Day 175: Squirrel on a Wall

Lover’s Point Pacific Grove
Squirrel on a Wall

“Do you think the title ‘shag-o-rama’ would pull in a lot of blog readers?” I asked my husband

I know just the thing to say in the morning to make him laugh. I’m gifted that way, in my off-the-wall-goofiness. And I’m starting to really like that about myself. I see the world through the eyes of a child: somewhat innocent, a bit naïve, and at times downright clueless. Before, when I was younger, people sometimes perceived me as the ‘dumb blonde’ or as fake–assuming it was impossible for someone to be that goofy and hope-filled, naturally.

I don’t buy into people’s judgment of me anymore. I understand now, that like everyone, I have an amazing spirit. I know I am a spirit who never gives up and often tries to see the best in people and situations. And that my spirit just happens to be giddy, joy-filled, surprisingly forthright, and sometimes bold. I embrace my worthiness and I am pleased to do so. And the more I do, the more beauty I recognize in other people.

However, in embracing me, I cannot help but notice that many people are not embracing their own worthiness.

Instead of embracing self, there exists this talking down of self and others. There remains this inability to take in a compliment or kind word, this constant criticism of self or others, an all-encompassing blame, and a narrow scope of focusing on the “negative” aspect of someone else’s life. There often exists a lack of effort and follow through to forgive others. There is often a lack of responsibility for personal choice and action, and an overwhelming sense of ease and comfort to focus on materialism, collection, and possession. To move ahead, to succeed, to surpass and win. Life appears to be a race filled with fear and blame.

sign downtown where I live

For many, day-to-day life has become a routine. The creative spirit has been sucked out of the masses through consumerism, fear-based messages, and dogma that indoctrinates lack of hope and an infections drive for success and materialism. There is an ongoing separation from neighbors, friends, and family. As a collective, some people have forgotten how to appreciate nature and people, and instead are consumed by avoiding failure or disapproval.

This lack of self-worth is evident in the way people focus life around food. How as a society many have chosen food as a way to stuff the empty holes inside. Inner holes and empty space, this sense of lacking and emptiness, is best filled through creativity, self-expression, and an unyielding urge to share and connect, and of course through love. Instead we are stuffing ourselves with food, to the point of fatigue, disease, and depression.

Food has become our center light. More thought is spent on food than anything else. And in second place is death, dying and disease. Everywhere in word and picture and form, we are reminded of pending cancer. We are bombarded from a fear-based society by the ever pending potential threat of illness, danger and doom. And then we are offered the remedy of poisonous foods as appeasement.

Someone has it all backwards. The collective buys into this fear and food stuffing, and more and more fear is spun.

window in Pacific Grove

Recently, I was saddened and stirred by the site of a squirrel. Just one squirrel. He was so very fat and sickly, swollen in spirit, sitting there at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove California on a stone wall. So engorged that he could not budge. I literally stuck my camera right into his face, and he didn’t flinch. I sighed and whispered to him: “You really need to stop eating so much, Mr. Squirrel.”

Problem is the tourists feed him the leftovers from the beachside hamburger joint: french-fries, hamburger bun, ice-cream cones. Poor little critter doesn’t have a chance—constantly bombarded, he is.

And here we are, feeding our people the same. Junk and poison. Fear-based propaganda and polluted thoughts, as well as food lacking nutrients and value.

And so many are sitting on the wall now, unable to move, to walk toward their soul’s purpose, to give and inspire, to create and connect, to live and love, because they are so overstuffed with poison and misery.

I feel for the overfed and tired squirrel. I was once one myself. Watching from the sidelines and wondering how to move. But I found my legs, and now I wonder over and over, how to pull all the squirrels of the wall. One by one, to free people from society’s bondage.

Pacific Grove Squirrel
ever before

Day 171: Release

Jealousy. Your voice loud and rhythmic, unceasing, like hornets droning piercing words into ear. You buzz, forging into the depth of my mind. Stinging eruption. To feed you, to return to hive, to calm your fury-dance, I submit to my weakness, my self-doubt, my agony. Submit and release, and whisper across your wings, I am beauty infinite.

Anger. Your drumming eternal. Imploding and exploding simultaneously. Releasing your nectar poison, red army ants feasting on organs. Nibble bite, nibble bite. Appetite continuous circle, no tail, no mouth, only motion. Captive screaming in pain; until released with open arms to the enveloping space. Accept all that enters, so same door may provide exit. To the torture, bid goodbye as lady kisses sailor to sea. To return with gifts and longing, when empty heart is stirred again.

Grief. Your fingers dip inside me, a thirsty stranger reaching in to drink. I am lessened, depleted, dried, and withered, and left again with twisted thoughts of what ifs, where, and when. Now, this moment, no longer exists, only dancing shadows that turn and move wildly in search of clothes they cannot wear and mouths that cannot move. Your voice is shallow. Your echo deep. Penetrating the very essence of my love-filled being. I remove you slowly, through tears, replenish body by giving freely the desired water to earthly dweller.

Remorse. Time is a player. He cascades across hallways of the past. Time playing in time. Not a man, nor woman, not beast, or plant. But an illusion. Some witness of a passing that does not exist. An invisible keeper of invisible existence. Back and back, revisiting the avenues of sadness. Turn back the clock to appease the dragon, only to be set afire. Singed and ash-covered by pretend foe. To return and breathe in emptiness, where cloaked imaginings cannot wander or exist. To arise unscorched like phoenix through forgiving sun. Bid mind’s searching goodbye. Leaning into the hope and promise of new day.

Lust. Awe, sweet angel dressed in black. You feed off of soul. Tempting the temptress, warming the warmer, cascading round pools of opportunity. I see you swerving, a lady of painted words. Come hither forward and fill me true with wishes of what will be, if given chance. Come hither forward, too, and show thy whole self, the aftermath and consequence. The red of what bleeds through when nothing covers soul but enchanting mystery. I give in and feel the eruption, caressing the dreams, only to rise half-full and more hungered. The more you entice, the more I search. Until at last I come home, with appetite for self, moving beyond the promises that hide behind unknown curtains.

Want. I breathe in the sunshine of your valleys, the moon of your sea, the gelatin of bone. I wear you. The finest cloth and richest jewels. I twirl and spin, a child in her dressing game. Giggles of delight. A borrower, a lender not. A giver tainted. A sunlit smile turned over for inspection. Take. Possess. Own. Obtain. Grab. Hoard. Stop. This need. Turn inward to the greatest castles of existence. The mountains filled with treasures buried within the endless soul. Searching not for what is lacking but what is already given. The limitless capacity for growth and transition. The all-encompassing ability to love immensely within an eternity of release.

Day 168: A Time of Zero

Washington 2012
Nature Trail
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”~ Rachel Carson

“There is new life in the soil. There is healing in the trees for tired minds and for our overburdened spirits, there is great strength in the hills, if only we will lift up our eyes. Remember that nature is your great restorer.” ~ Calvin Coolidge

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair.” – Kahil Gibran

“Rivers and rocks and trees have always been talking to us, but we’ve forgotten how to listen.” – Michael Roads

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” ~Anne Frank

Time of Zero

Nocturnal spirit

 Split

Blanketed in thankfulness

Rests beside self

One to the other

Connected

Time erased

Young child weeping

Tear catcher

Smiling

Living in thought’s forest

A time

Of zero

When all was

When silence whispered secrets

And babe of the evergreen

Opened to discovery

Beneath the giggling trees

Illusion vanished

The puzzle box picture

The patterned pieces

Scattered

Until invisible

And the corridors of phantom’s dreams

Released fully

With angelic breath

~

Sam Craft June 2012

Day 167: The Arms of Fear

Washington, USA
Sam Craft Photos

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“Man has in inexplicable light and beauty

Do not compare this to the moon

Which shines only from the outside.”

(What I heard as I awoke this morning. A gentle whisper in my ear)

The Arms of Fear

This automatic writing is a direct way I pray and listen. It is in many ways my meditation, the technique I use to find answers to the deepest questions of my soul. This is the original response, heard in words of my own voice and seen in symbols inside my mind. Nothing has been altered or edited. I typed the words as quickly as I “heard” them. I believe the Spirit resides in each and everyone of us. You are precious and dear, and very much loved.

You will never die.

You will never be alone.

Release this fear of dying alone without love, without notice.

You are noticed every breathing moment of your life, inside the seconds, inside the flashes of moments too small to calculate or for one to take note.

You are beauty in all its truth. There is only one truth, and none can erase this truth.

There is a reason all spiritual truths speak of US as a unity and a coming together in love and peace. There is a reason for all that Is and all you see, think and feel.

Too much time is spent in idle fear: reasons and circumstances blown out of proportion, in that the degree in which energy need be spent (if spent at all) on a perceived problem is gigantic in degree to said problem.

Seek not outside yourself for solutions; instead seek within where we stand waiting, arms outstretched in gentle acceptance. So much suffering is over done, and over due to stop. Like the book that is borrowed and late in being returned, thus is your worry and apprehension. You have borrowed this so called “fear” and instead of returning what was once borrowed, you hold onto it as if this fear is of value, and your possession. Go back and return this fear to wince it came. If the fear came from before, go back and revisit, only in returning leave the fear behind.

There is no use of fear after the lesson and growth has occurred. The only use for fear is in what you choose to use fear for.

We see you using fear to control you; you have come to think this fear is the entity that has borrowed you, and has kept you long over the time you were due to return to wholeness. The question to ask yourself, when fear is perceived as “borrowing” you, is from whom did fear take you from. Whom does fear need to return you to? The answer is quite clear. Is it not? Fear took you from us, from the light, from love.

He is a dancer without a partner, who finds what he can to occupy the empty space between his arms. Choose not to climb inside his shaded and disguised embrace. For what fear offers is like the lion who offers the lamb a chase, the bird who offers the worm a tug, the carrion that offers the rotten to life. What good is this gift from fear, this empty space that folds its spiny arms around you and offers nothing but pricks of thorns? Why do you thusly run towards his arms time and time again, as if something will change? As if an alteration will transpire equivalent to a miracle. Why do you seek miracles from the face of fear? While here We stand awake, outside the shadows, clear and untarnished, available and ready to embrace you in Truth, Power, and Kindness beyond limits; so why do you turn your back on this eternal love and instead run to the shadows of an empty promise?

We know the answer, but we ask you still the same, for your own betterment and trusting of self and truth. Trust in the Truth. This is simple enough. When faced with fear or US, choose us. Every time choose us, and watch how we are always here, watch how we treat your wounds as whole and perfect, your journey as necessary and triumphant, your experience through perception as interesting and heroic. We shall not judge, or steer you in the wrong direction.

Yet, this fear, this shadow in need will feed on you, spinning and dipping you too fast and too deep. You shall see no light with fear, only shadows of what could have been had you not slipped into his spindly grip.

Search not this fear. We will be your everlasting partners, never ceasing to support you, never vanishing for one second (or less), and never once questioning your deeds, intention or purpose. For we have seen you before us. We have seen you behind and above. We have seen every side of you like a holographic image, and in so doing we know YOU. We embrace you. We know you even greater than you know yourself.

So when these thoughts of fear start a circular dance within your mind, call on our name, the name that rings true to your soul, and we shall be there, like it is said with bells on our toes and circular, everlasting love in our hearts.

There is no need to fear My Precious Child, for we are with you and have always been. This dance you lead is for your benefit. Lead for US, and release this need  you carry for Fear to lead. He is no greater leader than the ant that has deserted his line and hoarded the bread crumb for himself alone. He is none greater than the chariot without a driver, an ox without a rein, a beaver without teeth. Fear is useless, selfish, and above all goal-less. He has no goal. He has no plan. He only runs wild and feeds without knowing why.

Pay him no attention and watch how the echoes grow louder—the echoes of truth and justice. Release this fear, this bed partner you no longer need to rest beside. Come find true rest with us, and with intention only we shall vanquish this fear and banish not your trust but your distrust. You are so deserving of our love. You need only release.

“Arms of Fear”
Sam Craft 2012

Day 166: Welcome Life

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I came across this list I wrote over a year ago, in 2011.

In This Way I Shall Live

Recognize power is not in money but in the perception and energy granted to the illusion of money.

Explore avenues and options, and discard thoughts that are built on foundations of hopelessness and failure.

Acknowledge the limitless of the universe within.

Welcome abundance into life.

Confront feelings of “being nice.” Discover what “being nice” has meant, what it has brought, and what it has cost. Replace “being nice” with “living authentically.”

Honor true feelings and opinions without judgment of self.

Release the need to be anything to anyone.

Understand and embrace inner potential.

Prioritize what is most vital, including health, clean environment, communication, fun, and gratitude.

Welcome order into life.

Partake in a health cleanse to detoxify the body, mind and spirit.

Continue cleanse day-by-day based on individual needs and desires, and not balanced against the outcomes of others.

Pay attention to what is put into the mouth, where food comes from, who provides the food and at what cost to society and the environment the food is made.

Welcome clean healthy food into life.

Be gentle with self.

Welcome accomplishment into life.

Release the need to contribute.

Pamper the self.

Give back to the giver.

Give by receiving thankfully and fully, without excuse or diminishment of the experience.

Allow others to love the beauty carried within.

Believe in the worth of the glorious embodied spirit of love that resides within.

Reach not for answers.

Relax in just being and knowing essentially all is enough.

Welcome nurturing into life.

Sacrifice for growth. To break through spiritual blockages make a sacrifice through spoken word, written word, or other form of creation.

Take a risk to honor the self.

Speak up.

Claim the right to be heard.

Speak for self and self alone, not dependent upon outcome or response.

Honor the self enough to give voice to passion and need.

Replace silence with truth.

Welcome growth into life.

Let go.

Release anyone, everything, anything, any thought, any memory, any worry, and any entity taking energy from spirit.

Release and know that in releasing in return there is increased compassion and love.

Replace anger, resentment, regret, bitterness, and blame with increased empathy, patience, love, and forgiveness.

Forgive and then forgive again. Make forgiveness an every moment process. Awake and forgive. And awake and forgive again.

Welcome freedom into life.

Let loose the pattern of looking for infractions, wrongs, and imperfection.

Notice the limitless beauty in imperfection.

Know if this was to be the last day of breath, the day will have been spent in thankfulness.

Welcome life.

Forest in Great Northwest
Washington
Photos by Sam Craft