a peek.

shedding maple, seattle, 11.8.08

i am so very sleepy after so much goodness in my world during the last four days.
and even though i (keep trying to insist that i ) am not officially doing this (except for the part where i just went and said i will), i just can't seem to go to bed without stopping by this little corner of my world and saying hello.

but today, i would really love it if you would do the talking...

so, what's going on in your world?

tell me something...anything...maybe a new favorite book or something you want to let go or something that has made you laugh out loud or what you had for dinner...

please,
give me a peek inside your world...

looking back to see here.

westport, washington, april 2008

i remember that little twitch inside that wasn't really a twitch but was more like a jolt that became an rsvp to an invitation to be completely misunderstood. i remember that whisper in the middle of my chest that was really more like a pit in my stomach that was feeling more than alone in the midst of what was to be an encirclement. i remember not listening to the voice inside that was really my intuition that was really the wisdom that has always been there. i remember the empty space that was really a moment alone that was actually a breath of fresh air disguised as intense confusion. i remember the desire to be thought of as someone else which was really a wish to be loved for who i was in that moment. i remember the confusion that was really the truth of someone else unable to just show up. i remember the words that are now only echoes that once insisted to be significant and now are the path that brought me to this moment. i remember feeling the darkness while looking at what was supposed to be trust and wondering why i allowed it all to happen. i remember the hope that turned into an ugliness that became my path and birthed all that was meant to be.

i am here.
i am here.
i am here.
and it is beauty.
all of it.
it is beauty.
(thank you)

live it baby girl

in jen's kitchen, 11.9.08

sometimes you have that moment...
someone holds up a mirror
and you see you
with an open heart
you see yourself
with your heart wide open
and you own it
you
you own it
who you are
who you want to be
the path behind you
and the possibility
that simply sits before you
(it. is. there.)

this
this is a gift

see it

and live

you take a breath...

Well, I'm writing this while sitting in a tow truck. I'm okay...my car is a bit bruised as I hit some pretty major tire debris while driving on the highway late this evening.

You know those scary moments as a driver where you know you just have to hit what is in your path to avoid creating a bigger accident.

And as I sit here, I am thinking about how we do this as we walk on the path that is our life. How you can be walking in the darkness, and even though it is dark, you think you know where you are because you have been here before...but suddenly something unexpected is there and you don't have time to stop or protect yourself...you must keep going. And you find yourself unable to stop even after you hit it. And as you keep going, maybe you are a bit battered and shaky...but you are okay and (deep breath) you know you are okay. And suddenly there is light and solid ground again.

And you take a breath again.

And you just keep going.

(Or you stop and call for help, but either way, forward momentum while just staying in the moment and breathing seems to be the only answer.)

november 7

for the last week, i have so enjoyed reading your words of hope. such goodness in the comments of that post. i think i need to ask questions more often as the words you all have shared have truly filled me up...

tonight, jonny chose n's comment randomly. n said: i am hoping that our obama will win, that we can rightfully say "president obama" in a few days...and i am hoping that someone will fall truly, madly, deeply, unconditionally in love with me for the rest of my life. and i, with that person, too.

such beautiful hope in those words.

n, please email me (at waywardtulip at gmail dot com), so that i can send the tote and other goodies your way.

and, a few things that have caught my eye in the last week or so:

lk's moon
dar's post about acceptance
jonny's dream
alicia's andy's great pumpkin pasta
richard schiff's words
sarah gardner's work (via melissa loves)
this gorgeous photo (and this one)

still.

imagine being still
breathing in
breathing out
focusing just on you
for this moment
for just this moment
letting go of what might be pulling on you
letting go of the insistent pulling
and just find a stillness
and your breath
and the space around your heart
find that space
breathe into it
allow yourself to find that space
allow yourself this one moment

two girls, two clicks {week 7}

1. backyard sea, 2. wait...pause...breath
(click to see a larger size)

photo collaboration with miss geek inc, week 7

2 girls, 2 clicks

hope. change. light. yes.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

-President-elect Barack Obama