Dentist office miracle!!

A funny thing happened at the dentist's office yesterday...

For the last 4 months I've been regularly visiting the dentist's office as they have been doing work on creating a bridge for my four front teeth, after having one removed. When I went in yesterday for what was thought to be my final appointment, to have my permanent bridge "installed," I had two dental assistants helping me as they removed the temporary bridge I'd been wearing for the past couple of months. Over the course of time, the temporary was looking pretty worse for wear and in our casual banter, I joked about "hopefully I won't have to wear that again," since it really felt and had begun to look more like a mouthguard than teeth. One of the women working on me laughed and agreed, assuring me that she had a good feeling about the day and that my permanent bridge was back from the lab with the adjustments the doctor had ordered.

My dentist came in and went about inspecting the new bridge, fitting it in my mouth, taking it out, putting it back in, wiggling it, comparing it with the color swatches that he had put on the order. Finally, he announced that he wasn't happy with it and was going to have the lab redo it, and that I would need to stay for additional impressions and some other finetuning work. Then, when he looked for the temporary to put back in my mouth it was nowhere to be found!

Both assistants began combing the room, counter, chair, and floor looking for the temporary. They moved the chair and looked under it, even had me move so they could look under me, in case it had fallen in behind where I was sitting. Nothing.

After both assistants took a couple of turns looking everywhere, they gave up and realized they would just have to make a new temporary for me. Even as the one assistant worked creating the new temporary, she commented that the old one would probably appear just as she finished. Happily, the old one never re-appeared and I was outfitted with a much nicer temporary bridge.

They said that when things go missing around there, they laugh and joke that a former technician named Deedee (who passed away a year ago from cancer) is playing a joke on them. They told me, "Yeah, Deedee is probably laughing hysterically right now!"

I'm thinking Deedee may be my new best friend!! Thanks, Deedee!

This Thing Called Love

I'm not exactly sure why I'm feeling that my subject of the moment is the power of love. Perhaps someone "out there" needs his or her conviction bolstered to "stand in love" and trust that "love will prevail."

Below is a poem that I wrote during a time when I was just beginning to understand the strength of love.

This Thing

by C. M. Rose

There is this thing,

I’ve called it Love

that has latched onto my life.

It just stands there,

no matter where,

connecting me with him.

I recognized it

when it arrived

and tried to become its friend,

without quite knowing

how to let it thrive.

My friend, on the other hand,

stood up to this thing

and told it to its face:

“I don’t want it;

I don’t love you,”

to make it go away.

And, even though,

it stays.

Perhaps it is deaf

or dumb

or its roots are just too long.

It just deflects the words

like a blade of grass

and keeps blowing in the wind.

This thing is quite unusual,

it has tentacles or arms,

extremely long,

energy transmitters,

active all the time.

It must be based

somewhere between us,

out on the sidewalk or down the street.

Its infinite limbs extend invisibly—

one to me,

one to him.

In the middle of the day

and the middle of the night,

I feel the ominous connection.

Its presence pervades my thoughts

though words often will not form.

A vaguery persists.

The thing just continues holding on.

Its energy so strong.

I may not actually speak to him for days.

For weeks on end his details stay unknown.

But, nonetheless, this thing remains,

refusing vehemently to go away.

I don’t know if I invited it;

they say I probably did.

I have not tried to fight it—

I think I already know who’d win!

So, I’m becoming accustomed to living with it,

this thing I don’t quite understand

that keeps us holding hands.

It’s made the silence thicker;

it has more substance now,

surrounding me with courage and resolve.

Though I may seem to walk alone,

I feel strong.

This thing

has come to live with me.

It’s made my life its home.

And with its calming influence,

I’m better now than alone.

Welcome to my life!

I’m glad you came to me.

I’ll do my best to understand you.

I like to get along.

Always know this

and have patience with me.

I recognize you as unusual; I recognize you as me.

Now that I’ve been living with it,

This thing has become my friend.

The above painting is called "Heart and Soul" -- I originally "saw" this image (of the two faces together making a heart) as I was eating a cup of half chocolate and half vanilla frozen yogurt. I was eating down the center line where the two flavors came together and I saw the line of "his nose" against "her cheek" and the way their chins came together. So, I rushed home and painted it. While I painted, I was listening to this absolutely gorgeous, heavenly Russian Choral music (from a CD called "Sacred Treasures") -- the faces I was painting seemed to be floating together up in the ethers of this mesmerizing music. To this day, when I look at this painting, I can hear the music and feel the love in the poem above.

I hope you can too. xo

Random Acts of Kindness...Transfusion

Had a lovely day, sharing all kinds of stories about random acts of love and kindness, and even random acts of art...all designed to add a moment of joy, comfort, some sort of goodness to the days of our comrades on this journey called life.

With all of this swirling around in my mind, I'm inspired to share as many of my paintings and poems as possible that might serve as a source of inspiration/hope/motivation/love/peace and I know I will accomplish this over time. But for now, I've chosen to post my painting called "Transfusion" as a tribute to all those who are doing and receiving acts of kindness. The goodness is palpable, indeed.

To me, the being in the painting might as well be the giver and/or the receiver, since both rise to a happier place in the process and experience a sense of Oneness. While suspended, a transfusion of light, love, peace, joy, harmony occurs.

Using this painting as a focal point, spending time feeling it, internalizing it, viewers may bask in this same cloud of yumminess and reap the benefits.

Spend as long as you like....enjoy your transfusion!

Chin Up, Brave One...Reach for the Stars...You Do Not Walk Alone

I'm inspired today by brave people who are out on their paths of life and making it happen.

I read a young widow's blog post ( http://widowsvoice-sslf.blogspot.com/2012/08/dear-me.html ) about a letter she wrote to herself (as if from an older version of herself) and this section really resonated:

Live as fearlessly as you can. Walk right into the inevitable loss. There’s a whole lot of beauty along that road. And the loss? Well, you’ll survive it. Of course you will.

You’ll be very scared. Just remember to act anyway. Each time you do something that scares you, you’ll be a little stronger. You’ll build that courage muscle. Just treat yourself after you’ve done it. It’s a lot of work. I know it is. 

I know your core and I know you’ll be just fine. Just let in the love and light and do what scares you. Live and live and live until you fade away. You only have this one chance. Don’t ever forget that sweetheart. ~ Cassie Deitz

Another example today, is a graphic designer/writer who finds himself in a situation where he needs to ask for help to replace his computer. Even though he was scared and had to step out of his comfort zone, he created an indiegogo account/campaign ( http://www.indiegogo.com/whirlinggene ) to invite his friends, etc to assist him in this effort AND each contribution receives original art as a thank you! After only two days of starting the campaign, well over half of the funds needed have rolled in! Here is his response:

I’m beside myself and completely overwhelmed by this show of support for the work I do and the work of so many incredible contributors to The Whirling Blog. I promise to continue creating and spreading our message. THANK YOU!!!! ~ Gene-Manuel Whirling (thewhirlingblog.com)

These examples show me that it is possible to go after one's dreams/needs, etc., even when fear may be present. And, by "stepping up to face the fear and do it anyway," The Universe, Divine Providence, the net of humanity steps in to assist. We are not alone, even if we may feel alone. And, people actually LIKE it when they have a chance to be of assistance and be part of a bigger cause, to exercise their hearts. Double yay!!!

Here are a couple of poems that have shown up to encourage me over the years. I hope the above examples and these poems will also encourage you, dear readers, to step toward whatever you need/want.

Chin Up, Brave One by C. M. Rose

Everyone is doing his or her best
With the tools possessed
In the moment.
Believe this.
Strive for compassion
And recognition of signs
Which might point
To the next leg
Of your journey.
Trust that you have
All you need
In this moment.
Chin up, Brave One.
Carry on.
You are surrounded
By Beauty and Love.
Draw strength and courage
From the offerings.
Fill your cup.
You do not
Walk alone.

Here is another poem along the same lines:

Time to Shine

by C. M. Rose

Believe in yourself,

Your Divine Power within,

The Star you are.

Believe in life.

Believe in Love.

Believe in passion and peace.

Believe in truth and trust.

Believe in believing.

You don’t have to go far –

Just go within.

Focus on the good,

The potential,

The okayness of now.

Then step up and shine.

Believe in Heaven on Earth

And you will find

When you believe it,

You live it.

Start here

This minute

Right now.

No more waiting.

It’s time.

 

This painting is called "Of Reaching and Stars" and the poem that showed up with this painting (when I was painting it) was about the idea that when we have a dream or a goal that we are wanting and reaching for, it often seems like that dream is so far away. But, as we continue to "reach for the stars," before we know it, in much less time than we ever would have thought possible, we do reach our destination. The secret to how this happens so quickly? The stars are reaching for us, too!! So it's really only half as far as we thought.

So, Brave Ones....no more waiting....it's time!!
You do not walk alone.
xo

Choosing Love...The Fool in the Night

An online conversation reminded me today of the struggle that I've had over the years -- as this Great Love inside me has blossomed and grown and not really had as many places to "land" as I have had overflowing Love/ feeling/ inspiration to share (having been a single mom for the majority of the last 18 years). My friends online were discussing having felt embarassed at being seen as overly enthusiastic and wanting to apologize for making others uncomfortable due to over exuberance. But I was reminded of a similar conversation that I had years ago with a friend who had been accused of having overwhelmed someone with his spirit/kindness/love -- he asked the simple question, "Haven't you been under-whelmed long enough?" Sometimes I need reminders to help "bring me back to love, to kindness, to being real and open and sensitive/vulnerable" rather than the opposite spectrum of holding back in fear, stingyness, hardness, bitterness, shyness/embarassment, feeling lack or "less than". Meryl Streep's character in the movie, "One True Thing" had a profound impact on me when I realized that she was not just a naive, simple housewife but instead was consciously choosing to be loving and choosing to be happy/kind/childlike despite the details of her life that could have "made" her bitter and unloving/ungiving and unforgiving. The concept that I could actually "choose love" was new to me at the time, but very intriguing.

Within the next couple of years (after seeing the movie), I wrote the following poem on a night where my mind and heart were wrestling about whether I "should" express the love that was trying to overflow from my being or just keep it bottled up, out of "consideration" for the other who might feel overwhelmed at my sharing. I hope you enjoy it.

‘The Fool In The Night

by C. M. Rose

Feeling foolish

she sat on the step

blanketed by the comforting dark anonymity

of the night

searching for answers

or even just clues

to her oft-asked questions

regarding her favorite muse.

Why was she so compelled

to go overboard in her writings,

so frequent and redundant

with her spillings?

Why couldn’t she just relax

and “let the wind blow”

as he advised her

so many months ago?

She felt the wind blowing slightly

just then

and listened as it barely rustled

the trees around the yard.

She thought to herself,

“It’s a nice breeze—

of what have I been so afraid?”

And as she asked

she knew:

she was afraid

of what she thought she knew

and of what not sharing it

might do.

She seemed to be given

these instructions and Love

to serve some higher purpose

and she was compelled to carry through.

Preferring the idea

of erring with action

versus inaction

she often found herself

playing the fool.

She had some difficulty discerning

just what to say or do.

The urgings so compelling

she felt too ill-equipped to decide.

So instead just opted

to abide

while begging,

“Pardon me if I’m out of line,

but I can’t stop this huge Love

from bulldozing its way through.”

And as she felt the wind blow

a mottled little cat

approached her side,

circling and assessing

her transparent energy field.

And, reading her right,

becoming her twin,

the cat no longer hesitated

and instead just jumped right in.

“Here I am,” he purred

as he thrust his head under her hand.

“I want some affection from you

and here I will stand

until you pet me and Love me

and feel my warm thanks radiating back

through you.”

So she stopped her contemplation

and turned her attention to him.

Appreciating his openness,

she gave him all she could,

rubbing his head, his ears and his back

with one hand, then two.

“Yes,” she thought,

“you sense my needs, you do.

I Am grateful for this moment with you.”

And as they sat there together

under the blanket of dark,

the anonymity lifted up,

loving affection leaving its mark.

Her questions seemed answered

after all

as she realized

the same old universal theme,

“it’s just Love

purring softly

‘let me in,’

for I Am The Most Powerful Thing.”

And with that

The fool went in

to send another email of Love

into the now-more-friendly

blanket of the night:

“Sweet dreams, my Love.

Good night.”

(I've added this image here since these cards represent the energetic archetypes of being free, open, bright, optimistic and powerful -- pondering these images assists with aligning with the archetypes.)

So, just as in my poem, I will send this Love note to all of you into the lovely "blanket" of this day, knowing that it is also night somewhere...

Sweet dreams, my love...Good night!

xo



I Am The Force Within

When my daughters were around 10 and 13 (about 10 years ago), we came up with a morning alignment/affirmation that we would say together in the car as we drove to school or whatever activity they were doing that day. It was designed to be said "with gusto" and the birthday bit at the end included a little dance of sorts (hand motions at least), which would always get us laughing.

Here's what we would regularly DECLARE:

I Am The Force Within

What I Am is Infinite, Eternal, Universal and Immortal

What I Am has beauty and strength

Today is MY day

And ALL that I pull to me is for my HIGHEST evolution and growth

Holy Spirit Take Over!!

So be it! And SO IT IS!!

Thank You, God! Amen!

It's my birthday! It's my birthday!!  Whoohoo-oo! Whoohoo-oo!

Try it and see how it shifts the energy of the moment!

To this day, I can't say it without smiling. ;)

xo

This photo is from a few years earlier than the subject of this post, but it makes me smile too! (It's from one of our early morning beach adventures, the first year we lived down by the beach. We would basically crawl out of bed and walk to the beach (2 blocks away) and often come home with our clothes all wet after we re-enacted our favorite scene/song from "Singing' in the Rain" kicking and splashing and frolicking in the water!!))

Re-Aligned With Grace by C. Michele Rose

This is the painting that I referred to in my first blog post -- to accompany the Grace Prayer. I figured it out --how to post it--yay, me!!