Seeds of feathers
Gracious and yielding
Whose yesterdays
Unknown to the eye
Tenderly brush across
Hidden surfaces
Of Awareness
Towards
Love.
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Month: October 2015
Blessings of Abundance
A playful spirit
Finding true happiness
Ladybug dreams
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
~~~~~~
“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
~Langston Hughes
“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” ~Anaïs Nin
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”
~Henry David Thoreau
“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
~Louisa May Alcott
“Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success. Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream.”
~Lao Tzu
Autumn Haikus
My heart lays down
With the grasses
Autumn rain
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Bearing down
Heavy with silence
Autumn sky
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Quenching thirst
Amongst petals
Autumn dawdler
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Earning a Living at Poetry?
What a thought! Recently, two poets I know brought this up as once having been a goal for them. However, they soon found that unless one combines the writing of poetry with a full-time teaching job in English/poetry, the odds are pretty slim at earning a living from it. Even with grants, your earnings wouldn’t pay the rent or even food. But, maybe in fifty years or a bit sooner, if poetry gets the visibility it needs among the public, it could happen.
And, wouldn’t it be great if we started seeing poetry as a category on book bestseller lists in major newspapers, alongside fiction and non-fiction? Poets are now a part of the Presidential inaugurations, so maybe regular significant public exposure isn’t far behind.
The key to greater visibility happens with each step we take. For example, if you work to get poetry displayed in your community, that will…
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Recognizing and Releasing Forms of Fear
Recognizing fear
Restlessness
Leads to truth
Of experience
In this moment
Release the old
Welcome the new
Adjusting focus
Change and flow
Past the blockage
That no longer serves
Its purpose
Releasing the fear
Of what might happen
Of making the wrong choice
Releasing into
the compassion of
Self-trust
A gift, I give
Myself.
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Today’s post was inspired by another post I stumbled upon in Instagram @shanananalove74:
What Are You Waiting For?
“I remember a time when I used to do a lot of waiting. With many decisions I would take the “wait and see” approach. So, I would wait and wait and wait. I would wait for the “right” time, some event to happen, enough money or for someone to give me permission. I realized after taking the “wait and see” approach for much of my adult life, that waiting, for me, was a form of fear. Fear of making the wrong choice fear that I wouldn’t follow through, fear of disappointing someone or myself, fear of the unknown or fear of what might change if I did follow through, but at the end of the day, it was all fear. I saw that if I kept waiting, I was cutting myself off from new experiences and new possibilities. If I kept waiting, I would spend the rest of my life waiting. Finally, at some point waiting became more painful than moving forward. So, I started making quicker decisions and letting my intuition guide me. I started doing things that scared me and stretched me outside my comfort zone. The more I did this the more my life expanded in extraordinary ways. I learned that stepping into the unknown is like a muscle and the more you work it the stronger you become and the more exciting life gets. It seems like the moment I stopped waiting is the moment I started living. Everyday I remind myself to keep stepping out. Even if I can’t see the path ahead, it always shows up to greet me just like magic. Each and every time.”
~Shana Ekedal
Whatever is Noble
Fallen oak leaves
Regal presence
Within a wood
Groaning
In the wind
A living legend
Found in
The bounty
Of Now.
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
Whatever is true, whatever is noble,
Whatever is right, whatever is pure,
Whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,
Anything of excellence and worthy of praise
Dwell on these things only
Philippians 4:8
Holding Life
Hunger pangs
Cravings
For connection
Reaching out
To an inner light
Remembering
A heart
That beats
Cherishing
The sacred
Essence of Self
Holding Life
In my hands
Breathing in
Presence
Gently.
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
“If we don’t look at where we’re dishonest, harsh, unforgiving, disrespectful, greedy, domineering, and so on, then we cannot change that thing. If we just suppress our shadow, trying to disown it, then it exists as an unintegrated fractal of our personality. And we have no power over what we have not explored.”
– Marianne Williamson
“I’m going to tell you a secret: All things that breathe, that grow, that have a beat to their heart or flow to their cells, all things alive are connected. If you take the time to hold life, truly hold it in your hands, you can feel this connection.”
-Tyler Knott Gregson
*1st photo by Michael Luna
found on: http://journalofanobody.tumblr.com/post/66458740937
2nd photo found on buzzfeed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/25-things-that-your-grandparents-do-better-than-you#.jmPzKa5Bg
October First
October first
Wore blue memories
Of a summer sky
As she trailed
The forest floor
Leaving a crisp
Autumn scent
Behind.
© Salem Islas-Madlo 2015
*photo credits go to
http://the-forest-of-october.tumblr.com/post/41571433681
Deep Souldiving 