The Things I Take For Granted

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His eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

Better than any wrapped present under a tree,

the rolling ocean, on a gray day,

looked thirteen shades of green

against a back drop of

deep purple clouds full of rain.

*

He was not child,

perhaps a man in middle age

and his excitement at seeing

something he had never seen in his entire life

had a child-like vulnerability

that was easy to fall into.

*

Strangers connected in nature’s beauty and wonder,

humans offering love

in a heart-shaped stone

passed on for remembrance.

*

The hard and the soft,

the remembered and the forgotten,

the future and the past,

all captured in a moment.

A Yellow Feather fell into my life!

 

I don’t think that I have ever thought about how many people in the world have never seen the ocean.  Thinking about it now I see that it may be possible that there are more people who have never seen it than people who have!  The things I take for granted!

I’ll never forget this chance meeting and the sharing of our souls in that moment.  And I will always love how the universe offers us gifts when we least expect it.

The perfectly heart-shaped stone that seemed to be surrounded in light, caught my eye as I walked on the beach that morning.  I walked past it because it didn’t measure up to the “incredible shell” status I have limited my beach finds to, as I have limited space in which to display them.

But then I heard a voice from my chest area (the place I know I should pay attention to) and it said, “But it’s a perfect HEART!”  Obediently, with full agreement, I turned and walked the three steps back to the stone, just as a wave was coming; possibly to take it back to the depths of the sea, never to be seen again.

I set the stone on the railing as I turned to wash the sand off my feet.  That is when I met the two gentlemen.  The one man couldn’t wait to tell us that this was the first time his friend had ever seen the ocean!

I was so excited to be able to share this experience with them.  I took their photos and tried to sum up the power of the sea and what it means to me.  I heard myself say, “It speaks to my soul.  And when I am here I can hear my soul speak to me, the connection is so clear.  There is healing power here…”

We turned to leave and when I was about three steps away I heard the voice of my soul say, “Wait!  You forgot your heart of stone!”

I promptly turned and grabbed it off the railing and immediately walked to the man and handed the heart to him.  There was a brief second where both our hands were connected by the heart, which directly connected our souls!  No words were spoken, but everything was said…

I thanked God for this very special meeting as tears welled up and gently slid down my face.  I AM Blessitude that my awareness is so open, and my connection to my soul continues to strengthen.

My dear friends, the gift of this moment was greater than any wrapped present under the tree!

Blessitude!

Lorrie❤

9/18/16

(Oh…the image is mine!)

Have I Been Wrong?

Can it be that I have had it all wrong?

Is it possible that the damaged soul

I have been trying to HEAL

Is not so damaged after all?

 

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Perhaps it bends

and flows

with the life force I feed it

 

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Maybe it adjusts illumination

depending on how much light I allow in

 

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Is it possible the frayed edges are so

because the strong hold of good

has defended its place?

 

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I think it’s time

that my thoughts live up to

the heart of my soul,

which beats clear,

Present…

Connected.

 

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I send you a blessing that the inner guidance from your soul may be heard, and that it leads you on the journey of reacquainting with your mind.

May what you look at and now SEE, be in tune with your soul’s purpose.

Blessitude!

Lorrie❤

9/4/16

I Can’t Believe I AM Five Years Old!

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Author unknown, Art (c) LorrieBowden.com

I have heard this poem for as long as I can remember. The Momma used to recite it, whenever someone or something turned 5 years old.  She memorized the poem from a birthday card that she received when she turned 5.  When I thought about this post, of course it jumped into my head!

I can’t believe I am five years old! It seems like yesterday that I started the weekend of my spiritual growth at Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. (Association of Research and Enlightenment.)

That weekend saw my heart open and some pretty amazing energy that I will never forget.

I was part of a group dream experience that was incredible. Nine strangers made a vow to dream for one woman who had a problem.  When the group assembled (randomly) the next day our dreams told a story in perfect order, which could only have been Divine intervention!  I still get goosebumps when I think of it!

I sat in a restaurant as the ground underneath us undulated…up…down…up…down. My first thought was we were near a military base and they must have been doing bomb exercises in the ocean.  Then I found out that it was an earthquake!!  On the east coast??

Without fear, we drove through tunnels and over bridges to our next destination (immediately after the earthquake!) Little did I know that we drove to within 8 miles of the epicenter.  But it was my 50th birthday weekend and we were going to see Mary Chapin Carpenter in concert.  There was no way I would miss that!

Every morning we went to breakfast in the hotel lobby and all the other people were talking about the aftershocks they felt during the night. I slept like a baby and didn’t feel a thing.

The concert was outdoors and while we were lining up to enter the venue, the weather did not look promising. Suddenly it turned black and the organizers quickly ushered us into a building to protect us from a nearby tornado.  The lightning storm was incredible and the whole experience was quite surreal.

Most of the people left as soon as the weather broke a little. We stayed with maybe fifty others who held out just long enough to find out that she was going to honor us with a concert after all.  It was still raining.  We didn’t care as we traipsed through mud with our lawn chairs.  We wore large garbage bags for raincoats and shared one umbrella.  We placed our chairs in the front row and sang every song with her until she had to stop due to a local curfew.

The celebratory activities were over and it was time to drive from Virginia back to New Jersey. And we were racing the clock because Hurricane Irene was barreling up the east coast.

As you can see, I will never forget my 50th birthday weekend and the spiritual opening of my soul!  There was an earthquake, thunderstorm, tornado, and Hurricane Irene (she did not cause damage to our area) all in the same week!  (I often wondered if the energy unleashed by my years of living blind had something to do with the crazy weather events…hehe.)

I witnessed great fear everywhere I went. I wrote a poem called, “The Fear of the People,” because it was palpable, you could feel it in the air.  But the most amazing thing about that whole time is that I never personally felt the fear as my own.  My vibration of love was so strong that there was absolutely no possibility that fear could invade.

And it was beautiful. And it was liberating and I felt so free.  And I knew that the weekend was marked by these awe inspiring events so that there was no possibility that I wouldn’t notice just how amazing it all was. 

I wish I could tell you that I have been able to stay in that love energy and been able to banish all fear in the years that have ensued. I can’t.  But I can tell you that when I am able to do that, I remember.  And when I remember, I am able to do that!!

Now that’s the kind of cycle I don’t mind being a part of!!

Can I just say, “I am BLESSITUDE!” I am so blessed and full of gratitude for this journey I am on, and while it may not always seem easy, it is always amazing!  Thank you my friends for your love, your respect, and for teaching me every single day.  I am so happy to share this life with you❤❤❤

Blessitude!

Lorrie❤

8/20/16

I created two images for this post and decided I did not have to choose which one to use…I could use them both😉

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BED OF NEEDLES

BED OF NEEDLES

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Somewhere in the middle

I created a bed of needles

No matter how I turned

I felt the stabbing pain

 

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And all that was created in that energy

resembled daggers

made to not only hurt

but to keep all good away

 

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Life was so out of focus

I found it hard to see what was really there

or what was a figment

of my imagination

 

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Slowly, some of the daggers

lost their shape and grew soft edges

Meaning was expressed

with images that came from my heart

 

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And before I knew it

the message of love multiplied

and a garden of beautiful flowers

was created

 

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And I understood the significance

of the bed of needles

and can even see their beauty now.

 

Blessitude

Lorrie❤

8/12/16

LONELY CHAIRS

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LONELY CHAIRS

backdrop of summer

days gone by

the lonely heart grieves

days gone by

a man in a tie

we point and laugh

I gasp in disbelief

swim to the last barrel

a member of the club

fear the size of the surf

7th avenue

it WAS heaven

a slice of my life

times that were free

talked about everything

that ever meant anything

dry my eyes

the pain taken away

never looked back

saw you swimming

in a hurricane

destructive storm

tore the landscape of our past

destructive life

ripped the heart out of your chest

never been more sorry

than the pain I felt from you…

I did not know

too much to

bare your soul

drowning in the loss

swimming out to sea

wishing the current

would just take you

away

my heart

and soul

have never left you

endless hours crying

and wishing I could hold you

My Dear friend

 

Oh, how we could sit for hours, baking in the sun. Talking never got old.

Do you know that you were my best friend?

You helped me through such a dark time in my life. It was like you knew that if you didn’t make me talk, every single day, that I just might have left…gone on to different pastures.

And I don’t even know if I ever thanked you.

And then there was a time when I could have done the same for you…and I didn’t.

I have forgiven myself for a lot of things, but no…not that one.

And it seems to just say I’m sorry to you wouldn’t be enough.

But I am.

 

Our chairs are now empty, as are parts of our hearts.

But know that in the landscape of my life you have always been right up there at the top!

The one with no secrets…

The one with so many answers…

The one who tried to talk sense into me…

But I never listened!

I wonder now if you caught on and started to tell me what you thought I SHOULDN’T do…?

Yeah.

I have always loved you.

And I have always known that you love me.

I miss you❤

Blessitude!

Lorrie❤

8/5/16

 

The Essence of Your Dreams

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“In fertile soil

may the essence of your dreams

grow into magnificent blossoms.”

~ Blessitude

Listen.  Listen to your heart.

To the place inside that is yearning.

Is there a dream not realized…

Something that won’t go away?

Listen.  Listen to the longing.

Honor the truth

And make a plan.

Your destiny awaits.

 

I’m really beginning to realize that each and every one of us comes into this world to play a part, or role, that is integral to the whole of the story.

I believe that deep down, in that place that no one else hears, there is a voice that speaks to us and guides us to our destiny.

I also believe that we spend an awful lot of time edging that voice out with the thinking voice in our head.

Here’s to quieting the mind and allowing the essence of our dreams to speak in tones we can hear.  And then may we make plans to honor what we hear, that which we already know deep inside.

Blessitude!

Lorrie❤

8/2/16

THE COPPER CORE OF STARS ~ Collaboration with F.G.M.

THE COPPER CORE OF STARS

 

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Riding atop a moonlit wave

reality appeared in a flash

that lit up the night sky

 

sudden illumination

moment of creation

in the pure light of love

 

it touched a place deep within

where I sensed trace elements

assemble and conceive

 

and I saw the face of my soul

in the birth of perfection

reflecting in a mirror of fire,

 

the copper core of stars.

 

Blessitude!

Lorrie & Fre’de’ric❤❤

7/19/16

My soul is forever connected with this dear man, Fre’de’ric, from Words In The Light.  From the first moment we met we knew that our souls had made a contract to find each other…no matter how far away our physical bodies could stray.  We come together in spirit and our words are our gifts.  I hope you enjoy!!