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Loved this journal ~ loved her drawings.
Especially loved Penelope’s “Doodles of Gratitudes” blog!
~
Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude.
~ Joseph Wood Krutch
When we learn to give thanks, we are learning to concentrate
not on the bad things, but on the good things in our lives
~ Amy Vanderbilt
I am so very excited about this weekend – I am doing a labyrinth workshop with the women’s group,
And I’ve just started reading up on it, researching labyrinths.
"Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, of power, of dignity, and of love."
~ Caroline Adams
What else have I learned of late?
Oh yes. I had an interesting talk with bus friend Paris yesterday.
He talked of a 20 year school reunion, and how it was melancholic to think that in another 20 years, he would be attending a funeral of one of his school buddies.
It made me think though.
We all put certain estimates on our own life.
We all think we have time to spare to do this, and that,
But that time is not assured.
We may not live until we are old.
My little sister is 17 and just graduated from school.
One of her friends was killed in a car accident last week.
My own brother passed away when he was 25 years old.
The point of this, however, is not to be depressing.
It is to be joyful.
We have such precious little time on this earth,
And yet we postpone joy, we postpone living our dreams
Until everything is “just perfect”
Can I tell you something?
It’s perfect now. Just as it is.
I’m not kidding. Look outside the closest window:
It’s heaven out there.
Look in the mirror or a clear puddle, see inside:
You’re a divine being in there.
This morning as I got out of the shower,
Stared in the mirror,
I heard a voice say to me:
Today’s the day. Live how you want to live.
Be who you want to be, right now.
So I danced butt naked down the hallway,
And me and the dog did a happy jig together
Crazy dancing and crazy giggling
Running circles around the room
Stretching like a ballerina
Just because I could and because I wanted to be that way.
Painting commissions done tonight for the ever effervescent Sweet Tonica.
In the dew of little things, the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
~ Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet
We are, each of us angels with only one wing; and we can only fly by embracing one another.
~ Luciano de Crescenzo
Today a new sun rises for me;
everything lives, everything
is animated, everything seems
to speak to me of my
passion, everything invites
me to cherish it.
~ Anne de Lenclos
Every morning is like a new reincarnation into this world. Let us take it then for what it is and live each moment anew.
~ Paul Brunton
Appreciation of life itself,
becoming suddenly aware
of the miracle of being alive,
on this planet, can turn what
we call ordinary life into a
miracle. We come awake to
such a realization when we
recognize our connection to
a spiritual dimension.
~ Dan Wakefield
If you wish to travel far and
fast, travel light. Take
off all your envies,
jealousies,
unforgiveness,
selfishness
and fears.
~ Glenn Clark
I always find it amazing when things line up in syncronicity.
Somedays, the beautiful emails I receive in my inbox daily, speak and resonate with each other.
Somedays, they all say the same powerful message to me.
Today was one of those lovely somedays.
What did they say to me?
Be renewed everyday by the beauty of this world.
Cherish it, love it, be grateful for it.
Become today the person you can be.
Live life fully, and lightly.
In other realms of syncronicity, refer to the blog of dreams I made on Friday.
What did I have sitting in my inbox this morning?
An email from my friend!
Wonders of wonders.
And also, on the weekend, at the Hierophant bookstore, my eyes were caught by a beautiful book with uneven pages.
I have not seen this book before, or the writer, and I was intrigued.
I promised myself that I would seek more of her books out.
Then, out on an adventure walk at lunch with dearest Deb, we meander into a bookstore
And walking past shelves of books, she exclaims over a book she loved.
I look ~ and yes, it is the author I had been looking for.
Funny that!
PS ~ I’m still singing Happy birthday in my heart to you Zetty. Have been thinking of you all day.
Nightime...
A big night.
Posted first page of www.leonielife.com
with the help of the beautiful Dan
did some painting commissions
it nears midnight.
time for sleeps.
exhausted, but creative beam humming.
love to you all.
xoxo
_
Happy birthday, my dearest friend Zetty.
You know what hun?
I was trying to think of where I had a photo of you.
And after seeing the beautiful Helena's blog, I remembered:
A looseleaf printout of the above photo, that I still have in my journal.
I had it blu-tacked to my dormitory wall when I was 17,
and she lived just down the hallway from me.
So I share it with you.
Now, how do I explain the wonder of Zetty to you?
She is the smartest chick I know.
Amazing black hair and blue eyes.
She eats Milo straight out of the tin.
We met at boarding school when I was 16.
I used to edit her essays, and then sit outside her cubicle and slurp soup.
She is an awesome artist.
We used to run with each other to chase the ice cream man.
She took hard maths, and physics. I looked on in wonder.
When she was 17 and graduated from school,
and she took off to Canada for a year as an exchange student.
By herself. To foreign country. Age 17.
She is an amazing photographer.
She came back, and decided to change her university degree to journalism.
So she did that. And during it, she took a semester of study over in England.
She travelled around Ireland.
She came back to Australia.
Finished her degree, about to start her honours.
And I get a message on my phone:
If you got offered a job in Thailand for two years, what would you do?
She said yes.
So now, at 21... now 22 years of age,
the amazing Zetty is working as a volunteer journalist in Malaysia,
working to raise the awareness of Burmese refugees.
Not many 22yos can say they've done that, hey?
And still Zetty emails me saying:
I don't think I'm doing enough sometimes.
I wanted to share with you a special piece of writing.
It is a letter.
I have kept it in my journal all this time.
It is a letter from Zetty to me, when she was leaving school.
I would like to send this back to Zetty, because it expresses my sentiments exactly.
"All I really want to say is thanks for being there, and for being my friend,
and for allowing me to kick your ass when running for the ice-cream man.
I don't use the word best when trying to describe a friend,
because that indicates only one,
but you've become like a sister to me.
A sister who's been there for everything: the pain, the joys, and the leaving.
I guess what I am trying to say is thank you for allowing me to get to know you,
and for letting me share this year.
You are a very precious individual, who I know will be there for everyone,
despite of her own problems.
A word of advice, sometimes weakness is a sign of immense strength.
Love."
There are so many reasons to love Zetty.
Many excuses to be a part of the Zetty Fan Club, for which I am self-elected President.
1. Her laugh. Infectious, loud, without doubt.
2. Her name. There is only one Zetty Brake. Watch out people, coz she's going to be famous.
3. Her loyalty. She is the most loyal friend I have. She knew me, and loved me, when I had bad taste in boys, and loves me even know when my taste has improved. In the five years of our friendship, we have only been in physical distance of each other for one. The rest, has been scattered with the distance of cities and countries. And yet, still, she is the one who knows me more than the rest. We have grown closer even in distance.
4. Her phonecalls. The phone connections we have had still stick in my mind. The laughter, sharing, opening. Tears and giggles.
5. Her courage. Jetsetter. Off to all over the world. Adventurer. Living dreams and an amazing life.
6. Her beautiful vulnerability. She is so humble sometimes I want to kick her butt.
7. Her uniqueness. The most intriguing cosmic blend of intelligence, humour and quirkiness.
8. Her honesty. Zetty is the most honest person I know. She speaks her own truth. Always.
9. All these things and more, make Zetty an incredible person, and an incredible friend.
10. Because ten is an awesome number, and Zetty is an awesome person.
You are very loved.
Happy birthday, Zetty, my dearest friend.
I honour this day that you were born, and for the presence you are in my life.
Love,
Leonie
