i love that...

I love that my dear friend lisa marie sent me a picture
of her wearing a necklace i sent her... as a VERY late christmas present...
tee hee hee ~ I am running fashionably late this year



I love that today there was a package waiting by my door,
from lisa marie...
and in it was the most beautiful book ~
Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah ban Breathnach.
and it took my breath away because it was exactly what i wanted
and i hadn't told her. she'd just known.
I've been reading Sarah b.B's first book "Simple Abundance" of late...
and am adoring it so much.

I love that I have so many books touching my soul at the moment.

I love that my friend Jayne wanted to be a bulldozer driver when she grew up.

I love that yesterday on the bus, me and Paris couldn't stop giggling or making fabulously obscure jokes that only we "got" ~ and that Paris said if we'd gone to primary school together, we wouldn't have been allowed to sit next to each other.
Yay for friends that you wouldn't have been allowed to sit with! :D

I really love that my big brother is coming down to visit us for a week in a few weeks!
My gosh, I get excited the more I think about it... I love that he is taking the time out,
and the cost, just to come and hang out with his little sister...
I love that I really do think I have the best big brother in the world.

I love that in a few short weeks me and Lile are going on a business trip to Melbourne,
a city I've never been before, and we may have the chance to connect with the
Melbourned chapter of succulent wild women.

I love that my dog is curled at my feet.

I love the way Andrea Scher forms her thoughts into words and touches so many hearts.

I love that I am writing my first book. And I worry a little that it takes me away from blogging... but I know this is only temporary.

I love how I have so many friends that have touched my heart so sincerly, and joyously. I could never hope to name them all in their entirety, but I do so honour each joyful, blessed interaction. My family... talking to my daddy on the phone.... lile coming back to work... talking to shan... sonia in canada... zetty calling me last night and having crossed lines with some thai phone lines... deb in all her goddess~naciousness... chris, my love, my soulmate, who surprises me each day with his growth, and the passion which verves his spirit... the blessing of the women's group... ellanita... raquel... juliana... janet... the womyn that i will grow to know this year...
Lisa marie from across the oceans... lemissa with her youthful wisdom... sweet tonica for her warmth... leigh phoenix light for her spirit... ella and the melbourne chicks me and lile will meet with... my dog charlie... emelisa with her open, loving heart ~ at once a friend, a teacher, a heart artist... helena, the lovely lady lena who has the most gentle soul and who told me today that she wanted a wonderful, loving life ~ bless her... for alex the crazy leo we share a cubicle with at work who makes me giggle so much, and he lets me pick the ties he should wear with his vibrant pink shirts...
jayne, the most vivacious chick i know ~ with guts, heart and love... kasey in charters towers with a big heart... the dearest firehorse who i just adore... california poppy who makes my heart smile when i see her... clarity's wise words and beautiful soul... matt taylor with his sweet heart and brilliant emails... dan because i've always loved him..
joyful dancer... gailNHB... both of them warm my heart and inspire me... i adore them both.
the beautiful SARK... for being Spectacularly Awe~inspiring and her Rare Kindness.
Jimmy Little's music for cheering me today at work. You rock Jimmy.

I love that I have such a huge list of splendid friends...
and I also love knowing that there are MANY MANY more...

I love that...

yes.

"An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about
life.....

He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight,
and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil - he is fear, anger, envy,
sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego.
The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity,
truth,compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you, and
inside every other person, too."

His grandchildren thought about this for a minute, and then one child
asked, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?"

The old Cherokee replied softly , "The one you feed.""

~ Email wisdom.


A week ago, I wrote in my gratitude journal that I no longer wanted to be right,
I no longer wanted a friend of mine to know how hurt I was...
no, I wrote something else. Something else which took infinite more courage:
I wrote simply:
"I want this friendship to be healed."

A couple of days ago I wrote:
"i am letting go and letting love heal an old friendship."

and i just wanted to share that I did it and that it was good and cathartic.

I spent three hours on the phone last night crying with one of my best friends, and gradually unravelling threads which had become knotty and messy, caught in a ball.
And all it took was communication to cut through ugly misunderstandings.

i learned that it in the end it didn't matter who was right or wrong... because we both were. we both stumbled in the darkness for some time feeling pissed off and lost and misunderstood.
i thought it was just me who was lost in the dark... but found that i had company.

i learned an important lesson in trusting in my heart and in the goodness of other's hearts, even when my mind and ego second guessed it.

i feel like i've let go of the one thing that was really bothering me... and let love heal it.

i want to fly, and can't have much baggage.

and most importantly, i have one of my best friends back.
i thought i'd lost her, but she was there all the time.
in the darkness of judgements i was blinded and unable to see her, as she truly was.
i was unable to see me, as i truly was.

yay me.

much love to this beautiful world today,
leonie

a beautiful heart

dusty pink for wildflower.

have been so busy writing THE BOOK...
and i so look forward to sharing it with you!

i read this beautiful little story today, and wanted to share this with you.
The PERFECT HEART

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming
that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd
gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was
not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most
beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and
boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why
your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart.
It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been
removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and
there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were
deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared - how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they
thought?

The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and
laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine,
mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never
trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have
given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and
often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place
in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges,
which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared.
Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person
hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges
giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful,
they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too,
and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting.
So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He
walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful
heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with
trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his
heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it
in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly,
as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart,
not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.

How sad it must be to go through life with a whole heart.