SoulCollage® Community Suit: Shinrin-Yoku

I am one who bathes in nature. I am one whose connection to nature restores my being.

What is your gift or message for me?

You are of this world and in this world. You are inseparable from it.

What do you want me to do?

Go outside. It's that simple. Sit against a tree. Lie in the grass. 

Why did you show up today?

Because nature beckons, and you've been hungry and thirsty for it.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is overgrowth. 

 

Please Speak Well of Me - The Weepies

I've been away a year and a day
You recognize love after the fact
You did what you did and that was that

Don't say words that you don't mean
When I'm gone, please speak well of me

Looking back now
I only wish I had been kinder
Did I ever know love, did I ever know love?
And could I have been blinder?

Don't hold back all your love for someday, for someday

I would say that I'm sorry if it would do any good
But to never regret means you have to forget
and I don't think that I could

Crossroads

Crossroads

My body, now that we will not be traveling together much longer 

I begin to feel a new tenderness toward you, very raw and unfamiliar, 

like what I remember of love when I was young -- 

love that was so often foolish in its objectives 

but never in its choices, its intensities.

Too much demanded in advance, too much that could not be promised --

My soul has been so fearful, so violent: 

forgive its brutality.

As though it were that soul, my hand moves over you cautiously,

not wishing to give offense

but eager, finally, to achieve expression as substance:

it is not the earth I will miss, 

it is you I will miss.

- Louise Glück

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Karen Maezen Miller Sensei

 

I am one who shows you your life as it is. I introduced you to Zen Buddhism and the "cushion of kindness." I share wisdom so you can be the mother you are, and I invited you to see your life as a spiritual practice. I am one who teaches and learns. I am your dharma mother.

What is your gift or message for me?

Buddhists are imperfect, and awakening is a process that requires practice.

What do you want me to do?

Make the commitment to put the practice on the cushion at the front and center of your life.

Why did you show up today?

To keep you company.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is deluding yourself that you are practicing simply because you know me.

Beautiful Dawn - The Wailin' Jennys

Take me to the breaking of a beautiful dawn
Take me to the place where we come from
Take me to the end so I can see the start
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Take me to the place where I don't feel so small
Take me where I don't need to stand so tall
Take me to the edge so I can fall apart
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Take me where love isn't up for sale
Take me where our hearts are not so frail
Take me where the fire still owns its spark
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Teach me how to see when I close my eyes
Teach me to forgive and to apologize
Show me how to love in the darkest dark
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Take me where the angels are close at hand
Take me where the ocean meets the sky and the land
Show me to the wisdom of the evening star
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Take me to the place where I feel no shame
Take me where the courage doesn't need a name
Learning how to cry is the hardest part
There's only one way to mend a broken heart

Nesting

I am bone-tired at the moment. My surgery is one week from today, and I'll come home with T-Rex arms, unable to do much for the first couple weeks. So today I cleaned. Vacuumed and wet-mopped both stories, scrubbed my shower, cleaned the half-bath, laundered bath mats. I also finished putting away the now-empty rabbit hutch. 

It has not escaped my notice that this flurry of cleaning is an effort to manage anxiety. I'm a very casual housekeeper -- mostly definitely not a FlyLady devotee.

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Hazy Moon Zen Center

I am one who represents an intention. I am one who calls you from a distance to practice zazen. I am the home of your teachers, Maezen, Nyogen, Maezumi, and Buddha.

What is your gift or message for me?

The purity and integrity of Zen teachings flows through established lineages. At Hazy Moon we are not playing at being Buddhists.

What do you want me to do?

Don't pretend. Take the steps in your practice as you are able. Come to us when you can. Becoming officially Buddhist isn't as important as becoming, through practice, a Buddha.

Why did you show up today?

To honor the path you find yourself following.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is being pre-occupied with the idea of legitimacy and in judging other centers as not real or good enough.

It's Called: Freefall - Paloma Paris

Called to the devil and the devil did come
I said to the devil, "Devil, do you like drums?
Do you like cigarettes, dominoes, rum?"
He said, "Only sundown, Sundays, Christmas

Some day's end, when I need a few friends
Now and again, I could never hope to keep them"
Thought to give friends what I thought that they wanted
Never had they needed a good friend as I've been

Don't get me venting on friends who resent you
'Cause all you've ever done is been a noose to hang on to
They thought was a necklace and, reckless
They fell into hell where you both hang with nothing to do but

Scratch, kick, let gravity win, like
Fuck this, let gravity win, like
You could leave it all behind
Even the devil needs time alone sometimes

You could let it all go
You could let it all go
It's called freefall
It's called freefall

Called to the devil and the devil said, "Quit
Can't be bothered, better handle your shit
Keep about your wits, man, keep about your wits
Know yourself and who you came in with"

Can I sit down? I've been hustling all day
I can't even count how many souls I've made
Off the same deal you on
Remember, the devil ain't a friend to no one
But fun, true

You could let it all go
You could let it all go
It's called freefall
It's called freefall

Called to the Devil and the Devil said "Hey
Why you've been calling this late?
It's like 2 AM and the bars all close at ten in hell
That's a rule I made"

Anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else
To save yourself
And you don't want no help, oh, well
That's the story to tell

You could let it all go
You could let it all go
It's called freefall
It's called freefall

You could let it all go
You could let it all go
'Cause ain't shit free but falling out
And that shit's easy, let me show you how, it's like

You could let it all go
You could let it all go
It's called freefall
It's called freefall

SoulCollage® Community Suit: Green River Trail

I am one who gave you hope. I am one who sheltered your dreams and nurtured them. I am one who gave you space to play and begin making art. I was the ground in which your love with Alex was planted. I am one where the homemaker in you came alive and was given expression. I am one you left for new adventure but remain rooted in your heart.

What is your gift or message for me?

You asked, and you received.

What do you want me to do?

Remember me fondly.

Why did you show up today?

Because you are honoring your community, and I am part of that.

If you have a shadow, what would it be? Or, what light do you offer?

The shadow is pining for the past.

Delilah - Florence + The Machine

Now the sun is up and I'm going blind
Another drink just to pass the time
'Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
'Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
Maybe not tonight

It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'Till Delilah showed me how

I can never let go
Never knew I was a dancer
I can never let go

'Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
But maybe not tonight

And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down

It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'Till Delilah showed me how

I can never let go
I can never let go
Never knew I was a dancer
I can never let go