In awe, and so very touched ~ Penny has created a post (featuring her phenomenal illustration) , and a challenge inspired by a simple comment I made on one of her wonderful blog posts ~ ‘A Pigment-of-My-Imagination’. Penny you rock! Thank you dear friend … Enjoy – and Lots of love to all! ~Robyn Lee
This one’s for you, Robyn!
In September I posted A Pigment of My Imagination . At the end of the post was a graphic (the one above). I asked viewers to tell me what it might be a picture of. One of my favorite people (who inspires with every photograph she takes and every word she writes) answered:
Robyn Lee “Ok – in the picture, I see a mystical but loving sea creature emerging from the depths of an enchanted lake — after sunset… doing his magic for the good of all of mankind.”
Since then I had been thinking about what a “loving” sea creature would look like, I thought of Robyn’s personality, one that embodies “loving” to me. Yesterday I saw a photo of a bronze rendering of a dragon and I knew I’d found her. Last night I drew this dragon on my notepad. A beautiful (I hope) female sea creature emerging!
View original post 133 more words
Will You?
Will you meet me there? Beneath the muddy surface…
Where we shed our armor..remove our masks…
Where we strip down the layers;
Where we go, willingly…
to unveil our hearts’
deepest truth.
~~~
©Robyn Lee
Please allow me to share this wonderful prose poem entitled, The Invitation, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
It is a favorite of mine, and challenges us all to find the inspiration, the intimacy,
the courage and the commitment to live fully, every day.
The Invitation
by Oriah
…………………………..
It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.
It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.
~~~
from the book: The Invitation
© Mountain Dreaming,
published by HarperONE, San Francisco, 1999 All rights reserved
Aquatic Maiden
Tiny
Aquatic
Maiden
~
She
Defies
Gravity
~
Weightless
~
Drifting
Amongst
Transparent
Crystalline
Dreams.
~
Tiny
Aquatic
Maiden
~
Basking
Calmly
~
in
Clarity,
~
Gliding
~
Atop
~
Currents
of
Glistening
Peaceful
~
Bliss.
~
Tiny
Aquatic
Maiden
~
Sees
~
Through
Closed
Eyes
~
Reflected
Visions
of
~
Love
~
Dancing
About
~
The
Empty
Chambers
of
Her
Mind.
~
Tiny
Aquatic
Maiden
~
Opens
Her
Whole
Self
~
Wide
~
Welcoming
~
Sky’s
Warm
Breath
~
Sun’s
Sweet
Kiss;
~
Floating
Floating
Floating
~
to
The
Music
of
Her
Precious
Heart’s
Beat.
~~~
©Robyn Lee
Special thanks to my candid model for this post,
my beautiful 8-year-old niece, and our
Aquatic Maiden:
Miss Rebecca Jayne!
Much Love
~
Robyn
Ever notice that sometimes friends show up at just the right moment…
offering encouragement and inspiration,
not by doing anything specific,
but rather, by simply
being present?Last Thursday while I was venturing out to run an errand, following a rather difficult and isolating week,
my cell- phone rang and it was Meryl… a dear long-time friend who resides in my community.
Meryl also happens to be a member of our cherished blogsphere.
We have been friends here since my mid 20s, sharing in so many important
transitional periods of each other’s lives.We decided to meet, and hang out for a bit on a comfy bench facing our favorite Lily Pond.
It was such a delight to relish in some old-fashioned “girl-power” that day–a few giggles and tears,
reflections and hugs…And as we gazed at the emerging Lilies, I shot this photo of our adjoined shadows.Later that evening, Meryl composed a heartwarming poem and created a
special post honoring our bond of friendship. I am so thrilled to share
this with each of you today.Much Love~
Robyn Lee
we worship
the water
the sun
life on
earth
two
wombs
four girls
olive eyes
bronze skin
bouncing curls
transplanted
from the east
newcomers
friendship
re-birth
power
There’s nothing like bonding with
a girlfriend. Here’s me and Robyn Lee
hanging out on a bench with some lily pads.
Yep, we go way back… when our girls were
romping (sometimes butt naked ) on the beach.
We met at a day care center… new moms and
newcomers in this breathtaking yet lonely
place…both looking for a friend.
Then life and illness got in the way.
We had rarely spoken or seen one another
for years and years until Robyn came over for tea to
celebrate my birthday this past March. That day she shared
how she had discovered photography via her new blog—
Through The Healing Lens—how it was helping her
reconnect with the world after being isolated due
to her medical challenges and chronic pain.
Ironic, since I’m a photographer yet it…
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Savasana
In
Pain
She
Wakes
~
Facing
a
New
Dawn
~
Anticipating
~
Today
Will
Be
Different.
~
In
Pain
She
Tries
~
to
Believe
Solutions
Await
~
to
Remember
~
the
Universe
~
Is
on
Her
Side.
~
In
Pain
She
Clings
~
Tightly
~
to
Faith
~
Reassuring
Herself
~
That
if
She
~
Does all
the
Right
Things
~
Follows
the
Rules
~
Holds
the
Perfect
Posture
~
Contracts
Specific
Muscles
~
At
the
Precise
Moment;
~
if
She
Trusts
~
and
Forgives
~
Nourishes
Her
Being
~
Honors
Her
Heart
~
and
~
Loves,
~
She
Will
Heal
~
and
~
Reside
in
a
~
Kind
Gentle
Body
~
Once more.
____
But
~
In
Pain
She
is
~
Struck
~
Struck
Hard
~
By
Relentless
Agony
~
By
the
Harsh
Realization
~
That
She
is
off
Center
~
Uncertain
How
She
will
Endure
~
This
Invisible
Affliction
~
Day after
Day
After
Day
~
Night after
Night
After
Night.
~
And
~~
In
Pain
She
Knows
~
That
~
On these
Days
~
When
Resistance
Has taken
its
Toll
~
All
She
Can do
is
~
Stop
~
Call
Upon
Compassion
~
Lay her
Body
Down
Flat
~
and
~
Listen
to
the
~
Cadence
of
Her
Own
~
Consoling
~
Breath.
~~~
©Robyn Lee
Thanks to all of you for being here. Please know I am hanging in,
and so grateful to have this venue to express myself creatively, even in the difficult moments.
Although, most often, I enjoy escaping into fun and fantasy through my blog-work,
I also believe an important part of my healing process is to remain honest and open with all of you.
This artistic self-portrait and poem was composed this past Tuesday.
My healing lens, tripod and pen helped me to confront
the physical pain and emotion I was facing that day, head-on.
The yogic pose I assumed for this shot, Shavasana , was unplanned,
but later held significant meaning in terms
of self-healing.
Sometimes Inspiration finds us through our courage to embrace and express where
we are at any given moment, even if it is not where we want to be.
From there we can continue our journey forward…lighter,
and with more ease, and grace.
It means a lot to me, to have such genuine friendship and support, and a safe place to turn while
I’m working through the tough times. Thanks to each of you for your sensitive presence, and shared talents,
which remind me daily that I’m so much more than the physical challenges.
I Remain Hopeful!
Much Love~
Robyn Lee
THROUGH THE HEALING LENS 