from the heart

Where there is love there is life. -Gandhi

feeling so full of love lately. while reading mav's post last week about art all i could think of was the art of loving. i feel myself grow, learning something new every day...i'm stronger, my heart open wider than i ever knew possible. i'm learning to listen with love and compassion-something i thought i already knew, but realized i didn't...and now understand it will take a lifetime. i love the chain reaction of acceptance, understanding and strengthening of ties that is the result of true compassion and a commitment to love purely and honestly. this time of my life, this chance to heal old and deep wounds, is one of the most precious gifts i've ever received. i am overflowing with an abundance of gratitude...and love.

...be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and
try to love the questions themselves...do not seek the
answers, which cannot be given you because you would not
be able to live them. and the point is to live everything.
live the questions now. perhaps you will... gradually,
without noticing it, live along some distant day
into the answer.

-Rainer Maria Rilke

gently does it

i have been so reluctant to post, because of the weight of life for me right now. what i discovered while working on my last post, and sprucing up the site a bit is that a little weight has been lifted. i've missed this part of my life for some time, and it feels good to be back. to start off gently i think i'll answer the general call from lisa to answer the most recent meme that has been floating about...i think it's an interesting one.

four jobs i've had
1. i sold baby clothes i hand decorated with puffy paint, in a boutique at 15...heehee
2. lancome girl
3. nanny...for eleven years
4. framer

four movies i could watch over and over
1. pride and prejudice {the a&e version}
2. out of africa
3. it's a wonderful life
4. you've got mail

four places i've lived
1. long beach, ca
2. wrightwood, ca
3. rancho santa margarita, ca
4. rochester, ny

four TV shows i love
1. project runway
2. six feet under
3. curb your enthusiasm
4. sex and the city

four places i've vacationed
1. zion, utah
2. brattleboro, vermont
3. the bahamas
4. san felipe, mexico

four of my favorite dishes
1. muentster cheese
2. fresh shrimp and basil spring rolls
3. chicken marsala
4. persimmons

four sites i visit daily
1. port2port
2. lisa's
3. penelope illustration
4. flickr

four places i'd rather be right now
1. in my sweetheart's arms.
2. travelling through africa with my mother and brother.
3. curled up in my cozy bed with a good book.
4. sitting with my grandma at a cafe.


i am missing the snow desperately so i love this, this, this, this and this...
happy sunday everyone, shanna

uprooted

hello,
the weather has been terribly stormy here in northern washington. this tree fell on the neighbor's house as we were chatting. it seemed to happen in slow motion, and several days later it still feels as if a dream. this is how much of my life feels these days...slow, surreal, and somber. these past months have been the most intense season of growth in all my life. only in the past week have my mother and i truly grown closer, without walls, and with so much love...as her time here on earth draws ever nearer it's close. i have not felt much like sharing, wanting to spend all my time with family...but i did want to reach out to everyone who has sent kind words and offered to help in so many ways. thank you to all of you: holly, elin, kara, joy, lisa, maria, wendy, natalia, toni, kirsten, rema and so many others. the warmth you have extended is so deeply appreciated.
in kindness, shanna