Lyrical Lavender Life

Thinking about life as it's lived day by day and not about the entire journey is very difficult for me. I'm a planner, as much as I try to fight it, and I do some preparations for day to day. But I am generally a "big picture" kind of person, but I'm trying to focus on taking "One Step at a Time" (thank you, Jordin Sparks) and remember that's "It's all about the climb". (Ok, so even a 32 year old can find inspiration in the songs of Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus and Jordin Sparks). I wrote this to help me remember to appreciate each step. Looking up at the mountain before me I take a deep breath, drawing my foot up. Looking for a hold to grasp tightly, My sole searches for a place to stand. My soul searches for a place to rest. Seeking desperately that next stronghold place I find it and propel myself off, up to and grab. While it seemed diliberate, I felt the rush of a risk taken And achievement earned. With little to gain at one time...

I apologize for posting so late, I don't live under a rock as it probably seems, I have just been busy with the opera production... I noticed a video on Yahoo's News page a few minutes ago about a shooting that took place in a church in Knoxville, TN just yesterday (Sunday) morning. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_re_us/church_shooting I watched the videos associated with the story and learned that police had found a letter in the shooter's home, written by the shooter, that explained his frustration with not being able to find a job and his apparently passionate opinion regarding the 'liberal movement'. He confessed that he had intended to continue shooting people until the police arrived and he expected to be taken out by them to stop him. He entered the church with a guitar case that concealed his gun and when he pulled out the rifle, he killed one man who tried to stop him from shooting others. Eight others were injured and in serious condition, with t...

Today while I was out with some friends at a Pride celebration, I had a flash of anger and fear toward someone who rode his bike through our family friendly and gay friendly festival. He rode through slowly, yelling at the top of his lungs saying things like "all 'a yaw nee da pray fa mercy own ya soes". In his less than eloquent manner of speaking, he saw fit to instruct us (the entire park full of people around him) that we were "headed fa hell if yaw keep dis up". Sometimes, I get mad at myself for the way I react to such things. I get mad at people's stupidity, ignorance, insensitivity, and overall inappropriate words and actions~ especially toward people that are complete strangers to them. I get mad at myself for the sinking fear that punctures my gut; I get angry at the person for attempting to ruin a perfectly good day with friends; I get angry at myself for not speaking up or confronting the person; I get mad at the world. I get mad at society for h...

Sometimes I spend my Friday afternoons catching up on world news. So much happens throughout the week that it is impossible to know everything important that is happening in every country on Earth. Today, as I search through the articles the issues that jump out at me are the same ones that always have been a sore spot for me: WAR and DESTRUCTION. "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." ~Abraham Lincoln "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~Abraham Lincoln I don't know how to put what I feel into words sometime, surprisingly enough, so I am posting a painting that depicts how I feel about war, the effects on 'mother earth', with a nod to conservative politics who are pro-war and pro-God. In my mind, the two cannot exist together, yet 'we' fight in God's name, and waste prayers on requesting help to victory. Why is it that we cannot PRAY...

Thank God for Inspiring Gifts This morning I found a bunch of unmarked CDs mixed up with some software CDs I had in a binder. Upon inspection, I realized that they were all CDs of a singer I know personally. These CDs included a few recorded voice lessons, a couple of performance ready pieces on CDs made for distributing as part of auditioning requirements, and a CD of pictures from a few of her performances. Looking through the pics, I remembered each performance vividly (because I was there for almost all of them). I remembered how many people told her afterwards how amazing she sounded and how inspiring her voice is. Many people say her voice is a powerful gift from God that blesses them every time they hear her, no matter how many times or how often. Her voice brings a sudden chill, then the "warm tinglies" that you feel in those best moments of your life. This inspiring voice is a gift . A gift from God that she cherishes, protects and uses at every opportunity. Listeni...