Sandalwood and oak
Rich spice and damp earth
Earthy sweet tobacco and the bite of wood smoke
Oak-aged whiskey and deeply rich vanilla
Sharp pine and spring rain
Antiseptic eucalyptus
Sweet mint
Woody black peppercorns
And the warm spiciness of cloves
These are the smells of wild and seductive souls
Dancing in overgrown gardens
Gowned in moonlight
Jeweled in dew
Breathing each other in
Trading flavored kisses
Mingling and merging
To become something new
A unique, delightful discovery
Of wild alchemy leaving its memory
Scenting the air with the perfume
Of love and magic
- gws
Knocked off my feet
Tumbled and tossed
Disoriented
Lost
Struggling
Fighting
Failing
Unable to know up from down
Gasping and desperate
Threatened
Panicked
Scared
*relax*
*float*
*you can ALWAYS float*
I still myself
Relax
Trust
Know
And begin to ascend
Freed from the struggle that was threatening me
And distracting me from remembering my power
Surrendering to acceptance isn't giving up or in
It's accepting that it's okay to let go of the fight
If it allows you to care for yourself
It's having faith that divinity will help you with
Rest of the heavy lifting
Be present
Be peaceful
Be silent
Be gentle
Be...
Just Be
And the rest will work itself out
-gws
Given gifts of joy
Being fully seated in the body
Experiencing full presence
Lingering moments of stillness
Rooted in sense memory
Reminding me how to be fully whole
Fusing me to the earth and heaven
In the space between breaths
Leaving me in profound and
All-encompassing gratitude for being alive
-gws
You grabbed me in the airport souvenir shop and took me home
You needed me because you were leaving her behind
Leaving her to her new life
New adventure in a
New state
Without you
The distance was large and though I am small
I am a place holder for a love that is larger than time and space
You need my fluff to represent her hugs
You knew she wasn't really leaving you
It was just time for her to start a new chapter in her life
You were used to being the one to go adventuring knowing she was
Always there to return to
She was always home
Both a person and a place
And now the place was changing
And you could no longer just show up on her door when you need her
When you are sad or missing her, you have me
I am the recipient of her hugs and her love
When you need more than her voice on the telephone
You imbued me with magic that flows from your love for her
And her unconditional love for you
I am the quiet but cuddly representation of the love
Shared by a mother and daughter
Separated by distance
But not by heart
-gws
A full circle 'round the sun
And we're still doing this thing
Trying to fit square pegs into round holes
Trying to maintain a sense of normal
When normal died an agonizing, public death last year
Keeping small children indoors, on screens, for a year
Taxes sanity for every family member
The kids are stir crazy and so am I
I’ve been able to see them all day, everyday for a year
See their growth physically and emotionally
Guide them more than I would have been able to before
I have also watched us all struggle to focus on school
With two-dimensional teachers trying to illustrate a 3-D world
On screens where glitches are common and staying attentive is taxing
Where friends aren’t friends, and discipline a suggestion
How will the kids remember these times
Will they see it as a blessing or a loss
How will they tell their own tales of this lost year
Will they consider the year a loss at all
Or the time they got to spend everyday with each other
And their parents
Only time will tell
Soon we will emerge again into a new and changed world
We will learn to navigate
We will learn a new version of normal
Though I am exhausted beyond reason
I am grateful for this year with my children
I know I haven’t always been my best nor have they
But we’re all, relatively, unscathed in the grand scheme
As the weeks of school dwindle down,
The weather warms and the days lengthen
We work for the finish line where we will celebrate that we all survived
This extraordinary year as a family and weigh our success by our efforts
And not our results
-gws
Today I wake and remember
I am enough.
I strive to live honestly
And with integrity as I walk in my truth
Embracing all of my imperfections because
I am enough.
When storms rage and tempers rise
I will place a hand on my heart and
Breathe into my belly remembering
I am enough.
When I judge myself harshly
When I feel like I failed myself or others
I forgive myself and remember
I am enough.
I will end my day in gratitude for all I have experienced
All I have learned from those experiences
I will lay my head down at the end of the day
And whisper into the dark
I am enough.
-gws
I want to keep my inner temple door open
I want to access its halls
Its richness and warmth
Its flickering torches
Its cool wellspring whispering soft and constant reminders
That I am connected to the lifeblood of all things
This is where my alchemical magic lives
Where all versions of myself dance to the rhythm of starlight and moonsong
In this sacred place I AM
In this safest place I CAN BE
I want for nothing
I lack nothing
I am the entanglement of sunshine and shadow
I am perfect harmony
I am radiant beauty as I exalt my truest self in this place where only divinity touches
The breath guides me here, and will return me again
When I have need to touch love
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 