Preparations for my upcoming week away beginning Saturday, has taken me off my blog for most of this week. After the beach trip with my sisters, I hope to quickly resume my blogging again. See you soon!
Image by genericavatar via Flickr
All posts for the month October, 2011
See you soon…
Posted by Bodhirose on October 27, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/see-you-soon/
Such Good Taste
Lemony sour
makes my
mouth pucker
as well as
yogurt, plain
unadulterated.
I enjoy
bitter coffee,
warm and
comforting,
only blended
with cream and
sugar to sweeten.
Fruits, nuts,
carrots and honey
made by bees–
sweet comes
naturally in so
many foods.
Tannins are
astringent
and dry the
mouth–some
are found in
tea, wine and
fresh ripened herbs.
A trace of salt
is in most
naturally
grown foods
but don’t add
too much
of this flavor-
enhancing
stuff.
Piquant is
the most exotic
and my favorite
of tastes which
brings the
“heated” spice
of ginger,
black pepper
and curries to
my flavor-craving buds.
Image by Keturah Stickann via Flickr
Posted by Bodhirose on October 19, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/such-good-taste/
Tibetan Singing Bowls
Tibetan bowl of bronze
multi harmonic frequencies
generate balance,
relaxation and healing.
Listen with your soul
as the reverberation
takes you on a journey
through timelessness.
Change your awareness
through sound and the
waves of sacred tones
of the ancient singing bowl.
Posted by Bodhirose on October 19, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/tibetan-singing-bowls/
The Lovelorn Peacock
Image by Henry McLin via Flickr
In the summer of 1971, I moved from my hometown of Orlando down to Miami to help start an ashram there. A friend and I were part of an organization that taught yoga, meditation, vegetarian diet and a lifestyle of disciplined, spiritual practice. He had been dispatched from the main center in Orlando, some months prior, to start yoga classes down south and had showed up at my door one day to ask if I would move there and help him. I thought to myself, sure, why not, it would be an adventure.
He had rented a small house in Coconut Grove on shady, coconut tree-lined Kumquat Street and I took up residence in one of the tiny bedrooms when I arrived. Right down the street was another communal compound of people making a home together in a large, two story house.
It was a cool time to live in Miami. There were neat little “head” shops, and many “hippie” type stores that sold candles, incense, clothing, books, etc. and some great health food stores and even restaurants that were completely vegetarian. It was all new to me but I was in my element!
Before long we had gatherings of like-minded people coming nightly for our yoga classes and life was humming along.
Part of the charming quaintness of Coconut Grove was the community of peacocks that freely roamed the neighborhood streets. You could hear their ear-piercing calls from blocks away but I never tired of spotting them walking down the road, perched in a tree, or up on someone’s roof.
One male peacock in particular started frequenting the small, enclosed courtyard in front of our house. Soon he started showing an unhealthy interest in me. Whenever I would arrive or depart the house, and if he happened to be outside, he would approach me with his feathers spectacularly displayed and “shake” them at me. This bird was courting me! With his feathers held straight up, he was just about as tall as I was. Whatever direction I took, he would get face-to-face with me and “shimmy”. I became a bit intimidated by this…yikes! He was extremely insistent, and I took to running past him to get in or out of the house.
But after some time, I believe he finally realized that his love for me would remain unrequited and he moved on elsewhere to find a more suitable partner of the feathered variety.
This is a re-posting of one of my first blogs for Monday Morning Writing Prompt–Let’s Have Some Fun!: http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/monday-morning-writing-prompt-lets-have-some-fun/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 17, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/the-lovelorn-peacock-2/
Being Saved
I joined her on that day
to a luncheon,
to church,
where she prays.
It’s been years
since I’ve been here,
no longer enraptured
through this fear.
Entertainment was
offered too,
a man of Jesus sang,
played piano and mused.
Around me sat
the elderly and aged;
my mother’s peers
are being saved.
I listened intently
to the message given;
does it soothe my soul
as bidden?
So closely tied with
illusion, I felt more
pity than love for
this religion.
Belief in sin,
to me, is a ruse,
to impede us
from knowing the truth.
But awakening
will come as it may,
our own paths
we follow each way.
My entry for dVerse Poets; Free Write Friday–Taboo Subjects: How to be Fearless and Nothing Less: http://dversepoets.com/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 16, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/being-saved/
Father’s Day
Father’s day is every day.
He can sleep so soundly
because I am here.
My presence ensures
his peace is kept,
his innocence protected
under my watch.
My fathering role
is of most importance.
A being has been given
for me to nurture.
He will be safe
and feel secure,
his needs will be met
and so much more.
Love will flow
between our hearts;
my son will know me
and trust so deep.
I’ll treat him with
dignity, kindness
and compassion.
His body, spirit
and mind cultivated.
A precious son,
who will know my love.
Bluebell Books — Short Story Slam 12: http://bluebellbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/short-story-slam-week-12.html
Posted by Bodhirose on October 13, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/fathers-day/
My Queen
image: Michael Sowa, from The Little King
My Queen holds the sugar
while I hold the cinnamon.
We’re the perfect pairing
in breakfast’s kitchen.
She hasn’t arrived yet,
no pomp and circumstance,
she enters quietly with
delicate, sweet decorum.
A shake of us both
upon the
toast, serves it up sweet
for that perfect treat.
My entry for Magpie Tales; Mag 86: http://magpietales.blogspot.com/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 12, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/my-queen/
The Wheel of Becoming
Image via Wikipedia
Our individual path
weaves us in and out
but choices are ours
to continue around.
The wheel of becoming
transports us places,
bringing trials
that tests our mettle.
There’s a lower realm
and a higher;
seek the light
or close your eyes.
Painful lessons
bring us suffering.
Oh, to let go
and find nirvana!
We’re on this cycle
from our past karma.
To break the spinning,
we can release samsara.
Reality is subjective;
it’s full of traps.
Ignorance clenches
the veil ever tighter.
See with clarity
through the eye of One.
No longer endless,
our births are done.
My offering for today’s Occupy Blogosphere: http://souldipper.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/occupy-blogosphere-thursday-february-9-2012/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 11, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/the-wheel-of-becoming/
Cheesy Vegetable Soup
Image via Wikipedia
There was no measuring when cooking this comforting dish. I made it up when my daughters were elementary school age. It’s a vegetable-filled and cheesy-sauced soup accompanied by hot homemade corn bread. Just about everything was homemade by me when the girls were growing up–even their baby food. I never bought one single jar of baby food for them. It was so easy to take a bit of fresh steamed veggies or fresh fruit and puree them to make the ideal food with no added sugar, preservatives or additives. But I digress–I was talking about that soup that they loved so much–that we all loved so much.
I started with cooking the diced potatoes, carrots, broccoli, yellow squash, celery, onions, and garlic altogether in one large, deep pot. I may have used vegetable stock. Then I started the cheese sauce by heating milk on the stove, grating the cheddar cheese and dusting it lightly with flour before adding it to the pan of hot milk–not boiling. It always came out perfectly smooth–the grated cheese melting lump free and the flour adding just enough “bulk” to thicken the sauce to the perfect consistency as I gently whisked it in the milk. When the vegetables were tender–I drained most of the cooking water off and then added the sauce–salt and pepper were the only spices. Although sometimes a splash of tamari may have been added too. Served with a side of hot cornbread with butter and jam or honey, it finished the dinner off just right.
And another thing that made this dish so particularly enjoyable was using the special soup bowls that we had bought at the Mikasa outlet. They were a beautifully pleasing deep, cobalt blue ceramic that had a handle on one side in which you could use to keep from burning your hands on the hot surface of the bowl. The girls loved those bowls and I think I mainly used them when I made that favorite, nourishing soup.
I cherish the memories of bringing those girls comfort.
Monday Morning Writing Prompt–Comfort Food: http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/monday-morning-writing-prompt-comfort-food/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 10, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/cheesy-vegetable-soup/
Goblins and Ghouls
Google Images
Goblins and ghouls
assemble in the gloaming
drinking from goblets
of gelatinous guts.
Gathering together
from their gimcrack shacks,
they play pranks on each
other flinging ghastly, fat bats.
Their grisly grins are more
gruesome than gay, lopsided
and gnashing, greasy and gray.
This one night they group
feeling quite giddy, gyrating
and spinning under the
globe of the moon.
Grimy and grizzled
they greet each other
down in the graveyard
where gristley gigot is served.
They’re grotesque and
gruff and speak in
gesturing gibberish
as they gibe and glare
in loathsome glee.
Soon eyes are glassy
from gaiety’s abundance
as the dim rays of dawn
glance over the glade.
With one last, piercing guttural
howl they grouse, slinking down
deep into their gelid grottos–
gloomy again until next Halloween.
Monday Morning Writing Prompt–Alliteration: http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/monday-morning-writing-prompt-alliteration/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 9, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/goblins-and-ghouls/
Darkness
- Image by Blakkos via Flickr
In spite of living in sunny Florida, when the days of the autumn equinox draw closer, even we can’t escape the shorter days and the longer nights that arrive with it.
Even though the temperatures are still reaching into the mid to high 80s these early days of October, the sun is hanging lower in the sky and a perceptible shift has been in the atmosphere for a few weeks now. Just this past weekend, we had the first change in our evening temperatures and the humidity has dropped markedly. It’s no longer stifling muggy when the air hits you as you step outside. It’s been a long time coming and very welcomed.
And there’s another feeling that comes with it for me too though–one of loss, of sorrow and despair that permeates me when the cool weather arrives. Even though, for the most part, our fall and winter months come with bright, sunshiny days–I can still be affected by a pervasive feeling of anxiety that sweeps over me. So it can’t be blamed on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
I feel it is tied in with my life growing up in a problematic home ruled by alcohol. We were thrust together even more closely than usual during the cold months and it was an especially difficult time for me. So I believe, still to this day, I am feeling those days– imprinted in my DNA–emerging most often on the darkest and most bitter, cold days that will soon be approaching–reminding me.
Those feelings have lessened their grip as I’ve grown older, perhaps I’ve let go of and put behind me much of that time–but still I notice and feel their presence.
My entry for Monday Morning Writing Prompt: Darkness http://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/monday-morning-writing-prompt-darkness/
Posted by Bodhirose on October 5, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/darkness/
The Liebster Blog Award
Many thanks and much gratitude to The Lonely Recluse http://lonelyrecluse.wordpress.com/ who honored me with the Liebster Blog Award. I am honored. (I copied the rules from your blog, TLR)
As with most awards there are a few rules which are:
- Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
- Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
- Copy and paste the award on your blog.
- Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
- And most of all – have bloggity-blog fun!
Some new people to me that I would like to honor:
- DM Denton: http://bardessdmdenton.wordpress.com/
- Lafemmeroar: http://lafemmeroar.wordpress.com/
- Mish: http://www.writer-in-transit.co.za/
- Betty Hayes Albright: http://raindancepoetry.wordpress.com/
- Fallen Elegy: http://fallenelegy.wordpress.com/
No need to pass this on to anyone if you are not so inclined. I always feel that these awards are meant to be an honor and not a bother. I am grateful for being acknowledged and hope you are too.
Posted by Bodhirose on October 2, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/the-liebster-blog-award/
The Girl Effect–WE HAVE A SITUATION ON OUR HANDS
If born a girl
in today’s world,
extra pressure
may be your toil.
Not quite as valued,
somehow less than,
a grim reminder
to stay vigilant.
Keep your head,
be heedful of those
who will try to
demean you
and keep you
downtrodden.
Stay in school;
be a good girl.
Education is
freedom
from many
world woes.
And as you
grow stronger
and can see
what is healing,
spread the word
among others like you.
The power is yours
to be a strong vortex.
Women carry strength
for nurturing and care
but also for perseverance
against prevailing
crosswinds.
The families’ core
is a woman’s heart.
Have pride
in yourself;
take good care.
And if you should
falter and ask
what’s the use,
just think of me
and the millions alike
who carry you close in our
collective hearts.
Support The Girl Effect: http://www.girleffect.org/
Related articles
- The Girl Effect: 5 shocking things we didn’t know (cbsnews.com)
- SUNDAY WRITERS’ ROUNDUP #10: Blogging on Social Issues (musingbymoonlight.com)
- Violence is Never Justified, Never! My One World Initiative -The Girl Effect (positiveprovocations.com)
- doing something more (mrshutchison.wordpress.com)
Posted by Bodhirose on October 2, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/the-girl-effect-we-have-a-situation-on-our-hands/
Life in a Bubble
Living in a bubble
life is carefree;
no thought
needed for others;
it’s only about me.
Floating along
drifting, selfish
in my ways,
life is mine
for using
as only I see.
People, hungry,
and miserable,
no place to live,
these things
don’t concern
me, I’m all
that there is.
Something I do
bothers you?
Too bad for you,
I don’t give a damn.
I annoy, perturb
taunt and agitate,
(but you’re not thinking of me!)
Life in my bubble is perfectly great.
My entry for Bluebell Books: Short Story Slam: http://bluebellbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/short-story-slam-week-11.html
Posted by Bodhirose on October 1, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/life-in-a-bubble/
Flash Fiction 140
Five flash fiction stories of 140 total characters using the words: ”exposure”, “punch”, “clothes”, “advantage” and “change”:
Capsized five days prior, a bottle of water keeps him living; exposure will soon win. He hallucinates a tropical isle; people on the beach.
Punching his chest hard, she blows into his open mouth and continues compressing his chest and blowing–relentless, she knows aid is coming.
As she hangs clothes on the lines outdoors, a dark, shadow dives overhead. The hawk is back, searching for its next meal at the birdfeeder.
Meditation brings clarity, focus and calm to my life. It may not bring less trials to face but the way I handle them is of great advantage.
The transformation in her appearance was astonishing but even more so was the change in her personality. She was now free to live and love.
Posted by Bodhirose on October 1, 2011
http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/flash-fiction-140/
Gayle Walters Rose
Thanks for coming by. I welcome your visit.
Poets United
Writing Our Way Home
