love :: resolutions

blessings for a love filled 2013

the story of two wolves

One day an old Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, "There are two wolves fighting inside all of us - the wolf of fear and hate, and the wolf of love and peace."

The grandson listened, then looked up at his grandfather and asked, "Which one will win?"

The grandfather replied, "The one we feed."

The imperfect attracts us :: Paulo Coelho

 

Beauty exists not in sameness but in difference.

Who could imagine a giraffe without its long neck or a cactus without its spines?
The irregularity of the mountain peaks that surround us is what makes them so imposing. If we tried to make them all the same, they would no longer command our respect.

It is the imperfect that astonishes and attracts us.

When we look at a cedar tree, we don’t think: ‘The branches should be all the same length.’
We think: ‘How strong it is.’

When we see a snake, we never say: ‘He is crawling along the ground, while I am walking with head erect.’
We think: ‘He might be small, but his skin is colourful, his movements elegant, and he is more powerful than me.’

When the camel crosses the desert and takes us to the place we want to reach, we never say: ‘He’s humpbacked and has ugly teeth.’

We think: ‘He deserves my love for his loyalty and help. Without him, I would never be able to explore the world.’

A sunset is always more beautiful when it is covered with irregularly shaped clouds, because only then can it reflect the many colours out of which dreams and poetry are made. 

Pity those who think: ‘I am not beautiful. That’s why Love has not knocked at my door.’
In fact, Love did knock, but when they opened the door, they weren’t prepared to welcome Love in.

They were too busy trying to make themselves beautiful first, when, in fact, they were fine as they were.
They were trying to imitate others, when Love was looking for something original.

They were trying to reflect what came from outside, forgetting that the brightest light comes from within.

paulocoelhoblog.com/2012/12/15/the-imperfect-attracts-us/

In the middle of my Heart

"In the middle of my Heart,
a star appeared,
and the seven heavens were lost
in its brilliance."
 
Rumi

every day

“Every day is just perfect for love”

Rumi

give a little love :: Bay City Rollers

love yourself

“It is never too late to love yourself again.”

Bryant McGill

peace on earth

flowers

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them."

Henri Matisse

my love

try love

learn how to love

"Imagine how much easier it would be for us to learn how to love if we began with a shared definition.” 

 Bell Hooks

what a difference a day makes :: Dinah Washington

merely a strand in it

"Teach your children what we have taught ours, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

Chief Seattle, Suquamish Tribe

and what is it to work with love?

"And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection,
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy,
even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead
are standing about you and watching."

Kahlil Gibran

give a little love :: Rilo Kiley

love and compassion :: Dalai Lama

"By implementing the practice of love and compassion, we will naturally live a non-violent way of life. Helping others and not harming them is the work of non-violence. We need to develop love, compassion and forgiveness to develop inner peace and that naturally gives rise to non-violent conduct."

Dalai Lama

take hold

Take hold of your own life.
See that the whole existence is celebrating.
These trees are not serious, these birds are not serious.
The rivers and the oceans are wild,
and everywhere there is fun,
everywhere there is joy and delight.
Watch existence,
listen to the existence and become part of it.

Osho

cultivating joy

Assume that your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier to your spiritual growth, but is in fact essential to it.

Proceed on the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and compassionate person.

Imagine that feeling good has something important to teach you every day.

What might you do differently from what you do now?

Rob Brezsny

laughter

laughter :: good for you!

 

pain reliever

stress reliever
internal massage
releases endorphins

lowers blood pressure
boosts immune system
speeds recovery
it feels great!

Water, Consciousness & Intent

Water, Consciousness & Intent: Dr. Masaru Emoto

Dr. Masaru Emoto undertook extensive research of water around the planet. At length he realized that it was in the frozen crystal form that water showed us its true nature through. He has gained worldwide acclaim through his groundbreaking research and discovery that water is deeply connected to our individual and collective consciousness.
www.masaru-emoto.net/english/index.html

Every Pull Draws Us To The Ocean

“From the urgent way lovers want each other 
to the seeker’s search for truth, 
all moving is from the mover. 
Every Pull Draws Us To The Ocean.”
 
Rumi

‎"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." 

 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

image via pinterest.com

give a little love

the domino effect - love style!

YOU :: it's enough, it's plenty

source unknown

rest in peace :: Ravi Shankar

morning love 2.2

rest in peace

love love love

a love like that

"Even after all this time
The sun never says to the Earth,
"You owe me."

Look what happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.

Hafiz

for the love of music

Paraguay Landfill Harmonic Documentary Features Recycled Orchestra

spread the love

available for purchase!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/80723378/photo-notecard-biodynamic-love

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117792523/photo-notecard-biodynamic-love-set-of-6

https://www.etsy.com/listing/62908896/photo-postcard-biodynamic-love?ref=v1_other_2

(watermark does not appear on notecards & postcards)

 

love
spread the love & resurrect the fine art of letter writing!

why wait?  express your love freely & often.  it can change the world

full colour photo note card suitable for framing
blank inside
with blank white envelope

5.5" x 4.25" (horizontal)
professionally printed
100% recycled (post consumer waste) card stock
linen finish

still believe :: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” 

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

love is waiting :: the carnival band

there was a problem with the link posted on the december 2 posting!

here is the heart felt song by Vancouver's Carnival Band

xox

get & give a compliment

the language of G*d

"Laughter is the language of G*d.  And we can all live happily ever laughter."

Yakov Smirnoff

*Happy Hanukkah*

love :: John Lennon

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

have you ever been loved? :: Rob Brezsny

Have you ever been loved? I bet you have been loved so much and so deeply that you have become blasé about the enormity of the grace it confers.

So let me remind you: To be loved is a privilege and prize equivalent to being born. If you're smart, you pause regularly to bask in the astonishing knowledge that there are many people out there who care for you and want you to thrive and hold you in their thoughts with fondness.

Animals, too: You have been the recipient of their boundless affection. The spirits of allies who've left this world continue to send their tender regards, as well. Do you "believe" in angels and other divine beings? Whether or not you do, I can assure you that there are hordes of them beaming their uncanny consecrations your way. You are awash in torrents of love.

As tremendous a gift it is to get love, giving love is an equal boon. Many scientific studies demonstrate that whenever you bestow blessings on other people, you bless yourself. Expressing practical compassion not only strengthens your immune system and bolsters your health, but also promotes self-esteem, enhances longevity, and stimulates tranquility and even euphoria. As the scientists say, we humans are hardwired to benefit from altruism.

What's your position on making love? Do you regard it as one of the nicer fringe benefits of being alive? Or are you more inclined to see it as a central proof of the primal magnanimity of the universe? I'm more aligned with the latter view.

Imagine yourself in the fluidic blaze of that intimate spectacle right now. Savor the fantasy of entwining bodies and hearts and minds with an appealing partner who has the power to enchant you. What better way do you know of to dwell in sacred space while immersed in your body's delight? To commune with the Divine Wow while having fun? To tap into your own deeper knowing while at the same time gazing into the mysterious light of a fellow creature?

Rob Brezsny
- http://bit.ly/Pronoia

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."                                                                                                                                                                                                    
Martin Luther King, Jr.

RIP Dave Brubeck

All the Things You Are

Dave Bruebeck Trio + Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan

live 1971

say something nice

bloom like flowers

"The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." 

Thich Nhat Hanh

educate the heart

love on fire

 www.recyclart.org

This piece is made up of approximately 2,500 match sticks and a total of 24 hours. The board is a reclaimed art board / plywood. It was previously used as a glueing surface. The type is hand drawn.

Love on fire represents romance and passion or destructions and jealousy.  It is raw and gritty.

love is waiting :: the carnival band

www.thecarnivalband.com/carnivalband/

risk being loved

everyday!

via www.elephantjournal.com

happy birthday, Mark Twain

"When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain."

Mark Twain

love has the power

"While both joy and sorrow are fleeting, and often intertwined, love has the power to overcome both."

D.P Fulton

Love is the most democratic experience that exists

"Love is the most democratic experience that exists. When one empathizes with another, another human being or another creature: all the barriers go down, all the boundaries are eliminated, all the distinctions in status and class goes by the wayside because if I empathize with you or another being basically I'm saying I feel you as if you are me."

 

Jeremy Rifkin

bestow your love

"go my friend
bestow your love
even on your enemies
if you touch their hearts
what do you think will happen"

Rumi

love :: Nat King Cole

whole heart

"It is by loving the people that you love with your whole heart that you become who you really are."  

John Robbins

it matters only that you love

"It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love, or how you love, it matters only that you love." 

John Lennon

a love supreme :: John Coltrane

i listen to this every day

love them

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” 

Mother Theresa

cultivating joy

"What if your drive to experience pleasure isn't a barrier to your spiritual growth? Consider trying out the hypothesis that cultivating joy can make you a more ethical and compassionate person. Imagine that feeling good has something important to teach you on a regular basis."  

Rob Brezsny

blue furry monster love

don't take your love from me :: Coleman Hawkins

happy birthday, coleman.  thanks for all the great music.

love is...

“Love is scary. Love is risky. Love is unsafe. Love isn’t for the faint of heart. Love takes courage. Love and fear can’t coexist. Love means giving people permission to break your heart—over and over and over.”

Dr. Lissa Rankin

what about love :: Heart

the happy virus

I caught the happy virus last night
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious --
So kiss me

Hafiz

See Into The Invisible

"Love Helps You See Into The Invisible" 

Rumi

love love love

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius.  Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

the power of vulnerability

love thy neighbour

source unknown

if you know the source of this great image, please leave a comment, so proper credit can be given.  thanks!

only bearable through love

"for small beings such as we,
the vastness is only bearable
through love."

carl sagan

look deeply into nature

"Look deeply into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

Albert Einstein

Love and love alone

"Love and love alone, That is all I have Known.
In the beginning ,In The Middle
And to The End Unknown.
Someone is Calling me
I Think it is My Soul, Open The Door"

Rumi

More Love Than You Could Ever Understand

"You have Within You More Love
Than You Could Ever Understand " 

Rumi

find that light within

"They say human nature is competitive, aggressive, selfish—in fact the opposite is true. Human nature is co-operative, generous, community-minded. If you find that light within, find your own nature, you’ll be kinder to yourself and kinder to nature."

Gabor Mate

 

love is all there is

"Be foolishly in love, because love is all there is. There is no way into presence except through a love exchange."

Rumi

stick with love

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too big a burden to bear."

Martin Luther King Jr.

There is no moment in which we are not together

"Everybody is together at one point.  We cry together, we love together. There is no moment in which we are not together."

Denkyo Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi

is this love :: Bob Marley

I have decided to be happy

"I have decided to be happy, because it's good for my health."

Voltaire

spread the love

facebook.com/theconsciouschris

I have discovered love!

"Oh God! I have discovered love!
How marvelous! How good!
How beautiful it is!
My body is warm from the heat of this love..."

Rumi

I am fortunate to be alive

"Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

Dalai Lama

act on it

love is a verb

rules for happiness

RULES FOR HAPPINESS:
something to do,
someone to love,
something to hope for.

Immanuel Kant

all you need is love. but...

"All you need is love.  But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."

Charles M. Schulz

love an animal

"Until one has loved an animal, part of one's soul remains unawakened"

Anatole France, poet

you made me love you :: Julie London

widening our circle of compassion

"Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."

Albert Einstein

heart of a dreamer

Coeur reveur, Nonetta
nonnetta.deviantart.com

All things are connected

"If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man. All things are connected."

Chief Seattle

the power of hugging

for all the mamas

The Mom Stays in the Picture 

by Allison Tate

Last weekend, my family traveled to attend my oldest niece's Sweet Sixteen party. My brother and sister-in-law planned this party for many months and intended it to be a big surprise, and it included a photo booth for the guests.
I showed up to the party a bit late and, as usual, slightly askew from trying to dress myself and all my little people for such a special night out. I'm still carrying a fair amount of baby weight and wearing a nursing bra, and I don't fit into my cute clothes. I felt awkward and tired and rumpled.
I was leaning my aching back against the bar, my now 5-month-old baby sleeping in a carrier on my chest (despite the pounding bass and dulcet tones of LMFAO blasting through the room) when my 5-year-old son ran up to me.
"Come take pictures with me, Mommy," he yelled over the music, "in the photo booth!"
I hesitated. I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.
It seems logical. We're sporting mama bodies and we're not as young as we used to be. We don't always have time to blow dry our hair, apply make-up, perhaps even bathe (ducking). The kids are so much cuter than we are; better to just take their pictures, we think.
But we really need to make an effort to get in the picture. Our sons need to see how young and beautiful and human their mamas were. Our daughters need to see us vulnerable and open and just being ourselves -- women, mamas, people living lives. Avoiding the camera because we don't like to see our own pictures? How can that be okay?
Too much of a mama's life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don't see the way I make sure my kids' favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don't know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don't know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don't see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I'm up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don't see any of that.
Someday, I want them to see me, documented, sitting right there beside them: me, the woman who gave birth to them, whom they can thank for their ample thighs and their pretty hair; me, the woman who nursed them all for the first years of their lives, enduring porn star-sized boobs and leaking through her shirts for months on end; me, who ran around gathering snacks to be the week's parent reader or planning the class Valentine's Day party; me, who cried when I dropped them off at preschool, breathed in the smell of their post-bath hair when I read them bedtime stories, and defied speeding laws when I had to rush them to the pediatric ER in the middle of the night for fill-in-the-blank (ear infections, croup, rotavirus).
I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.
When I look at pictures of my own mother, I don't look at cellulite or hair debacles. I just see her -- her kind eyes, her open-mouthed, joyful smile, her familiar clothes. That's the mother I remember. My mother's body is the vessel that carries all the memories of my childhood. I always loved that her stomach was soft, her skin freckled, her fingers long. I didn't care that she didn't look like a model. She was my mama.
So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are.
I will save the little printed page with four squares of pictures on it and the words "Morgan's Sweet Sixteen" scrawled across the top with the date. There I am, hair not quite coiffed, make-up minimal, face fuller than I would like -- one hand holding a sleeping baby's head, and the other wrapped around my sweet littlest guy, who could not care less what I look like.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-tate/mom-pictures-with-kids_b_1926073.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents

great love

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

Mother Teresa

keep love in your heart

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."

Oscar Wilde 

new york's in love :: David Bowie

love of a cat

 

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”

Charles Dickens

I Open And Fill With Love

""Everything Is Soul And Flowering.
I Open And Fill With Love
And What Is Not Love Evaporates."

Rumi

the purpose of human life

"The purpose of human life
is to give and receive love."

Rob Brezsny

weeds are flowers too

"Weeds are flowers too,
once you get to know them."

EEyore

Dance Me to the End Of Love :: Leonard Cohen

miles

" Can miles truly separate you from friends... If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?"

Richard Bach

Big Sugar

Big Sugar explores the dark history and modern power of the world's reigning sugar cartels. Using dramatic reenactments, it reveals how sugar was at the heart of slavery in the West Indies in the 18th century, while showing how present-day consumers are slaves to a sugar-based diet. Going undercover, Big Sugar witnesses the appalling working conditions on plantations in the Dominican Republic, where Haitian cane cutters live like slaves. Workers who live on Central Romano, a Fanjul-owned plantation, go hungry while working 12-hour days to earn $2 (US). part 1 part 2

Fruit Basket

Fruit Basket 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

mashed potato time :: Dee Dee Sharp

Winter

Winter 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

green onions :: Booker T & the MG's

the quiona song

Autumn 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

how to cook your life

A Zen priest in San Francisco and cookbook author use Zen Buddhism and cooking to relate to everyday life.

beautiful ~ a must see for anyone with a love of food, cooking, and inner peace.  it can help bring a whole new mindfulness to your plate & life.  enjoy!

pulling mussels :: Squeeze

Summer

Summer 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

the vegetable orchestra

The True Cost of Food:
A campaign to promote sustainable food choices.
from the Sierra Club National Sustainable Consumption Committee.
We, the consumers, through our food choices, can stop the practices that harm our health, our planet, and our quality of life.

thank you, farmers

Spring 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

red beans & rice :: Spearhead

The Weight of the World

This fascinating documentary looks at obesity. Stockholm’s Dr. Stephan Rossner, an obesity specialist, proves beyond doubt that obesity is a man-made epidemic. Super-sized fast foods and a $12 billion ad industry are proving to be lethal when mixed with a car-dominated culture, urban sprawl and labour-saving technologies.

The Weight of the World by Glynis Whiting, National Film Board of Canada

watermelon man :: Herbie Hancock

 Vertemnus 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

world food day 2012

door of your own heart

"Why are you knocking at every other door?
Go, knock at the door of your own heart."

Rumi

the hand of love

via facebook.com/designdautore

the most beautiful things in the world

"The most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen or even touched,
they must be felt with the heart."

Helen Keller

to love somebody :: P.P. Arnold live

love, the mystery of :: Art Blakey

happy birthday, art blakey

a loving heart

"A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge."

Thomas Carlyle

modern love :: David Bowie

happy thanksgiving

"Every breath is a sacrament, an 
affirmation of our connection with
all other living things, a renewal
of our link with ancestors
and a contribution to generations
yet to come."

David Suzuki

take as much as you need

Salsbury & Graveley
East Van
September 2012

generosity of love

“Since Love has made ruins of my heart the sun must come and illumine them. Such generosity has broken me with shame.”
 
Rumi

everything in between

“Sometimes love does not have the most honorable beginnings, and the endings, the endings will break you in half. It’s everything in between we live for.”
 
Ann Patchett

no matter what...

{peace.love.free}
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=396260760420762&set=pb.345712448808927.-2207520000.1348985682&type=1&theater

all my loving :: Amy Winehouse

same love

the paradox

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

Mother Teresa 

happy birthday, Gandhi

“Where there is love there is life.” 

Mahatma Gandhi

love you til tuesday :: David Bowie

one day we will realize

"One day we will realize that big hearts will bring us more peace than big weapons."

Anthony Douglas Williams
Inside the Divine Pattern

I Am In Love With Love

""I Am In Love With Love And Love Is In Love With Me."
 
Rumi

hey love :: Stevie Wonder

love

https://www.etsy.com/listing/62908896/photo-postcard-biodynamic-love
https://www.etsy.com/listing/80723378/photo-notecard-biodynamic-love?ref=v1_other_2

love for sale :: Miles Davis

loving

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."  

Lao Tzu

how to change the world

why tea is so very magical

why tea is so very magical