By Cathy
"A friend is a loved one who awakens your life in order to free the wild possibilities within you."
~ John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdon
she reaches out to touch the branch
crushing the needles carefully between her fingers
their pine sent floating up around her
she closes her eyes
::
she walks with her dog around the pond
a wet carpet beneath their feet, layers of scattered dying leaves
and a cushion of dark green moss
she breaths deeply taking a moment to attend to her heart
and to be alone with her thoughts
::
she has always tired to listened to her heart
but understands now she often only eavesdropped
and what was overheard was deeply monitored
screened to protect herself
afraid of the heart break or challenge
::
she has learned over the past year
that her heart is not something to be ignored
and that if she pays close attention,
especially when it is uncomfortable or raw
that there will be growth
::
she has also learned
that she has value and substance and courage
and that she is worth the fight
and so she promises herself,
as she contemplates on the new year ahead
that she will continue to listen and fight if need be
with grace and gratitude
::::
Today will be my last regular post here. I say regular because I am hoping the ladies will invite me back from time to time to share. I am sad about leaving, but also know that I have to listen to my heart. My time here has been amazing and full of growth and friendships that I know will last.
I thank the amazing woman photographers here in this space. I thank them for welcoming me, encouraging me and accepting me into their fold. And to you our readers, holy smokes, I can't even begin to tell you what it is like to have one of you comment on something I have written or a photo I have taken. It fills my heart so.
So I am not going to say goodbye, but just leave it at thank you. I will be around here and there and I will be looking for you.
Isn't life grand!
Love, Cathy
I thank the amazing woman photographers here in this space. I thank them for welcoming me, encouraging me and accepting me into their fold. And to you our readers, holy smokes, I can't even begin to tell you what it is like to have one of you comment on something I have written or a photo I have taken. It fills my heart so.
So I am not going to say goodbye, but just leave it at thank you. I will be around here and there and I will be looking for you.
Isn't life grand!
Love, Cathy
11 comments:
So sad to see you go! You will be missed for your beautiful writing, your wonderful photographs, and your soul. I hope you will visit often. I wish you peace and health and happiness in 2015 and always!
Thank you, Cathy! You have graced our pages with warmth, humor, beauty and love. We're going to miss you and you will be invited back, trust me on that one! I wish you well has you follow your heart into 2015 but ... I hope your heart soon leads you back to our pages. We have a saying around here, 'once a sister, always a sister' so Cathy will remain one of us and we'll hear from her frequently. We love you, Cathy! Wishing you and your family and sweet little Basil a joyous Christmas and a blessed new year in 2015. xo
Definitely NOT goodbye! We have been blessed to have had you with us and will miss you but we know you'll be around and will definitely be asked to post now and again, just so we won't miss you too much! Hope your Christmas is magical and your new year joyful. Thank you to all you have brought to FOL and to each of us who are a part of it.
i will miss your beautiful, unique voice here on the blog, but i know that we will always be friends. xoxo
You will be missed Cathy! Thank you for all your beautiful words and images.
Life is grand and you are one grand lady. It has been a joy to see your regular posts here, but I won't be missing you because I'll be seeing you "knee deep in the weeds"! Merry Christmas.
Thank you Cathy for sharing your gifts with us!
Beautiful post and thank you for sharing.
Cathy, you will be missed, but I'm happy that you're following your heart. Your words and photos were a great gift for everyone at FOL and I can't wait till you step in again from time to time. Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year to you and yours.
Beautiful words on following your heart...you share so much quiet wisdom, and I will continue to follow you elsewhere, wherever that may be.
beautiful words as always, Cathy, and yes, we must listen to our hearts.
Post a Comment
Thank you for sharing part of your day with us. If for any reason you are unable to leave a comment here on this post, please leave your comment on our Facebook page or in our Flickr discussion group. We love hearing from you!