masterful white

white by aia*c

.

white as a ghost

it had begun to be present to him after the first fortnight,

it had broken out with the oddest abruptness, this particular wanton wonderment:

it met him there--and this was the image under which he himself judged the matter,

or at least, not a little, thrilled and flushed with it--very much as he might have been met

by some strange figure, some unexpected occupant, 

at a turn of one of the dim passages of an empty house.

the quaint analogy quite hauntingly remained with him,

when he didn't indeed rather improve it by a still intenser form:

that of his opening a door behind which he would have made sure of finding nothing,

a door into a room shuttered and void, and yet so coming,

with a great suppressed start, on some quite erect confronting presence,

something planted in the middle of the place

and facing him through the dusk.

~ henry james the jolly corner

.

let your little light shine

.

for the white crayons

my goal is to show people that if they change the colour of their paper,

a white crayon can be more helpful than one would think

~ brooklyn 

FOR THE WHITE CRAYONS

.

please visit brooklyn ~ this young woman's light shines brilliantly ...

xo

LET YOUR LITTLE LIGHT SHINE

.

you can find it

that was rough ...

thing to do now is try and forget it ...

i guess i don't quite mean that.

it's not a thing you can forget.

maybe not even a thing you want to forget ...

life's like that sometimes ...

now and then for no good reason a man can figure out,

life will just haul off and knock him flat,

slam him agin' the ground so hard it seems like all his insides is busted.

but it's not all like that.

a lot of it's mighty fine,

and you can't afford to waste the good part frettin' about the bad.

that makes it all bad ...

sure, i know ~ sayin' it's one thing and feelin' it's another.

but i'll tell you a trick that's sometimes a big help.

when you start looking around for something good to take the place of the bad,

as a general rule you can find it.

~ from the movie OLD YELLER, 1957

.

xo

LET YOUR LITTLE LIGHT SHINE

when a day may seem dim ...

i am weak.

the world is too much.

unfathomable flooding.

fierce fires.

tragic tornadoes.

extraordinary earthquakes.

terrifying tsunamis.

humankind is weakened by mother nature's power.

but the strength is in the spirit.

i am filled with faith

by the soul's insatiable spirit to survive.

feeling strength from their strength,

 i celebrate and seek inspiration

and feel immense gratitude.

thank you i.studio pool contributors

for continuing to create,

to share so graciously,

to let your light shine brightly

when a day may seem dim ...

doreen kilfeather inbetweeness

cindy taylor cottage window

learning junkie creativity ~ 52 weeks of gratitude

lucia and mapp sweet!

araceli calabuig roba nenuda

teri klinger for the love of color

xo

let your little light shine

.

awash with angels

Love Calls Us to the Things of This World

The eyes open to a cry of pulleys,

And spirited from sleep, the astounded soul

Hangs for a moment bodiless and simple

As false dawn.

Outside the open window

The morning air is all awash with angels.

Some are in bed-sheets, some are in blouses,

Some are in smocks: but truly there they are.

Now they are rising together in calm swells

Of halcyon feeling, filling whatever they wear

With the deep joy of their impersonal breathing;

Now they are flying in place, conveying

The terrible speed of their omnipresence, moving

And staying like white water; and now of a sudden

They swoon down into so rapt a quiet

That nobody seems to be there.

The soul shrinks

From all that is about to remember,

From the punctual rape of every blessed day,

And cries,

``Oh, let there be nothing on earth but laundry,

Nothing but rosy hands in the rising steam

And clear dances done in the sight of heaven.''

Yet, as the sun acknowledges

With a warm look the world's hunks and colors,

The soul descends once more in bitter love

To accept the waking body, saying now

In a changed voice as the man yawns and rises,

``Bring them down from their ruddy gallows;

Let there be clean linen for the backs of thieves;

Let lovers go fresh and sweet to be undone,

And the heaviest nuns walk in a pure floating

Of dark habits,

keeping their difficult balance.''

 ~ Richard Wilbur

.

thank you dear gigi thibodeau of the magpie's pen

for sharing this lovely poem ...

thank you richard wilbur

xo

let your little light shine

.

everyday gift of light

let your little light shine

.

everyday gifts ... of spring!

little lambs by mary doherty photography

.

a gift given ... giving again

last weekend at a local music production

i was delighted to see my dear friend becky chinn

becky and i met years ago while taking a watercolour painting class together.

this gentle soul, with equally gentle brush strokes

fills my heart at every meeting ...

in herself she is a gift to me

as a classical violinist and teacher

she shares her gifts of music

and art with many

after we embraced, she excitedly asked if i had seen her painting in the foyer ...

go see, she said ... go see!

{the foyer held a gallery of local art work}

i slipped back out to look, but her work wasn't hanging ...

her little watercolour painting was sitting on a table

with a note beside it

the story on the note goes something like this ...

when becky was 10 years old, she had a little japanese friend

who gave her a set of japanese stacking, or nesting dolls

as a gift

time passed and the two young girls, now women, lost touch ...

when tragedy struck japan march 11th

becky felt a strong urge to reconnect to her friend,

to find her gift of long ago ...

she wasn't sure when she went searching

if these dolls had survived

her two daughters playtimes

but ... she did find them ...

in tact ~ paint still as vibrant

as she remembered.

and then she did what becky does ...

she picked up her paint brush

and painted lovely little studies

she made prints

and was offering them that evening for ten dollars each

in efforts to raise funds to help

the people of japan ...

her little friends gift 

given to her

is giving again.

the seal is becky's chinese signature stamp

every day

there are gifts

about us that reach

further than we can imagine

xo

.

let your little light shine

.

follow

follow by goosie-gander

prayers for a gentle spring for a gentle people

let your little light shine

.

oh so good for your soul

i would say we are all pretty good

at nurturing

our inspirational side

our creative side

...

how about a little nourishment

to sustain and resurge

...

colourful, delightful

oh so good for your soul 

food.

...

following are a few fave friends

who know their way
to one's heart

sweet melissa at reverie-daydream admits she is having a love affair ...

yup ... with happy-colored citrus!

oh yes ... melissa is sharing the love

and spreading her happiness

with her lemon scone recipe 

***

now, let's slip over and see pam at sidewalk shoes

* can someone pass me a nappy ~ i seem to be making a drooling mess on my keyboard *

every morsel at pam's place perks the colour wheel up a notch ...

oh baby, let's get steamy and have gorgeous green

bok choy tonight ...

***

now, if you wouldn't mind ... let's say grace ...

herriott grace at forty-sixth at grace for dessert ...

delightfully divine in pastels ... feathered pistachio cookies

***

because we've all been so good here ...
licked the last crumbs
from our plates ...

sufficiently suffunctified our souls
with colourful foods ...

how 'bout a candy ...
mmmm, i think i will have a blue one ...
and you?

xo

let your little light shine

.

dreamy frosting

allow me to play you a song on my harp

{simply press the arrow ~ i apologize for the quality}

.


while you allow yourself a few moments to close your eyes ...

a day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting
~ t. guillemets


. 


added note ~
i believe we are quite lucky fish here at the i.studio ...
contributors and visitors alike ~ a loving, caring, sharing, inspiring,
supportive and encouraging family and community of like minded spirit ...
i wondered if, after our little rest today, we might send our love
and positive thoughts out to the world ...
despite our own challenges, there are so many near and far
needing a bit of our good energy today ...


xo


.

let your little light shine

.

shake the dust

grab this world by it's clothespins

~ anis mojgani



january 9, 2010 at house of blues orlando.
meet anis mojgani.
the two-time national slam poetry champion
reminding everyone the power of words
and the value in their stories.

.

thank you anis for your brilliance


thank you sweet bee for passing this along to me to share 

xo

.

let your little light shine

.

common thread

hmmmm ...

what on earth could i possibly say ...

what wise and witty words could i possibly weave to inspire you ...

hmmmm ...

wait for it ...

it will present itself ...

hmmmm ...

where are you?

why aren't you jumping up and down in front of me?

hmmmm ...

is this the common thread i have found woven across the land?

wicked winter doldrums? creative stall out? frozen in fear?

hmmmm ...

what can i say to make a difference today?

how can i shoo those doldrums right out the door ...
reboot creativity ...
thaw the thoughts that paralyze ...

hmmmm ...

ahhh ... of course ...

there you are ... simple ... fresh ... uplifting in the day to day ...

a new set of tea towels

: )

your ordinary hangin-at-the-end-of-the-aisle-in-the-market tea towels.

a small and simple thing, i find, that offers a spritely lift in the ho-hum of life

a bit of brightness in the dullest of days

a simple, common thread

we need to sew

...

to live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion;
to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich;
to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart;
to study hard;
to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never;
in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common ~ this is my symphony


~ william henry channing (1810-1884)

.

let your little light shine

.

until it is carved in stone

christmas 1996 ~

i received simple abundance, a daybook of comfort and joy by sarah ban breathnach

january 2011 ~

this is the fifteenth year i am reading this book ...

embarking on another glorious 365 daily passages of inspiration

it is remarkable ...

sarah's style and simple messages speak to me

time and time again

as if evolving

with me ...

yesterday's writing is perhaps my favourite

reminding each of us us to embrace

the 'unimportant' days ...

***

JANUARY 10

Until It Is Carved in Stone

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth _ and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up _ that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.

~ Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Visiting old cemeteries can be very illuminating. They are so still and silent. So quiet. Old cemeteries remind us that until it is carved in stone, realizing our heart's desire is possible every day if we recognize what it is that makes us happy.

In Thornton Wilder's play Our Town a deeply poignant scene takes place in a graveyard. Ghosts comfort the young heroine, who has recently died in childbirth. Emily, still longing for the life she has just left, wishes to revisit one ordinary, "unimportant" day in her life. When she gets her wish, she realizes how much the living take for granted.

Eventually her visit is too much for her to bear. "I didn't realize," she confesses mournfully, "all that was going on and we never noticed. . . . Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners . . . Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking . . . and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths . . . and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you."

This is the season of Epiphany, when the renewal of light and revelation are celebrated in the liturgy of the Catholic, Episcopal, and Eastern Orthodox churches. On our new path we seek everyday epiphanies _ occasions on which we can experience the Sacred in the ordinary _ and come to the awakening, as Emily finally does, that we cannot longer afford to throw away even one "unimportant" day by not noticing the wonder of it all. We have to be willing to discover and then appreciate the authentic moments of happiness available to all of us every day.

excerpt from Sarah Ban Breathnach's 

SIMPLE ABUNDANCE ~ A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

***

thank you sarah ~ 

your writings continue to bring me much comfort and joy along my journey

and i know by sharing this here, you will be inspiring far beyond ...

xo


let your little light shine


.

all is calm

breathe

a year of faith . a year of believing . a year of learning to breathe

slowly . quietly . deeply

one breath at a time

.

being real

elmer

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.


"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. 

And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive.

But the Skin Horse only smiled.

excerpt ~ the velveteen rabbit

by margery williams

1922

did you have a rabbit or skin horse or perhaps a leopard like elmer?

elmer came to me one christmas morning when i was about 6 years old ...

i remember vividly pulling him out of that long box and into my arms.

we were inseparable.

he had a zipper and a pouch for my jammies,
but i never put anything in his pouch ...

for me he was someone to cuddle with every single night.

in fact the crook of his neck made a perfect pillow
for many a dreamy sleep ...

and yes, i asked god to bless elmer in my bedtime prayers

along with my 'mommy and daddy, tommy, ronny and all the people in the world' ...
and our dog, ralph, of course!

elmer left home when i did
and has been close by ever since ...

i knew i wanted to take his pic for this post

and when i pulled him out from his safe keeping spot beneath our bed,

i got that same indescribable feeling for my dearest friend ...

i was so tickled at how vivid the colour of his nose, his one eye, tongue and collar were ...
i noticed the thread bare seam on his back splitting slightly more than before ...

elmer is even more beautiful than i remembered ...
worn from love ...

and so very, very real.

.

to the world you may be one person
but to one person you may be the world
~author unknown
.

be kind and gentle and true to you ...

you are really loved.

xo

stick it

stick it

stick it

simply stick it

i've just put a pad of sticky notes and a pen in my purse ...

are you in?

transforming the way you see yourself one post-it note at a time

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