jazzy days ahead...

when i was in my twenties i wore some funky hats. not as funky as these, but still nice... this morning while organising some magazines and papers i stumbled upon a poem titled beginning to be. i thought about the synchronicity of it all considering the fact that i have been thinking very much these days about beginning again/new beginnings. the thought came to me... though i'll be dipping my toes into new waters, i want to remind myself to stay true to that about me that i enjoy.

it's been a while since i've worn a gorgeous hat. have you recently? i think it's time again...

this thursday, here in the states is the thanksgiving holiday. if you are celebrating, do have fun! if not, perhaps you're off in some gorgeous place somewhere else, then i celebrate you!

until soon...

oh, here are those words that tracked me down this mornin'

beginning to be

it is i who must begin...

once i begin, once i try

here and now,

right where i am,

not excusing myself

by saying that things

would be easier elsewhere,

without grand speeches and

ostentatious gestures,

but all the more persistently

to live in harmony

with the 'voice of being,' as i

understand it within myself

as soon as i begin that,

i suddenly discover,

to my surprise, that

i am neither the only one,

nor the first,

nor the most important one

to have set out

upon this road...

whether all is really lost

or not depends entirely on

whether or not i am lost...

vaclav havel

second chances

i've many strange things about me. i mentioned once before that sometimes when i wake up i like to play a game and imagine, where in the world would i like to be? i think very much that i've a bit of a wanderlust about me. these days i would love to visit paris for the beauty of it all. i want to be immersed in beauty; inspiring architecture, gorgeous scultpure and paintings, delicious tea and croissants, the scent of lovely french perfume... and fashion... don't get me started.

sometimes we write and we think the words are our own creations. we ourselves thought them up, they are our ideas. and they are, in a way. but in a way not. this morning when thinking of france i was browsing through un livre that i have titled a writer's paris. it was this passage that i found most appealing. it is called 'second chances.'

often quoted to make a point about american culture and character is F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous line 'there are no second acts in american lives.' in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. we are not done at twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty...; we have not ruined our chances by not writing for a decade; we have not precluded the possibility of a second act and a second chance by making even the worst mistake. alchoholics get sober, cowardly lions find courage, and with each new dawn, every writer gets a second chance as well...

in my opinion, this is true of most situations. and i suppose i stumbled upon this idea as i am dreaming of france this morning and wanting very much to improve my french and not only wanting to sip tea and taste croissants in paris... it surprisingly also has to do with me connecting to my heart's desires and wanting and planning and doing! to beginning again.

in university i failed a most dreaded course. when i'd bought the books the next year to repeat the class that had been restructured and taught by a brand new professor, i was a bit sad that i had failed the class before, though i tried my hardest. i sat there in the library with my new books as the new class was about to begin again. i remember so well a good friend and fellow student leaned in close to my ear and whispered... 'once more, with love.'

i always remember this when i am beginning again. dear reader if you are on track with that you wish, marvelous! and if not, let's begin again...

hope you have a sweetly inspired weekend!

image de anneinparis

a little sit down

last week was a tough week. nothing terrible, i'm happy to say, just enough to break my stride. it seems not only did i get the wind knocked out of my sails, also, i could'nt get things to align and flow. i felt stuck and frustrated.

today...

i feel as if i am dusting myself off and preparing to get back on the horse again. a good friend had a little sit down casually with me. gently she asked 'shall we have a glass of wine?' i nodded yes. she then adds 'shall we make it champagne?' even the thought of the bubbles are inspiring...

she asked me about my concerns, my hopes and desires. she mentioned how time is passing. and how, though my next move may not be perfect, it is important to begin again.

with a sense of awe, as i look back over the past few years, i not only marvel at time's ability to mend a broken heart, also, at its capacity to usher in wonder...

i marvel at how life can renew itself in the most precious and wondrous ways. as i am older and i hope wiser, i can see the beauty that is... especially if i take care. i like very much this notion of 'taking care.' there is so much that is precious to us... family and friends, our doings and hopes and desires. i like the idea of taking care of them. ...and the sweetness of friends helping us to take care as well.

...as i am ready to begin again.

image de maxinne marie

look what you have done

ladies do take a bow, you have helped me wee heart immensely in connection to yesterdays drama! merci beaucoup.

do tell… s’il vous plaît

dear friends, i've a question for you... have you any insight into the idea that some people can leave you feeling blessed and elated, while some, on the other hand leave you feeling as if all the air has been let out of your balloon, and you are not sure why?

this happens to me. i can leave the presence of someone and feel on top of the world. and the feeling i get from others is as if i have been hit by a thing, and all the wind has been knocked out of me. and i've got to spend some time putting the pieces of my heart back together.

when i look at the situations, i can't put my finger on a particular something, but i know i feel a certain way.

do tell if you have any insight, i'd be ever so appreciative...

image de kittypinkstar

don't try this at home...

though i should not have, i walked through central park the other day at nightime. have you ever done something and thought to yourself 'hope my mom never finds out'? just because you were raised to do and know better. ...but there i was on the edge of the eastside, the park was there and i needed to get to the westside. i didn't have the patience to walk around the park. so i held my breath and jumped in.

don't try this at home, but it was really magical. i followed two other women just to try to stay near other people.

i do know that hanging out in a park at night is not the smartest thing to do, and i'll try to not let it happen... often. that aside, it really was quite magical. all was calm and lighted in a magical sort of way. i took my time and enjoyed the walk as i was on my way to meet a friend for dinner...

hope there's some magic in your day today...

bliss

feeling a bit sentimental today. i'm over the moon about yesterdays election, joy and hope are my companions today. thanks so much for your good thoughts. enjoy this wonderful moment...

and too i marvel about the leaves that fell in the courtyard as i had tea and scones with malena today. stopped in at la maison francaise in greenwich village to get a program of their upcoming events, lots of philosophical goodies coming up. christmas is coming with all its glowy warm cosy lights... and cosy thoughts of persons we love.

just enjoying the moment as i hope you are too... if you pop in, do tell what cosy things you are thinking of these days...

bisous!

barack the vote

religion and politics are the 2 social taboos. bring 'em up and you could be in for a fight. but i must confess with the changes in washington about to happen, i feel like that moment in the film the wizard of oz when the munchkins wonder if the wicked witch is gone...

gone i hope, with whoever gets elected will be the practices that have wounded so many hearts, to be all too mild about it all. because how do we even begin to talk about the hearts that no longer beat...

these past years have left me at a loss. feeling like dorothy in oz, shocked, surprised and afraid of the horror of it all. and how to get out of this hell. (pardon my french)

and now comes a day, today, november fourth when we have a chance for change.

i do confess that i hope barack obama wins the nomination for the president of these united states. i confess that in my prayers i ask that the best and most loving gesture be made. sometimes i think it's best that he not be president, mostly because i want him to live and i want he and his family to be safe from all harm.

plus it's got to be a thankless job, this mess we're in. who would want it? president Bill Clinton lends hope when he shared that it is a wonderful opportunity for someone to step in and genuinely bring hope and change in a positive way.

lending a helping hand is a beautiful thing that i know we all can do for one another wherever we find ourselves. it really is a special thing and feeling to help in our own ways towards someone or something that needs a little assistance. i guess i'm a big fan of helping others simply because i have been on the receiving end of a loving glance and a hand held out to lend assistance. having had these experiences i try to lend a hand as best i can whenever i can.

i like when barack obama shares the idea that surely we can find common ground. i'll add to that the idea that we are more alike than unalike... sharing a journey at a shared moment in time... let's make it a good one...

at the time of this writing the voting is underway, at the end of the day the choosings will be counted and a new president will be chosen...

at the time of your reading, are the results in...

is there a new president elect...

is it President Barack Obama?

i'm closing my eyes and clicking my ruby red heels and... and please tell me it is so.