A place where healing and creativity meet. Just as the mountains meet the sea, in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Live simply. Love deeply. Be present.
There was a time when I would wait for almost anyone.
I would let them lead me, guide me and tell me what was what.
Now you are the only one I will wait for.
You are the only one I can trust.
You heal me.
You give me what I need without asking for anything back.
There is no control.
There is no pain.
There is only love.
Only peace and healing.
Thank you for being you, and allowing me to be me.
-M.
There is this fatal connection between fears and getting lost in the sinking darkness. A feeling of being lost in another world, one of which is in the mind. Finding this secret hole, that takes you into a dudgeon, can be daunting. Worrying about things, fearing what could happen or what is coming, so many things can take us under.
When we overthink, over worry, and forget to trust and live in the present, we are lead into this place, a dungeon that guides us towards a spiral staircase, traveling lower and lower into an unknown oblivion, making it difficult to see anything good or worthwhile.
You can get lost in it.
You can carry others with you as you travel on, further down into this unknown.
It can last for what seems like an eternity.
Sometimes you get glimpses of the daylight or can see more than just the overwhelming darkness, but it is not always easy.
For many, this is what takes them to some really dark places, giving into things that are not always best. Even if it is just more thoughts that are unwelcome.
For others, it doesn’t last so long, and they can find their way back out, rather quickly.
Though, for many, it can take much longer.
Some live in this darkness, lost without even trying to leave it.
There are a few who have this deep, pulling, or longing, to understand the reason for this darkness.
It can be a constant back and forth, struggling with what is real and what is just coming from the mind that likes to be in control.
We have so much to focus on. When we begin to see fears taking us down, into this tunnel, it is important to remember it is not real. We can let go of fear. We can accept the unknown. We can move into the darkness to understand it, without fear, but more so to understand how it can allow us to prepare for things and find a balnce.
There will always be darkness. There will always be fear and the unknown. Don’t let it suck you in, for too long. Always know that you have the power, and the strength to pull back out of it.
You are not alone.
-M.
Mountains, how do you stand so tall?
I have tried so hard to stretch my neck and straighten my back, yet still, I cannot stand as tall.
You get the first dusting of snow.
The clouds hover around your peaks and dance among your valley’s, which always seem to drop so low.
The wondrous heights that one must climb to get to the tops of your highest peaks, takes such great efforts for even the strongest ones around.
You have yet to show weakness, which is something I also am trying to learn.
How do you just sit there all day and all night?
You must get a bit tired of not moving.
Oh mountains, you bring so many hills and valleys.
Each spring you bring us water, as the snow melts and flows down your strong mountain sides.
Thank you for your strength and determination to stand strong and tall all day, through the many years of your life.
How do I show you gratitude for I am so, very grateful to you, even just for your incredible beauty and each rise and fall of your peaks and valleys.
You truly are majestic, each beautiful part that makes you, you.
-M.
Sun, when you fall, I don’t know what to do.
I want to catch you in my hands, and set you back into place, among those brightly colored clouds, in that ever present sky.
The colors that you bring, when you set, are unbelievable.
Then, again, when you rise, I am in awe.
You bring beauty and life, for us all.
The colors sing to my eyes.
My soul feels the joy of each night and new morning, sky.
Yet, I still feel as though, when you fall, I must catch you.
I watch as you decent and disappear, to who knows where.
There are stories of the sea taking you, but they must just be tales.
For you wake us up each morning with your glowing breath of life.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, I am grateful for you, for all that you do.
Sun, thank you.
I love you, I really, truly do.
-M.
Fall… You arrive so quickly.
So briskly, with your chill.
It’s like you creep in, during the night, without letting me say goodbye to my dear, sweet summer.
I don’t ever wish for summer to end, yet when you arrive, I am grateful.
Though, you sure do not ease yourself in, with your brisk nights and sharply chilly mornings.
The colors you bring are so beautiful.
Your chill really is, at times, close to miserable, yet, I forgive you, for the beauty that your bring with you is.. well… it makes it all worthwhile.
What a charmer you are, as you warm us up with the sight of your colors.
None are the same, each different shades and each so beautiful on their own, but especially together.
Fall, I guess you can stay for a while…
Until winter blows in and takes over…
Maybe, just maybe, next year, I may hope for your smile of leaves so brightly colored; red, orange and yellow.
Thank you for showing me the swift kiss of a breeze and a soft hug of the falling leaves.
Goodness, you sure do give me the chills…
– M.
We are bogged down with dislikes and needs to be liked. What about love? Why is that so complicated and full of so many expectations?
Love is just acceptance.
When you love someone, you accept them, as they are. When you love yourself, it’s the same thing. You accept yourself as you are. There are no complication. There are no expectations. Or at least there shouldn’t be. You love without pressure. Without pull.
Why do we disregard one another, so often? Not taking into account the other person’s feelings or forgetting to have empathy?
A Golden rule, or life practice, is treat others the way you would like to be treated. Can this be more normal? Rather than hating on others, we could practice being more understanding and patient. Taking into account that we each have our own viewpoints. We each have different life experiences and challenges. Sometimes these things can be easy to forget. Yet, it is really important to become more aware, for the fact is, we are each living different lives. A good day for you could be a terrible day for someone else.
With so much new pain and struggle in the world, I hope that others can take on this way of viewing life, seeing that we are all one, living different lives. We are all connected. We are all important. We are all necessary and worthy of love and acceptance. We each deserve peace. Each deserve love and kindness.
Life is pretty simple; wake up, breathe, move, eat and sleep. Let go of what is not allowing peace in your life. Find more ways to also bring more peace and joy to others. This will bring you a great amount of satisfaction and joy, as well. Always live for love.
– M.
This point in time is important. Right here, right now. We look and search for ways to know about the future. We hold onto things, take pictures, and try to hold onto the past (and anything that takes us back there). Why is it that we have so much trouble being here, in the present? Why must we feel all this disarray about an unknown tomorrow?
We make plans. We get upset when those plans change, or we can get upset about having any plans at all. What is it about the security of knowing what to expect in the next days, weeks, months, and so on? We can’t even, really, expect to know what will happen a couple minutes from now.
One day, I noticed something. I noticed that my head was constantly full. It was full of worries, doubts, fears, plans, worries of being late to appointments, of being fired, becoming homeless, dying and leaving my kids without me. All of these things cluttered up my headspace for so long. Not even JUST those things. There was more.
Why does any of this matter? Why are we even here? To worry? I don’t think so… To make plans? Probably not… To think about bills, constantly? Yeah, that’s the best one, probably that. We are surely here, on this beautiful planet, so we can spend our time worrying and thinking about bills. What are bills? Choices we made. Decisions we felt were right for us. Each choice we make, whether it is a new bill, a thought, a step forward, we choose these actions or thought motions. What if we chose to lighten things up?
What is it that keeps you swimming in the same spot? Comfort? Fear? Could you possibly get tired of staying in that warm water? Why not choose to feel a different sensation? Maybe change scares you, too much. We tend to hold onto fears that we first experienced in childhood. We re-live experiences in our mind, a lot. It can certainly make a person have trouble with moving out of their comfort zone. Yet, that is the only way to allow ourselves to become more open to so much more beauty in life. We forget how invigorating it can be to feel that fresh, cool water.
When you focus more on the present moment, lessen your need to control the future or hold onto the past, you can experience a release of fear. When you realize that you are allowing peace, by letting go of the constant mental clutter, you allow joy to fill you up. Space is never empty. It is full of energy. You choose the energy that fills your space. If it is going to be beneficial, it should make you feel like you are being challenged (in a healthy way) or it should be an elated feeling, that comes from it. You can also experience the sensation of “nothingness”. Which is literally this feeling like nothing. You feel light, like you could be lifted up by how air-headed you feel, because you have let everything leave your mind!
Close your eyes, or focus your eyes on something. Breathe in through your nose, then out through your mouth. When you bring yourself into the moment like that, you let go of a whole lot of extra mental weight that you do not need. All we ever really have is this present moment. From here, to here, and then to here. It is all the present moment. Remember what is important, what is not helping you, and what is a constant. You can weed-whack on your own, to rid yourself of all the mental seaweed that is plugging up your mental flow. All we can do is be right here, growing, learning, loving and experiencing this beautiful life. Hopefully you (and I) can learn to let go more, to allow the here and now to be more abundant and more pleasant. May the peace of nothingness be with you.
Thank you for being here.
-M.
With the waves chasing me, I ran away from you.
Hoping you would try to chase me, I kept looking back at you.
Laughing at myself, and not knowing what you would do, I took off my boots and ran barefoot, in the grainy, dry sand.
Hoping you would see how much the waves wanted to catch me, I ran closer to the waters edge, to show you I was not worth losing.
I continued on this quest, seeking your love and adoration.
The foam caught my toes, it was soft, cold and wet compared to all the grainy, dry sand.
You were not interested in being a chaser, as you continued on, focusing only on what was in front of you.
I saw you looking the other way.
Wandering slowly in the other direction, your attention focused on your own path.
Not sure what to make of it, I let the daunting pull of the waves take me further and further away.
You sometimes glimpsed at me, but only before the waves captured me, and not with much interest, only a slight curiosity like a parent keeping track of a child.
The waves pulled me under.
You didn’t even notice.
You kept walking, at a pace that was steadily, taking you further and further away.
Not even my flirtation with death made you hurry along, to be closer to me.
Maybe there is no hope of you chasing me, after-all.
Or maybe, I should be walking slowly and steadily, in the opposite direction, knowing that I don’t need you, after-all.
Hearing the waves crashing, I knew the answer, and it was not to follow you.
It was not to follow anyone at all.
It was time to find peace, with my own solitude.
Out of the waves, onto the beach, I walked, I walked away from you, further and further away.
With the waves still chasing me, I focused on my own path, knowing the love I was seeking could be found within me.
Knowing this, I smiled, to myself, feeling the peace, in this knowing, drenched from the waves, feet covered in sand, I knew I was complete.
– M.
We are never really certain where we are supposed to guide our feet. So many pulls, in so many directions, usually has us falling this way and that. Yet, once we can really look at our feet and the path we are on, we can decide which terrain will be best.
Nobody can walk our path, but us. Where we go is up to us. We can take advice. We can accept direction and guidance. In the end, it is all up to us.
Have you ever seen a squirrel stopped, confused with which way to turn? Not a typical site. How many times have you felt that way, though? At a crossroads. At a bridge. In the middle of a great divide. How do you choose?
We can find our way, just like nature guides the seasons and guides the animals. We are also guided. We are guided by our thoughts. Our body guides us with how it feels in certain situations. We have intuition. In order to allow it to guide us, we must learn to trust.
Trust yourself. You will always know what is best for you.
– M.
What is love? What is self-love? Why do we put so much value into what others might think about us? Why do we, instead, lower our own self-value to meet others standards of us? Why not allow ourselves to go beyond the limits of the possible standards that we think others are setting for us, and realize that there are no limits? Why can’t we just see our own light? Why can’t we just love ourselves, easily and give ourselves as much grace and kindness as we give others?
< always thinking >
Maybe we should take some baby steps each day and practice being more grateful for being unique.
As I am up late, again, I am thinking about all the things I have been trying to do to make sure I am taking care of my needs. Then the days come, that are busy, and my day gets flipped all around. On those days, it’s important to just be grateful that you know what it is that you value most.
You know what it takes to get back into your self-care routines. You know what you need to do, when a day gets busy, you prioritize. Maybe the bed has to wait to get made. Maybe a meditation has to be in the evening. It’s okay. We do what we need to do. Life goes on. Still, you find your way “back home” to yourself.
You learn more each day, about what you need to be happier. To feel more whole. To be a giver of love, you must be able to fill yourself up as well. To be a human being, you must learn to take time to recharge and care for yourself. As we are taught to “be busy” we must learn to stop and “be still”. Allow silence. Allow space. Allow some time to stop being so busy.
I hope that whomever reads this can feel filled with love. I hope you can find simple things to do each day that make you feel good about yourself. I hope you find peace. You are worthy of all the good there is in this life.
– M
Healing Creations PNW 