Book - It

I'm trying to sleep, really I am. But late at night for some usually annoying reason, I'm spun with creativity. It begs to be let out in any shape or form. And so I must adhere to the calling to blog. Lol.

I want to write about books. I absolutely love to read. It feels as necessary to me as breathing. I started reading early and was in a special program at school for those who had a high reading level. I looked forward to library class when we'd have stories read to us and I loved book fairs, book orders and that cheesy Book It program when the class who read the most books got a pizza party at the end.

Growing up, I'd usually read series such as The Boxcar Children, The Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley. I would read them so quickly that it was hard for me to wait til the next book was released. I'd often come to the dinner table head buried in a book or I'd get reprimanded in school because I'd have a book under my desk and be trying to read if we were watching a movie or learning something else.

As I entered my teen years, I became a big fan of magazines. I loved going to the mailbox and finding a fresh, new magazine waiting for me. I'd cut things out, make collages and hang them on my wall. Now I am very much into what I'll call 'learning books'. I have an endless hunger for knowledge and understanding and books have always been a great source of comfort for me. Whatever I am interested in, I seek further comprehension in books. I prefer books over TV because I feel more involved in the process of reading than I do of passively sitting and watching a show.

I also love bookstores. The thought of spending an evening at a Barnes and Noble or Borders is as exciting to me as some people might get about going to a theme park or a ball game. Being surrounded by books is like being in the middle of a limitless world of possibilities. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed if I can't decided what I want to read. I love to browse through the store and see what pops out at me and grabs my attention.

I feel that books are giagantic letters to the world, and I think it's a very special thing to be able to listen to someone's story because in doing so, you connect with the voice and soul of the writer. I aspire to write and publish a book one day. To me, that would be the ultimate accomplishment. Well maybe moreso if I knew people were actually buying it :-)

Oh, so back to the whole idea behind this blog entry (boy, I get carried away sometimes) I was just looking at my overflowing bookshelf and thinking how I'd like to have a library in my house. Just a whole room of books and comfy chairs with big pillows so people could just relax and curl up with a book if they wanted. I have so many books at my parents house, packed away in boxes. This thought makes me shudder. Their messages are not getting out there. I like the idea of passing on books when you are done with them but I also like to keep them as reference materials. The good thing about books is that you can pick them up again and again and get something different out of them every time.

So that's it really, hope you enjoyed my entry. If reading for pleasure isn't your cup of tea, leave me a comment and tell me what you like!

Poems

I've been meaning to blog but too much is going on right now. Here are three of my alltime favorite poems in the meantime. Much love,

Robin




Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

By Robert Frost

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

by Maya Angelou


Imagine A Woman In Love With Herself

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experiences and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her pain.
Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own Gods.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates her body's rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her precious life energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

Imagine yourself as this woman.

By: Patricia Lynn Riley

Wawa

I stumbled upon a link on one of my former schoolmate's facebook page that I thought was pretty neat: http://wawa2010.blogspot.com/

If you don't know what Wawa is, it's a convenience store/gas station chain that is primarily located in the northeastern U.S. I lived with Wawa my whole life and I often find it difficult to now live without it. The first thing I want to do when I go home is hit up Wawa. Philly pretzels and veggie hoagie, mmm!!!! What's so great about it you ask? Well I don't know if I could explain it, you'd just have to experience it! So these former classmates of mine are trying to visit every Wawa in existance while raising awareness about skin cancer and are apparently making the news in their quest. I think that is pretty random and fun.

Gottahava Wawa!!

In sadder news, I learned that two other former classmates of mine have recently passed, both deaths were the result of suicide. I was shocked to hear that these gorgeous, smart, talented, bubbley women who were so full of life could have found themselves in situations of such despair. It reminds me just how very important it is to be kind to people. You never know what someone may be dealing with and how you treat them can make a world of difference.

"I may be going broke, but I'm never broken down" - Less Than Jake

I've been reflecting and thinking how lucky I am to have the great network of friends I have. I have been fortunate enough to maintain close friendships with a handful of people from my childhood and now I have a new close-knit group of friends in Florida. In talking for over an hour on the phone tonight with my girlfriend Jen as we often did when we were kids, not having anything in particular to say but candidly joking, reminessing and sharing our thoughts, I realized how little things have changed despite our different paths in life.

"The road is never long to the house of a friend"

Escape

Where do you go to escape life's dramas? When the wear and tear of the day has gotten to you, when you've counseled each and every one of your friends and realize that no one is really better off; everyone is suffering with their own struggles and you're lamenting that your next therapist appointment is three days away because you've got more than enough to run through than the hour long period you'll get to spend. Where do you go? What soothes your soul?

I've been getting a fix lately finding videos on youtube that mix one of my favorite songs and some great scenes from a favorite movie or tv show. I don't have cable so I am not able to watch much TV but there are a few shows that I feel have perfectly described my being at a certain place in time. Two of those shows are Roswell and Grey's Anatomy. Roswell found me in college and I would go over my friend Jen's and we would watch episode after episode. It was fantastic. I took a strong interest in the sci-fi aspect of the plot. Shelly introduced me to Grey's Anatomy. I resisted at first but it's a mesmorizing drama that consumes you right from the pilot episode. I definitely wish I could wear scrubs to work. Here's a fan video from each. PS. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a hopeless romantic. Okay, let's change that to hopeful. It sounds better :-)

Healing You

My friend Shelly pointed out that I haven't blogged in awhile. She's right. I love how she stays on me about this stuff! Creatively speaking, I always have a lot that wants to come out. I actually colored tonight in a coloring book. It was a favorite childhood activity of mine and I felt comforted as I carefully chose the colors and colored in and outside the lines.

If you don't already know, I'm currently in the process of working on a master of arts degree in Holistic Wellness. I'm concentrating specifically on nutrition and healthy lifestyles which is a personal interest of mine. I started a little over a year ago and I'm just over halfway done. The program is offered through Clayton College of Natural Health (http://www.ccnh.edu)

Natural health is a non-traditional approach to illness that is becoming more and more accepted, recogized and brought into the mainstream. The realm of natural health includes chiropracters, accupuncturists, massage therapists, naturopaths, herbalists, nutrition consultants, yoga teachers and much more. At this point, I am not sure what my exact path will be but I do know that I am very passionate about what I am learning and I am excited and hopeful about the possiblity of making it a full-time career.

In one of my classes Wellness and Belief there is a lecture called Why People Don't Heal by Caroline Myss, P.H.D. I'd like to share some strong points she makes. She focuses on the links between personal power, illness, toxic connections to the past, and hidden blocks to wellness. Hopefully these excerpts make sense, since they are taken out of context:

On the dangers of holding onto your past:

"The phsycial body closes it's wounds up very quickly, doesn't it? Where would the body be if it kept a wound open for 20 years? Festering with Gangrene. We need to learn from this. I think every emotional wound deserves a period of grieving but you must be careful when you take that wound and turn it into a power to disempower yourself".

"Is it okay to talk about your past? Yes, but you can't keep leaving your spirit there to recreate the past".

"The point of meditation is to notice where your spirit goes when you aren't paying attention. What do you dwell on? Who are you thinking about? As you observe these things, you then need to learn to call your spirit back. It will be very stubborn at first".

"Instead of thinking you control your destiny or you create your reality (because that's a huge burden to hold) just say to yourself I am responsible for the quality of my journey. Not the places I go or the people I meet along the way but for the way I respond to them".

"We age because we live in the perception that 'if only I could understand why this happened, then I could move on and let go', and in doing so we leave a peice of our soul in every one of those experiences".

"It doesn't matter how much your mind knows. What matters is the journey between what your mind knows and forcing the rest of yourself to become congruent with it".

"Give up the past and the need to understand and control, give up blame, the need to be comfortable, to have an agenda and to control others".

"The best thing you can do is live one day at a time, keep your attention in present time. Have no expectations, make no judgements, and give up the need to know why things happen as they do. It's lethal and it's costing you your cell tissue".

With that, I bid you good night!