The Spaces Between
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Posted:May 24, 2023 7:11 pm
Last Updated:May 24, 2023 7:47 pm 2971 Views
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Imagine the potential that can be created from pure nothingness. Imagine taking a deep breath, and in that very breath, imagine yourself bearing witness to the beginning of time, the birth of the Universe - the genesis of the stars. Now turn your thoughts inward. Feel the infinite and timeless beauty of your soul. You are on a journey that began long before the beginning of recorded time. You have been alive in many forms and charted many destinies, in many different galaxies.
You have made history - and you have learned from it. You are a being of light, made of pure energy and you understand that we are all connected - we are all one. Even the constellations know your name and they echo its sacred vibrations. You feel the chant begin.
You are the awakening of consciousness - an understanding that began at the moment of your creation and which will continue on without end. Relax into the nothingness. Fall into the silence between the worlds. Watch this gap between the outgoing and incoming breath and treasure each empty moment of the experience.
Something sacred is about to be born.
~~ Isabella
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Breathe You In
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Posted:May 8, 2023 7:17 pm
Last Updated:May 24, 2023 8:01 pm 2984 Views
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Collapse into me. Just once. I promise you’ll never have to fall again.
Lost in a daze
You’re a serotonin tidal wave, mm
All that I need
Is the presence of your energy, oh, woah
I just wanna cruise all night in my whip
You and I two sliding
If I could pull up on you, will you pop outside?
Don’t take forever baby
I just wanna show you how life can be
When it’s not complicated
Lay one hand up on the wheel, one up your thigh
Let’s keep it simple baby
I just wanna break you off
I get ahead of myself sometimes
But you’re just so fine, I need it all the time
See the curves in your waist in the silhouette
Yeah, she got it but don’t flex it on the internet
She don’t want attention, nah
Just moved downtown, new apartment
Got a brand new job and a car lease
Got a brother in and out of the army
Want a brand new start, brand new start
Let me come by when you off work
I can show you all the things I can offer
Oh, I
I just wanna cruise all night in my whip
You and I two sliding
If I could pull up on you, will you pop outside?
Don’t take forever baby
I just wanna show you how life can be
When it’s not complicated
Lay one hand up on the wheel, one up your thigh
Let’s keep it simple baby
Oh, woah
Oh, woah
Woah, yeah
Oh, woah
Oh, woah
Oh, woah
Oh, woah
Keep It Simple
Anthony Russo
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The Lilac Grower
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Posted:May 8, 2023 6:27 pm
Last Updated:May 8, 2023 7:28 pm 2990 Views
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Our story tonight is called the Lilac Grower and it’s a story about a beloved flower that blooms briefly in the spring. It’s also about a clothes line strung with a new cord, a serendipitous meeting on a dirt road and a reminder of how to be a good and gentle neighbour.
One day you’re young, driving through the countryside, surreptitiously swiping stems of lilacs from overgrown shrubs on abandoned farms without a care in the world - and the next day you’re a bit older, you’ve bought one of those abandoned farms yourself and you’re growing enough lilacs for the whole county. Still without a care in the world. It’s true. It’s all true.
I have been a lilac devotee since I was a , first swept up into the romance of how beautiful and sweetly scented and how short lived these flowers are. And each spring I found myself venturing out discreetly but determinedly to scavenge enough stems to fill a few vases. Along the way I’d found not only some very good spots to snip where no one would miss them, I’d also met a few other lilac thieves and we’d shared our intel and love for the flowers. Then, one May day I’d been out on a caper at an old farmhouse that had long ago been abandoned. I’d just returned to my car on the dirt road beside the driveway and was about to tuck a full basket of lilacs and my pruning shears into the trunk when another car pulled up beside me. The jig was up and I’d been caught. Not red handed but sort of green thumbed I thought. A woman with silver hair, bundled up in a scarf and a sparkle in her eyes stepped out of her car and crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to one side in a question. I tucked the basket and shears childishly behind my back and said “engine got overheated.” We stared at each other for a beat, then both broke out in laughter. She walked over to admire the flowers and lifted a branch of the lilacs to her face and took a deep breath of the scent. There’s nothing like them is there? I agreed that there wasn’t and we got to talking. It turned out that she had grown up in this old farmhouse and she invited me to walk through the yard with her. I apologized for thieving their lilacs which she waved away saying she was glad someone was getting some enjoyment from them. She hadn’t seen the old place in decades and we stopped here and there as she got caught up in memories and told me stories about her family. She pointed to a window high up on one side. That had been her room. In the yard we found the remnants of a clothes line, the post still standing but the cotton cord long ago dissolved by rain and weather.
She told me about hanging sheets out in the sun. Their vegetable garden was overgrown and no longer fitting within its old borders and had in some places replanted itself. There were tomato plants and a pumpkin vine growing and we both imagined the deer and squirrels who must feast here each summer. The house had passed to her but she lived far away now. Had only driven back to see it one more time before arranging for it to be put up for sale. “Unless” she said, turning to me “You might know of someone who would be interested.” Her eyes sparkled again and I found myself dumb struck by a thought I hadn’t entertained before. I’d been coming to this old house for years, admiring the wide front porch and tall trees. In some ways, I already thought of myself as its caretaker. I seemed to be the only one who ever walked the property and I’d always harboured a fear that one day it would be sold and torn down. Just then I didn’t know how I would do it, but I was sure this would be my home.
After that day, there had been many more conversations between the two of us. Some were history lessons, passing on the stories of the house and the people who’d lived there. We both cared about such things. And some were negotiations. The house needed a good deal of work and in the end we were able to agree on a price and a few weeks later it was mine.
When the day came, I stood in the front yard with the keys in my hand, smiling up at the house. I no longer parked on the road but proudly drove right up the cracked drive. The lilacs had faded by then. High summer was upon us and the tall trees made a shady canopy that kept the house cool. I’d walked from room to room, overwhelmed at the feeling of having so much to myself, so much to make into whatever I wanted.
The next few years had brought lots of hard work. The roof was repaired. A new kitchen fitted in and the rotten boards torn out on the front porch to be replaced with sweet smelling new ones. I spent one long summer painting everything, inside and out. Finding paint in my hair and on every piece of clothing I owned till I’d finally finished. The gardens had been edged and cleared and replanted. The clothes line was rehung and I added a patio beside it where I could sit and watch the hummingbirds in the morning. Along with all of this, I added something I’d envisaged that first day when I’d first been caught with my full basket. And that was more lilacs. After all, they had brought me here to my home and i wanted to share them.
I planted a long row of lilac trees and bushes. Different colours and varieties all along the road. And within a few years they had grown to be thick and hardy and to produce a sea of flowers each spring. Along the line of lilacs a neighbour had helped me build a small stand, like the kind you might buy corn or tomatoes at in the summer and I stocked it with old baskets and cloth sacks. A few pairs of shears and gardening gloves. Across the front I’d added a sign that I’d painted by hand, kneeling on an old sheet spread out in the grass. It said “Free Lilacs. Gentle trespassers will not be prosecuted.” And on the warm days of spring when the lilacs were blooming, folks came. The word had gotten out.
I’d spot a row of cars parked along the street. I might step out with a cup of coffee in hand to chat with those who had come to gather some beauty from a place that had once been a secret.
Kathryn Nicolai
Nothing Much Happens
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Dandelion Wine
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Posted:May 7, 2023 7:52 pm
Last Updated:May 8, 2023 2:55 am 2980 Views
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”Summer after all is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you the courage you don’t have the rest of the year. You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. Summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
Deb Canetti
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How Empty is Empty?
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Posted:May 1, 2023 3:28 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2023 3:29 pm 2984 Views
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”It ran out of fuel as I drove in”: Man takes instructions literally and returns a rental car with no gas after being told to ‘bring it back empty’
Getting things for free doesn’t mean that you’re not paying for it in some way. That is especially true when it comes to rental cars. They always claim that you’re getting “free miles” or “comped gas” or an “upgrade at no cost”, but somewhere in your contract, and somewhere on your bill, you’re probably paying for it anyways. One Australian man was faced with the ultimate challenge to get every cent of value out of his rental car when he was told that he was being given pre-paid fuel, meaning he could simply return it empty.
But how empty are we talkin’?
When he went to pick up the vehicle, he was told to “just bring it back empty”, which immediately presented him with the challenge of how far he could push the limits of this tasteful Toyota Corolla. He went about his vacation as usual, driving as much as he needed and not keeping too much of a close eye on the fuel gauge, but by the end of his trip, he monitored the fuel usage, gas gauge and petrol levels very closely.
When the fuel light came on on the last day, he was ready with his calculations. Not wanting to push the limits and risk missing his flight, he paid for the bare minimum that would get him to the rental lot - 2 litres, or half a gallon. As he was pulling up to the rental car lot near the airport, he felt the engine sputter and start to clip.
Knowing he was only a few meters from his destination, he floored it to gain a bit of momentum.
Sure enough as he was rolling through the parking lot on his last burst of speed, the engine cut out because there was simply no gas left. So he threw the car in neutral and coasted into the parking spot right in front of Hertz. Victoriously, he waltzed into the rental office and grinned ear-to-ear, informing them that he had done exactly what they asked and brought the car back completely and totally empty.
Jesse Kessenheimer
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Eleven Years .. and Counting
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Posted:Apr 15, 2023 6:19 pm
Last Updated:Apr 15, 2023 6:22 pm 2666 Views
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There’s a place I know where magic still lives .. conjured up by the press of a button, fingers upon keys, fellow writers spinning words into fantasy, straw into gold. And when the world feels like it’s closing in fast, like there’s no escape from whatever today decides to throw at me .. it’s nice to know there’s always some place I can go. A place where the door is always open and no matter how fast I’m falling .. I’m always guaranteed of a soft place to land.
Thanks to “Phoenix Speaks” for the story that follows. Another beautiful square in the patchwork quilt of my heart.
The mail arrived three days ago. Well not really a mail .. more of a FB message. Funny that a networking site that I hardly even use would surprise me this way! I knew her when times were different. When I was a foot shorter .. when she had freckles and a pony tail .. when I believed that maybe I could ice skate! When we were both on a different continent …
Eleven years have passed since. Eleven turbulent years. Eleven long years. Eleven thousand changes. Eleven million things still the same …
Her mail brought back a whirlwind. All memories of a life that seems unreal now. Running through knee deep snow with her to catch the train. Tip toeing myself to reach her height. Hot chocolate and cheese cakes. Pictures plasters with grins .. grins with teeth missing .. Christmas carols .. and me the sheep in the birth of Jesus. Then goodbye .. promising to be friends still.
Back in my country, all the memories of running to the postman to see if he had her letter. On my lucky days, dipping the envelope corner in water and saving the stamp.
But as I said .. eleven years is a long time. The frequency of the postman ringing the bell went down. So did my cravings for them. Our lives were too different to be intertwined. There were still times that I wrote to her, but answers didn’t come. I lost her .. until three days ago.
She said she’s going to visit India this summer. Again a pocket of time together on a different continent. Eleven years .. a different medium .. yet the letter arrived. And the smile on my face is still the same.
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Timeless
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Posted:Apr 9, 2023 9:26 am
Last Updated:Apr 9, 2023 5:43 pm 2997 Views
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The Door Into Summer
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Posted:Apr 9, 2023 9:12 am
Last Updated:Apr 9, 2023 5:42 pm 3032 Views
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“Cats have no sense of humour, they have terribly inflated egos, and they are very touchy. If somebody asked me why it was worth anyone’s time to cater to them I would be forced to answer that there is no logical reason. I would rather explain to someone who detests sharp cheeses why he “ought to like” Limburger. Nevertheless, I fully sympathize with the mandarin who cut off a priceless embroidered sleeve because a kitten was sleeping on it.”
Robert A. Heinlein - The Door Into Summer
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Days Without End
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Posted:Apr 1, 2023 5:12 pm
Last Updated:Apr 1, 2023 5:14 pm 3024 Views
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A sad confusion mingles with the joy of seeing you again. You have been away so long that I thought September would never come .. and yet here it is - just around the corner. You must have thought of me .. or you wouldn’t be here now .. standing before me like someone I used to know. Of all the things I remember - all the things I could never let go .. it’s still your black eyes that hold me captive. Beautiful black eyes - borne from a place where love has always existed and will always remain. Eyes that still have the power to take my breath away
And as the summer days give way to echoes of a golden September - I truly can’t believe you’re here with me now. You must have known I never stopped holding on, that I never gave up. Because when it comes right down to it .. I just couldn’t find the right reasons to let you go.
Take my hand I will lead you into love .. for you and I were never meant to walk alone. We are two halves of the same whole .. and from now until forever - I will hold you close in my heart. A truly unforgettable piece of my Indian soul.
~ Isabella
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