Tag: self-expression
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My Belly is not for the Faint of Heart
My belly is not for the faint of heart If you don’t like roundness, don’t come here If you don’t like softness, lay your head elsewhere If you don’t appreciate the squish of love, move on If stretch marks intimidate you or turn you off: bye! If the belly of a woman seems gross or…
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Reclaiming Sensuality
Women are often given the message that their sensuality is too much for the world to handle. Hide it away, it is too much. Too much of a turn on. Too juicy. Too distracting. Too attention-seeking. Too dangerous–if you show that aspect of yourself you will be used, get in trouble, be attacked, etc. Women…
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Redefining Mother
I wrote this post a couple of years ago when I was coming out of the cocoon of what I now call “the Surrender years” of motherhood. That intense time of parenting young children in an attached and attuned way. Since there is a 9 year span between my oldest and my youngest (with the…
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Unfolding into the Fullness of MySelf
Gentlygentlyshe unfolds… Slowlyslowlyshe becomes… Softlysoftlyshe blossoms… Unfolding intothe fullnessof mySelf… . . . Peeling away the layers, trying to reach the center of Me like an onion, they say, or the artichoke, pulling off the pointy tough outer leaves, one by one, until:oh, lookthe tenderdelicateinner layers,tell me I amgetting closer to the heart. But also,…
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Loosening the Noose
When a friend recently told me that the word witch actually means wise, I was jolted into tears. All the negative connotations wrapped tightly around that word trembled, cracked, and dismantled. I could feel again what is at the root of it, what has been persecuted and in hiding in myself and others for so…
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Relationship with Self
Lately I have been delving into my relationship with myself. As life keeps me focused on the relationships I have with others, I am coming to realize the importance of the relationship with myself. When I say my relationship with myself, I really mean my relationship with God, the Divine, Source, Love, which is…
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Joy Stepping Stones
Note to self: Do what excites you, they say, follow your bliss. Follow the fun, follow the Joy, do what delights you– is it as simple as it seems?— to know how to, to remember how to, to give yourself permission to: tune in to Your Joy (big and little, large and small) Remember who…
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Manifesto
Hello All– We are a Radical Unschooling family— We Believe: Children are People, who deserve to be given care, respect, guidance, support, and connection. Children’s opinions and feelings are valid and valuable. One of children’s main purposes is to PLAY and be celebrated and supported in their play. Play is one bold way for them…
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When the Walls Fall Down
13 years ago, at a Zen monastery in Japan, I found out I was pregnant. Makes a pretty good opening line to a story, doesn’t it? Haha! I had been living and training there for nearly 5 years. It was the day after our monthly osesshin (7 day retreat). My period was late. I was…
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The Storm and the Ocean Mother
Come to me with all that you are, child. Show me how you feel with strength and boldness and wildness and clarity. I can hold it all, child. I can hold all of YOU. Show me what you feel and I will remain calm, huge, wide, caring. I will not be offended. I will not…
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When Grey Comes to Visit
Here I am again. I haven’t written for sometime, partly because October was a slumpy month for me. My mood was slumpy. Not drastically dark, but veering towards grey. I tried various things to shake it. Chocolate, red wine, a hamburger (and considering I’ve been mostly vegan for nearly 2 years, this was a dramatic…
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Hello out there
It seems that I am starting a blog and the name of it is Sparkle and Zest. I am here to share the things in my life that bring me joy, the things that are naturally beautiful and eye-catching. I am also here to dig, to look carefully and with curiosity: if I pick up…
Sparkle and Zest 