a little water for your soul

 

Earlier this week, I recorded an audio love note for the women gathered in Water Your Soul, and today, as I'm safe and cozy in my little home with Ellie Jane and thinking about my family gathered in Indiana for my grandfather's funeral and thinking about families on the other coast continuing to gather for funerals in a community that experienced the unthinkable last Friday, I feel deeply moved to share those words here with you today.

In the short audio, I share a few thoughts, read "A Morning Offering" by John O'Donohue from To Bless the Space Between Us, and share a chant. (It is about seven minutes long.)

My hope is that it will support you in creating space for a few moments of stillness this weekend.

Follow the directions below to download the audio and listen to it when you need a companion in the quiet over the next few days.

Peace and light on this Winter Solstice,
Liz

Notes about the Audio: Follow the instructions below for your operating system.

Windows: Right-click on the link to the MP3 file, and choose the option for Saving the link or target (Save link as, Save target as, Download link, etc.). Double-clicking the downloaded file will open it and begin playback.

Mac: Hold down the option key and click on the link to the MP3 file. It will download to the Desktop (or other folder you specified in Preferences). Double-clicking the downloaded file will begin playback and add the track to your iTunes library.

Love Note

in case you need to hear these words too...

a basket of poetry

As I work in my studio, I began to feel really moved to share a few words with you, so I just opened Garage Band and recorded these words plus a poem that I think you might need to hear today. And if not today, you can tuck these words inside your pocket to pull out when you might need them in the future.

The poem is "The View" by Mary Lou Sanelli from her collection Craving Water: Poems of Ordinary Life in a Northwest Village.

The audio is a little over three minutes long and you can listen by clicking "October 14" below (or by right-clicking and downloading/saving the file as you usually would and then listening).

October 14

a sunday evening deep breath...

gearhart self-portrait . june 20, 2011

in this moment,
find your breath
inhale
breathe in your life
exhale
and stand tall inside all that you know... 

*****

i am simply delighted to share that i am a guest on kimberly wilson's tranquility du jour podcast this evening. listening to it again tonight, i am remembering how comfortable i felt sharing so honestly about inner excavation and the path that brought me to here and how i am letting go of this need to find balance in my life. i hope you will head over to kimberly's site to listen to the interview and peek in on all the incredible things that she is up to over there. i am so glad our paths have crossed; she is a gem. 

*****

i am also happy to report that my first newsletter will be heading out into the world tomorrow. i will be sending one about once a month, and they will always include an invitation from me to pause where you are and be right here, along with little notes about the goings on in my corner of the world, including upcoming workshops, retreats, and other good things. the first newsletter will also include a special discount for my Etsy shop, so i hope you will sign up for it right here.

thank you for walking beside me on this journey...

the kindred project: day 7 (traveler)

The Kindred Project: 12 Days of Light and Yes is about sharing our stories of light and hope. The moments where we said "yes" to choosing beauty in the midst of it all. The moments where we stood in our own light. The moments where we saw someone else choose hope. The moments where another became our teacher and where we taught ourselves. Read more about the project and share your own stories in this post. During these 12 days, I am sharing a few of the lights along my path that have pushed me and taught me and held me in the midsts of it all. 

*****

traveler and me . washington coast, july 2004

this evening, an audio post that includes a senses memory and just a few thoughts about how traveler taught me about love and grief.

(just click on june 2 below to hear it; it is about seven minutes long)

thank you so much for sharing your own stories throughout this little project i am doing. today, i would love to hear your stories about the animals in your life who teach you...

june 2

what would happen

where i stand . early july 2010

as afternoon began to fade toward evening, the thoughts tumbled a bit after two conversations with friends. because ellie was still napping, i came to my laptop and clicked to my email and read the nicest words about me and my work from someone who doesn't even really know me and then i felt tears tap the back of my eyeballs. 

because this is what i know: even when life is full of the "oh my goodness things are crazy around here" kind of stuff, it is full of so much beauty. 

but the only way i can see the beauty is if i give myself the space to see myself.

and then some words began to rush together in my mind, so i turned on the microphone to catch them (for you...for me).

(just click "what would happen" below to hear this audio post)

what would happen

you (yes. you.)

a little note

from me

to you

sending love and light...

(just click "you" below to listen, about four minutes)

you

an audio interlude: a shadow story {from the archives}

port townsend view . march 2009

i have been reading into some of my archives again; this time, seeking out a few of my responses to some sunday scribblings prompts from a few years back. i came across my response to the prompt baggage, and after reading it, decided i wanted to share it again, this time as a short audio post.

reading these words again, i realized that this really is a shadow story. and after hearing my own words read back to me, i began to think about wanting to spend more time writing about my shadow and maybe even dipping my toes into the world of sunday scribblings again soon.

to hear this post, just click on "all that baggage" below.

the original post, "all that stuff, all that baggage," appeared here.

all that baggage

audio interlude: a podcast on march 9, 2010

 

standing on my path in gearhart, oregon . february 2009

a first podcast: the one where i share about poetry readings in the bathtub and a few poets who speak to my soul as i walk on my path. (click on "bathtub poetry readings" below to hear it.)

references in this podcast:

the previous poem i wrote in 2006 is shared here

mary oliver's poetry: "something" in the collection Why I Wake Early: New Poems and "mornings at blackwater" from Red Bird

william stafford's poem "widow" from My Name Is William Tell

billy collins' poem "books" from Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems

marge piercy's poem "to have without holding" from The Moon Is Always Female

bathtub poetry readings