painting a new world

Pen drawing of Sidney Nolan. By me, 2002.

Went to the Art Gallery today with Mum,
and saw some gorgeous pieces ~ especially a whole room of Sidney Nolan's "Ned Kelly" series.
After we had finished looking at each, I took Mum to the centre of the room, and we turned, slowly,
seeing a whole panorama of colourful brilliance.


Sidney Nolan painting as hosted by NGA.

I'm quite tired, so won't write much more ~ but will leave you all with this lil story I love:

"The Wise Woman's Stone"
A wise woman who was traveling
in the mountains found a precious
stone in a stream. The next day she
met another traveler who was hungry,
and the wise woman opened her bag
to share her food. The hungry traveler saw
the precious stone and asked the woman to
give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune.
He knew the stone was worth enough to give
him security for a lifetime. But a few days later
he came back to return the
stone to the wise woman.
"I've been thinking," he said,
"I know how valuable the stone is,
but I give it back in the hope that you
can give me something even more precious.
Give me what you have within you that
enabled you to give me the stone."
~ Author Unknown

Spread your joy with others less fortunate. Yes, there has been a great outpouring of support for charities, but we must try for a tsunami of love and compassion. Even if its small small small, it means big big big. Do it for what you believe in. We can change this world from our front step you know. I read this picture book today ~ Belonging by the amazing Jeannie Baker. And it showed how one person tending their city garden could change a whole street, a whole town.

May your New Year be wise and wonderful.

Love,
Leonie

The tender Reveal

Trees today.

We are all unfolding
unravelling,
We are all in the process
of becoming
Unlooping our knots
shedding outer skins
trusting the world that we can show our inner world

We drive long into the forest, and it is regenerating from a firestorm of two years ago.
Black gums, young green undergrowth.

And we push, we move against old cycles, old trends,
We open hearts and reveal wounds that no longer need to be there

We find new spaces in our self
We find new homes that we cannot own ~ wilderness in our selves, and precious wilderness in the outer world that we can only visit, and breathe in its earthly depths

We are cherished by old love,
and cherished by new love.
Those that loved me from the very first breath and before ~ my elders, my parents.
And those that love me now, in this incantation, as I breathe as a living, conscious adult.
My partner talks with my father. My two men.

And I tap the words out. Sometimes they flow like a river, other times they halt and begin like a trickling creek.


Butterfly on the path. Today.

All I know is that we are only here for a small while.
And that things are so incredibly fragile.
The human heart, and the human condition.
It is is all an unfolding, a gentle swaying reveal.

small and big things

Lanyon Homestead roof...

Things have been good, really good.
I have so enjoyed the time with my parents ~ it has been the first time in living memory that they haven't had to rush off at a hundred miles an hour to work and tend to the cattle and do farmer things. Instead we have all been enjoying long sleep~ins, languid breakfasts over tea, trips out to different places, then returns home to afternoon nibblies, wine at 3 pm, long naps, tasty dinners that are lingered over for hours, discussions into the night and sleep when we can no longer keep our eyes open.
We have been to beautiful places:
the Australian War Memorial ~ solemn, touching, beautiful. it reduced my mother to sobs outside (i think it's a hereditary condition) and entranced my dad.
Lanyon Homestead ~ gorgeous old sheep property from the 1850s with original buildings. it takes me back to a different era, one of horses and carriages, fields and livestock...


The old stables at Lanyon. I would love to have met the horses that lived in those stables so long ago...

today we went out to Gold Creek Village, and found such gorgeous lil shops ~
a beautiful fine art store ~ with some works costing more than a new car... but all immensely inspiring nonetheless!
an olden day lolly shop ~ filled to the rafters with little morsels of goodness, some I haven't seen since childhood. me, chris and dad lingered over the colours and the shapes before making our selections...
then we watched japanese ornamental carp in a pond.
I found a great new rainbow coloured mobile phone strap that I can put my security pass on at work... tee hee hee... I can't wait to get back to work now just to wear it joyfully about my neck! ;)
Then we looked through an Aboriginal art store which was sublime, and a beautiful little gallery filled with morsels of artistic goodness ~ it was the front part of a house converted, and it was just divine! :)
We crossed a creek, and came across a little pile of shops all in massively old wooden cottages... an alternative book and cd store which i would love to go back to and a wonderfully smelling leather store filled with trinkets and lovely things. It smelt like a saddle shed ~ something very dear to my heart.

So yes... all these beautiful little places

And out of my immediate life other things touch me too...
A comment from Gail which warmed my heart so much... thank you Gail!

And... the Tsunami disaster.
Words cannot describe the loss I feel.
May Mother Earth hold you all close to her bosom, and balm your stinging wounds.

Love,
Leonie

Nature is my Religion

The cathedral we visited today.


Joy,
And Joy is Everywhere;
It is in the Earth's green covering of grass;
In the blue serenity of the Sky;
In the reckless exuberance of Spring;
In the severe abstinence of gray Winter;
In the Living flesh that animates our bodily frame;
In the perfect poise of the Human figure,
noble and upright;
In Living;
In the exercise of all our powers;
In the acquisition of Knowledge;
in fighting evils...
Joy is there Everywhere.
~ Rabindranath Tagor


My parents arrived last night, late.
We stayed up talking over wine and left over pizza,
then today we trapsed about the countryside ~ to old and new parliament houses;
sinking tired legs into leather couches, marvelling at our town through the eyes of tourists.
Neither of my parents have been to Canberra before, and it is a blessing for them to be here.
It is a big movement for both of them to leave behind the farm and work and family to visit us, and have their first holiday in god knows how long. My father hadn't been on a plane for 23 years.
So we found a cathedral ~ St Andrews ~ and we peered through its closed doors, touched a velvety fern, crushed lavendar in our hands as we wandered through its gardens. The perfect roundness of peaches hanging in their trees. The bright blooms of hydrangeas.

And I realise even in my sore legs and okayishness, how remarkable everything is.
How lucky I am for my parents to be here. And to have these tiny, tender moments with them.

Like at the National Portrait Gallery ~ I saw a painting of Aboriginal artist Albert Namajtira, and thought to myself: my gosh that looks like Jimmy Little, the Aboriginal singer. And my Dad walked around the corner, and said ~ hey is that Albert Namatjira! Gawd, that looks just like Jimmy Little to me! And it was nothing, but it was everything to me.

Blessings on all your days ~ each everyday, normalday, anyday.

Love and laughter,
Leonie


And blessings on your night too. As I wafted into sleep last night I saw and felt Charlie my dog lying on my belly, and I knew he was bringing my brother Clinton to visit me.

blessings

Card made yesterday.

If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things;
if we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action,
when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?
Or sit and watch the stars as did the sheperds?
Or brood over the coming of a child as did Mary?
For each of us, there is a desert to travel.
A star to discvoer.
And a being within ourselves to bring to life.
~ Author unknown.

Found in the beautiful "Simple Abundance" book by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

May you enjoy this festive season, with still moments aplenty.
This is something I struggle with at the best of times ~ to stop running, to stop treading water, to stop doing and filling my moments with "productive" things.
Instead to dawdle, to float, to start being, and to allow my moments to happen without doing.

blessings on your day today, as in all your days.

for you

i made some bookmarks today,
and would like to offer them to the first five people to post a comment here.
one of the little pieces of paper i put in my gratitude box last night was to everyone here who reads, supports and encourages the original turquoise journey, and leonielife.com.
you have made my dreams come alive.
i thank you.
to claim, please leave a comment on this post, and let me know which speaks your name. whether you know me personally, or by email, or only through this blog ~ you are all intrinsically important to me, and I value you each and everyone of you.

Blessings on your journey.

love and laughter to you all,
Leonie

merry christmas

christmas postcards i made today for gorgeous friends

"After awhile you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn't mean possession
and company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept
your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of an adult not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build your roads today
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have ways of falling down in mid-flight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
burns if you get too much so you plant your
own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
that you really are strong
and you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn..."
~Veronica A. Shoffstall

Merry Christmas people.

Had a quiet, good Christmas.

We awoke at 8, and had a breakfast of hot tea and bacon cheese rolls.

we sat softly about, and opened small presents from each other.

charlie was over the moon excited about his new toy ~ a plastic squeaky rock on a rope. as I type this, he is asleep at my knee, exhausted from a day of joyful playing. Charlie reminds me to take pleasure in the simple things.


charlie and his new toy

i felt a bit homesick after talking to my brother and sister on the phone ~ both of them are staying on my parent's farm tonight, and i wish i could be with them. I haven't slept in the same house as my brother since I was about 13, and it would be good to be with them all again.
midday found me crying on my bed from being in a town two thousand kilometres from my family, even though i know it's the right thing for me.

we had roast lamb and vegetables for lunch and it was delicious. we flavoured it with rosemary from our garden. i love that we have our own herbs growing on the small section of earth we live on.

afterwards, we opened our box of gratitude ~ last night we made a small box and filled it with small torn pieces of paper with those things we are grateful for this year. we read them out to each other, and it was such a beautiful ritual. There were so many smiles, and inner warmth as we reflected on each one. it reminded us of stories and shared adventures that have made our year. And we realised just how big and beautiful the bounties of this year have been. There have been challenges, but when we subtract those and add those blessings, our totals reach the sky and beyond. i am so grateful for our box of gratitude ~ it cheered me immeasurably.

and i painted, and collaged in the morning and afternoon.
how my world feels better when i have a pen and paintbrush in my hand.

thus, the comings and goings of our christmas.
tonight we settle into the couch with our dog, and watch the Muppet Christmas show.
Tomorrow my parents arrive. I haven't seen them in six months ~ before that it was eighteen months. Not sure how regular my posting will be whilst they are here.
Wherever you are in this marvellous world, blessings to you.

Also ~ realised something today.
Christmas is for reflection and celebration of the past year.
New Year is the period for the dreaming of what is to come.

my own christmas tradition

There is no ideal Christmas;
only the one Christmas you decide to
make as a reflection of your
values, desires, affections, traditions.
~ Bill McKibben

And so this Christmas eve, I adorn our house with a cutting from our pine tree in a vase,
and we wrap small gifts for each other, and a squeaky toy for Charlie.
And we put on John Lennon's Legend cd
we drink wine on the balcony, and reflect on our year together.
And then ~ I make a little box, and cover it with golden stars.
It is our gratitude box ~ and we write on little pieces of paper in glittery pen everything we are grateful for this year. I fill three pieces of A4 paper.

Tomorrow we will spend together. With wine, and cheese. And with gratitude.

festive surfing

Just stumbled upon Zach Braff's blog (the funky monkey from "Scrubs" and "Garden State).

And wanted to share ~ take a look at Flying Girl's artwork.
I am overjoyed when I see her work.

Am loving Ben Bunny Hutch's description of Canberra

Blessings to Athena Starwoman ~ who passed away on Wednesday from breast cancer. Blessings on your journey.
On the day that I received the book of another beautiful female astrologer ~ Linda Goodman.

Love the There is Nothing Wrong In This Whole Wide World project

a zephyr for my heart

Heart painting. Finished today.

Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the time I am being carried on great winds across the sky.
~ Chippewa, translated by Robert Bly

I get in to work this morning,
and there is an email from Dan which made me cry in sheer happiness and gratitude
it brought me softly to my knees and wrapped me in tender arms
I've felt a little bruised the last couple of days, just with challenges in my life of late, and this email tended to those bruises.
luckily there was no one else in the office at the time, because i didn't cry just splish splish tears, it was boo~hoos.
just sitting at my desk, crying, seeing the clouds part and a row of winged ones singing: it's fine Leonie my love, you are so very loved you know?
I printed it out and have it sitting at my desk. How blessed I am to have friends such as these.
It is a reminder and an affirmation, and supremo love on a stick.

And moments after, the dear Amanda from work arrived,
and she listened to me as I shared my joy and my tears,
and then she made me a cup of hot tea. It was the best tea I had ever had.
I am realising of late just how tasty things are when they are made with love.

The song in my head today is Rocket Man ~

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

One more day at work to go before Christmas holidays.
And I feel so blessed. For the journey. For the people who accompany me on it. For the dear hearts on the message board. For friends afar who are so close to my heart. And for my special friend who leans against me now on the couch as I type this.

Sometimes the road isn't all smooth, and sometimes I fall over a pebble and graze my knees, but each time I look up there is a flower growing there. And there are hands there to help me up, brush me off, quell the shaking in my hands.

We all have that flower. And we all have those hands, ready to help us up.

beautiful friends and gifts of joy

had a beautiful lunch today.
me and the amazing deb and the lush Lile
had our our last goddess get together before christmas.
We walked to the park, and sat on our purple rug, and we ate good, nutritious food.



Then the gifting began.

I gave the girls paintings ~ it gave me such joy to see joy in their faces!


My two favourite Canberra girls. How I am uplifted and enriched by their friendship.

And then the ever beautiful Lile gave me and Deb handmade jewellery.
Such amazing, vibrant pieces which reflected us and warmed us.
Beautiful earrings and bracelets. Divine creations.



And we paused to think about how our year has been.
How incredible that this year has brought us each other.
This time last year we did not know of lunches in the park, three way hugs, angel cards and friendships which have brought gifts bigger than we could dream of.

Then of course, we had to have a fashion shoot for Lile's jewellery.








Leonie and Lile.


The amazing lil butterfly Lile made.



When we got back, Deb gave us her gifts ~
handmade chocolates, with berry tarts with hearts, and chocolate covered strawberries.
Amazing. Beautiful. A treat for the eyes.
When Chris picked me up, we ate some on the way home.
Looking at the blue sky and purple mountains, eating the most divine chocolates I have ever eaten.
Deb is a heart cook ~ everything she makes is filled with love, and joy.
It is S U B L I M E.
Those chocolates are the most incredible things I have ever eaten.
My heart was filled and ecstatic after eating them.


And my heart is filled and ecstatic from the joy of these friendships.

Thank you, my dear friends.

I love you both.

I do it for me

Painting for Deb. Today.

I just read the most sublime post by the beautiful, shining Phoenix Light ~ Leigh.
It brought tears to my eyes because it spoke of everything I've been learning of late.
I asked her if I could share it with you, and she so graciously agreed.

I do it for me

"Ya know?
I don’t do it for you; I do it for me…

When I listen without judging
When I love unconditionally
When I support you
When I give gentle advice
When I lend laughter
When I hold your hand
When I sincerely compliment you
When I lift you up
When I allow your feelings
When I respect your thoughts
When I value your existence
When I share my experience
When I share in your experience
When I appreciate your presence
When I am your friend
Or your family
Or your counsellor
Or a stranger

I don’t do it for you, though I know it must seem that way
I do it because it sits well in my soul"

~ Phoenix Light

ebbs and flows

"Do you want to experience real love?
The best and fastest way to achieve this lofty state of being, is you must first learn to give love. In the giving, you will receive. The love must pass through you, then out of you, then outwards.

In reality, you can only give love to yourself, no one can give you love. That is why, when you chase it externally, you will always be dismally disappointed."

From Visualize and Achieve


I am realising this more and more of late.
Whenever I find myself lately in a state of "lack" ~ feeling down and a bit unloved because I haven't had any emails or letters, or because people aren't entertaining me; I make a conscious decision to stop hungering for the love, and instead give it.

I send an email, I look at other people's websites and leave comments, I reply to old letters.

And soon, without me even realising, the love begins to flow back in.

By sending out love, we receive it back from ourselves.

And, more often than not, from the rest of the world.

Every single time I make the decision to stop feeling like I lack, and start sending out my own love again, the emails and communications and warming thoughts begin to pour in again. The love ebbs and flows.

Perhaps... Perhaps... The love ebbs because of an energy block within ourselves. And by sending out the love again, we reinstate that energy equilibrium.

Don't ask what your country can do for you.
Ask what you can do for your country.
Or your world. Your solar system. Your universe.
Or as simple and abundant as your heart.

love in an envelope

delight to come home to a mailbox of love today

a sublime painting card by the wonderful emelisa. her beautiful peach and lavendar radiating heart painting is now sitting perfectly on my purple bookcase. what a beautiful christmas blessing card. i thank you.

from ze gorgeously crazy benjumang bunny hutch, the funkiest card, written in his rocking neat handwriting with little 1960's air stewardess stickers. Way fun!

and dearest lisa marie ~ who sent me the most wonderful book for christmas, and a delightful card. the book ~ "Gooberz" by the amazing writer Linda Goodman. I love the cover illustration of a girl and a boy, who walks the rainbow in the sky to become the man and woman, still hand in hand, together.

My mailbox thanks you.
I am touched.

~

And so goes the flow of energy. On the day that I mail out some of my christmas letters, I receive so much mail loving back.

dance of the tumbleweed

Listening to a cd the beautiful Lisa Marie made for me...
and one of the songs stuck me so much ~


Dar Williams ~ "After All"

Well the sun rose with so many colors
It nearly broke my heart
And worked me over like a work of art
And I was a part of all that

'Cause for every price
And every penance that I could think of
It's better to have fallen in love
Than never to have fallen at all

'Cause when you live in a world
Well it gets in to who you thought you'd be
And now I laugh at how the world changed me
I think life chose me after all
...

and that pretty much sums it up, you know?
So many moments in my life which have been so dang beautiful that they've nearly broken my heart, and I try to grasp those moments, with my pen, with my lens, with my words.

The weekend was quiet but good. Frustrating in some ways, but that's only the pushing feeling of growth.

I pulled a card. Three times.
Out of two different packs.
It was all the same word. I kid you not.

A B U N D A N C E.

So I dance with abundance.

I dance like tumbleweed.
We are all tumbleweed dancing across the plains, lifted by the wind, grounded by our own weight. We are scattered and yet we are the same.
We move with grace, we grow bigger as we travel across this land.
We are all tumble weeds.

And I fight against the dying of the sun, and I relinquish the fight.
There is nothing but myself to fight against.

The other half is going through his own movements... visiting the town of funk... the town of pre~festive; the town of longing to be by the coast and with family this christmas. And I can understand that. I know that town.

What's important is our own stumbling, clinging, holding, partnered dance of abundance.
with a dog in the middle, stepping on our toes.

Yes, that is my weekend.

I painted, I spent hours on the couch cradling my belly and the dog. I frustrated over my paintings, and then let go.

It is all as it is, and it is all beautiful in its own sticky hot summer way.

lessons about the heart

The art of being yourself at your best is the art of unfolding your personality into the man (or woman) you want to be. Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.
~ Wilfred Peterson

have been painting most of the day a commission for a set of two...
not yet happy with it... will come back tomorrow night to it with new eyes and a fresh heart.
it is hard not to find myself disgruntled when I can't get it perfect,
and yet I am learning to be okay about it.
To set my boundaries for what I enjoy, and stick with them.
I learn every single time a paintbrush is in my hand.
With paint on my hands I navigate my world.

charlie loves baths

I've never known a dog who loves water so dang much.

This is the dog who chases after the water from the hose when I am watering the garden,
to throw himself in it, and frolic in it, until he is saturated.

And as soon as we turn the bath on, he tears to the bathroom, jumping up beside the path to peer into the water.

Some mornings, he jumps into the bath without water, and sniffs hopefully at the tap.

He makes us giggle so.

Charlie, the water baby.

the marks of our life

congratulations to my lil sis mooks on her final results! yeeeeee~haaaaaaaaaaa!
you go girl! :D
i'm so proud of you for all you are doing.... hope italy is grande!

yesterday, when chris took me to the doctors, we saw a tatt shop had opened up next door
so we went and had a look. I don't think I've ever been in a tattoo store before!
Tick that off my experiences to have list!
Just don't know if I would be able to live with something for eighty years and not grow tired of it. (apart from chris of course.)
I find myself changing week to week, month to month, year to year...
find myself awakening each day as a new person, with new ideas, new movements...
that the thought of a lifetime of something on my body scares me to some degree.

and yet in the same breath the thought of a purple lotus flower on my wrist appeals to me.
Or a mandala on my hip.

So, I am intrigued.

~

more daily bliss over at the message board.
to get there, simply click on the connect button to the right of this text.
a delight to see the delightful violet bijoux there.

~

There are many delights in the days.

I awake to Chris gently nudging my shoulder, taking me by the hand to the computer to show me his latest webpage creation that he was working on. (Will unveil it shortly).

We drive to the hardware store and pick up a hired lawnmower, and i find in the craft aisle some purple fabric paint.... ideas bloom in my mind, lilac spirals appear on imaginery shirts, and I dream.

hmmmmm, might go off and use some now!
(i get distracted so easily!)

...

okay! back again!

introducing..........

my very first t~shirt



let me know what you think! Or not! All good, anyway?

I went and sat on the patio,
dog at my feet, toes warming in the sunset,
with purple paint in hand, t~shirt in another,
I painted my way to joy, to gratitude, to bliss.

inside me I am happy

"The older I get, the more beautiful I become.
Until one day I will drop dead of beauty"

~ paraphased by the fantabulous Violet Bijoux for Rufus Wainwright.

another ansa from ze goddess

Okays, so Ben asked me the following question:

"Why can we only see light waves but not microwaves or radio waves? It's not like they are too fast or anything!"

And my answer was: "But we can see me waving, so that's all that matters.
I can wave fast, or slow. It really depends on my mood whether I wave frenetically or softly."

Well, further to my investigations, and the help of a really really really smart dude (dan), the answer is because microwaves and radio waves are too long in length to view.

Man, I really CAN find all answers!

If you have any more questions to hit me with, email me at
leonie@leonielife.com

woo hoo!

purple lilies & green frogs

The purple podded flower. From yesterday's walk.

amazed by my little sister maryanne's tales of Italy... she emailed me her written diary and it made my heart soar at the wondrous things she is doing and seeing... the collesseum, st peter's cathedral, rome... venice soon... and i giggled so much when her email started incorporating italian versions of english words ~ like "grande" and "stupido"

am still loving all the love over at the Leonie Life message board. i never thought it would be so huge, so blissful. i love that so many have taken to it like ducks to water in a joyful pond, filled with purple lilies and green frogs. beautiful post of the day award goes to jC.

love love love jen gray's barbie doll frolicking naked through a graveyard.
there's just a certain joy about it, a carefree walloping of incredulous and magic that I just adore!

adore this sacred earth designs goddess jewellery.

for those who were thinking i was pregnant due to my latest doshing of illness, I've been to the doctor's and can proudly announce I am expecting.... a gastro baby ;) tee hee hee

blessings of a normal day

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me
learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let
me not pass by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face
in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to
the sky and want, more than all the world, your return."
~ Mary Jean Iron



Today, I had to walk to uni to discuss what subjects I'm taking next year.
(I chose Art History and English, by the way.
I chose what makes my heart beat.)
So I took my camera with me, to amuse myself on the walk.
I love Canberra in black and white.
I love that even in summer, Canberra can look so crisp and cool.



I love the sculptures here.
And I so very very love the above sculpture.
She sits in a pool, with a small fountain.
She is womanly, and yet she is like a water sprite.
Elongated fingers and toes, slender body.
Pensive, thoughtful, blissed out, reflecting.
I just love her.



I record my shadow falling on the grass.
Recording those moments which make up my life,
and which shape me.

they all do.

furry friendships

I'd like to introduce a dog that brought Charlie into my world.

I knew this dog for only moments.

I named him Boz.

I was out the front yard, knees in the muddy earth, taking photos of daffodils,
when this wet, bedrangled, cute beyond words furry bundle of energy came running down the street,
across the yard, and up into my lap. He licked my face joyously, mud prints all over my legs and hands and shirt.
He was a stray dog. And I just adored him.
I took a photo of him, then picked him up, and together we walked the street in the rain trying to find his owner.

We couldn't, so I let him go again, to see if he would find them himself.

I didn't see him again, but the lady from across the road told me weeks later that she had seen him again, and he was now obviously owned ~ freshly clipped, fed, but still miandering the streets to say hello.

While I know Boz did not belong to me, he opened my heart and mind in new ways. He made the room for a new presence in my life, a new, furry, four legged presence.

We got Charlie soon after.

I love Happy Endings.




I send out a thank you to Boz.
Bless his little roaming heart.

the House Party

I just wanted to send such a huge huge thank you to those who joined me in a message board party today. I was truly overwhelmed by the amount of posts and friends I saw on there.

To Lisa Marie, Susan, Ben, Jayne, Justin, Lile, Sally, and Genevieve John...
It was a true delight to speak with you today.
Yes, productivity across the world dropped, but it was for a worthy cause.

It felt like a juicy house party.

I love that my friends met each other. Friends from the present, and friends from the past.
Friends from childhood, friends from adulthood and friends from between.
Across the countryside, across the world and across the aisle at work from me.

I was just so so delighted.

I love that a spider's web of connections has been forged.

I just love.

Thank you all so much.
I am grateful.

Love,
Leonie

ansas from ze goddess continue...

Ok.... Hmm. You don't have to answer if you don't want to as it's a touchy topic. What are your spiritual beliefs? Do you believe in God, Buddha???

Good question Helena darlingk...
And touchy topics don't bother me at all... in fact i think they are the topics which should be discussed. Just with compassion and consciousness :)

My spiritual beliefs are like a big vegetable soup.

Filled with different morsels of goodness, no set colour or confirmation, and no real name. All I know is, it tastes good, and it keeps getting added to. I don't really prescribe to one religion, say tomato soup (christianity) ~ it's a bit too watery and unsatisfying for my liking.

I quite like the pumpkin soup of buddhism, but I do love to add sweet potato (native wisdoms) and red lentils (wicca) to it. I love the heartiness, the juicyness, the fullness of it. I love not really knowing what the next taste will be like. I am inspired by New Age~isms and Age Old~isms of Native American wisdom and Australian Aboriginal wisdom.

I believe in empowerment and self love and creativity in all its guises.

I believe in goddesses and gods, spirits and others. I believe in each person there is a knowing one ~ a buddha, a gandhi, a mother theresa, a god. And if we listen quietly to ourselves, we will hear the knowing one speak.

So yes, a hearty vegetable soup ~ with no real definition, but still damn tasty!

More Ansas from a Goddess

Thought provoking questions from ze ever thought provoking Ben

Why can we only see light waves but not microwaves or radio waves? It's not like they are too fast or anything!

But we can see me waving, so that's all that matters.
I can wave fast, or slow. It really depends on my mood whether I wave frenetically or softly.

Why is it wrong to steal from a corporation if they will never notice, and they are totally rich anyway?

Sorry, I lost interest there. Somewhere between the lines of corporation and rich I realised you were talking about something boring, and I got so bored my head fell off. Plop. Just like that.

Why does everyone listen to R&B?

I have no idea. Maybe they really aren't, and are secretly alluding to the fact they are listening to Willie Nelson.
I don't, because I am unashamed of my love for Willie. I am an out of the closet country music fan. I came out last week after realising that I wanted to get a CD called Country Classics.


love and laughter,
Leonie

Further Answers from ze Goddess

And the questions continue...

This one from ze zumbunctious Zetty

How do you explain colour to a blind person?

Put their hand in hot water.
That's red.
Then in ice.
That's blue.
Take them outside when it rains.
That smell is green.
The taste of citrus is orange.
The feeling of joy is rainbow drollops of yellow.

How do you make videos stream on the internet?

Now, I can't answer that one, but I know someone who can.
And thanks to the wonder of ze new Leonie Life message board
and a very helpful friend, your question is answered!

*wa~lah!*

see nothing is too much for the Goddess ;)

divine connections

I've now released the Leonielife.com message board ~
you can also navigate there through the Connect button to the right of this.

I would so so appreciate if you could have a look, and even post on there.

I would love for you all to "meet" each other,
and for me to get to know you, whether for the first time or just to further it.

please feel free to use the message board as you like ~
whether to post funny emails, or introduce yourself, or whichever.
Even just to say how you are feeling, what inspired you today, or a great link you found.

I've already started a topic on introductions ~ and would love replies :)

Deep blessings to you all,

Love and laughter,
Leonie

surfing from the couch

Photo by Mum. From top left ~ me, Chris, my little sister Maryanne,
our farm dog Vinnie, family friend Emily & my sister Rebekah.


"You don't really understand human
nature unless you know why a child on a
merry-go-round will wave at his parents
every time around - and why his parents
will always wave back."
~ William D. Tammeus


At home today, sick.

Let me know if you like the new template for the blogger or if not...

Surfing on the couch ~

Connected with an old friend from school, Jake, which was lovely. I remember seeing his Dad speaking at a school awards night ~ he was brilliant... so it's fantastic to see him now as the Poetry Doctor!

Watched a bad movie ~ but it had Colin Firth so that made it passable.

Giggles at Mike's wind diary journal and Christmas card story.

The delight of Keri Smith.

And I'm giving up saying sorry for a week.

Yee~ha!

Blessings to you all,
Leonie

the dawn

dearest Lisa Marie used this photo of mine on her blogger...

this is what i posted in her comments section:

oooh! and it was SUCH a gorgeous surprise to see that photo I took on here! There's a wee story behind this one... my darling lil sister Maryanne is four years younger than me. I took this photo when I was about 16, so she's actually only about 13 in the pic! ha ha, how funny! she looks like a grown woman! Anyhews, I used to wake up really early just as the sun was rising, and I'd want to take photos... but I'd want a model.

So I'd go wake up Maryanne ~ Mooky gently... she is NOT a morning person whatsoever ~ and i'd ask her all sweetie pie pretty please come be my model.
and she'd grumble, but she'd amuse me, and she'd wash her face, stand as I tumbled her into outfits and we'd walk barefoot through the dew laden glass to the chosen spots.
and the photos were beautiful ~ not bad for two teenagers ~ one hyper~creatively~driven (me) and one wiping sleep from her eyes, at dawn, on a farm.

so those photos are dedicated to mooky. for amusing me in all my creative dreamings.

thank you for reminding me of this dearest LM ~ I will send Maryanne this link ~ she is in Europe at the moment. 17 and in Europe. Gawd, i am so proud of her!

just wanted to share,
love and laughter,
leonie

matters of the heart

So, me and Lile were talking, you see.

And we were talking about how guys always go for the "other" girls ~ the pretty ones, the simple ones, the uncluttered ones. And how those guys end up being hurt because those girls can be fickle or indecisive and they can hunger for attention.

And we, the girls on the sidelines, wonder just why the heck those boys want those girls and not us. What we are missing that makes us less attractive to those men.

And then, one day, when we least expect it, we find a man who loves us wholly and solely; who isn't interested in the pretty and simple ones. No ~ they yearn for and want a real woman ~ in all her beauty, her complexities and her big brave heart. She may be messy, yes, and not at all simple, yes, but she is entirely divine.

And those men are the men that we too are searching for and hunger for ~ sensitive, intelligent, journeying, conscious ~ so different from the other men. Men who challenge us and want us to be the best we can be. Men who are not afraid of the goddess which rears her head, flashing eyes, independant but intensely loving.

So me and Lile decided: it was actually a big beautiful blessing in disguise that those other guys weren't interested in us. Because, at the heart of it, we weren't really interested in them, nor could we love them the way we could really love. By their absence in our lives, the path was cleared and the space was made.

A runway was paved for the touchdown of the Great Plane of Beautiful Men.

Answers from the Goddess ~ Part Four

Questions from the boy i delight in loving ~ dan

What is the solution to the unified field theory?

It pretty much means that we are all lying in the paddock together, looking at the stars, giggling in the moonlight.

Why do you smell like potato?

Potato? No. Roses, yes.

tee hee hee. I love you.

Answers from a Goddess ~ Part Three

By the ever beautiful Lile ~
What is your greatest fear?

In quiet moments, I hear a whisper of fear within me... what if I don't allow myself to be all I can be? what if I fall into old patterns?... what if I wake up one morning and I'm old and I haven't done what I wanted to do? What if I conformed? What if I decided that to lessen my weirdity to others, I lived in a quieter box? What if I listened to the nay~sayers, instead of the yes in my heart?

These are the what ifs that scare me the most.

A friend of mine, the dearest Martin (and now, when I think of him, I realise how much I would love to reconnect with him! So I shall! Hurrah! Thank you thought, for popping into my head!) So, anyways, my beautiful friend Martin once told me that everything we did was done out of two reasons ~ love or fear.

So, I try not live by the fear of my what~ifs. I live by the yes~ses, the dreams, the hope, the love of what I could be.

So, those are my greatest fears.

That and small places. I'm claustrophobic. hee hee hee.

Oh, and the usual response of great fears ~ losing loved ones. But even that loss can be worked through, and beauty still pervades even in grief. I still feel as much love, wonder and magic from my brother even when he has passed on.

Answers from a Goddess ~ Part Two

The ever gorgeous Lisa Marie asked ~

Dear Leonie the Brave,
What was the moment when you first KNEW "wow, I'm exactly who I want to be?"

I think I am still awakening to that prospect. Growing up as a kid, and as a teen, I looked forwards to that point in time when my life would REALLY start ~ when I had everything together and I was exactly what I wanted to be and I had what I wanted to have.
And somewhere along the line, I realised in shock that I wasn't living my life for today... I was living for the day when everything was perfect. It sorta scared me to find that I was living a life of a dreaming sleeper who was waiting to awake in the perfect morning, instead of being an alive and soul living in the present. So I set about living my life how I wanted to live.
I figured the rest would follow, and that through it I would become what I needed to be. I am still awakening to the realisation now that I am what I want to be. And I always have been. Just as we all are. We develop in new ways, and delight in the changes with in us. Essentially though, we are the same. Intrinsically the same souls, just with a better awareness of the joy that we are capable of.

So the moment of my first realisation was actually this year. September some time. When, after a few months of living the way I wanted to, exploring new paths in me, taking time to be creative, looking after my body, I found myself overjoyed with the prospect of being who I wanted to be. Really overjoyed. Because it felt like all the stars had lined up for me. At last.

what is your favorite vegetable?

Pumpkin.
I love pumpkin soup, especially with red lentils and a bit of sweet potato.
I love pumpkin scones too, laden with cream and jam. Especially my mum's pumpkin scones.


Thank you dear LM.
Your questions made me reflect and feel so grateful.

The Goddess Answers ~ Part 1

In response to my Ask the Goddess post (still open for questions, btw).

Submitted by Lile.

"Why does dancing feel so good - but the photo evidence later looks soo bad? (recent personal experience) :)"

Evidence:

Our boss, Deb, me... dancing like crazy monkeys at Friday's Xmas party


Alex the dancer, Deb, me falling off my chair in laughter.


I think it's got something to do with the way the light reflects off the perspiration.

walking

Can you see the spider dangling between the wildflowers? Today.

we went for a gorgeous long bushwalk today,
up the side of a mountain, through xanthorrea trees,
among beautiful, quiet, solid rocks that asked to be embraced.


Photo by Chris.
Me on the rocks, overlooking the valley.

the kangaroos were out.
we looked out over the valley as we climbed higher.
looking down, then up to the mountains on the other side.

we climbed higher and higher, past our usual point of return.
I picked up a walking stick, then left it by the side of the road for our ascent.
We walked skyward until we were out of breath and our lungs hurt.
It felt good. Turning around, it was beautiful to see how far we had come.



as we walked back down, i fell (again) and twisted my ankle (again.)
Right next to the spot where I had left my stick. How lucky was that!
So I picked up my walking stick, and hobbled down the rest of the mountain,
trusty stick in one hand, chris on the other.
and it rained. and the flies were crazily abundant.
and it just amused me, the adventure of it all ~
going further than we've gone before,
and coming down, to twist my ankle,
and walk the rest of the way down, in the rain, with flies.
what a challenging but glorious day!

so much rain of late, and the native wildflowers were blooming.
there is so much pleasure to be had in this world.
if only we move softly beyond the discomfort.