With body tired, spirit is filled. This week of book launch events has deeply touched a place in me—one of connection, love, humility, and awe—the oneness that we are.
I leave you with these words from my poem, “Come To The Water”:
…We are the miracle. Can we not see it—in each other?
Each of us filled with a wellspring.
We are all that valuable.
Come then to the water. Come home within.
Come to each other. Let us flow like the river.
Forgiving. Blessing. Refreshing.
(My apologies for a double send on this one. A goof up on my end caused me to lose the poem from my collection.)
I face the camera and witness the care taken to set the scene: a chair moved, a plant placed here, now there, lighting adjusted, inched forward, then further to the side. He checks and rechecks, through the camera lens— the eye of the artist designing the scene, with shadow, dimension, and interest.
I read poems to the camera, and to my son, as his vision moves from the lens to me, with careful observation. I arrive at the last word, hold my gaze to his smile and to his eyes, intent on mine, as his speak of love and care, to let me know we are done— it is a good take.
I observe my son’s talent, feel held in the palm of safe keeping, son to mother. I experience the shift of time, to when I offered an observant eye to him, as he toddled, and I moved objects that could harm or topple his way. I now let go into his craft, as we each offer our artistry to the other, woven through time, they now unite, dance together, create.
“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
Osho
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Albert Einstein
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
I arrive at the end of this year with a mixture of emotion:
Feelings of sadness for the ongoing wars in Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and the incredible loss of life throughout the world due to armed conflicts that do not make the headlines.
Concern and compassion rise for an estimated 117 million people who have been displaced from their homes due to war.
Joy rises for new life born to friends and family.
Grief is at home for the loss of life in my sister-in-law and my aunt and for all who have lost loved ones this year.
Pride in accomplishment for compiling a book of art and poetry with the desire to share with others.
Wonder at thousands marching from South and Central America to demonstrate their need for support for their families, jobs, and health.
Delight in the love shared with family and friends that feeds my soul.
Relief and gratitude that my husband recovered so well after a mild stroke with care from those on his medical team.
Gratitude for life lived, for choices made, for all that is learned in doing.
Curiosity and openness for what lies ahead in the unknown.
May we, in our varied emotions, remember kindness to ourselves and to each other. As life moves fast and hard, may we take the time to breathe and center, see ourselves in other, see ourselves in nature, humanity, the planet, and the universe. We are all one, together, may our hearts open.
Blessings in this New Year, 2024.
“The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.”
Carlos Santana
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
Dalai Lama
“We live in an interconnected world, in an interconnected time, and we need holistic solutions. We have a crisis of inequaility, and we need climate solutions that solve that crisis.”
I am ending this year with the signing of One World: A Journey of Becoming for pre-orders, then boxing them up with the gift of a greeting card and a bookmark. They mail on January 2.
What a year it has been, words that come to me as I reflect back to January. A year of deep loss and a year of birthing anew. A year of war and violence and a year of love and care expressed in unexpected ways. A year of new people entering my life and a year of saying goodbye to others.
I am currently reading the book Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe by Brian Swimme gifted to me by Leo. I feel delight and find awe in the image of “primal light” he offers, light that is all around and in us from the beginning of time and has traveled from fourteen billion light years away to us, now. He speaks beautifully of all life evolving, including each of us as we are never separate from the universe. In my words, we are becoming.
I invite you to read Brain Swimme for mind expansion. I invite you to order and read One World: A Journey of Becoming for heart and mind contemplation.
They arrive at noon bearing food and gifts, bringing love and light within their hearts for all to share, whether laughter or tears, cookies or bread, it’s all spread about, as we mark forty-seven years of opening our door on this night, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our family tradition.
Some of us are church goers, others do not partake, but the truth of this is, it matters not, as we celebrate the light, shining within each heart. Some days it dims as the weight of loss pushes down, but we know it is here, as we spread hugs all around.
Our oldest was two when it all began; now, new little boys toddle in laughter with visions of play. We lost a generation through these years, yet time brings new babes as life’s story gets told.
The light of solstice, the light of the Christ, the light found in Buddha, and Amma, a Hindu saint, whether the Tao, or the Bhagavad-Gita, the Tanakh, the Bible, the words from the Koran, or of our dear mother earth, I am formed by it all, in truth profound.
What rests at the core: love, compassion, wisdom, and giving as we are able. For me, the true message for us to gain. Welcome arms open to all, each in their own spirit found. May our oneness be proclaimed, at this, our blessed table.
My mind and body have been moving in different directions these days as I try to get ready for holiday gatherings as well as launch a book. The pre-orders are going well, and I look forward to mailing each one on January 2, 2024—a lovely way to start a new year! Thank you to all who have pre-ordered. There is still time to do so: www.janisdehler.com/shop.
What I would like to share with you today comes as a reminder to my Twin Cities area friends and family to set your calendars for January 11 and join me at The University of St. Catherine, Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, for a conversation with Mari Ann Graham, Director of the Masters in Social Work Program, who will interview me regarding my book and paintings, One World: A Journey of Becoming. I am curious to hear her questions. What direction will she go? I hope you are curious as well and join me for an evening of conversation, refreshments, a book signing, and art. The following link will take you to your free registration or $16 with the pre-order of a book.
Stay tuned next Wednesday for more information about my book launch event north of the Twin Cities on January 14. My goodness, this is fun!
Now, off to take all the groceries I bought yesterday and make a raspberry pie, a squash lasagna, wild rice soup, wrap more presents, arrange some flowers…..
Winter Solstice arrives, we breathe a sigh, light returns, measured in seconds until, once again, we feel the joy of illumination.
This season sings of radiance, candles are lit, twinkle lights abound, menorah, manger, sun, all symbols for our fascination.
Opening doors hearts, we find the light, hidden within all along, now bidden, we are never without, our true celebration.
A re-blog from Dec. 2022.
May we breathe peace into chaos, may we enjoy harmony in our encounters. Wishing us all joy in our days and serenity in our nights. May every day be seen as holy as we radiate light into this world.
I am excited to announce that it is time to pre-order your copy of: One World: A Journey of Becoming, a book of original poetry and art that follows the events of the worldwide pandemic to current events of the day.
“…Janis’ deeply inspiring poetry, prose, and art are worth savoring. Janis creates from the heart, and this will touch your very soul.”
Mari Ann Graham, Director MSW Program, The University of St. Catherine
LEARN MORE about the book: https://janisdehler.com/river-spirit-books
Find an event to attend: https://janisdehler.com/events
Pre-order a book now to recieve by January 7, 2007: https://janisdehler.com/shop US customerts receive bonus gifts: a One World art and poetry bookmark and greeting card. My apologies to international orders through The Great British Bookshop. I won’t be able to accommodate the shipping of pre-order gifts.
It was rocky at times as I attempted to bring this inspiration into reality. Deaths, a stroke, a closing of my husbands place of business started by others 70 years ago, war, and tumultuous world events have been the back drop as I worked to stay the course and get it done.
It is a joy to hold the book in my hands. To flip the pages. To witness the beauty that was offered by those hired to help and guide me along the way.
My hope is for the reader to find a place to rest within the words and the visual art spaces; to drift into the heart space to ponder, finding a sense of renewal and gratitude, while experiencing the common ground we walk together in our one world.
Time ticks away,
like a stopwatch,
tick, tick, tick—
until the end is made clear.
Precious like the gold watch,
marking the end of a career,
or possibly a sturdy Timex
that does the job well,
without a thought or a care.
The beat of time is steady,
as it ticks on in our awe,
or with our fear, marking grief
for our loss before it is near.
It is said, “Time marches on.”
The body knows this to be true,
while spirit dances free,
released from the beat,
the measured cadence,
of tick, tock, tick.
“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”
Albert Einstein
“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”
Charles Schultz
“What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.”
St. Augustine
For Ongoing Resource List: Reading for Heart and Mind
thaw allows the life beneath into the light of day.
“Everyone we meet has wounds upon their heart. Everyone is waiting for someone to scatter the seeds of love amongst their tears and to be patient enough to wait for their beautiful fragrance of dreams to awaken once more.”
