broken heart mending

"it is only with true love and compassion

that we can begin to mend what

is broken in the world.

it is these two blessed things

that can begin to mend all broken hearts."

-steve maraboli

ordinarily, the news is avoided in my house. too much hate and violence in the world. the news industry feeds on it. sensationalizes it. attempts to make it pedestrian in order to find new horrors to parade across our minds.  but in a world wrapped so tightly in social media and visual stimuli, some fragments still manage to find their way in. tv screens posted strategically at the gym. memes dancing across various streams on smartphones and tablets.  there's only such much one can filter out.  it is in times like these that i am grateful to lead a sheltered life with my saint bernard, bodhi, and the resident cat, piper.  their sweet soft eyes and truly unconditional love are a gentle reminder of just how healing love and compassion are. would that we could all see the world through such eyes. would that we could all remember that our own broken hearts are not unlike anyone else's. would that we could all see the beauty in the world through the kaleidoscopic cracks in our hearts. would that we could allow compassion to pour through those cracks in an array of rainbow colors.  would that we could all simply see. truly see with our hearts and know joy.

namaste'

this. that. and the other thing.

"man is born broken.

he lives by mending."

-eugene o'neill

there are always opportunities for mending. how we choose to mend them is what sets us apart. do we mend to conceal? or mend to embellish? or simply ignore it altogether and see the beauty in the wabi sabi nature of things?

over-winding an old wood spool with softly hand-dyed thread. new shape. i stepped on the scales this morning after thinking my jeans were feeling somewhat snug. i am feeling in a rather round mood today.

nicky is getting old and grey. he soon will follow my elderly ward beyond the veil. i have not really been sad. i do not cry when one moves beyond the veil for i know that "dying" is simply a transition from one state to another. for, as the buddha once taught us, "everything is changeable, everything appears and disappears; there is no blissful peace until one passes beyond the agony of life and death." loved ones will be missed. but there is truly no sorrow in their passing.

i read somewhere: don't cry because it's over. smile because it happened. this shall be my focus for a while.

namaste'

tornado watch update

fortunately, it would seem the worst of it is over...or at least, has past by my area and is now moving north and east of here... it was pretty scary! we had to move all of our elders at work from their beds to the dining hall (only room with no windows and surrounded by load bearing walls) for at least an hour...and weren't allowed to leave work until just now when they finally lifted the tornado warning in billings proper.  here's some pics of tonight's storm:

from just before the storm hit

here it comes...

tornado clouds moving in by the airport

spinners forming...

lightning and scary clouds...

there are reports of baseball sized hail out from big timber and as far east as columbus...and golf ball sized hail up in the heights and beyond!  winds here hit 45-60 mph, with speeds topping 90 mph in surrounding areas.  they have settled a bit for the moment.

for now, i and mine are safe, if a little shaken. my thoughts and prayers go out for those still in harm's way, both from this storm and others!

namaste'

weaving pain and life together

we must embrace pain

and burn it as fuel for our journey.

-kenji miyazawa

pain is a strange animal. sometimes purfying. other times debilitating. but no matter the elemental quality or intensity, life must go on.  i've necessarily returned to work and the tens unit has proven invaluable toward easing this union.  it is healing. but the process is slow. painstaking. (ok, that deserves the groan!)

thank you, all, for such support, prayers and streams of healing energy. every moment of it has been greatly appreciated, though i have not been online to express my gratitude.  every fiber of love and support is returned in great abundance!

i thought i would find a lot of time this past week to stitch. but, instead, found myself sleeping most of the time...  perhaps this week will be different. i have a stack (or two or five) of ragged fabrics languishing. dreaming of possibilities. i hope to afford them manifestation soon...

namaste'

elephants on the brain

i swear i must have elephants on the brain! not only have i been sketching elephants. stitching elephants. painting elephants. but today, i went in for my appointment with my ink artist and got an elephant inked on my right forearm!  hmmmm....are those nice young men in the clean white coats coming for me??

actually, oddly enough, i designed this ages ago...long before i began thinking about the elephant festivals! the elephant here is ganesh (a.k.a., ganesha) and is the hindu god of compassion and remover of obstacles.  even though he is a hindu deity, devotion to him is broad, including amongst the janes, buddhists and beyond!  being that the cornerstone of my faith is compassion, he has always been a favorite of mine along with avalokitesvara, kuan yin, and others.

the red lotus above his head is also very important.  this symbolizes the original nature of the heart (hrdaya). it is the lotus of love, compassion, passion, activity and all the qualities of the heart. it is the lotus of avalokitesvara.

the sanskrit calligraphy that i added below ganesh is "sankalp" which means "ceremonious offer."  in this case, referring to my own personal ceremonious offer of myself in service to others.  together with the mani prayer in sanskrit on my other arm, makes for a strong personal statement of compassion and devotion to others.

this sits well with my spirit. i am pleased....

now to go play with kavi and see how many more flowers i can "paint" on him before heading home.

namaste'