Salsa Central

Salsa Central 

Salsa dance contest is tonight!

I'm excited.

I love this thing.  

Central Market

Central Austin.

:-)

The Percherons

My sister and I went out to them with sugar

cubes and bridled their heads when they bent down

to eat from our palms. We led them over

to the long white fence on which we climbed

to the topmost rail, then threw our legs

across their backs, clutching the reins to steady

ourselves against their girth, steering them out

into the hills until we were lost, or thought

we were, only to find ourselves at Judith

Creek or Holcomb Rock where we’d turn back

in the early dark, gripping their manes, crouching

low, galloping hard on the high soft

road across the fields to the open barn.

The Percherons 

Chard DeNiord 

I Get Around

There's more of me at

 Coming Out Christian.

Go seeeeeeeeeeeee!

Your Heart's Happiest Guide

My will for you is not harsh or unpleasant.

 It is gentle and perfectly tailored to your unique needs.

 Do not fear my direction. 

I am your heart's happiest guide. 

~Julia Cameron

From "Answered Prayers, Love Letters From The Divine"

Virginity

One must be brave to live through   

a day. What remains

is nothing but the pleasure of longing—very precious.

Longing

purifies as does flying, strengthens as does an effort,   

it fashions the soul

as work

fashions the belly.

It is like an athlete, like a runner   

who will never

stop running. And this

gives him endurance.

Longing

is nourishing for the strong.   

It is like a window

on a high tower, through which   

blows the wind of strength.

Longing,

Virginity of happiness.

~~~~~~~~~

"Virginity"

~Anna Swir

Come In

 Dianne Reeves... 

Come In

She's just amazing...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When your ship is tossed on the ocean
I will shine you safely to shore
Of all my precious treasures
Our friendship measure as the golden one

Please don't make me miss you forever
You're a diamond shining brighter than light
And if no one can see you
Believe that I do and I need you

I'll be here when you come in
When you been away too long
I counted the days you were gone
Hoping that you would come in
Come in

Open the waiting door
Don't worry about what you find anymore
Just come on in
All the places that you try to remember
And the faces you try to forget
They are older and wiser, they'll still criticize

But you can face them now
If you think they're ready to hear you
You might tell one or two what you know

Maybe someone will see
What the truth really means
Let them find you and welcome you too
Come in

Come in you've been away too long
I counted the days you were gone
Hoping that you would come in
Come in

Open the waiting door
Don't worry about what you find anymore
Just come in

When your ship is tossed on the ocean
I will shine you safely to shore
Of all my precious treasures
Our friendship measure as the golden one

Please don't make me miss you forever
You're a diamond shining brighter than light
And if no one can see you
Believe that I do and I need you

I'll be here when you come in
I'm like a rock and I just won't move
I'm like the sun I'll shine my light on you
Come in break it down, come on in

Every secret is safe with me
Every secret is safe with me
I won't tell
It'll be locked away inside of my heart
Just come on in

Oh, and when you feel
That the road is too long
All you gotta do is lean on me
I'll help you carry on

You know I will, I will, I will
Just come on in, come on
Come on, come on in, come on

More Courage

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities 

than to hide them,

more strength to relate to people 

than to dominate them, 

more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles 

rather than blind reflex. 

Toughness is in the soul and spirit, 

not in muscles and an immature mind.

~ Alex Karras

What The World Needs

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; 

ask yourself what makes you come alive, 

and then go and do that. 

Because what the world needs

 is people who have come alive."

~Howard Thurman

Being Unique

At bottom 

every man knows well enough 

that he is a unique being, 

only once on this earth; 

and by no extraordinary chance 

 will such a marvelously picturesque

 piece of diversity

 in unity as he is, 

ever be put together 

a second time. 

~Friedrich Nietzsche

Vulnerability 2.0

Vulnerability

is the birthplace of

innovation, 
creativity, 
and change.

~Brene Brown

"Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage."

Brene has a new Ted talk.
She's so wonderful.

Spiritual Friendships

I'm so grateful today for my spiritual partners.
The friends that have woven themselves 
throughout the tapestry of my life,
and those who have woven themselves 
throughout the current moment.
They are
my pray-ers,
my courageous soul partners
who point to my barriers and love me through them.

You make me better
by encouraging me to stretch past my limits
and loving me as I am at the same time.

Thank you.

“Awakened souls 

strengthen and encourage each other

 by their friendships 

and interchange 

of thoughts and revealments. 

They create a network of light 

over the planet and spin threads 

of mutual upliftment and inspiration.”
~Vida Reed Stone

Behave

...nobody "needs" to be corrected. 

They know when they're acting up, 

or will soon find out. 

Poor behavior within your proximity, however, 

is always a tip-off 

that someone else might correct 

what they're thinking, saying, and doing. 

~The Universe

Turn On

A girl plays with your mind.

A woman explores it.

~Unknown

Love, Ordinary Spirituality, More Bloggage, and Yes, even Downton Abbey

I don't "write" too much here too often,

preferring to share my images

and an inspiring quote.

But, over at the SOLID website

I share a few words about love,

and... even a few about  

Downton Abbey. (HELL yes!)

Lady Sybil wears pants. :-D

Go see

what I said about

 Love and Ordinary Spirituality

Lint Trap

My friend Scott said,

I don't know what it is about you but I feel

I can share with you what is in my lint trap.

We had just finished dinner,

and were soaking up the evening sunset

somewhere, we both figured, 

given the distance we had traveled from Austin,

just south of Waco.

Now, mind you, I appreciate that Scott can

share his lint trappings with me,

but more importantly,

a few days later, 

he pointed out a few things

about what was in MY lint trap.

Good spiritual partners have a way of doing that.  
It's good love. 

... what's in your lint trap?

(and no, the Rio Rita is not just south of Waco)

Losing

...it could seem like 

you are losing something right now, 

but do not be fooled.  

This is simply a turnaround 

orchestrated by your soul.

Even before this, you were. 

And even after all this passes away, 

you shall be. 

All the Rest Of It 

is stuff and nonsense. 

The accoutrement. 

The flora and fauna. 

Pretty, perhaps. 

Shiny and sparkling, perhaps. 

But having nothing to do with anything.

Let it go.  

Release it. 

 If it was not supposed to be removing itself from you now, 

it would not be doing so. 

 It will never return to you in this exact form, 

and it is not intended to.  

If it returns at all, 

it will be in a higher form.  

That is the purpose of its leaving.  

All of life only improves itself.  

It can't do anything else.  

This is called evolution. 

 Trust it.  

~Neale Donald Walsh

God and The Ocean

God is as vast as the ocean,

It doesn't care

if you come 

with a teaspoon,

or a bucket.

~Unknown