Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents, and all the generations of your ancestors. All of them are ALIVE in this moment, Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh Fate. It’s an ominous word if you really think about it. I mean destiny can seem out of our hands, much like who and where we come from do. From the moment we’re born our lives are set out on a path and not always the one we’d have chosen if we’d been asked, right? Whether our ancestors called it God’s will, divine decree, the Fates or Norns, determination, resolve and backbone still shape who we become.  Merida, of Disney’s Brave fame is a good example of fearing fate, and in many ways running from who she was born to be. She’d lost track of where she’d come from, neglected her family's struggles, overlooking and disregarding both her mother and father's sacrifices before her and in turn the effect her actions had on her own d...

“Accept that everyone will disappoint you at some point in life. Be OK with that. Know that you will disappoint everyone eventually. Be ready to forgive quickly, heal and let go” ~ Buky Ojelabi I haven’t written for a while. Oh I've meant to, wanted to but just couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. Then today something unexpected happened. As I was listening to my favorite Disney playlist, the lyrics from Toy Story’s “When She Loved Me’ moved me. I don’t know what it was or why it was in those moments I felt it, but I did. Emotion overwhelmed me. Unspoken, pent up thoughts stirred. Life breathed  back into my pen. Suddenly words were bubbled up and out of me. My thoughts were once again words on paper.  Let’s face it, since March life has been turned upside down, kicked sideways, turned backwards,  upwards, slightly right  side up and before being tossed upside down all over again. We’ve been shut in, isolated and removed from life as we’ve always known it. Masks are ...

"My prayer is that when I die, all of hell rejoices that I am out of the fight." ~C.S. Lewis    Wanna know the truth? I’m really not all that brave. I’m pretty much stubborn and hardheaded. That's what I am. Basically, like my cooking, I simply make it up as I go. Give me a pan, some garlic, onion, butter, add a little salt, maybe some pepper and throw in a piece or two of chicken and you’ll eat well. But hand me a spear and you just might starve. Reality is I’m no soldier. I’ve never been trained in the art of war. I don’t know strategy or how to command an army. Sure, I can pick up a shield and sword and yes, I can charge the battlefield but let’s be honest, like a stormtrooper, I’m gonna miss every time. At the end of the day, I’d say chaos is more my art than anything else.      Now I certainly didn’t have a say in matters, things probably would have turned out differently if I did. Still, Chaos certainly found me and never quite let g...