In 2022 I received the most wonderful gift, a book. My younger son thought that a book with the words "artist" and "spiritual" and also recommended by one of my favorite writers, Elizabeth Gilbert, was something I would appreciate. He was right but never imagined what that book will bring to his mom at that moment in her life. Call it intuition, call it synchronicity, a miracle, the book was what I needed at that time in my life and he was the instrument used to delivered it to me. God (or any name you use for this magnificent force, energy, wisdom) that is present in all of us but at times we forget and let the ego dominate our lives, granted me a new opportunity to grow. Thanks to that book, The Artist's Way: A spiritual guide for higher creativity and the author, Julia Cameron, I started to write in a notebook, then on the computer, almost every day. Writing what she calls "the pages" is one of the the most important objectives of the book. I have been writing "the pages" almost everyday since I started this journey. Writing those "pages" each morning and following the tasks the book encourages to do each week, I began noticing synchronicities. I was amazed at this new way to look at life. I told my middle son about the abundance of synchronicities and he said "you didn't noticed them before but they are always present". Wow! He was so right. We just have to be present and aware because the energy that moves the universe is right there with us and all those intuitions and synchronicities are the ways God shows up.
I have been working with my inner self for a long time but I can say now that last year was the "year of revelation". Along with that book and because I was letting God guide me I found some more books that were meant for me and my new found path. Also, I found the right therapist, and thanks to her it has been a less difficult journey walking through my inner self and going back to my childhood to solve my adult issues. I'm still learning, walking this path and practicing because change it is not easy and the mind can get lost and confused sometimes. Now I know that moving here, very close to the beach, during the pandemic was a part of a journey that I needed. Walking in solitude by the ocean gave me the opportunity to connect with nature, with the divine, the infinite wisdom, with what I call God. Miracles happen every moment, some are small and some are big but they are right in front or our eyes , we just have to be open to see and receive them as the gifts we deserve.
What made me come to the computer and write this post is that now I have confirmed that writing is one of my passions along with creating art. During the pasts three years I was not making art or writing as I used to. I guess I was blocked or sabotaging myself by not doing the things I love most. What I did keep doing, at least last year, was following the recommendations and tasks of the book The Artist's Way. Praying, meditating to look inside my inner self and connecting with God has made a huge difference in how I feel these days and how I see life. I also made it a habit to say some affirmations as I wake up in the morning. Now I know that even though sometimes it was hard to say things like "I am full of indescribable joy", these affirmations do work. They have changed my life.
Something happened a few weeks ago that I still call "weird", because it is unbelievable. I stumbled onto a FaceBook post from someone I met through online classes maybe ten years ago. It was a FaceBook challenge but I usually don't like the challenges many people post on Facebook or Instagram. This one was different and caught my eye and I can say now that it was my inspiration. It was Day 6 of what she called the #tinywinterpoems. The objective of the challenge was to write a short poem that must not take more than 10 minutes of your time with a "no editing" rule. The thing is that I have never been into poetry (at least I thought so) until now. Before that post I had found a poet whose name is John Roedel and I was sharing some of his poems on Facebook. When I read the post of the short poems (by the amazing Beth Kempton) I was attracted to it and believe it or not I wrote my first short poem. As I was writing I noticed that I really didn't know a thing about the rules of writing poetry and I even thought they had to rhyme. I wrote the first one with that in mind. I was so surprised and in shock that I wrote it but least most of all that I posted it. I noticed that this post was the sixth out of a challenge of ten. Later it was changed to twenty one. I was inspired to look for more and I went back to her page and found out that there was a fifth challenge prompt word and I wrote another poem. For the previous four days I had been in complete solitude and hadn't talk to anyone. I was also feeling down because of many things happening at the same time that made me very sad plus I was very lonely. I grew up in a big family and I am not used to being alone. After those two poems, the most incredible thing happened! In the next twenty four hours I wrote nine short poems and only two were written using the word prompts. The first one was written in January 25, 2023 and now I have written more that 30 poems! I don't think it was me who wrote those poems. My sisters and brothers are very creative and they can write in a matter of minutes something that even rhymes. One of my brothers who died too soon when he was 60, was supper talented at composing lyrics and music. Most of my sisters and brothers can write and compose but not me. In the family gatherings they make jokes, recite short verses and I keep my mouth shut. I don't even try. Even my mom wrote some poems and she didn't have a formal education. My middle son is a composer (and lawyer) and I am always mesmerized by all the people that can express their imaginations in words. But me? That was not something I could ever imagined. At that moment what came to my mind was: "but I don't even read poetry". Then I remember that I was following this poet John Roedel and that the songs I love most in Spanish and English are nothing more than poetry. The silence, the solitude, the hurt, the connection with God and all the synchronicity that all of those feelings brought gave me that gift of writing. I don't want to brag and say that the poems are excellent or even good but what I can say and be honest with is that they come from my heart. I found a way to channel all the pain and this is the way God granted me to heal because every poem brings memories of past hurts and in this way I let them go. It's time for us all to be free of the hurt the past can bring. It is time to enjoy life with all, including the sorrows we can't avoid. Life is a gift from God and it is worth living it with grace, being grateful for each moment we get to breath. Our gift to God is what we create with honesty and from our hearts with sincerity.
I am sharing a poem that I wrote today. I wrote it before reading the post of the challenge and 'BIG SURPRISE", the word was "remainder". Synchronicity? When I went back to the poem, as I do now for each one to edit and make changes, I added a few lines and the word prompt, remainder, has its place at the end of it. This poem is a reminder for me and for you to enjoy each moment.
Time flies, enjoy the now
Life goes fast, the clock won’t stop
No rewind no replay
there's no time to live the past
Make each moment of your life
The one to treasure in your heart
Take the moment to embrace
All the good you have around
Smell the flowers, feel the breeze
Count the stars just to have fun
Call that friend, enjoy that view
Look for kindness and be kind
Look for joy and be jolly
Be the one to share a smile
See the good in every life
Be grateful, you are alive
Because living life this way
Brings the peace you need
To stay calm and enjoy the ride
The remainder of your days
You get to live in this earth
By Elizabeth Claire on February 8 2023 5:29 am
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