Spring Reflections

April 26, 2016

I'm awaiting my certification in TLA (Transformative Language Arts). I finished the course requirements and now completing the Volunteer Work requirement. I'm also awaiting my ad which will appear in May/June hopefully. I've started writing poems to pictures. I do this mainly on Instagram. It's fun and more spontaneous. I compose right online, and I've always loved doing that. I also write haiku poems on Twitter and I like that too. I've taken to writing stories, and I'm enjoying that very much. Also, I'm getting into my music and have started writing lyrics, which I'm finding, is its own writing genre, not just "poetry," but a distinct kind of writing. Also, I'm trying out writing music to them, so keep an eye out, I might post a song on this blog.

It was a mild winter, and I'm glad it's over. I can look ahead now to the beautiful weather and the lake at Hemlock, which brings me so much relaxation. I still am setting my intentions and making goals for myself, so I don't feel my life is stagnant and get discouraged. I think this is a good practice for everyone.

Happy Holidays! (December 21, 2015) Winter Solstice

Happy Holidays - Celebration of the Winter Solstice

The Seasons

October 25, 2015



This is an essay I wrote about the seasons. I do like them, in spite of my love/hate relationship with winter. I like the fast and complex northeast. It will always be my home. Here's an essay I wrote about the light/darkness. The seasons are directly related to light and dark. I wrote on this subject.because with all the frantic episodes of nature, it might be interesting and consoling to other people.


The lightness of love and the darkness of pain - this is my emotional experience of light and dark. The light enlightens, but the dark delves deeper below to bring us closer to truth. We definitely need a balance of them. As a child, I was told I had my days and nights mixed up. I would sleep all day and cry all night. This explains something about me I think. I struggle with varying degrees of light and darkness hoping to eventually bring balance within. Sometimes, I go to bed early, waking up in the dark before dawn and living in the beautiful silence and stillness of early morning before all the hustle and bustle of day arrives. I love this time. I find it both creative and spiritual. I associate it with blue, purple, green - the cool colors...the blue gloaming, the blue frost, purple darkness and the green of the moon.

The light, with all its everyday incidents that make up life is the substance I need for energy and observations. It is where I'm part of the world, instead of the stillness of the night. Its radiance brings continuing awe and wonder to my life coupled with all the love and affection I receive from other beings and the beautiful things they say and do. Here I live with the thick of life.

The bright yellow, red and orange - warm colors, revive me, take me to places and help me get things accomplished.

The peaks and valleys of moods also come to mind. I can feel happy like the sunshine, or sad in the darkness. But there's light in the blackness and darkness in the light. So I have my ups and downs, but eventually land on solid ground where everything is balanced and even.

The silence of night can be scary or beautiful. The hustle of day may be lively or aggravating.The summer oceans and tides, when I'm drifting on the surface of the water bring me peace, but so do the miraculous winter wonderlands.

The adage, "Variety is the spice of life," rings true to me, and I definitely have a relationship with the four seasons and light and dark. The light is definitely the heart and the dark is the deep soul. Both make up the wholeness of life.

The Practice of Life

This is something I really have known to be true.





There are great highs
There are troubled lows
Moments of bliss and happiness
Moments of grief and despair

What is to be said
in the practice of lie
There are peaks and valleys
They are dark and light

But whose life is perfect
so completely mapped out
That there are no traumas
No tears and no grief

Everything is just peachy
No problems at all
The great american dreamer
But what a total bore

We experience pain
to learn lessons in life
If we're not doing this
We're not growing and evolving

There has to be hard times
Where we're the downtrodden
Or else we're not present
in the experience of living

So let be said
The mystery of life
is to live it deeply and fully
and learn all that we can

And when it's over
Then we can say
we've lived it totally
Both the suffering and the joy

Summer Life

The summer with all it's activities are powering up my energy, but also depressing me at the same time. The reason: patience. There are so many things pending that I want to happen, and I'm afraid something will go wrong, that I worried myself into depression. I did yoga this morning and it seemed to help. I'll go out for a walk later. Exercise  seems to help. I got a chance to get away for a couple of weekends, but something about being a tense caregiver is true for me. You can never let go enough to let yourself relax. There's always a worry in back of your mind someplace. I'm taking courses, they're helping me keep my mind active, but I'm too distracted. I've got to slow down. Stare at the sun. Try to enjoy some moments in my life, because, life is much too short. I see it flying past me, and I've got to stop. Right now and live in the moment.

Developing My Writing Through Courses

April 27, 2015


I'm doing my TLAN certification and taking other writing courses. It's unbelievable how many people use writing and art to help themselves with problems, whether emotional or physical. I like to be right in there with them to write them some kind words. I'm taking classes with people all over the country, both for therapeutic and literary purposes. The courses are really great, I love them. Once I get that certificate, I'm going to do real things with writing and art. I've always done this, but now I'll have some credibility and meet some new people in the field. It's going to be the next higher tier to my accomplishments. I'm so happy about it!

TLAN Certification

March 22, 2015

I'm so excited. There's a new certification that's being offered by the TLA network (Transformative Language Arts Network). I've been accepted into the program and should finish it within the year.
This will give me the knowledge and background (and bio) to accomplish what I want to accomplish
with my writing. I'll know more about writing and poetry therapy, and I'll bring my other art forms into it too. (photography, harmonica, arts and crafts). I want to work with special needs kids, and I have experience in that, but there are so many other populations that I'd like to work with too. (veterans, elderly, mental health consumers, homosexuals, etc.). I never thought I'd ever get any credential for what I do, but this one is feasible and affordable and I already have part of it done. I'm really looking forward to getting this and helping people across the globe with their problems through writing and the arts.