I am in the process of having one of my short {and I do mean short} stories published in the "Walk Around Portland" Anthology for Spring of 2007. There will be a reading this May around the middle of the month. My excitement has risen to a bit of a high, partly because the Anthology Committee has had a hard time choosing one of the three I had submitted. There was only room for one writing and they could not choose from the three I had submitted.
I am also being encouraged to collect all of my writings and then have them bound and published here in Portland. I think I have someone who will be able to assist me in collecting and revising the works.
I looked for my writings and learned I have spread them all over my office area. That is my first task and one I am needing to learn to save time in the future. The idea of a small journal to carry with me every day and a file of journals is a grand idea. It would help keep all the writings in one central area.
I am looking at this turn in my life as a way to make some spare change and maybe set myself on the road to being a known author in the Portland Vancouver literary arena.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Moving on in Honor
Saying Good-bye To A Home
I was sitting here and thinking about some of the thing my parents and grand parents did when we moved from place to place. I can still remember though it was over 60 years ago. My Grandma was the leader of the family and she started with some singing about the life we shared with our home. She told the spirits how we felt about leaving the place and not knowing if the home would be honored or hurt. We had to move and she explained where we were going and what we hoped to find there, like work or medical or more land to farm. Saying good-bye was and is an important part of moving forward. It gave us a sense of completion so that we are able to fully inhabit our new space, having left nothing of ourselves behind in the old one. In this way, we honor the space that had held and nurtured us. At the same time, we cleanse it and empty it of our energy so that the new residents can make the space theirs. Plan a walk through your home that begins and ends at the front door. Ideally, you will be alone or accompanied only by a person who shared the space with you. Prepare yourself mentally to be as present as you can during this process. Now you enter the house, you might say, "I have come to thank you for being my home and to say good-bye." You might touch the walls with your hands as you move through the house, or you might burn sage as an offering, as well as an energy cleanser. Spend some time in each room expressing your gratitude and gathering or releasing any lingering energy from the room. As you do this, you are freeing your home to embrace its new occupants. Remember to visit your outside spaces as well. Plants are especially sensitive to the energy around them and will appreciate your consideration. As you make your way back to the front door, know that you have completed your final journey through your home and that you have honored and blessed it with this ritual of farewell. As you close and lock the door behind you, say one last good-bye. Now you can walk freely into your future and fully inhabit the new spaces that will keep you safe and warm.
I was sitting here and thinking about some of the thing my parents and grand parents did when we moved from place to place. I can still remember though it was over 60 years ago. My Grandma was the leader of the family and she started with some singing about the life we shared with our home. She told the spirits how we felt about leaving the place and not knowing if the home would be honored or hurt. We had to move and she explained where we were going and what we hoped to find there, like work or medical or more land to farm. Saying good-bye was and is an important part of moving forward. It gave us a sense of completion so that we are able to fully inhabit our new space, having left nothing of ourselves behind in the old one. In this way, we honor the space that had held and nurtured us. At the same time, we cleanse it and empty it of our energy so that the new residents can make the space theirs. Plan a walk through your home that begins and ends at the front door. Ideally, you will be alone or accompanied only by a person who shared the space with you. Prepare yourself mentally to be as present as you can during this process. Now you enter the house, you might say, "I have come to thank you for being my home and to say good-bye." You might touch the walls with your hands as you move through the house, or you might burn sage as an offering, as well as an energy cleanser. Spend some time in each room expressing your gratitude and gathering or releasing any lingering energy from the room. As you do this, you are freeing your home to embrace its new occupants. Remember to visit your outside spaces as well. Plants are especially sensitive to the energy around them and will appreciate your consideration. As you make your way back to the front door, know that you have completed your final journey through your home and that you have honored and blessed it with this ritual of farewell. As you close and lock the door behind you, say one last good-bye. Now you can walk freely into your future and fully inhabit the new spaces that will keep you safe and warm.
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