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Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Red Bomb


Imagine you are a young girl, about 11 years old out one sunny carefree summer’s day riding your bicycle. Imagine that you and your family just moved to a housing complex available to the families of military personell and your Dad is in the Navy, so this housing complex with it’s look alike buildings and it’s neatly paved streets all laid out in a neat grid-like pattern is near an Air Force base. Imagine you hear a sound like thunder approaching with a strange added whistling noise. You look up to see where the clouds are for the oncoming storm because last time you noticed the sky was bright blue, absent of clouds. What you see instead of clouds is a low flying black jet, approaching with a speed so fast it leaves you breathless and as you hold your breath and notice that it is flying so low that it almost touches the trees and you can see markings painted on the slanted back wings and as it gets closer to you and the noise becomes deafening, you see what you have imagined a bomb looks like, painted bright red in contrast to the black of the plane. Your mind goes into overdrive! You are wondering through your paralyzing fear “Is that a bomb? And am I going to die right here right now?” You feel the hot tears streaming down your face and you think, “But why? Why is this flying monster with the red bomb going to kill me?” Just as quickly as the “bomber” approached and shook your reality to bits, its gone. Disappearing into a bright blue sky with no clouds. Leaving you shaking, and gripping onto the handle bars of your bicycle unable to put one foot in front of the other to run to the imagined safety of your home, where you know your Mother is cooking in the kitchen and your brothers are glued to the tv, watching cartoons on this peaceful, Saturday, Summer’s day unaware of what you have just experienced. What’s there now in your mind and heart is a fear and an insecurity that you will never be able to erase from your memory. You are only 11 years old and you were not hurt, you were not blown to bits by a bomb drop and you have no answers to your questions of why. Why do we wage war, why do we think we are safer with these killing machines flying in our skies? That young girl was me and I never felt safer at all in this country of ours from that moment on. I realized at only 11 years old for the first time that my government had the means then to wipe even me off the face of the earth. I never feared another country coming in to destroy Americans any more than I began to fear my own government!

The insecure feelings of being in that position, vulnerable to a plane or a drone targeting you is tremendous. I am filled with empathy for the people that our Predator Drones target and bomb. I am filled with horror and fear for the people and the children especially of Palestine who were just almost wiped out by the bombing of the Israeli government. Not to mention the many who have endured this in our wars past.

Also just as horrific are the mass killings we are experiencing in this country and maybe will continue to experience if we don’t do something about the ease with which to purchase weapons that kill. People who say guns don’t kill, have little idea of what they are saying in my humble opinion. If that pilot in that jet airplane had pulled a switch and had dropped a bomb on my head he would have been killing me WITH a bomb. People kill people WITH guns in their hands! They kill people WITH knives and axes and other lethal weapons.

I think now is the time to start “beating our swords into plowshares” It’s a statement that conjures up pictures of great peace and a lack of aggression. Instead of being afraid and being of the mind set that you have to protect ourselves from some imagined or real enemy, we need to start more pooling of the energy of loving each other, accepting each other, helping each other and stop the fighting over who’s right it is to bear arms and who’s right it isn’t!

I don’t’ want my Grandchildren or anyone’s children for that matter to have to live in a world where at any moment they can be vaporized just because they might be standing out in the street in their neighborhood riding a bike, or sitting in a classroom with their friends, or walking down to the village market, thinking all is right with the world and then all of a sudden in the blink of an eye, have to realize that it’s not.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Beloved


You are my beloved,
My enchantment and inspiration.
Your love can quiet my worried heart
And fill it's lonely void.
You are my beloved,
You are the one adored.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Perspective


Truth or lie, isn’t it all a matter of perspective? What you believed to be the truth last year, or sometime in your past can change in the present time, can’t it? If you felt you were in a loving relationship in the past, but it’s changed into something else now, that doesn’t mean it was false, it just means things changed for you, and that your perspective of the relationship and the love became something else.

I don’t think we should lose site of the very real feelings of love that we once felt when we were in that place. Just because something might happen to separate two people who were at one time loving and giving to each other, doesn’t mean we can’t still recall those wonderful feelings. It’s the “feelings” that we are here to experience and remember! Things come and go, people come into our lives and leave or step away. But what about the feelings? They still are with us for as long as we can recall them. That’s what’s important in this continuum of experiences we like to call life.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Goddess of Winter


Here she comes at last! Cailleach Bheur, just blew in on the blustery, cold wind this evening. As the earth is so splendidly dying, she flies about, whipping up the dead leaves with her gnarly broom, sending them spinning into dry raspy whirlpools that tease the cats. She vows to bring in the Winter storms as she shrieks and moans whenever the bare tree limbs catch her dreaded hair! ~SmG~

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Changing Of The Guard

Last night's Presidential debate focused a spotlight on how very much alike our two main parties actually are. With Mitt Romney agreeing on so many points with the President, he was basically telling us that he would not make any changes in the way we conduct business with the rest of the world, and yet he would of course spend more money on our military. A military that already has a budget bigger than China, Russia, France, the UK and Japan combined! Both men strongly support our use of drone attacks on other countries supposedly to keep America safe, completely disregarding any talks about how many innocent lives are lost to this sadistic program. Although the debate was supposed to be on foreign policy, both candidates seemed bent on bringing almost every question back to the domestic issues. I got the feeling neither candidate wants the citizens of the US focusing too much on foreign affairs. Both men believe that it's the so called "honorable" position of the United States of America to police the rest of the world, to assist in toppling governments and regimes that we don't like or who are not friendly toward our interests!
We have other choices in this changing of the guard, but we have not been allowed access to these. Main stream media has very cleverly kept the majority of the population in this country in a very controlled blackout of the information that would help us to see that we are being manipulated. Only by doing the work individually of looking and digging through other news sources can we pull ourselves up out of the quagmire of the propaganda that we are being fed by the media.
There is still, however, the issue of the way our two party system has such a strong hold on the way our government runs. Yes, we have others who are running for the office of the President of the United States, but our system is designed, unfortunately, to make it virtually impossible for any of the other parties to gain a foothold. Here, I have had to look to the advise of someone's ideas that I respect very much and that is Noam Chomsky who said recently, “The Republican organization today is extremely dangerous, not just to this country, but to the world. It’s worth expending some effort to prevent their rise to power, without sowing illusions about the Democratic alternatives.” Bingo!
As Daniel Ellsberg wrote so eloquently in an article I just posted yesterday, "The reelection of Barack Obama, in itself, is not going to bring serious progressive change, end militarism and empire, or restore the Constitution and the rule of law. That’s for us and the rest of the people to bring about after this election and in the rest of our lives -- through organizing, building movements and agitating." Ellsberg's advise to the voters in the swing states who might be thinking that they cannot vote for either Romney or Obama, is important advise. In other words, in the states that are critical to the election, a vote for a third party is a vote for Romney. After many months of considering what to do myself, I came to the conclusion that it's more important than ever right now to keep our country from falling into the hands of these extreme right wing neo-cons, that Romney has embraced.
The two men running for the highest office in our land are only different in the way they will lead. Romney has time and time again outright lied, changed his approach to the important issues and has offended many leaders in the countries he has visited during his campaign. Many claim that Romney has been misunderstood because of media propaganda. I don't think he is misunderstood at all. I understand him to be a man who has throughout his life always had his own way, I understand he thinks it is his destiny to become the President. I understand he sides with those who believe women should stay silent and submissive. I understand he is out of touch with those who who basically should be running this country, and that is the people!!!
I have no illusions that voting for Obama for a second term will bring us the much needed changes that we all hope for. The economy is in shambles and the actions taken by our government toward countries that should be left to make their own choices bring us frightfully closer to another unwanted war. But keeping this President in office, I think is a very crucial first step toward that change. Voting this time is about voting against, more than its about voting for. Blaming one man for the problems we face is not realistic when you realize that the men and women who make up the rest of the government are the ones who in the end are responsible.
We have a Republican majority run Congress and this is the issue before us right now. This Congress who stated four years ago that their main purpose, their main job was going to be to make sure that Obama was a one term President! So after four years of this kind of focus, we see basically that our representitives were not concerned with fixing the mess this counry has been in. No, they were concerned with personality. They were concerned with their own self interests. They forgot the American people to fight one man.
Now the American people have a decision to either tell this Congress with our votes that we won't tolerate another four years of this kind of lunacy.
We are all given the privilege to cast our votes however we see fit. I hope we all vote very thoughtfully and without prejudice.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Rock


The Rock just couldn't remember how many centuries he had been in this same spot in the river. His surface was creviced and scared by the relentless rushing of the water as she molded and shaped and dug away at his edges until he was as smooth as glass in some spots. He had seen so many seasons come and go, had captured so many falling leaves, only to have them swept away by the wind and rain, some being carried on downstream as the river swelled and overflowed her boundaries after a heavy rainfall. Often the decaying debris from the trees that shaded him, collected in the deep, pools that had formed over time on his aged and wizened face. Soft moss crept across the landscape and held tiny beads of splashed up water, glistening in the sun like diamonds.
I could feel the pulsing of the river and the rock beneath my hands as I sat with upturned face to the sun and wondered how the Rock had contented himself to remain in the same spot he had for all this time. It must be wonderful Rock, for you to be so privileged to hear the song of this river every day, and night, the gurgling and the splashing and the leaping for joy that seems to be reaching my ears as I sit here in this solitude. "Are you serious?" Spoke the Rock. "Think you could have endured for centuries her never ending chattering? Oh for the chance for just one moment to be able to hear nothing at all!" "Then why do you stay," I inquired of this wise old Rock. "My roots run deep here and I've seen so many glorious days and splendid star filled nights. Many seasons have come and gone, the deer and the fox come to bend over my edge to drink from the river. Sometimes when the summers bring in the droughts, her voice is reduced to a mere whisper and when I am witness to that much dismay in her soul I rejoice when once again the rains fill her up and she is able to shout at me once more"

Wednesday, October 10, 2012


The love we two have made
Is the light, inside of me
That just keeps getting brighter.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Love's Secret Garden



They climb a garden wall
That is so very high,
And all the flowers there within
Reach up fair petals to the sky.

A sanctuary for two lovers
Thick bows of canopy overhead;
To dapple the dew sweet heather,
Where they make their passion bed;

They meet in love's sweet shadow
Where time has no real power
And somehow fit eternity,
Planting secrets in their garden
If only for an hour.


SMG 2012

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Redefining Relationships




We are in a time now where it has become possible to reach out far beyond our own neighborhoods and even our own borders to connect with a wider group of people. Because of the internet and social blogging/networking sites we meet a plethora of groups of people from every walk of life. Sometimes deep and abiding friendships are formed. Binding us for many years to relationships of support, camaraderie and sometimes everlasting love.

The very fact that we "talk" with these friends so easily via our computers cements the familiarity we feel. We get to know their families, their friends and we exchange a lifetime of stories that help us to know each other in sometimes intimate ways. We could be no more greatly connected than if we lived with these people in our own neighborhoods for our entire lives. W know their triumphs, their sorrows, and their joys. We become friends in every sense of the word.
Many times people find those who become their life partners on the internet. And even when it might take many years to finally find a way to manifest into each others physical reality, the time and distance has no bearing on the emotional attachment and commitment the two develop.

I've known personally many of my friends who have traversed this unfamiliar path. Finding ways to navigate these new waters with grace and dignity, selflessness, love and commitment. Some have moved great distances, even leaving their own homelands to be with their loved one. Others have had to let it go and walk away, finding that the distance and the effort and money spent trying to build a life together, too much of a burden, the forced separation, too painful to bear. Some of the difficulties couples like this who desire to be together, is made more impossible by government regulations about travel, immigration, citizenship and health care.

There are as many different situations as there are people who create them. No one way is the right way to continue and develop relationships in this ever shifting time we fine ourselves in now. What if you find yourself in a relationship that seems to be at a standstill? What if your plans and dreams to be united with a loved one seems to be taking forever in becoming a reality?

This forces us to take a moment to think of what we are giving and getting from these kinds of relationships. We have apparently created them this way for our personal life lessons. We must look inside and ask why are we continuing when so many obstacles stand before us. I might interject here that we put those obstacles up. We are not victims of some outside invisible force that puts them there. The obstacles we create have their functions. And when we are done with whatever lesson that obstacle was in place for, it seems to disappear.

The most important thing in this globalized neighborhood I think we should remember, is to find the joy in every relationship. Look for the love that is there. Sometimes when two are joined, one of the two will be able to do more, or give more at some particular time than the other. That's ok as long as the one giving realizes that's the job they took on. If one feels they are getting depleted or tired or discouraged, there is no shortage of friends they can find, that give back support to them that can lift them back up again. If a relationship hurts beyond bearing you can let it go. But remember that you might have decided yourself to experience that kind of hurt and disappointment. We are all mirrors for each other. Every time you draw someone in that causes heartache you must ask yourself, "what did I need that for? What is it about me that I am wanting to learn?" When you are able to answer that question honestly, you can be grateful to the one who held that mirror up for you, that they agreed to help you in that way, and you can love them for that.

Yes, we are in a time of re-defining relationships. We no longer are limited to the way of living in a community for all our lives, seeing the same faces, marrying and raising our children in that same community. We are reaching out, we are expanding our horizons and our way of living. Sometimes we might "know" someone online for many years without ever meeting face to face but we grow very fond of and we love deeply. We spend many years laughing together, crying together, arguing together. Never meeting face to face does not diminish the emotional commitment we make to each other. But it does mean that we are learning a new way to be together. To be connected.

Namaste

Eternal




Eternal

Down that dusty road I watched you go,
My ears still ringing with your words:
"I love you so."

Sun bright and golden in your hair;
Back so straight, shoulders squared,
Dreams we shared now put on hold;
To beg you stay I was not so bold.

Proud to answer your country's call,
As you faded from view I prayed;
"Don't let him fall."

"I'll wait forever!" I shouted to the wind
As out of sight you turned the bend.
My words now a sentence for the ages;
My living, a toil to turn the pages.

Ever searching, just out of reach,
Never making it past the breach
Of long-forgotten pacts made twixt just two
Who swore an oath of all we'd do

To keep the shroud of forgetting from our minds
So to peer at last into familiar eyes.

And though I sit in my solitude pondering,
Remembering parting words and weary of wandering,
But feeling still the warmth of your leaving hand in mine
I swear I'll walk with you 'til the end of time!

~Sheila MacGregor from "Quiet Reflections" ~ October 2008~

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

US Congress Has A New Leader




"After midnight yesterday, the Senate voted 90 to 1 to express the "sense of the Congress" as weighing in on the debate about what red lines the U.S. should declare against Iran. You'll remember this issue as the one roiling the relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama at the moment. On the Hill, almost everyone—including most of the Democrats—just sided with Netanyahu.

The resolution, initially introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the Spring, laid out a non-binding position that "strongly supports United States policy to prevent the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability" and "rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran." Obama has set his red line at Iran producing nuclear weapons rather than the "capability" to do so, a phrase loaded with a special yet ill-defined meaning in proliferation matters.
The "capability" debate was initially framed as one over "containment" in February, and hawks like Graham found little bipartisan support until their position became a centerpiece of the AIPAC policy conference in March. But the initial resolution from Graham in May stalled. Then things rose into the national consciousness.

This month, an unprecedented campaign by Benjamin Netanyahu to get Obama to shift his Iran red line drew jeers from liberals and even Members of Congress. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) upbraided Netanyahu for interjecting himself in American politics. AIPAC took notice, e-mailing its members last week with articles on Obama's refusal to lower his threshold for war and Netanyahu's denials of interference. The debate seemed, for now, over, with Obama victorious. Then this week, Majority Leader Reid suprised everyone by re-introducing the Graham resolution.
In the end, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) cast the only vote against the measure and two Democrats—Boxer and Washington's Patty Murray—abstained along with seven Republicans (one being the convalescing Senate hawk Mark Kirk). Insofar as Mitt Romney can pick and hold onto any position, the Congress sided with him too. (Someone forgot to tell the Democrats that Republicans have already politicized Iran red lines.)
This top bipartisan Senate priority—spurning Obama's Iran polcy—came as a final act of the chamber before it joined the House in the earliest pre-election recess in half a century."



In an interview with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he had lots to say about this.

“What I do wish to address is this atmosphere and opportunities…to be made ready for their use and disposal. Why should the world rest upon foundations on which some are given the opportunity to continuously threaten others? And, most importantly, more than their willingness to threaten is the management that is governing the world today. Why should the world have such management…in which some are continuously given the opportunity to continuously threaten others?

“We do believe there needs to be serious reform there. Let’s assume that three to four months from now we all reach the conclusion these threats were privy of any value. If such opportunities are given, entities like them will always have opportunities to threaten the well-being and safety of others. They are seeking opportunities for their own salvation and to safeguard their own interests. That is why they are raising the stakes and making so much noise.”



Overwhelmingly our US Congress, Repugs and Demigods alike have sided with the bully that is running the State of Israel. When you read the interview with President Ahmadinejad you well get a sense of a voice more inclined toward world peace than any I have heard lately, and yet...he isn't going to back down. He doesn't have to.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Daddy-O


My Daddy might be coming to live with me. Ever since his retirement from the Navy he has helped run his local VFW and now he is getting lonesome for family. He still drives a car and is pretty independent. I spoke with him just yesterday and told him we are looking forward to his arrival, and he still said "maybe." LOL

We all hope he doesn't change his mind and decided to stay in Virginia where he has lived for the past 47 years. He needs to be with family now I think.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Great Smokey Mountains National Forest

Spent the day with Grandarling Veronica in the Smokey Mountain National Forest. We went horseback riding through the park and then spent the day on the river taking pictures and videos.

Great day it was.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Trust




Trust
I really never knew I had trust issues, or maybe just didn't pay close attention to the idea that I did, and do, have a problem trusting. Trusting myself, trusting others, trusting circumstances. Then my Higher Self got my attention on this issue by breaking the connection my well pump had with it's source of power and presto! I forced myself to stop and pay attention to several things, not the least was this matter of trusting.

So, on a gorgous Fall morning while the sun was bright and the air crisp and workers were busy building my raised garden beds, I discovered that my washing machine wouldn't finish it's washing cycle and while pondering whether or not I was going to have to dig into the till to buy another washing machine or have this one repaired, my mind zipped back to the day before when I felt a "visit" from my late ex husband. Many syncs occured that morning that I don't think need to be elaborated on that did bring memories of him to the surface, so I call it a "visit, or a pop in." Alvin, being an electrician is important to this story as I will explain. When the washing machine stopped working and I began to remember Alvin and his profession, I knew that I had an electrical problem on my hands and began to wonder what kind of electrical problem? Then when I turned on the water faucet to wash my hands I knew my well pump had stopped working and that it was indeed an electrical problem. I had a bit of doubt at first in my own conclusion about this and so this was my first trigger about TRUST.

I decided to call the only electrician I know now, Alvin of course being gone, and phoned the man who used to work for him. Ronnie Davidson recommended someone that he said would find the problem right away and so I phoned Hudson Pump Company and spoke with a man who sounded older and very friendly, who came out right away to look at my well and assess my problem. Another sync to this situation was that this man, in the past, had called on Alvin numerous times to do wiring for him and he liked him a lot and told some funny stories about his experiences with Alvin, and so did the man who was with him helping out. Another attention getter and trigger for me. And even though I didn't know these two men personally and only had Ronnie's recommendation, I had a choice to make. I could either pace around wringing my hands wondering if I was going to get ripped off and not get my pump repaired and if it was going to be somthing major, or I could let go of that fear and TRUST these two men to treat me fairly and find a problem that would be simple to fix. I chose the latter. So the next morning when I was going to have to go to Tennessee to babysit my Grandaughter Veronica, I was going to have to stay home and get this problem sorted because they were going to have to bring in their big truck to pull my well pump out and find a broken wire that they said was the issue.

So for the rest of the evening and next morning I was in a quandry about why in the world I had manifested this right now at this time when I had to take care of so much at once. I knew I was going to have to stay home until this was finished because who was I going to TRUST to accomplish this task in my absense?

Now, besides the attention and the focus on TRUST, there is a much deeper lesson that I had to teach myself. I compare the water/well pump to the heart. Because the heart is a pump. Physically and on the surface one can see the analogy. Well pumps, pump water, hearts , pump blood. That might be the end of it and you could scratch your head all day wondering "what kind of lesson is this and what is she talking about?" But going deeper to more spiritual meanings, I can tell you that I brought my attention to my "spiritual heart" using the physical pump from the well and its broken connection from its power source to teach me that TRUST broken or not realized will block the flow of love going outward from the "spiritual heart" every time!

And so I must deal with my issues of TRUST. I must learn that by allowing others to live and learn and make choices that they make, trusting that they alone know what is best for them, will begin to heal my own trust issues. Because when I don't trust, I am placing a judgement on another persons' choice and I am saying either that is or is not a good choice. It's neither for me. It's neutral if I stop to think about it. The judgement being mine is unfair to them. If I place, for instance, a belief that a choice someone else makes is bad, then how is it possible for me to let the love toward that person continue to flow? It's something quiet profound to think about isn't it? I don't know about anyone else, but for me it seems to have always been true. If I place a judgement on another person's choices and if their choice does not reflect my own values then I set myself up for disappointment in them, or anger toward them, just a lot of stuff that can block me from freely giving them an unconditional flow of love from my "spiritual heart pump." Likewise, If there is something that I have done in my past, a choice that I have made that today in the now, brings a lot of guilt with it, then how can love for myself flow freely?

Many things can block the flow of love, both outward and inward toward yourself. I used the incident of my broken well pump connection to bring my attention to myself and healing my own trust issues so that I can more freely connect with my own power source, either the Universe or my Higher Self who waits patiently to love me uncontitionally while I learn these lessons in this life. The well pump was fixed quickly and fairly easily, and it may take some consentrated effort, but I believe that the hardest part of healing my issues of trusting is past simply by being aware that I had a problem.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Evening Adorned







As that great bowl of night,
Settles once more upon the earth,
The horizon puts on a necklace of gold
And diamonds adorn it's lofty walls.

Sheila MacGregor 2012

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Triggers


My clothesline has become a trigger. A trigger to a memory of stolen time. A time when nothing mattered or was more important than seeing you appear as if by magic at the door of a wee cabin, tucked safely behind a Bed & Breakfast in the heart of a land far removed from my world.
You see she had one just like it. She hung her laundry out in the sun every morning while I was there at the cabin. Laundry that added to the cover that kept us secluded from prying eyes that might give away our secret.
Every time I am out hanging clothes to dry in the early morning sunshine, beneath azure blue skies, I'm wisked back in time and I see her there from my window as I wait. The sky is bright with sunlight, the breeze whips the freshly washed sheets about as she pins them to the line, and then are left there to bask throughout the warmth of the day as she goes about doing her other chores, leaving me in my solitude to anticipate your much longed for arrival.
And before I know it, you are there and I am complete once more as our love wraps us up in its tender arms.

Friday, August 24, 2012

This Is Tuatha Dea

"We've been photographing (Soaringoak Photography)
the Tuatha Dea band now for almost three years on random occasions... its obvious that we love these people, and we'd like to show the world why and rally up more support for their cause. This slideshow video shows the majority of our photography work documenting just a few of their shows, utilizing two tracks off their latest CD "Kith & Kin", "Bagabi" and "Tonight". It's hard to explain the feeling of energy and family that they generate when you go to a Tuatha show, but I think you can see it in their faces if you watch this video :)"


Is It Love




One loving glance from you
And my heart skips with joy.

One grasp of your hand in mine
And nothing can break me.

The tender touch when our lips meet
Makes the world melt into the mist.

And each moment spent without you
Feels like an eternity.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Two By Two




Two By Two

Two by two they appear before my eyes
Two by two as the years flow by

Holding eager hands
Splashing barefoot in wave swept sands

Lips stop to kiss
In the soft glow of pink sunsets

Two by two as refreshing as summer rain
Too engrosed with love, to notice my pain

As I watch the pairs embrace
All I see is your face
And the empty space beside me.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Soft Is The Night






There is something about sitting outside on a muggy summer night looking at the full moon, staring intently.... trying to make out the many changing shapes on her silvery surface. She is a cool and accomodating goddess of the night sky. She fills me with energy and delightful musings. I listen to the harmonic sounds of hundreds of tree frogs and feel the soft breeze kiss my face. The air is fragrant with the clean, sweet smell of honysuckle, and in the distance, sounds of trucks on the highway reach over the tops of the mountains and float on the air, just barely heard as they fade into the distance.


All is quiet. I walk along the soft, damp grass in my barefeet and going some distance from the house, turn and look at it's bulking shape. It is my fortress. All who lie sleeping within it's walls are safe and at peace, dreaming the dreams of the events of the day just past or floating aimlessly and effortlessly through the world of the night. A night bird warbles at the sight of a falling star.


The moon smiles down at me. There is a halo shining round her and a million twinkling stars winking. The universe is eternal and the hour is late. The fireflys dart past, little orbs of the night. And now I say goodnight.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Friday, July 20, 2012

How Deep Is The Ocean



How can I tell you what is in my heart?
How can I measure each and every part?
How can I tell you how much I love you?
How can I measure just how much I do?

How much do I love you?
I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?

How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?

How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?

And if I ever lost you
How much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?



Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Loving For No Reason



You asked me why I love you and I didn't have a clear answer. At that moment you asked I wanted to tell you that I love you because you are the sweetest person I have ever met. But you are so much more and if I limit my love for you for when you are that sweet person then what happens to my love for you on the days when you don't feel particularly bent toward being sweet? I'll tell you what happens to it, nothing. Because I can't see myself not loving you, whether you are sweet, or cross, or forgetful, or angry, or sad, or thoughtless, or any of the things that make a person seem unlovable. So I have to tell you truthfully that I love you for no reason at all.

I loved you from the moment we met. I can't give a reason, it just seemed right and good to love you. It made me happy beyond words to love you. I have loved you every day since, just because. I love you now, just because. I will love you always, just because.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Secret

Moments

Four years! The years both crawled and sped by alternately. How could four years seem so endless and then melt away in one instant? The instant that I am found once more in your embrace. Looking into your eyes I can see the depth of your love reflected in purest certainty.

"You are mad woman!" You say to me. "You have gone to some trouble to be here." "You are well worth it," is my heartfelt reply.

And then we kiss. The kiss we have waited on for four long, painful years.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

On A Summer's Day


He reached out a hand for her to grasp as she scrambled over the waist high rock wall. Soft was her landing on the other side as her bare feet touched down on spongy turf. Now at her back, the wall towered above her head like a lichen covered gray barrier to the town's curious eyes. Before her breathed a windswept cliff, padded with grasses and strewn with thistle, with a narrow twisty path that edged along the rocky face and out of sight down to the sea.

He tenderly led her across and down the steep path, glancing back at her from time to time with a smile and a warning to be mindful of the thistles. After some effort they found themselves far out on the tip end of a precipice that rose stoutly from a churning sea. Out of breath and laughing, the two lovers sank down onto the mossy ground. Sea birds soared and swooped above them, sometimes diving headlong into the water to disappear and then bob up to the surface again moments later with their catch in their beaks.

Far out on the distant horizon the haar was moving slowly toward a fleet of fishing vessels, one by one swallowing them up in the soft silence. He leaned across her resting form, kissing her lightly and her closed eyes fluttered open for only a moment then shut once more.

As the sound of the birds rose and fell and the rhythmic clang of the boat's bell in the distance blended with the crashing waves, they just lay there, side by side, hand in hand, their bodies melting into the landscape, as time left them behind and the wind carried their dreams across the waves with the receding tide.

Reality 101

You can pretty much tell when I've been away from the computer for an afternoon if you see a blog headed your way all filled with more of my weird ideas, because time away from mindless wandering across cyber space gives me time to think. Uh Oh She's thinking again!

Today I spent some time here, like while I was having coffee, then alternately, lots of time outdoors. The sun was lovely and the temperature was fantastic. I cleaned out some messy flower beds, moved some stuff around and even put up a porch swing all on my own. No plan had formed in my thinking about what chores might need tending to, I was just going on whim, whatever struck me to do at the moment. Then when I tried out the porch swing I began to get these ideas. They came from the joy I experienced when I looked around me and as far as I could see there was nothing but peace and quiet. The bright sun, the cloud lined blue sky, the tiny buds bursting from the sleeping trees, the daffodils waving their fragrant trumpets my way, all conspired together to shout out to me, "hey look here at this wonderful world right before your hungry eyes."

I began to recall all the news stories I had watched on my television over the past couple of months. The unrest in the Middle East, the political upheaval here in our own country, the death of a little girl in our hometown that shook a community to its core. And now the latest disaster in Japan bombards us with news, pictures, videos. All to inform us of what goes on outside our own back yards. Our reality. The reality we individually experience is like the reality of no other person. It is ours, we own it. We create it.

I loved experiencing my world of tranquility. I loved hearing the birds sing, the distant dog bark, a lone automobile crunching the pavement with rubber feet as it whizzed by my house.

What am I to make then of the chaos that is apparent in the world that comes to me via my tv set and my computer? I don't have a stone heart that makes it possible to not care for the trouble others are having. I get just as excited over seeing Egypt win their battle against a dictator as I feel the fear of the people of Japan. But it does not touch me. I still get up in the morning, I drink my coffee, I talk with my Grandarling, or I call my daughters or chat with friends online, I still go to my job, I still eat when and what I want, I still lie down at night in my warm, soft bed and I feel safe.

Appreciatively, when I fix my gaze all around my world I see no war, I feel no earthquake and I hear no gunfire! What is this all about then? That old saying comes into my head. "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear does it make a sound?" If I did not see the conflict in Egypt and Libya on my TV and computer, if I didn't see the earthquake happening in Japan would it still be happening? Of course I believe it would. I believe collectively the people in these events right now are experiencing them but I am not. I am an observer of their turmoil and their grief and triumphs. And I can choose how I will experience it with them. I can lend my energy of peace and love to their situations or I can be terrified and dreadful that the same things are coming to rock my world to its knees. I can be excited when I see the acts of bravery and kindness they show to one another and rejoice and be hopeful for their recovery or I can stockpile supplies and guns and whatever else for my own protection when the disaster hits my paradise. It's all my own choices how I deal or experience the drama the unfolds in the lives of others. And that is powerful.

There is so much we can learn as observers in these events. I see and remember how the Egyptians conducted themselves during their protest. They lost their fear, they co-operated in a monumental way with each other, they showed love and acceptance when the Christians in Egypt protected the Muslims during their prayers and then the Muslims protected the Christians during a memorial service. In Japan there are stories of tremendous courage and grace under pressure. There was one instance when a group of people were picking up fallen goods in a grocery store and re stacking them neatly on the shelves and then stood in line waiting to buy the same food they had just helped to pick up. And 83 year old woman pedaled her bicycle to safety from the Tsunami. A baby was miraculously found. The stories are endless. I am also struck by how the news media is over-blowing some of the dangers but the people who actually are living there are reporting something quiet different. Once again...individual realities differ greatly! I can't get away from that truth.

I don't know where else to go with this. I will simply end by stating I think I'm beginning to understand that will a bit of belief in ourselves....we can create anything. If I have made my world peaceful...how can it be so for others? And how can I keep it that way, or will I even want to?

I have a friend who has been out of work for three years. She has been looking diligently for jobs anywhere she can find to look. Today she interviewed with a company that she believed would be a good place to work. According to my friend the interview went without a hitch. The interviewer and she seemed to "click." As she walked away at the end of the interview, she turned and said to the lady who would be influencing whether she would be hired or not and said, "It will be a pleasure working with you." Her statement was met with a quizzical stare. When she had been home but a few hours she got a call to inform her she got the job. My friend had confidence in herself and it created a magical experience. I'm sure she was more than qualified for the position. But many job seekers are qualified. I think the magic was her confidence, exhibited by her departing statement.

I'm simply attempting to explain that it's time we looked around us and see what we may have individually or collectively created and try to understand why and how we can go about changing it if we no longer feel it's necessary or simply because we don't like it that way anymore.

Secret ~ Seal

"You're a most wonderful lady who I love so...
And if the little I give makes you happy,
then what more can I do but love you more!"


A Mother's Day Proclamation ~ Julia Ward Howe

The First Mother's Day proclaimed in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe
was a passionate demand for disarmament and peace.

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or tears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have taught them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated earth, a voice goes up with our own. It says, "Disarm, Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail & commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesars but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Where's The Power?

We have created the exploration of "power and authority outside of ourselves", but we are shifting now, and there are bound to be some crazy moments of wondering where the power is, because it's so familiar to us to believe it's something outside of ourselves. There are many versions and variations of all kinds of "facts" these days ~ take what resonates, leave the rest, and change your mind whenever you want to :)

Choices

Way before I started living at my

computer my mornings were

quiet different

than they are now. I would arise

and take my coffee outside

where I would

connect to the sky, to the trees,

to the birds singing and I

would be

energized. I would sip my lovely

coffee with my hands wrapped

around the

warm cup and feel my body tingle from the energy that nature always

provided. Just remembering it now is giving me that same energy tingle. I

would get "messages" from my higher self. I would start to understand more

about who I am and where I fit with the Universe. Now I take my coffee and

sit it on the desk beside the computer and I connect with people. I read

their status, I chat with them sometimes and I interact and I feel my body

tingle again. I read intently about the energy that is spreading across the

world in other places. Of the changes that are taking place in the lives of all

of humanity. Of the shift. Sometimes I am torn between my desire for the

connections I feel outside gazing at the "real" world and my joy at

connecting with friends from the cyber world. In reflections I have to

conclude that all is good. No right or wrong choices here for me, just a

freedom to make that choice and there I go tingling again. Good morning to

all of you, (or afternoon or evening) and my your choices you make today

give you goosebumps :-)

Priceless

"I'll take you to a high mount
To show you sweet heather,"

You said.

You took me to the windy cliffs
Where the wild sea crashes

Instead.

"I'll take you dancing tomorrow night
Best wear your best formal dress."

You whispered.

You took me walking by the river
Where the cool wood embraced

And the birds twittered.

"I want to give you fine diamonds
To grace your dainty fingers,"

You sighed.

But see the ring of clover you've
Lovingly woven and given

With shy smile.

Promises grandly made
Are but shadows of the acts of tender love

Actually given!

SMG 11/30/2010

Had I But Known

Had I but known,

I would have gazed longer
into your eyes

Had I but known,

My lips would have lingered
more tenderly on yours

Had I but known,

I would have listened more intently
to the sound of your voice

Had I but known,

I would have held more tightly
to your hand

Had I but known,

I would have whispered more secrets
in your ear

Had I but known

That this longing would be...

So profound!


Sheila MacGregor August, 2011

To My One and Only

Thursday, May 10, 2012

And This Is Autumn

Leaves, scattered wet with the falling rain,
litter the pavement, stuck there
like the pieces of my life,
in memories pleasant and beautiful.

Waiting in the late Autumn evening for those
still clinging to the unburdening trees;
to join them. . .and me,
Until some crisp December wind,
carries them scooting along the ground;
Lifting them up at last
unto Infinity!


Sheila MacGregor October 19, 2011

Wisdom From the Small People


Coraleigh has been with me today while her Mom was at work and she created a Spa in her room!

She found an old foot bath apparatus that I had stored in a closet and dragged it up to her bedroom to set up a very nice treat for me. When she was ready, her sweet smile appeared at the door of my den and said, "Nana, I have made a surprise for you, come see."

What followed was the more wonderful than any time I could have "payed" for at some fancy, smancy spa in town.

First of all, I entered a room filled with soft, flute music that was playing from her portable cd player. I was led to a small chair where my feet were then lifted and placed into the warm, sudsy, bubbling water of the foot bath. Then I was treated to wonderful conversation, gentle scrubbing of the "rough" spots of my feet with a pumice stone, massage and then a pedicure with deep red polish completed with stars!

This Small Person teaches me so much when she spends these moments with me, about loving, generosity and just plain joy! Interspersed giggling and conversation revealed her plan for a super business she has in mind to create. "Nana, don't you think I should add a Spa to my Perfume business?" She quipped. "Of course," was my enthusiastic response. "I think my Perfume business should be in the front of the store and in the back, I plan a room for the spa. And when they come in to the store they can have everything they want for a dollar! No matter how much they want if they want too much, I think that will be ok with me, they can just have everything for a dollar." She smiled and shook her head resolutely as she continued to paint my toes. "Why you are just not greedy at all are you darling." I said. "No, and if they don't have any money but they want some perfume or if they want to visit the spa they can just have what they want for free."

Then she looked up and smiled that big smile she does and said, "And Nana if they are rich," she paused, "if they are rich I am going to charge them a million dollars."

How's that for balanced thinking LOL. I love my Small People.

When You Go

People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive. It is as though they were traveling abroad.

~Marcel Proust

Solstice






The trees at last have given up their leaves,
Swapping them for shrouds of gossamer mits;
That entangle their branches and reach their
mercurial fingers to the skies.

Summer's lush grasses have been put to rest,
beneath crystallized blankets of ice.
And the once brilliant Autumn sunsets give way
To the somber hush of gray.

Sheila MacGregor 2011


Shadows

Love lived in the shadows,
In secret places of flickering lights.
Living in expectation
Always on the fringes of joy.


Intense desire diminishes
Retreating from sun's spotlight.
Where once beat the blush of hope
Now a heart lies crumbled.


Years marking the dreams
Left unrealized;

I shall win, I shall win.