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Labels and classifications make it appear that we know the other, when actually, we have caught the shadow and not the substance. Since we are convinced we know ourselves and others... [we] no longer actually see what is happening before us and in us, and not knowing that we do not know, we make no efforts to be in contact with the real. We continue to use lables to stereotype ourselves and others, and those labels have replaced human meaning, unique feelings and growing life within and between persons. - Clark Moustakas, as quoted in People Skills by Robert Bolton, Ph.D
- Clark Moustakas, as quoted in People Skills by Robert Bolton, Ph.D
Northwest Shore by Ellen O. Nelson
View more of her work here.
What is the Greatest Gift? What is the greatest gift? Could it be the world itself—the oceans, the meadowlark, the patience of the trees in the wind? Could it be love, with its sweet clamor of passion? Something else—something else entirely holds me in thrall. That you have a life that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. That you have a life—courteous and intelligent—that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. That you have a soul—your own, no one else's—that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. So that I find my soul clapping its hands for yours more than my own. Mary Oliver, from Red Bird: Poems published by Beacon Press http://www.beacon.org/
What is the Greatest Gift?
What is the greatest gift? Could it be the world itself—the oceans, the meadowlark, the patience of the trees in the wind? Could it be love, with its sweet clamor of passion? Something else—something else entirely holds me in thrall. That you have a life that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. That you have a life—courteous and intelligent—that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. That you have a soul—your own, no one else's—that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own. So that I find my soul clapping its hands for yours more than my own.
Mary Oliver, from Red Bird: Poems published by Beacon Press http://www.beacon.org/
Dear Fellow Travelers, A few months ago, my partner Todd asked me to go to his 30th high school reunion in his hometown of Watertown, New York. Without hesitation I said, “Yes, of course,” imagining how much I would learn. The process of “knowing” someone else has no end, making it the most interesting and mysterious journey that I know. How could I miss this opportunity to see more of my man revealed? And me? I would be on the outside, a stranger to the crowd. What will I learn by having to hang back and just be the observer? The first night was challenging: loud music prevented me from hearing the sweet words of reunion, new nervous faces appeared at quick intervals, and energy was strung high. But on the second night the music was softer and so were people's faces. As I watched the many conversations around the room I saw years fall away. After dinner I slipped outside onto the side porch for air and found a group gathered for a photo. It took me a while to understand that all sorts of groups were forming—simply because they wanted to capture the evening. I became the unofficial photographer. With group after group, I peered at all the happiness through the many small cameras handed to me. Faces glowing. Arms interlaced, everyone laughing and talking at once. Todd appeared next to me and as we both gazed at the group I said, “For this one night everyone has left behind their daily chores, mortgages, their bills, their worries and their fears. Look at their beautiful faces! This reconnection has allowed their very essence to shine through.” Todd squeezed my hand and said, “Yes. Indeed. So beautiful.” Tears filled our eyes.
For the rest of the evening I wandered around and saw the same glow of essence in people's faces again and again. I bathed in it.
It is my greatest joy to see the beauty of a human being rise above the layers of protection, posturing and fear. This beauty transcends wrinkles, fashions and fitness. It wipes out old grudges and prejudice. As we grow older we are faced with important choices: whether to be more courageously openhearted and expectant of connection or shut down and certain that new connections and growth are for the young; to be certain that you know all there is to know about the people closest to you or open to their constant unfolding. Can you decide to not know the outcome? Can you reach across old burned out bridges to say hello again to discarded loves? As we age we have less to lose. There is no time to waste. Reach out. Take risks. Reveal your beauty and inspire it in others. Blessings and love to you on your journey, Annie O’Shaughnessy
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NEW Reconnecting With Our Wild Souls Retreat in Lyons Michigan October 22 -25th ($250 per person for 3 days)
After a year's sabbatical I am very happy and excited to announce I will be leading a weekend retreat October 22 - 25th in Lyons Michigan at the beautiful Leaven Retreat Center. I am equally happy to announce that this three-night retreat is only $250 per person. Please join me and 14 other kindred souls for a weekend of inspiration, reconnection with self and nature, rest, and community. Please visit here to learn more about Reconnecting with Our Wild Souls retreats
And visit here to register.
One participant's feedback:
At the time I attended Annie's Wild Soul Workshop in Maryland, I felt adequate in my life, but not inspired. I wanted to be more authentic, thinking that knowing myself better would help me value myself more. Many wonderful people and things came together for me at that workshop, but the most important was on the last day when I danced (I am not a dancer!) to express my pain and my joy. Anne's unabashed openness about her own misgivings and pain, as well as her unconditional love for herself and others, inspired me to open up in ways I had never imagined possible. Slowly but surely—since that day—I have found deep inspirations that I never knew existed. - Diane Snyder To read more feedback visit here. This Month's Artist: Ellen O. Nelson
At the time I attended Annie's Wild Soul Workshop in Maryland, I felt adequate in my life, but not inspired. I wanted to be more authentic, thinking that knowing myself better would help me value myself more. Many wonderful people and things came together for me at that workshop, but the most important was on the last day when I danced (I am not a dancer!) to express my pain and my joy. Anne's unabashed openness about her own misgivings and pain, as well as her unconditional love for herself and others, inspired me to open up in ways I had never imagined possible. Slowly but surely—since that day—I have found deep inspirations that I never knew existed. - Diane Snyder To read more feedback visit here.
This Month's Artist: Ellen O. Nelson
Ellen is one of my three sisters—an art teacher at the Hill School in Pennsylvania. As a child, I recall being in awe of my big sister's creativity. Her room reflected a flare and color I envied. It is a great honor to present some of her work on the Soul Flares website and here in this e-newsletter. If you would like to purchase any of her work as prints or cards please email me at annie@soulflares.org.
Visit here to view her work.
More to Read: Summer of Lounge - Reflections on the Importance of Being Lazy
Our local paper, Seven Days, is quite unusual, offering offbeat news and thought-provoking articles. Here is one called the Summer of Lounge that I really enjoyed. I believe that we all move too fast and are trying to move faster all the time. In this articles a variety of writers respond to the idea of the importance of being lazy. Here is one:
Sweet Nothings I have to get a lot done before I can do nothing. Because if my nothing is going to be successful, then there has to be nothing left to do. The house has to be cleaned. The bills have to be paid. All the books at my bedside have to be read. My own books will have to be published. My son will have to be in college. And my husband will have to take a vow of silence. I guess my whole life is about preparing for the big chance to do nothing one day. Sometimes I see the nothing out there, and hear it calling me. I resist it because I am scared of nothing. “Come lay on a hammock,” it says softly some afternoons. “I will have to buy a hammock first!” I yell back. I know the nothing gets agitated when I don’t acquiesce. “Come into a six-foot-deep hole,” it says loudly in the middle of the night, “where you can do nothing forevermore.” “I have more to do,” I whisper. “Be quiet, nothing. Be quiet.” The closest I get to nothing is on the rare occasion when I am at home alone on a rainy morning and there is only one thing left to do. My husband has taken my son to preschool. The house is clean enough. The bills are stamped. The books at my bedside are all works in progress, as are my own novels. There is no sound to disturb me until the nothing utters a guttural plea. And on these occasions, I comply. “Come.” Nancy Stearns Bercaw Nancy Stearns Bercaw is assistant to the dean of Libraries and Learning Resources at UVM and lives in South Burlington. She also is a writer, and likes to make something out of nothing.
Sweet Nothings I have to get a lot done before I can do nothing. Because if my nothing is going to be successful, then there has to be nothing left to do. The house has to be cleaned. The bills have to be paid. All the books at my bedside have to be read. My own books will have to be published. My son will have to be in college. And my husband will have to take a vow of silence. I guess my whole life is about preparing for the big chance to do nothing one day. Sometimes I see the nothing out there, and hear it calling me. I resist it because I am scared of nothing. “Come lay on a hammock,” it says softly some afternoons. “I will have to buy a hammock first!” I yell back. I know the nothing gets agitated when I don’t acquiesce. “Come into a six-foot-deep hole,” it says loudly in the middle of the night, “where you can do nothing forevermore.” “I have more to do,” I whisper. “Be quiet, nothing. Be quiet.” The closest I get to nothing is on the rare occasion when I am at home alone on a rainy morning and there is only one thing left to do. My husband has taken my son to preschool. The house is clean enough. The bills are stamped. The books at my bedside are all works in progress, as are my own novels. There is no sound to disturb me until the nothing utters a guttural plea. And on these occasions, I comply. “Come.”
Nancy Stearns Bercaw Nancy Stearns Bercaw is assistant to the dean of Libraries and Learning Resources at UVM and lives in South Burlington. She also is a writer, and likes to make something out of nothing.
Call for Artists:
I am back in the business of actively promoting the work of nature artists. Please email me (annie@soulflares.org )with recommendations of your own work or others to be included in this enewsletter. A few requests:
• Please review the art in past issues to get a feel for the general type of art featured. • Only high quality photos or scans of art can be considered for publication here (at least 600 pixels at its widest measurement). • Please provide contact information (ideally, a web page) for the artist and gain permission for Soul Flares to feature their work.
Help me plan more Reconnecting With Our Wild Souls Retreats:
Now that I am unable to work full-time on Soul Flares, I need your help coordinating workshops. Now that I am teaching I have more vacation time to travel. Please consider managing a workshop in exchange for the program fee. Managing involves finding a suitable location, gathering all the necessary information and working out traveling logistics etc. If you are interested please visit here for more information on what kind of location is needed.
Come Visit Vermont
Vermont is a beautiful destination and I have a small apartment that is available for a few nights use here and there for friends of Soul Flares. I spend part time there with my kids and part time at my partner's house so it is available quite a lot. Small d Reader visit here.
If this collection adds something to your life, consider making a donation to Soul Flares by visiting here.
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Inspiration - Essays, Excerpts to Inspire
Community - Read the words of other seekers
Beauty Creators - Meet 13 creative people and view the beauty they offer
Tools for the Journey - Healers, Workshops, Coaches to help you on the path.
Visit Heron Dance, the organization that helped me to discover my purpose and where Rod continues to offer beautiful watercolors, notecards, and books.
Soul Flares is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by writer and workshop facilitator Annie O’Shaughnessy, dedicated to providing beauty, inspiration, support, and community for people trying to live a soulful, creative life in harmony with nature and all beings. Through Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of Love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, humanity will have discovered Fire. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
We stand at an evolutionary juncture, called to awaken to a new kind of Love. The Love is not a feeling; it is a great power. Awakening to this radically different Love may be gradual or it may come in a flash—an explosion that rocks you to your core. Either way, it will shatter your perception of who you think you are. The power of Love initiates a complete change of mind—the fundamental transformation that Teilhard de Chardin calls Fire for the second time.
Anne's influence on my relationships is paralleled by her support of my writing. When I started to write for Heron Dance I did not consider myself a writer. Every time I wrote well, Anne would respond with encouragement. One day she wrote the words I will not forget: You are a writer. Anne is a remarkable human who has touched my life in countless ways. Thank you Anne. I love you.
To purchase a copy of Awakening the Energies of Love visit here.
Words for Wild Souls
A Free Downloadable “Book” by Annie O’Shaughnessy
Over the years that I have led Reconnecting with Our Wild Souls retreats I have collected many poems, essays, and excerpts for their inspiration and beauty. Now, I have put them all together in 55-page book alongside some simple paintings of Rod MacIver’s and my own. What’s resulted is nourishment for the soul. Now I would like to offer it to all of you.
Visit here to download a pdf of this book. If you don’t have Acrobat Reader visit here.
Soul Flares is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded by writer and workshop facilitator Annie O’Shaughnessy, dedicated to providing beauty, inspiration, support, and community for people trying to live a soulful, creative life in harmony with nature and all beings. Through art, workshops, bi-weekly e-newsletter, and an online community, Soul Flares will provide light for seekers on the path.
This product was added to our catalog on Monday 27 July, 2009.
