Ayla Nereo - Take It Slow

 

 

Take it slow, and don’t get in your way
Keep it movin’ at the pace of every weather
Look within, and don’t forget you are surrounded by the wind
As it rushes in your lungs

Oh Honey — you are born of the moon
Precious cave, don’t forget there is unknown inside you
Don’t turn away from yourself by bein’ like somebody else
You are tide crashin’ over and call of the mountains
And your darkest tunnels are where your light come from

So take it slow, what you long for’s on its way
Don’t stop reachin’, taste the sound of every color
Deep within, let your wild be uncaged
Run with the wind and rush into its lungs

Oh Honey — you are born of the moon
Precious cave, don’t forget there is unknown inside you
Don’t turn away from yourself by bein’ like somebody else
You are tide crashin’ over and call of the mountains
And your darkest tunnels are where your light come from
Oh aim for the journey, and grow with the night
Be brave in your loving, keep steady your sight

Oh Honey — you are born of the moon
Precious cave, don’t forget there is unknown inside you
Don’t turn away from yourself
By bein’ like somebody else
Don’t turn away…

AURORA - Through The Eyes Of A Child (as featured in Adolescence)

World is covered by our trails
Scars we cover up with paint
Watch them preaching sour lies
I would rather see this world through the eyes of a child

Through the eyes of a child

Darker times will come and go
Times you need to see her smile
And mothers' hands are warm and mild
I would rather feel this world through the skin of a child
Through the skin of a child

When a human strokes your skin
That is when you let them in
Let them in before they go
I would rather feel alive with a childlike soul
With a childlike soul

Hey oh, oh hey
Oh hey
Ah-ah hey
Oh hey
Hey oh, oh hey
Oh hey
Ah-ah hey
Oh hey
Please don't leave me here

Avi Kaplan - All Is Well Feat. Joy Williams (Official Music Video)

I dove into the dark
I swear I almost drowned
But I could see the stars looking up
As I was sinking down

All is well
All is well
Heaven, Hell, wherever I go
All is well with my soul
All is well

I've landed in the light
My eyes could finally see
The darkness in my mind
Was the path to set my spirit free

All is well
All is well
Heaven, Hell, wherever I go
All is well with my soul
All is well

It's the smoke, it's the flame
It's the ash and it's the rain
It's the burn you wash away
It's the change and it's the same

All is well
All is well
Heaven, Hell, wherever I go
All is well
Time will tell and I will know
All is well with my soul
All is well

Heaven, Hell, wherever I go
All is well in my soul
All is well

I Have a Sad

This is Misty, our rabbit, from younger days. She is doing what she does best: chilling. We adopted her at one year of age in March 2019, and she has been a silly, feisty, sweet presence in our family. 

Until this month, she has been in stellar health. We took her for a routine annual exam a couple weeks ago, and a mass on her left arm was discovered. The biopsy confirmed it is cancer. As prey animals, rabbits are rather fragile. Sometimes they even die under anesthesia. A domestic rabbit lifespan is about 8-12 years, and she is just shy of eight.

So our family decided it would not be kind to put Misty through a major surgery and chemotherapy. The x-rays show the mass embedded in the arm in such a way that surgery would not get the entire tumor. For the time being, Misty is as energetic as ever. She eats with gusto, her GI system works well, and she is her cuddly self. Her movement isn't hindered much at this point. We've opted for palliative care and all the rabbit treats she wants, and we'll watch her closely to know when her life quality has decreased. 

I've loved this little bun. And I feel heavy, knowing what is coming.

How Am I?

• Outside my window... I notice branches swaying in a slight wind, signaling an incoming weather change that will deliver rain.
• I am thinking... about taking a walk.
• I am thankful for... my local Buy Nothing group -- neighbors who help me cull belongings that are still useful that I no longer want or need.
• I am wearing... my standard outfit of leggings, and an oversized sweater decorated with cats sleeping in a yin-yang position.
• I am creating... daily collage quilts, which is a deeply peaceful and intuitive practice: see them here.
• I am hearing... the dishwasher murmur just beneath the trip-hop music playing on my computer.
• I am remembering... how wrecked and displaced I felt on this day in 2020, when I was grieving my mother and extremely worried about Covid.
• I am going... to the post office to mail five packages to my Open Studio sisters.
• I am reading... a novel, Sacre Bleu, by Christopher Moore, and for nonfiction I'm reading A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, by Kevin Fedarko.
• I am hoping... that my sweet rabbit Misty is calm; she's undergoing x-rays today to determine the extent of cancer in her little body.
• On my mind... the many adulting tasks to attend to, such as taxes, finalizing my trust and will, doctor appointments.
• Noticing that... the clock on the wall is stopped at 2:10, and I find this confusing every time I glance at it.
• Pondering these words... that yesterday, Bad Bunny said "God bless America," and then listed all the countries in all the Americas, which I appreciated.
• One of my favorite things... is a cup of strong black coffee.
• From the kitchen... there isn't much happening. At least it's clean!
• Around the house... I can see it could use a good dusting (adding it to the list of tasks).
• A few plans for the rest of the week... seeing clients, attending new volunteer orientation for Action for Happiness, and taking my child to the DMV to get a REAL ID.
• Here is picture I am sharing... of a recent acquisition, my screaming goat pillow!

Aimee Carty - 2 Days Into College (Official Audio)

I'm two days into college
And I'm three lectures behind
There's this guy, let's name him Colin
He says he wants to be mine
But it doesn't really sit with me quite right
'Cause he doesn't really like the things I like
And I keep accidentally locking myself out of my dorm in the middle of the night

I wake up kinda wired
And I wake up kinda cold
And I wake up kinda tired
But I'll just sleep in when I'm old
See I don't like breaking rules
But don't like doing as I'm told
So I just float around and keep my head down
And hope my life unfolds

And everybody's telling me that I'm doing so well
I try to trust them, honestly
I find it hard to tell
If I need work or I need rest
I try my best to try my best
I tell myself, I say out loud
It's fine, I'll figure it all out

I tend to forget
I'm still only quite young
In a way, this life of mine has only just begun
I've got time
I've got time

I'm two days into college
With a busy, busy mind
That guy that we named Colin
He's so handsome, he's so kind
My friends tell me I'm crazy
Say I take it way too far
'Cause I told him that it's over
'Cause he doesn't play guitar

I'm only two days into college
And my bedroom is a mess
There's just so much that I want to do
That I have not done yet
There's just so much that I want to say
And far too little breath
Oh, my mind it runs so far away
It's easy to forget

That to everybody else, it looks like I'm doing so well
I try to see it, honestly
I find it hard to tell
If I've done wrong or I've done right
I need a good night's sleep tonight
They said go out, I said alright
I think I won't, I maybe might
I probably should just take it slow
I'll be all good
But God I know

The one thing that's important above everything else
Is to learn not to put all this heavy pressure on myself
I try believe it when I say
"If it's meant to happen, it'll happen anyway"
I'll be fine

I've got time
I've got time

That's where I'm at
To be honest
Just two days
Two days into college

Abigail Lapell - Down By the Water (Official Video)

Where will you go my darling daughter?
I'm gonna live down by the water
If I ever could find the time, never no reason or rhyme
I'm gonna live down by the water

I'm gonna send a dozen roses
Down the river like baby Moses
And I'll wash my tears away when I'm down in the river today
I'm gonna a dozen roses, a dozen roses

And who will be your one and only
(When) when the days are lost and lonely
And the little blue birds of spring go down to the river to sing
Who will hear their testimony?

Sing a little song, darling
Sing it like a little blue starling
In the country or the town and for miles all around
Sing a little song darling

Now the days are getting hotter
I'm gonna live down by the water
If I ever could find the time, never no reason nor rhyme
I'm gonna live down by the water
Down by the water, gonna live down by the water
Gonna live down by the water, gonna live down by the water

Implacably Aloof

"At the start of this quest, I had no way of imagining that long after it was over I would still be struggling to formulate a coherent response to the miseries the canyon inflicted on us, the satisfactions that would later overtake the memories of that misery, or the yearning and splendor that transcended them all. I had no way to fathom the force with which the canyon's austerity, its grandeur, and its radiance -- traits that stand implacably aloof to human hopes and ambitions -- can impart a perspective that will enable you to see yourself as nothing more, and nothing less, than a grain of sand amid the immensity of rock and time and the stars at night."

-Kevin Fedarko, A Walk in the Park: the True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon

Resurrection

Resurrection

Healing began when her eyes beheld herself,
her heart quickening at the recognition
that she wanted to live again.
Restoring soul to body is a process of reconciliation.

The journey began with a decision to be touched.

There is a vital difference in the quality
of being touched and receiving touch.
Tender as a mother, sensuous as a lover,
transcending into power and wholeness.

When the hour is done, she knows she is a
beloved daughter, a beautiful woman,
having given her entire self,
body and soul, into the hands of Love.

-Kathryn Harper

“Massage” by Jean-Louis GANDON, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow