Lyric Marketing Blog

Welcome to Saturday Soul!
This is my outlet for poetry, prose and deep thinking on all things soulish.

Saturday and Sunday are my favorite days, they bring a hope of rest and soul contemplation that in my crazy world of marketing and advertising I have little time for Monday through Friday.  So, I wanted to devote a part of my blog to my musings and share them with you, my reader, on Saturday’s.

I will be posting my personal journal of writings on love and life. Now understand that all of this is not positive, motivational type stuff….SOULFUL is what we FEEL – joy, pain, hope, despair, love, hate, hurt, loss and triumph!  So hold on for a fun ride of exploration into your heart, the soulful things that make us human, and be sure to check back every Saturday for a new edition of Saturday Soul.

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

What pain may come

Ok, so you don’t want to deal with hard shit?  Get over it!  Pain will come in life and the best way to handle it is to face it head on.  Dealing with, thinking about, inspecting the pain through writing, painting, singing screaming, crying, praying has been the path that has helped to connect the pain (babysteps) to the healing in my soul.  What ever you face in your life, look at it straight in the eye and don’t back down.  You have the strength in you to overcome the emotions your soul dishes out.  And yes sometimes we need help – most times we need help!  We need each other, we need professional or wise advice and direction, we need goals to move us forward, we need hope in something bigger than all of this and we need to BELIEVE in LOVE, not wimpy, flaky, doormat or sexy love, but unconditional love that comes from knowing we are loved and of great value – each of us!

Mad Ice

It’s raining ice cold as hell
Won’t someone save me from this maddening spell?
Build the flame and let it spark
Who will save me from this freezing heart?
Some days are warm, I never feel the pain
Then the storm clouds come to make me small again
Why then? Why…
A shredded heart like shards of ice
Break the clouds and summon the moon
Slip and slide, grip and guide
The sky grows big and her moon smiles slight
Raining ice as cold as malice
Growing hearts as large as Alice

Love and Peace!
Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

When your footing is unsure, take it slow!

After several days inside the house due to this crazy ice storm in Dallas, I had to get out to pick up a few things I had to have before the next wave of bad weather hits us – so I carefully head out in my car and head south toward my Tom Thumb….now mind you, this is the girl that has had more wreaks on ice than most people – more than I care to remember -  and I am TERRIFIED of ice and my driving, we just don’t mix.   This is when my DIVA comes out!  I need a driver! Well wish on, now that I’m on my own – a single girl – it’s up to me, right?  So carefully I drive out of my neighborhood (and whoever told me to “man-up”, whatever!  You guys are crazy, the roads are treacherous!)  Ok, ok.  So out I go and as I am driving 10 mph up Spring Creek and waiting to turn at the light on Preston with a wreak being cleaned up to my left, I begin to realize a life lesson…

I see it more everyday – we (I) move too fast.  We ALL move FAST, and faster if we’re really good.  Our brains are whirling, minds spinning with plans, goals, thoughts…how much can we make this year? how fast can we make it?  Got to loose weight today, grow my business, get married, have kids, be more productive – NOW.  We think fast, multi-task, listen to fast music, talk fast, love fast, grow up fast, grow old fast, and so here we are slipping and sliding into each other, hardly knowing what hit us, or how we hit it.  Dealing with decisions we made and not even remembering why we made them or what went wrong!  We start things fast and end them even faster.  I think you get my meaning here.

I realize that to avoid an accident on this icy stuff we need to PAY ATTENTION!  Move SLOWER, watch our footing – baby steps – be light footed.  No hard breaking, no slamming but gentle tap, tap, taps of the breaks, right?  Watch out for the other guy, give them room to move, to stop or turn.  Be less aggressive, more understanding, more forgiving, that is if you don’t want to wind up in the ditch turned the wrong way and your wheels spinning taking you NOWHERE!  Geeze!  Now when it comes to our lives and living to the fullest, I wish I could shout this message out to the world!

STOP!  SLOW DOWN!  CHILL OUT!

I’m thinking that if we would lay back and let our loved ones (and that includes ourselves) have the room needed to move forward, negotiate a turn or just come to a stop along the journey, then perhaps we would all get to where we are going unharmed and without delay!   When times are tough and your road is slick and treacherous, that is the time to slow down, tap tap tap, not SLAM into decisions.

You know the saying “when in doubt, don’t”, I agree with that and will add “when you’re not sure, navigate slowly”.  Now I know this defies all the marketing rhetoric we produce that says “take the leap of faith”, “money loves speed”, bla bla bla!  There are times in business when I will agree you need to push forward and move fast, kinda like when you are boarding or skiing on the black slopes, you better be ready to navigate those moguls and steep terrains with skill and expert caution, but I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about our personal lives.  How we live out of the core of our problems  personally, spiritually, soulishly and emotionally.   The rich foundation of solid thinking and loving will affect every other area of our life.  We need to slow down a bit and pay attention to what our hearts are really wanting and saying.

Makes me think of one of the accidents I had on ice…..

I’m on a country road that is laced in ice and snow.  I’m traveling slowly and I see the ice ahead but I’m going downhill and really have no idea how to navigate it – it’s a big hill.  I am in over my head and I know it. When I approach the bottom of the hill where I need to make my turn, guess what?  I cant’ stop and I crash into the ditch, nearly totaling my car!   I remember the panic of that moment when I was going down that hill KNOWING I would not be able to stop.  What could I have done differently?  I’m not sure, maybe you can tell me, but I do know this, I had no business being on that road in the ice – it was a bad decision.  AND I didn’t know how to navigate my vehicle on that terrain, PLUS I was going too FAST!   Moving slower, being more cautious, and taking another route would have been smarter and probably would have helped me avoid an accident.

I think it’s easy to see how these ideas and metaphors can apply to our personal experiences, but applying them to our lives is a bit more challenging, believe me I know.  I will just leave you with this:  You don’t want to slip and fall and crack your butt on ice, do you?  Of course not, so when you see it you avoid it and move cautiously around it.  When life hands you the slippery slope, the unanswered icy terrain, the undetectable black ice BS, move slowly.  Think, watch, take baby steps – and don’t rush into a decision – let the ice melt!

Oh, I almost forgot my disclaimer statement:  when you move slow, are more cautious, thoughtful, take baby steps, etc, you still might fall and crack your butt.  Just sayin….

Love and Peace!
Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

Remembering Sandy!

Here is a repost from a couple of years ago, just as a reminder to me and to you that there is nothing YOU cannot do, nothing that is more important than living your life in appreciation of the gift we have ALL been given. Be bold, be brave and embrace the magic and the mystery of this beautiful life!

Embracing the mystery of life and accepting the “unknown” outcome has been a journey for me that I feel like I have only yet started.  I’m beginning to see that I don’t have to “know”. It’s better to embrace the moments of my life and taste than to wish for another time or place and live in the emptiness. When I drop the walls of judgment and intolerance and open my heart to life, I feel deeper, see further and love completely.  This is where my passion is nurtured and my sight strengthened so that I can see the beauty along the way and move from passage to passage embracing the magic of every moment I’ve been given.

And just to top off today, here is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs (My original video I had was removed by Sony, but here is another video of SANDY from 1978).  I just  LOVE the way he says my name!!!

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

A message from my HEART

As most of you probably know, I have been going through a divorce this Christmas.  It has been different and it has difficult.  But in the midst of it all I have had a unique sense of Joy that is unexplainable.  I have been given the most precious gift you can receive – LOVE.  From my unbelievable parents – both 80 years strong – whose loving wisdom and guidance and unwavering belief in me has dressed my wounds, to my wonderful children – Josh, Veda, Sarah and Matt – whose unconditional love has been my strength and support.  And my beautiful sisters and brother, whose own strength and courage has lifted me up out of the pit more times than I can count – rescuing me at the precise moment I needed it most.  I have been surrounded by my TRIBE, precious people reminding me of who I am – reminding me of their love.  From my hardworking, loyal family at Judge Fite Company and Jim and Jan, who have gone beyond “business associates” to see me as a person and offer their friendship and patience, to my old friends (my faithful FGA family and Dr. K) to my new friends – I have received encouragement and random acts of thoughtfulness that have helped me move my gaze from myself to see the beauty of life that is all around me.  Love comes out of the closet!  I see signs of new hope being established in my heart through ties (new and old) with other human beings that have suffered in many ways like me, and in much harder ways than me – unselfishly offering their experience as wisdom and new strength.  How beautiful is that?!

I wish I could make a list of all the people that have been a part of weaving this joy into the tapestry of my life and embellishing it with this slight “Kris Kringle giggle” that I felt tonight, but I would be sure to leave someone out. From Facebook friends, to marketing gurus that don’t even know my name (yet), from new friends in Seattle to precious old friends in Oklahoma, from old clients to new clients, office mates, business associates, from clerks at Dillards who shared their warmth, Carlos and his crew who take care of my home needs, to my Barista’s at the neighborhood Starbucks, from my immediate family to my extended family – I have been blessed by you all.  Thank you.

Life has many painful endings, but on the other side there are new beginnings.  I am moving forward into my life with all it’s possibilities, and guess what?  You are coming with me!

Love and peace and Merry Christmas!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

Pain, Loss, Faith, Hope, Shame, Despair – They CONNECT US!

Yes, the words that we all understand – pain, loss, grief, faith, hope despair.  And you know what I like about them?  They connect us! If we could ever stop long enough to be honest with ourselves and each other, we would find that #1 – we are not alone, and #2 – we are all connected.  May not know all the answers (and we don’t) but we can sure get through this life easier when we don’t single ourselves out to be some kind of lonely martyr or pitiful victim.   Really.  What has gotten me through one of the hardest personal times of my life (along with the love and support of my family and friends), was knowing that there are MILLIONS of women (and men) around the world that are going through the same type of thing (or another type of painful thing)!  And we survive.  With love, we will survive.  Love for ourselves and, as my dear friend “Dr. K” tells me, with acceptance.  Acceptance without judgment.

I went to see Clint Eastwood’s new movie Hereafter and wow, I will be thinking on this story and characters for days!  My short review is: slowly moving, powerful, beautiful, deeply touching, deeply emotional.  There were parts in the movie I wanted to wail!  But then other moments that made my heart smile.  My take away?  Just what I was talking about – the many similarities of our stories, our connectedness, and the sweet thread of humanity that holds us all together  – no matter where you are, who you are, or what you believe.  Oh, and let’s not forget that thing that is so common among us ALL – our faith, and our desire for more.  I thought about the loved ones I have lost and the blank despair your heart feels, just like one of the characters in the movie.  I related to Cécile De France’s character in her search for meaning of her experience – how many of us have a “secret” we are trying to give meaning to in our lives? And then Matt Damon’s character that struggles with his “gift” – is it a blessing or a curse?  Ever wondered that?

I love Eastwood’s movies.  I like the way he patiently moves you into his characters, until you know them, relate to them.  I just sat back and enjoyed each nuance of the 3 main characters and their stories that intertwine throughout the movie – it was a quiet pleasure with a hint of sadness mixed throughout, then blossoming into a cool breeze of joy…life is kinda like that, don’t ya think?

Love and peace…always!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL

A bunch of squashes

After a long hot summer, I am emerging back into the swing of Saturday Soul.  Not that I haven’t had any “Saturday soul” moments, I have had many (probably toooooo many), but the timing just hasn’t been right for me – more on why later.  So I wake up this morning to a wonderful fall rain – the kind that makes me think of going to school when I was a kid, or riding bikes in the rain home from school – evoking a ton of memories.  I felt it was time now to get back to my soulish rantings with you.  Thanks for your patience, I have a lot planned in the coming weeks and months to share – it will be good for me and hopefully good for you too.

So as I jump back into writing and sharing I want to share a simple story I read yesterday that really spoke to me – it is from my daily calendar that is filled with stories to ponder, thoughts and meditations on letting go and just “being” -

“Behind a temple was a vine with many squashes growing on it.  One day a fight broke out among them, and the squashes split up into angry groups, making a big racket.  Hearing the uproar, the head priest went outside, saw the quarreling, and scolded them: “HEY! Squashes! Why are you fighting? Now- everybody do zazen (meditation as practiced in Zen Buddhism).”  The priest taught them how, showing them how to fold their legs and sit up straight, and as the squashes began to follow the priest’s instructions, they calmed down and stopped fighting.  “Now”, the priest said, “everyone put your hand on top of your head”.  When the squashes felt the top of their heads, they found something attached there, which turned out to tbe the vine that connected them all together.  “What a mistake!” the squashes said, realizing their predicament.  “We’re actually all tied together, living just one life!”.  From that moment on the squashes never again fought.”

Now, I’m not pushing any kind of religion here, but this story stopped me in my tracks.  I was taught this growing up as a preacher’s kid, Jesus teaches that we are all one – love your neighbor as yourself.  But when I look at this practically, not religiously or spiritually, I see that we really are one -  same hurts, same pains, same needs – as human beings – it gives me peace and binds me to others.

My takeaway from this?  We are one.  Let’s stop warring, fighting over this and that – we will never all agree on everything  – but if we stop, silent our thoughts and be still, we will understand.

More to come on my summer of quietness and my journey to find myself – again.

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: April 3

Listen to the Night Bird’s Song

It’s April and time to clean up around here.  I have been sweeping leaves, planting flowers outside and inside I’m going through old photos, trying to get them in albums and organized – what a chore!  I am looking over 10 years of photos with hubby Weldon and it’s amazing how much we have all changed.  In looking at these photos, I can’t help but think – OMG!  What a decade does to us, right?  I talked to my mom last night who is 79 years young and she said the one thing she wanted to “pick a bone with God” on was why we had to get shriveled as we get old!  Aging is beautiful – and as I get older I am trying to BEAUTIFULLY accept all that it brings – but geeze does it have to be so cruel on this old flesh?  Ok, enough of that – we won’t DWELL on it (as I sit here avoiding my morning exercise).  ; )

On to something more poetic and meaningful – I am a late night person, so I regularly experience the sounds and images of the night – the night bird’s song, the changing moon and placement of the stars.  I love the night.  Here is a little prose I wrote about that special moment when all attention is focused on the sounds that ARE.

Wings of Night

Calm me wings of night
May I rest in your song not flight
For God gave me not wings that soar
But wings of thought and more
More to see to dream to show
Calm may come where I may know
I’m human
Woman
My song may not always be heard
But it will be in the heart of the night bird

I greet the day before it opens
Knowing when light springs out the night bird quietens
Stills, not stops
For the night is its home in the tree tops
Where does it go when daylight dawns?
Where does it take its calm?
I greet the day before it opens
Saving my night song till all is quiet again

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: March 31

Bravely marching forward

Wind in my face
Chimes gently tinkling
Blue Jay chants
Mockingbirds winking

The last day of March, the first days of Spring.  There are new sounds, new colors, new winds blowing that bring change, delight and challenges!  I love Spring, but I hate the winds!  Just like me (and you), right?  We love good change but hate how the change has to come!  I have been through many “springs” in my life that brought change and challenge, and all I have to say is that is was hard – sometimes hell on earth!  But I found a secret.  Just keep yourself and your head, focus, and you will come out alright.

After a terrible divorce years ago, I decided that I was NOT going to give up but instead was going to fight my way through the circumstances.  I wanted to die, I wanted to kill.  BUT… I didn’t!  I chose to forgive and stay steady, do the right thing and focus on what mattered.  What mattered was my children.  So, I focused on them.  I wasn’t going to let circumstances dictate how our lives were going to wind up!  I was going to bravely march forward with my own damn banner and establish my territory!

I think our “springs” are demanding that of us, that we forge our way to bring new life and new growth.  It isn’t easy.  Most of our life depends on what we make up our mind to do.  We don’t have to “go along”.  And when I say “do the right thing”, I don’t mean follow the status quo – who says that is the right thing?  That is for YOU to decide for your life.

In the face of challenges or trouble, my grandmother would say “it won’t matter in a 100 years”.  I have used her words many times to help me decide if something was worth the fight.  And you know what I discovered?  What will always matter in 5, 10, 100 or a 1000 years is LOVE – how we give it and how we receive it – and RELATIONSHIP – how we embrace other human beings and the mark we leave on others hearts.  Love transcends everything, it is what produces the flower after a harsh winter.

Back in the day, in bitter battle, I chose love.  It kept me from dying.  This Spring, let the new life you see popping up remind you of the opportunities you have to make beauty out of your circumstances – bravely march forward!

Love and Peace!
Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: February 6

AHHHH Saturday is my SOUL day!

You thought I had forgotten about you, huh?  No way! I have just been slammed, every area of my life has been so busy that I have had little time for my own pleasures – I need to take some Saturday SOUL for myself!  So, hubby and I are hanging out in the office on Saturday night – he’s working on Facebook and I am checking all my “stuff” and decided it was time to share some SOUL!  Gotta love it!

Lately I have discovered that I need a day that I don’t work on….yep, one day at least a week where I don’t even think about work.  Challenging for me, especially when my iPhone delivers my work email to me 24/7 – but I am learning.  I intend to write a book someday on the reality of WORK LIFE BALANCE….but I have to find it first! ; )

One thing I have done for myself recently is create my new photography site.  When you get a chance visit www.LensQueen.com and take a look at a few of the galleries I have posted – it is a work in progress and just fun to share my photography with you!

Here’s some prose I wrote about friends and the faithful ones who touch our hearts throughout our life….I hope you enjoy!

Thankful Heart

I was thinking about a thankful heart
Where it ends and where it starts
There’s so much doubt that we endure
But I’ve found one thing to be faithful and true
When you seek to know another
You will experience life’s sense of wonder
So look deep into the heart
That’s where it ends and where it starts
Embrace those who choose to love
With tenderness and kindness
Walk in life without fear, open and sincere
Praise those who learn to forgive
and live with those who live!

Love and peace!
Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: January 9

Growing natural and strong

No doubt you have started your list on how you are going to expand, grow, improve, make more money, lose more weight, be a better person, etc etc etc, in 2010.  It seems the thing we are programed to do, right?  And it’s a good thing, right?  But do you ever get sick of the put-on facade you see sometimes when people are trying TOO hard?  Setting goals is key, and embracing positive change is awesome, but when you try too hard to be “good”, or stay “positive”, it’s a little bit funny.  I want to think about growth in me as a natural outcome of my heart, my roots, my motives.  Just how far can we go with that?  Ok, come on with me now, I am going somewhere with this!

I snapped this photo of this ancient oak down in Kyle Texas and when I recently looked at the photo it reminded me a a poem I had written about growth and a tree – here is it, see if you can see the correlation between  this poem and what I wrote in the paragraph above.

Tree of Transition

Tower tree of transition
Your leaves are green and fastened
Your bark is tender
Limbs are fine
Rested
Settled tree of mine
May I see myself in the green
Can I hope for leaves unseen – still
Will inches add and fullness fourish
Let it be
Don’t disturb this tree
It’s better left that way
It grows in simple trust – thrust
Through to new growth
Just because it has a home

Love and peace and unhindered growth!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: January 1

George Jetson and Star Trek – 2010 and beyond !

WOW!  2010!  Back in the day when we thought of 2010 we thought of the Jetson’s, Spock, the Enterprise and flying cars!  I wonder how our cultural collective conscienceness would have changed if we had known that things really wouldn’t be that different in 2010?  Which makes me ponder another thought – about how we are always thinking things will be different in the future…like “2010 is going to be my year!” -  I have said it already.  But you know what?  It is the hope of the future that makes us say that.  It is the hope of things being better, the hope of a new fresh start – a blank canvass – that keeps many of us pushed toward growth and change.  I think the reality is that the nature of human beings doesn’t  change much, we just get smarter (hopefully), become more aware and learn more about ourselves, which in turn changes the way we treat each other.  I do however, hold to a deep belief that we are expanding our natures through love, and those who embrace love do indeed hold the power to create a better future for all.  But anyway, I do hope for flying cars and advanced technology that will allow me to beam myself up to Tahiti without it costing too much!

I want to wish all of my family, friends – old and new, social networking buddies, my clients, associates and readers – a great 2010.  Whatever you have struggled with this year, I encourage you to meet it head on in January and write out a way to overcome the obstacles.  Think deeply, meditate on it, pray about it, then be still and the answer will come.  I love you all!  Happy, merry, prosperous and fabulous New Year!

Love and Peace!
Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: December 19

Musing on a magical season of LOVE

No doubt most of you will not have time to read this post until after you have finished your holiday shopping.  I will be getting out later this afternoon to do my final (hopefully) shopping and “Christmasing” as I call it.  First I want to share some fun photos I took last night at the Galleria (one of my favorite holiday shopping stops), the tree was more fabulous than ever.  As I watched the ice skaters it took me back to so many fun memories as a child at Christmas – life is full of wonder!

I have been pretty slammed all month and have missed posting my soulish thoughts and rants!  Well here I am and what I want to share today is a collection of holiday greetings, simple prose, and thoughtful reflections on love I have written.

• Love comes to the heart that has the eyes of a child – wide-eyed with wonder
• Where else can such a gift be found than in the love that gives itself to another, asking nothing in return
• Is it possible that this joyful season last all year long?  Can your heart believe in miracles?
• In an instant when love is poured out,  joy and healing penetrate the heart
• What greater gift could there be than love that is free
• I want my friends to know, to be able to love and live your life each day is a gift – open this gift every day it is given and give thanks to the one who gave it!
• There’s no other love you can find to hold your heart like mine
• To love and live each day…is a holy thing.  Can you believe?  Can you love?

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: November 7

What we all have in common

UPDATE ON THE GLASS HOUSE:  The VideoFest awarded The Glass House BEST DOCUMENTARY!  Great film, check it out on the Sundance Channel!

I am excited to be a part of this weekend’s festivities of the 22nd annual VideoFest in Dallas!  I have the privilege of representing the film The Glass House, a documentary written, produced and directed by my niece Melissa Hibbard and her husband Hamid Rahmanian of Fictionville Studios.  Please join me on Sunday for the premier of the movie here in Dallas at the Mockingbird Station, the movie plays at 2:15 pm.

The Glass House portrays a common thread that runs throughout the human race, it is what we all have in common – pain, dreams, desire, tears, laughter, and the need for and giving of LOVE!  It is what touched me the deepest about this film.  No matter who you are, or where you live, or what language you speak, we basically need the same stuff.  When you watch The Glass House and see the stories unfold of these girls, you will realize, this could be my daughter, my grandchild….or me!

LOVE and PAIN, connect all of us.  It is THE thing we should remember before we pass judgment or pull away from someone because of our differences. What would happen if we could connect on that basis?  What if our world could be more like John Lennon’s song “Imagine”, that there were no boundaries that separated u?.  What if we could just be free to love each other?  What if we could be free to HELP each other?

These are the thoughts that The Glass House provoked in me….that we are really all the same, just different costumes.  Let’s choose to love the beauty in diversity!

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: October 17

I am the keeper of my HEART and all its passion!

Well the rain has gone (for now anyway), and we woke up this morning to an absolutely fabulous fall day – perfect weather, right? (Especially for all you Texas / OU fans at the Cotton Bowl today.)  I am digging it at any rate and got up first thing this morning to go to Fitness class – the “Couch Potato Rescue“.  Had a blast and feel invigorated!   Working out with friends has been the answer for me and actually gets me out of bed on Saturday mornings!

I had a meeting this week with a friend and colleague, Petey Parker, who is a business coach and life guru.  We first just got together for me to share some tips on her new digital SLR (she is getting geared up for a trip to South Africa), but we ended up over lunch talking about me and what I wanted in my business and life.  She said two things to me that really hit me, simple and basic, and I want to share them with you…

When I was telling Petey (very vaguely) what I wanted in my life, I was unsure and stumbling all over my words.  I realized that I really wasn’t focused on what I was saying because I was too tired and stressed out and didn’t know for sure what I was feeling.  She said to me that she didn’t see the “sparkle” in my eyes when I was telling her about what I wanted to do.  Then later on in the conversation she said that I needed to get alone and find out “where my heart goes”.  That was it, that opened the gateway to thought and exploration.  Finding out where my heart goes will lead me to the passion my life requires!  Now, several days later, I realize that finding where “my heart is going” is a real soul search!

I am a preacher’s kid.  Grew up in the church, was active in it all my young and teenage life.  I was a Jesus-Freak in the 70′s, protesting, passing out tracks on the streets, singing about Jesus in parking lots, ministering to street people.  Then as a young adult I was active in leadership in the church.  I co-pastored, taught Sunday school to adults, led a big choir and ran a music program, went to prisons, fed the hungry.  I was passionate.  Then life happens and we find ourselves moving on from a place of zeal into a place of “doing”.  I really felt the reality of that when I got a divorce.  We move on…right?

Well, yes, and no.  We move on to grow up, mature and embrace a larger piece of life and reality.  But we also move away from the things that once brought a sense of purpose and fire to our hearts – the passion, the mission, the camaraderie of serving.  After talking to Petey this week, I realized that we can move away from our heart’s path without even knowing it!  We get cluttered up with the stuff we have to do, so much so, that we fail to take the time to listen to our hearts.  I have always believed that we are given certain talents, desires and gifts to use in this life.  If we don’t use them, then what the hell?

The truth is, I miss the passion, the mission, and the camaraderie I grew up with.  I miss working together with people who are seeking something better, wanting to give love with no strings attached.  I am haunted by memories of my past when my goals consisted of more than building a business, making money or getting a project done.  There is something each of us have within us that turns us on, something that stokes the fire that makes us who we are.  We are willing to follow it, commit to it, live for it, work for it and yes, sacrifice for it.

I think that we must treat our own hearts like we treat the heart of our lover.  It must be nurtured, romanced and tended.  If I spend the time with my heart, seeking it’s desire, then I am confident I will experience the passion, the intrigue, the joy, of KNOWING it.

Here’s to slowing down and emptying the busyness out for a time so that my heart can sing to me!

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: October 10

Rainy State Fair Fun!

Wow, I am loving this weather and feel like I am living in Seattle or Portand with all the rain and drizzle.  There is something about this time of year that just makes me feel “homey”.  I want to hang out, cook, bake and enjoy my family.  It has really been great having my son Josh with us this fall, I am looking forward to our first taste of the family “Spiced Tea”….it is our sumptuous holiday hot tea drink that was made famous by my fabulous Aunt Flodie – talk about fall memories!

Ok, so we went to the fair last Saturday, and let me tell you, it was a total blast!  Every year it is MY time to take my camera, stroll and watch people and eat whatever I want!  This year it was rainy and we went totally unprepared.  When we got on the Dart Rail at the Parker Road station in Plano it was sunny and beautiful. By the time we got into Dallas, it was raining and rained all day.  We stay “moist” most of the day, but dodged the real rain by going into the exhibit halls and watching the pig races, petting the animals in the animal zoo and of course, my favorite, the car show.  Here is a look at some of the fun times, and good eats!

If you haven’t gone to the fair yet, take the time, hop on the Dart Rail and get there, it is the best in the country and an experience in diversity!

Love and Peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: October 3

Fair Day!

What about this weather here in DFW?  Beautiful and no doubt my favorite time of year.  The air is so crisp, just breath it in and feel how it refreshes you.  one of my favorite things to do in the fall (other than going to moms for Thanksgiving Dinner ) is going to the Texas State Fair.  If you have never been it is worth the trip from wherever, because is rocks!  I use my “fair day” as a photo excursion of sorts  – I take my camera and watch people, get great shots and have fun with hubby during the process. In honor of my Fair Day, here are a few pics to share from years past….

Saturday SOUL: September 12, 2009

Memoirs of a Rainy Day

Funny how rain and drizzle dredge up the memories of days gone by.

I am sitting in my office with the windows open because the A/C is out in our house (i know, ug!), listening to the rain and an occasional blue jay making that famous Texas sound.  Reminds me of my summers here with cousin Laura and my famed Aunt “Flodie” as we called her.  The happiest times I can remember.  But rain can also conjure up some wickedly stupid memories, like the time I am driving in the car with ……. oh well, never mind!  ; )

Here’s a little something I wrote on one of those rainy days that brings out in the soul all that makes us long for more meaning in our lives and in our love relationships.

Tears to Kiss

When I see the passion of your heart, I cry
When I see your eyes that light the dark, I cry
No other reason why

Your heart bled into mine
Our blood mixed as one
One life in one, giving all to all
I cry

Lightening strikes but once between two hearts
Tears of joy, tears of passion, tears of pain
I cry
For all the reasons I cry

Yet in my heart rages blue sky eternal
The hope for becoming one again
like man and god
sea and sky
meeting in the rain
to kiss

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Saturday SOUL: September 5

The Air of Autumn

Ending
scorched heated days of summer
crisp sun dappled moments
laced with childcare’s laughter
gin and tonics and pool-side acrobatics
cooler water flows from the hose
Lacey and Caesar repose
from ferocious growth to quiet contemplation
summers’ winds lay down

Conspiring
portrait of the full-moon laughing
a chill on the skin wrapping,
enclosing all that’s green hued
to orange-red speckled to woo me
the air turns pale while slower cars prevail
settled, quietly dreaming
flinging powered puffs across pure blue
Autumn’s breath begins to move

Creating
crunching dead-life beneath my feet
reminding me how quickly we expose
regroup, engage, pursue
green life hides beneath the heaving chest
promising a wild return pressed through cold-wet
chilling warming playful Autumn air
capturing a five-fingered turkey
returning laughter for care.

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Saturday SOUL: August 22

Have you ever felt this way about someone?

OMG!

Ohhhh my GOD!
I saw you
I saw you!
Like a shooting star on this year’s first night of summer
You flashed by me
I saw you!
Do you have any idea what that did to me?
Did you feel my pulse race?
Did you see the smile on my face?
Do you know what hope and longing was felt in the mere fleeting glance of you?
I saw you
Just like this life -
To flash before these love-sick eyes
A god out of reach

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Saturday SOUL: August 15

There are times we have when we just go by feelings, simply wanting to be known and to know.  This poem came from one of those moments in my life.

Knowing

I don’t know the words
I’m really not that smart
I don’t even know how, I just get by – feeling

A heart is easy
Eyes?  I can read them
Motives?  That one gets me sometimes
But sooner or later I know

I don’t care about your words
I’m gonna read your heart
Don’t let it fail me
I’m not that strong

What I really want is to share my song

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Saturday SOUL: August 8

Ahh, the terrible push and pull of hearts in love.  I could tell you stories but instead I will share a couple of writings and give a hint of the fickleness love can sometimes have.  From drama and despair to elated bliss, love can give you one hell of a work out!  Here’s to all you lover’s out there!

A Lover’s Musings –

If losing sleep and losing dreams really make you sick,
then I am TERMINAL

If losing loved ones and being hated by the ones you love make you hard,
then I am STONE

If loss of mind and weakened spirit make you mad,
then I am but a LUNATIC

If a lying tongue and deceitful heart send you to hell,
then I am lost in the FLAMES

If a cold heart and an empty stare means you are dead,
then I am a CORPSE in-deed!

But in my sickness you healed me
and kissed away my tears
and in my darkness your light came
to save my life from despair

San Marcus Sky 2

San Marcus Sky is gray today
but I’m holding on to the Persian blue memories
from days when its perfume rose like a mist for my love and I
Days were short and time was never enough
for those flighty days of late summer

All that was beautiful then became broken
when a painful heart tore my lover from me
but now, as I look through aqua clear eyes,
I see that grace has delivered him back to my heart
More precious than I ever knew him to be

Now, as we leave this magic kingdom,
we leave never to return the same
but with each other we go
and this time the perfume goes with us
for no single place could contain
the essence of our love

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Saturday SOUL: August 1

If you have ever been to south Texas and visited San Marcus and the San Marcus River, you will relate to the beauty I speak of in this writing.  There is a love for Texas and a love for the river down there that has always inspired me. It is a magical place (I call it the magic kingdom) where my love was not only kindled for my state but also for my lover.

San Marcus Sky

The moon shining down in the San Marcus sky
brings a smile to my face and I’m not sure why
it seems brighter here
smells like perfume in the air

This is the land where dreams are awakened
where the sun melts the sky and the moon’s light is shaken
rivers of teal flanked by green-soaked rocks
where a aman and a woman hold their hearts
lost in talk

San Marcus sky on a persian blue rug
you hold my heart in your land of love

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Saturday SOUL: July 25

This is one of my favorite writings, totally inspired by that “thing” in your gut you get when you want to be with your lover so bad…you know that feeling, right?

Ode to a love-sick trucker

It’s only a matter of minutes till this phone strays
I’m on my way to 90
Takes you right to Boston, or New York…a million miles away
Got my Massachusetts off
Closed them scales down soft
I’m callin you empty
All except the chowder
Let’s hammer down and act like nothin’ matters

Bruce is singing in New Jersey
I hope the maps don’t lie – I think I’ll take 287
Maybe hop on 95
I heard that song again, the one we danced to in the dark
I’ve got to make good time tonight, I got a real late start

Good, there’s Hartford, jumps right out at 91
What happened to 95?  Where did it go?
I think I saw your face there…shit, I don’t know
Hammer down to Vermont
That’s where I get my load off
You know that’s where they sang White Christmas
…ask me if I miss ya

These maps don’t make much sense
Can’t they put’em on one sheet?
This shit all runs together,  God I hope we’ll have good weather
Hey, this one stretches out from Rhode Island all the way to San Francisco
No, I didn’t leave my heart there
I just wanted you to know

Gotta go now – dame phone is cuttin’ out
Did you hear me?  Feel like I have to shout!
I’m driving hard again, I want to see you soon
Goodbye, you know I hate that word
Believe what I say, it ain’t no lie
When I go to sleep tonight, I’ll be swimmin ‘ in your eyes

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Saturday SOUL: July 18

Here are a couple of poems for lovers – thinking about love, passion and finding that one thing….

Heart Inflamed

Hold me back from the inspiration that grips my heart
Like shards of glass sounding
Piercing through to the deepest hidden part
Binding my heart to love

Hold me to the solace of selfish longing
That tenacious memory of
One night
Lost in passion
Lost in music
Lost in dance
You
Shot straight through like a spark
A fire unleashed in the whirlwind
Capturing my heart in the flame

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Blue

I found a blue jay feather out back by the tree
you know, underneath the torch I lit for you
“How many torches do you have?” you said
“only one, that’s all”
“How does the flame go out?”
“I guess it will just go out by itself” I answered with a hint”
“But what keeps the flame burning?” you asked
“Fuel” you fool!

Finely tined feather
Not broken at all
Just skillfully removed and tossed
Into the dirt like a dagger
(in a brick wall)

Strange finding a feather under that torch
Removed like my love is for you
Yet ready to ignite by one single spark

But make no mistake about the feather
It was blue

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Saturday SOUL:  July 11

The ART of smoke and mirrors

I am writing today from Nashville, the home of country music and my big sis, Judith.  Started the day walking through the village, getting a cup of java and sitting outside to watch the people pass in a misty, drizzly rain.  I am here with my hubby staying at my sister’s home in Brentwood, my brother has flown in to meet us from Park City and my little niece is here as well.  It is a wonderful time with some of the most real people I know, people who have lived life, been to hell and back, and are coherent enough to tell about it!  I realize today that the journey we have all been on has brought us each to a place of NOT knowing!  Funny for a bunch of preacher’s kids who use to have all the answers down pat!

In our conversations on the patio last night (until 3 am), after having enjoyed a night out with friends at Whitfield’s Bar singing (as we always do) around the piano and entertaining our entourage, we discussed the changes we see in our culture and what I will hopefully admit is an emergence of more tolerance for all people.  Less judgment, more freedom, thinking freely and more confidently about God and our place in all of this.  Scary to many, and a reality for a few.   I like what I am seeing, although i know it is upsetting the status quo.  I like the idea where we can all accept each other without judgment, knowing that we are all just human beings trying to live and love and be happy in this life.  This brings me to my title for this week:  The art of smoke and mirrors!

As a musician/singer/performer and  growing  up as a preacher’s daughter in the mid-west, I can talk to you as an expert about smoke and mirrors.  Not the kind David Copperfield may use, but the smoke and mirrors that are all too familiar in our daily lives.   The kind that fool the simplest of us, that can take away our faith.

The art of smoke and mirrors as I see it is sometimes deliberate, sometimes carefully crafted, and sometimes the result of our own insecurity.  An old friend of mine who has a band is a good example.  Although she is really not a good singer, she knows the art of smoke and mirrors and uses it when on stage.  She will draw your attention away from her voice with her movements, the guitar and loud sound of the band, the lights, the stage, the show.  You will be awed when you see her, but you will really never HEAR her.  She knows how to work the smoke and mirrors.   Sound familiar?  What about the preacher/evangelist who wows you with their passion and emotion, but when you really listen to what they are saying, it is empty rhetoric and lacking in real knowledge.  Then there is the marketer who just hounds you to death through stupid emails and marketing jargon, telling you how big you can win if you buy their product, but they never really share any knowledge .  Smoke and mirrors.  It has worked for centuries in business and in the entertainment industry.  Sad though, because like my singer friend, it leaves the person behind the mirror empty, and unfulfilled, lost without a confidence of any kind.

Now, let’s turn the table.  What about the singer/performer who is aligned with himself, practiced, passionate, skilled and REAL in his performance.  After their performance, you walk away with a memory and a moment in your life that has brought change and magic.  The speaker who changes your life with truth you can take home with you and passion you can align yourself to in the real world.  Then there is the teacher who is not fooling her students with generic, canned generalities (smoke and mirrors), but sharing her heart, her knowledge, connecting and changing lives in the process.

What I am talking about friends, is being real.  Being humble, accepting and loving, passionate and committed.  Embracing the gifts in you and crafting them so that they become real.  Like the Velveteen Rabbit, many of us have to have all our hair rubbed off in life to become real, to accept the fact that we are who we are and cannot be anyone else.  In my sisters bath room she has a sign on the wall  that says “She decided to be herself since everyone else had already been taken”.  I like that.

Maybe the Art of Smoke and Mirrors works well for some people, they can get by. But for me, when it comes down to it, in this life, we have one pass, one opportunity to be real, to reach in and grab all we can get to experience the beauty and adventure of every moment.  One breathing life to love the people in our lives, to effect change in people by sharing who we are.  I do NOT want to miss that.  I do not want to wake up and realise that what I had been after wasn’t real at all, or that what was BEHIND the smoke and mirrors was really a hell of a lot better!

Love and peace!

Sandy

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Saturday SOUL: July 4

Indepdence Day for All!

Since today is our Independence Day here in the United States, I felt compelled to talk about INDEPENDENCE!  ; )  So, no cute rhyme or mystical mind-wanderings, just my thoughts on the price of FREEDOM – your freedom!

Just as our ancestors fought for freedom from a tyrannical empire and gave their lives to have their voices heard, so we must continue to fight the fight of freedom for our PERSONAL selves.  You know that many have died fighting against the British empire, fighting against “taxation without representation”, for women’s rights, for civil liberties, for human rights of all people, and so that other people could be free from monster dictators, but do we think (in this same light) about the men and women who have given their lives to be free from a TYRANNICAL SPOUSE or parent?  A denigrating boss or business associate?  And what about the physically and mentally challenged who fight every day for the independence of movement or thought?  There is sacrifice all around us.

If we listen, really listen, to others personal stories about their “march of FREEDOM”, we will find inspiration, feel sorrow and pain and come to understand their suffering….all for freedom.  These stories are what connects the entire human race!  There is the wife who gives up her home and risks everything, I mean everything, to get free from an abusive and oppressive husband.  Or the husband who must exercise his independence from an unloving, violent or absent wife.  Children who fight their ENTIRE LIVES to free themselves from the marks left by parents who kept them enslaved with no liberties or free pursuits.  Or the person who must fight to maintain a free mind who lives in an oppressive country, under an cruel regime.  I could go on, but I hope you get the picture.  FREEDOM comes with a price for us all everyday.  How can we continue to judge others when we all have the same need?  What I love about the people that surround me in my life here in America is that there is an underlying belief that freedom belongs to everyone.  But this is not just about political freedom, it is about personal freedom, freedom from judgment, freedom from bigotry and hatred.  If we will look into the hearts of the people who are in our lives and accept that we really are the same and embrace the love that’s in us, I think we can change the world.

“Your freedom ENDS where mine begins”.  There is a respect for human life that comes with acceptance of our individuality.  When I understand more I am less judgmental.  The less judgmental I am the more love abounds, the more love there is, the more an individual can move into their freedom!

Happy Independence Day!

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Saturday Soul:  June 27

Saturday Soul for my birthday

Saturday soul, birthday soul, living soul, precious soul
Mixture of love and spirit, insight and hunger, strength and frailty
Growing up, letting go, diving in

Saturday soul, birthday soul, moving soul, empty soul
Filling the void, finding the space, living in grace
Embracing my youth as a guide to old age

Saturday soul, birthday soul, wandering soul, giving soul
Passion’s spring of joy returning with the gift of living
Mystery, exploration, finding me whole
—–
Embracing the mystery of life and accepting the “unknown” outcome has been a journey for me that I feel like I have only yet started.  I’m beginning to see that I don’t have to “know”. It’s better to embrace the moments of my life and taste than to wish for another time or place and live in the emptiness. When I drop the walls of judgment and intolerance and open my heart to life, I feel deeper, see further and love completely.  This is where my passion is nurtured and my sight strengthened so that I can see the beauty along the way and move from passage to passage embracing the magic of every moment I’ve been given.

And just to top off today, here is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs (My original video I had was removed by Sony, but here is another video of SANDY from 1978)!

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Saturday Soul:  June 20

On the Flame of Love’s Embrace

If I could awaken from love’s dream
turn the mercury to a sliver
and hush the very breath that warmth and joy delivers…

If I could snuff the laughter
to a filtered pretend chuckle
and fasten tight the mystery with a hardened cut-steel buckle

If I harnessed dreams’ heart and hope
with a cold and cloudy stare
and turned my face from what is real
if I could stop love there

But soon the prickle of the cold
would turn my heart to grief,
if I awakened from the dream laid at my lover’s feet
No, this tender vision must remain
sweetly moving, gently nurtured in the hope of my love’s flame

*All poems and writings/articles © Sandy Wright 2011.