Fire Sky Moon

Happiness is a choice, not a lucky streak.

- This Carman Girl

Creation

Imagine if we let go of other people's stories and allowed them to experience us for themselves? Imagine if we didn't formulate their response just so we could provide ourselves with damage control? Imagine if we let go of the need to be loved in the way we demand it and only ever returned love in full - generously, and for always? Give love; be love. No matter what. 

 

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Innocence

When my youngest son was a toddler, he came to me, pulling at his ears complaining that they hurt. With all the innocence of a child, he said, "I think I have ear compassion." The sweetness of his mistake poured into my heart at just how profound his declaration really was.

For all of our families, friends, loved ones - would that we could practice ear compassion rather than infection. Gentleness, love, allowance. The interpretation we're looking for is only ever returned by the grace or graceless manner of our own expectations and intent; if we want love and healing, then ear compassion is where it is. Oh, little Mister - beautiful! 

- This Carman Girl

Shadows of Kings

There are moments in our lives - sometimes days, hours, perhaps even weeks - when the things we grapple with most create a divide of loneliness, difficulty, angst and unease. Somber and deep, a heavy blanket of melancholy sets in even when there is possible resolution or direction. Unfulfilled wanting wells up within our hearts and sets its pace to a listless, irregular, thrumming beat of simple aching.

A few years ago, I had such a moment descend, felt tears behind my eyes and allowed my thoughts to drift toward settling for the old since the parameters of pain were ones I already knew. Fear of the unknown cliff and what would or would not happen, lay before me in the stark black stretch of evening as I drove in aimless direction. I felt compelled to visit a bookstore and would have laughed at how completely ridiculous it was since it could be little more than an internal ploy considering my unquenchable voracity for books. But more soberly, I found myself directed to one that I rarely frequented.

Lost in the contemplation of dreams, goals, wants, needs, desire and even thoughtful dissection of what had transpired in my life up until that point, I entered the store. As this one was set up entirely differently than my favorite location, I passed through sections and topics I wouldn't normally have seen. I fingered volumes and sifted through books about love, life, transition and release, and then found myself drawn to the section of biographies.

A stillness descended within my soul as my eyes took in numerous books dedicated to the telling of lives. Secrets, experiences, knowledge. Illness. Triumph. Greatness. War. Slavery. Art. There were so many. Volumes upon volumes of famous and little known people who graced our world and left their mark. And almost unwittingly, I fell into awe and reverence.

I considered different stories and looked at multitudes of people. I remembered with fondness, actors, newsmen, leaders, and authors who taught us more than we would think to teach ourselves. And then I realized with humbling clarity that I was surrounded by greatness. More than that, I was surrounded by ordinary people who with no more nor less opportunity than I, chose to leap beyond their own fears to reach with unfaltering grace for their highest potential. To dare to risk for the right of their own consequence.

I felt warmth, light, peace, presence. Their presence. As if thousands of voices were filling my soul with the experience of centuries and gifting me with the profound knowledge that every moment I, too, had opportunity to walk within my own greatness; that what separated them from me was choice. And what would merge my spirit with theirs would be lack of cowardice and the stalwart determination to freely accept new direction.

I marveled at how sweetly and tenderly my every need was met that night. Great care had been extended to me by an ever-loving, all-knowing Heavenly Father. I understood then more than I ever had, that those things we cling to can be let go and that change and transition are ours to take. That we are never alone.

I left lighter, freer, higher. A smile singing through my veins and an appreciation in tears that fell from my cheeks for the grace of those who chose to accept opportunity, and left this earth having not only fulfilled their own greatness, but left footprints and lessons so that we could walk within ours.  

 

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Gown of Glory

No one can imagine what lives inside any one of us. People can hear stories, trade rumors, and live off even the false perceptions of the ones in question. But at some point, the highs and lows and the unpredictable chaos of withering thought will be felt for what they are - unworthy of a child of God who was blessed with limitless potential and infinite worth. Then, and only then, will each come to a place that will challenge the theory, environment, and the social acceptance of being slightly less than; rising up fully and magnificently to walk in a confidence of stature that offers allowance, ease, and softness, dwelling in a well-spring of love that is sustained by a wealth of stunning, glorious happiness. To Live Joy and then pass it on to others.

- This Carman Girl

 

Nights in Inverness

When we truly love someone, we can't see for the breathing. We can't imagine sharing or seeking even light ego fulfillment from anyone else. All unconscious need to stand out, be seen or be validated finds awareness for what it is - a relative advertisement that we haven't yet committed to even ourselves and would rather struggle with empty. A faltering attempt to think that flattery might bring pseudo self-completion.

But real Love, the kind that steals your soul and takes your breath, it can't think past anything but the rewards and sanctity of being so connected that two would always be One, oblivious to all else. One spirit, one Love. One Lifetime. Forever taken. Having stared into the eyes of a soul mate where ego is not only forgotten, but recognizes with the intensity of eternity that flaws are merely insignificant shadows to be loved into light.

To have found and shared the depths of self in such binding power and exchange that all perceptions see only each other as we are now, enough - untainted from life, history or circumstance. Potent. Pure. Stature that is undaunted, unbound, unchanged. Fearless. A love forged in the fires of steel, melded together in a heated conflagration of mutual claim, trust and devotion. Hands locked. Focused. Smithing complete, refined through the growth of pounding dedication against an anvil in meticulous workmanship that would meet the duration of ages, centuries from now. Purpose united as laughter cools temperatures from the licking flames of desire into the lasting, lilting play of lovers brought together into life outside of longing. Popping sparks, jeweled glow.

Echos, shadows, smoke and scent - all witness to the journey taken, the profound Love in the moment and the sweet promises of memories yet to be made. Reflections of two dancing through time, giddy for experience, and eager to thrive upon the finished surface and honed strength of a tested metal. Equal, honorable. Exquisite inlays speaking of the bond as it is and yet plain and true for all to see.

Flinging wide the heavy wooden doors of disappointment to leave the cumbersome behind and step into the dawn of a new day. A new era. A new state of being - where flaunting joy and yielding to the blinding happiness of sharing vulnerability, finds a realm and world so intimate that it sustains in richness and glory a relationship that would. Welded together for always in loyalty, legacy and enduring union. Branding credence to the thought that nothing is difficult for the willing and everything is gained from Loving.

There is no One else.

- This Carman Girl

 

Chalkboards

We are more concerned with the education gaps between minority and socioeconomic structure, cycling needless data around in a poor attempt to process social advancement, then truly getting down to the simple business of teaching. Let our teachers teach. The power to excel lies in the stoked fires of imagination.

- This Carman Girl

Vacation

Contentment should not be mistaken for complacency. Contentment is a shrewd, open and a fluid state of being that can achieve all levels of personal success - spiritual, emotional and economic - because it sits within a clarity void of negative emotion. It can execute with precision and reap the rewards of being human with none of the guilt or fallout. Contentment can only operate from a foundation of happiness. Keys to success.

- This Carman Girl

Speed of Light

What I am feeling in this moment...

Blissful. Clean. So clean. Untethered in such a way as to never succumb to being reined in or cornered again - a yielding of control. A delicious embrace in rising to meet each unknown with anticipation, exuberance and allowance. Every day endowed with abundant blessings gifting opportunity, introspection, growth and vision. A future spoken into reality by the magnificent power of thought, word and deed - harnessed and released at will into the pulse of this life. Living expression, loving determination, and always limitless energy. 

I find myself absorbed in compassion, introspection, wisdom and understanding - basking in the bliss and satisfaction of sentient being. The ticking clock of mortal time falling way to things of so much more import; its rhythm and steady chime no longer pounding points of frenetic intent and anxious need. Softening. Quieting. A suspension of breath into the cognizance of now as sounds become sighs and connection after connection of eternal consequence slide deeper into the well of my center in all the ways that matter. 

I feel power and vitality, contentment in my own dominion. I am in such a way as to have released all fear. I am, because my truth is. And to live within truth means to also exist within enduring love - a love that disallows dissension and division as it entreats, thrives and dwells within harmony.

For truth evolves for everyone; it is a recognition of the grace and fruits of its timing and the knowledge that where we are, as we are and who we are, could not be more perfect than the moment we're in. And it is enough.

Truth flourishes where love is; and oh, to create that welcoming space so as to give nurturing for others to find their own purchase! To not be impatient in the process - to love, live, see and feel all of it. Now. To seek the myriad of colors and angles found when refraction from one might find similarity within another. To realize that we are all travelers alike, moving along waves of varying size but all the same frequency.

I am sated, replete. Unconfined. I am, in all the ways I never thought I could or would be. If I could change anything, it would be that I wouldn't require some of the painful catalysts that inevitably bring me to this side of my soul. That I am not compelled to see, but rather able to see.

Even so, this place I'm in... this place is Radiant. Give love; be love.

Love,

Becca

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Studio Lighting

I love photography. I'm bound by exquisite essays of human existence found in-depth for all to see in the black and white images of time and circumstance. I want to run my hands along the rich texture, nuance and vision that takes layer upon layer of life experience and captures them in compositions of poignant possession and raw abandon. 

It's behaviors and idealism suspended in fine-edged lines, shadowed suggestion and brilliant light. Varying grains of perspective, beseeching notice, petitioning all humans to broaden their lens to wide-angle amplitude. It's sight beyond narrow vision and an outlook of all-encompassing awareness in the spectrum of reciprocity.

Can you imagine the self-acceptance that would lend dark rooms better filters and finer processing? Can you imagine changes in perception, as what might have been found abstract, becomes universal recognition? Inimitable wonder. Joy. Pleasure. Happiness.

Sigh... that would be a still life of the world captured in Resonance.

 

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Thorns

There's always a hint of jealousy or fear behind every disdainful remark. I say, Don't give into either - Give love; be love. With each breath and thought, seek light, compassion, and allowance. Live joy and plant seeds among the weeds, for truly the green will indeed spring forth.

There is exquisite beauty waiting to be found - hope within every person - hope that may be buried under layers of disappointment or lack of the right nourishment. Any negativity is simply evidence of protective thorns developed from sadness and untruth. 

Hope is a living vibrant verb; it is rooted in emotion and developed in action yet always sustained by truth. Let all of its gifts inspire. See the green and let sweetness rain down to quench the dry and barren recesses of anyone who may need to see their worth enough to prune the pricks of fear and let go of discontent. Just do it. Lift, love, smile...

- This Carman Girl

 

Truth

Power lies in weakness; strength basks in humility.

- This Carman Girl

Antique Lace

Love is first. Always. Fear, worry and confusion can be so consuming as to drown out all evidence of light; and yet Love is ever constant, quiet, unassuming. It waits patiently to be discovered and then gently entreats us to receive its power by not only opening our eyes, but remembering to listen.

- This Carman Girl

Atom Eve

Those of us who continue to push ourselves to be better, faster, stronger - to overcome hurdles, create life and to give to full capacity - must take time to allow for the possibility that we are just human. And although every fiber within us thrives on passion, generosity, and a lust for life, we must remember to simply take time to be. Take time to feel. To cry. To nourish and give to self.  Recharge.    

 

We are powerhouses, recognized, looked up to, and needed as such. In that, there is great responsibility to remain so - not only because we can, but it is who we are and what we are meant to be. None of that can be sustained in endless energy unless we take the time to pull off the superhuman gloves once in a while to rest. After all, it is in the moments that we pause that the most active giving begins; it is where self meets silence so that wisdom can be heard, awareness finds insight, and rest sharpens our vision. But more than any of that, it teaches others that our needs are important and reminds us to receive.

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

 

Family

No one can steal our time unless it is time not well spent. Service has a purpose and its timing is generally never our own. Live to serve; serve to give; give to receive; receive to be. Infinite being. When we yield to the promptings that ask for our help - those in which we are often the least willing, it is then that we reap everlasting gifts beyond measure; it is then that we unwittingly exchange anxiety and irritation for rich fulfillment and mutual generosity. Time-keeping, thereafter, a consideration no more.

- This Carman Girl

Starburst

Love IS. It's a breathing, fluid fire to step into, make your own, cause to arc and channel into and through others. Love as you've never loved before. Sundays.

- This Carman Girl

Forever and Ever

A multitude of friends may fill missing pieces but they can also serve as a buffer against investing in what could be vulnerable, intimate connection for the long-term. Love the one you're with; do it with every fiber of your soul. The most important quality happy couples have is found in not ever having disagreements, but in remembering their love before their ego and being willing to match 100% to 100% with a ready "sorry" no matter what.  Life is Love. Appreciation goes a long way. So, don't lose out or perpetuate life on empty; risk and move forward full throttle. It's euphoria of another kind.

 

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

 

 

Ships in the Sky

Peter Pan says, "Girls talk too much." And think too much - analyze everything, and require undivided attention in conversation. Oh, to deal with woman. Smiles. Even so, I say:

There aren't enough Wendys in this world. After all, everyone needs a bit of a mother, tender kisses, a firm hand and the sweetness of hope. So, live in happiness and shamelessly exploit laughter. Be Alive. It is so good.


- This Carman Girl

Restoration Song

There was a rainstorm last week; it was so brief that it hardly lasted enough to quench the thirst of trees and landscapes so desperate for precipitation. Even so, the lightness of its pitter-patter and the joy in the damp had me springing for my camera, anxious to capture anything and everything I could that blossomed and bloomed. The house adjacent to ours had been put up for sale recently. One survey of the newly cleaned-up yard and some lovely lavender petals and I was on my way. I dashed across the road in my bare feet, the eagerness of childhood and the helter-skelter happiness of droplets splashing my face made me feel alive and willful. Silly even. Yet enough adult to look around to spy any neighbor who might see a ridiculous woman skipping down the street sans shoes.

I think of those blossoms, of the steps they grace and the state of the property as it had been before. I remember my surprise when a few months ago, cleaning vans arrived en masse in front of the house, the garage door decimated, and a giant dumpster overtook the driveway as men were seen going in and out, hauling boxes and apparently clearing out what obviously had been a place of such squalor it required them to wear masks. It made me feel as much curious as it did sick to my stomach.

Directly across from our home sits a property hidden by shrubs and a thicket of trees. It has been abandoned and empty for the last few years. Except for a few deer using it as an escape-way to safety (after feeding off of the plum tree at the end of our driveway), I've quite imagined it with the same forbidding fascination as Francis Hodgson Burnett's Mary when she chanced upon the Secret Garden. I've never ventured over, and save for a lone older gentleman who would drive up occasionally to view its condition, I have not gleaned anything further. This home as well, has recently been put up for sale. It, however, is advertised "as-is," no improvements made. The photos listed on a real estate site show a state of total disrepair, entirely forsaken - dejected, dismal walls forlornly staring down over heavily stained carpeting woefully in need of replacement.

I think of our home; I think of how much it has changed within the last few years. I think of losing the lawn and the absolute will-power it has been in reviving the front grass and the tenderness of care I feel it deserves to keep it beautiful and inviting. It has been my own ensign of hope, perseverance and a statement of intent within the difficulty. I think of how it has been - living in a state of unknowing for both of us as each of us have also dealt with physical issues (his more excruciating than mine - neck surgery - certainly nothing to be trifled with). I think of our no-holds-barred effort to reclaim the future and just "do it": To plant a garden, tend to living things; and in so doing, offer it, too, as a statement and proclamation of our own viability.

And then I think of restoration. And I think of what it entails: gratitude, care, belief, hope, action and the dogged pursuit of believing in and going after more. In that order. I believe that when any of us have been taken down by circumstances of heartbreak or hardship, these offer invitations to reexamine our worth, perspective, compassion, allowance, forgiveness, healing, wants, goals and attainment. In that order. And while there is always a danger of allowing distress and condition opportunity to be used as pseudo-blankets of safety - to wrap up self, heart and soul against the possibilities of further heartbreak, change, or fear - we don't have to. We can choose.

We can choose Restoration.

I watch people come and go out of both those homes. I wonder if they even pause to appreciate each structure the way I see them: The first, renovated entirely and standing tall with absolutely no evidence of what it had been before, waiting for the gift of a loving family to fill its walls with commitment and happiness. As for the lonely frame across the street, I wonder if it will be seized with the same power of purpose and morph into the glory it once must have known. Or I wonder if it will be bought and refurbished just enough to rent out to those of ilk who might just keep it in little more than stasis, underscoring its despondent condition.

And then I think of our own home. I think of the excited voices and boisterous laughter that rang out this morning when every single child but for the oldest boy, joined James and me in a game of fantasy, elves, arrows, goblins and imagination. I think of how this will most definitely become a Sunday staple of family fun added to the variety of other things we do in gratitude, care, belief, hope, action and the dogged pursuit of believing in and going after more. In that order. While circumstances have kept us sometimes wishing, I'm humbled to see our own restoration come in, miracles at a time.

I believe. I believe in restoration with a surety of my soul. I believe that every person, every condition, every circumstance, every structure, and every interaction has the ability to not only pass, but entirely become. More. A more that cannot be fathomed but for the belief and pursuit of it. In joy. In faith. In hope. I believe that those invitations to reexamine our worth, perspective, compassion, allowance, forgiveness, healing, wants, goals and attainment - in that order - provide for sustenance that stands for all time. In Joy. In Happiness. And in a never ceasing delight in things as they are as much as the anticipation of things as they can and will be. Contentment.

I say, Repaint Life.  

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Impetus

Perhaps it's time to write, compose, paint, build, capture on film or just kick off the shoes of "should" and go for the magic! Don't settle for second, an alternate career, or cave into safe. Leap and let go. It's renewal in the rain.  

What thought inspires action and when will life take you there? Don't wait until another rainstorm drenches the earth to remember its intoxicating, invigorating scent of growth and creation. Don't remain in ponder and want; live your gifts and share them with the world.

- This Carman Girl

 

Cosmos

I was reminded of the wisdom given to me through the rites of passage of a twelve-year-old; a blessing, if you will, for my personal lifetime. I was counseled to avoid idleness and unimportant activities, to seek leisure and happiness, but to also use my time wisely. And I think of it often as I gather knowledge day in and day out, explore the inside of my soul and express this joy and share it with others. I am especially reminded as I feel some kind of internal meter that urges me to speed up my processes, sidestep and move ahead; to abandon all negativity and engage in the kind of living that would reach out to others and beckon them to feel the same. And I think of a recent conversation in the middle of the night of shared epiphany and mutual exchange: The news of a woman, a mother so-very-young, just diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. Abruptly. Shockingly. A stark and unshakable reality.

I had always thought that the wisdom given in my youth meant that I couldn't hang out overly long with my friends; that I'd have to throw away my bubble gum and not get to play the Intellivision more than parental limits allowed. And as I moved into early adulthood, I recognized that if I had extra time on my hands, it only served to feed my emotional angst, fueling the eating disorders and crippling issues that surrounded my early struggles for identity.

Of late, as I have walked fully within the now, basking in wholeness, light, laughter and a realm of happiness too large to confine my spirit, I have thought in humorous respect, that it might suggest and issue statement for the length of time I spend on the social network. Smiles. Even still, as this internal clock seems to propel me farther and my eternal perspective begins to overshadow my physical blinders, I hear these stories of life cut short, and the counsel of so long ago slides deeply into the center of my spirit in steady, steel awareness. Somber, yet important. Neither sad, but all the more entreating.

For each of us were blessed to grace this earth with individual gifts, experiences, and choices that would offer up the potential to move us into all that we already are, so that we might step into the power that would build legacy and shape the outlook of generations to come. Some of us have put it off far too long, having been seduced by the prevalence of negativity in others or the fear and esteem of what the world might think.

And I ponder that very thought. We have been so concerned with being enough that we continue to breed generations of anxious, depressed and searching people - it is all of our own making. When we accept the deceit of our small selves, we consign others to it. It is unpopular to find and exercise wholeness in environments which recognize only intimidation, jealousy and silence. We have not taught, nurtured or nourished the idea that each of us is magnificent and unique - or that it is, in fact, insecurity, vice and imperfection that offer catalysts for not only change, but the acceptance and love for ourselves and others. An emancipation of self brought on by the transparency of vulnerability.

And as much as there are countless books advocating, teaching, sharing messages of wholeness and light, it is still ill-considered to bask in it and live large for fear of offending a neighbor, or appearing too self-absorbed. So we remain nations of smallness, sharing backdoor angst instead of promoting the sacred selves of each other. And I wonder what it would take for those of us who have gotten it to be able to supersede the old messages, encourage triumph and spread a tidal wave of gladness and joy. Yes, those of us who have stared down the depths of our most personal hell, and had everything finally click into place in the middle of the shattered dark - to have landed so hard at the bottom that nothing less than truth and happiness could ever sustain us thereafter.

To want only to bask in collective Love...

And so I think of this mother who has children not quite out of high school, who, like so many others who have been given the verdict of their impending mortality, and what it must be for her to find closure and peace. She is compelled to take stock of her life as we may continue to choose to live in ignorance, procrastination and the hollow promises of tomorrow's tomorrow. And then I feel it even more strongly than before, that if we are here to fulfill our own personal gifts, that we must not waste one moment. That all that we are, all that we can give, and all that we must learn, must be actively engaged in service and gratitude. To fully implement stepping out of "me" to walk within the being that implores us to move into another space of living entirely.

I don't pretend to think or make some clandestine declaration of my own life span, nor my own influence or whether it is of necessary import; but I do know that truth remains and wisdom is its advocate. And so I take another deep breath, laughing ruefully, as I suppose that Carman girls should probably find less intense avenues of being. Nevertheless, I cannot help this never-half, always full-throttle sort of attitude. I seem to down shot glasses filled with equal portions of potency, fierceness and perseverance. And sometimes when I'm midway through a cause, I often find myself facing the very humbling, often mortifying merits of temperance as well. And poking fun at myself, I ask - How does one contain a woman who doesn't know how to prepare for a party with anything less than enough food to throw humanity into total overload?

Never enough giving, but always replete...

Yes, a reminder that it is up to us to manage every precious moment of this living experience, and to gift ourselves with the grace and the process to be all that we are. For it is in gifting to ourselves that we deliver limitless love.

Heaven on Earth...

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

Laugh Always

Be crazy and fun, irreverent and silly. Drink in delicious idiocy and laugh more. Laughter leads to romance, a form of foreplay, a bandaid for scars and a tonic for sorrow. It feeds discussion, punctuates celebrations and fuels love. Laughter is infectious and cannot be brought down. Laughter creates common ground and allows even the most driven of us, moments of childhood indulgence.

LOVE THIS LIFE YOU LIVE. XO.

- This Carman Girl

 

 

 

 

 

Myths and Heroes

Self-preservation kicks in on the brutal burn of a dry, painful throat, threatening tears and the unwelcome sense that setback could conquer yet again. It's the self-preservation that breathes in ragged whispers of drowning agony but moves through the torment, numb almost. Scarred, wounded, but ignoring the spasms of throbbing, aching emotion just for the moving. Just for the forward motion to be anywhere but buried alive in helplessness.

Self checks into auto-pilot, fingers running along the edges of familiar, abysmal territory. Flipping the switch of the internal motor still warm and heated from the friction of want, electricity and the vestiges of what had been hope. Lights flashing on as the machine that would give solace in pounding, physical energy, fuels the thoughts which would spur action - daring, telling, firing the bullets of determination; re-building walls and bent thereafter on shoring up the power to never to be scorched again.

Single-minded purpose closes out all else in a tunnel vision bent solely on survival, protection and the resolute, unwavering power of oblivion. No more conscious feeling. Back into the pursuit of unbreakable being; an untouchable fortress wherein no person or circumstance could breach, raise, or abandon one more time. Roaring calm. The machine balks under the gate of strides that become longer and faster, sweat running, dripping and mingling with tears in blinding frustration and yet demanding absolution and resilience.

Cannot lose. Will not lose. No pain. No pain. No pain. Running, running, running. The flexing of muscles and mind breathing in and forcing the beat of all yearning into complete and total submission, until the end of the session is marked by rapid breath and total exhaustion. It is over. It is enough. She has released the fury, the fear, the anxiety and the need to control all of it.

Bled dry but all the better for it.

Emotion burned up in the fuel of activity, fostering stubborn certitude, while fractured particles of spirit mix in the blackened dust of the running belt, left far behind in the cumulative distance of blinking numbers on a display screen of stationary traction. Illuminating almost what could be the comic hilarity of a human treadmill and the cycles of worry, failure, consequence and pain.

Knowing even still...

That she will rise another day because heritage and courage demand it and will not relent or accept anything less than continuing on doggedly through. Defeat, perhaps. But not defining. Even if she will never be the same.

Because she is better. So much better. Powerful. Wise. Seeing. Sightless, but clear all the same.

For in her heart she knows with a surety; she knows no obstacles, no threats, no vices, no darkness, and will not ever entertain conversations filled with can't. She will, because she was born to. And whether life winds in the manner she expects or changes on a dime in inexplicable surprise, she will greet it with a zest and verve, hope and rebellious passion. For it isn't in the trying; it isn't in will-power; it isn't in the stops and starts, the disappointments or successes. It isn't in taking a deeper breath and re-launching. No, after one last play with the fires of expectation and denial, she gets it.

She has let go and let God. Finally. And it is beautiful.

XO,
Becca

- Living Joy - This Carman Girl

Bird on a Wire

This world trains us to think in terms of "losing" - lose weight, lose symptoms, lose debt, lose baggage. Yet we should reject even the consideration of the negative and reprogram our minds to the thought of building: Build healthy cells, build peace, build talent, build relationships, build success. Building is long-term and sustaining. Thinking that we must "lose" means we're not emotionally ready to succeed. The idea of losing and its deference to underlying criticism only serves to substantiate our varying degrees of stasis, therefore further enabling familiar cycles of self-defeat. It blinds us from viable avenues of well-being and innate worthiness. There is no need to offer one whit of attention to the negative since the positive is there waiting to be noticed, waiting to reset our minds so that our actions find actualization in the perfect miracle of God's perception. In all our deeds, we are either actively coping or tending to creating. And whether we have landed, flown to a better perch, or are not quite ready to soar in the sky, hope glides and it carries with it inevitable seasons of change. Creation lives and its pulse is inescapable. Do it. Be it. Live it. Love it.

- This Carman Girl