play like yourself

"Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."
- Miles Davis (1926-1991)

Rubén Darío: her dark eyes saw the apple in the garden

mixed media

¿Eva era rubia? No. Con negros ojos

vio la manzana del jardín: con labios

rojos probó su miel; con labios rojos

que saben hoy más ciencia que los sabios.

Venus tuvo el azur en sus pupilas,

pero su hijo no. Negros y fieros,

encienden a las tórtolas tranquilas

los dos ojos de Eros.

Los ojos de las reinas fabulosas,

de las reinas magníficas y fuertes,

tenían las pupilas tenebrosas

que daban los amores y las muertes.

Pentesilea, reina de amazonas;

Judith, espada y fuerza de Betulia;

Cleopatra, encantadora de coronas,

la luz tuvieron de tus ojos, Julia.

La negra, que es más luz que la luz blanca

del sol, y las azules de los cielos.

Luz que el más rojo resplandor arranca

al diamante terrible de los celos.

Luz negra, luz divina, luz que alegra

la luz meridional, luz de las niñas,

de las grandes ojeras, ¡oh luz negra

que hace cantar a Pan bajo las viñas!

- Rubén Darío (1867-1916)

dare I attempt to translate a poem by one of Latin America's greatest?

perhaps just to give you a taste of this delicious verse...

...her dark eyes
saw the apple in the garden:
with red lips
she tasted its nectar;
with red lips
that today know more than all the sages...

web of life: all things are connected

"This we know, all things are connected, like the blood which unites one family.  All things are connected.  Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.  Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."
- Chief Seattle of the Dwamish Tribe

Obama & Romney: they must work together

my 4-year-old superhero

"MAMA, yo creo que los dos van a ganar: Obama y Romney.
Tienen que trabajar juntos."
- CARLOS (4 años)

"MAMA, I believe the two will win: Obama and Romney. 
They must work together."
- CARLOS (4 years old)

women, you must become your nation's soul

"Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul."
- Coretta Scott King (1927-2006)

finding the sacred within

"...Sacred places are being resanctified all over the earth, and people are also finding the sacred within themselves.  Every sacred place and every sacred person is indeed like a point of light in a great web whose strands grow brighter..." - Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

butterflies for the goddess

El enano era un galán. Entró al Salón de Escudos como un sultán. Dos tigres, una avestruz y seis jabalíes lo escoltaron a los aposentos de la Diosa Blanca. El enano le traía las mejores Mariposas Maravillas para adornar sus cabellos de plata.

an excerpt from a short story written in 2007

sending courage

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
- Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)

día de los muertos día de todos los santos

mixed media on wood

"What secret are you looking for?
Life will soon reveal it to you." - Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

the ghost

The ghost descended upon the house deciding it belonged to her and nobody else – ever. She sang in the morning rain and danced under moonlight, blowing kisses to the wind, being visible to only a few.

an excerpt from a poem-short story I wrote in 1989

Happy Halloween

hold on

Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.

Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.

Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.

- Pueblo Blessing

a queen in every woman

"A queen is wise.  She has earned her serenity, not having had it bestowed on her but having passed her tests.  She has suffered and grown more beautiful because of it.  She has proven she can hold her kingdom together. She has become its vision. She cares deeply about something bigger than herself.  She rules with authentic power.

Our kingdom is our life, and our life is our kingdom.  We are all meant to rule from a glorious place."
-Marianne Williamson

may the RAIN wash away your worries

may the SUN bring you new energy by day,

may the MOON softly restore you by night,

may the RAIN wash away your worries,

may the BREEZE blow new strength into your being.

may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

- APACHE BLESSING

blessings multiply in a grateful heart

"You use my world without gratitude. You are blessed but fail to see your blessings. Open your eyes. The sun rises in beauty. The day begins. It is my day that I give you. You are my cherished child. Open your heart. Learn to thank me for all that unfolds for you. I am always present, always active. I bring you people, places, and things to bless your path. I am your provider, your opportunity. I am your path. Be conscious of me. Count your blessings and allow me to multiply them. Every thank-you triggers another gift. Blessings build upon blessings. They multiply in a grateful heart.

Bring me your heart. Let me soften it. Let me teach it to cherish and appreciate the smallest things. The puppy basking in the sun. The butterfly alighting on a bush. The industrious ant. The budding rose. All of these are part of me. All of life is my life, and all of life is yours to enjoy.

Celebrate beauty when you find it. Practice compassion for every living thing. Allow life to teach your heart how to respond to life. Let the willow teach you flexibility. For the poplar learn optimism. From the cottonwood take lessons in gentleness. I bless you with all these. Exercise gratitude that I may bless you more."

- Julia Cameron, excerpt from her book
"Answered Prayers: Love Letters from the Divine"
a beautiful book that found me years ago

zen motherhood

sit quietly doing nothing,

spring comes and the grass grows by itself.

- ZEN proverb

Maternal instinct is that protective wild lioness, unafraid to use claws and jaws...unafraid to risk life and strength for her child.

However, sometimes the best protection is allowing our children to learn on their own. Empower them to distinguish danger and yet be unafraid. Show them by example how to get up and stand after a fall.

from my journals

humble beauty

"Blessed are those who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."

- Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

photograph - a beautiful birthday gift from Mother Nature

remembering Gabrielle Roth

"I love waves; I wish I had some in my hair. My daddy did, but I guess I didn't dive into that end of the gene pool. Virginia Woolf wrote my favorite book, The Waves, and I have a son who surfs them. I danced a thousand dances to Patti Smith's song "Wave" and I've waved a thousand good-byes. I've seen waves come and take my house, flood the same bedroom where they accompanied countless nights of lovemaking. I have ridden the waves of labor, of sorrow, and of bliss."
- GABRIELLE ROTH (1941-2012)

Om Namah Shivaya

be different

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different."
- Coco Chanel (1883 - 1971)

child of destiny

“Since I was a little girl, I believed I was a child of destiny, and if that is true, Richard Burton was surely my fate.”
– Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

my life is a poem

"Any time is the time to make a poem."
- Gertrude Stein (1874-1926)