My heart sank as I drove back to work from lunch break. On the left side of the road were men in crisp, white polo shirts, hitting golf balls. On the right side was a man in an oversized brown coat bent over a shopping cart filled with plastic bags, ragged blankets, and found objects. And there’s me in the middle driving an average gray car to an average paying job, frustrated that we’re not all equal. We like to think we are, and maybe as spirits that’s true, but as humans there is a gap between everyone. Male and female, rich and poor, black and white.

It breaks my heart that maybe that man on the right made some bad decisions in the past and that’s why he’s fishing out of a basket, but he’s still one of us, a human with a mind and a heart and a story. It frustrates me that, most likely, some of the men on the left own million dollar homes and boats and complain about the poor not doing their part and always taking, taking, taking. What they don’t understand is that they are riding on the backs of the broken-hearted, the struggling families, the single mothers, and they have broken the backs of the ones sitting curbside with only a backpack to their name.

Everyone has something to give, whether money or time or love. Rich and average and poor are all human beings and are all gifted with a spirit of unconditional love. It’s just that some people don’t choose or don’t know how to release that.

I’m learning to open myself to the expanse of the universe. Opening myself means unlimited giving because I have been blessed over and over again, and I will continue to be blessed. Giving is never wasted. Give locally and internationally, to the weak and the strong. Give to your biological sisters and sisters you’ve never met. Look beyond the human, the body, to the spirit – the spirit that was created in a sacred place and born to a family just like you and I. We are all different, but we are all the same.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." ~ Winston Churchill

"If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive." ~ Dorothee Solle

"My father (Danny Thomas) used to tell me there are two kinds of people, the takers and the givers. ‘The takers sometimes eat better,’ he would say, ‘but the givers always sleep better.’” ~ Marlo Thomas,

"In the sphere of material things, giving means being rich. Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much." ~ Erich Fromm

"In charity there is no excess." ~ Francis Bacon

I wish to spend my time helping others, whether through art or writing or money or just listening. Strangers, loved ones, locally, and internationally. I wish to spend time using my gifts and blessings for the benefit of others. Giving is never wasted :)

Wish away my darlings!

bird bone shoulders
and emerald city eyes 
sparkling wide and innocent 
like the ocean after a hurricane.
pisces baby singing lullabies 
with her smile - 
she's only a piece of paper,
but beautiful nonetheless.

I finally got around to uploading the pictures from the Emilie Autumn concert. I didn't get to take nearly as many as last year because my camera died. The show was as fantastical and beautiful as always. There was flying tea and cookies, the giant asylum clock, burlesque Victorian costuming, and a mix of old and new songs. 

I loved the newest addition to her costume - the giant unicorn/faux hawk.

She's standing on a wheelchair here.

I can't remember exactly what was being said; something about crackers.

In other news, I bought this cookbook today...

The first recipe I'm going to try is the Chanterelle tacos. It's a mix of onion, serrano chile, garlic, mushrooms, Mexican oregano, and Parmesan cheese in a corn tortilla. The picture is mouthwatering. Actually, all the pictures are mouthwatering and inspiring. It makes me long for a farmhouse kitchen stocked with food from my own garden. 

I'm so sorry to have missed day 2 & 3 of the challenge; I've been under the weather (the dreary weather), but feel better today. Here's my contribution for day #4...

She wears purple, smiles,
pushes back her curly cue hair -
when the music starts
she becomes a dandelion,
all her little wishes drifting above clouds.
She says, "Move your body,"
and her fingers make rainbows in the air.
She closes her eyes, moves inside the music, 
catches notes in her palms.
Then she rests on the floor 
with her hands above her head
and lets the energy fall back to her.

It's day 1 of the Spread the Love Challenge!

I couldn't pick who I wanted to write a poem for today, so I chose them all <3

To the elderly women with tender smiles and walking canes,
you are beautiful.

To the mermaid wearing rhinestone jeans and ordering coffee,
you are beautiful.

To the punk rock girl with purple hair and skateboarding down the hill,
you are beautiful.

To the petite blonde in cowboy boots with a fringed purse over your shoulder,
you are beautiful.

To all shapes, sizes, skin colors, ages-
a rainbow of women-
you are beautiful.