Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 30

Pastel reading lamp

Pastel painted pages

            color the morning
            whisper for attention
            sparkle the imagination

                        accepting the invitation

“A moment awakening:
Clouds knotted across the sky
And I let the day flood in
Listening to the heartbeat of the world
As I gaze out of my window
Around my room are lullabies
Of light dancing
In glorious forms
Folded like dough
Across the hardwood floors
I cannot sleep
I must arise”

― Trisha North, From Here to Eternity

Thank you for visiting! Wishing you a wonderful weekend. 🩷 Michele

featured photo by Everett Collection / my sky photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Strength in Sisterhood!

Human Relay

No story of one becoming a woman
should ever be discarded or ignored
            misguided some, but insignificant stories,
            there are none
Not one woman being or one woman doing
showed up to become something other than
one glorious human

The human relay, to which we all belong
has passed the baton countless times
            not to be fumbled, dropped, or given up on,
            but for women to grab hold,
and without falling back, look forward,
honoring what we have
in the palm of our hands –

Millions of lessons, millions of stories
lived by women, who ran before
empowering us and pushing us forward

Grab hold of each of those stories
(whether misguided, celebrated, or untold)
uniting their stories with our own

Run, we must
not directionless into the night
clear and purposeful; find our own stride
A loose grip and sure footing are needed
reach back, without losing forward sight
A link to the past, grab

Run, we must
before the baton is passed

Click here for Hear My Voice by Celeste if music video does not load.

Honoring, uplifting, and celebrating women is a life mission for me, including the pearly woman I am becoming. Happy to join the international celebration of women on this day of acknowledgement! Cheers to all that women have accomplished and to a better future, where gender equality is the standard and where all women are free of oppression. Michele

Featured photos by Prostock-studio / photo of my poem, “Human Relay” from my Being a Woman Collections, illustrations by artist Sammi Lee

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Paper Airplane Pilot

Tip-toed to the center of a page
gathered each corner
tucked myself in
for a season
of creation

Centered in a thought-colored page
peeking above a tiny opening
I discovered I am soaring
riding the winds
of imagination
in a paper
airplane

Click here for World in My Eyes by Depeche Mode if music video doesn’t load.

Thank you for visiting! Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday. Michele

Featured photo by Eva Gamayun / my recent nature/sky photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Still life Sunday

Quietly, it let itself in
arranging itself softly
inviting me to sit
calmly and ponder
a winter departing

“Ô, Sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth.”

― Roman Payne

Thank you for visiting! Wishing you a pleasant week. Michele

my interior photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Heart beats tapping

The click-clacking has stopped
her rhythmic beats will forever tap
across this mom’s heart

With the sun setting, I set out to take a few photos of my daughter’s bursting bag of dance shoes, with the goal of turning the sadness of saying farewell to a life chapter, into some sort of lasting art. I selected a few shoes then climbed to the top of a hill with a panoramic view. With a few photos snapped and her shoes packed up, I took some time to reflect on a nearby bench while the desert sun made her descent.

Sitting and remembering… years of classes, recitals, programs, costumes, sewing, volunteering, shoe shopping, dance tights, dance tutus, giggles, sequins, cookies and juice boxes, driving, waiting, practicing… just like the sunset, done in an instant. I am grateful for all of it.

Thank you for stopping by and joining me before I close the curtain on her well-worn shoes, with beats forever adored. Michele

Click here for some tap-dancing cheer, not from my little cutie but from another who tapped her away across the silver screen.

my sunset photos (Feb 29) / Little Miss S in her early dancing days

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Wandering Woman

“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”

― Susan B. Anthony

“I’m restless. Things are calling me away. My hair is being pulled by the stars again.”

― Anaïs Nin

Click here for A Woman’s Way by Halie Loren if music video does not load.

As I move through the task of releasing items of the past, there is one object I will never part with or trade in – more than just parts, my thirty-three-year-old mountain bike is a sturdy and reliable friend. Gears and tires replaced, and seats exchanged, we’ve faced many challenges and traveled many roads; she understands my adventurous spirit better than most. Thank you for riding along. Warm regards. Michele

Post updated with a photo of my dirty bike, taken during a ride just after some rain. A bit of mud added to the mix.

featured photo by Everett Collection / my sunrise photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Wandering Woman (photo added)

“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel…the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”

― Susan B. Anthony

“I’m restless. Things are calling me away. My hair is being pulled by the stars again.”

― Anaïs Nin

Click here for A Woman’s Way by Halie Loren if music video does not load.

As I move through the task of releasing items of the past, there is one object I will never part with or trade in – more than just parts, my thirty-three-year-old mountain bike is a sturdy and reliable friend. Gears and tires replaced, and seats exchanged, we’ve faced many challenges and traveled many roads; she understands my adventurous spirit better than most. Thank you for riding along. Warm regards. Michele

Post updated with a photo of my dirty bike, taken while riding just after rain. A bit of mud added to the mix.

featured photo by Everett Collection / my sunrise photos

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Wise Up

Wishes cast upon
            stars sparkling bright
            might be daggers
            sharpened fine
            ready to slice

Wishes whispered to
            a surface imperfect
            steadfastly protecting
            a loyal companion
            the guardian moon

Facing east, focused on capturing a breathtaking sunrise, delighted I was when I turned to the west and found the morning moon poking through. My camera switched off; I was ready to pack it up when to my surprise a hawk swooped down above me before lifting up again to find respite on a nearby lamppost. Not enough time for focused perfection, I was happy to capture its gorgeous image in front of the morning sky.

Thank you for stopping by. Warm Wednesday wishes from the Sonoran Desert. Michele

my photos: first morning moon, blue/cloudy sky, and hawk (Feb. 28), second morning moon (Feb. 23),

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Monday blues

A twig suspened
            far from its trunk
like magic

spellbound she stands
under its leaves
dangling
dripping
            above a pathway
like the dense sky above
            a cold bluish gray
like mistletoe during a festive holiday
inviting
persuading
            love’s passionate embrace

surrounded by spring buds, bursting
winter leaves holding on, offering

Click here for Blue Monday by Flunk if music video does not load.

Thank you for stopping by. Warm regards from the cloudy Sonoran. Michele

Featured photo by De Visu / my nature photos, Sunday sunset (Feb 25th)

© 2024 MyInspiredLife

Black Sheep

“The person who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The person who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever seen before.”

― Albert Einstein

A state of being that was once a source of great loneliness for me – like a lump in my throat I couldn’t swallow, always a few breaths away from swallowing me whole – has become my superpower. I know what it is like to be the shy “new kid” eating alone at a table, counting the minutes until I could once again blend with the herd, in closeness if not in likeness. I know what it is like to be bullied by others and pressured to conform. Attempts to crush and control may have been impossible to boldly defend, but ultimately, they sparked my free spirit soul, fueling the comfort I now find in my own skin.

Click here for Black Sheep by My Brightest Diamond if video doesn’t load.

Recently, in dance class we were given the task of choreographing a routine to a song with an animal name in the title. In my search, I found this song by My Brightest Diamond. I was interested in the title then became enamored with the jazzy sensual dramatic tune. I had great fun with this one, both searching for a song and creating and performing the routine.

A few weeks shy of one year ago I began dancing in a new studio that has tested me physically and mentally in ways I could not have imagined. I have matured as a woman and a dancer, pushing through self-doubt and strengthening my muscles, abilities, and bonds with other women over the last eleven months and will continue to do so, for as long as I am able. Sore muscles and occasional bruises are worth the reward of inspiring younger women and knowing that getting older can also mean getting stronger. Thank you for reading. Michele

my sheep photo, Ireland sheep farm, morning moon behind my moody tree fascination (February 23)

© 2024 MyInspiredLife