Awake My Soul

Awake My Soul

Awake my soul from its slumber
Step out and great the day
With all its stories yet untold
Join in; is what I say
Stand back and be the casual observer
Or step in and join the play
Your piece is needed in this puzzle
Connecting others come what may

The actors all , they fill the stage
Each performing their own part
Each thought and movement braids the air
Such wondrous glorious art
Awake your soul and fill your space
Let Life’s story fill your heart
Your gifts are needed here and now
To fill Life’s Abundant Cart

Written with Love, Light and Hope
By Nina p. 6/26/09

Words Inside are Dancing

Like I've said in the past. Sometimes I just have to grab pen and paper and it's as if someone else is writing... This came so fast this morning, I had to grab a pen and the back of whatever was in front of me and jot it down... Talk about Random!!! :-D Whew!....

Oh well... I share it here anyway....

Words Inside are Dancing

Words fly across the page; Dark lines dancing by

First a funny jig; Then mixed in with a waltz

Words come in my mind; As music from the soul

Words are painting pictures; Though I can not draw

The paper fills up quickly; As the words keep dancing by

The music is internal; Illuminating from Light and Love

The image that I’m painting; Comes flooding in like thunder

Yet the flow is rapid; The music can’t be stopped

Spring, Summer, Fall; Give way to Winters cold

Yet every season too must come; To be a part of life

Today my thoughts are abstract; Yet to someone may make sense

I can not stop the flow; Of this almighty pen

So dance your inner dance; And feel your song inside

Your music’s just beginning; the tune is yours unique

Paint your life so full; With things that fill your soul

Go look outside and see; All the glories that there are

Then paint your song; And sing your pen and dance your inner dance

It’s love and Light that guide me; From thought to ink to paper

And then into your life I send; These words in random order

This must be my Picasso; Abstract in thought I paint;

I sing this song on paper; With ink and pen create;

These words inside are a dancing

Written with Love and Light,
By Nina P. 6/22/09

Since this poem is so random and abstract... I'm sending out a random heart!! I found it on line in the local newspaper section of photo's. I can't find it again to give proper credit :-(

Either way, the photographer caught an amazing "wild" heart....

I found the pgotographer!!! cheychey37 can be found @ http://rochesterhomepage.net/mymedia/view.php?id=2321

There is a Light in All of Us....

There is a Light in All of Us

There is a Light in all of us
If we but only look
So look inside it’s there you see
As written in The Book

When darkness comes as it will do
Rely on that Great Light
And soon the darkness fades away
As will that hard felt plight

Stresses come as life we live
It’s part of humankind
If all you see is dark and bleak
Desperation you will find

Pointing fingers all around
For isn’t that the cause?
“It’s him, it’s her; it can’t be me”
We say without a pause

It’s easier to look outside
Than to turn within
But when we look inside instead
The healing can begin

Self healing may be needed
But often we don’t see
Being part of us so long
It’s our only way to be

Let go of our complacency
Is hard but it’s a must
To lift that shroud of darkness
It’s the Light we must trust

Starting now we must look within
To heal us from the past
Cleaning out our closets
For healing that will last

Forgive yourself and others too
Feel changes come alive
For when our fear and pain collide
Only Hope and Love Survive

Remember after every storm
There is a rainbow of Hope
The Light beyond the clouds is there
Giving us ways to cope

So go on now and find the Light
It’s there inside of you
With Faith & Hope & Love you see
Grace and Light will see you through

By Nina P. Ploetz 3/19/09

Nina P's thoughts on : Generosity...

"Generosity: Do not hide the treasures in your heart in fear that they will be stolen - instead share them and find they multiply. " (Thought for Today http://www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk/)

As I like to say: when I write, a Hand touches mine,
so here it goes.....

In these times of loosing jobs and declining economy, it's hard to think of generosity. We want to keep, hoard, guard what we have: to keep us safe for the future, right?..... Well not exactly.... What good is keeping, hoarding, guarding what we have if we do not enjoy the life we are given? We live in fear and depression rather than living in Faith, Hope and Love. I can keep all I have and not share it with anyone. If I do, I'm always worried about: "What's going to happen? Will I be OK? will there be enough? What will I do? How can I get more?...." I'm sure you can add even more "What if's" here too, the list could be endless. All of these fears seem all to real. They are aren't they? again I say not exactly....

Lets turn some of this around before the stress level gets too high. Instead of the "What if's" lets ,focus on the "What Have's". Tomorrow is not a promise to us, if it happens, it is a Gift. Yesterday is gone and no matter how hard we try, we can't get it back. That gives us today.... now....... this very moment.
So lets do an assessment of now, this very moment. Look, feel, smell, hear, taste what you have right now where ever you are. Let's focus on the time of year: it's Spring!......I can touch rain that falls bringing with it Hope of new beginnings, I know that in stillness there is motion, I can see the Son shine and the the first signs of spring poking through the ground all green, new and fragile. I can feel the cool breeze of an angle kiss across my cheek, I can smell the earth of spring, I can taste the water that sustains life.

What does Spring mean to you? It means growth, renewal, fresh, hope, awakening, new life.... There is such a spirit of generosity in spring and so, many lessons it gives. That little sprout of green struggling it's way through the dark, soil, small and fragile at first, not knowing what lies ahead. It reaches up from the darkness of despair awakening, reaching towards a new life. It doesn't know if there will be food or water enough to sustain its life tomorrow. Yet it is there Today, growing, awakening, unfolding, giving of itself...

Take a walk outdoors, if you can, and look around until you find a little green starting to grow. (Or even a plant you might have indoors) It has no way of sustaining itself yet it grows (Faith). It has no way of making sure it won't get hurt or broken or even die tomorrow yet today, it is here, living, surviving, believing it will make it ( Hope). It has no money, no way to give, no means of generosity, yet it is here today for us to look at (Love).... You see, like life, it's all in how you look at it, what perspective you take. Do you look at it with the doubts and fears of what you don't have, or might not have? or , do have a perspective of Faith, Hope and Love? Do you Believe? .What's inside you?

In this time of early spring, coming from the dark, cold, dreary days of winter; didn't that little tiny frail bit of green poking through the soil give you a little Hope? Didn't it give you Smile and didn't it lift your heart a little and make you realize "Ah yes Spring Really is coming"? This frail little green sprout with "nothing" gave of itself to you.....

This lesson is for all of us. We must learn to give freely: a smile, a hug, a kind word, a hand out to someone in need, etc... be generous today. Try it!!

Give Hope through a smile today. Have Faith and Love in your heart. Walk around with a Positive Attitude and Smile! Yep that's all: Be Generous with your Smile and Positive Attitude of Love, Hope, and Compassion. Now take a walk and be aware of the people around you, their reaction to you. See how many look at you and smile back!!! How did it make you feel to have someone smile back at you? Did it lift your spirits? Did it make your smile broader, your heart fuller? Your gift of generosity just came back to you and multiplied. For you gave your smile generously,freely, and it was returned to you!!!!!
And guess what?....., now that persons heart was lifted and their heart renewed a little..... and ....... they now might smile at someone.... and the gift is passed yet again, and again, and again.... Your seemingly small gift has now grown beyond expectation...

So give away a little today and gain allot!! Take that treasure in your heart, share it and watch it be passed forward.... All this without any human control.... watch it grow.... Like that small bit of green, watch it grow stronger every day, watch it keep giving Hope and Love back to its viewer and all that's around. It may just turn out to be the most beautiful flower you'll ever see; a gift grown from the seed in your heart given away selflessly ... to all that look...

What started as a seed in the darkness of fear has survived the storms and hardships; now Awakens and Grows strong. Growing deep roots of Faith with Grace and Courage....Through the gift of Hope, Love and Light: the once small frail seed,has come out of the darkness, growing stronger in the Light, a gift of generosity, freely given... Be generous with these gifts of your heart and see how they multiply not only in your life, but those around you.....

May you find a true Spirit of Generosity Living inside you. May your spirits be lifted by the rainbows of Hope after the storms in your life. May you find Strength in the Son above, shining down warming your soul, encouraging you to grow. May you find Faith to live today without fear of what might come, but live today in the Love that is freely given to you... the Love that is inside you, sustaining you, and nothing can take from.... the Love and Hope you can generously give away; knowing that if you give Love and Hope, it will Multiply uncontrollably, gracing the lives of others as well as your own. With the seed of Love and True Light in your heart, there is an Awakening of Spirit and all things are possible.....

May God Bless you today and always and may the seeds that are planted, grow and flourish, in you, through you, with you always.

Nina P.

Musings on Thought for Today.....

Thought for Today : Character: When you do not upset yourself thinking about how others must change and instead you concentrate on your own change, good things start to happen. First, you will feel better about yourself. Second, you will start to have positive feelings towards others and start to understand them. Third, others start having a more positive attitude towards you.
(brought to you from: www.thoughtfortoday.org.uk)

... if my coworker only did this, than....... My boss needs an attitude adjustment, than..... if my spouse would pay more attention, than..... if, than,..... they need to, than.... See the pattern? As the Good Book says, we need to remove the log from our selves before we can look at the speck in our neighbor.... Not always an easy task. Its easier to blame someone else than to change ourselves; change our attitude. It's easier to look the other way than to look within and see our own shortcomings. The only problem is, Change is an inside job. If I change , than.....

I tell people all the time; "the only thing constant in life is change". I don't usually follow that with ..."you can't change another person, the only person you can change is you".. but maybe I should. It is so easy to look at someone, else for our shortcomings. It's easier because than we don't have to change, we can always point the finger elsewhere. How many times have you or I said, " I can't believe it, they did it again, they need to stop it, it drives me crazy,....". The same things bother me that bothered me yesterday about someone, why don't they realize they need to.... I dare say most of us have caught ourselves in those situations.

This is where the Thought of the day : Character comes in. If we look at those situations from a different perspective. Hmm ... Next time you catch yourself saying "there they go again and it bothers me", (here's the key...) stop and think why?, what is inside me that it bothers me so much? What do I need to change? There it is, the answer.... I need to be more accepting of, That person cleaning all the time....maybe I need to clear my clutter and don't want to look at it yet,....... That slob not cleaning anything.....maybe I'm too sterile inside and need to let in a little life.... I can't believe they haven't moved on from that situation yet......maybe I'm stuck in my own..... It is so easy to look outside, and so hard to look inside, but we must.

The merry-go-round will keep going in circles until we let go of ourselves and change our position. We must look at ourselves, what we're hanging on to and why. We get comfortable with ourselves and don't want to change or don't see the need to change. We get stuck on that merry-go-round and think we'll always have fun, get a-long, be OK. After all aren't we all reaching for that brass ring? Take a Look away from the brass ring and see what's outside. There are all kinds of possibilities. We need to slow the ride down, look at ourselves, change our attitudes, our thoughts, ourselves.... We need to get off the merry-go-round of complacency and start the walk of inner change.

When a behavior in someone else triggers a negative response from you, look inside, and ask why.... When a type of person walks by and you have hate or animosity towards them, look inside yourself and ask why..... when your frustrated because they keep doing that, look inside and ask yourself why.... If you can't look inside at that moment, instead of responding in a negative way, say a small prayer of love and acceptance for that person, situation etc... then go back when you have time, when it's quiet, and contemplate your inner response and look for the why..... I need to be more forgiving, I need to be more accepting, I need to be more helpful, I need to be less jealous, I need to be more loving, I need to clean out my own house,.... Find out the inner why, the inner fears,....

Once you start looking at it from the inside, and making those inner changes, your true character will come out. . .We all have shortcomings, we put ourselves, our ego's in the way of what we truly are meant to be.

Try it today, when you start with the if only they'd... stop yourself, look within, and make that change. Get off the merry-go-round of complacency and take that first step towards true and God given change inside. You will be truly amazed at how things change around you.... Not because of their change but because of yours..... yep.... it's an inside job.

And who's at the core living in, with and though us, deep inside our soul? Yep the Light of Lights, the Hope of Hopes, The Love of Loves, is waiting there for you to look within, ask for guidance, make that inner change...... become strong in inner character through Grace and Love.

May God Bless you today and always with Love, Forgiveness, Hope, Grace and Acceptance, and bring Peace and Joy into your soul.....
Love and Light,
Nina

Ripples on a Pond....

Ripples on a Pond

We go to water our soul to feed
Seeking it out when we're in need

A stone is thrown and circles form
From calmness now we have a storm

These ripples how they mesmerize
Each circle spreading before our eyes

The stone once thrown now is still
Yet its effects will test your will

The ripples move us on instead
We do not know what lies ahead

So as we move on towards the shore
Please anticipate so much more

Our ripples spread until they touch
Then we seem to change so much

With added strength, our path is new

God has plans for us to do.

Our circles spread and move us on
Connecting with others we come upon

As with the water, we can't stay still
Stones move us on against our will

We can sink below the surface
Or sail each wave with a new purpose

Look at the horizon and see the Son;
Brightly Rising; life's just begun

So travel each and every wave
It started a ripple just yesterday

We never know our journeys length
But God will always give us strength

So go beyond what you feel you can
His guidance for every woman and man

Travel in Light and live Gods way
Your circle grows stronger everyday.

By Nina Ploetz (10/26/05)

Life and Rainbows (inspired by an e-mail)

The rainbow pictures are the only ones I took. The others were in the e-mail that was sent around a few years ago.... I hope you enjoy!

I had to write this poem below; a Hand touched mine, so here it goes:

Life and Rainbows:

When you look at life with hateful eyes
all you see is fear and lies
If you look at life with eyes of fear
bleak and hopeless are always near
So look at life with Faithful Love
the Son shines on you from above
Your fear will fade and so will hate
look around and you'll see your fate
For on the bleakest of your days
you'll find something to be amazed

With one special moment or maybe event
like a family of ducks is what He meant

To look at life with Forgiving Grace
the wave you missed, the dolphins raced

When angered over catastrophic things
you survived because of Angels wings

So turn your stresses inside out
helping others is what it's all about

Look around when you're lost and alone
many new friends are near your home

Luck comes from love and those you touch
your life will change I know that much

When some look on and laugh and point
stand strong in Faith for He anoints

With Power and Grace you'll carry on
His strength you can always rely upon
His Rainbow is there we just have to look
after each hardship as He wrote in His book
So when life's been hard and you’re feeling down
that "Rainbow's" for you just look around

It may be a smile, some food, or His great art
a feeling of warmth that fills your heart.
Look at life with open eyes
a rainbow's there, it's His surprise
So let your breath be taken away
look for His Blessings in every day.
Written by Nina P. Ploetz 12/9/2006

Some Days...

...I feel like my heart has been ripped from my chest and pinned to the wall to bleed dry.
That's how I felt while working on this.
...And it came together so easy. When it was finished, I felt cleansed. I really love this piece.
Funny huh?


Title: Some Days
Medium: Digital Painting
Full Size: 8" x 10"

On Caterpillars

~

When it reaches a certain stage of its evolution, a caterpillar starts to consume more than it can handle. It becomes extremely voracious and becomes extremely disfigured and grotesque, and its cells begin to go into chaos and start to die.

Within the body of the caterpillar at that time there are a few scattered cells, which biologists refer to as imaginal cells, and these imaginal cells start to connect with each other. And when they reach a certain critical mass of connectivity, a genetic mutation occurs which has a genetic code for a different species: a butterfly with wings and a flight to freedom and a desire for that flight to freedom and beautiful colors. And this genetic code also has a gene that allows the connected imaginal cells to use the decaying body of the caterpillar, the liquefying mass, as their nutritious soup.

~Deepak Chopra

That's pretty awesome! Just think if we had imaginal cells.

Plans

~
Make no little plans;
They have no magic to stir men's blood (or women's either) and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work. Remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.

~Danial H. Burnham

Powerful Women

~
To the powerful women – keep the faith!

Live your life in such a way that when your
feet hit the floor in the morning,
Satan shudders and says:
“Oh shit, she’s awake.”

~unknown

Within reach...

What is it you want?

What do you think is out of reach?
Should you settle?

I'm not enough....
I'm out of shape...
I'm tired...
I'm....

Stop living in exile!

Come join us

For we are your people.

Photograph & Poem by Tashai

Prayer to the Mothers

They say you lurk here still,
perhaps in the depths of the earth or on
some sacred mountain, they say
you walk (still) among men, writing signs
in the air, in the sand, warning warning weaving
the crooked shape of our deliverance, anxious
not hasty. Careful. You step among cups, step out of
crystal, heal with the holy glow of your
dark eyes, they say you unveil
a green face in the jungle, wear blue
in the snows, attend on births,

dance on our dead, croon, fuck, embrace
our weariness, you lurk here still, mutter
in caves, warn, warn and weave
warp our hope, link hands against
the evil in the stars, o rain
poison upon us, acid which eats clean
wake us like children from a nightmare, give the slip
to the devourers whom I cannot name
the metal men who walk
on all our substance, crushing flesh
to swamp.

~Diane Di Prima, "Prayer to the Mothers"

The Journey

Journey to the underworld.
Dark night of the soul.
In the belly of the Whale.
Meeting the dark Goddess.

What do they have in common?