Let it Flow

How many times do we question ourselves - question our abilities, our strengths, our beauty, our thoughts and feelings, our decisions?  We all do it...some more than others.  But what if we just let it all flow - without judging ourselves or our circumstance?  Instead, what if we danced with what presents, acknowledging ourselves and the situations, but moving forwarded anyway - letting it flow?

This poem what born of such questions to myself.  I would have all these thoughts pop in my head, but at a time when I wasn't sure if they were my own thoughts, or if I had adopted those of others.  Once I realized that I could own them if I wanted, or let them go if I wanted, I could stop any resistance and just let it all flow in complete neutrality...and what a grand feeling that is - to let it all flow; to let it all just be.

Hope you enjoy the read...you can find it in the Dec-Jan2014 issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine, where I'm contributing for the third year in a row :).   Click on the image of the magazine cover to enter a different kind of poetry world - a creative one of spirit, inspiration and insight :)


Let it Flow
(copyright 2013, Linda J. Spencer)

My body is alive and full of energy.
My mind is full, ready to explode
With all of its thoughts,
All of its grand creations.
But what if they're not my own?

What if they belong to another?
How can I possibly know?
My mind is overflowing
And now it cannot be contained.
Energy transcends.
I have set it free.
It is what will be.
Or is it?
Is it really free?
Only I can choose.
Only I can know.
If only I'd listen.
Can I do this?
If only I could still my mind
I could see what's real,
And the knots would come undone,
Anxiety and doubt would cease.
Or would it?
I can only try.

This Body

How many of you have truly taken a look at your body - its curves, its lines, its story - without judgement, but full of appreciation for all of it?  Now, a couple of years ago, I would have had difficulty doing this without judging what I saw in the mirror.  What a difference removing judgement (not only with looking at my body, but with SO many things in my life)!!!  It took forty years, but I have finally come to appreciate all of it...filled with gratitude for my body - my divine vessel in which I am afforded the opportunity to experience THIS life on Earth - I wrote this poem, in tribute.

Photo by Change Your Life Photography

This Body – My Divine Vessel
(© Linda J. Spencer, 2013)

This body carried my children for nine months
And brought them into this world with love.
The scars are witness to the beauty of the birth,
And they are beautiful.
This body has carried me my whole life with ease and grace.
Its lines and creases are testament to this life.
This body moves with grace and feels the flow of life
It lets me know when to take a break,
And when it’s ready to run full out –
And I have learned to hear what it has to say.
This body allows me to dance among the trees,
In the light of the setting sun,
And under the starry full moon night.
This body receives the light and love that feeds my soul.
Its curves reflect that love,
And reflect its light back out to the world.
This body is a divine vessel which embodies my soul
And it is perfect, just as it is.


A couple of months ago, as part of a "homework" assignment (I use the term "homework" loosely, as it was more of an experience than homework) for a program I was taking, I was to look, or rather observe, myself in the mirror for 20 minutes - naked - without judgement.   This experience, along with reading about the experiences of others in the group and seeing myself in some amazing photos by Change Your Life Photography, inspired me to write this particular poem, which I am proud to say that you can find in the Oct/Nov 2013 issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine (click on the magazine cover artwork to enter the most recent issue).  Big thanks to Jennifer Hough of the Wide Awakening Team and the Innate Abilities Group for the inspiration :)

Words from a Photograph

I’ve experienced so much expansiveness in the last while and although not doing so much writing, there’s been a creative flow of a different kind.  A couple of months ago, I started doing a program which has opened not only my eyes, but all of my senses and my very being to a vastness of pure potential which I find absolutely amazingly fascinating.  With those experiences of the last few months, coupled with a recent opportunity to be the subject of a couple of photo shoots, I found myself falling in love with the images I saw, and more deeply in love with my own camera.  Those experiences have inspired me to be more attentive and present to what I see, and capture as much as I can with the lens - capturing the essence of what I see in nature – the greatest inspiration for my poetic verses. 

This week I chaired my Wordsmiths writing group meeting.  Inspired by the photos I had taken the week before at my parents’ farm, I decided we’d do an exercise that entailed writing the story that is happening outside the photo frame.  It’s one thing to see a photograph or a painting and write its story, but it’s something else to write what happening outside of that image.  The result – 8 wonderfully creative stories churned up in a 20 minute writing session.  Some of them will be developed into greater works of prose and poetry, I’m sure, and I look forward to my fellow wordsmiths to share their creations at a later date. 

I mentioned this writing exercise to my photographer later that night while discussing a shoot.  Inspired by a photograph that he took of me (probably my most favourite shot of them all).  It’s such a good piece that I asked his permission to share it here.  Thanks to Steve Di Monte of Change Your Life Photography for sharing.

 So, next time you're out and about, why not grab your camera and capture what you see.  Search the images to inspire you and dream up what’s happening around them…it’s a really fun exercise, and if nothing else will put a smile on your face as you reminisce through the photographs.  Happy writing :) :) :)

Sun-Sets and Sun-Rises

I've been sitting on this one for a while now, but upon reflecting on the glorious sunsets of the summer sun, I thought it's time to share...

Gazing in awe of the summer solstice sunset as it filled me with warmth and light.

Sun-Sets and Sun-Rises

(©Linda Spencer, 2013)

The sun rose and life began

With fluttering hearts

Many, many moons ago.

Life grew with vows of love

And tears of joy

As children’s laughter filled the rooms.

But life changes as it grows

And some resist its pull.

And now, as the sun sets on this day,

I know the sun will rise tomorrow

And in new light, I awaken.

Waking to a spring sunrise with a walk on the ridge.

And a bit of news with the sun rising on a new day:  I've been selected to write for Sibella Poetry Magazine (www.sibellapoetry.com) for a third year.  YEAH!  Thank you to all my followers and supporters for allowing me the chance to share my poetic verse <3 Mwah!

A Dance in the Night

Yeah!  The new issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine is out (click on the link, or go to http://clck.com/jmmg/spoetry/APRMAYSIB13.pdf), and in it is my poem "A Dance in the Night". 

Some colleagues and friends have asked me, "when do you find time to write?"  or, "when do you write?"  You may think that as a writer, I'd be writing all the time, or at least every chance I got, but I don't.  I find that my best writing occurs when the mood strikes me, or when I have a vision of what I should write about.  Sometimes I ask for inspiration, and sometimes it just comes out of the blue...or someone will say something or do something that strikes a cord and out flows a verse or two that I can work with.  It's very sporadic, but it works for me.  The finished product is always something I feel.  "A Dance in the Night" came as a vision as I was sitting at my desk, just days before the submission deadline, staring out my loft window into the trees below...they spoke to me.  Ok, they weren't pines, but they were tall.  And we don't have wolves, but we do have coyotes who wander by occassionally :)  I followed this poem up with a post on my Ridgeview blog about the vision I had for Ridgeview.  Check that out too when you get a chance.  Enjoy ♡

 

A Dance in the Night

(©Linda Spencer, 2013)

By the light of the moon, I dance.

The night is quiet and the air is calm;
There is peace.
I stop at the edge of the forest
Where the tall pines stand guard;
A low branch bows, inviting me to enter.

As I cross the threshold, a lone wolf howls,
Eerily piercing the night silence.
She crosses my path a distance ahead,
Glancing to acknowledge my presence
And I hers; we are friends -
Creatures of the same Maker.

She lets me pass to continue my dance

Watching me and I her, in awe.
And I listen for her words.
But they do not come, not this time.
I hear instead the stillness of the night -
The sound of water; the rustle and creek of the woods.

Their message is clear:
I may own this land, but it is not mine.
It found me, and entrusted me as its keeper –
To protect it, to nourish it, to help it grow.
In return, it cradles me, and gives me life;
And gives me space to dance and play within it.

“We have been given a world of creation to laugh and dance and play with – it only asks that we treat it as we would our soul.”~Linda Spencer

Cherish LIFE

Cherish LIFE, and ALL that it gives you...

Yesterday, I received very sad news of the passing of a dear colleague at the very young age of 53.  I was shocked, in disbelief.  But, I had said to a friend that everything happens for a reason, and life sends us lessons...this lesson?  Cherish LIFE, and ALL that it gives you.

So, here I am, sitting at my computer, in the wee hours of the morning of February 1st - a brand new day, a whole new month.  LIFE is giving me the opportunity of TIME.  Time for what?  It's not often that I am fully awake at 4am, with several hours to go before I have to leave for work.  There are so many things I COULD be doing with this time -
I could read one of the many books that I'm partially through;
I could go through the months of paperwork I have sitting on my desk;
I could work, or make some new jewellery;
I could do some yoga, take the dog for a walk, do the dishes, do some laundry.....
or, I could go back to sleep. 

I could do any of those things, or all of those things.  I've already checked my mail, caught up with my family and friends on FaceBook (easy to do...no much has happened in the last 6 hours), read the just-released Feb/Mar issue of Sibella (which is a welcomed delight at 4am - it lifted my spirits to read all the beautiful poems by so many talented women - including my own, entitled "Today"). 

I think I'll use this gift of time, right now, to remember, to reflect, to love, and to write. 

What has LIFE given you?  How do you cherish IT?

Took the opportunity to capture the brilliant sunrise over the city as I approached work yesterday morning.

Submitting Poetry

I wanted to share a blog I read today - some good tips on submitting poetry.
http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2012/04/poetry-submissions-number-poems/

In my experience, if you have a certain style of writing that you really enjoy, search for a publication that fits your style, rather than trying to conform your poetry to something that you might not enjoy writing.  After all, as an artist, creating poetry, you have to be happy with your own creation before it can truly be appreciated by someone else. 

Searching for that "right fit" can be a daunting task, but it's so worth it when you find it.  Sometimes, it's just a matter of asking the Universe to point you in the right direction :)

Happy writing!

"Be inspired to create what you imagine." ~Linda Spencer

It's Snowing Again at Ridgeview

IT's snowing again...and I'm dancing with the music blaring from the speakers, as the snow flakes dance to the ground.  Join me in the dance :)

Snow Fairies

(©Linda Spencer, 2011)

Snow fairies are dancing in the sky,
And what a beautiful dance it is -
Swirling, twirling all all about,
Eventually landing on the ground.
Not a care do they have,
Those snow fairies many.
All they do is dance, and dance plenty -
Quickly, slowly, waiting for the wind’s direction.
By the millions they come down,
And sometime even float up, and circle ‘round.
Could watch them for hours, if not for things to do;
Join them even, into the midnight hours
As they dance to Nature’s song -
Laughing, and dancing all the while.

Welcoming 2013 and Reflecting on 2012

January 1 - here it is - a brand new year, a brand new day, just like any other day - a chance to start over, create something new, do something special, change yourself, change a life.  It really doesn't take much - have the idea/goal, set the intention, and take action.

I've been reading and meditating a lot lately, in search of answers, in search of myself and what's right for me.  Today, as I reflect on 2012, and prepare myself to jump into 2013 with my eyes wide open (as well as my heart, mind and soul), I wonder why it took me so long to do this - why didn't I have my eyes wide open before?  Then, I realize, it doesn't really matter.  It only matters that I'm open now, and that I'm ready to take the leap.  I'm awake and ready to live in openness now, today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter.

2012 was a challenging year to say the least, but it was also an insightful year in which I grew more than I ever thought or imagined possible.  The last year brought challenges to almost every aspect of my life - taking the first three months off to care for my newly disabled husband, bringing with it financial, work and relationship challenges.  In those months, I found opportunities to improve my health, to improve my relationship with my husband and children, to start making jewellery, to write more, to read more, to do more of the things that I loved to do but never had the time while working a full-time salaried job.

In the months that followed, after I returned to work, I was presented with a whole new set of challenges, along with old challenges that returned with respect to juggling work and family obligations and new commitments with LS@Ridgeview Designs and writing classes.  With these challenges, I began to see even more opportunities.  And so began my change in view on challenges - instead of seeing them as something to complain about, I started seeing them as opportunities for change, and for growth - personal and spiritual growth, growth in my network, growth in my friendships. Along with designing and creating jewellery, in 2012, I started writing a book, joined a writing group, started this blog, renewed my tenure as a contributing poet to Sibella Poetry Magazine for another year, took a trip to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (my first trip outside of North America on my own) where I read my poetry in front of an international audience (although not the first time I've presented and to a much larger crowd, it was the first time I recited poetry publicly), met A LOT of interesting and inspirational people who will forever be in my heart, and grew my personal network exponentially (NEVER underestimate the value of SOCIAL CAPITAL).  I read poetry again in front of many strangers at a friend's book launch.  I grew significantly in my spiritual being, and I will be eternally grateful to all who contributed to that growth (they know who they are).  I witnessed some spectacular views of the sun that I had never seen before in my 39 years, and had the opportunity to capture them.

A spectacular view on my way to work - Dec 28, 2012.  Miracles DO happen - just open your eyes to see them!

Even with all these challenges, opportunities and accomplishments in 2012 for which I am eternally grateful, I feel that I have only scratched the surface of what will come to be.  As I look forward to 2013, I'm excited for what it will bring into every aspect of my life.

Happy 2013 to everyone!  I wish you all many blessings in your life <3