Michele Lee Sefton's Blog, page 34

Meditation in the mundane

Watering plants, feeding the hummingbirds,
dusting shelves, catching a bird on a cactus top,
witnessing the appearance of a new hibiscus, budding

breathing

            out and in

                        out and in

the lessons of the year

a changed woman emerging

I’ve purged myself of many possessions. I’ve stepped away from the busyness of the holiday season. Decisions that began last year have taken on more richness and meaning. Letting go of a lifetime of things and traditions. Breathing in a new way of being. Moving into a different life phase; embracing the woman I am becoming.  

My delicious molasses-moving Saturday morning persuaded me to push pause on an audio post and instead, enjoy the quiet of a meditative and reflective morning. Thank you for stopping by. Warm weekend wishes to you. Michele

my photos, last photo is my cherished “Mother and Daughter” figurine by Willow Tree

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Feel the music, find your rhythm!

“Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.”

― Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic

I am headed to my last dance class of the year. It is a late one and every part of my being would rather curl up and read a book, but I know once I get there, I will enjoy every minute of it, especially sharing space with other women. Stretching, encouraging, teaching, laughing, learning, sweating, growing, and supporting each other beyond any limiting beliefs about what our bodies and minds are capable of.

The purpose of this spontaneous share is to thank everyone in this bloggy space who has supported my dance. I am grateful. As some of you know, a serious injury a few years ago almost robbed me of the ability to dance. Dancing is a celebration of movement and of life. A creative expression that is challenging and rewarding and one that I would like to offer through this platform. More about that in 2024. Now I must go… dance. Thank you! Michele

Featured photo by Everett Collection

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Juicy vibes

Long gone are the expansive orchards of my childhood that turned springtime into a fragrant dream, however, citrus trees can still be found growing and glimmering across the Valley of the Sun. What a delight it has been to view the wintry wonderlands of fellow bloggers scattered across the Northern Hemisphere. Thank you! I have linked a few recent posts below. I cannot offer the same snowy scenes, unless I travel a few hours north, but I am happy to share some juicy results, compliments of the Sonoran sun.

I first wrote about the five Cs of Arizona (copper, cattle, cotton, climate, and citrus) in my citrus-picking post titled, “Feeling the Squeeze,” posted January of 2022. The post includes a poem about the five Cs that continue to attract people to the 48th state.

A little lemon vibe for your enjoyment. This quirky bittersweet song found me a few months ago. The lyrics for Marinade by Dope Lemon are below. Click song title if the video fails to show.

Marinade by Dope Lemon (lyrics)

She got attacked by a pack of dogs
But she said, it’s okay
I got some wilderness skills beneath my belt
She said she used to be a part of a scout team
They nearly made her leader one time
But they didn’t have enough thread
To sew the patches on

And she said, do you know how you heard
About that family that burnt down in that house?
Well, that was hers
She said, it was just some hoax that she made up
To watch people cry
Yeah, she whispered to me softly

Well, do you want me?
Just how I am?
Do you need me?
Where I stand
Let’s go steady
Let’s make a plan
Marinade on that for a while
Yeah

She wanted to die by a river
She wanted the tide to come up and drag her away
So that when she’s dreamin’
She can watch the tree line fall away

She used to draw rainbow faces in the sand
But the rainbow made the face sad
Had bits of foam coming out the bottom of its mouth
It’s kinda funny that way

Oh, do you want me?
How I am?
Do you need me?
Oh, where I stand
Let’s go steady
Let’s make a plan
Marinade on that for a little while
Yeah
Songwriters: Angus Stone and Rohin Brown

Snowy Scenes:

Michael Jordahl’s “Wordless Wednesday”

Dwight Roth’s “Snow Angel”

BereavedSingleDad “Ice”

Thanks for visiting! Sweet regards. Michele

Fragrant note: springtime is when the orange trees blossom, filling the air with their heavenly scent.

my photos, Arizona citrus

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Effervescent Presence

Beyond the monochrome and robotic routine
            of mind and muscle memory

Above the city hummmmm and orderly conduct
            of electric static and follow-the-leaders

There’s another layer of existing
that’s just as real and truthful, if not more so

Impossible to manufacture or describe, this way of being
you know it when you see it –
            a certain twinkle in the eye
            that reveals a universe expanding, inside

If you listen closely,
            you’ll hear their rhythmic daydreams
If you close your eyes,
            you’ll feel their sparkling presence
If you look to the heavens
            you’ll see a sky changed by their effervescence

Thanks for stopping by. Sweet dreams, day and night. Michele

my sunrise photos

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Sunday stretch

Remaining flexible greatly enhances freedom and fluidity, in the body and mind.

Enjoy seven minutes of stretch to the sounds of: Earth by Mogli Or just watch the beautiful video.

“We put terrible pressure on our minds. When we tighten them or harden our views or beliefs, we lose all the softness and flexibility that makes for real shelter, belonging, and protection.”

― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara – Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World

Book note: I first wrote about O’Donohue’s gorgeous book, Anam Cara, in my July post, “Eros of the Earth” You’ll find a poem from the book and photos from Ireland, if you missed it. Thank you for visiting. Namaste. Michele

photo, my yoga/dance space in the morning light

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Amber invitation

Autumn’s rising rays cut through the crisp cold,
wrapping warmth around me

A tingling sensation on my skin,
beckoning me to shrink the need to know anything, within
            becoming tiny, wild, and free,
            like the hummingbird flitting near me

An amber invitation melting plans and reasoning
            into a caramel river flowing through me
beckoning me to travel as the crow flies, trusting

a yummy sensation, too irresistible to resist

I am tumbling away today…
where, I am not exactly sure, but I will have fun getting there

Click here for Cat Clyde’s, I Don’t Belong Here

Thank you for stopping by. Catch up soon, maybe after the sun sets, unless I shapeshift into a hawk or a lizard. Warm regards. Michele

my nature photos, a city park at sunset

photo of me, by Larissa

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Sitting in the empty

The distance between
helping fat little fingers push cookie cutters into rolled dough
while sweet giggles and sugary scents fill the room
and mailing ornaments, made by someone else,
to be received by beautiful hands, now grown
is a blink

I am a caretaker
It is my nature
I do so in ways I shall never share
Not a role forced upon me but a spirit
that guides me

A baby doll held tight, I was rarely without
Into my family, now islands, individually thriving
I poured all of me
Devoted to the wellbeing of my students,
a calling that shall never leave me

Learning to care for myself
over the last few years,
to the level I’ve given to others
is less natural,
and one that others may find less admirable
            despite all the promotion of self-care

With a lifetime of experiences behind me
I am learning how to just be
I am learning how to just be me
I am learning how to shed what shrinks me

I am discovering infinite freedom, creativity, and wisdom
in the empty

During the morning twilight
I pause and breathe it in
I let it fill my lungs and being
then I blink and let it all go

Thank you for stopping by. I am about to head into our last writing workshop for the year. Catch up with you all later. Warm regards. Michele

my sunrise photos (12/7)

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

Contained in a Frame (repost)

Captured and contained in this frame, are delicate petals, crowning thorny stems, set against a shadowy tree-laced sky. At first glance, I saw the natural beauty for what it is: magnificence. Eyes full of wonder, I startled a bird with my audible sigh. Despite my praising of nature’s perfection, shortsighted was my thinking, for the bigger picture, I almost missed.

More time to focus and take it all in; a new picture emerged: all of humanity contained in this frame. Like delicate petals, individuals, no matter how insecure or shy, need to be seen as they attempt to bloom, and they must be in balance with their environment if they are to thrive. To display their full natural beauty is how the egoless species survives. Like flowers, humans are a blend of fragile and strong and welcoming and defensive. Maybe inferior without our human minds, but flowers are connected to an intelligence that is most divine. Perfectly refined is the process of a tiny seed to the grand majestic. Never does a flower stop and question its worth. Never does a flower hide its fragrant scent to appease another’s temperament. Never does a flower choose to wither and die so another can take its sunshine.

Be brilliant. Be a flower.

Repost note: I first published this post on February 19, 2022. I rarely repost, but I woke up thinking about the first flower image and the message contained in this post. A thought I can’t seem to shake, so here you go… a repost. If you are new to my blog since this post, welcome! Other than this note, I’ve left everything else as-is. Happy day to you!

Thank you for visiting and reading my musings about Divine creations: flowers and humans. At the end of my desert stroll, I turned off my camera, thinking I was done, then I looked up and there was the frame that took my breath away and left my mind engaged (photo 1). Be well. Michele

A special thank you to editor, J Re Crivello with Masticadores, for publishing my Valentine vignettes.

Find more of my photos and micropoetry on Instagram ~ @mlsefton

Instagram

Photos: my images, Sonoran Desert

© 2022-2023 MyInspiredLife

Death’s artistic display

Where wild still lives
and dies.

Where fires thrive
and beauty lives
on the inside.

On November 10th, I published a piece titled, “Gray is golden too” – where I wrote about pausing to appreciate and photograph death and decay along the trails. The first paragraph of that post is below, if you missed it the first time. After being a little disappointed with my (personal) photo options that would visually support my photographic interest, I found myself in a desert-graveyard-heaven the following weekend, during my hike through Safford Peak.

“Gray is golden too” intro: (click for full post)

My friend finds it odd that I pause to photograph lifeless things along the trail. “Where is the beauty in that?” she asks. I attempt to explain that dark decay in the foreground with a blue sky in the background makes an interesting black and white photo. The only thing my friend is convinced of, after my brief justification, is how odd I am. She may be right but there is so much more I don’t tell her after our pause in front of a shriveled shrub.

……………………….

my photos: Safford Peak, NW of Tucson, historic church on land, with some updated “peace” and “love”

© 2023 MyInspiredLife

A walk thru Hudson Valley (spotlight w/audio)

“The Visitor”
by Philip Gennuso

Beautiful elegant heron
sunning at Ramapo Preserve Lake

The sky is bright
it is late autumn
the lake is filled with color

Hikers, bikers, trail bums,
stop and gaze
at this unexpected visitor,
with hushed breaths and soft words

No one can quite believe what they see
herons just don’t visit here
ever

But today is different
and those lucky enough
to be here at this moment
will take home fond memories
to treasure forever

I recently finished reading the collection, A Walk in Nature, by Philip Gennuso. Phil’s book, published earlier this year, contains forty-seven poems with accompanying photos, and concludes with an essay about the region that his poems and photos highlight: Hudson Valley in New York State. Hudson Valley, the main character of Phil’s collection, is a region along the Hudson River, stretching from Manhattan to Albany. The region is considered a scenic and cultural gem. Phil does a fantastic job of capturing and sharing the region’s beauty and calming vibes. On his blog (on occasion) and in this collection, he also shares history of the region, including his own connection to the land. Learning more about this beautiful area of the United States, through Phil’s book and additional research for this post, heightened my enjoyment of this featured share. Phil’s collection could also be described as a travelogue.       

Thank you for joining me in acknowledging the work of artist, Phil Gennuso. Having read Phil’s blog for a while now, I have found him to be a creative, courteous, and compassionate person. If you are not familiar with his blog, I encourage you to visit at: Philsblog.wordpress.com.

Phil’s posts are typically short in words and rich in nature and inspiration. Visit his Etsy store, PhilGennusoArts, for this featured collection and other books and art published by him.

Several months ago, I set the intention of featuring the creative work of one fellow blogger/independent artist a month. It has been a delightful process for me and those I’ve reached out to have been gracious and grateful. I look forward to continuing my connections and highlighting more independent artists in 2024.

I’ve been enriched by commercially successful and well-known books and movies throughout my life, however, my passion for the less-commercialized aspect of life – independent bookstores, independent movies, independent artists, independent publishers, and independent labels – is part of my motivation for featuring independent artists. It’s an honor. Michele

Photo 1: by Mihai Andritoiu Photo 2: “The Visitor” by Phil G. Photo 3: “Dahlia” by Phil G.

© 2023 MyInspiredLife