and also myself in a way. I come from a line of strong women, strong because they had to be and because they had the strength of character to carry on despite the knocks along the way. I’m thinking about them a lot at the moment as it’s nearly the second anniversary of my mums death.
So what is strength. I don’t think a strong person is one that is able to express themselves loudly, use power over another, overcome those that are weaker or get themselves noticed because of their presence. Strength can be found in silence, like in those that keep their own council without the need to rant and rave about life. Those that are sure of their own strength do not have to demonstrate it outwardly, secure in the knowledge that it is there and available in times of need.
Both my mother and grandmother had a quietness about them that could never be misinterpreted for weakness. Both loved their family fiercely, but did not need to demonstrate this in any other way apart from in the love they showed. Both women made great sacrifices for their children who recognised the strength of their love, knowing they would willingly go to the ends of the earth and back if it was demanded.
Real strength is comes from within, when one has the ability to draw on their own power and strength to face life. It comes from the soul, a soul that has become strong and knowledgable, a soul that understands. A soul that has learnt that it is not necessary to assert power over others in order to be powerful, a soul that understands the only strength you need is the strength to move forward in life with kindness and love. We become strong through our own spiritual growth, through the lessons we learn as we move through our lives.
The last few years of my mothers life she was in constant pain, I don’t want to go into the in’s and out’s of the illness but my admiration for her is incredible. She never complained of her pain, she continued to give out the same love, care and concern as she always had and suffered mainly in silence. Mum had the biggest soul and a strength that was out of this world, despite her own pain her main concern was for those she loved. I am not sure if I would be strong enough given the same circumstance and I hope and pray that I am not ever tested.
So here’s to strength today, to all the strong women out there, strong men and those that are needing to draw on their strength at the moment. May you have all the strength you need to succeed and may you learn from your journey.
Strong woman you’re amazing, you take my breath away
With a meekness that’s inspiring, I watch you every day
Your strength so understated, but so very clearly there
I see in in all things you do, in the passion of your care.
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I know you learnt the hard way, it’s what made you strong
Knocks you had along the way, the days that were so long
But out of all those lessons, you found a strength within
You stood up tall and carried on, oh how did you begin
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Strong woman tell me what you learnt, show me the way
I so want to be as strong as you, I’d like to start off today
With a meekness that hits me hard, not weak in any way.
Will I have to understand your pain, to walk with you today.
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I feel that maybe life is a test, we come here to achieve something, find ourselves, maybe remember who we are but we get caught up in life and forget our purpose.
We come to develop an understanding, find tolerance and compassion. Often this comes from the tests life give us, that we suffer on occasions ourselves opens our understanding of suffering. To feel pain we recognise the pain of others and in turn learn compassion. I know it sounds silly but it’s like anything, to experience is to understand.
When we find tolerance, we are able to meet life’s challenges head on, knowing that they will make us stronger and strengthen our soul.
Joy and pain are two sides of the same coin, like night and day, there is not one without the other. If we have an easy ride, well maybe that’s a life without meaning, recovery from the last or we are here to help others. I’m not sure we won’t know until the end, it’s all a mystery really.
None of us can get through this life alone, we are not made that way. We are born into a family group and from there we spread out into the world and join other groups. We make friends along the way, special people we want to be with, that give us something and get something back from us. Real friendship is a blessing, these people we love as we love our family, for some who have experienced difficult upbringings these are the only family they may ever have.
So what is a friend. To me a friend is someone who understands us and likes what they see, friends look beyond the outer shell and understand the soul of us. Our friends champion us, they will us on and help us get there. There is no jealously or competition in friendship, we want and wish for our friends to be happy.
I’m not like all my friends, we don’t have to think the same or say the same we just have to love each other. My oldest friend I met at 4, I knocked on her door and asked if she wanted to come to my party. I was new on the estate, mum had just divorced and we had moved back to London where she could work in the city. I told her ‘it won’t be a very big party because I haven’t got a daddy’. Well she came and we have been great friends ever since. We rarely see each other, a couple of times a year and apart from the odd email and text we are not in contact a lot but we love each other dearly. When my mother died she was the first person I phoned, she loved my mum very much too. She was a rock through those dark days, along with other friends and I don’t know how my sister and I would have got through without them.
I’m not really like any of my friends, we are all different and that’s good. One friend I met through work, we worked in a children’s home where violence and aggression were a daily occurrence. We understood the children were traumatised and their behaviour was just a communication of their emotions and early life experiences but it didn’t stop us getting hurt on occasion. I knew this girl was always behind me, she always had my back and me hers, so it was only natural we would become good friends. We have been friends ever since and we continue to support and have each others backs. Funny we are nothing alike, we like different music, choose different places to go and have different interests but experience holds us together.
I have a friend who always leaves flowers on my kitchen table for me to return to when I have been away, she has recently started a blog on here and knows who she is and that I love her dearly.
I haven’t mentioned family, those very special and wonderful friends, because they deserve a special post just for them, but my son and sister are my best friends and I still talk to my mum daily and know she listens.
Friendships can be transient, people come into our lives for the time we need them, they complete the task and move on, it might be we were supposed to do something for them. I think friends are probably planned before we come here, some of these people we have known before in other lifetimes, that’s why we recognise them.
I am so blessed with the friends I have, those that have been and those yet to come.
Friends arrive when we need them, they help us discover ourselves. Friends push us forward and hold our hands when the going gets rough. Friends bring lessons and stay to help us learn these lessons. Friendship is a gift from the universe.
~ Liza
Blue is the sky from my window today
Birds high in the sky, maybe flying away
A fluffy white cloud, a slither of white
I’ve a feeling today might just be alright
This time of year you just never can tell
Last days of sunshine, a gift from a spell
Squirrels jumping, on leaves on the floor
Today is for playing, there’s not many more
Are we awake right now, living in the minute
or we just dreaming, just thinking we’re in it
is all of this an illusion, created by our minds
could it be we are asleep, not even humankind.
Is the planet our creation, but not really here
just all experiencing the dream, so very clear
And if that is the case, oh, where in hell are we
are we just a stream of thought, nothing else can see.
When we give birth to something, we create something beautiful. Ideas are born into the world and need to be nurtured to grow and reach their full potential.
~ Liza
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