friends.... are community.
people we have crossed path in our lives, at very special times... long times ago, or recent times...
hopefully in good times, but perhaps we forged over difficult times....
but we share a sense of comraderie... of confidance... of communication, and respect, and support.
as i reflect on my core values... things that really make ME and my LIFE feel right...
friends and community- folks that 'fit' into these categories, really serve to ground me.
and not just that they 'serve' me, because it has been noted about me, that i am self-centered.
i am self-centered, perhaps more than others, because my Mom died, and i had to become my OWN mother.
the thing about MOTHERS, is they ARE centered in their CARE for whom they care for.
they do not have the LUXURY (if they have chosen to BE mothers) to step away so easily from those they care for.
if i stopped caring for myself, then i would have fallen through the cracks fast. I am gad my mother, and the different role models and mentors i have had in my life have helped me to learn to 'take care of myself'.
NOWadays, my friends and my community, who i see too sparingly... REMIND me to take care of myself. REMIND me of the principles that we once and CONTINUE to connect on.
those principles and values that WE TOO share together.
sometmes we connect in dance and joyful expressions and reggae and world music companionship...
sometimes we connect in geographical roots- we once lived and loved together in kensingtnon market culture... or perhaps we lived and loved in a different part of the world, travelling together...
sometimes we connect on buddhist meditation practice- sharing retreats and sangha and ideals to live by....
sometimes we connect in motherhood- we have met and bonded during this time...evolved and laughed and cried as we are exhausted because of lack of sleep... as we have watched our kids grown up through crawling into walking... through sounds into talking... through mushy food to meals and 'manners'... we have watched our bodies change in shape and breastfeeding and blood flowing again... to fertile bodies once again...
these friends, whom i ideally see a few a week... here and there, sometimes without, but usually WITH my children- whom now make me not one but 3 HUMYNS i share my values/body/food/tears/laughter/ETC with....
these friends feel like my saviours. they acknowledge and recognize and reflect and honour and nurture and support me.... to keep going.
my children are such a combination of energies for me... they feed me, yet TOTALLY zap me. i love them and don't want to be apart from them.... YET I NEED MY SPACE AND HEADSPACE SO BAD... so that i can properly take care of them.
so while they 'serve' me, to take care of me...my friends and the folks i intimately share my inner nature with- they too do the same.
We share our trials and tribulations... we reason... we eat together, we dance and get merry together... we cry together, and talk and talk.... if we did't have so many children about- im sure at this point in life we would probably also be sharing much more silence together too ;) and that's a beautiful thing.
as i age a bit more, now that i am a mother (and it certainly 'matures' one)...my values in life have shifted much more towards the real raw and yet also STABLE and grounded-ness existing in my life.
friends are like that... when they are proper friends... they are trees, in the forests of our lives.
and may we all hve forests.... sigh...
may we all have these supportive understanding forests... and may we also all feel supported BY the real thang... FORESTS.
i need to get myself to the forests...to lie down in a bed of pine needles....(or snow since it's coming )...
there's nothing like being in the forest with folks you love though....
i give thanks for folks that i can share such love with.... the friendship speckles that make up my 'community' of support.
it all trickles down into my children...and for this i am thankful.
people we have crossed path in our lives, at very special times... long times ago, or recent times...
hopefully in good times, but perhaps we forged over difficult times....
but we share a sense of comraderie... of confidance... of communication, and respect, and support.
as i reflect on my core values... things that really make ME and my LIFE feel right...
friends and community- folks that 'fit' into these categories, really serve to ground me.
and not just that they 'serve' me, because it has been noted about me, that i am self-centered.
i am self-centered, perhaps more than others, because my Mom died, and i had to become my OWN mother.
the thing about MOTHERS, is they ARE centered in their CARE for whom they care for.
they do not have the LUXURY (if they have chosen to BE mothers) to step away so easily from those they care for.
if i stopped caring for myself, then i would have fallen through the cracks fast. I am gad my mother, and the different role models and mentors i have had in my life have helped me to learn to 'take care of myself'.
NOWadays, my friends and my community, who i see too sparingly... REMIND me to take care of myself. REMIND me of the principles that we once and CONTINUE to connect on.
those principles and values that WE TOO share together.
sometmes we connect in dance and joyful expressions and reggae and world music companionship...
sometimes we connect in geographical roots- we once lived and loved together in kensingtnon market culture... or perhaps we lived and loved in a different part of the world, travelling together...
sometimes we connect on buddhist meditation practice- sharing retreats and sangha and ideals to live by....
sometimes we connect in motherhood- we have met and bonded during this time...evolved and laughed and cried as we are exhausted because of lack of sleep... as we have watched our kids grown up through crawling into walking... through sounds into talking... through mushy food to meals and 'manners'... we have watched our bodies change in shape and breastfeeding and blood flowing again... to fertile bodies once again...
these friends, whom i ideally see a few a week... here and there, sometimes without, but usually WITH my children- whom now make me not one but 3 HUMYNS i share my values/body/food/tears/laughter/ETC with....
these friends feel like my saviours. they acknowledge and recognize and reflect and honour and nurture and support me.... to keep going.
my children are such a combination of energies for me... they feed me, yet TOTALLY zap me. i love them and don't want to be apart from them.... YET I NEED MY SPACE AND HEADSPACE SO BAD... so that i can properly take care of them.
so while they 'serve' me, to take care of me...my friends and the folks i intimately share my inner nature with- they too do the same.
We share our trials and tribulations... we reason... we eat together, we dance and get merry together... we cry together, and talk and talk.... if we did't have so many children about- im sure at this point in life we would probably also be sharing much more silence together too ;) and that's a beautiful thing.
as i age a bit more, now that i am a mother (and it certainly 'matures' one)...my values in life have shifted much more towards the real raw and yet also STABLE and grounded-ness existing in my life.
friends are like that... when they are proper friends... they are trees, in the forests of our lives.
and may we all hve forests.... sigh...
may we all have these supportive understanding forests... and may we also all feel supported BY the real thang... FORESTS.
i need to get myself to the forests...to lie down in a bed of pine needles....(or snow since it's coming )...
there's nothing like being in the forest with folks you love though....
i give thanks for folks that i can share such love with.... the friendship speckles that make up my 'community' of support.
it all trickles down into my children...and for this i am thankful.
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