Heartspace Meditation

Really looking forward to sharing this day of deep rest & relaxation with all who have booked do far. Few returning Heaetspacers and a few newbies too. No previous meditation experience necessary, all meditations & wellbeing practices on the day will be guided. So all you need to do is surrender to experience and float home on a cloud of replenished energy. Link in Bio for more info & booking (only a few spots remaining).

Parents Meditation/Relaxation session at the tonight. Always look forward to these nights.

A heartfelt poem about overcoming the impact of past traumas, embracing emotional growth, and recognizing the deeper, often unseen, aspects of the human experience.

‘The Little Prince’

“And what, exactly, is that metaphorical thorn for you?”

“It's madness
to hate all roses
because you got scratched with one thorn,

to give up all dreams
because one of them didn't come true,

to give up all attempts
because one of them failed.

It's folly to condemn all your friends
because one has betrayed you,

to no longer believe in love
just because someone was unfaithful
or didn't love you back,

to throw away all your chances to be happy
because something went wrong.

There will always be another opportunity,
another friend,
another love,
a new strength.

For every end,
there is always a new beginning

And now here is my secret,
a very simple secret:
It is only with the heart
that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye."

~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Make the change.

This is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do in your lifetime and it will also be one of the most important.

Stop having in depth conversations with people who don't see a problem in their actions.

Stop being there for people who have no interest in your presence.

When you begin to fight for a life with happiness, passion and commitment, not everyone will be ready to follow you to this particular place.

This doesn't mean you need to change who you are, it just means you should let go of the people who aren't ready to accompany you.

If you are forgotten or ignored by the people who you give your time to, you do yourself a favor by not continuing to offer your energy and your time to these particular people.

The truth is... that you are not for everyone, and not everyone is for you.

That's what makes it so extraordinarily special when you meet someone who can reciprocate the love you give to them.

The more time you spend trying to make someone love you, the more time you waste depriving yourself of the possibility of this connection to someone else.

The more you stay involved with someone who uses you as a pillow, or a therapist for emotional healing, the longer you stay away from the person you long for.

Maybe... if you stop showing up, you won't be wanted.

Maybe... if you stop trying, the relationship will subside.

Maybe... if you stop texting them, your phone will stay silent for days.

That doesn't mean you ruined the relationship, it means the only thing holding it back was the energy that only you gave to keep it.
This is not love, it's an attachment.

You deserve so much more than what you are settling for.

The most valuable thing you have in your life is your time, and it's very limited. When you give your time to someone, that is something you can never get back so choose wisely who you decide to spend it on.

Make your life a safe haven, in which only compatible souls are allowed.

~ Unknown

Really looking forward to another meditation session with the gorgeous people over at the Down Syndrome Centre in Swords.

This one is only open to parents/carers of service users. However, my upcoming 1 Day Nurture Retreat at the centre is open to all. Their garden is so beautiful and I can't wait for a wonderful restful and relaxing retreat there!

Places still available. You can book via link below.

https://heartspacemeditation.ie/offering/retreats/?date=2024-07-28

📍Willowbrook House, Swords Centre

Babs Leonard of Heartspace Meditation is hosting an evening of deep rest and guided meditation at the Down Syndrome Centre, Swords.


Date: Thursday July 18th
Time: 7.30-9.30pm
Price: €25

Please bring a blanket, cushion and yoga mat.
Enquiries: [email protected]

Over time I stopped talking to people who didn't listen and people who always wanted to be right.

I stopped looking for people who never looked for me, thinking about people who never thought of me.

I started doing what I am comfortable with, without unnecessary things, but with passion.

I started to rely on my intuition in everything, in every area, in relation to every person.

I've started avoiding negative people and only meeting a few positive ones.

Because I learned to value myself and my needs are my priority.

Because I believe I am worth it.

~ Meryl Streep

Delighted to let you know that our next 1 Day Nurture Retreat is now available to book. Link below 🙏

Date: Sunday 28th July
Time: 11am to 5pm
Venue: The Down Syndrome Centre & Gardens

No previous experience necessary. All welcome.

If you prefer to book your place via a Revolut Payment Link please let me know.

I look forward to sharing this beautiful day of deep rest & relaxation with all who can make it.

Till soon,

Babs 🙏

Retreats | Heartspace Meditation Dublin Ireland Mindfulness During these retreats, the focus is on Deliberate Self Care. They are an opportunity to reset by immersing yourself in deep rest, relaxation & renewal. The nourishment of mind, body & soul is a shared collective experience and you will also feel the support from others on the retreat too.

Dear Babs,

I wanted to write to you as I’ve been contemplating my meditation practice and how it’s helped me in my life over the past few years since I first took your course, and how much my life has changed, with ups and downs, but through it all, meditation has been an amazing tool for me. The free monthly meditation & knowledge gatherings for all students who have taken your course are so helpful for getting and/or staying on track with the daily meditation practice you taught us.

I have had a really hectic few months where I’ve been working loads and juggling lots of things and I’ve fallen off the bandwagon now and again where my meditation has gone out the window haha. But as always, you’ve taught me that without judgement or regret, it’s always there for me to come back to.

The year I met you and first took the course, my life completely transformed - so much so that I still to this day think of it as the time that I “woke up” after years of “sleep-living”. I went through enormous growth and change and I honestly feel that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for you.

Life is full of ups and downs, and I have gone through months of not meditating (or just meditating once in a while) to then coming back to it again, where I can feel the dramatic difference of how I show up in the world, how I can handle things and deal with life in general when I am meditating consistently. I have been thinking about what you said before about there being two reasons that people fall out of their meditation practice - when you’re in a bad place, feeling very down and when you’re coasting - life’s good and you feel you don’t really ‘need it’ and just forget to keep it up!

Last year was a particularly difficult year for me where I really struggled with my mental health and very low self esteem and just fell out of meditating consistently... and when I did meditate my mind was so busy and messy and they weren’t very gratifying (I used to think that I was doing it wrong until I retook your course and learned that whether it’s gratifying or not, it’s still having a profound affect). It's taken me over a year to get back to a place where I’m feeling much better in myself and I’m very grateful to have mental wellness and feeling much happier now, but I had to laugh - oh no! Now I’m coasting!! Haha!

Meditation has always been with me; I’ve never completely lost it, but it’s just keeping a consistent practice that I’ve found difficult because I can be a bit chaotic and all over the place! But I’ve started being more consistent again with my practice and I know it’s something that really benefits me and even though life can be hectic, it’s something that I know is such a powerful tool that helps me no matter what I’m going through or how I am feeling.

I feel so positive and so grateful to be alive! I just wanted to say that I’m really grateful to have met you and for being introduced to meditation through you. Taking your course honestly was life-changing and has always stayed with me since as an important part of my life. I admire what you do so much, all of the care and support you offer to everyone who takes your course.

As I write this I have to confess that I missed this morning’s meditation (I lost track of time and had to run out the door!!) but I had a beautiful meditation this evening, and tomorrow is a new day.

Grá mór and míle buíochas Babs

"The basic laws of the universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a pattern in creation. If we look at this tree outside whose roots search beneath the pavement for water, or a flower which sends its sweet smell to the pollinating bees, or even our own selves and the inner forces that drive us to act, we can see that we all dance to a mysterious tune, and the piper who plays this melody from an inscrutable distance—whatever name we give this—Creative Force, or God—escapes all book knowledge..."

~Albert Einstein

The Lie said to the Truth, "Let's take a bath together, the well water is very nice.
The Truth, still suspicious, tested the water and found out it really was nice. So they got naked and bathed.
But suddenly, the Lie leapt out of the water and fled, wearing the clothes of the Truth.
The Truth, furious, climbed out of the well to get her clothes back.
But the World, upon seeing the naked Truth, looked away, with anger and contempt.
Poor Truth returned to the well and disappeared forever, hiding her shame.
Since then, the Lie runs around the world, dressed as the Truth, and society is very happy..... because the world has no desire to know the naked Truth.

~Anonymous

“Wild women are an unexplainable spark of life. They ooze freedom and seek awareness, they belong to nobody but themselves yet give a piece of who they are to everyone they meet.
If you have met one, hold on to her, she'll allow you into her chaos but she'll also show you her magic.”

~ Nikki Rowe

𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚜𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚖.
𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕-𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐.
𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.
𝙲𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎, "𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞."
𝙸𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝙽𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑. 𝙽𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚙𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗, 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚎.
𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙻𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚐𝚘.

~ Unknown

"Animals choose to come into our lives. They are part of our karma and we are part of theirs. Sometimes they are found "abandoned" or wandering, in the middle of a road or in danger in the heart of the night; other times they are found at the front door of the house, as sent by fate; other times they arrive from loved ones, neighbors or strangers.

Animals were already in our karma at least. In this life, as in the others. According to Brian Weiss, the same animal often incarnates itself several times during our lifetime, simply changing shape and coat, and being recognized by small gestures, details and subtle habits. This is clearly seen with cats.

When a "new" animal enters our house and knows exactly where to go, it's a sign that it's simply back. Many people, at the moment of death, receive the soothing vision not of a deceased relative, but rather of an animal. This means a lot. Because for our soul there is no difference between one species and another.

Animals are in our evolutionary path just like we are in theirs, for this reason we must respect them as sacred creatures and take the greatest care of them. They are part of us, in a different form of the universe."

~ Lionel Dupont

A massive thank you to Embrace Autism for having me tonight. A pure pleasure to run a Relaxation Session for your parents, in the beautiful surroundings of Grace Park Educate Together National Scool.

Already looking forward to the next one. 🙏😊💜

Having a daily meditation practice supports you to cleanse your mind, body & nervous system from accumulated stress, fatigue and anxiety. Allowing you to move from a constant state of fight, flight or fawn to rest state. Allowing you to operate from intuitive based thinking rather than fear based thinking. So beautifully described in the piece below. If you'd like more of this in your life please do get in touch for upcoming dates for my next meditation course. ~ Babs

'When you’ve been in a toxic environment for a long time, being in a healthy environment feels wrong.

When something good happens, you wait for something negative that comes along with it. Something that you have to bargain in exchange for that good thing. When you laugh so hard, you pause and worry you might cry over something after it. When you experience a win, you wait for a following downfall. You wait for someone to say that you’re not there yet. When you experience something good, you think twice if it’s real because good things are as rare as a blue moon to you. When you get things easily, you feel like it’s wrong because you’re used to going through the difficult path to get what you desire. When people show you love, help you out, check on you, or show you gentleness, you don’t know how to respond. You wonder if they did something wrong to do something good to you. You try to figure out if it’s a trick even when it’s nothing but pure care and kindness.

When you’ve always been getting the bitter side of life, gentleness becomes unfamiliar to you. But unfamiliar doesn’t mean you don’t deserve it. I hope you become comfortable with good things. You deserve your wins. You deserve the gentle path. You deserve kind people. You deserve a healthy environment.'

~ Unknown

Birds are known as the singers of the animal kingdom but they also enjoy listening to the music of other birds. Elephants are musically inclined. They sway their trunks to the sound of music they like and they will beat steel drums for their enjoyment. The best however is the cow. You can go into an empty cattle field and start playing an instrument. Those cows will come running to you. Music fascinates them. Music helps everyone and everything be at peace.

~ Unknown

📷 The last time I saw Sinéad O'Connor singing live, Vicar Street, October 2019. Her music has brought peace to my soul for over 35 years. I hope her soul is resting in peace 🎶🙏💜

Even after meditating for fifty years, I’ve found that troublesome emotional issues don’t just disappear, but rather I have an opportunity to relate differently to everything I’m going through. A friend sent me a mug emblazoned with a phrase I use often: “We feel what we feel.” The reason I say that a lot is because it’s been an important lesson for me. I’ve seen we have to allow the dignity of every feeling, without blaming ourselves or trying to push away anything. But we also don’t need to take every feeling to heart, identifying with it, and imagining it is all we will ever feel. We can be with painful feelings differently, with compassion for ourselves instead of judgment. We can practice to not forget or overlook the joy and goodness that are also there. The wisdom of equanimity reminds us that we don’t have to get over how we’re feeling. It takes courage to turn toward ourselves with compassion and tenderly hold both our fear and joy. Somehow, we have space for both to be true because they both are true.

~ Sharon Salzberg

One of the greatest gifts of meditation is befriending yourself, ALL of yourself. All the parts we believe are worthy and especially the parts we are conditioned to believe are less worthy. ALL the parts that make up you.

'The world is increasingly designed to depress us. Happiness isn't very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more?
How do you sell an anti-ageing moisturiser? You make someone worry about ageing. How do you get people to vote for a political party? You make them worry about immigration. How do you get them to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws. How do you get them to watch a TV show? By making them worry about missing out. How do you get them to buy a new smartphone? By making them feel like they are being left behind.
To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act. To be happy with your own non upgraded existence. To be comfortable with our messy, human selves, would not be good for business.'

~Matt Haig

One of the greatest gifts of meditating daily, for me, has been consistently making the time for the deliberate self care of sitting, closing my eyes and allowing my mind and body to release accumulated stress. By cleansing myself in this way daily I drop into the place within me that is still, quiet, intuitive and full of wisdom......I can then open my eyes and move into my life, the world and my interactions with it all from intuitive based thinking rather than fear based thinking. Which is so beautifully expressed in the passage below. If this is something you would like to explore please do get in touch. 🙏

“Our bodies have five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing. But not to be overlooked are the senses of our souls: intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy. The differences between people lie in their use of these senses; most people don't know anything about the inner senses while a few people rely on them just as they rely on their physical senses, and in fact probably even more.”

- C. JoyBell C.

the next time
you refuse to sing
because you’ll never
fill a stadium
or decline the joy of dance
for fear of looking
ridiculous
or you resist risking
the new adventure
because you’re
not entirely ready or
you dim your shine
because you’re not
completely healed and whole

the next time
you hold yourself suspect
because you’re not
entirely qualified

just remember

a bird doesn’t sing
because it’s talented
a bird sings because
it has a song

the moon doesn’t only shine
when it’s whole
it can show up with
a single sliver of itself
and still light an entire
night sky

show up. sing. shine.
the world needs you
as you are.

~ Angi Sullins

It's a time of great transition. In body, this can be very challenging, but in spirit it's an amazing shift.

Rather than fighting the process and being saddened by what isn't any longer, appreciate what is.

If you are moved to look backward, do it from the perspective of marveling at how much change has taken place and how resilient you have been.

Look with appreciation and love at how you were guided, supported and moved along your path. It's happening now, too, even as you feel stuck.

Be heartened by how far you've come, especially in difficult times. They tend to grow your soul exponentially.

Keep the faith. Divinity prompts us and it is ours to choose the next step. Never give up.

Bless you for the love you share, the difficulties you've overcome, the battles you have conquered, the ways you have survived and thrived and the beauty you have shared in this world.

Bless you for the example you've set by bravely continuing on this ever changing journey called life. Bravo beautiful you.

~ Jody Doty

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined!

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore... So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.' Rebecca - age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.' Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.' Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.' Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.' Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.' Nikka - age 6

(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.' Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine - age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image!) Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross...' Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8

And the final one: The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry.'

“There is a deep order in the universe that remains independent of chaos, space and time. This order is in the form of pure mathematical principles and can only be known through geometry.
ᅠ
We ourselves are part of that divine order. We are a drop in the ocean and also the ocean in a drop. We are a microcosmic reflection of the macrocosm and are encoded with all the information in the universe. However, we only use a fraction of our total capacity.
ᅠ
The shapes, patterns and figures that emerge from the circle and sphere are keys that can unlock our potential and awaken us to super consciousness and the interconnectedness of all things.”
ᅠ
~ Jonathan Quintin

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring...it was peace.”

~ Milan Kundera

Try to travel, otherwise
you may become racist,
and you may end up believing
that your skin is the only one
to be right,
that your language
is the most romantic
and that you were the first
to be the first.
Travel,
because if you don’t travel then
your thoughts won’t be strengthened,
won’t get filled with ideas.
Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies
that fit perfectly with your nightmares
to make you live in terror.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say good morning to everyone
regardless of which sun we come from.
Travel,
because travel teaches
to say goodnight to everyone
regardless of the darkness
that we carry inside
Travel,
because traveling teaches to resist,
not to depend,
to accept others, not just for who they are
but also for what they can never be.
To know what we are capable of,
to feel part of a family
beyond borders,
beyond traditions and culture.
Traveling teaches us to be beyond.
Travel,
otherwise you end up believing
that you are made only for a panorama
and instead inside you
there are wonderful landscapes
still to visit.

~ Gio Evan, poet and songwriter

I crave a gentle life.

I know what hell looks like already.
More harsh lessons aren’t necessary.
Give me soft evenings, sweet as chocolate.
Nights worn like wool.
Let’s laugh till we’re in tears,
alongside those who make loving us look easy.

I want to breathe in the air of everywhere I once dreamt of making memories.
Though my hardships have shaped me,
in beautiful and painful ways that I will forever be grateful for,
I want my days to be full and affectionate.
I want to be formless,
someone who flows and moves without worry.

Some days I’m water.
Others, I’m lava.
Both are real.
Both are me.

All versions of me are honest and necessary.

Who I am is safe when respected.
I’d rather be a great friend to a few
than an acquaintance to many.
I’d rather be widely accepting
than widely accepted.
I want to be the one that others know it’s safe to turn to.
I want to be the person who I needed all those years ago.

There’s a softness within me that wasn’t always there.
It grew from heinous places.
Cold, callous, remorseful places.
My softness is my greatest strength.
To not be hardened by the very things meant to break you,
that’s what I’m most proud of.

Now, everyone near me gets my light.
This way we all shine.

~ J. Raymond

The Sweetness of Dogs

What do you say, Percy? I am thinking
of sitting out on the sand to watch
the moon rise. It’s full tonight.
So we go

and the moon rises, so beautiful it
makes me shudder, makes me think about
time and space, makes me take
measure of myself: one iota
pondering heaven. Thus we sit, myself

thinking how grateful I am for the moon’s
perfect beauty and also, oh! How rich
it is to love the world. Percy, meanwhile,
leans against me and gazes up into
my face. As though I were just as wonderful
as the perfect moon.

~ Mary Oliver

Go where the love is.

Go where the friendship flows both ways. Go where you appreciate and where you are appreciated. Go where the door is open. Go where the communication is good, authentic and honest.

Go where the energy is uplifting. Go where you see and where you are also seen. Go where there is health. Go where the intentions are pure. Go where the expectations are simply that everyone just is themselves.

Go where the spotlight shines on everyone equally. Go where you forgive and where you are forgiven. Go where you want and where you are wanted. Go where you choose and where you are chosen. Go where you value your time and where your time is valued.

Go where the love is.

And unashamedly, bravely and kindly step away from everything else. Life is too short to stay in rooms not made for you.

Go where the love is.

~ Unknown