Every minute someone leaves this world behind.
We are all in "the line" without knowing it.
We never know how many people are before us.
We can not move to the back of the line.
We can not step out of the line.
We can not avoid the line.

So while we wait in line...

Make moments count.
Make priorities.
Make the time.
Make your gifts known.
Make a nobody feel like a somebody.
Make your voice heard.
Make the small things big.
Make someone smile.
Make the change.
Make love.
Make up.
Make peace.
Make sure to tell your people they are loved.
Make sure to have no regrets.
Make sure you are ready!

I didn’t write this but I find it to be beautiful and amazing!

Hello everyone, lovely that spring has sprung.! Here is a recently finished painting called "Frolicking in the Foam" - what fun.! Hope you enjoy looking for the 19 hidden faces.!

Light & peace, Josephine.

TODAY is International Women's Day!

"Where there is a woman
there is magic!"

~ Ntozake Shange
Artist: Vanessa Craan, (Haiti/USA)

“A soulmate is an ongoing connection with another individual that the soul picks up again in various times and places over lifetimes. We are attracted to another person at a soul level not because that person is our unique complement, but because by being with that individual, we are somehow provided with an impetus to become whole ourselves.”

― Edgar Cayce
Art: “Keep It Alive” by Miles Johnston

Prayer for Unity, Healing, & Light 

Sacred Grandmothers, Elders, & Keepers of Ancient Wisdom,
We call upon your guidance in these times of great change.
May your voices rise like the sacred winds,
Carrying prayers of healing, peace, & illumination to all beings.
Help us remember who we are —
Children of the Earth, woven together by spirit & purpose.

Mother Earth, Heartbeat of Creation,
You who hold us in your embrace,
Teach us to walk gently upon your sacred body.
May we honor the rivers & oceans that cleanse,
The mountains that stand with strength,
The fire that transforms, & the air that carries our breath.
May we live in harmony with your rhythms,
Offering gratitude for the life you sustain.

Guardians of the Four Sacred Directions,
From the East, bring us clarity, the wisdom of the rising sun.
From the South, bring us warmth, love, & the fire of transformation.
From the West, bring us the waters of renewal, the depth of intuition.
From the North, bring us grounding, the steady strength of our ancestors.

Let the light of unity shine upon all nations,
May barriers dissolve, & hearts open wide.
May we remember that love is our greatest teacher,
& compassion our strongest shield.
Where there is suffering, may we bring comfort.
Where there is division, may we plant understanding.
Where there is fear, may we kindle the fire of hope.

In this sacred moment, we release the burdens we carry.
We call in healing.
We call in peace.
We call in the strength to stand as one.

With the blessings of the Grandmothers, the Elders,
The whisper of the wind, the embrace of the Earth,
The sacred waters, & the eternal flame,
May we walk forward in light, together.

So it is.

Much Love,
Grandmother Flordemayo

*Art by RC Gorman

Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin

In 1927, a heartwarming photograph captured the real-life duo behind the beloved characters of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin. The image shows a young Christopher Robin Milne, the son of author A.A. Milne, alongside his cherished stuffed bear, named Winnie the Pooh. This tender moment reflects the deep bond between the boy and his toy, a connection that would inspire some of the most iconic children's literature of the 20th century.

Winnie the Pooh, originally a gift from Christopher's parents, became the inspiration for the character in A.A. Milne's stories. The bear's adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood, alongside Christopher Robin and a host of other memorable characters, quickly became a literary phenomenon. The photograph from 1927 shows a quieter, more personal side of this enduring friendship, offering a glimpse into the simple joys of childhood that would later be immortalized in the pages of books loved by generations.

The Milne family's life in the early 20th century, particularly the bond between father and son, played a crucial role in shaping the stories of Winnie the Pooh. This photograph not only marks a moment in time but also serves as a reminder of the power of imagination and the lasting legacy of the characters that continue to bring comfort and joy to readers young and old.

If you need good luck, my friend
Keep this simple habit
Right when you wake
On a new-month morn
Say “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!”

 Welcome, February!

Saying “Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit” aloud upon waking on the first day of a new month is an old charm to ensure good fortune throughout the month.

Art: Liberty Goodswen, “Three Hares Needle Felted Heart”

As you go to bed,
lay down your world-weary head,
and carry into slumber,
wishes you hope will lie ahead.

And in the earliest morning, when at first you wake,
say 'rabbit, rabbit, rabbit'
to usher in much better times
and a lucky break

Artist Judith Yates

The Truth Is We Outgrow Those Who Don’t Know How to Love Us

The truth is, we outgrow those who don’t appreciate us—those who are indifferent to our presence and comfortable with our absence. We outgrow those who allow the distance between us to grow, those who make us feel replaceable.

We outgrow those who aren’t genuine with us, those who say things they don’t mean. The ones who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk when we need them by our side. We outgrow those who only embrace certain parts of us, refusing to accept us in our entirety. Those who dismiss our wants and needs, too preoccupied with their own.

We outgrow those who make us feel like we’re not worth their time or effort. Those who could give so much more but choose to hold back. The ones who consistently place us last on their list of priorities. We outgrow those who are lazy in their love—those who retreat two steps every time we move one step forward.

The truth is, we eventually reach a point where we fully understand who we are, what we want, and what we deserve. We refuse to sell ourselves short. We refuse to repeat the exhausting cycle of offering our hearts to those who don’t know how to hold them. We reach a point where self-love outweighs any other love. We choose ourselves, even when others don’t.

We outgrow those who show us they’re not invested, who won’t try, and who treat us as temporary stops on their journey to something—or someone—else. We outgrow those who fail to make us feel cherished, who don’t value us the way we deserve to be valued.

The truth is, we’re capable of giving the world to someone we love. All we need in return is the reassurance that they won’t abuse it, that our hearts are safe with them, and that they won’t turn into another regret or another lesson learned the hard way.

We outgrow those who don’t know how to love us, saving our love for those who meet us with the same depth of care. For those who are willing to catch us when we fall. We outgrow those who offer empty words but no actions. We’ve spent years learning to love ourselves, and we won’t jeopardize that growth by staying with people who make us question our worth.

The truth is, we outgrow those who aren’t afraid of losing us—because they’ll never truly understand us, never see us the way we yearn to be seen, and never give us the love we’ve always deserved.

Artist Cynthia Gatein

We are divine beings in a state of recovery,
re-discovering our divinity,
winning back ourselves from states of delusion.
However, the mind is very much a key player
in the drama called life, because without it,
the consciousness cannot experience
the necessary friction for transcendence to occur.
And transcendence is the whole purpose of the game.
It is a kingly game when seen
with eyes of understanding.
If you stay stuck in personhood, life will kick your ass.
But if you are open to Truth, then you are continuously
expanding into greater and greater seeing.
Finally, you will exclaim,
‘I love this stepping out of the shadow of myself
into the bright light of my Self.’
If my words are true,
it is you who make them true.
They come alive inside you
because you listen inside your heart and accept them.
Not just the words, but what they point to
somehow recognises itself,
and the stagnant, the suppressed,
vanishes in the light of this real seeing.
The serpent-mind loses its tongue
in the presence of the real Self.
You are the Self.

~ Mooji

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.

 *

Naomi Shihab Nye
1952 –

Beautiful Art by Paula Jones Fine Artist

Peace Of Mind

My thoughts are far from the universe
Though I live in a world that's so diverse
My mind is in a deep space of fantasy
Where I can always count on my dependency.

I'm certainly not used to talking much
Nevertheless, I do think a lot
Trying so hard to maintain my sanity
Whilst living in this mixed entity.

I want to be able to escape from the mysteries
And leave everything behind as history
But certain parts never fail to haunt me
Coming in form of never-ending dreams.

All I want is peace of mind
To resign from the sad activities of mankind
If only I had the power to create absolute silence
To me, that would be nothing but pure excellence.

Debbie Woh

Coming this summer from 3 Wishes Fabric
"Angel of Peace" -- widely available online wherever you buy craft fabrics! The quilt project pictured incorporates many of the patterns and will be available as a free download.
Shipping July 2025

Josephine Wall

And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.
And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

~ Kahlil Gibran from "The Prophet" (Knopf, 1923)
~ Art by OlivosARTstudio

My moss chair I made that sits in a very shady corner of my garden in the Corrèze, France. I found the old chair at a Brocante, I collected moss from the forest floor in my woods and laid over the chair. I then stapled fine nylon netting over the moss to hold it in place. This is year four of the chair and I do nothing to it apart from a little spray of water if it gets really hot in the summer.

you are not here and yet you are everywhere. i cannot see you and yet i see the evidence of how you so richly poured yourself into my world. i cannot hear you and yet your voice is in everything i do from day to day. from the first glimpse of the morning sun to its last glimmer. i cannot touch you and yet you have left your imprint all over my life.

i wake - you are there.

i sleep - you are in my dreams.

i busy myself ~ and something about you finds me there too.

you are not here and yet you are everywhere.

~ "everywhere" by ullie-kaye
Art by Joseph Cantanzaro

I know there may have been times in your life when you’ve stopped dancing, stopped singing, stopped being yourself because someone was watching you. Judging you.

And you are not the only one to feel this way. But I can’t help thinking that we’ve got it all wrong.

We’ve been taught that we must only be ourselves if it suits other people.

We must only sing if it sounds pleasing to those listening.
We must only dance if it looks good to onlookers.

But we are so wrong.

The birds sing - not because we might listen -
but simply with the joy of being alive.

And the trees dance in the wind - not because it looks good for us -
but because they are alive. Living in the moment. Whatever the moment may bring.

So sing as loud as you wish
and dance as much as you like.

You do not exist for the enjoyment of others.

You exist to be alive.

Properly, fully, beautifully alive.

******

Becky Hemsley (2023)
Beautiful artwork by Snehal Pendurkar

"Alive" is from "Letters from Life" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHL9MZC1...

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.

Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.

Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.

Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.

Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.

Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

~ A Ute Prayer ~

In 1985 I went to a fancy restaurant for lunch by myself, and when they asked me how many, and I said “one please” I could feel a kind of embarrassment come over me.

I sat down, and the server came over and said, “Are you waiting for another person?”

In that moment I felt strong, powerful, and confident. I sat up a little taller in my chair and ordered my food.

I had no phone, book, or newspaper as a distraction, just me at the restaurant, enjoying every moment.

When we can be alone anywhere, and stay present to the moment, life presents us with this beautiful heartfelt truth:
We can be completely comfortable in our own skin knowing we can do anything in life!

This is the greatest power we have, knowing we are always enough.

Xo, Peacful_Barb

Hello Everyone, I hope you had a super Christmas, and I wish you a very happy new year. This is a painting that I did before Christmas called "Flora by Candlelight". As usual there are many hidden faces to find - have fun looking.! Light & Peace, Josephine.