Call Me Sybil

A  L  O  H  A !

" Long before our time

 they called her old,
But she'd walk down the same road

 every day.
Her age became

 too much to say
In years — and, like a forest's,

 would be told-

" In centuries. 

She comes to stand at dusk —
Her spot each time the same —

 and to foretell.
She is a hollow,

 wrinkled husk,
Dark

 as a fire-gutted citadel.

" She has to turn

 her flock of talking

 loose
Or it will grow

 too crowded

 to relieve.
Flapping and screaming, 

words are flying 

all

Around her. 

Then, returning home

 to roost,
They find a perch

 beneath her eyebrows' eaves,
And in that shadow

 wait for night to fall. "

Rainer Maria Rilke

 <>[}:{]<>

I too know

centuries of

experience

[ not ALL of it

my own ] 

 Go out

each day,

returning to this 

spot.

Words

flap,

emerge,

fly about.

OK,

maybe I tease them,

a bit,

am pleased by them,

even 'sneeze'

them.

But they roost

not only in my

eyes

[ my photos ]

Miracle!

They roost

in YOUr heart!

Thank YOU

for giving my words,

my eyes,

a noble home.

Drop off some words

of Your Own

 in 'Comments '

                          Warmly, cloudia

Let's Cathect

" Cathect: to invest emotion or feeling in an idea, object, or another person. "
[ Link ]

A  L  O  H  A !

 " The sad truth is

that most evil is done

by people

who never make up

their minds

to be good

or evil. "

Hannah Arendt

 " You be the sun,
I'll be the moon.
Just let your light
Come shining through,
And when night comes,
Just like the moon,
I'll shine the light
Right back at you.

Anonymous

" Ideas can be life-changing.

 Sometimes all you need 

to open the door

 is just one more

 good idea.  "

Jim Rohn 

" Reality is a sliding door. "

Ralph Waldo Emerson

   <(-'.'-)>

You & I

cannot take responsibility

for the inner work,

the challenges,

and struggles

of those we love.

What we CAN do

is show them

we care,

and ameliorate

emotional fall-out

by forgiving

them;

And ourselves.

 

All you can do

is love them.  

Just never forget:

the only responsibility

that is yours to the end

is the sacred one

to yourself. 

Always care

for that one

placed

in your care

first.  

Only then
will you be enabled
to care effectively
for others. . . 

 =^.^=    <>[}:{]<>   <(-'.'-)>

Thank YOU

for being a person

who cares.

YOUR visit

is accepted as

a gift here.

'Take away Peace - Leave Your Comment'

                   Warmly, cloudia

Finding an Animal Companion

A  L  O  H  A !

So many adventures together

 Animal companions

are gifts of unconditional

love.

They have shorter lives than we do.

So, as they teach us

about love,

they also teach us about 

loss,

and coping.

They give us the gift

of grasping

mortality.

Right after they
leave us,
there is a time

that is too full

of emptiness

and memories-

-too full

to try and fill.

Gecko on a wall mirror

 We never saw a gecko 

in the apartment before,

but one appeared

the day after Kitty passed.

The place seemed so

e m p t y

with her gone.

The gecko was like

nature

looking in

to console us-

to make us smile

at irrepressible

L I F E !

 The is a place [ Link ]

where you can go

to find an animal

who is also

looking for a friend.

Even if it is not

easy-

 Any new relationship

 is fraught;  

It's best 

to take it easy

 at first.

This girl

was in kitty jail

for over a month!

 In time, 

curiosity prevails. 

Is that a lightning-bolt

on your head,

friend?

 A loving nature

 instinctively understands

when it has met 

kindred spirits.

No other inmates,

no stream of faces,

no fingers through

 the mesh.
Perhaps my luck
has turned.

No noise,

or smell-

I seem to be

the sole cat in

possession.

Already in charge of the remote!

Meet

Pixie 'Thunderbolt' Charters

=^.^=

Aren't Friends wonderful?

Glad YOU  

have become ours!

'Take away News - Leave Your Comment'

                         Warmly, cloudia

Your Attention

A  L  O  H  A !

Your attention

is valuable,

that's why they call it

"paying attention."

Advertisers spend

good money

for it.

They know

that what comes into 

your attention

can motivate your

buying power.

" Brand Salience is the degree 

to which your brand 

is thought about or noticed 

 when a customer is in a

 buying situation."

 [ Link]

But there is so much more

that your attention can do,

so much more

than selecting purchases.

What captures your attention,

becomes the focus

of your attention -

You start to notice it

everywhere.

Buy a new Toyota

and you will notice

Toyota cars, and adverts

everywhere!

What we focus on

G R O W S.

Today, many of us

are focused on anger,

even rage;

and that attitude

grows

in our minds,

hearts, lives.

We are quick to notice

things that might anger us;

we are ready

to argue

with those who

disagree.

There is a better way

" Finally, brothers and sisters,

 whatever is true,

 whatever is noble, 

whatever is right, 

whatever is pure, 

whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent

 or praiseworthy—

think about such things. " 

Philippians 4:8 New International Version (NIV)

 What are YOU

trying to grow?

 Why waste time

kicking someone's

sand castle?

Instead

notice that

which makes life

better

in your own

opinion.

 Think on such things

and they will grow

in your heart,

mind, and in your

life.

Dare to BE

your version,

your vision,

of how life 

can be.

Leave detection,

 correction,

and punishment

for others;

That's not your

job.

Thank Goodness!!

 <(-'.'-)>

Thank YOU

for YOUr

KIND Attention

'Take What YOU like - leave YOUr Comment' 

                                Warmly, cloudia

V. I. Y; Very Important YOU

A  L  O  H  A !

" We are fed

 a steady diet

 of superficiality.
Spruce up

 your character 

instead of your

 wardrobe. "

Jessica Hagy

 “ People often say 

that motivation doesn’t

 last.
Well, neither does 

bathing – 

that’s why we recommend it

 daily. ”

Zig Ziglar

 " There never was 

any heart truly 

great and generous,
that was not also

 tender and 

compassionate. "

Robert Frost

" Habits 

change into 

character. "

Ovid

<>[}:{]<>

The 

things that sound

"nice"

or "positive"

or "inspirational"

(Some Day)

or an "ideal"

(we work towards it)

Actually contain

real power

right now.

Over time,

I have experienced

that these 

'Nice things"

we say

are

profoundly

true

in the 

deepest way:

" Each person

is uniquely

important. "

Sounds merely

nice,

but SO very

real!

Even better,

that includes

YOU &

Me

Dare to believe

in your

significance!

                           Warmly, cloudia