Five Minute Friday: Still

1. Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word on the prompt, “Still.”
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Get a little crazy with encouragement in the comments of the five minuter who linked up before you.

This week's prompt:

Still.

I wish I could be still sometimes. It seems like my mind is always racing, always thinking, and where my mind goes, my body is sure to follow.

Sitting still, although widely considered to be a Good Thing, especially in school, is near impossible for me. When I attempt to sit still, I end up falling asleep.

However, I know that somewhere, probably deeeeep inside me, there is a well of stillness that I can draw on as needed. I know that is the spark that makes me, well, ME.

I know that it may be drowned out by everyday life, but that on occasion, mostly when I need it the most, if I take time to quiet all but the low rumblings, I can feel the calm, the love, the hope, the joy that is God.

STOP.

Five Minute Friday: Full

1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in the right side bar}.

3. Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

Full...

Full. Full of what? Well, that's where choice comes in, right?

I can choose to be hate-full. I can choose to be joy-full.

I can choose to be full of myself and ignore others. I can choose to be grate-full for the bounty we have and share what we have so that others may survive.

I can choose to fill up my time with meaningless activities. I can choose to fill up my time with activities that will make a lasting mark.

I can choose to fill up my life with things or people that/who are toxic. I can choose to fill up my life with things or people that/who help me to be the person I need to be.

Mostly I choose day by day. Somedays, yes, I freely admit that I wake up with a black cloud over me and end up having a "horrible, terrible, no-good day". Those are the days that I need to take a step back and look at what I'm choosing to do at that moment.

It's those moments that help me realize how to be grace-full. And in the end, those are the moments that help me realize what this life is all about.

STOP.

Five Minute Friday: Grateful

1. Write for 5 minutes flat with no editing, tweaking or self critiquing.

2. Link back to The Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in {you can grab the button code in her right side bar}

3. Go and tell the person who linked up before you what their words meant to you. Every writer longs to feel heard.

This week's prompt is: Grateful.

I am filled with gratitude for who and what I have in my life. I am so unbelievably blessed with good friends, family, and people around me. Even in my darkest moments, when I question what in the world is going on, I know that my lows are someone else's dream.

It was in that midsummer moment that I sat in that cathedral and felt a Presence all around me that reassured me that no matter how bad things ever got, or where I went, that I would always, ALWAYS be OK. It was that moment that I realized that no matter what (I thought) my heavy burden was, I would never have to carry it alone...all I had to do was ask for help.

It was in that other midsummer moment when I was only seconds away from what would have been a very painful death that I got my second chance. I was only 20, but yet, through some grace, I was able to sidestep that check-out point and get a second chance, which admittedly some days I feel like I've wasted.

I am grateful for all that has been given to me, and realize that it is my privilege to be able to help others. Not because I have to, but because it's an outward way of showing my gratitude to the Universe.

STOP.

Five Minute Friday: Welcome

This is my first week giving this a whirl. I originally came across the idea at another blog that I read, A Slob Comes Clean.

It's pretty easy...a prompt is given, and you write. You write for five minutes.
Rules:
1. Write for 5 minutes (no editing, tweaking or self critiquing)
2. Link back to her site (thegypsymama.com) and invite others to do the same.
3. Tell the person who linked up before you, what their words meant to you. Everyone loves comments!

This week's prompt is:

Welcome.


That's the feeling I used to feel as I drove over the mountain passes to my home town in eastern Oregon. That's the feeling I used to feel as I drove over the coastal range and glimpsed the ocean. That's the feeling I used to feel as I drove through the city of Portland. But I'm probably not going back for a long time (haven't been back since 2007 when I cleaned out my Mom's home after she died), so it's sort of unsettling.

Here in Minnesota, I still feel welcome, but in a different, more grounded way. It's been my home for almost half my lifetime, but I'll never really belong here...be welcome like I was where I grew up.

Perhaps it's because I was raised in a different place with different mores and values. Perhaps it's because of my contrary nature. Perhaps it's because I still miss the high desert, the mountains, the open spaces, the ocean.

Even though I've always been at home wherever I (physically) am, within myself, I'd like to feel that enfolding peace and welcome again.

STOP.