MAYA ANGELOU’S BEST POEM EVER

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
Enough money within her control to move out
And rent a place of her own even if she never wants
To or needs to…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
Something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her
Dreams wants to see her in an hour…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
A youth she’s content to leave behind…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
A past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
Retelling it in her old age…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black
Lace bra…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
One friend who always makes her laugh… And one who
Lets her cry…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
A good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone
Else in her family…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
Eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a
Recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
A feeling of control over her destiny…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
How to fall in love without losing herself…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
How to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship …

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
When to try harder… And when to walk away…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
That she can’t change the length of her calves,
The width of her hips, or the nature of her parents…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
That her childhood may not have been perfect…but its
Over…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
What she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
How to live alone… Even if she doesn’t like it…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
Whom she can trust, whom she can’t, and why she shouldn’t
Take it personally…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
Where to go… Be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
Or a charming inn in the woods…
When her soul needs soothing…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
What she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
A month…and a year…

MAYA ANGELOU

Hilary Sullivan

DOB: 1944-May-16

Hilary Sullivan was last seen in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver BC on the morning of May 11, 2008. At that time, she left her home in the 4100 blk. W. 12 Ave. Hilary has not been in touch with family or friends since then and they are concerned for her well being.

Hilary is described as a W/F, 5’8, 185, lbs, collar length silver hair, blue eyes and wears glasses.

If seen please stay with her and contact the Vancouver Police Dept at 604-717-3535

“…if you sit down with the pure intention to meditate, whatever happens next is none of your business. So why are you judging your experience?”

“Just as there exists in writing a literal truth and a poetic truth, there also exists in a human being a literal anatomy and a poetic anatomy. One you can see; one you cannot.  One is made of bones, teeth and flesh; the other is made of energy and memory and faith. But they are both equally true.”

“…the rules of transcendence insist that you will not advance even one inch closer to divinity as long as you cling to even one last seductive thread of blame. As smoking is to the lungs, so is resentment to the soul; even one puff of it is bad for you…”

Excerpts from the book: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 

By e.e. cummings

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it’s sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there’s never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

Sat Nam Everyone,

I have been gone from my blog for a bit as I have been busy with treatments, commitments and unexpected travel.

This past week we tended to the passing of my grandfather, Andy Matus. He was 101 yrs, 8 months and 25 days old. He obviously lived a very long and full life. Papa was born May 5, 1906 in Mc Keesport, Pennsylvania. He was of Austrian origin, whose parents had recently come over from the “old country”. Papa married Nana, Clotilda Laura Costa, known as “Tillie” in his twenties and they had five children, 4 daughters and 1 son, all raised between Hollister, San Juan Baptista and Watsonville/Santa Cruz, California. I am the oldest child of his second daughter, Patty.
Papa drove heavy equipment for a construction company and was an avid gardener. He was often to be found outside tending to his garden and home. He had a rich sound to his voice whether talking or singing and it is what sits in my heart the most about him. Papa was a devout Catholic, an ardent prayer of the Rosary, and in utter devotion to the Virgin Mary. While growing up there were three things to understand about him… never discuss religion, politics or the union. Papa was intensely passionate about all of them and even as a child I was quite aware to do so was treading on less than shaky ground.

In the last day before he passed, he told my mother and I, he had seen Nana, his parents and angels, as they were coming nearer, but he had not seen Jesus yet. He said he was waiting to see Jesus. At 6:08 a.m. January 25, 2008 his spirit released. May he continue his journey upon his soul path and be seen again in the twinkling eyes and bright smile of a child.

*Above Picture: My grandfather, Andy Matus and my mother and father, Dean and Patty Larkin.

For the past 7 or 8 years I have spent New Years morning in group sadhana at the Tumalo Yoga Center. Rising at 3:15 to arrive at sadhana for Japji by 4:00. The deep predawn hours of the amrit vela, quiet and unassuming in the freshness of the new year. This year I choose to stay home and do sadhana, sitting before the altar with candles lit in prayer and chanting. It was very quiet. Very simple…and sometimes it is time to do something different, to change our flow or pattern and create new ways. New year, new ways, new beginnings. It seems to be the theme. No one to encourage me out of the warmth of my bed but myself, to sit, just to sit and commit. There is a grandness and life to group energy, yet there is also a loveliness and sacredness in the solo ventures which is honest, pure and true. 2008; new beginnings, new ways. While we left old patterns, belief systems, habits and limitations behind in 2007, now we open to the new. All the hard work of recognizing and releasing in 2007 is behind us and we can step into the new freshness and opportunities which have come from this awareness. So much vibrancy and support is available for where we put our thoughts, focus and ventures. New ideas of how to move through what once would have stymied are present and potent. I want to be aware of where I am at and truly tend to what is calling my attention. What have I been putting on the back burner while I attend to other more pressing needs in this past year? Where do I feel fresh vibrancy in what once felt stuck and rigid? What feels fertile and mysterious? What resounds with the sounds of synchronicity? What cycles are presenting themselves in the Wheel of Change? In the sitting of sadhana what do I find? In the rhythm of Japji what flows in my consciousness? So onward and forward. I have work to do and effort to exercise and being in the nothingness to attend to. I am curious to see what my experience will be amidst the changes in the days of living. Happy New Year everyone. Good fortune to us all in this year. May we bless and be blessed.    

I have received complaints and inquiries into why I have not posted anything new for a bit. Every once in awhile a break from blogging is in order. Life gets busy, things shift, nothing new to say… Bogging is commentary after all, and sometimes … there are no comments to be made, thoughts to be shared, pictures to post, poetry to pronounce or art to display. And it is nice to let it be…and right now when I view my blog I see the beauty of Frida Kahlo’s expression and hear the strains of Leonard Cohen raspy earthy voice in his written words and it pleases me…with that being said…

∞ Miracles and Magic ∞

In the midst of the holidays, between Christmas, Hanukkah and Winter Solstice there is a co-mingling of traditions. They sit individually, yet converge and merge during this calender time. Simple, simple simple is how I tend to myself, my home and my interaction with all this abundance of cohesive and conflicting energies. A pot of kitcheree on the stove, candles burning, chant music soft and purposeful, cookies baking, lights twinkling… flow, breath, open, allow, yes to this, no to that, let’s see to another… I experience it as currents and like birds, ride the currents which will provide the desired result…

And in the flow I find the magic. Is there not an abundance of magic and miracles this time of year? You see, I love that. So much, so much, and it calls to my child-self with delight. This provides a balance amidst the potentials of derailment as obligations, emotions, commerce and chaos also cluster in and around this time as well. My senses and emotional body can quickly become overstimulated and inundated creating confusion. So I slow it all down and sit at my magic hearth and stir my miraculous pot, bake cookies sprinkled with Christmas sugar, burn candles to gather the Solstice night and light the sacred oil of Hanukkahs past; rippling and radiating out and through in an overflowing river of rebirth, renewal and return.

The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth…

Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Moses Nucleus of Creation