WHAT HITS WOMEN

The Admin's Board

This special page is solely dedicated to ALL WOMEN.

"A WOMAN'S HEART IS A DEEP OCEAN OF SECRETS." ~Idiom

(Because a woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets.) It's a rather literalistic idiom recorded since at least the mid-18c (1750s). It means a woman is capable of holding many beliefs and memories (including secrets) from her past, present and future — in the sense of more than most men can assume.9 Oct 2014, Quora)

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

~Proverbs 31:30

Once upon a time,

When women were birds,

There was the simple understanding 

That to sing at dawn

And to sing at dusk

Was to heal the world through joy.

The birds still remember what we have forgotten, 

That the world is meant to be celebrated.

Terry Tempest Williams

When Women Were Birds

FLOWER ARRANGEMENT 

by Cris (Girlie) Abbu

My light pink flower arrangement of the day for our Lady— the Immaculate Conception. Feast is moved to Dec 9 tomorrow because today is Advent Sunday. In this photo as well is my ikebana arrangement made last year. 

Back to the pink flower arrangement for our Lady—Is this too busy? There are many things I’ve learned studying Ikebana that are actually lessons in life (this pink flower arrangement is obviously NOT ikebana

1) Go placidly in life— in ikebana you work WITH the flowers. Flowers bend where they will bend, to the direction where it is supposed to go. Don’t tamper with it. Hence, I never quarrel with life’s events. As a person, I’m very chill - my staff once asked me during one big stuff up of the research and policy department which I headed, “Cris, how can you have so much equanimity?” I learned this calmness long before I did ikebana— from a Professor and mentor of mine in UP Diliman. 

When doing ikebana, I never quarrel with the flowers. Same with baking, I never quarrel with the ingredients or methods. 😊

2) Is my pink flower arrangement too busy like my question above? - In ikebana, simplicity is key; simplicity is elegance. For example,in life, I don’t need too many shoes or so many jeans — so getting rid of some. Haha How many shoes do we need? It’s actually a serious question! 

3) Introspection— ikebana is introspection. Spend time going deeper into YOU. Reflection, going quiet despite the busy-ness (is this a proper word?) or the noise. I am discreet, too. Very private despite my posts in FB. 😂 Can you believe it? And I am highly selective of people— quality rather than quantity. This, I value. If you see my posts, then I value you. My fb is not open to all fb friends. Haha 

So many other lessons…I should write a book, Ikebana: Musings in life. Thank you for reading this far. Teaching is over and I love to write, obviously— as all academics do! 😂

Source: FB, 8 December 2024

A CELEBRITY WHO VALUES FAMILY MORE THAN GLAMOUR 

Julia Roberts, recently talked about her age and why she looks older than many contemporary artists who want to keep looking young.

“I am aging with dignity, humor, and serenity..

I don't resort to lifting or Botox and I know by Hollywood standards I'm risking my career. If they don't want to give me a role because I look old, it means I produce the project and I choose who I want. The important thing is not to take this job too seriously.

I know a lot of moms struggling to make ends meet: those are the serious problems, those are the women I admire, who are beautiful and good even when everything is hard. Honestly, I have other fears...

I fear for my children, that I cannot protect them from anyone who wants to take advantage of them.. It's more important for me to be well and make my family live well..

I'm blessed and I appreciate all that I have!. I’m thankful for my husband and kids everyday. For this reason, for me the most important moments of the day are never the ones I spend on set, but the ones I have at breakfast because we talk about everything...

It's a magical moment. "

How beautiful it is to be planted in the Earth and live it to the fullest without the frivolity of marketing.

We are valuable because of who we are, not how we look!!!.

Also Read : https://diaryamazing.com

Source: Lifted from FB 

A POIGNANT BIRTHDAY MESSAGE FROM A GRATEFUL CELEBRANT

By Nenita Yu Garcia 

"... a small flicker of light makes a difference".

Thank you, Kapamilya, relatives, neighbors, friends and all those who made my day special, who took time to greet me today. It means a lot.

As I grow older, the more I understand the grace of God and the depth of His love at work in my life. Indeed, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the measure of the Father’s love. Thank you, dear God for the gift of life, for the blessing of family and friends, for all the storms I went through which made me resilient … only by Your grace can I truly say that when I am at my weakest, You carried me when I couldn’t seem to carry on. I am grateful for another day, for another chance to experience Your goodness … thankful for EVERYTHING.

I do not know when my time will be up but I pray that as I continue life’s journey, I will be able to look at the world more with God’s compassion, that I do not live just for me, just for my own struggles or problems but let me be sensitive to feel for others, too.🙏🏽 The world is messed up, surrounded by darkness but a small flicker of light can make a difference. Let me be that light.

20 October 2024
Iligan City, Philippines

#PraiseGodforEverything
#gratefulforanotheryear
#gratefulforthegiftoflife

APPLE OF THE EYE 

By Samantha C. Lourie 

So she’s 17 today. She’s been mine and I’ve been hers for a whole 17 years. And honestly, darlings, it gets harder and harder to remain an inspiration to my girls as they get older.  Not your typical birthday message but I am in a reflective mood. When they are young it is easy. You are the apple of their eye. You can do no wrong. And when you do make a mistake you can correct it easily. But as they get older and they start to see more objectively, well, the pressure hits differently. And we don’t talk about this so much, do we? But our young adults or what I rather call our big children can see behind the cracks. They notice what’s happening in our eyes. They pick stuff up and well, you feel the stakes are higher. I so want to do right by my girls. More than that, I just want to be here with them, present, sending out the vibe that I am always around when they need me. But everything I do, there’s that pressure, knowing that they are probably watching and hopefully wanting to take notes too. 

This one since 17 years back has always made me want to be my best for her because she is everything to live for and thrive in. She has been my  reason full stop. And I am really trying to not mess up right now. We are leaving our family home of 13.5 years in 6 weeks tomorrow and there is a constant pressure on my chest because of it. We don’t want to go. My eldest the most probably, and right now as Kika lies on me, poorly yet cuddly, on a beautiful sunny day, I am being reminded in the gentle breeze that this might be the last day I have on this sofa, with this kind of warmth and intimacy and feel in the air. It’s a moment I have enjoyed countless times. Afternoon sunshine and breeze coming in through the garden. It might even be my favourite moment of being in our home, apart from when I have all my girls on the sofa laughing, screaming and bickering together, but the weather is going to get cold, these days won’t be back until next year and we won’t be here. So I am here remembering this simple meeting place where I have often met with Inspiration itself. 

This has been my happy place for the longest while. We wanted her to have one more birthday here. At least we got that x

FORMED OPINIONS

By Hedda Tady 

Everyone will have an opinion about what constitutes “great parenting”. To a mother, whose litmus paper does one use to gauge “good”? 

A mother could push herself to the brink of oblivion caring for a child, yet would only see disappointment in her child’s eyes. Such is the mystery of life. 

On the other hand, a child could be neglected, unloved all his/her life, but would do ANYTHING to gain his/her mother’s affection and approval. 

Society… other people… ought not be given space to weigh in on what is “good” . For what does the world know of the inner struggles within each family? 

A mother ought to be this : stoic. 

She must DO. In silence.

She must speak. Only the TRUTH. Even when it hurts. 

Many times, in the annals of time, many a mother has chosen to destroy themselves, instead of harming their child. The world may see it as the ultimate sacrifice. 

To her, there simply is - No. Other. Way. 

Much has been said about one mother in this Olympics stage. Funny because some do not have a clue about what motherhood means. But it seems, those are the loudest and most incessant in their views.

My Take:

GREAT FOOD FOR THOUGHT: "For what does the world know of the inner struggles within each family."

The world at large see each family structure macroscopically. They have no microscopic access to view the real innard's core of what's happening within the biorhythms of each member.  They only heard the noise,  not the voice.  They only see what they see, but they couldn't comprehend the invisibility of the spirit that moves in every soul.  They have no cognitive ability to decipher each life that live within that framework.  All they see is nothing but flaws and that how quickly makes them the expert to form their opinions. 

As I recall,  even the famous Late Queen Elizabeth II said, "every family has its own dysfunctionalities."

Filipinos in general are quick mouthed to the core to the mistakes of others.  They rejoice to the mishaps of others.  They know the "how" and the "must" one should live and do things; ALL, and EVERYTHING, but their OWN.

So Miss HEDDA, please power ON.  You have the VOICE, you have countless FOLLOWERS,  you are an INFLUENCER, you are a TEACHER, and above all, you are a MOTHER, who owned some noteworthy experiences to share which I'm sure will help jog the peoples' brain and knock off their sense and sensibility.  (Admin. 08 August 2024 on recent Mother and Son Olympics Story, Paris 2024 August)

____^*^____

Photo taken at Norah's Head Beach

03 February 2024

GIFT FROM THE SEA

By Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

Author 

When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides. 

Source: Philo Thoughts

ETERNAL SPIRIT

"I asked an elderly woman once what it was like to be old and to know that the majority of her life was now behind her.

She told me that she has been the same age her entire life. She said the voice inside of her head had never aged. She has always just been the same girl. Her mother's daughter. She had always wondered when she would grow up and be an old woman.

She said she watched her body age and her faculties dull but the person she is inside never got tired. She never aged. She never changed.

Remember, our spirits are eternal. Our souls are forever. The next time you encounter an elderly person, look at them and know they are still a child, just as you are still a child and children will always need love, attention and purpose."

~Author Unknown

Photograph is Tasha Tudor

Source : Awesome  Quotes and Notes 

OLD AGE IS A GIFT

Old age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now,

probably for the first time in my life,

the person I have always wanted to be.

Oh, not my body!

I sometime despair over my body -

the wrinkles,

the baggy eyes and the sagging butt.

And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror,

but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life,

my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.

As I've aged,

I've become more kind to myself and less critical of myself.

I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie,

or for not making my bed,

or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need,

but looks so avante garde on my patio.

I am entitled to overeat,

to be messy,

to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;

before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4:00 am and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 70s & 80s,

and if I,

at the same time,

wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to,

despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful.

But then again,

some of life is just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.

How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one,

or when a child suffers,

or when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.

A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. 

So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

I can say "no" and mean it.

I can say "yes" and mean it.

As you get older,

it is easier to be positive.

You care less about what other people think.

I don't question myself anymore.

I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question,

I like being old.

It has set me free.

I like the person I have become.

I am not going to live forever,

but while I am still here,

I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,

or worrying about what will be.

And I shall eat dessert every single day.

~Anon-

Admin:

I love women who live by the rules of nature. Getting old is a beautiful thing. All concomitant discomfitures that come through with the process of ageing are just pauses in betweens points of life. 

Would be lovely to know the author as few lines were part of what I wrote about myself. ~lcd, 16 May 2024

Photo: Judi Dench 

Acclaimed Actress 

"Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.

Your sense of humor though, will only get better with age.

Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.

Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.

Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.

Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.

Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,

they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.

Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.

These are the things which will only get better."

Credit goes to the respective author. Unknown.

Source: Just A Thought Motivation and Inspiration 

FINGERPRINT IN MY PSYCHE

When I was in first year high school (1996), our literature teacher gave us this definition of art, which left a fingerprint in my psyche. "Art," Ms Bangaoil said, "is the expression of the nobility of man's soul." Its impact on me could be felt as I used it in my speech at the United Nations in 2009, only to refer to "culture," which for me is also an artistic pursuit of humanity. 

This is the reason why I don't subscribe to cancelling philosophers, writers, scholars, artists, because they committed something in their lives are, at the very least, morally questionable. I have on my shelf, the works of Carl Schmitt, a jurist of the Nazi's, whose works I often go back to. Einstein wasn't so much of a good father; same goes to Hawkings. 

For the human condition is such that, a duality resides inside us, pushing us into directions -- one towards achieving something transcendental, our attempt to dip our toes into the pond of the infinite; the other, towards the bestiality of our heritage. For what are we, after all? A dust of a star that exploded violently in spacetime, as well as the reflection of grace of the implicate wholeness of reality. That's why we are capable of both - folly and nobility.

Source: Written by Sass Rogando Sasot

When you are perceived as a strong woman it is assumed that you do not need anything or anyone. 

You can bear everything; and will overcome whatever happens. 

You are looked upon to help carry burdens and when you share yours it’s labeled as negative. 

She is not asked if she is tired, suffering or falling; or if she has anxiety or fear. 

The strong woman is not forgiven for anything. 

If she loses control, she becomes weak. If she loses her temper, she becomes hysterical.

When a strong woman disappears for a moment, it is immediately noticeable, but when she is there, her presence is unappreciated.

The strength that is needed every day 

to be that kind of woman, is not noticed.

Estelle Cortes Pimentel

15-08-2024

____ ^* *^ ____

A strong woman is not simply born.

 I am made by the hells I walked through.

 My shoulders are made stronger by the burdens I carried.

My mind was made wiser by learning from my mistakes.

My understanding of life and death is more pragmatic.

My Spirituality is taking me towards an inner journey and acceptance.

My scars are reminders of the battles I fought.

 

The past year may have been hard on me but I look forward with hope and faith -

 Hope that the tears I shed will have washed away the bitterness in my heart.

 And Faith that the storms from the past is the Universe's way of preparing me for another adventure in life.

 I may still have to fight bouts of depression and self doubt.

I will still need to deal with my chronic pain.

But in spite of these (or perchance because of these), 

I will climb more mountains, run more trails and laugh harder with my family and friends.

I will take more unplanned trips and go skinny dipping under the moonlight.

I will camp out at night and watch the stars. 

 With a grateful heart this woman will say goodbye to the past and look forward to new adventures.

The future is not promised. But I will do my best.

 

 Feliz año nuevo.

~Estelle Cortes Pimentel ~

12-30-2023

ON PROCESSING GRIEF

By Samantha C. Laurie

I wrote this when processing my baby loss. Nova was a story my body couldn't hold and yet my soul continues to hold on. She would have turned seven this week, as I celebrated my 20th anniversary with my guy and got my girls into the start of the new school year. Losing her was my biggest wasteland. Grief is the wasteland. I thought nothing would grow there again. Grief is also the growing flowers in the wasteland. The flowers did come. Eventually. I am so glad I gave life the chance to show that to me again. That the flowers always do come. They always come back again. Believe in the flowers, darling. Open yourself to find the seeds of their eventual bloom once more. It’s like grief is the bridge to living in a sensibility that connects to truths, places, discoveries far deeper than those fundamental to our moving world. Grief is the bridge to the rainbow that is always here, regardless of rain, storm and shine. If we don’t grieve, our new wings stay buried underneath the rubble of what we have lost. On the other side of grief is our new wings, so that we might fly freer than ever before in light of those free now because they have gone before us. This is all I have to say today. The rest I feel without any words in the dictionary because some moments, some rememberings, some events and experiences are just wordless at essence. And there is something freeing and healing about that xxx September for me holds all the milestones. Onwards into the next and grateful for the late summer that makes everything feel softer still xxx

The Be ReMARKable Campaign

By Hedda Tady

“Over the years I have learned, that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.” -Yves Saint Laurent 

There are no rules. You can invent your own. It is never the clothes, nor the shoes, nor the bags. Not the make-up, not the accessories. It is never about how much of a walking retail queen you are. 

A woman who WORKS to care for those she loves - that’s an accomplished woman. A woman who makes an effort to do no harm - that’s success. A woman who chooses LIFE, LOVE, PEACE - that’s a winner. And all women can do that EVERYDAY (including those who identify as a woman). 

We can choose to either be ruled by the world, or to run our part, our way. 

#BeRemarkable

FAITH ...

By Rebecca Yarog Adjie Canon

No matter how fierce the storm is,

I will keep my feet to the ground,

I must stay COURAGEOUS and RESOLUTE,

I have nobody but myself to see things through...

I will look beyond the PAIN I feel  today,

anticipate the breaking of the dawn..

When the sun rises,

I will LEARN to come to terms 

with what I HAVE and with what I have LOST.

I alone know myself,

hold on that LAST STRING of FAITH that keeps me AFLOAT,

I will NOT GIVE UP,

I believe that at the end 

of this DARK TUNNEL is a LIGHT 

that will HEAL me..

Let go of the PAIN,

LEARN to move FORWARD,

a PROMISE of a BETTER LIFE AWAITS me,

I DO BELIEVE....

🌿🌼☘️🌺🌿🍁🍒ii

Mother's Day 2023

REALITY of MOTHERS

By Fahria Chaudhry

Lifted from ALL IN ONE

The fate of a mother is to wait for her children. You wait for them when you're pregnant. You wait on them when they get out of school. You wait on for to get home after a night out. You wait on them when they start their own lives. You wait for them when they get home from work to come home for a nice dinner. You wait for them with love, with anxiety and sometimes with anger that passes immediately when you see them and you can hug them.

Make sure your old mother doesn't have to wait any longer. Visit her, love her, hug the one who loved you, like no one else ever will. Don't make her wait. She's expecting this from you. Because the membranes get old but the heart of a mother never gets old. Love her as you can. No person will love you like your mother will..

☘️🍂🍀🍁☘️🍂🍀🍁☘️

I did not know that! 

“Since her death in 1979, the woman who discovered what the universe is made of has not so much as received a memorial plaque. Her newspaper obituaries do not mention her greatest discovery. […] Every high school student knows that Isaac Newton discovered gravity, that Charles Darwin discovered evolution, and that Albert Einstein discovered the relativity of time. But when it comes to the composition of our universe, the textbooks simply say that the most abundant atom in the universe is hydrogen. And no one ever wonders how we know.”

—  

Jeremy Knowles, discussing the complete lack of recognition Cecilia Payne gets, even today, for her revolutionary discovery. (via alliterate)

OH WAIT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT CECILIA PAYNE.

Cecilia Payne’s mother refused to spend money on her college education, so she won a scholarship to Cambridge.

Cecilia Payne completed her studies, but Cambridge wouldn’t give her a degree because at that time there's not much exposure for woman, so she said to heck with that and moved to the United States to work at Harvard.

Cecilia Payne was the first person ever to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliffe College, with what Otto Strauve called “the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy.”

Not only did Cecilia Payne discover what the universe is made of, she also discovered what the sun is made of (Henry Norris Russell, a fellow astronomer, is usually given credit for discovering that the sun’s composition is different from the Earth’s, but he came to his conclusions four years later than Payne—after telling her not to publish).

Cecilia Payne is the reason we know basically anything about variable stars (stars whose brightness as seen from earth fluctuates). Literally every other study on variable stars is based on her work.

Cecilia Payne was the first woman to be promoted to full professor from within Harvard, and is often credited with breaking the glass ceiling for women in the Harvard science department and in astronomy, as well as inspiring entire generations of women to take up science.

Cecilia Payne is awesome and everyone should know her.

Photograph: Schlesinger Library.

☘️🍂🍀🍁☘️🍂🍀🍁☘️

It takes a woman with a steel mind and a stoic spirit to do what she is able to do, "When push comes to shove".

CTTO 

SURVIVAL TIPS

1. When somebody unceremoniously and cruelly leaves, you change the locks pronto. Baka bumalik e, ayaw natin yong may sequel. 

2. When everything seemed to go wrong and at the same time, you say to the unseen assassins: “You coming to take me down? Lika, put these thumbnails in your hands, gooble it up.” Tsura nito!

3. Take care of your energy reserves. Stay down, swim thru the putrid alleys. And just breath.

4. It helps to find yourself a refuge. Like under a slimy rock or some file of moldy old notes whichever brings comfort. 

5. Get professional help. Commit on getting the best counsel. Talk to lawyers. In my case, I get expert help from myself. 

6. In times of anxiety attacks, do the 🧺 laundry and spiced it up with lots of creative curses. The job gets done, I promise you.

7. Fold your laundry lovingly when the file is half way thru the ceiling. Imagine yourself like Frida in trunk and limb braces, doing art and looking up endlessly into terracotta kisame.

8. Do not bore yourself and the world with your situation. Not unless, a Korean producer wants rights to your life story to turn it into a drama series or a rap album (Hello, Agust D!).

9. You join an ARMY. Then you find a tribe of lovable and loving, twisted, imperfect humans who live art, write poetry, rap thru hell and back. 

10. You wear combat boots as you clean the villa with a dog named Bella who refuses to pay half the rent to a landlord whose name begins with a title, His Excellency. 

11. We tell ourselves: Our mothers did not raise us to whine. Mothers taught us to deal with life. Sometimes with kitchen knives or with a screw driver, as warranted. And as allowed by law. 

12. I still love Elmo of Sesame Street.

By Rolaiza Mimi Singayao

19 November 2023

Source: FB

Painting: TOMPKINS Frank H.

Foreword by Lucila Gulle:

The most powerful words that best described our MOTHERS,  the most undervalued human being yet the strongest foundation that holds the fort of every  family unit, the very enteral  part of a stable society that constitute a strong country.

****

My husband woke up this morning and began writing. “Here’s a message from me to all the mothers,” he said.

TO THE MOTHERS OF THE WORLD . . . FROM MY HUSBAND

I honor all mothers today. I am grateful for mothers. They are the most important foundational stones in the building of families, cities, and nations. When motherhood falls, the families, the cities, and the nations fall. 

Every person born into this world since Adam and Eve has come through the womb of a mother. The womb of the mother is the studio where the Master Builder of all creation designs and creates all the intricate parts of each new person and puts them together over the space of nine months.

Every newborn baby must be cradled and nurtured in the arms of a loving, caring, and devoted mother. If not, that baby will suffer emotionally and nervously which will negatively affect their whole life. 

Mothers are the anchors of the home. Without a mother the home has no anchor. Home and motherhood and synonymous terms.

Motherhood is a very sacrificial role. Motherhood is the laying down of one’s life so that families, cities, and nations will be built. God designed it to come out of the home where . . . 

the sacrifice of love,

the sacrifice of nurturing,

the sacrifice of faithfully training and teaching,

the sacrifice of sleepless nights, and

the sacrifice of loving tears . . . 

all comes through the heart of true mothers.

The devil wants to destroy motherhood. But . . . 

We exalt motherhood.

We elevate motherhood.

We praise, honor, and applaud motherhood.

We speak up and stand up for motherhood. 

We push back every negative voice that comes against motherhood.

Be blessed today, mothers.

COLIN CAMPBELL

Source: Above Rubies 

💜💜💜💜💜💜

“She sat at the back and they said she was shy,

She led from the front and they hated her pride,

They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,

They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,

So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,

They told her they'd listen, then covered their ears,

And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,

Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,

But one day she asked what was best for herself,

Instead of trying to please everyone else,

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,

She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,

She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,

And she told them what she'd been told time after time,

She told them she felt she was never enough,

She was either too little or far far too much,

Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,

Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,

And she stopped...and she heard what the trees said to her,

And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,

For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe"

Unknown

Resonating

Source: Fifty Shades of Life

🍀🌹🍀🌹🍀🌹🍀

Go ROGUE

By Hedda Tady 

Teach, coach, mentor for impact. If you lead with money, ‘for profit’ first, it’d be hard to hit the ground running with projects.

Martial arts is more about inner journeys - from my point of view - more than breaking bones. The best mentors will teach you this first : how to create peace. And how to veer away from conflicts. 

When a woman has ideas, is a trail-blazer and goes on to conquer unchartered territories, oftentimes, she is seen as too aggressive to be feminine. 

Ahhh… but such is what makes the taking so much more fun and satisfying : to win when everyone else said it can’t be (or has never been) done. 🙂 

Let us learn to appreciate that every human being has different facets to his/her persona.

Let us learn to free and not cage spirits.

And to go rogue does not mean rebellion.

Those who are discerning enough to FEED, nurture the rogue spirit has much to HARVEST in terms of results.

And if you are wishing to free thyself and the world you are in wishes to shackle you instead, there are many universes. 

Find one that FEEDS your SOUL.

OLD  AGE

Lifted from Fe Montera 

"My daughter loves my silvery hair. She wanted me to grow it long again.  If I am still qualified to have an ambition, it is to grow old with grace and grey hair." ~Admin.

Old age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body I sometimes  despair over my body - the wrinkles, the baggy eyes and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.

I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4:00 am and sleep until noon ? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50s & 60s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or when a beloved pet gets hit by a car ?  But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no" and mean it. I can say "yes" and mean it. 

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.  I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become.I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.

Author Unknown

Walking My Talk - All 1 son

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Lifted from Sacred Dreams

art: Tamara Phillips

I think it was Brene Brown who told a story about a village where all the women washed clothes together down by the river. When they all got washing machines, there was a sudden outbreak of depression and no one could figure out why.

It wasn't the washing machines in and of themselves. It was the absence of time spent doing things together. It was the absence of community. Friends, we’ve gotten so independent.

We’re “fine” we tell ourselves even when in reality we’re depressed, we’re overwhelmed, we’re lonely, and we’re hurting. “We’re fine, we’re just too busy right now” we say when days, weeks, months, and years go by without connecting with friends. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s so easy to say even when it’s not true.

We’ve become so isolated and it’s hard to know how to get back. It’s so hard to know how to even begin to build the kind of relationships our hearts need. And I think In our current culture, it’s just not as organic as it once was. It's more work now.

Because you know, we have our own washing machines. We don't depend on each other to do laundry, or cook dinner, or raise babies anymore. We don't really depend on each other for much of anything if we're being honest.

In Brene Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness, she says that being lonely effects the length of our life expectancy similar to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. I don’t say that to freak anyone out, but to let you know that the longing for connection is LEGIT. I think we’ve treated friendship like a luxury for far too long; friendship isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

We don't want it. We kind of need it.

Be independent. Be proud of it. But be an independent woman who realizes the value and the importance of opening the door to other good women. You can do it alone, but you don't have to. Islands are only fun for so long.

There is true magic when women come together and hold hands and share ideas and share stories and struggles and endless bowls of salsa. You use your gifts, and I'll use mine, and then we'll invite that girl over there who brings a completely different set of skills to the table we are building, and we'll watch together as something miraculous unfold.~

~Amy Weatherly

🌺🌹❤️💐🌷🌺❤️

Pocket Pal Family

We have a lot of different kinds of mums in our pocket pal family. 

The mum who dreamed up the little pocket, the mums who helped bring the dream to life, the mums who show up each week with their little pals, the mums who cheer us on from the side lines, the mums who offer their skill and time to enrich the lives of other mums, and to the all knowing mother earth who provides a beautiful wonderland for us to play, learn and create on. 

Mothers, in all their forms, make the world go round. And we are forever grateful for their love, wisdom and company.

Source: Little Pocket, Nature Pocket 

TESSA ROINES and HER SENTIMENTS

Otherwise it wouldn't be me... 

I have always been a sentimental. I keep bits and pieces in almost every occasion to draw my timeline. From gift wrappers to stones, dried leaves and flowers, chopsticks and toothpicks, marbles and bullets, seashells and seeds, pictures and paper clippings, bookmarks and sayings, quotations and postcards, from paperclips to hairpins - you name them, I have them.

I always look at the uniqueness of an object - mummified or alive. There's always a mystery behind in every detail that encompasses the whole object, subject or persona. And I want to know their stories. I  always have that outlook of "what if" or "I could've" then turn around and savour those moments once again.

Collecting keepsakes reminded of the atmosphere of that time - the emotions, the feelings, the reactions, apprehensions and most importantly the outcome, the end-game, the end-result. May it be sadness, happiness, anger, regrets and hopelessness , I'd still wanted to be reminded of the event that contributed a lot to who I am now, where I'd been and where I am going to be. Although the latter is still to be determined by my present and future actions but still having the timeline normally predicts how I approach life, how I continually living to survive or surviving to live - whatever sounds fitting.

At the age of 25, I was not able to keep the momentum. I lost control of my existence and started losing those bits and pieces that connects me with my past. I've lost my childhood pictures because I dropped my wallet somewhere or I purposely destroyed something that would remind me of a painful event. I become reckless and careless and kept telling myself I don't need to be reminded of my successes and failures to continue my existence.

But I was wrong. I kept on longing to those objects, for something to hold on just to keep my sanity. The feeling of emptiness lingers on in my unconscious mind. Something is missing, I know. But still I live on and sometimes I  only live to seek that missing connection. Without that connection I am lost, confused, unsure and goal-less. 

Another 25 years passed, I was plodding on. Collecting bits and pieces on the way - pictures and cards, memories and events, friends and enemies. Some are forgiven while some are forgotten. Then I realised, life is flitting. I started to lose friends. They just withered one by one. Those ones I was expecting to outlive me and wait for me and share that last mug of coffee whilst reminiscing the past with tears and laughters. But no, they're just gone. 

At present, my collection of keepsakes is minimal. With so much twists and turns of my circumstances, I lost track of the people, events, memories, time; and most importantly, I  lost track of (the) every emotion and feeling of every occasion and event. As I've said to a friend, every twist and turn of my life, new things come up and I am more occupied of my present than paying attention to my past let alone plan for the future. 

As I've said life is flitting. We'd never know what's around the corner. I wish I'd learn this mantra of "one day at a time" ages ago then I would've been easy to myself. I would've been more friendly to myself. I would've been more forgiving to myself. But alas, I wouldn't change my past to justify my misgivings. Rather, if given the chance, I would do exactly the same over and over again but pay more attention to myself than putting others in front. But then if I do that, I wouldn't be me now... 

©️TessaRoines

🎀🎁🎀🎁🎀🎁🎀

WHAT I HEARD

(From the Admin's Desk)

Life for some married couples is about growing up  before growing old.

Fixing what is broken instead of throwing it away... 

One goes blind and the other goes deaf

One must listen so the other won't nag

It's about giving more than taking

From the rib of a man was where his woe-man came from

Who bears all the curses the world throw down at her feet

So I heard.

4 April 2022

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MONTH

#I_Celebrate_You_All

       (Mothers, Wives, Daughters)

"It is not good that man should be alone; 

I will make him a helper comparable to him.

Blessings to all mums, wives and daughters 

Your womanhood has kept and helped men

We are who we are because of your gesture

Your rightful place is companionship with us

You are God's gift to men and we cherish you

We recognize your place as our companions 

One equal in creation and comparable to man

Not below man as to be trodden under foot

Nor above man as to seek to control events

God's creation of you is geared towards love

The love for your fathers, husbands and sons 

As we are all wired to to be so aligned with you

Our dream and our woe you have orchestrated

Dreams when you find purpose and fulfill same

Woes if you have lost purpose and go contrary

Within womanhood lies the fate of our world

As all children suckle gazing into your eyes

Aside the umbilical cords that bind us to you

Such a significant place women truly occupy

With this and more comes virtues and industry

You have influenced every man that graced life

As you celebrate yourselves this auspicious day

I celebrate with you and recognize your influence

One altruistic, doing the needful behind cameras

While men take the open applauses you our plus

Instilling in us dreams and visions of ideal world

One that has cheered men great victory, success

In a fast evolving world, your roles are expanding

One that's more complicated and also demanding

As you rise and take your place right by our sides

We will reign and rule our home and larger society

As co-heirs, for this will set the balance rite right

Change premised on love and competence wins

By Lucky Stephen Onyah

All Copy Rights Strictly Reserved

                08-03-2022

POWER WOMEN

We are Power Women

fierce and strong

But we can be kind, faithful loving and soft

We can be a good wife, a good Mom to children 

We can manage household, be an artist or a beauty queen

We can be educated, do

Career but we are humble

We can join politics and can be diplomatic at the same time

We can be everything to make you laugh and make you cry

But we can also be calm and quiet if we are satisfied

Never underestimate a

Women with smiling face

Her kindness and friendship, strong will character

Never make a joke with the serious women

When she lost her patience, her anger comes from incredible strength 

A strong Women finds solutions to any problems

She is strong enough to run away, if not at her best

If She fall, She will rise up, stronger than ever

Because she is not a victim

She is a survivor!

March 20. 2021

By:Dorie Reyes Polo

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WOMAN DEFINES

Bob Marley was once asked if there was a perfect woman. He replies:

Who cares about perfection?

Even the moon is not perfect, it is full of craters.

The sea is incredibly beautiful, but salty and dark in the depths.

The sky is always infinite, but often cloudy.

So, everything that is beautiful isn't perfect, it's special.

Therefore, every woman can be special to someone.

Stop being "perfect", but try to be free and live, doing what you love, not wanting to impress others...😊♥️🌹

Lifted from Maria Theresa Causapin,

22 March 2023

WOMEN

(Essay  by Tessa Roines)

#womensliberation #WomensMonth #March2023 

Women past the age of 40 are already chastised and called old, cougar, auntie, sugar mama, hag, senior citizen, and many more. Little did they know that the majority of women are at their prime when they are past the age of 40. Better yet, some women in their 40s and 50s and 60s looked younger than some at their 20s or 30s.

Older women (as we acceptably called) are oozing with sex appeal. It's not just about the physical attributes like unblemished skins, tight asses, silky hair and expertly painted faces but also the confidence, the wits, the wisdom and the gleaming knowledge of what they want in life. Some get confused and get intimidated by women with strong personality, in short women oozing with confidence, beauty and independence.

Women who were once a girl is a bottomless pit of experiences that moulded their being. They recreated themselves through pain and sufferings with the ironclad determination to be a different persona away from the vulnerable, innocent, and curious younger selves. They picked up themselves from where they were toppled and branded as second-rate citizens; a less being only good for entertainment, surrogacy, and domestic roles. Some are unfortunate to become a subject of violence and abuse just because of being a woman.

Women are undermined despite their intelligence as well as possessing multiple skills which should set them apart as exceptional species. The ability to procreate, carry their offsprings for 9 months in their bodies, and nurture them into another human being should put a woman into the top of the ladder, but no, women are either worshipped (fortunate) or bludgeoned to death (unfortunate) depending on what part of the world they found themselves to exist.

At present time and in some parts of the world, women were treated as equal. They share the platforms with men and allowed to compete and participate in what they called "a man's world". Although in some instances, women and men still race by genre and inequality in compensation is still prevalent. 

While in the some places including some backward cultures, women were subjected to bullying, abuse, domestic violence, sexual harassment and human trafficking. In cyberworld, women suffer more in body shaming and cyber bullying than men. However, there is a higher number of women who advocate against Inequality, Homelessness, Hunger, Domestic Violence and a lot more. More women fight for love, affection, attention, and most to be treated equal and with respect. And these women are what they called cougar, auntie, hag, old , a mum and a wife. 

Older women knows what they want, what they are worth, what they aimed for and what quality of affection they require from opposite sex. Older women survived a part of their lives that made them stronger, confident, broadminded, beautiful, patient, independent and being an achiever in whatever path they pursue. You don't call a woman OLD without thinking of wisdom, wits and resiliency - they maybe single, married, widowed, divorced or gay. And lastly, you are born in this world because of a woman. Don't be an asshole..!

Sincerely 

Tessa Roines ©️I'm

#women #happymothersday #HappyWeekend

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Authored by a Humanitarian Worker 

Everyday is Her Day

By Duoi Ampilan 

She holds half the sky. In her veins, the same blood runs, that makes her at the same footing with the rest of us in terms of honor and dignity and the right to be here.

Like anyone of us, she needs respect, understanding and care. 

Her roles in the family, community and in the society make this world a better place for us.

I know that the world designates a day and a month to raise more awareness and recognize her rights, heroism and existence, however, for me, everyday is her day!

She is hailed most beautiful inside out.

👤👤👤👤👤👤👤

From the Admin's Desk

INTERNATIONAL Women's DAY

March 8, 2023

CHANGING TIMES

By Leah C Dancel 

Women conceived the many  would-be on earth 

Under the dark cellar of smokey walls.

None other earthly mothers 

are pre-destined for a virgin birth,

except "The Chosen" one."

Their wombs are heavy for a period of time;

The nestling cage of gestational process.

Cravings and bodily changes take place,

So is the mood and temper avowed.

Careful and mindful

these expectant mothers are

watching every retinue demands;

A healthy offspring they all wish to bring -

Into this world, alas, non-flawless world!

They guide them well at home

And send them to school;

Till they become humans with dignity of their own.

How can misfortune come

upon them, whom mothers raised with care?

Why do they go astray

to lead the world in disarray?

Where is justice for mother's sacrifice?

She abandoned her all to give them life. 

In the court of prejudice, she was shamed --

When her own son, the Judge, executed her in disdain.

Peacemakers and Lawmakers,

unto themselves, are the Lords of Lawlessness.

Their hands are corrupted by bribery; 

Poor mothers' hearts are crushed in vain.

Laymen and servants fare

In tangled ring of cunning

lies and trickery.

The innocents bear it and grin it all 

For the wrongs they've never committed.

The society itself is part of these woebegone affairs.

Many are disheartened, crumbled and despondent.

Where are the values that Mothers inculcated?

To these would-be they once were proud of.

The time is shifting, the seasons changing.

Not all apples in the basket (though) are rotten

There's always a fraction left

For Dear Mothers to nibble and rest.

©Leah C Dancel

Copyright © 5 March 2023

All rights reserved

SH-AUSTRALIA

#internationalwomensday 

#mothers

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A beautiful versified tribute TO WOMEN defined by Jeffrey Cejero

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"Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

~Proverbs 31:31

[Note from the Admin:

Touching and poignant, this appreciation and gratitude for a departed Mother was penned by Richillo Oliveros. Even MEN know how to express their feelings about their beloved Mothers whom they indebted their lives and success. Read on.]

A SON'S BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO HIS LATE MOTHER

By Richillo Oliveros

5 March 2023

Reminiscence from his last year's post.

Oooh yes. My all time favourite, the kookaburra song. And the humba and ginataang monggo, chiffon and banana cakes... Her favourite purple orchid and Tatiana perfume. How she's feisty and kind and loving, gentle and strong at the same time. Missing you so much Mom... Can't believe you've been gone for so long. Whispering a prayer in our hearts hoping that somehow it will reach you. We love you very much. Remembering you on your special day.

5 March 2022

Happy birthday Mom...

We have been through a lot you and I.

In those last few months with you - hard, painful and traumatic as it was;

looking back, I saw your strength through your frailty, your unwavering love for us even at your trying times,

- you told me countless times that your only joy is to serve us, to attend to our every need; and how many times have you asked me not to continue, yet I stood firm in my decision - I could not just let you fade

without fighting or struggling..

I just can't let you go - so i did what I can in my own way. But no regrets, if I have to do it again I would..

I grew so fast in those few months.

But then the very one who can't let you go suddenly asked you to let go -

knowing that you're just holding on for us even with all the pain you went through..

It still bothers me sometimes Mom,

saying for you to let go was the hardest thing I ever did. I hope that I (we) lived up to what I told you then..

How your grand kids would have love to hear your stories, your voice, your cooking and the way you care for us.

Thank you Mom for everything..

I love you very much,

Miss you so, so much.

You'll always be in  our hearts.. 

Happy birthday Mamang.

🎂🌺🏵️🌼💮🎀🎈

From Hedda Tady

9 March 2023

It was women empowerment day the other day, or so it seems. It's not empowerment really, that I think women ought to strive for. But rather, just some peace and quiet in a world that takes pieces off of us... everyday...Here's to ALL women (including friends of mine who identify as one.)

Pieces Off a Woman

What the world may never know

Is how, with every armor shed

A piece of our skin goes

A piece of ourselves gone

Never to return.

With every struggle surmounted

We dig our graves a little deeper

Closer to our Maker

Farther from all pains

Whether friend or foe

Pieces of ourselves, we give

For that is the world’s design

Pieces off a woman

We stayed home

We starve

So we join the melee

We race against men.

We win. We lose.

Pieces off a woman.

Our bodies, tired

Our spirits, torn

Stand, we must

Pieces off a woman.

Seek quiet, you say? 

Be peaceful.

A smile, we offer

Inside, we unravel.

By the world’s design

Everyday

We take pieces off

All women.

- ht -

Happy International Women’s Day to all the beautiful women that grace us with their presence at ILA. 

Every day is women’s day, through your selfless work, your kindness, compassion and love, for all the people you hold near and dear in your lives, near or far, and through your altruistic service as you serve God in serving others.

May all of you continue to shine, and may the glowing radiance of you light, illuminate your journeys and others you guide along your way. 

© Leah C Dancel

Written 8 March 2022

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10 THINGS TO EMPOWER WOMEN 

1. When respect is no longer there, find your way out. Although it is hard to start over, do not wait until you lose yourself in the process.

2. Do not chase love. Chase your dreams instead.

3. No one has the right to make you feel worthless. You are more than enough.

4. If someone really loves you, he will pursue you and will make real efforts.

5. Please know that you are beautiful together with your scars and imperfections.

6. You do not need to compare yourself to anyone. You have a different journey to take.

7. Your only competition is yourself. Hone your skills and be a better version of you.

8. If it fails, it is not love in the first place. True love bends but it never breaks.

9. Working hard is good but you have to prioritize your health. Find time to be with your family. They are the ones who will be there for you in your darkest days.

10. Prioritize yourself. Love yourself. It has long been overdue. 

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READ THIS IT'S BEAUTIFUL 💗

The fate of a mother is to wait for her children. You wait for them when you’re pregnant. You wait on them when they get out of school. You wait on for them to get home after a night out. You wait on them when they start their own lives. You wait for them when they get home from work to come home to a nice dinner. You wait for them with love, with anxiety and sometimes with anger that passes immediately when you see them and you can hug them.

Make sure your old mom doesn't have to wait any longer. Visit her, love her, hug the one who loved you like no one else ever will. Don't make her wait, she's expecting this from you.

Because the membranes get old but the heart of a mother never gets old. Love her as you can. No person will love you like your mother will. ♥️

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I WISH YOU ENOUGH!

By Bob Perks

Recently, I overheard a Mother and Daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the Daughter's departure had been announced. 

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Mother said:

"I love you and I wish you enough."

The Daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom." They kissed and the Daughter left.

The Mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.

I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say Good-Bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" 

"Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever Good-Bye?"

"I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said.

When you were saying Good-Bye, I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?"

She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." 

She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more.

"When we said 'I wish you enough' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". 

Then turning toward me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory,

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye."

She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person. 

An hour to appreciate them. 

A day to love them. And an entire life to forget them.

Source: Wild Women Sisterhood

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W O M A N:

● changes her name.

● changes her home.

● leaves her family.

● moves in with you.

● builds a home with you.

● gets pregnant.

● the pregnancy changes her body.

● gains weight.

● almost gives up in the labour room due to the unbearable pain of child birth..

● even the kids she delivers bear your name.

———————————————————

Til the day she dies... everything she does... cooking, cleaning your house, taking care of your parents, bringing up your children, earning, advising you, ensuring you can be relaxed, maintaining all family relations, everything that benefits you.. sometimes at the cost of her own health, hobbies and beauty.

So who is really doing whom a favour?

Dear men, appreciate the women in your lives always, because it is not easy to be a woman.

Being a woman is priceless.

~Mahala Bacon

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A MOTHER'S CHRISTMAS WISH:  

(Lifted from Women Over 60 Australia Friendship Group)

 My children each year ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:

What do I want for Christmas? 

I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your kids around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your spouse, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care.

Hearing you laugh is music to me.

I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how, and I'm not bragging, but I did a pretty darn good job. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work, I'm pretty proud of it.

Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.

I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Christmas, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.

🎄💝🎉🍹🎁🙏🏼

Disclaimer:

She is a real person. She struggles, and she sparkles. She is no longer afraid to say what makes her angry, sad, or what she thinks is unfair. She's not afraid to admit that at times she feels worthless, lost, or not enough. She's refusing to hide from love, beauty, aliveness, magic, and abundance. She won't edit the sad or messed up parts of her story, or the magnitude of her triumphs, to make anyone comfortable. She is a real person. She struggles, and she sparkles. She is a real person.

Tanya Markul

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SCRAPBOOK MOMENTS

Skylar Liberty Rose

Sometimes we think that the defining moments in our lives will be born from celebratory milestones and memories that are destined to be commemorated in heavy silver frames.

But sometimes our defining moments are found in broken hearts on kitchen floors and barely-there whispers from within that softly say, No, this will not be the loop of my life. This will not be repeated.

And so it is that the path forward is forged.

Rarely is that path smooth and steady, rarely is the view an illustration of constant beauty. But still, it is a path.

It is a path.

There will come a time, someday, someplace, when something within you will waken. And afterwards, nothing will be ever be quite the same.

The darkest night will fall, the greatest grief will come, the hardest hurts will seep into your skin. You will try to hold on to the moving landscape, to steady yourself as your world spins and somersaults with no mercy.

In the speeding seconds that see you hurtling towards some kind of surrender, there will be a pause. A moment that is longer than the others.

It is there in that pause that you will remember the thread of you.

This will be the break of your own dawn, the light of your own rise. And though the shadows may still seek you, they will not claim you.

This shift, this beautiful knowing of who you are and who you are yet to be, will live forever in the heat of your belly and the fire in your heart.

It cannot be taken from you. Not by anyone.

Sometimes survival looks like a scrapbook of moments that catch your eye just as you teeter at the edge.

You are the greatest of those moments.

You are the reason to stay.

You are everything you need to remember.

Source: Raising Vibrations

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IT'S TIME

"There comes a day, somewhere in the middle of every woman’s life, when Mother Nature herself stands behind us and wraps her arms around our shoulders, whispering

“It’s time.”

“You have taken enough now. It’s time to stop growing up, stop growing older and start growing wiser – and wilder.

There are adventures still waiting on you and this time, you will enjoy them with the vision of wisdom and the companionship of hindsight, and you will really let go.

It’s time to stop the madness of comparison and the ridicule of schedule and conformity and start experiencing the joys that a life, free of containment and guilt, can bring.”

She will shake your shoulders gently and remind you that you’ve done your bit. You’ve given too much, cared too much, you’ve suffered too much.

You’ve bought the book as it were and worn the t-shirt.

Worse, you’ve worn the chains and carried the weight of a burden far too heavy for your shoulders.

“It’s time” she will say.

“Let it go, really let it go and feel the freedom of the fresh, clean spaces within you. Fill them with discovery, love and laughter. Fill yourself so full you will no longer fear what is ahead and instead you will greet each day with the excitement of a child.”

She will remind you that if you choose to stop caring what other people think of you and instead of caring what you think of you, that you will experience a new era of your life you never dreamed possible.

‘It’s time’ she will say..

“to write the ending, or new beginning, of your own story.”

Author: Donna Ashworth Words

Picture: Sarah Jane Adams

Source: Wild Woman Sisterhood

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When you love an ancient soul

There is a special kind of person in this world who is often misunderstood. These people tend to be the loners, the free spirits, the innocent lovers. They see the world for all they can – and should be – although the world rarely sees them. 

They are the old souls, the dreamers, the people in tune with life, so intuitive of emotions that they frighten us. They frighten us not because of who they are, but because of who we are not, what we lack.

Ancient souls reach depths we cannot understand. They have a connection with God, with the Universe, with Nature, and that's why they are the people who will change the world. 

We often feel inferior, as if we have to strive to stay remotely close to their level, to be worthy of their love.

It takes a confident person to love an old soul. But it's worth it. It will change your life.

They are romantic, they are loyal, they help us grow, they are not materialistic, they understand the deep connections in life, they are grateful, they are examples of bravery.

They walk the most painful roads of this life, and yet somehow they find the courage to smile, often selfless. Supporting others. 

Loving an old soul and being loved by one is a gift from the Universe!

 

Luiza Fletcher

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Credit Anon 

I once asked a very successful woman to share her secret with me. She smiled and said to me..

"I started succeeding when I started leaving small fights for small fighters. 

I stopped fighting those who gossiped about me...

I stopped fighting with my in-laws...

I stopped fighting for attention...

I stopped fighting to meet people's expectation of me...

I stopped fighting for my rights with inconsiderate people...

I stopped fighting to please everyone...

I stopped fighting to prove they were wrong about me...

I left such fights for those who have nothing else to fight...

And I started fighting for 

my vision, 

my dreams, 

my ideas and 

my destiny.

The day I gave up on small fights is the day I started becoming successful and so much more content."

Some fights are not worth your time..... Choose what you fight for wisely.

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Life at Midlife

By Mary Anne Perrone

I am no longer waiting for a special occasion; I burn the best candles on ordinary days.

I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean; I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.

I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me; It’s just not their task.

I am no longer waiting for the perfect children; my children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.

I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop; It already did, and I survived.

I am no longer waiting for the time to be right; the time is always now.

I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me; I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.

I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment; my heart can be stilled whenever it is called.

I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace; I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.

I am no longer waiting to do something great; being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.

I am no longer waiting to be recognized; I know that I dance in a holy circle.

I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness.

I believe, I Believe.

Source: FB

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RESPITE 

by Hedda Tady

October 11, 2021

In a place where the waters meet the sand, where noise is at its all-time low, and where the only bites to the skin are brought in by the salty wind, there is, finally… respite.

Respite from a world that loves to be cruel, where humans are nasty to each other, each one believing he is better than the other. I must have care that I don’t turn out to be the same. 

Respite from all the demands of the times, of the seasons, of parenting, of a job, of a world where competition seems to rule supreme.

A woman - in her delicacy, nurturing nature and gentleness - ought not to be thrown into this jungle, for her world is the home, not the side of the road where gravel and rocks fly high as tyres hit them fast and her vision gets clouded as dust settles to the ground.

But sometimes, she has no choice but to soak in the darkness of life, the loneliness of the noisy world, and she has to embrace the one fact - no one is coming. 

Strength.

Courage.

She has all that.

Choiceless in this battle that has become of her life everyday, sometimes her only balm, is the calmness that is the sea.

As her gaze meets the horizon, she can let loose the longings of a heart long been tired and tried.

Sometimes she asks, what was it in my past lives that I did that was so wrong, that this life today is so sad? Did I break many hearts, was I, too, cruel, mean, a cold heart? 

How do we ever get to know? 

Perhaps, the secret of the universe lies not in what the waters keep secret in their depths and in their ebbs and flows. 

Perhaps, the secret to life to remain in joy always, is to let the oceans run their course when they have to, until the next day when the sand has gone dry, then life renews itself. And we get to feel like we can fight some more… another day… another milestone… another challenge surpassed… another…. another….

To wish an ending - true respite - is futile. Only when the heavens open up to the ocean can true peace reign, in a heart that has always carried the weight of the world not of one’s choosing.

Source: Melancholic Reverie

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INTIMACY WITH MOTHER NATURE

By Estelle Cortes 

September 1, 2018

Often words are lacking to describe my intimacy with Mother Nature. The energy I feel surging through my being when I walk barefoot, the revitalizing effect of hugging an ancient tree or touching a flower, or walking in the rain, or skinny dipping in rivers and lakes and the spray of the waterfalls upon my face, or the warm sands upon my back as I hear the waves crashing and the sun upon my face. I feel my smallness against the vastness of the sky and the majesty of the mountains. And at nights when I camp alone and I lay on the grass contemplating the constellations and the moon, I realize how insignificant my troubles are. The Universe will never waiver fast nor slow  even for  the most harried hearts' content. The tide will continue to ebb and flow. The moon will wax and wane. The sun will rise and set. A rhythm as old as Time, as ancient as the Spirits.

One day soon I will get lost in the vastness of the Universe. My soul will make its final journey. Until then, I await in anticipation. Until then I will savor the flitting intimacy with Mother Nature as much as I can. Until then.

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LOVERS:

Be kind, be gentle. Tell her her hair smells of jasmine and roses; her lips taste like strawberries and cream. Hand her a cold glass of water when she is feverish with the summer heat. Do her chores. Massage her feet when she says she had a long day. Surprise her with trinkets. Listen earnestly to her stories. Say good morning. Kiss her goodnight. Be forgiving.

These things are put in her heart's memory bank. Fill it up. When difficulties overshadow your days these will be your salvation.

By Ethel Pineda

July 18, 2021

FB

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To The Woman Who Is Slowly Fading Away 

To the woman who has lost her spark.

To the woman whose get up and go, has well and truly gone.

This is for you.

This is to remind you, that you don’t have to be everything to everyone, every day.

You didn’t sign up for that.

Remember when you used to laugh? Sing? 

Throw caution to the wind?

Remember when you used to forgive yourself more quickly for not always being perfect.

You can get that back again.

You really can.

And that doesn’t have to mean letting people down or walking away.

It just means being kinder to you, feeling brave enough to say no sometimes.

Being brave enough to stop sometimes.

And rest.

It starts the moment you realise that you’re not quite who you used to be. 

Some of that is good, some of that is not.

There are parts of you that need to be brought back.

And if anyone in your life is not okay with that… 

they are not your people. 

Your people will be glad to see that spark starting to light up again.

So, if you have been slowly fading away my friend, 

this is the time to start saying yes to things that bring you joy 

and no 

to things that don’t.

It’s really pretty simple.~

~Donna Ashworth

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WOMAN

By Hedda Tady 

"Do you know your tears are a river that has fed the world?"

Mt. Annan, October 3, 2020

I see you everywhere... everyday.... and I wonder, are you even aware of your beauty? 

You gave your life to Man, bore him beautiful children. Do you realize what a gift you have been to this world, this universal home, that is yet to honor you and the twenty years of a life sacrifice you gave so willingly, to raise each and every one of your children? 

Day and night you toiled, at home, at work, in the village that was your larger home, you extended your warm hands and your loving heart to one and all... to a society that oftentimes judge you - savagely, unfairly - never reminding itself that you are Mother to all! 

In quiet, you took it all in.

You pursed your lips, kept your eyes on the target.

Warrior that you are, you never wavered. Focused on the goal for all time.

But woman, as you look at your wrinkled hands, as you gaze at your once young face in the mirror, and as you reach inside to touch your scarred heart, what do you see? What does the world reflect back at you, ungrateful that society has become? Entitled that your children grow up to be? Every single one taking pieces off yourself, already shaken, weary, fragile, teetering on the jagged edge of a cliff that is life? 

You are beautiful.

Do you know? 

Do you know your tears are a river that has fed the world? 

And that every wound you have sustained in the decades of wars you fought and won - career, a job, a name, your children, husband, parents, siblings, needy friends - is a testament to your strength and your courage? 

Pieces off your life.

Pieces off your soul.

Do you hear a “thank you”? 

You won’t.

Even if it did come, it shall be slow in coming. Are you going to wait for when someone crafts a beautiful eulogy, to be read to the winds, when you can no longer hear them, least of all, feel their meaning? 

Love yourself.

Now. Not tomorrow.

It might never come. 

No, I don’t mean the kind of loving that will destroy you, but one that nourishes your weary soul. One that will heal (albeit a little) of your scarred heart. 

Come alive. Yet again.

Even if it is brief.

For we are all here on just borrowed time.

You are beautiful.

I simply wish.

You knew.

Source:

Melancholic Reverie 

May 12, 2021

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SOMETIMES

Sometimes you just need to disconnect from everything and enjoy your own company...

Distance yourself to see things more clearly...

Distance yourself from people and the noise...

Sometimes, you need to get outside, get some air and remind yourself who you are and where you want to be...

Sit on your own, close your eyes and ask questions....

and listen to what comes from within...

How are you feeling?

What are you feeling?

What do you want?

What would you like?

What you don't want?

What you can't resist?

What are you dreaming of?

What you don't like?

Ask and listen to what comes from within...

Write it down...

Close the notebook....

Just breathe....

Open your eyes and just look around...

You might see a sign...

Sometimes they are words spoken through other people...

Sometimes even new people might appear to deliver the message, to trigger something in you, to push you towards the truth...

they are called "messengers"...

Sometimes, they are material things in front of your eyes, or feeling in your heart, or just knowing....

Trust what you hear, see or feel...

Just trust it...

The Universe got your back.

The moment you KNOW and ACCEPT responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you reclaim your power to change ANYTHING in your life.

If you need any help with finding the truth within, ...

Sometimes you just need to talk about something to allow the truth the hit the air, to take it out of hiding...

I am here for you, we are all in this together...

Maya

Source: Inner Power Therapy

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I’VE BEEN YOUNGER, I DIDN’T LIKE IT

Maybe, we can be totally happy to ‘look our age’,

but still want to look great?

Maybe we can love to wear new make-up, buy the latest clothes and try new looks

but we don’t need anyone to tell us we look ‘younger’...

As though that’s the goal.

It’s not my goal my friend.

I have been younger, 

my whole life, 

it didn’t make me happy then,

so maybe I don’t want to spend the best part of my life trying to look like something 

I HAVE ALREADY BEEN 

and not liked very much at all.

I hated my body then.

It was ‘perfect’,

Why would I want to chase that?

And what’s more, I have spent many a year trying to look different,

better, blonder, thinner, curvier, smoother, trendier, whatever society dictated.

I’m certainly not down for spending the most peaceful part of my time here on this earth chasing the youth I didn’t even want when I had it.

Join me my friend, 

let’s look our age and let’s do it in style.

We earned it.

Donna Ashworth 

Author of ‘TO THE WOMEN’

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“A witty woman is a treasure.

A witty beauty is a power.”

~George Meredith

LONGEVITY TIPS FROM MADAM CALMENT

1. Our bodies are self cleaning and self healing.

2. Disease is created by what we eat, drink and breathe.

3. Health is created by what we eat, drink and breathe.

4. You cannot poison a body back to health.

5. The symptoms of “disease” are the bodies ATTEMPTS to clean itself. 

(Often unsuccessful because we interfere by attempting to poison the body back to health with remedies and then do not remove the cause of our troubles after the cleaning event, our diet.) 

6. Healing occurs when we remove the CAUSE of disease.

7. You cannot solve any problems in life by ignoring the CAUSE of the problem and attempting to suppress the symptoms.  To solve a problem you must remove the CAUSE.  And so with the body, when we remove the CAUSE of disease, the wrong foods we are consuming, then the disease conditions gradually reduce or are eliminated.

8. Colds and Flus are body cleaning events.

9. “Infections” are body cleaning events.

10. When the body reaches a point where it cannot clean itself fast enough, then cellular destruction begins to occur.   At this point the symptoms of disease are no longer cleaning symptoms but symptoms of degeneration. Degeneration can in most cases be reversed or rebuilt if the CAUSE of the disease conditions are removed.

11. ALL Dis-ease, LACK of EASE in the body is the same conditions of Toxemia/Toxicosis on a sliding scale.  The difference between the symptoms of one “disease” and the symptoms of another “disease” are just the state of clean or dirty of the Terrain combined with the bodies rate of ability to clean itself and any impediment to function of the self cleaning processes in that area of the body.   When one organ is sick, the entire organism is sick.

Source: FB 

BIO:

Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian and the oldest human whose age is well-documented, with a lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies of her health and lifestyle. According to census records, Calment outlived both her daughter and grandson. Wikipedia

Born: 21 February 1875, Arles, France

Died: 4 August 1997, Arles, France

Spouse: Fernand Calment (m. 1896–1942)

Children: Yvonne Calment

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WOMEN IN ANOTHER  

"PHENOMENAL" FORM

(These women too are Phenomenal, the true SURVIVORS thrown out into the Infernal world, cruel,  savage and mortifying by chance whatever the circumstances are!" ~Adm) 

This is for the women who don’t give a fuck.

The women who are first to get naked, howl at the moon and jump into the sea.

The women who drink too much whisky, stay up too late and have sex like they mean it.

The women who know they aren’t sluts because they enjoy sex, but human beings with a healthy sexual appetite.

The women who will ask you for what they need in bed.

This is for the women who seek relentless joy; the ones who know how to laugh with their whole souls.

The women who speak to strangers because they have no fear in their hearts.

The ones who wear “night make up” in the morning or don’t own mascara.

The women who know their worth, who plant their feet and roar in their brilliance.

The women who aren’t afraid to tell a man to get the fuck out of her heart if he doesn’t honour her heart.

This is for the women who rock combat boots with frilly skirts.

The women who swear like truck drivers.

The women who hold the people who harass or wrong them with fierce accountability.

The women who flip gender norms and false limitations the bird and live to run successful companies giving “the man” a run for his name.

The ones who don’t find their success a compliment just because they have a vagina.

Women like Gloria Steinem who, when she was told, “We want a writer, not a woman. Go home,” kept writing anyway.

This is for the women who drink coffee at midnight and wine in the morning, and dare you to question it.

For the women who open doors for men and are confident enough to have doors opened for them.

Who use “no” to be in service for themselves.

Who don’t give a damn about pleasing the world, and do sweetly as they wish.

For the superheroes—the single moms who work three jobs to make it. I salute your resilient, cape-flapping, ambitious selves.

This is for the women who throw down what they love, and don’t waste time following society’s pressures to exist behind a white picket fence.

The women who create wildly, unbalanced, ferociously and in a blur at times.

The women who know how to be busy and know how to plant their feet in the earth and get grounded.

These are the women I want around me.

Words by Janne Robinson

Source: FB/via Estelle Cortes 

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Rhapsody on a Windy Night 

by T.S. Eliot

"Regard that woman

Who hesitates towards you in the light of the door

Which opens on her like a grin.

You see the border of her dress

Is torn and stained with sand,

And you see the corner of her eye

Twists like a crooked pin."

The memory throws up high and dry

A crowd of twisted things;

A twisted branch upon the beach

Eaten smooth, and polished

As if the world gave up

The secret of its skeleton,

Stiff and white.

A broken spring in a factory yard,

Rust that clings to the form that the strength has left

Hard and curled and ready to snap.

Be ready for life

the last twist of the knife."

Source: FB via Yesu Ben 

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THIS IS ME 

I love hard,

I forgive way too easily, 

I rarely ever give up and 

I let the ones I love 

take advantage of my heart. 

When I love someone, 

I take the time to learn and value everything about them. 

I learn to accept them for the good and bad. 

I also put way too much trust in them. 

Even the ones who have broken my trust... 

I still give them my love. 

Having a heart as soft and tender 

as mine is surely a burden... 

But also a blessing. 

~Live for Love~

("Pistanthrophobia is the common fear of trusting people due to past experiences with relationships gone bad." ~Just Facts)

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ODE TO WOMEN

By Estelle Cortes 

This is for women

Who toil day and night,

For their children.

This is for women

Who cry alone at night

When they thought

No one could hear them.

This is for women

Whose passion and career

Were set aside for their family.

This is for women

Who single- handidly bring up their children

Because a partner has 

Forgotten what responsibility meant.

This is for women 

Whose wildness have been tamed

To conform to society's norms.

This is for women

Who are taking care of their sick partners and parents,

And barely have time for themselves.

This is for women 

Whose desires have not been met equally.

This is for women 

Who work double jobs to make ends meet.

This is for women 

Who are constantly desired

But never really loved.

   You are not alone.

   We move mountains,

   Fought battles  

    And won.

   We tend our wounds

   In silence,

   We deal with what 

Fate

   Has thrown.

    We are women.

     We are strong.

~Estelle~

07262021

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MEMORIES

"The TRUTH is, that all of the “STUFF” here on earth we work SO hard to buy and accumulate..does NOT mean a thing. At the end of the day...people will be cleaning out our "STUFF", going thru our "STUFF", figuring out what to do with all of our "STUFF"....this "STUFF" we've accumulated in our life. The only thing of VALUE that remains are the MEMORIES and what we deposit into others. May we all learn to spend less time accumulating "STUFF" and spend way more time making MEMORIES."

Source : FB/A Woman's Soul 

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FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Auntie Mary

October 2011

Our Last Visit 

One year on, the memory of Auntie Mary still lives in my heart. It forever will. Today is the first anniversary of remembrance of her demise. She's the wife of Uncle Alejo 'Alex's Manzo Casis, the younger brother of our late Mother. They're from Romblon. Last year I wrote this piece of thought about her. (Leah C. Dancel,  Blog Administrator,  May 12. 2021)

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MY PROFOUND TRIBUTE TO AUNTIE MARY M. CASIS, 91 YEARS OLD, RIP

Your journey was long to get this far Auntie Mary. I guess our Dear Creator has seen you struggling as you lifted your feet to make another step further into these uncertain times biblically known as The End Times. Just as I greeted you a Happy Mother's Day yesterday in addendum to my Sunday wishes for the same, little have I known it was my last.

Thankfully God took your spirit as you silently breathed out your last breath while you were peacefully asleep. He removed your pain and your suffering ended.

It is for us, the living, who will pick up the pieces of the legacy that you've left behind as we continue our own journey till we, too, succumb to the end. I will dearly and fondly remember the best unforgettable lessons you impacted on me since the day I was finally reconnected to you as a young adult.

That lessons were RESILIENCE, INDUSTRY, HUMILITY, THOUGHFULNESS, GENEROSITY, and above all, SIMPLICITY.

As I watched you silently, you showed me how life was to be confronted with straightforward honesty, hard work and devotion. I never heard you complain, murmur, and looking disgruntled for anything that were of trivial matters. You just went on about your business of the daily routine in life. You were up as the dawn lifted its blinds like a wink, and you were home just as when the sun went down to its nest.  You were tired but it never showed. You have a relentless store of strength, fortitude and power to execute your responsibility towards your family.

In your absence in the homefront, I remember well how the boys, my dear cousins, carried on their duty that you delegated to them with equal quietude as you.

I do so admire you Auntie without you knowing it. I am ashamed of my own shortcomings towards you. My own life then was lived in a maze itself and I was lost.

I thank God for being able to get re-united with you last October 2011 with my younger sister Priscilla Bierbaum. Thank you for still remembering me at that time. How you amazed me with your very sharp memory. I apologise to those whom I didn't make to meet as it was the only opportunity for me to see that part of our country.

The curtain has fallen on you Auntie. As the day is dying in the west, so is the end has come for you to be no longer with your loved ones on earth. It was a truly remarkable journey you've treaded in life. You were a successful Woman and Wife and Mother! I bid, yet, another farewell to a BEAUTIFUL SOUL which in silence is genuinely very DEAR  to my heart.

TO MY COUSINS, YOUR WIVES AND FAMILY and ALL posterity of the late Uncle Alejo Manzo Casis, on behalf of my family, I humbly convey our profound and heartfelt CONDOLENCE to the sudden demise of Auntie Mary. May her soul REST IN PEACE.

As I consider Auntie Mary an epitome of a Proverbial Woman,  the following verses of Proverbs 31:10-31fitly speaks in dedication to her...

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
   
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
   
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
   
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
   
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
   
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
   
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
   
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
   
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
   
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
   
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
   
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
   
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
   
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
   
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
   
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
   
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
   
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
   
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
   
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
   
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Source:Bible Gateway 

❤ THE JOURNEY IS SHORT ❤

By Theresa Haig White 

An elderly woman got on a bus and sat down. At the next stop, a strong, grumpy young woman climbed up and sat down beside the old woman, hitting her with her numerous bags.

When she saw that the elderly woman remained silent, the young woman asked her why she had not complained when she hit her with her bags?

The elderly woman replied with a smile: "There is no need to be rude or discuss something so insignificant, as my trip next to you is so short, because I am going to get off at the next stop."

This answer deserves to be written in gold letters: "There is no need to discuss something so insignificant, because our  journey together is too short."

Source : FB 

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

SOLITUDE IS FREEDOM

I am sick. I miss my freedom. Freedom to enjoy the fresh air in a limitless space. Freedom to smell the salty air from the sea and ocean. Freedom to wander off in the vast wilderness and get lost to experience and explore the secret of the mountains and go for a careless adventure what's in the forest and beyond the caves of wonders of nature that hide there. I miss the bubbling sound of the creeks,  the silent way of the rivers and the mystery of the spring. I miss the barren countryside full of dust in summer but green on rainy days regardless of the season. I miss the hissing waves of the wild grasses,  the drooping curtains of the heavy branches and twigs laden with thickets of leaves of any colours of life. I miss the skipping thuds of the wallabies and kangaroos frolicking in the rocky hills chilling in their never ending  nibbling state staring in curiosity  each time I aim my camera at them.  They pause,  they watch me and unmindful of my business and just hop away. I miss the sound of the chirpy birds who come and go,  flocking on the branches of my backyard trees. I want my freedom back. I hate the new shitty new normal. Who brought  this mess upon us?

Source: FB/Leah C Dancel, April 17, 2020 The Year of the Rabid World Wide Ban

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

I AM A STRONG WOMAN

"Everything that hits me in my life,
I've dealth with on my own.
I've cried myself to sleep.
Picked myself back up and wipe my tears.
I have grown from things
That were meant to break me.
I get stronger by the day
And have God to thank for that."

~From Lessons Learned in Life

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THE WISE WOMAN'S STONE

"Bestow your kindness upon those that deserve it." ~Heather

A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveller left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.

But a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking,' he said 'I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."

Source: Soulful Reflections
Quote: Attributed to Heather of ADVICEABLE BLOG

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DON'T LEAVE THE KEY IN SOMEONE'S POCKET

"One morning she woke up different. Done with trying to figure out who was with her, against her, or walking down the middle because they didn't have the guts to pick a side. She was done with anything that didn't bring her peace. She realised that opinions were a dime a dozen, validation was for parking, loyalty wasn't a word but a lifestyle. It was this day that her life changed. And not because of a man or a job but because she realised that life is way too short to leave the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket." ~Anon


QUOTE

"They fall in love with her eyes, her smile, and her sense of humour. But she waits for the one who falls in love with her scars."
~Anon

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

JUST LOVE YOURSELF TIL THEN

If the mountain seems too big today
then climb a hill instead.
If the morning brings you sadness
it's okay to stay in bed.
If the day ahead weighs heavy
and your plans feel like a curse;
There's no shame in rearranging
don't make yourself feel worse.
If a shower stings like needles
and a bath feels like you'll drown;
If you haven't washed your hair for days,
don't throw away your crown.
A day is not a lifetime.
A rest is not defeat.
Don't think of it as failure
just a quiet, kind retreat.
It's okay to take a moment
from an anxious fractured mind;
The world will not stop turning
while you get realigned.
The mountain will still be there
when you want to try again;
You can climb it in your own time
just love yourself 'til then.

~Laura Ding~

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POISON THAT KILLS MEN

"In all our relationships, may we seek to preserve harmony and principle in the spirit of love." ~David McCasland

Once upon a time a beautiful woman got tired of her marriage life and wanted to murder her spouse.

One morning she ran to her mother and said to her, "Mother, I am tired of my husband I can no longer support his nonsense. I want to kill him but I am afraid the Law of the Land will hold me responsible, can you please help me mother?"

The mother answered, "Yes my daughter I can help you, but, there is a little task attached."

The daughter asked, "what task? I am willing and ready to assume any task attached in order to get him out."

Okay, said the mother:

… You will have to make peace with him, so that no one will suspect you when he is dead.

… You will have to beautify yourself in order to look young and attractive to him.

… You have to take good care of him and be very nice and appreciative to him.

… You have to be patient, loving and less jealous; have more listening ears, be more respectful and obedient.

… Spend your money for him and don’t get angry even when he doesn't give you money for whatever.

… Don’t raise your voice against him, but encourage peace and love so that you will never be suspected when he must have died.

"Can you do all of that?", asked the mother.
"Yes I can", she replied.
"Okay," said the mother, "take this powder and pour a bit in his every day meal, it will slowly kill him."

After 30 days the young woman went back to her mother, and said, "Mother, I have no intention of killing my husband again. As of now I have grown to love him because he has completely changed. He is now a very sweet husband than I ever imagined. What can I do to stop the poison from killing him? Please help me mother." She pleaded in a sorrowful tone.

The mother answered, "Do not worry my daughter. What I gave you the other day was just Tumeric Powder. It will never kill him."

"In reality, you were the poison that was slowly killing your husband with tension and dispassion. It was when you started loving, honouring and cherishing him that you saw him change to a nice and sweet husband."

Men are not really wicked, but our way of relating with them determines their responses and feelings towards us.

Women if you can only show respect, dedication, love, care and commitment to your husband he will 100% be there for you.

Source: De'Son Nwachukwu/FB
March 30, 2020

STEPS TO FIND A PARTNER

… PRAY to GOD.

… Make a list of ideal attitudes.

… Ask COUNSELS from spiritual persons.

… Observe, don't hurry, and wait.

Source: SDA Youth

♥*✿*•♥═♥*✿*•♥

6 THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. The past cannot be changed.

2. Everyone's journey is different.

3. Judgments are a confession of character.

4. Overthinking will lead to sadness.

5. Happiness is found within.

6. Things always get better with time.

Source: WOMEN WORKING

NIKITA GILL - A GIRL POET

Still young but accomplished in the world of published poetry, bold, brave and classy.

ATHENA GIRL

Her heart wears wisdom skin
and wit warmed splendour,
the echoes of a war cry holding
its four chambers together.

She rises like Athena
on a night of victory dancing.
She rises like the blood moon
in a sky of a thousand stars bursting.

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Ahhhhh … WOMEN!!!

"Did you know RED WINE has AMAZING ANTI-AGING BENEFITS? Drink enough of it, you won't give a crap how old you are!" ~Larrys Funny Postings

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LIARS TAKE NOTE

If you are into the habit of lying to people to get what you want, STOP! Men before you try to do anything watch closely the facial attributes of women, giving attention not so much of how beautiful they are, but try to focus as to the detail of their foreheads.

"NEVER LIE TO GIRLS WITH BIG FOREHEADS. THEY NEVER FORGET EASILY. THEY'RE HIDING 64GB DRIVE IN THERE!" ~Unattributed

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‪WHEN A WOMAN REACHES HER LIMIT‬
‪… She's no angel, unexceptional to any imperfection … ‬

‪"Regard that woman‬
‪Who hesitates towards you ‬
‪in the light of the door‬
‪Which opens on her like a grin.‬
‪You see the border of her dress‬
‪Is torn and stained with sand,‬
‪And you see the corner of her eye‬
‪Twists like a crooked pin."‬

‪~Unattributed by Yesu Ben‬

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PENNY PINCHING WON'T DO YOU HARM
(For the practical spenders)

Grow old. Be wise.

1. Don't buy an expensive phone. A new version will come out even before you've finished paying for it.

2. Don't buy an expensive bag. Replicas are scattered everywhere. Only a trained eye will see that it's genuine.

3. Don't buy expensive shoes. You can't walk like a duck trying to keep it from deforming with every use.

4. Don't buy expensive clothing. You can't walk around showing the small tag behind your nape.

5. Don't buy an expensive watch. A 100-peso vintage watch online looks good too, and all kinds will tell the same time.

6. Don't buy expensive undergarments. It's not allowed to walk in public wearing only a Victoria's Secret bra and panties.

7. Don't buy expensive cars. It depreciates with every kilometer it runs. Your 1.2 Million-Peso SUV will sell for only 500K.

8. Don't buy a huge house. Too much space creates distance between family members. They'll grow old and leave anyway.

9. Always settle for the justified price. You can do more with two for the price of one.

10. Remember that it's not the brand that carries you. It's how you carry the brand.

Grow old wise. Grow old happy.

Source: FB

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Admin's Note: Personally, this sounds more of a woman's bane towards her man who is not an appreciative let alone a contented male specie. I love the humour of her strength to put the man in place. I have no patient myself of his kind. To the words of few women I knew, "Men are just plain idiots and stubborn." 😁😁😁

MOTIVATIONAL MOMENT: For A Happy Mother's Day Weekend

He didn’t like my casserole,
He didn’t like my cake,
He said the biscuits were too hard,

Not like his mother used to make.


I didn’t brew his coffee right,
He didn’t like my stew,
He said I didn’t mend his socks,

The way his mother used to do.


So I pondered the answer,
Searching for a clue,

Then I turned around and smacked him one,

Just like his mother used to do."

~Valerie Jackson

═══════════════

HAVE THE COURAGE
By Kate Rose

Have the courage to try.

Have the courage to be you, who you really are.

Have the courage to piss people off
by making choices that align with your heart.
Hell, have the courage to follow your heart.
Have the courage to love.
To hope.

To believe in forever. 

Have the courage to leave masks behind.

To say screw make-up and beauty products
that convince you you’re flawed.

To be real, messy, fleshy, dirty
and absolutely delicious.
Have the courage to dismiss labels and styles
and to look beyond appearances to souls.
Have the courage to live a life you love.

Really.

To say no.
And really mean it.
To not apologize, justify or even offer
to make up for it.
Just No. 

Have the courage to leave behind the script
for normalcy and not feel guilt
because it never felt like it fit.
Have the courage to call out fakeness.

The courage to ask for what you need and
to walk away from anyone
that can’t offer you just that.
Have the courage to believe
in the once in a lifetime kind of love.
Have the courage to have confidence
in yourself and dreams.

In your visions and beliefs.

In the life YOU want to live.

Because I promise you there’s no gold medal
at the end of all this for following the rules of men.

For being or living how we’re supposed to.

How others think we should.

So have the courage...

The courage to truly live.

Source: Wild Woman Sisterhood

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"Every woman needs a no-matter-what " friend.
Someone they can call no matter what.
Someone they can vent to no matter what.
Someone she doesn't have to explain herself to
NO Matter WHAT!"
~Anon

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

BLUE

Admin's Note: This article is a repost from someone's post at Facebook that I have read. Interestingly my sister died on the same month to which this story was dated. My sister was definitely not an atheist as she considered herself knowledgeable about the Bible teachings on DEATH. She incidentally died on my birthday, few days after the story below was published. Should her death bring her back to life I wonder what her story would be after some presumptive notions about heaven and about that of God, as the story of a little girl claimed. Would it be something like … "“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” ~François Rabelais
Read on.

I read this last night. True story.

Atheists will always say that there is no heaven and there is no life after death. They believe that what religion has taught us is just pure imagination and a means to cope with the fear of dying because, as promised, you will find peace in the afterlife. To them, we simply cease to exist.

But sometime in 1968, the daughter of an army doctor fell ill and died for almost half an hour. She was to be taken to a morgue when she suddenly woke up. This was after the father whispered "Come back, my child. Come back" to her ear.

Her name was Durdana and she was only three years old at the time. Just one day after surviving her apparent death, her mother asked her where she went for the half hour that she was pronounced dead.

She said...
"Far, far away to the stars. To a garden. Apples, grapes, and pomegranates. There were streams. A white stream, a brown stream, a blue stream, and a green stream. My grandfather was there and his mother. Grandpa said he was glad to see me and his mother took me in her lap and kissed me."

Asked what happened next, she replied, "And then I heard my daddy calling me. I told Grandpa that I must go back. But he said we should have to ask God. So we went to God and I told Him that I want to go back. And down, down I came from the stars, onto Daddy's bed."

She described heaven as an extremely peaceful place where you feel nothing but lightness. There was just brightness and never a shadow. You feel like you know everyone and there exists only happiness.

And when her shocked mother asked what God looked like, all she can say was "Blue."

Sourced: Apple Jolo/FB
11 August 2019

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

10 Facts Every Woman Should Know:

1. Everyone has rolls when they bend over.
2. When someone tells you that you're beautiful, believe them. They aren't lying.
3. Sometimes we all wake up with breath that could kill a goat.
4. For every woman unhappy with her stretch marks is another woman who wishes she had them.
5. You should definitely have more confidence. And if you saw yourself the way others see you, you would.
6. Don't look for a man to save you. Be able to save yourself.
7. It's okay to not love every part of your body....but you should.
8. We all have that one friend who seems to have it all together. That woman with the seemingly perfect life. Well, you might be that woman to someone else.
9. You should be a priority. Not an option, a last resort, or a backup plan.
10. You're a woman. That alone makes you pretty damn remarkable.

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

AFTER AWHILE

After awhile you learn the subtle difference of holding a hand and changing a soul;

And you learn that love is not about leaning and company is not about security;
And you begin to learn that kisses are not contracts and presents are not promises;
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of a woman, not a grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling in mid-flights.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much; 

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers;

And you learn you can really endure and you are really strong and you really have worth;

And you learn and you learn and you learn.
With every goodbyes you learn...

After awhile.

by Veronica A. Shoffstall (1971)

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

WORDS OF HER OWN
By Rolaiza Mimi Singayao

Don't sleep the entire day. Just take intermittent naps.

Have small but frequent sips of water. Turn to low fire whatever it is your mind is cooking.

Keep happy thoughts. Plot the painful demise of enemies.

Reprimand self for the protuberant belly. Remain healthy, love thyself and feed it well with balut and durian.

Listen to others especially the loud and dumb. Be a druid and rule the world.

Hands off the private matters of friends, family and neighbors. Do not gossip but be informed.

Don't be scared. Sneakers are here to stay.

Be brave. And just love. 🌸

Source: FB

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WOMAN
By Avish Ramgolam

Gift her the peaceful future that she deserves. Hold her hands against the world, which knows only to judge. Give her the love that she always yearned for.

Every woman has a past. Some were physically abused. Some had violent parents. Some had pubertal issues. Some had sexual abuse as a child from their own family members. Some had messed up love stories. Some had been forced into sex in the name of love. Some had been drugged. Some were date raped. Some had been viciously photographed on bed. Some had been blackmailed by their ex-boyfriend. Some were in an abusive relationship. Some had menstrual problems. Some had a broken family. Some had a divorce. Some had an obesity issue. Some had financial droughts. Some had drug or alcohol addiction. Some had a few unsuccessful suicide attempts.

If you see a woman, who went through any of these but had already wiped her tears, tied her hair up, masked her sorrows with a divine smile, stood tall and strong, started walking towards her future because she still has some hope left inside her and has not given up on the concept of love that still exists in this world, do not stab her with her past. Do not confront her. Do not slap her with more abuse. Give way for her and walk beside her. May be hold her hands and walk for a while. You'll know how sweet that soul is and how strong her hopes are! You'll be amazed at how she carries herself after all her energy has been sucked out.

She need not always be only the woman next door or from a different home. She could be your own friend, your own sister, your own girlfriend, your own wife, even may be your own mother.

Do not judge her by her past. Gift her the peaceful future that she deserves. Hold her hands against the world, which knows only to judge. Give her the love that she always yearned for.

Source: FB, 18 June 2019

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A Warrior's Journey
By Janna Champagne

She's a wild one, that woman,

It's abundantly clear

For pain has chiseled her,

year after year.

Tears polished her heart

to its brightest gleam.
Love tore at her soul,

and nearly busted a seam.

Her stories incredulous,

yet entirely true.

Though most whom she meets,
simply don't have a clue.

Her depths ever expanding, 

with Life River's flow.

Ever widening the canyons,
as her paradigms grow.

Gaining strength, planting seeds,

tending her garden with pride.

For only a healthy crop will

blossom the warrior inside.

👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾👩‍🌾

WOMAN: FOR WHAT SHE'S WORTH
By Devina Nund

When God created woman, he was working late on the 6th day...

An angel came by and asked, “Why spend so much time on her?” The Lord answered, “Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her?”

“She must function in all kinds of situations, she must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart.

She must do all this with only two hands, she cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day.”

The Angel was impressed. “Just two hands...impossible! And this is the standard model?”

The Angel came closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord.”

“She is soft,” said the Lord, “But I have made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and overcome.”

"Can she think?” The Angel asked...The Lord answered, "Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate."

The Angel touched her cheeks..."Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put toony burdens on her."

"She is not leaking...it is a tear," the Lord corrected the Angel...

"What's it for?" Asked the Angel... The Lord said, "Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride."...

This made a big impression on the Angel.
"Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything.

A woman is indeed marvellous"

Lord said, "Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in.

Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life."

The Angel asked, "So she is a perfect being?"

The Lord replied: "No. She has just one drawback, she often forgets what she's worth."

👵🏻👧👷‍♀️👩‍⚕️👩‍🎓👩‍🏭👩‍🔧👩‍🚒👩‍⚖️👰💁🙋🙎💆👱‍♀️👩👳🏻‍♀️💂🏻‍♀️👩🏻‍🌾💃🏻

HUMILITY WILL NEVER GO OUT OF STYLE

I don't know who needs to read this.

You're going to have to face the harsh realities of life, but it's normal. Everyone goes through shit, everyone loses a little bit of the faith when things get rough, every soul loses control once in a while. But you'll always get through it and you will get over it.

And for every single time you are given the chance to redeem yourself, try not to morph into a hardened and cold human being. Don't let it change you. Don't let it create a vindictive heart within you. Try not to be overwhelmed with reckless pride or arrogance. You see, that ladder you want to climb is not as sturdy as you expect it would be. It can only carry your weight and nothing else. All excess load, including your ego, should be left at the foot of the ladder and you should let it stay there where it belongs. If you insist on carrying it with every step you take, something is going cave in under all that weight. Before you know it, you're back where you started and completely flat on your face.

Reach for the stars with your feet firmly planted in the ground. Humility will never go out of style.

Source: FB/Apple Jolo

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WILD WOMAN CREED

My religion is kindness

My path is my own

I won't conform

I am a woman of no shame
My feet are covered with sacred earth
My ears are tuned to Her song
My heart is full of Her ancient wisdom

My hands bang a drum

Ancestors waken to my rattle's call

I speak to the spirits
I dance with the stars
I howl at the moon
I am woman, witch, woken
Irreverent and wild

© monika carless

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The 7 Types Of Love According To The Ancient Greeks We All Experience

LOVE IS THE ONLY THING THAT PEOPLE DIE FOR, AND LIVE FOR, IN THE SAME TIME.

Regardless of age, education, spiritual conviction or status, love can cause a person to trip and question everything. It is something that makes us truly human.

Even though this word has been used to describe a variety of emotions, real love goes deeper than being just an emotion. It’s a state of being, a frequency of existing, a realm of reality.

The modern representation of Love has been linked to owning somebody, feeling complete or broken whether the one we love loves us back.

But that’s just one psychologically twisted form out of many.

All these confusions come up because we slowly forget the real meaning behind love.

In the basic sense, Love is the primordial force that moves two separate things together to create a whole new being.

Love is a force that unifies into wholeness!

Our human psyche interprets this force through emotions and attraction. It translates and evokes it depending on different psychological factors.

For example, most people when saying that they are in love with someone they are actually in love with the unconscious aspect of themselves they see in this other person.

That’s why most relationships are based on owning each other, because people feel entitled to the aspects they are in love with. Subconsciously, those are parts of themselves.

Love is a force that wants you to be whole, one way or another. It unifies everything into wholeness. It’s a force of unification and expansion.

There are many philosophies and attempts to explain Love and even more produces inspired by it.

According to the Ancient Greeks Love can be experienced in 7 different forms. Their philosophy says that there are 7 types of Love that differ in energy and intensity.

The 7 Types Of Love According To The Ancient Greeks:

1. The Eros Love
The Eros is the love in a form of intimate desire that you feel towards another person. It’s governed by a sexual attraction that is mostly physical in nature.
On an energetic level, Eros love flows from the Root and Sacral Chakras. The Root Chakra energy has been with us since the primitive times, even before love had its name.… As quickly as it comes, this type of love quickly fades away. This makes every relationship that is rooted in Eros to not last much.

2. The Philia Love
The Philia is the love you have for your friends and family. This feeling is more rooted on companionship or friendship.
On an energetic level, Philia comes from the heart Chakra as it is based on mutual feelings of trust, respect, and admiration or acceptance.
In a romantic relationship, the Eros and Philia love may thrive, which depends if both partners discovered Philautia (self-love).
If a relationship is based on the 3 of these, it will last much longer.

3. The Storge Love
The Storge is the love and affection between parents and children. This love is rooted on dependency and familiarity of connection.

On an energetic level, Storge love comes from the Heart and Crown Chakras and is very pure and unconditional.

The Greeks said that many adults seek this type of love in their romantic relationships. but because of the high levels of dependency and attachment involved, it may lead to complications.

This type of love doesn’t work well in romantic relationships because it changes the flow of energy and makes it ego driven, resulting in codependency and toxicity to the relationship.

4. The Agape Love
The Agape is the Universal love we feel for one another, the planet, the Universe or God, nature and all other creatures. It is an unconditional love and the life force of the Universe.

On an energetic level, Agape flows from all the Chakras and signifies equality and balance.

We strengthen Agape love by meditating, spending time in nature and enhancing our spiritual connection.

All relationships have a touch of Agape love as we glimpse into this divinity as we look into our partner’s eyes.

5. The Ludus Love
The Ludus is the love we have for play, fun and adventure. It’s the childish love we all have when we play as little kids, the love we have for the play itself.

Ludus is all about seeking pleasure and having fun and comes from the Sacral Chakra, on an energetic level.

In this type of love, the people involved focus only on the experiences and not on the actual attraction.

Ludus is projected in a form of a playful relationship characterized by flirting, seducing or having intimate experiences without any feelings.

6. The Pragma Love
The Pragma is the love which is built on personal qualities, shared goals, and duty. It’s mostly projected through love for one’s home country, a political party or higher purpose.

On an energetic level, Pragma type flows from the Root and Heart Chakras.

On a deeper sense, this type is all about surviving together and working towards a common goal. It is strengthened by the respect and admiration the people involved that they have for each other.

A love that starts from Eros or Storge has a chance of developing into the Pragma type. Arranged marriages fall under this category.

7. The Philautia Love
The Philautia is the love a person has for oneself. We need to realize this love within us to have a sense of belonging and develop our purpose in life.

On an energetic level, Philautia love flows from the Heart and Third Eye Chakras.
When we love ourselves and believe in ourselves, our intuition opens up and leads us to our purpose.

Relationships where both people have a healthy Philautia while maintaining strong attraction and passion towards one another tend to be the strongest and last longest.

But Love cannot be defined!
By knowing all these 7 types of love, it is much easier for us to articulate the kind of emotion we feel.

When we know the type of relationship we are in, we can easily evaluate where we stand and where the relationship is going.

But Love is not that easily defined. Love is never complicated, but it cannot be explained. Sometimes it’s a word, sometimes a symphony.

It’s only the things that come as a result of it that make things complicated and describable. It’s the intensity that creates categories.

But Love is beyond explanation, it’s beyond The Universe and ourselves because we are all products of Love. All we can do is resonate in its frequency and give its fruits.

Source: Life Coach Code
October 16, 2017

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LIFE AT MIDLIFE

I am no longer waiting for a special occasion;
I burn the best candles on ordinary days.
I am no longer waiting for the house to be clean;
I fill it with people who understand that even dust is Sacred.
I am no longer waiting for everyone to understand me;
It’s just not their task

I am no longer waiting for the perfect children;
My children have their own names that burn as brightly as any star.

I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop;
It already did, and I survived.

I am no longer waiting for the time to be right;
The time is always now.
I am no longer waiting for the mate who will complete me;
I am grateful to be so warmly, tenderly held.
I am no longer waiting for a quiet moment;
My heart can be stilled whenever it is called.

I am no longer waiting for the world to be at peace;
I unclench my grasp and breathe peace in and out.

I am no longer waiting to do something great;
Being awake to carry my grain of sand is enough.

I am no longer waiting to be recognized;
I know that I dance in a holy circle.

I am no longer waiting for Forgiveness.

]I believe,
I Believe.

Author: Mary Anne Perrone
WILD WOMAN SISTERHOOD 
Embody your Wild Nature

Source: FB/Stunning Post/ Marita Venter

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For a brief moment, I wrote you poems because you felt right
By Mica Meñez

Sometimes, writing is all that we have. Sometimes, the best poems are written for the wrong ones. Sometimes, our poems are the only thing that remained right for them. ~Mica Meñez

"I had proven enough to myself that you're everything that's not meant for me. You are all the errors, all the flaws, all the dark corners. You're everything that's not right for me. But I didn't regret writing you poems. I didn't regret reading it out loud with you. I didn't regret exchanging metaphors for kisses. I didn't regret walking barefooted on your stanzas with broken pieces of glasses. I didn't regret thinking about you and planning your tomorrows in my journal. I didn't regret anything, not a day, not a minute, not a microsecond. We can't force what's not meant to be. We can't force what's meant to end. We can't hold what's slipping. And you're still free to call them yours --- all the things I wrote for you. They're still yours. All its softness, vulnerability and honesty. All of them are all yours.

Sometimes, no matter what we do. We wrote people the best things because we thought it'll last. They make it look like happiness will still swirl inside our bedroom by tomorrow. We always believed there are still 'next days'. Sometimes, writing is all that we have. Sometimes, the best poems are written for the wrong ones. Sometimes, our poems are the only thing that remained right for them."

Source: A Cup of Words and Coffee
30 June 2019

💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

♥*✿*•♥💐💐💐♥*✿*•♥

8 Things Life Has Taught Me

1. Take the time to really evaluate your goals.
Many people can waste precious years of their life chasing things they don’t even want or never letting their desire mature. Make a habit at least every year to put a pause on your routine and allow yourself to think about what you value, and how that may have changed over time. The important thing is not to stop there, but to make the necessary changes so that your lifestyle can actually reflect your new goals.

For some women, this means learning to be better moms to their adult children. For others, it could mean giving their budget an overhaul so they can save more and waste less. For others, it could be de-cluttering their calendars to focus on spiritual and emotional growth. Whatever you learn about yourself, choose to honor your values with your habits.

2. STOP Trying to Please Everyone
On the surface, being a people-pleaser can seem like a good thing. After all, who wouldn’t want to get along with the people around them? But anyone who’s genuinely tried to keep everyone happy knows that it’s a vicious circle that leaves you burnt out, frustrated, and less effective at making the people you really care about happy. Just like you only have 24 hours in a day, you only have a limited amount of energy you can use up, so make sure you’re making it count!

Sometimes, this will mean saying no to overtime at work or to yet another family reunion. Make sure that you’re taking the time you need to recharge – whatever that looks like for you! Your relationships and your sanity will thank you when you realize that not everyone’s opinion is relevant to your life.

Actress, model, and animal rights activist, Ali McGraw talks about why being able to say no is so difficult for most people, and why she decided to say it more often.

3. Learn to Age Gracefully
A lot of money is made by convincing women that they aren’t beautiful, smart, and important as soon as they start getting grey hair or love handles. You’ll find yourself a lot happier and more confident when you learn to appreciate your body at whatever stage it’s in.

In a May 2017 interview, Ali McGraw said, “I remember in those early days spending too much time worrying about whether I looked okay. That is really boring. The minute that every single thing is perfect, you’ve lost your sexuality, as far as I’m concerned.
Where’s the juice?”

So, flaunt your laugh lines, your stretch marks, your freckles, and your grey locks! You have no idea how beautiful you really are.

4. Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People
It’s hard enough not to compare yourself to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers- and then along came social media! But the truth is, nobody’s lives are as perfect as they might seem; that is 100% guaranteed. So instead of comparing your low points to everyone else’s high points, teach yourself to stop judging books by their covers and learn to value every season of life. Celebrate the good, learn from mistakes, and find comfort in the sad times. Life is full of so many beautiful experiences, and your life is so unique!

Ali McGraw said in an interview, ““Perfect…I don’t think it exists. It’s a peculiar obsession. Being a decent human being, interacting and connecting with other people — really, really connecting — is more important than anything.”

5. Don’t Wait For Recognition
Ladies, you need to hear this: you need to be your own biggest fan! Most of the time, your hard work will go unnoticed, even by the people you care about the most. Instead of expecting people to show you their appreciation (and feeling hurt when they don’t), learn to rely on being grateful to yourself. Any recognition from the outside is an added bonus! (That being said, it’s okay to also talk with your partner about being more vocally supportive. And it’s also okay to teach your children to be grateful!)

6. Being Healthy Shouldn’t Be Stressful
Yes, your health is important! The biggest mistake people tend to make is in thinking that physical health is separate from mental health. If you find yourself checking your weight every day, beating yourself up with guilt if you miss a workout or go for dessert on a special night, you’re neglecting a crucial part of your health. Besides the fact that stress alone has been linked to serious health conditions, remember that the point of taking care of your body is so that you can enjoy your life!

7. Pass Down Your Stories
It’s easy to take for granted the experiences you’ve accumulated over the years, but the next generation can learn so much from you! You don’t have to sit down your children, grandchildren, or younger neighbors with a powerpoint about your life, but be open to sharing your own experiences- you might be surprised with how much your listeners appreciate learning more about you, about the world, and about themselves.

8. Seize the Day!
Splurge on yourself from time to time. Try new things whenever you can. Learn to say “no” so you can make room for the things you enjoy. Face your fears. Love fiercely. Forgive quickly. Take millions of pictures. Live life to its fullest.

Source: The Hearty Soul
Posted on: September 8, 2017

💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

THE HEART OF A WOMAN. MY HEART

The heart of a woman.
My heart.
Within me lives the child of my summers
and the dark fear of early winters.
Those times of confusion and pain
that were handed to me as true
and never explained.

The heart of a woman.
My heart.
Within me howl the cries of a warrior,
rigid and brave.
A warrior with a broken knife held
by a hand that had to teach itself
the difference between righteous anger
and keening abuse.

The heart of a woman.
My heart.
Within me rises the course of life itself.
Children blooming between my legs
in love and joy,
in sorrow and confusion,
in heaving wonder and groveling pain.

The heart of a woman.
My heart.
Within me billows the wonder of being.
Alive and aching, sharing,
laughing, creating and loving.
Each day an unfolding of life
with death just there always waiting.

The heart of a woman.
My heart.
Within me lives yesterday and tomorrow,
this moment and all that was and can be.

I am my mother, daughter,
wife, sister and aunt.
I am every women
that is and shall be.
The heart of a woman.
My Heart.

By Robin Korth

You were young and besotted to someone you wanted to be with in a lifetime. Then you find yourself caught in a maelstrom of conflicts, many years later, due to Religion and Culture — thereby causing a family and marital political divide. Thus, an interesting write from the author who plugged her personal notes and experiences online. Shared with permission. (Blog Administrator)

…what I have learned all through these years may make your life easier than mine. If you want a peaceful co-existence... learn Respect. Respect is the acceptance that another person's system of beliefs is as precious as your own. Respect is tolerance of your differences...Respect is love. Respect is peace!

SILVER MUSINGS!

By Melany Amante Mabao Maguindanao

Marrying a man coming from another culture with a different religion was not among my major concerns when I first took my vows at 22. We were drowned and swept by the romantic current of the feelings of our young love. Culture and Religion at that time, could not hinder us from plunging into our plans to pursue a life together. Twenty five years later...I realized, we were fools! I am not referring to our love, of course...that same love kept us together until now despite the scars and bruises sustained by our spirits. We were fools... for underestimating the impact of these differences to our future individual lives and our relationship as a married couple.

He was a muslim and I was a Christian. Now, he is a muslim and I am still a Christian. That's some kind of a challenging stance for a woman like me to hold onto my own faith while my husband also maintained his. It was a greater challenge on his part because he came to look like some sort of a "failure" in the context of his society for being a man who was unable to bring his only wife into his religion. Well, at least, that's what it seemed to be for most of his relatives and seemingly concerned people around. For this reason among others, I simply adore and commend him for bravely sustaining our relationship.

"A family that prays together, stays together."
This is a line that would always evoke an emotion of deep longings for me. It's not because I never tried..I did. I just find it hard to uproot myself from the deep grounds that anchored my childhood faith.

I've encountered a lot of pressures to submit in the name of my children, for the sake of unity and oneness. I've been bullied by close relatives on the account of my religion and culture, or maybe just solely because of my own identity ( you need not worry though, I already managed to get rid of all these toxicities in our lives). I was hated at first because I was not submissive enough to succumb to their demands and expectations. I continued to live my own character and uphold my individuality up to the present. My husband was also pressured to make choices to conform from time to time. Minus the details, you can safely say that indeed it was a rough journey...all those years as we were constantly blamed for not being religious enough to be spared from every trials and storms that frequented our ways. All the blamings and the silent curses uttered and left unuttered added some weight to our burdens. We were left with no choice but to embrace each other for support even without their blessings.

Surviving frictions was a necessary adjustment we need to experience just to be accepted. Meranaos are closely knitted people. They have their own unique ways of surviving a society by keeping their identity, customs, and traditions. Their ways are ways that made them resilient amidst the temptations of outside influences. I guess, most of them will agree with me when I say that while some practices bear fruitful advantages, most of their social obligations, expectations, standards, and pressures are burdensome like a pain in the ass.

I am not in any way trying to offend my fellow Christian women who totally embraced the religion and practices of their husbands. In fact, I admire them for their enlightenment and pliancy. But I know how prejudice and discrimination felt like from both sides. That may be silent here but because you can't hear it ...it doesn't mean, it doesn't exist. At present, I am a member of a unique organization by Christian women married to Muslim men in the Philippines. If you have time to spare and come to visit us...you may probably hear the unique melody of the murmuring lambs. You will surely find yourself admiring our courage and resiliency to survive our unique circumstances.

Culture is one thing, religion is another thing. As to the latter, I am continually reading and researching for understanding, praying that faith will come my way. When you live here, your circumstances has a way of melting you down to the point you no longer know who you are and where you stand. All the impositions of the things that you are supposed to do and what's expected of you can sometimes get to your nerves. This is normal I guess...who wouldn't want to belong and be accepted. But whether you like it or not, this society is still dominated by people with false sense of territoriality and if you can't stand that...you are up for a hard life.

As for me, religiousity and spirituality are two different things. I admire my husband's religion, Islam is too good to be true, for me. If followed to the letter, Islam will solve all the world's problem just like Christianity. But people adulterated religion with their hypocrisy. I've seen that with my own eyes. Adding into the equation the culture and practices, that all messed up the whole picture leading to confusion of values. People are no longer able to tell the difference between tradition and religion.

The number of years may come overrated to assume that I now have an authority to give any advise to anyone who would like to take a plunge in the same waters I dived into some twenty five years ago . But what I have learned all through these years may make your life easier than mine. If you want a peaceful co-existence... learn Respect.

Respect is the acceptance that another person's system of beliefs is as precious as your own. Respect is tolerance of your differences...Respect is love. Respect is peace!

Source: FB, June 2019

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"All she wanted
 was find
a place to stretch her bones
A place to lengthen her smiles

and spread her hair
A place where her legs could walk
without cutting and bruising
A place unchained
She was born out of ocean breath.
I reminded her;
‘Stop pouring so much of yourself

into hearts that have no room for themselves
Do not thin yourself
Be vast
You do not bring the ocean to a river’
you are oceanic."

By Tapiwa Mugabe

Source: Butterflies and Pebbles

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💐💐💐

"Wild women are evolved women who speak their own truth, and dance to the rhythm of their own drum. They have no need to bully or play the victim, and always keep their circles free of negativity. A wild woman is a powerful, divine woman, a dreamer and a visionary. Her medicine is strong and she is an eternal source of boundless, creative inspiration. The wild woman is the embodiment of creative transformation, helping your true wild heart awaken." ~Shikoba

"Women get more beautiful as they grow older. Not less. Female youth is only prized in modern culture because it doesn't represent as much of a threat spiritually to anyone who is frightened of divine feminine power. As women grow and mature, they call in stronger forces of sacred feminine wisdom. They vibrate with the creative power of their stories. They are more of a force to be reckoned with. They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit. When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in 'slowing the signs of ageing', an enormous vault of divine love is lost. Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed. Perhaps a total revolution would occur." ~Yogesh Kumar

💐💐💐

THE ESSENCE OF A WOMAN

"I think being a woman, by itself, the very fact that you are a woman is a gift of God which all of us must appreciate.... The origin of a child is a mother and is a woman. And a woman is the one who shares the love and shows a man, what love, caring and sharing is all about. That is the essence of a woman." ~Sushmita Sen, Miss Universe 1994

ON NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
By Sigrid Salucop
8 October 2018

We own our emotions; they don't own us. ~Susan David

Based on the video Why It's Good To Embrace Negative Feelings by Susan David published at FB via TED; whom a fellow blogger, Sigrid Salucop shared, she penned her own thoughts as follows:

Every few years, I spew a bit of evil on social media because sometimes, humans need to air their anger, disgust, and inner contrabida. Sometimes, humans also need to rhyme but that's a story for another day.

Rant Part I
I am quite lucky that I'm comfortable with all sorts of emotions. If I had a lot of free time, I'd be writing about the types of people that truly disgust and/or anger me and I'd do that every day until I rid myself of negativity. However, based on the video on Emotions as authored by Susan David, it seems these emotions are okay. As the villains in the award-winning film "Wreck it Ralph" say, "I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be, than me." Hahaha. Don't be baddies folks, it's bad to be bad.

"Bad" emotions are okay though. False positivity isn't. False positivity prevents us from seeing the world the way it is. It can stop us from pointing out, for example, that the emperor has no clothes! Or stop us from pointing out a mistake. One good example is not correcting someone for fear that they will see you in a bad light and you do this even if you know that agreeing to what they say now will get you in some form of trouble later. That to me is absurd. We can't keep saying yes just to keep the peace. We can't go around smiling like sociopaths all the time.

Rant Part II
I'm mostly angry to be honest because there are a lot of reasons to be angry. There's the friendly neighbourhood politician riddled with incompetence, arrogant government workers who think they are at the top of the food chain, public servants who think they are celebrities, policymakers who have no idea what they are doing, idiots who think they are smart just because they are in some position of power, arrogant people armed with stupidity that is just way up there, people who think they are well-off but dont even realise that they are just big-ish fishes in an incredibly tiny pond, strangers who ask very personal questions, people who cant admit their mistakes, among others.

Rant Part III
Since I am now in too deep, I might as well continue because why not? It's a free country, etc.

Here goes.

I get disgusted by grammar nazis who do not have a good grasp of whatever language it is that their target is using.

I get irritated by people who have a tremendous amount of talent when it comes to writing vague posts. You know the type. "Off all days, it happened today" or a plain "Oh no!" No context. Just pure, unadulterated, and often very irritating vagueness begging for questions that won't be answered once someone types them and clicks enter. I don't even want to figure out how this kind of interaction benefits the local attention whore.

I get irritated by people who try so hard to appear cool or those who equate their value to the number of likes they get. Ew. They should read a book or something. Go and develop some sort of personality. Expand their horizons. They have a choice. They do not have to remain shallow. Think about it. They won't need to rely on their good looks anymore since it is non-existent in the first place!

I get disgusted by crab mentality. That is very hampaslupa.

I get disgusted by Filipinos abroad who enslave/traffick/take advantage of/spread lies about fellow Filipinos. What is wrong with you people? But I didnt have to ask that because you cannot teach sods how not to be sodding #$*@%^.

End of Rant.

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MY PERSONAL NOTE: Emotions when left untamed and uncontrolled can ruin us inasmuch as it can cost us a good relationship with others; family, friends, relatives, employers, workmates, marriage, people in the community among many others. As a human being, I have my own moments where some pent up emotions I canned with patience will find its way for outburst. As the saying goes, "when the cup is full to the brim, it overflows." When I do, I feel bad afterwards. I feel angry at myself for allowing these negative emotions to outdo me, instead of me overcoming them. Then as I get older, when true understanding has finally seeped through my brain and characteristically helped me reform my outlook and insights of things within circumstances that befell me, I learned to tone down and mellow. To preserve peace within, I learned to turn my back on anything that are tempting and provoking that challenge my patience. I choose to become a passive reactor by completely ignoring the provocateurs, let alone shun them and better still shut them out from my presence. The following biblical counsels or admonitions help remind me in taking care of my emotion.

Proverbs 16:32 ESV
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV
Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Matthew 12:36 ESV
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.

Proverbs 21:23 - Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

James 1:26 - If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion [is] vain.

Leviticus 19:16 - Thou shalt not go up and down [as] a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I [am] the LORD.

♥*✿*•♥═════♥*✿*•♥

"Stand tall in face of adversity to have the greatest view of hope’s precious light." ~Robert Clancy

MY MOTHER, ... THE BEST IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE

A Beautiful Tribute by a Dutiful and Loving Son To his Mother.

Prologue:
I can remember that for many years now, I wrote literary pieces about mothers every May. In my own little way, I am also enjoining the whole world in giving due recognition and respect to the heroism of all the lovely mothers on Earth.

♥*✿*•♥═♥*✿*•♥

My mother read none of my written notes. She had never appreciated the celebration of the Mother’s Day. She never expressed her opinion amidst the worldwide discussions on mothers every month of May. Not because she is vain and bitter nor being cynical about mothers and the world. Not because she had not done any acts of heroism nor she is an irresponsible mother.

My mother did not read my notes because she cannot read nor write. My mother does not appreciate Mother’s Day because she is totally ignorant of this worldwide phenomenon. My mother did not and does not express her opinions about mothers because she is already showing the evidence of what mother should be. Besides, she has not been offered a chance to discuss mother’s heroism.

My mother is still one of the best in the whole universe. She had endured pains of rearing and in taking care of her six children. She stood against all odds when my father was physically handicapped by situations and illnesses. She had never shown her tears while putting the responsibilities in her shoulders. She had shown us what a mother can do when a father could no longer stand.

My mother is still a woman of steel at 65. She can still walk miles. She back rides motorcycle. She rides a horse. She also rides on top of a cargo truck full of agricultural products. She works in her farm. She goes to the market for her small store, which my father takes care. She dries corn and rice under the burning heat of the sun. She also does household chores like cooking, cleaning, washing among others.

Despite of her never ending tasks, she still manages to attend to social events like wedding, mourning to dead relatives, family issues, election, graduation of relatives and other events. My mother is no more than an ordinary woman.

My mother lives with my father in the hinterlands. The only regular person living with them in the house is her 6-year old granddaughter, which regularly stirs my mother’s adrenaline. My other 4 siblings are also living neighbours to our parents.

As I write this note, I am in a faraway place to earn a living not only for my own family but also to my parents and siblings. We have been living our lives from hand to mouth everyday for many decades now especially my parents. Though life is tough for us, this does not hinder our family to be happy.

I am also enduring pains for the quest of a better life. I want to give my parents some comforts. Their lives are contained mainly with their daily battle in the hinterlands. Father and mother have never had a chance to have a recreation as far as I can remember. I want to bring them to a place where they can no longer see or trace their sad stories even for a day only.

I want my mother feel and experience the pleasure and leisure, which other mothers always have. I want my mother to realise how wonderful she is as a mother and a woman. I want my mother to experience being a queen even for a day. I want my mother to know that she is also a heroine, though unsung. My mother is a woman of substance and distinction in her own way.

—oOo—

Written on the morning of 09 May 2010 in Juba, South Sudan by a humanitarian aid worker from the Philippines.

Posted 8th May 2016 by awalk2remember

Source: Duoi Ampilan, Duoipedia Blog Administrator

Link: https://rememberedwalk.blogspot.com/?m=1

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INNER BEAUTY
By Thomas Plummer

Move, live, love and eat in a way that lets all inner beauty shine...

There is an inner beauty in all women… and fitness is often the tool that reveals this beauty.

Inner beauty is revealed through the personal confidence that you are healthy, vibrant and at peace with how you look and feel, and there is no one that can give this to you, only you can choose to seek a richer level of life through fitness.

You do not have to be fit to feel beautiful, but often a lack of health and fitness robs a woman of self-esteem, destroys body image and drains the vital energy anyone needs to live life at a higher level of intensity.

True fitness is being the best you can be as who you are now in life, not comparing yourself against any other role model or against a time in life when you might have been in the perfect shape that defined you at the time.

Fitness allows you to get involved in life, chase the kids around the yard, walk the beaches hand-in-hand with the one you love, enjoy a more intense intimacy often denied by poor health and to truly live instead of being regulated to sitting quietly in an old chair, feeling miserable and letting life pass you by as a spectator in what is supposed to be your chance to star in the play you were born to be in… your own life.

We were born to be fit, to laugh, to play, to run, to walk through quiet woods and along sunny beaches. We were born to live a life of richness in body, mind and spirit, connected to the ones we love, yet we often lose all of this because our health and fitness denies us the chance to be all we can be.

You can never become who you were meant to be in life without being as healthy and fit as you can be today, now, when every day can be your best day ever. Life was never meant for us to give up everything that defines us simply because we give up and fail to value our health, wellness and future.

There is an inner beauty in all women and fitness is the hammer and chisel that sets this beauty free from everything that hides you in the dark and that diminishes your life.

Chase fitness because you can, because you love your life and because you refuse to ever have a day where you can’t be the best you can be and truly alive and involved in life.

Move, live, love and eat in a way that lets all inner beauty shine for the rest of us.

Source: FB

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WHAT IS A WOMAN'S TRUE BEAUTY

With age comes beauty and character. ~House of Fifty

♥*✿*•♥═♥*✿*•♥

Former first lady of France, Carla Bruni, (likewise a singer and model) said in an interview something very true).

"After 50 years, beauty is the result of kindness, elegance, your thoughts. It is no longer about the body and physical features. Beauty becomes a state of one's spirit; a sparkle in the eyes; one's temperament.

Sensuality emerges more than sensitiveness and one's appearance. A bored woman can be pretty before she is 50. A selfish woman can be pretty before 50. A depressed woman can be pretty before 50. An unpleasant woman can be pretty before 50. An opportunistic woman can be pretty before 50. A cowardly woman can be pretty before 50. But not after.

After 50 what illuminates the skin is whether she is loved or not loved; whether she is well mannered or not. After 50, beauty comes from character...by the way in which problems are faced; from the joy of awakening, and the lightness of sleep.

After 50, friendship is the cream that stretches wrinkles; affection is the sunscreen that protects the face. Beauty becomes communication and good humor. Beauty becomes intelligence and kindness. After 59, 60, 65 years, only happiness rejuvenates."

Source: Gleaned from FB

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"I once asked a very successful woman to share her secret with me.

She smiled and said to me.
'I started succeeding when I started leaving small fights for small fighters.
I stopped fighting those who gossiped about me...
I stopped fighting with my in laws...
I stopped fighting for attention...
I stopped fighting to meet public expectation of me...
I stopped fighting for my rights with stupid people..
I left such fights for those who have nothing else to fight...
And I started fighting for 
my vision, 
my dreams, 
my ideas and 
my destiny.
The day I gave up on small fights is the day I started becoming successful.'

Some fights are not worth your time.
Choose what you fight for wisely."

Source: The Wise Fox
12 June 2019

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My Fellow Women of the World:

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with being or feeling sexy but don't try so hard to be sexy that You end up taking off your clothes. Keep your clothes on. Don't let your private parts that deserve to be seen by only your partner be seen by everyone. Find better ways of making yourself look beautiful." ~Emotional Filmtricks

Put on some clothes. You want a man to give you the time of day, leave a little up to the imagination, and respect yourself. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder is anyone you want it to be ~Unattributed

Addendum:
"Your dazzling beauty is the result of your character integrity, your personal charm and your fantastic looks. Even your tiny flaws are enchanting because they make you more interesting!" ~Anon

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LOVING YOURSELF

"Have you ever tried loving yourself?
I mean really loving yourself.
Like stood in front of a mirror
with just your underwear on?
Or maybe even naked
and repeated, “this is what I am.”
What about making love with the lights on?
And afterwards laying next to each other hand in hand
talking about how your stretch marks
look like misplaced rivers
in a desert.
Have you connected your acne with a sharpie
and laughed at how much it oddly
resembles the Big Dipper?
Take the band-aids off your scars
and point them toward the sky.
Let flowers grow from your veins,
hell, let a garden grow.
Scrub off that manicure
and watch the polish swirl down
and stain the edges of the sink.
It feels good to smile with crooked teeth
and to not be able to button
the top button on those jeans.
You are the sun
the moon
and the stars
and none of those things
are perfect up close.”
~Kimberly Siehl

"Love yourself like the constellation that you are"

Source: Butterflies and Pebbles

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NOT EVEN YOURSELF

"When a woman makes a choice to marry, to have children, in one way her life begins but in another way it stops. 

You build a life of details.  

You become a mother, a wife, and you stop and stay steady so that your children can move.

And when they leave, they take your life of details with them. And then you're expected to move again only you don't remember what moves you because no one has asked you in so long.  

Not even yourself."

~Francesca Johnson~

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The Five Stages in a Woman's Life

To grow up
To fill out
To slim down
To hold it in
To hell with it.

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A WISE LADY SAID:

Don't waste your 20's and 30’s dealing with a man who has no intention of being with you in his 70's.

Yes, not all relationships lead to marriage, but we should condition our mind to see that any relationship we entered into can/may lead to it.

Time yourself in the relationship, don't date a guy for 5yrs then engage him for 5 more years again. You are wasting your most vital years, your most fertile years are being wasted.

No one can tell you how many years, that's a personal thing. But, shine your eyes, turn on your antenna, if the relationship is not going in a favorable direction, please say your bye bye on time.

Don't date a guy for 10 years and think he will marry you, when he's ready, he will look for a more younger woman.

You are not The Lord of the ring, why are you engage for years again after dating him for years. Sisters,, he can get marry at any age, he can have babies way into his 70s, but you my sister, .your time for procreation is limited.

Don't turn yourself into a seat warmer, a space keeper for the woman after you.

Source: Emotional Filmtricks

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PHENOMENAL WOMAN

By Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,
The stride of my step, 

The curl of my lips. 

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman, 

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please, 

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth, 

The swing in my waist, 

And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud. 

When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels, 

The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand, 

The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

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3 SIMPLE WAYS TO MAKE ANY MAN ADDICTED TO YOUR PRESENCE

"People search for love in strange places, and those who have it, aren’t able to maintain it."

Who doesn’t want someone who would have eyes only for them? Someone who would be so addicted to them, that they would never even look at someone else? To whom life would be completely meaningless if they didn’t get a glimpse of them? You want it.

Everyone wants it.

Having someone love you to that extent is indeed a praiseworthy thing to do. But, how would you ensure that happens? In the world of Instagram edits and photo filters, how can you be sure that your love is true, and so is their love?

And not just love, but a zeal to be with you. A passion, a fire that burns even strongly with each passing day.

It isn’t easy, it never was. But it is possible. If the love is pure and the intentions good, there is nothing stopping anyone from being zealously fanatical towards you. It comes with the cons of being territorial, and jealous, but when it lasts, it is one of the best things ever.


1. Mysterious, Unpredictable, Puzzling
Everyone likes a mystery that they want to solve.
If you come as easy, or simple, the interest goes away after a few weeks or months. But, if you are mysterious enough, and not be someone who carries their heart and emotions on their sleeves, it would be pretty evident to notice that your date or boyfriend is enamored with you, and would not let go off of you, at any cost.
This also stems from the fact that mysterious women are usually very strong-willed and independent, two characteristics which any man worth his salt would immensely appreciate. But that leads to the question of how to identify that.
Therein lies the real thrill, the real adrenaline rush, and the real spirit.
The desire to know, the desire to unravel the mystery, to solve the riddle is so strong, that no matter how much you further ignore the person, he would still be star-struck with visions of you in his head.
Now, that could very well be something that you wanted. A little dizzle, a little dazzle, and boom! A perfect swooner.

2. Optimistic
No one likes a negative-minded woman in their life.
What they want is a stead-fast, resolved woman, who would have a positive outlook on life, no matter how bad the situations are.
Someone who would be a wall and a rock to support her man.
This woman garners respect and admiration wherever she goes, and men and women look up to her.
This world is already filled with much negativity and pessimism, for someone in your life to add to that.
A man would always be hooked to a woman who would be a ray of sunshine in a world that is very much in need of it.
Someone who would never lose her cool, calm and composure, even under the direst of situations.
Someone who would love, live, and exist dangerously, without the least worry in the world, knowing everything would be alright.


3. Intimidating and hard to get
A woman who is hard to get can easily keep her man.
All she needs is a little amount of fierceness in her voice, and a little purpose in her stride, and hook, line and sinker.
Men love women who are hard to get, for it gives them a chance to fully discover themselves, if they are worth going for them.
This gives them an opportunity to challenge themselves, and be the best version of themselves, which soon becomes a behavior.
An intimidating, hard woman also knows how to keep her man on around her fingers, for she is assertive, independent, and a man would never forget the trials and tribulations he had to undergo to get her.
This would also help one realize the sweet fruit of patience and effort, for this love would stay, from both ends.
Both the man and the woman have struggled to be with each other, get to know each other a lot, and this would stay without breaking apart like a pack of cards.

Source: Daily Positive Information

"Bridesmaid today may eventually catch the bouquet." ~‪Ann-marie Marshall‬

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IF YOUR HUSBAND DOES THESE 12 THINGS, YOU HIT THE MARRIAGE JACKPOT

We are all subject to perpetual doubt. There isn’t a single one of us in the 21st century who can make a decision and be satisfied with it. Irrespective of how long you have been together, doubting the quality of your romance is quite natural. You may have been together for 7 years, but you can still be unconvinced with his ‘I do’ on the marriage aisle. So, what is the key to understanding if he is ‘the one’?

1. He Supports You In Your Endeavors
A good partner will always want the best for you. He SO should be the first one present in your show, the one screaming the loudest from the sidelines. He should hold the power and the desire to help you achieve your true potential.

2. He Is The Calmness-Factor
After a day of unforgiving corporate deadlines, you should be able to come home to a pair of welcoming arms. We all have a significant load of storms that we pass through. Our partner should always be the saving grace.

3. He Continues To Ask You Out
The cutest feeling is knowing that you partner still has a crush on you. It means that he hasn’t taken you for granted, and is willing to invest the time and energy required to win you over, every single day.

4. He Is Hardworking
Dedication is a huge point of attraction. If you marry somebody who is a slacker, then the laziness will eventually get to you. Living with somebody who is a go-getter, pushes you to do better in life.

5. He Makes Time For The Two Of You
We all have really busy careers. But what is any of that worth if you do not have the liberty to spend some time with your own family? While earning money, or hanging out with the boy gang is important, he should be able to clear a part of his everyday schedule and reserve it solely for you.

6. He Is Great To His Mother
Always remember that men don’t have behavioral exceptions regarding women. If he treats his mother or sister horribly, without any reason, yet acts sweet with you, then know that it won’t last. You will eventually end up in the same spot as them.

7. He Praises You Often
Validation feels nice, especially if it is coming from the love of your life. This shows that he actually cares about you, is proud of you, and that your life matters to him. There is nothing more adorable than finding a partner who can feel happy for the smallest of goals you achieve.

8. He Is Not Selfish
Co-existing in a marriage involves having to share almost everything. This includes Nutella, chips, happiness, pain, anger, et all. You do not want to end up with a narcissistic prick, and sentence your entire life to endless jabbering from the other end.

9. He Keeps Reminding You Of His Love
I am positively sure that you do not need the affirmation. If you’re marrying somebody, then I’m pretty sure that you already know about their love for you. However, it doesn’t hurt to say it. Get yourself a man who feels his heart beat faster every time he sees you, and does not shy away from saying it out loud.

10. He Prioritizes You
Your husband has to be your best friend first. While it is unhealthy to wish for him to cater to your demands all around the clock, it is quite adorable to see him choose you over other things. He should be able to make you feel valued and important.

11. He Makes Spontaneous Plans
This is important in order to keep the relationship healthy, and happy. After a tough day, or a ruthless fight, I hope he brings you flowers. I hope he wakes you up with breakfast in bed, and a trip to the best restaurants on nights when you’re feeling low.

12. He Accepts His Mistakes
It is so attractive to find a man without his toxic masculinity. Your partner should be able to put his ego aside and be willing to solve problems. Marriages fall apart because partners stand their ground and become unwilling to adjust. As long as you both can address and rectify issues, your marriage will be nothing short of a Disney fairytale.

Source: Daily Positive Information

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THOUGHTS ON WOMEN

"Don't misunderstand a woman when she loves you with all her heart and soul. If she fights with you and then cries and says sorry it doesn’t mean she is weak it's because she values the relationship she shares with you and she thinks you are worthy of being together. Don't get angry with her when she is jealous of your friends because maybe it means she loves you too much and she can't see you spending your time with anyone other than her. Don't get irritated when she is possessive because maybe she wants to explain that you are her world and she cannot share you with anyone else. Don't ignore her if she is nagging for silly things because maybe she needs your attention. If you love a woman don't ignore her and show her that you care for her. When a woman gets attention from her man and feels appreciated for her little things she can love him back in a million ways and much more than you can even imagine in your wildest dreams!" ~Feel Proud To Be who You Are

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"This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries. At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.... The truth is that male religious leaders have had -- and still have -- an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter." ~JIMMY CARTER, "Losing My Religion for Equality"

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"WOMEN ARE PRICELESS. A lot of men act like they are doing a woman a favor by asking for her hand in marriage but let's think about this. She changes her name, changes her home, leaves her family, moves in with you, builds a home with you, gets pregnant for You and bears children for you. Pregnancy destroys her body. She gets fat. Almost give up in the labour room due to the unexplainable pains of childbirth. Even the kids she delivers bear your name till the day she dies. Everything she does benefits you. So who is really doing who a favour? Dear Men, appreciate your woman today because it is not easy to be a Woman. Being a woman is Priceless!!!! Too bad so many women of today don't even know their values. God Bless The Women!" ~from Emotional Filmtricks

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STRONG WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN
By Thomas Plummer

There is an inner strength that is present in all women, but that strength is often hidden and eventually lost by so many who never discover who they are and who they could be.

There is a physical strength in every woman who is willing to do the work and sweat. Guided physical training creates and then releases that strength.

Every woman, no matter what age nor where they begin, can find an inner peace, confidence and greater self-esteem by discovering strong is beautiful and that this understanding far transcends just physical beauty.

There is simple beauty in every woman who seeks to become the best version of who she can be through a higher level of health and fitness.

Fitness is never chasing a false standard where only the genetically gifted achieve that impossible level of perfection so few will ever know. Fitness is not an advertising picture of unrealistic perfection, but a personal understanding of what it takes for you to live daily on the constant journey of loving your own life and those around you by becoming the physically, emotional and mentally strong female you were born to be.

Strong women are beautiful women means anyone who wants to chase the best version of who they can be today can find the quiet satisfaction you only understand through a higher level of health and fitness. Inner strength is there for everyone who wants to find out how good it feels to be the healthiest version of you are, now, today and for the rest of your life.

There is an inner beauty, a personal power, a love of life that only be found through a personal search for self-realization through fitness.

Strong women are beautiful women… never accept anything but becoming the best you could ever be through a life in motion through personal fitness.

Source: FB
May 2018

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

A man was visited by his friend, after the normal greetings and warm gestures, they both sat down to discuss. The man called on his wife to offer his visitor drinks.

While she was at it, she listened to what they were both talking about. The man's friend was telling him about a lady he met at the super market. After he wooed her, she obliged immediately and finally ended up in bed with him.

They were both laughing at how easy he got the lady, when the man made this statement,''All women are easily lured just like a dog''. His wife out of annoyance replied him, ''Your mother inclusive''.

The man got so angry that he started beating up his wife in the presence of his visitor.

******************

Do you think the lady was too fast in speaking??
Did she deserve the beating??
What do you think of the man?
Isn't he wrong to classify all women that way in the presence of his wife??
What do you think??

From Emotional Filmtricks

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Studies Show That Husbands Stress Women Twice As Much As Children
By Brandon Marji, Staff Writer
November 24, 2017


A wonderful wife, a wonderful cook and a caring mother are just a few of many characteristics that a woman can possess during a marriage. With all the chaos that children can bring to the marriage, it’s no surprise that women experience stress along the way.

But what about the husband? Is it possible that the husband induces more stress into his wife’s life? In today’s society, more women really do feel like they are left with no choice but to parent their partner rather than rely on them.

Why? Well, read on to find out.

Many women are left to play chef, teacher, doctor, maid and even event planning in a relationship. Even though they act like superwomen, they’re not, and because of that, they run out of steam. This can affect the work that they do outside of the home.

In order to properly investigate this situation, TODAY.com conducted a survey that included over 7,000 moms. The results showed that the average mom rates her stress level an 8.5 out of 10. In addition, 46% of the women surveyed said that their husbands cause more stress than their kids.

What researchers also got from the survey was that three in every four moms with partners reported that they do most of the parenting and household duties.

One in five moms also reported that not having enough help from their spouse was a huge source of daily stress. They also complained about not having enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done.

What is more disturbing is that researchers have recently discovered that this affects the health of each partner down the road. A study by the University of Padova found that if the wife passes away and the husband is left with the responsibilities, his health deteriorates. But if the husband passes away, the wife becomes healthier


How to Fix It: The first step to fixing this issue is talking to your spouse/partner about it. It might help to try and make a list that will allow you both to split the duties, and also explain that splitting the duties will reduce the stress in your life.

As much as the husbands get a lot of grief for not pulling their own weight around the house, the truth is they do want to be the best husband and father they can be. Sometimes the wife/mother just doesn’t fully trust the husband with the duties, so they take them on instead.

How to Fix It: The best way for a mother to lighten the load on things is to trust her husband. They’re a team and are in this together and need to trust one another. It also gives the woman a chance to recharge herself and get some alone time. If this means letting daddy roll in the mud with the kids, then so be it!

Source: Providr

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LADIES YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE IN HIS HEART!

Your fiance may not own a car. He may not earn a lot of money. He may not live in a posh estate. He may not be able to shower you with gifts all the time. He may not have a great job. But it’s enough to know you are the ONLY ONE He has at his heart.

He has a vision. He is Honest. He is very hardworking. He is humble. He keeps that smile on your face. He talks to you every day. He actually listens to you. He always replies your messages. He tolerates you when you're moody.

His family knows you. He tells you you're beautiful all the time. He sees you every chance he gets.
He appreciates the tiniest things you do. He is there when you need him. He respects you. He is proud you are his. And he treats you like a queen because you are his everything and he fears to lose you.

Why ask for what he cannot afford? He may not have it all now, but one day he will... He may not be living his dream now, but one day he will… He pictures making a family with you and he means it when he says that he loves you. African Ladies, appreciate that man in your life who strives to be all you need.

He may not be all the things you need right now but with time he will be, He will get a job, get the money, he will buy a land and he will build a house for both of you. He won’t be renting or staying at his parent’s crib forever. He will fulfill all his promises and he will be a good dad to your children.

Just kindly be patient if you seriously love him. Everything will be fine between both of you. Don't be pushed around by money and what you wanna eat now....I pray you don't eat up the future of your unborn.

God bless REAL men!..

Source: Emotional Filmtricks via Let Love Be My Witness

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HEAR WHAT OPRAH WINFREY HAD TO SAY ABOUT MEN :

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.

Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.
Slower is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends".
A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle.

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
Don't stay because you think "it will get better."
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who have a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?
Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.
If something bothers you, speak up.
Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.
You cannot change a man's behavior.
Change comes from within.
Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are.
Even if he has has more education or in a better job.

Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are NOT dogs.
You should not be the one doing all the bending...
Compromise is two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships.
There is nothing cute about baggage...
Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.
You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you.
A relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals.
Look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

Dating is fun...
Even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes...

When a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him ~ he takes it for granted.
Never move into his mother's house.
Never co-sign for a man.
Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.
Keep him in your radar but get to know others.
Scared of being alone is what makes a lot of women stay in relationships that are abusive or hurtful:
Dr. Phil says... You should know that: You're the best thing that could ever happen to anyone and if a man mistreats you, he'll miss out on a good thing. If he was attracted to you in the first place, just know that he's not the only one. They're all watching you, so you have a lot of choices. Make the right one.

Ladies take care of your own hearts..

Source: Karl Williams Junior Monyenye
Shared by: Tess De Leon Hammer at FB

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WHAT A WOMAN SHOULD KNOW

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

Enough money within her control to move out...
And rent a place of her own
even if she never wants to

or needs to...
Something perfect to wear if the employer
or date of her dreams wants to
See Her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
A youth she's content to leave behind....

A past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her Old Age....

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
..
A set of screwdrivers,

a cordless drill,
and a black lace bra...
One friend who always makes her laugh...

And one Who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....

A good piece of furniture not previously owned
by anyone else in her Family...
Eight matching plates, 
wine glasses with stems,
And a recipe for a meal that will make

her guests feel Honored...
A feeling of control over her destiny...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
How to fall in love without losing herself...

HOW TO QUIT A JOB,
BREAK UP WITH A LOVER,

AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT
RUINING THE FRIENDSHIP...
When to try harder...
And WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

That she can't change the length of her calves,

The width of her hips,

or the nature of her parents...

That her childhood may not have been perfect...
But it's over...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
What she would and wouldn't
do for love or more...
How to live alone...
Even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
Whom she can trust,
Whom she can't,
And why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

Where to go...

Be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
Or a charming inn in the woods...

When her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't
accomplish in a day...
A month...
And a year...

By Maya Angelou / Pamela Redmond

Source: FB/

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PILLS OF TRUTH

It’s a hard pill to swallow. But the truth is going to heal your heart a lot faster than simply letting it break over and over until you finally face what you knew all along anyway:

If he wanted to be with you, he would be with you.

There are a million possible scenarios here. It’s easier when he’s an asshole – selfish, only thinking of himself, using you to make someone else jealous, using you in general, treating you poorly, crushing you thoughtlessly, whatever. But it’s a lot harder when he’s a good guy, and you still have to let him go. When he tells you that you’re an incredible person, but he just doesn’t feel the same way that you do. Or when he really likes you, but doesn’t think you’re the one. Or when he just doesn’t feel as strongly as you do and he wants to be honest. Or when he can’t seem to make up his mind and feels confused, which he doesn’t yet realize just means that he’s afraid of hurting you, that feeling ‘confused’ just a softer way of eventually saying ‘no.’ If he wanted to be with you, he wouldn’t have had to make up his mind in the first place. It would just be an answer that he felt deeply in his gut.

But regardless, whether he’s a wonderful guy or an asshole or somewhere in between, this is about you, moving on. Because no matter what the situation was, no matter how well he treated you or how much fun you had together or how well you got along, he doesn’t want to be with you. And that’s the truth. And that’s going to be your life raft for the next several weeks or months, no matter how much you don’t want to grab onto it. It is what is going to eventually help you come to peace with the end of your relationship, or the fizzling out of your fling, or the ‘no more talking’ after you guys spent so much time ‘talking.’ It is the truth, and as ugly as it is, it will be the only thing that can help you move on:

If he wanted to be with you, he would be with you.

It’s easy to try to soften the blow. He needs time, or he just needs a little space, or he’s just afraid of commitment and I just need to reassure him, or he builds walls and it’s my job to kick through them.

But think about the way you feel about him. How easy and natural and obvious it feels. How you don’t even need to question whether or not you should be with him, because it just feels right in your veins. How, even if you were scared of committing to someone or getting hurt or opening yourself up, you were still willing to do it, because your heart had already made up your mind. You wanted to be with him, so you were.

The decision was simple. It really wasn’t even a decision at all.

Now can you imagine feeling all those things but choosing not to be with him anyway?

That’s why your heart is broken. Because he didn’t feel those things. He didn’t feel that same certainty that you did, deep in your bones. And you can’t change that, and you can’t fix yourself, and there’s nothing you did wrong. It’s just the truth. His heart didn’t make the decision for his brain, because his heart is in a different place from yours. And that really, really sucks. And you just have to accept it. And that sucks even more.

Maybe you’ll get over this in weeks, maybe months. Maybe longer. It will hurt, some days will be horrible and some will be okay. But the smallest of silver linings is this:

You can let your heart break once – instead of breaking it a million times by convincing yourself that he’s making a mistake or he probably misses you or you should call him. Love yourself enough to be hard on yourself:

If he wanted to be with you, he would be with you.

By Kim Quindlen 

Source: LessonsLearnedinLife
October 7, 2017

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When You Have A Strong Mother, You Grow Up To Be A Strong Girl

By Holly Riordan
September 28th 2017

When you have a strong mother, you realize you don’t need a man to find happiness. You realize that any girl can flourish on her own, without a hand to hold. You realize that your love life has zero correlation with how successful you become, with how fulfilled you feel.

When you have a strong mother, you learn to cultivate your independence. How to speak your mind in social situations. How to stand up for yourself during confrontations. How to survive on your own, how to thrive on your own. You figure out how to take care of yourself, just like she did, because you want to make her proud.
When you have a strong mother, you respect yourself. You don’t let anyone talk down to you. You don’t let anyone walk over you. You don’t let anyone look at you as a body instead of a human being. You expect to be treated with a certain level of respect.
When you have a strong mother, you know what love feels like. You know how families are supposed to treat each other. You know what is healthy and what is toxic. What kind of people you should greet with open arms and what kind of people you should keep your distance from.

When you have a strong mother, you are smart enough to see that crying doesn’t equate to weakness. You understand that even the bravest people break down sometimes. That even the toughest girls can feel like their world is falling to pieces in front of them.

When you have a strong mother, you never give up on yourself. You get off your ass after you fall and try again. You tell yourself that you can do this, that you are good enough. You never accept failure as an option. You keep trying until you get what you want.

When you have a strong mother, you will never forget that you are worth something. You will never allow yourself to be taken advantage of, because you know your mother would not stand for that kind of behavior. You keep your standards high, because you were taught that you deserve something special.

When you have a strong mother, you never feel alone. No matter what, you have someone who will pick you off the floor when you struggle to stand. Someone who will remind you that you are badass enough to get through your darkest days. Someone who will push you to follow your dreams because you are smart enough to reach success.

When you have a strong mother, you have a best friend for life. You have someone who you can talk to about whatever has been bothering you. You have someone who will help you fix anything that you find broken. You have someone who will be there for you whenever you need her, because she is only a phone call away.

When you have a strong mother, she is your inspiration. She is your role model. When you have a strong mother, you grow into a strong woman yourself. 

Source: FB/Ethel Pineda

https://thoughtcatalog.com/holly-riordan/2017/09/when-you-have-a-strong-mother-you-grow-up-to-be-a-strong-girl/

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A Twin Story: The Reality of Life

In a mother's womb were two babies.

One asked the other: "Do you believe in life after delivery?"

The other replies, "why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.

"Nonsense," says the other. "There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?"

"I don't know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths."

The other says "This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short."

"I think there is something and maybe it's different than it is here", the other replies.

"No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere."

"Well, I don't know," says the other, "but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us."

"Mother? You believe in mother? Where is she now? "

"She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world."

"I don't see her, so it's only logical that she doesn't exist."

To which the other replied, "sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her." I believe there is a reality after delivery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality....

~•✿•~ ~•✿•~

Your mom carried you
in her womb for 9 months.
She felt sick 4 months with nausea.
She watched her feet swell
And her skin stretch and tear.
She struggled to climb stairs,
She got breathless quick,
She suffered many sleepless nights.
She then went through excruciating pain
To bring you into this world.
Then, she became your nurse, your chef,
You maid, your chauffeur, your biggest fan,
Your teacher, and your best friend.
She struggled for you, cried over you,
Hoped for the best and prayed for you.

Most of us take our mom for granted.
But there are people who have lost
Or have never even seen theirs.

If you have a loving Mother
Who did all of these for you,
You are very lucky.
Never devalue her worth
Because one day, you'll wish you hadn't!

To every women who is a mother,
And to every other women
Who is going to be one day...

A MOTHER!!!

~Unattributed~

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Here are 25 things you should know about loving someone who keeps their heart so closely guarded:

1. Money, good looks, advanced degrees, and material success do not impress her. Kindness and authenticity do.

2. Your words mean nothing to her if they aren’t backed up by your actions.

3. She understands the power and the danger of love.

4. She will nurture you like no one else.

5. She blazes her own path. She may invite you to come with her if you are lucky – but she doesn’t need you to. She knows that she can make it on her own.

6. She knows better than to think she owes you a second chance. If you are granted such a grace, use it wisely.

7. Be gentle with her. She will take flight at the slightest hint of danger.

8. She values and respects your vulnerability.

9. Her capacity for empathy runs deeper than most.

10. She doesn’t need you. If you are in her life, it means she wants you there.

11. She is a survivor.

12. Flowers and expensive gifts are more likely to make her suspicious than sweep her off her feet.

13. She appreciates your flaws.

14. She’s a little bit crazy. Give in to it. Let her insanity make you come alive.

15. She is not comfortable when she has to depend on you – even for a simple ride to the airport.

16. It takes courage for her to show you a piece of her heart. Push for too much too soon, and she will shut you out.

17. She knows how to keep her cool in a crisis.

18. She may think too much and share too little.

19. There are places in her soul she may never share with you – and that’s okay. She doesn’t love you any less.

20. She will run from a relationship that is moving too fast. Let her be the one to set the pace.

21. She doesn’t tell you everything. It’s not fair, but it is her right.

22. You might never truly understand her.

23. She struggles to ask for help. When she does, be kind.

24. You don’t earn her trust with a single act. You need to prove your trustworthiness with continuous action and reliability.

25. Although you can not earn her trust in a single moment, you can lose it in one.

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THE WITS OF EMOTIONAL FILMTRICKS

-You find a handsome one, the brain is empty.

-You find a brilliant one, he looks too serious.

-You find an upgraded one, he's always after flashy things.

-You find a rich one, he's disrespectful.

-You find a hard-working one, he never has time.

-You find a serious one, his EX keeps calling.

-You find a humble one, he is broke.

-You find a responsible one, he's not even romantic.

-You find a cultured one, he refuses to embrace civilisation.

-You find a simple one, he never takes you serious.

-You find an educated one, he feels he's always right.

-You find an illiterate one, he always gets angry whenever you correct him.

-You find a devoted one, he seeks opinions of his religious leaders each time you have an issue.

-You find a short one, he hardly gets over issues.

-You find a smart one, he lies every time.

Source: Emotional Filmtricks

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HERE ARE 6 REASONS WOMEN LEAVE THE MEN THEY LOVE

1. THEY FEEL ALONE.
A woman needs to feel that she matters. If her man is not there to support her, there is no reason to continue a relationship. Women are nurturers. When in a relationship they believe that the man is their entire world. Men tend to detach quickly when they get comfortable. Sometimes in the loneliness of being with someone who is not emotionally present, the noise is deafening. A woman realizes that there is no room for the worthlessness that keeps coming up through the avoidance. When love and attention is not reciprocated, they realize they do not need to stay in that relationship.

2. THEY ARE NOT BEING ACKNOWLEDGED.
There is nothing more detrimental to a woman than not being fully present when she is speaking. A woman is moved by words. She needs to feel that she is understood, accepted, respected and supported. When she is sharing with her mate, it is because she needs to feel a connection with him. Chivalry is masterful. Women love the simple acts of communication and love. Taking out the garbage, doing the laundry, or anything that acknowledges presence is exceptional in a relationship. A woman will move on, while holding her heart, when she feels that she is being taken for granted.

3. THEY NO LONGER FEEL SEXY.
Men are sexual creatures. When they want sex they are ready. A woman needs intimacy, foreplay, and the feeling of being completely desired by her man. Routine is the kiss of death. A woman wants spontaneity. She craves to be romanced. Women live in their heads. Therefore, when a man is only being stimulated by porn or other women or just wants to have a release, a woman will be completely turned off. There is a moment in a woman’s life when she realizes that if her man doesn’t desire her, or makes her feel special (in and out of bed) then it’s time to move on.

4. A SIGNIFICANT LIFE CHANGE.
Midlife hits everyone differently. Most women do not require a new car or fancy clothes. They need to know that they are sexy and wanted by their men. Menopause starts to creep into the picture, and what was once easily tolerated is no longer. Life changes: Children leave to college; a parent needs full time care; or financial stress is present. Women who overcome cancer or other illnesses also find a reset button that pushes the men out of their lives. A woman needs to know that these life changes are being navigated with strength and dignity alongside her man. When there is no support, a woman will quickly disassemble her life to get rid of her man.

5. WOMEN DON’T LIKE SOMEONE WHO IS PREDICTABLE.
Men fall into comfortable routines. The older they get, the less they want to participate in anything that is not about them. This is also why some men go through a massive midlife crisis. But, women need serendipitous moments. They need to know that they matter. Even a small note on a coffee mug is enough to bring appreciation into a relationship. Familiarity is not something that feels good in midlife. It feels boring. To a woman, a man is not a fixture. He is a companion.

6. THEIR MAN IS NOT PHYSICALLY THERE.
Women tolerate a lot, but having a man who cares more about being out and about is a definite “no-no!” In today’s world of feminism, a woman doesn’t need a man to take care of her. She needs a partner who will work along her side and appreciate her presence. When a man is more interested in spending time any place but next to her, she will cut him loose. It might take time, but the longer she postpones it the worst it is in the end. She knows it is over when there is nothing spiritually and intellectually available.

Women have evolved in our society. The “need” to have a man is surpassed by a “desire” to share a life with him. When there is no love, appreciation, touch, spiritual connection, intellectual stimulation, or presence, a woman will choose to be alone. Women work just as hard as men. To tolerate a companionship that is not stimulating is no longer on the agenda. It’s a reality check that it is time to move on.

“Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we’re settling for.”~ Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

Source: FB

GOLDEN RULES FOR AGING GRACEFULLY

1… Live in your own place to enjoy independence and privacy.

2… Hold on to your bank deposits and assets with yourself and your spouse.

3… Don't depend only on your children's promise to care for you when you grow old as their priorities change with time.

4… Expand your circle of friends to include those who will outlive you.

5… Do not compare; expect nothing from others.

6… Do not meddle in the life of your children. Let them live THEIR life not yours.

7… Do not use old age as your shield and justification to demand care, respect and attention.

8… Listen to what others say but think and act independently.

9… Pray but do not beg even from God. Seek His grace.

10.And finally, DO NOT RETIRE FROM LIFE.

~Author Anon~

♥*✿*•♥

POETRY

🌹AGING GRACEFULLY 🌹

It occurred to me this morning as I washed this face of mine,
How quickly come the changes with a little passing time
A wrinkle here, a hair turned gray, a not so lilting step,
I see me growing older, but I don’t quite feel it yet,
At times I nearly feel my age, at others I’m sixteen,
So full am I of all the thoughts and feelings in between.

Who would have thought the road of life would twist and turn so much?
The journey makes me strong and weak and tender to the touch.
And so this day I face the choice that I have faced each day,
Will I be open? Teachable? Unafraid of change?
Yes.

I will embrace this moment. Forgive my past mistakes,
And remember that just showing up is sometimes all it takes
I’ll see the kind of beauty that time cannot erase.
Wisdom and experience resting on my face.

Author Anon

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"We have common cause against the night...
Why love the woman who is your wife?
Her nose breathes the air of a world that I know; therefore I love that nose.
Her ears hear the music I might sing half the night through;
therefore I love her ears.
Her eyes delight in seasons of the land;
and so I love those eyes.
Her tongue knows quince, peach, chokecherry, mint and lime;
I love to hear it speaking.
Because her flesh knows heat, cold, affliction,
I know fire, snow, and pain...
We love what we know,
we love what we are.
Common cause, common cause,
common cause of mouth, eye, ear, tongue,
hand, nose, flesh, heart, and soul."
~Ray Bradbury~

♥*✿*•♥═════════════♥*✿*•♥

7 DEFINITE SIGNS YOUR MAN TRULY LOVES YOU

He Treats You Well
A guy who loves you is considerate of your feelings, needs and desires. He makes them as important as his desires and needs. He is concerned with your well-being and will do things to make your life better, sometimes going out of his way to do so. Not only does he treat you well, he is also good to your family and friends.
He Is Generous With His Time
He doesn’t let too much time go by without seeing you. When he is available, he wants to be with you and chooses to spend his time with you. If you’re in a long distance relationship, he is spending time with you whenever your schedules allow. And you are together during major holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

He Makes You A Priority
You are at the forefront of his mind and he maintains contact in between the times you see each other. He considers you when making decisions and is considerate about doing things you want to do. When speaking, he uses “we” instead of “I”, and includes you in his future plans.

He Cares For You
A guy who loves you is genuinely happy for you when good things happen to you. He is compassionate when you’re going through challenges. This guy is there for you in the good and not so good times. He thinks about you and surprises you with tokens of affection outside of your birthday, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. He will also challenge you by calling you out on stuff to help you become a better person.

He Wants People To Know About You
He is affectionate with you in public by holding your hand, putting his arm around you and/or hugging you. He is proud to be with you and has introduced you to his family and friends. He brings you to family functions and get-togethers with friends, and takes you to company events.

He Treats Your Relationship With Integrity

He is trustworthy and loyal to you and your relationship. He is upfront with you about his past girlfriends and skeletons in his closet. He does what he says and will let you know if he’s not able to. When issues come up, he is willing to work through them. Although he isn’t perfect, he tries to be a better man.

He Wants The Best For You
A guy who loves you encourages you to do things you love, even if it means doing these things without him. He wants you to spend time with family and friends. He encourages you to find and live your passions, knowing that if you are happy and engaged with life, you’ll be happy and engaged in your relationship with him.
Place less weight on his words and more weight on his behaviors and actions. A man’s behaviors and actions are more revealing and show if he loves you or not. It’s easier for a man to say, “I love you” because that’s what you want to hear. The true test of whether he loves you is if he exhibits the signs described earlier. When a man loves you, you won’t need to hear the words because you will just know.

♥*✿*•♥═══════════════♥*✿*•♥

LADIES YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE IN HIS HEART!
Your fiance may not own a car. He may not earn a lot of money. He may not live in a posh estate. He may not be able to shower you with gifts all the time. He may not have a great job. But it’s enough to know you are the ONLY ONE He has at his heart.

He has a vision. He is Honest. He is very hardworking. He is humble. He keeps that smile on your face. He talks to you every day. He actually listens to you. He always replies your messages. He tolerates you when you're moody.

His family knows you. He tells you you're beautiful all the time. He sees you every chance he gets.
He appreciates the tiniest things you do. He is there when you need him. He respects you. He is proud you are his. And he treats you like a queen because you are his everything and he fears to lose you.

Why ask for what he cannot afford? He may not have it all now, but one day he will... He may not be living his dream now, but one day he will… He pictures making a family with you and he means it when he says that he loves you. African Ladies, appreciate that man in your life who strives to be all you need.

He may not be all the things you need right now but with time he will be, He will get a job, get the money, he will buy a land and he will build a house for both of you. He won’t be renting or staying at his parent’s crib forever. He will fulfill all his promises and he will be a good dad to your children.

Just kindly be patient if you seriously love him. Everything will be fine between both of you. Don't be pushed around by money and what you wanna eat now....I pray you don't eat up the future of your unborn.
God bless REAL men!.. ‪

Source: Emotional Filmtricks via Let Love Be My Witness

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BEFORE SHE SAID YES

(Dedicated to every heart-broken WOMAN)

* You promised to Love her forever but now, you're tired of her.

* You said you would marry her but now, you want to dump her.

* You said she is your Life/world, but now she has become your enemy.

* You promised never to cheat on her, but now you're running after her/your friends.

* You said you would die for her, but now you are sacrificing her for another woman.

* You said you would protect her with your Life, but now you are endangering her own Life.

* You said you would be there for her no matter what, but now you rarely cares for her.

* You said you would buy her the world, but now you're buying all the tears for her.

* You said the relationship will be strictly platonic but now, you have turned her into your sex machine/slave.

* You promised never to hurt or make her cry but now, you have turned her into your punching bag; you beat her whenever and however you like and so she cries everyday like a premature, young widow.

YOU ARE VERY WICKED!!!

"Every woman deserves to be loved, treasured and pampered but yet, it takes a real man to honour, value and respect a woman."
‪
Source: Emotional Filmtricks

"LADIES: There's absolutely nothing wrong with being or feeling sexy but don't try so hard to be sexy that You end up taking off your clothes. Keep your clothes on. Don't let your private parts that deserve to be seen by only your partner be seen by everyone. Find better ways of making yourself look beautiful." ~Emotional Filmtricks

~♥~ ~♥~

"Don't misunderstand a woman when she loves you with all her heart and soul. If she fights with you and then cries and says sorry it doesn’t mean she is weak it's because she values the relationship she shares with you and she thinks you are worthy of being together. Don't get angry with her when she is jealous of your friends because maybe it means she loves you too much and she can't see you spending your time with anyone other than her. Don't get irritated when she is possessive because maybe she wants to explain that you are her world and she cannot share you with anyone else. Don't ignore her if she is nagging for silly things because maybe she needs your attention. If you love a woman don't ignore her and show her that you care for her. When a woman gets attention from her man and feels appreciated for her little things she can love him back in a million ways and much more than you can even imagine in your wildest dreams!" ~Feel Proud To Be who You Are

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
(11 May2014)

My dear girl, the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don't interrupt to say: "You said the same thing a minute ago"... Just listen, please. Try to remember the times when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.

When I don't want to take a bath, don't be mad and don't embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl?

When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don't look at me that way ... remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life's issues every day... the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through.

If I occasionally lose track of what we're talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can't, don't be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you.

And when my old, tired legs don't let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way that I offered mine to you when you first walked. When those days come, don't feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I'll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. With a big smile and the huge love I've always had for you, I just want to say, I love you ... my darling daughter.

Original text in Spanish and photo by Guillermo Peña.
Translation to English by Sergio Cadena

Source: FB

The Seven Gateways of Happiness for Women

1. Discover and honor your talents, strengths, coping skills and potential

2. Love the story of your life and find ways to fall in love with who you are

3. Learn how to get your needs met

4. Take time to replenish, to enjoy life, and to find meaning and purpose everyday

5. Belong and don't isolate

6. Be a mentor and find mentors

7. Live generously. Do positive actions and good deeds

Source: Gateways to Happiness by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein

My FB friend, Patricia O'Daniel MacDonald, shared her views on Mid-Life

Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache.

In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wing spans. We are no longer women in sleeveless shirts, we are flying squirrels in drag.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and you realize that this is the only time someone will ask you to appear topless.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream, 'Listen, honey, even the Roman empire fell and those will too..'

Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we're sitting on our biggest ones.

Mid-life is when you look at your know-it-all, cell phone carrying teenager and think, 'For this I have stretch marks?'

In mid-life your memory starts to go. In fact the only thing we can retain is water.

Mid-life means that your Body By Jake now includes Legs By Rand McNally--more red and blue lines than an accurately scaled map of Wisconsin.

Mid-life means that you become more reflective. You start pondering the 'big' questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

But mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important. We realize that breasts sag, hips expand, and chins double, but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile.

Would any of you trade the knowledge that you have now, for the body you had way back when? Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold all the wisdom and love we've acquired.

That's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it!

10 November 2012

Humour: For Women Only

This letter was started by women like yourself in the hope of bringing relief to other tired and discontented women. Unlike most chain letters, this one does not cost anything.

Just send a copy of this letter to five of your friends who are equally tired and discontented. Then bundle up your husband or boyfriend and send him to the woman whose name appears at the top of the list. When your name comes to the top of the list, you will receive 16, 877 men. One of them is bound to be a hell of a lot better than the one you have already.


DO NOT BREAK THE CHAIN. HAVE FAITH

One woman who broke the chain got her own husband back.

At the time of this letter, a friend had already received 454 men. They buried her yesterdaym but it took three undertakers 24 hours to get the smile off her face and 2 days to position her body so that they could close the coffin lid.

YOU MUST HAVE FAITH

Signed

A Friend
("A Liberated Woman")