"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars...to change the world"
-Harriet Tubman

Oh dear...Monday I found myself sick again. I quite literally lost my voice. And unlike Tinkerbell it could not be revived with applause and faith. Though at the time I was quite restless about my home bound situation I was able to find time to enjoy the little pleasures of being home. Yet again I was inspired by my kitchen window and the posse of stray cats that seem to call my backyard home. The following is a snippet I collected in my journal. I attempted to venture out to take pictures; however as I have found there are some things that we can capture on film, others we can capture with words, and still others that can never be captured and that remain wild and vivid only in our own minds. So though my words below may fail to capture quite the scene it is my feeble attempt to share something quite lovely with y'all:

-a bright red cardinal is what initially caught my eye. He was hopping about the large evergreen. His bright red color made him easy to see as he poked around the tree.
-its little friend I spotted soon after. A little dark brown bird with a nose like a cranberry kiss and a touch of flame at its breast.
-as they played a patient cat sat at the base of the tree staring into space, but keenly aware of what was happening in his tree. The tree in his mind is clearly his tree. It may be in my backyard; however I couldn't say that a human owner could call dibs on ownership. That is a battle between the cats and birds.
-two other wild cats were playing on the lingering snow, chasing each other merrily.
-touches of the last snow haunt the edges of the evergreen and the battle lines between Spring and Winter are drawn.

So hard to capture in words...and with all the movement impossible on film, but hopefully y'all catch the gist. So many things happen right under our noses...we just have to take a moment to find whole other worlds open to us.

Living in Boston one would think that this post would be filled with snow covered images and things of that ilk. The snow is on my mind (and still on my boots) and I am working on a post about investment that was inspired by this righteous blizzard; however today I would like to revisit a sun drenched day that I had only a mere week ago...

On a whim I had traveled to Broadmoore Sanctuary. Well, perhaps it was less of a whim and more a desire to escape something that has been weighing on me more heavily that the snow on the branches of the trees. I have realized that as of late I have let a certain something steal my light. I believe that we should share our light with others. That we can be the light at the end of the tunnel for one another at times of personal darkness, but we should never let anyone take our light. I say this because I am a positive and lighthearted person yet I sometimes allow myself and my light to be diminished. I encourage all of us to nourish ourselves and if there are situations or people in our lives that are not healthy for us- or that we are in turn not healthy for either- to examine whether or not health can be restored. Furthermore, we often drop the things that nourish us the most when we become busy and when our lives become congested so I further challenge myself and you to-

"Recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings you joy, and care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life"

Jean Shinoda Bolen

And now on to what nourishes my own soul and my respite from little earthquakes....

 At certain points of my walk I felt for sure I was a character in Lord of the Rings. I walked with purpose as if on a quest.

 Everywhere I looked were little patches of mossy beauty. I adore Blue Hills; however there is not often  any sign of creatures of the non human variety. At Broadmoore I heard birds chirping all around me and saw them playing among the trees. Their song brought me hope.

'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence'.

- Helen Keller

Stand tall and shine bright my friends. 

"I’m grateful for being here, for being able to think, for being able to see, for being able to taste, for appreciating love – for knowing that it exists in a world so rife with vulgarity, with brutality and violence, and yet love exists. I’m grateful to know that it exists."
                                                                            -Maya Angelou 

This weekend I took another lovely stroll through the Forest Hills Cemetery. The sun was shinning brightly and the sky in places was a particular stunning shade of dusky blue. As I stood in front of a weeping willow I felt a bit emotional. I could hardly catch my breath as I felt such gratitude. I may not have a lot of worldly things, but I can appreciate things and that is something special I thought....not nearly as poetically said as Maya Angelou; however the sentiment is the same and I hope for each of you that your own week is filled with gratitude. 

I try to not take photos of actual gravestones; however this one was so striking. From the sunlight peering through the strong tree to the equally strong form of the woman depicted in statue form, this evoked so many imagination theories as to whom this grave could be for. I purposefully did not look at the name so that I could imagine my own story. 

I was on my way to take the photo below when I looked to my left and saw this. The color of the skies was so beautiful and the orange hue of  the brush and dirt against created just about one of the most stop in tracks moments I have had in some time. 

This was the photo I was on my way to take. I had found Khalil Gibran's (the sculptor and relative of the  author) grave shortly before and nearby was this art installation. The face looks so much like one that I adore and the sun shinning on it and the trees peering through his eyes made me think of all the hope I feel when I see that face (my little Giuseppe...). So I leave you with this: 




"Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty, and obey only love" 
        -Khalil Gibran (the author) 

Where has The Story Girl been? Oh dear, as I posted a long while ago I was sick and well I have stayed sick Thankfully I am on the mend and will be back with some postings in the very near future. I guarantee that the cold and my illness have not kept my eyes closed to the many lovely things going on around me (though I suppose to be truthful these factors have slightly dulled my senses to them a bit). In the meantime I leave you with this:

"There are many ways to be free. One of  them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do"

     -Anais Nin 

I have been quite sick this week. There are illnesses that descend solely on you physically; however this one has attacked me mentally as well. I am so worn down with being sick that it has made it rather hard to focus on the little things. I haven't been running or hiking in over a week as a result as well. One realizes how deeply they love something once it is absent. I was feeling very low yesterday when I looked out my kitchen window. The little black and white wild cat that lives in my backyard was delightfully chasing his tail. He does this often. It would seem that wind, rain, nor snow are his greatest foes, but rather his nefarious tail. As I watched him play and looked at the big delightful tree that also lives in my yard I felt my soul begin to warm again and the following thoughts came into my mind....

 Years ago my favorite movie was Garden State. I still love it, but as I talked it over with a friend the other day we both came to the conclusion that the love affair with it wasn't what it once was. If you don't know the movie it is a film about a young man who returns home after the death of his mother. It has been many years since he has returned home and he is rather plagued by depression. Once home he encounters old friends, a quirky and lovely Shins loving girl, and his relationship with his father that is rife with issues. The soundtrack is phenomenal and even though the movie doesn't resonate in the same way it did when I was in the midst of my own quarter life crisis a quote that Andrew makes still sticks with me,  

 

"You know that point in your life when you realize that the house you grew up in isn't really your home anymore. All of the sudden even though you have some place to put your shit, that idea of home is gone or maybe its like this rite of passage you will never have that feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, for your kids, for the family you start. It's like a cycle or something. Maybe that's all family really is: a group of people that miss the same imaginary place."

Anyhow, for a long time I very much related to that sentiment. For a long time I wandered around without a sense of home and feared that the only way to achieve it was to create my own 'imaginary place' and that was so unsatisfying. I think that is why the film doesn't resonate as much any longer,  because as I have aged I realize that you can find home within yourself. That as you become comfy with yourself and who you are that you become almost like a turtle- carrying home with you wherever you go. It sounds heavy to carry such a thing, but it is a very freeing thing to be your own creature. Though I have found a sense of home in myself however it has been a while since a physical place has felt like home. Looking out my window yesterday despite feeling like absolute crap I felt rather blessed to be more self possessed (though still a work in progress) than I have ever been and to live in a house that is a home. And it is in this home that I will continue to nurse myself back to health and nurture my soul into feeling like it's old cheerful self.

I nearly forgot to say:

Happy New Year!!! 






"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you are wonderful and don't forget to make some art (write or draw or build or sing or LIVE as only YOU can). And somewhere in the next year I hope you surprise yourself."
- Neil Gaiman