The Magic of Words

Words have many functions. Some are meant to attract, others to offend. They can be used to inform, control, console, and invite. They are essential to education, entertainment, and and communication. Words are sometimes overblown, as in politics and religion, and other times abusive.

Some words reach into our souls and give meaning and understanding to life. For each of us, these words are unique, but they serve the same purpose.

I want to share some of the words that have come my way, and had significant impact on my life. Most of them have come to me serendipitously; an unexpected and welcome gift. A few were given to me by others on the same journey, and still others are original. All of them have guided and inspired me in my recovery.

This first one was sent to me by a cyber friend because it had special meaning to her, without realizing how much I could relate to it.

Good timber does not grow in ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The farther sky the greater length,
The more the storms the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In tree or man good timber grows.

I came upon this one, and liked it because it expressed a view that I have long held. When I saw who the author was, I was awestruck.

Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change, and
behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is
strength indefeatable.( Helen Keller )

My birthday came around one year, and a wonderful friend sent me this with a set of 3 pictures she took. One of a dreamcatcher, and two of versions of nature's own dreamcatchers.

"Let these images infuse your journey
with the power of Creation,
the power of dreams and light and motion,
and, most of all
the power of birth and rebirth."

Thanks Liz....

A New friend sent me these "Rules" That she found on the Internet. See, there is Good Stuff out there. :)

The Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full time informal school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error, experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works".
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become a "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here".
7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answer to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. This will often be forgotten, only to be remembered again......... Author Unknown

And I had the audacity to add an eleventh

11. It is the in the nature of humans to make mistakes. So, when you make a mistake, remember...you are being a Perfect Human Being.

So Iesa added a twelfth

12. In the big picture, what counts is what you choose to do with what you have learned, what you freely give will be returned..... Happiness is an inside job.

An e-mail arrived today that took a lot of work to even read, but I was really glad I did. It a poem about a flower called "Pinks" (Dianthus):

Under faded-red cardinal chimes
That clink from a low hanging eave
Dianthus, better known as Pinks
Are spreading by my kitchen door.
Unlike the dwarf hydrangea
That sinks its limbs stubborn in the soil
Day after day, refusing to flower
The Pinks bloom without malice,
Flamingo eyes looking up or down
But always wide open.
I think It's their nature
Like some people I've known
To be content as long as they
Can just keep growing.

White Buffalo

There were Scarfs, and Ribbons, and Beads, and Bones.
A long braid of hair of light brown color
shorn from a head, and left to remember.
To remember what?
It's loss?
It's offering?
Offering, for what reason?
The time, and loving care it took to grow....
Off in an instant!
Was it a spontaneous decision?
or
Was it given deep thought?
No matter!
It's significance still stands.
Some hand crafted icons left...
a tribute, a sample of a creative spirit.
Sobriety medals...
Gifts from those who are grateful.
Tobbaco offerings...
Prayers from those who need help.
Crystals, Medicine Bundles, Dreamcatchers,
All casting their spiritual spells.
Personal mementos
from those
I suppose
who want to say...
I Was Here.

Anysaver

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