Hope & Healing Through Photography and Poetic Expression

Posts tagged “shadow

Blue Venus II


Waves
 of
inspiration

flow

from 
hearts
that 

love

~

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On Monday I received an email from my dear friend, Monica,
a very special lady I  first crossed paths with in the fall of 2010.
Facing similar challenges, Monica and I found the gift of friendship
after meeting on an internet medical support forum. Since that time,
we have become sisters of the soul… And, for this, I’m so grateful.

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After admiring Resa’s spectacular masterpiece art-gown Blue Venus this weekend,
 Monica sent me a wonderful poem she composed, explaining
that
 she was inspired by the stunning gown, combined with
the spirit she envisioned I would wear it.

I am deeply touched by her graceful heart, and
wanted to share her poetic healing words with each of you today.

 Paired with a shadow self-portrait, please enjoy this 3rd level
of artistic inspiration born of Resa’s  Blue Venus
 
Truly captivating verse, crafted by a very
talented poetess, and
beautiful friend.

Thank you
Monica!

With so much Love
~
Robyn Lee

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~

Wrapped in clouds and sky

her footfall gentle on the sand

eyes shining with bravery

trailing tranquility in her wake.

~

 Garbed in shimmering blue

Grecian goddess dancing

with iridescent fish from the sea

to the melody of hope and love.

~

Floating in sapphire silk,

singing to the ocean and stars

the wind answers back

as she walks like the night,  in beauty.

~
©Monica


Dear Robyn …

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Dear Robyn,

Today is your birthday,
and the eve
of a new year.

~

Take pause,
reflect, and be
grateful for
all the gifts of this
year past:

All
the
growth;

the
wisdom;

and
the Love.

~

Despite
your merciless
shadow
of pain;

the saddest
news headlines;

and
the most
turbulent storms;

You found
ways

to
inhale
the pure
scent of sea

and

feel the
warm touch
of
sunshine
on your cheek;

~

You sought
comfort

in the
glow
of
moonlight,

and
joy

in
bare feet
walking
over silky
sands;

~

You shared
intimate moments
with
butterflies,

and
gazed
soulfully into
the eyes of
deer.

~

This year you
were
blessed

with
inspiration
and
faith

in

love
and
friendship;

A boundless kind
of friendship… that
defies limits
of
time and space.

~

You learned

To trust your heart
and
share your words,
and your
vision;

To open your eyes
wider than they’ve ever
dared open
before;

To look confidently
through your
healing lens

and
know
that nobody
defines the sight
you behold…
except you.

~

And the gifts you have
received this year
are far richer for
having known

and welcomed
so many wonderful
kindred spirits
into your world.

~

Connecting
with
friends
of the soul

through this
magical
medium-of-technology

which somehow,
dissolves barriers
that,
too often,
divide;

~

You have witnessed
how it fosters

oneness
and
honesty;

~

artistic expression
and
passion;

~

healing
and
peace.

~

And just think,

How fortunate
are you?

To share
your own:

beach-walks
and
sunsets;

~

fantasies
and
sorrows;

~

hopes
and
fears.

~

How wondrous
to be
able

to support
and encourage
others,

and
to be

supported,
and
encouraged;

~

To
create,

and

 to be
part
of another’s
creating.

~

So today give reverence and thanks
for all these wonderful
birthday gifts, and celebrate.

Smile from the deepest place in your heart;
Look forward to a hopeful new year…
and tell all of the world
how much

You
Love
~

Robyn Lee

clock

~
Today I celebrate not only my birthday, and the beginning of a new year,
but also the milestone of nearly twelve months since joining this
remarkable blogging community… and soul family.
I feel so very grateful, and blessed to know all of you.

May this coming year bring peace, love, health
and abundant joy to
each of you.

Thank you for enriching my life.

Happy 2013!

WITH SO MUCH LOVE

~

Robyn


Spellbound

Clouds conjure a spell
Swept away in breath of wind
Suspended…in a kiss

© Robyn Lee


Vision Quest

Swept away
on
a
Vision Quest

 ~

In
The midst
of
a
Whirlwind

~

My
Rite
of
Passage

~

Delivers
me
Safely

~

To
a
Cherished
Space

~

Nature’s
Purest
Place

~

Where

~

Buried
Deep

~

Under
Golden
Grains

~

I
find
a
Treasure

~

My Lens;

~~~

Standing
Alone

~

Secure
in
Wet
Sand

~

I
Look
Through

~

And
Within

~

Seeing
From
New eyes

~

Magnified
Truth

~

Empowered
Presence

~

Illuminated
Self;

~

My
Eyes relax

and

~

Focus
Converges

on

~

All that
is
Love

~

All that
is
Me;

~

Blinded

~

From
Fear

~~

Shielded

~

From
Pain

~~

My Lens

~

Exposes

~

That
Which is
Real

~

That
Which is
Illusion

~

Altering

My
Vision

~

Eternally

~~~

©Robyn Lee

 My first nature excursion in about 6 weeks!

On Friday at 4 pm I had an enchanting encounter with the sea.

A healing moment indeed.

Thanks to each of you for being so incredibly loving and supportive,
and sending me such passionate healing energies as I continue my journey.
I know they hold great power, and I love you all for the special souls you are.

~Robyn Lee


Sea Within

“Facing blue waves of uncertainty,
I place my hand on my heart
to honor the sea
in me.”
~~~

Robyn Lee

Please enjoy this excerpt
from Renee Robinson’s
wonderful poem entitled:
Rainbow Of Souls

~~~
The tide washing in

The tide washing out

The current a powerful force

Living in the rhythm of the sea

Alive and breathing

She welcomes me

Standing on a cliff

Way up high

The sea beneath me

Her mist salting my tongue

Her breeze exploring my hair

Imprints in the sand

Her breath, we share

I hear her voice

In the sea air

She calls my name

I hear her heartbeat

Crashing on the rocks

I see her there

I dive in her waters

Within the splashing

Aftershock

I love the sea

I was made for her

Or maybe

She was made for me

She is the past

The present

And the future

She is history

Mystery and

Eternity

The stories she tells

The treasures hidden

All part of her destiny

Alive and breathing

Living in the rhythm of the sea

~~~~
by, Renee Robinson

Warm thanks to Renee Robinson of Nae’s Nest | Dancing With Cancer & Other Writings for permission
to feature the 1st verse of her enchanting poem, Rainbow Of Souls, today with my featured image.

Much Love,

Robyn Lee


Once Upon A Time

“…for with each dawn,
she found new hope that someday,
her dreams of happiness would come true.”

~
Cinderella
Walt Disney, 1950

 I am most delighted to invite you to enjoy this wonderful poem by fellow blogger, Julie Catherine, entitled Sonnet Sequence: On Cinderella « .  Julie and I agree that, together, the posts make a lovely collaboration of image and words.

You can also view Julie’s poem alongside my image here: Sonnet Sequence: On Cinderella, by~Julie Catherine

Thank you Julie, and Much Love to all!

~ Robyn Lee


Liberty

“Life without liberty is like a
body without spirit.”

~ Kahil Gibran


Wishing You and Yours a very
Happy Independence Day!!

Much Love,

Robyn Lee


Transcendent Shadow

In the still night

Holding stable

Atop white sandy dunes

I lift my head in prayer.

Hearing the moon’s call, I

Submit to the pleas of my own

Desperate breath.

~~~

A warm salt breeze

Strokes my forehead

Gently urging my eyelids to close;

And quietly, I slip away from

~~~

What is real

What is earthly

What is pain.

~~~

Swiftly transported through

Space and time;

Lifted lovingly onto the wings of

Incandescent stars,

I transcend.

~~~

Spinning fervently

Whirling and turning, round and round

like a Dervish;

Finally, I penetrate a solid

Wall of mirrored glass and,

I am welcomed.

~~~

Without thought

Without words

Without pain,

I enter.

~~~

Here

Where my body

Is weightless and free;

And movement, effortless.

~~~

Here

Without bondage

Without boundary

Without pain.

~~~

Here

Where My dreams

Dance freely,

Held in the safe embrace of

 Blissful crystal waters;

~~~

And

Where my heart beats in

Perfect sync with the

Rhythmic tides of

My truth.

~

Robyn Lee


Shadow Lover


Take me to the green in you

The secret valley beneath the sun

Hidden behind the whispering ghosts

Of whom you pretend to be

Open up your mossy arms

So I may open mine

And wrap all limbs round your spirit wide

To exist as half no more

Bring me to your mossy floor

Beneath the shadows of your fear

A raven bride in white

A ladder to your soul

Fold down your branches

Peel open your chocolate bark

So I may pour

As liquid amber

Through your very veins

——————
by, Sam Craft

I am thrilled to share this collaborative project with you today. Special thanks to Sam of of  Everyday Asperger’s, who penned this stunning piece entitled The Raven Bride in White at the most perfect time to accompany my beloved shadow image.

Hope you enjoyed!

Much Love ~ Robyn Lee



Eavesdropping

“I wish I were like you,”
Said the forest
to the roaring river,
“Always traveling,
always sightseeing;

Rushing towards the pure domain
of the sea,
The kingdom of water;
Water,
The passionate, vigorous spirit
of life,
The liquid turquoise of light
With eternal flow …”

“But what am I?
Only a captive,
chained to the earth.
In silence I grow old,
In silence I wither and die,
And before long
nothing will remain of me
But a handful of ashes.”

“O forest, half-asleep, half-awake”,
Cried the river,
“I wish I were you,
Enjoying a seclusion
of living emerald,

And illuminated by moonlit nights;
Being a mirror
reflecting the beauties
of Spring;

A shaded rendezvous for lovers.”

“Your destiny, a new life
every year;
My life, running away from myself
all the time;
Running. running, running
in bewilderment;
And what is my gain
Of all this meaningless journey?
Ah … never having a moment of calm
and rest!”

“No one can ever know
what the other feels;
Who does care to ask
about a passer-by
If he really existed
or was only a shadow?”

Now a passer-by
Aimlessly walking in the shade
Comes to ask himself,
“Who am I? a river? a forest?
Or both?
River and forest?

~~~

Hope you enjoyed this wonderful story (and companion image of me listening to the
Forest and River converse 😉 ).
The piece is entitled Forest and River, written by
Jalal al-Din Rumi, with translation by Zhaleh Esfahani.

~~~
Much Love ~ Robyn Lee




Submerged

“Yet it is in our idleness,
in our dreams, that the submerged
truth sometimes comes to the top.”

~ Virginia Woolf


Revealing ~ part II

“Quite often, the direction we face reveals not only
the sight before us, but something richer and deeper still.”

~Robyn Lee

Here I share with you another photo I shot yesterday, a companion to Revealing « THROUGH THE HEALING LENS in order to  ‘reveal’ to you more of the environment in which these photos were created. Enjoy 😉

Much Love ~ RL!!


Illusion

“Sometimes I need to get lost in a field of illusion
in order to finally find my most
authentic self.”

~Robyn Lee


I Want To Know


It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have been told, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.

~David Whyte

This poem entitled, Self Portrait was written by David Whyte, and is an excerpt from his book
Fire In The Earth. It resonated with me as I reflected upon my feature image today, which portrays my own shadow during a visit to the woods, where I often go to contemplate life’s hard questions. Hope you enjoyed.  

Much Love ~ RL

 Click here to read an interesting analysis of Whyte’s poem:
Analysis of “Self-Portrait” « THROUGH THE HEALING LENS



Transform


To harden the earth 
the rocks took charge:
instantly
they grew wings:
the rocks
that soared:
the survivors
flew up
the lightning bolt,
screamed in the night,
a watermark,
a violent sword,
a meteor.

The succulent sky
had not only clouds,
not only space smelling
of oxygen,
but an earthly stone
flashing here and there
changed into a dove,
changed into a bell,
into immensity,
into a piercing wind:
into a phosphorescent arrow,
into salt of the sky.

~Pablo Neruda

 

This riveting narrative by Pablo Neruda is a favorite of mine. Hope you enjoyed it alongside today’s feature image.

Have a great today!

~Robyn Lee