Wailin' Jennies - Storm Comin'

When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
Don’t run from the comin’ storm cause there ain’t no use in runnin’

When that rain falls
Let it wash away
When that rain falls
Let it wash away
When that rain falls
Let it wash away
Let it wash away, that falling rain, the tears and the trouble

When those lights flash
Then you’ll hear that thunder roar
When those lights flash
You’ll hear that thunder roar
When those lights flash
You’ll hear that thunder roar
Will you listen to that thunder roar and let your spirit soar

When that love calls
Will you open up your door
When that love calls
Will you open up your door
When that love calls
Will you open up your door
You gotta stand on up and let it in, you gotta let love through your door

When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
When that storm comes
Don’t run for cover
Don’t run from the comin’ storm
Cause you cant keep a storm from comin’

Max McNown - A Lot More Free (Official Music Video)

Leaves start falling my cold wind blows
And soon get covered by the winter snow
Birds start singin' when the spring rolls 'round
Flowers blooming through the thawing ground

When you love somebody and the love grows cold
The sun starts shining when you let it all go
There's a certain kinda hurting only time can heal
That's a pretty good picture of the way I feel

I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
I ain't saying that you never took a toll on me
For what it's worth, I can finally see
That I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
Yeah, I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free

From this mountain I can see so far
Rivers running like deep deep scars
Carrying the lifeblood through my veins
Is it crazy that I'm grateful for all the pain?

'Cause I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
I ain't saying that you never took a toll on me
For what it's worth, I can finally see
That I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
Yeah, I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free

Dance With Me

                     

Dance With Me

There I stood, waiting for the express
While pondering ways to renew
my flagging spirit, which struggled to climb
life's mounting challenges, when I saw you, serene,
your hands moving in the air, a kind of dance --
the glorious joy on your face making you rich.

Gazing around, I noticed the world's colors were rich.
In each person I sensed the soul's desire to express, 
to enter into the dance.
I felt that I could summon the energy to renew
and make myself serene
like an arbor trellis with those roses that climb.

To reach far, to stretch toward goals that require I climb --
this makes life worthwhile, and I feel rich.
In these moments, my heart beats serene.
I vibrate with life and tremble to express,
to evolve, to embrace impermanence and thus renew
life's eternal dance.

So, which steps will we choose to dance?
Will it be the hustle, the two-step, the fandango climb?
Or maybe a slow waltz, to allow our breathing to renew
while rhythmically moving to the beat, slow and rich.
Perhaps we will lean in to share a kiss, to express
what tantalizes us as we attempt to appear serene.

We might do this under the silver light of the moon, serene
in the movement of the dance
and the people watching -- their murmurs will express
how desire steeps, distills, intensifies, like the climb
of mercury trapped in a glass tube, the red rich
as blood, like the lungs give oxygen to renew.

And after we untwine ourselves, we turn within to renew
the relationship with the One who never leaves, the serene
companion who understands money does not make one rich;
nor does having it guarantee an invitation to the dance
and that life is often one painful, slogging climb
to an illusory summit that cannot contain all we express.

Form and emptiness express all that is, a serene

invitation to renew your energy and dance with life.

Free from need to delve or climb, rich beyond measure.

-Kathryn Harper  

Sara Bareilles, Salt Then Sour Then Sweet (Lyrics)

Give me the light years
But I want the dark ones, too
Grief is the singer in my band
She's a passenger van
And a shortcut straight to the truth

Learn from the nightshades
They grow in the darkest places
Had we not been stung so many times
Would we ever have arrived
At this heaven on Earth that I don't wanna waste

Pick a lucky penny up
And I'll marry you for your money, love

So keep the Novocain out of my wisdom teeth
Want to feel it all
Salt then sour then sweet
Want to kiss you and write love's name on my crumbling walls
Lay them at your feet with the rest of me
Salt then sour then sweet

Come to the porch, love
Look up at the perfect sky
Holding the sun and the moon and the thundering June
While she teaches the birds and the rain how to fly

I don't need perfect
I just want to touch what's true
I want to cherish the trying
And the living and dying
Make big mistakes the way kind people do

Pick a lucky penny up
And I'll marry you for your money, love

So keep the Novocain out of my wisdom teeth
Want to feel it all
Salt then sour then sweet
Want to kiss you and write love's name on my crumbling walls
Lay them at your feet with the rest of me
Nothing more I need
Nothing more I need
Life is lovably
Salt then sour then sweet

So sweet
So sweet
So sweet
Life is lovably
So sweet, so sweet
So sweet

A3 - Deadmen Don't Tell No Tales

Appreciating Glimmers

I've been known to pack away my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor, Chunky Monkey, every once in awhile. I can pretty much get that any time. However, every year in February I await the return of one of my favorite treats, the Baskin Robbins flavor of the month: Love Potion #31. It's a decadent white chocolate and raspberry ice cream, infused with raspberry swirl, chocolate chips, and little chocolate hearts filled with raspberry. I try to enjoy is several times throughout the month. This is a small joy, a glimmer, that I appreciate returning every year. 

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.