It's Here

Finally.

 

My original photos 

@ Les Dames D'Abord Instagram 

La Douceur

 

 

~ La douceur ~ 

 

is the French word to describe

 

not only 

 

sweet to the taste or a mild temperature

 

but 

 

a sense of gentleness and contentment.

 

Don't you agree that the world

 

needs more of that right now?

 

I was given a chance to participate

 

in a virtual meditation group from France.

 

The leader invited us to sit or lay down

 

close our eyes, forget everything

 

and 

 

enter into a state of "la douceur." 

 

How often does anyone take time out of the day

 

to just be 

 

gentle, sweet, kind, mild and most of all

 

content with oneself?

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Enter into a moment of sweetness

 

with 

 

the only person who will 

 

never leave you:

 

You.

 

And of course, The Divine

 

who loves you more 

 

than you can ever know

 

but can begin to know 

 

when you ask.

 

We all can make this world a much better place. 

 

 Photo Les Dames D'abord Instagram

 

 

The Color of Life

 

 

 

Like Louis

 

I see 

 

 

What color is your world?

Are You OK?

 

Just listen.

 

And if you've already heard it

 

listen again.

 

Are you OK?

 

                                             Do you have a faith

that will help you 

 

sing

"The Keep Going On Song?"

 

If you don't

 

that's OK.

 

Just keep going until

 

you find it.

 

 

Listen quietly to the softness of your

 

life

 

 

pick up the spills

 

 

 

and watch yourself change

into 

 

a new creation that 

 

you never expected you'd be.

 

 

It takes faith to even

 

hope 

it takes hope to even

 

believe

that you are loved

 

beyond your own understanding.

 

 

Keep going.

 

Thaw

 

 

H a l l e l u j a h

 

and thank heaven

 

that

 

t h e   t h a w 

 

is  coming.

 

 

Thank heaven 

 

that 

 

with every drip

of 

 

January's grip

that

 

February's love

 

is 

 

revealed.

 

Soon

your joy 

 

will spill out from golden vessels 

 

of gratitude

 

and 

 

overflow to others

 

and fill their cups.

 

 

But we know that winter will return

yet we cultivate and nourish

with 

 

seeds of praise.

H a l l e l u j a h .

all photos are mine and can be seen on my Instagram page Les Dames D'Abord

 

Nothing to Do

It's when I have 

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

That I am at my happiest.

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

anita pelayo rivera les dames dabord

Wishing you all

happiness

doing whatever takes you to a place

where you 

can

think, grow and renew.

Are you glad? Listen to the music and find out.

My teeth are now gray

but 

my soul smiles brighter

than it did 

in 

my youth.

anita pelayo rivera les dame d'abord

You will have to

read between the lines

around my mouth

to

understand my entire story.

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

With my 61st birthday coming

and the celebration 

of 

the resurrection of my faith

I am glad.

Are you glad for who you are becoming

and what you hope in?

In April

I'm learning

how to garden again.

While listening to one of my students

read his personal memoir draft


the 

teaching experience quickly

reversed roles.

Suddenly

I was looking at 

a newly blossomed  bouquet

emerge on its own

while 

I merely stood in the background.

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

In April

I'm learning once again

that 

You can't force

a tiny seed to grow

in the soils of the growing field.

You feed it.

You allow it 

the space of light

then before you know it

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

rose petals 

fall from the sky.

The First Kiss

from a Minnesota January

is 

slow and still.

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

However

the ambiance slightly changes

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

when I decide I'm simply going to

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

and illuminate the barren landscape

as I wait

to be embraced by the caress of spring

and the heat 

of summer's passions.

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

Be kissed by a rose. 

Follow my Instagram page Les Dames D'abord to see my progress 

with my new camera. Cards and prints to be available later this year. 

Reunion

Please play the music as you read

and

come back 

for a little while 

and sit with me

 

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

even if it's just 

for 

one last time. 

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

Before autumn's cool breath

clears the path

toward a cold world

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

come back and connect

like we once did

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

 

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

anita pelayo rivera les dames d'abord

and leave me a comment

to tell me

what marvelous things

have been going on in your life.

Forget the challenging things

but rather

tell me about how the 

Blessing of Cheerfulness

has shaped you

during these years that have 

passed by so sweetly.

Let's have a 

you and me.