Write to Remain: A New Day

Saturday, October 3, 2009

A New Day

Welcome to the Write to Remain. I chose what seems to be a fragment of a title simply because of the deep meaning these words hold for me. I'm here because I love the written word; I love reading it, I love writing it, and I love what it offers.....a sense of permanence and presence. I have also learned over the years that when I write, I find I remain more at peace, I remain more hopeful, and I remain more centered....with the world and with myself. Finding the time to write, however, is not always easy in this fast-paced, non-stop reality we live in. My hope is that by creating this site, I will be inspired to put pen to paper daily, that I will hold this place and time sacred...to write...and to remain.

I'm glad you decided to drop in. Please stay as long as you would like, come back as often as you can. I plan on being here. There has been much floating around inside my head that for years I have longed to put down on paper. Believe me when I say I have plenty of material to work with. All that I ask is that you be patient with me. I'm new at this. To be honest, just a few months ago I had never even ever visited a blog site. Now I'm trying to create one of my own. But with encouraging words from some old friends and from some new acquaintances, I'm ready to give this a try. You should know, however, that I'm not used to doing this....putting my unedited writings out there for the world to see. I'm literally (ok, figuratively) taking my "blogging wings" out of the box for the very first time. I'm not exactly sure how to put them on, nor am I sure how well they'll work once I do. But I know I'm ready to find out. So hang on, as I push myself off the edge to see if I can really fly.

One of the first stories I hope to share with you is the "Write of Passage Journey" I took with my daughter Cote, this past summer. She and I spent 14 days in August traveling to the west coast and back, driving highways, byways, and deserted country roads. It was to be her Rite of Passage into womanhood before leaving for college this fall. But in so many ways, it was a time of growth and self-discovery for the both of us. I journaled the entire experience....everything from our accomplishments and disappointments, to our highest hopes and deepest fears. From climbing trees in Oregon to sleeping in our car inside of Yellowstone. You'll be able to read all about it if you decide to come back and visit, which I truly hope you do.

So, I guess this is it. It's a new day.....there's a slight breeze beginning to stir the air. It's time.....time to stretch those wings, step off that edge of security, and see if I have what it takes to fly...........

3 comments:

UnknownOctober 9, 2009 at 6:42 AM
This site is so relaxing and so full of life. Can't wait to see and read what is to come. Kudos to you as you spread those wings!!
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loraOctober 10, 2009 at 4:14 PM
good job! blogs are a lot of work, i spent hours creating mine. keeping up on the posts is even harder. keep going!
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ChristopherOctober 22, 2009 at 11:51 AM
Way to go! Have fun! Have fun! Have fun!
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Powerful Words

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable. ~Kahlil Gibran

Words to Share:

And I Want to Live

And laugh, and love, and think, and hope, and question, and travel, and find, and seek, and pray, and cry, and believe, and enjoy life.
I want to be Brave and Go.
I want to find Love; in people and animals and nature and trees and myself.
I want to be Happy, but not by anyone else's standards but my own.
I want to find Me, but get terribly and utterly Lost along the Way.
And chase what makes me tick, what inspires me, what challenges me, and go forth in the Belief that I can
Leave my fears, broaden my trust and strength within.
I want to Begin. ~ Hannah Witt, July, 2012

One drop can make all the difference--be it of rain or tear or sweat.
One drop can start a flood to raging, or mend a hurting heart, or baptize a soul to new life.

One drop can be what fills the river and pushes it to the waiting sea.

One drop can wash away the pain and let you know you're not alone.

One drop can cause the ripple inside your heart, that will expand and spread, till it finds the courage hidden deep within.

One drop...can make all the difference.

~Jolene, 7/31/12

"It's good to stop the noise you are making as you move through the world--simply by stopping. When I do, that is when I hear the dry leaves fluttering in the trees overhead, the short jack-hammering of the woodpecker hunting for his dinner, and the beating of my own searching heart. When I stop, my eyes are drawn to the squirrels balance-beaming on branches and the sunlight that dances upon the leaves. It is when I stop, that I become part of nature and not just a traveler passing through."
~Jolene, 2012

"What is a friend? A friend is a reminder that you are never alone. A good friend will hold your hand when you're lost, or scared, or overwhelmed by the weight of the world. They will brush a tear away when you're sad, or drop one of their own, wishing they could ease your sorrow. A good friend will laugh with you, forgive you, and love you no matter what. They will help pull the stubborn weeds from your life, and then stand beside you, as together you watch the good stuff grow." ~Jolene, July 16, 2011, 3:30 a.m.

"Why do I write?......I write because I have kept my mouth shut all my life and the secret ego truth is I want to live eternally and I want my people to live forever......I write because there are stories that people have forgotten to tell, because I am a woman trying to stand up in my life. I write because to form a word with your lips and tongue or think a thing and then dare to write it down so that you can never take it back is the most powerful thing I know. I am trying to come alive, to find the distances in my own recesses and bring them forward and give them color and form." ~Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

"I have learned a lot from trees: sometimes about the weather, sometimes about animals, sometimes about the Great Spirit."

~Walking Buffalo

"The trail has taught me much. I know now the varied voices of the coyote--the wizard of the mesa. I know the solemn call of herons and the mocking cry of the loon. I remember a hundred lovely lakes and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees....It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day."
~Writer Hamlin Garland

"If you're not living on the edge,

you're taking up too much space."

~Jenny, CA

Words From the Road:

"We Belong to the light, We Belong to the thunder,

We Belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen under,

Whatever we deny or embrace, for worse or for better,

We Belong, We Belong

We Belong together." ~ lyrics from "We Belong" by Pat Benatar, and sung by Cote and Mom, side by side, while driving through South Dakota.

"Don't think about it. Just try it. You'll be surprised how good it is. I promise." ~Jenny to her tree-climbing companions during breakfast, August 9, 2009. She reluctantly handed out small pieces of her chocolate-covered bacon, just to prove how good it really was and that she wasn't as crazy as we all thought.

"Be strong. Live strong." ~Words of strength given to Cote from Mom, in the form of a t-shirt and small book, the morning of our climb, August 8, 2009.

"No matter what--you can always come to me. I will always be here for you. Not in judgement, but only with love, support, and safety." ~Mom to Cote, August 6, 2009. Out on Highway 140, somewhere between Paradise Valley, Nevada and Adel, Oregon.

"This is amazing." ~Cote, August 4, 2009, standing on an edge, overlooking the Rocky Mountain horizon.

"I wouldn't fast-forward any of it. I want to see it all."

~Cote, August 3, 2009. Spoken somewhere around the

400-mile marker in Nebraska, after miles, and miles, and miles of nothing but cornfields.......

"It's like watching two people pass a note back and forth in front of you, and you're not invited to join in or know what's being said." ~ Jolene, August 2, 2009. Taken from Texting Etiquette conversation with Cote on I-80-West, just past the Mississippi River.