What Inspires You? For me, it's Dragonflies and Fall...

Don't you just love fall?  With the smell of fallen leaves, the bright colors of red, orange and yellow littering the forest floors tantalizing your senses?  Getting the chance to harvest apples and pumpkins for yummy pies?  Mmmm...this is my favorite time of year...it's also when we have an influx of dragonflies visiting Ridgeview.  These little jewels fly around our heads and rest on a bush, ledge or even the walkway.  It's no wonder I chose the dragonfly as the symbol for Ridgeview and for Ridgeview Designs - they're so present here.  They've inspired me both in life and in writing - as can be seen in this month's issue of Sibyl Magazine, where you'll find my poem "Dragonfly" on page 27, along with photo credits for my sweetie pie, Steve Di Monte (Change Your Life Photography) for taking the cover shot of this issue - of a very beautiful model who has inspired me as a single mom and friend...my cousin, Patti.

This month's issue would have been my last, had it not been for Sibyl deciding to add a special issue for December, for which I will be submitting my final poem for Sibyl Magazine.  I am grateful to my Sibyl audience of the last three years for their readership and support, and I look forward to having future issues come in my in-box every month thereafter (especially when I get to see my sweetheart's work on the cover!).

Besides Nature and Dragonflies, the beauty of the changing seasons inspire me greatly - in writing, in photography, in decorating and creating new jewelry.  I look forward to seeing where this season's inspiration takes me (besides Italy, where I am right now, for the next two weeks, gathering all kinds of inspiration!).  I wonder, what inspires you?

Dragonfly

(©Linda J. Spencer)

Here, on the grounds of Ridgeview

The dragonfly hovers close to me

And finds his seat upon a post.

This jewel-red, warrior of water and sky,

Watching, curious, tilting his head

Breaking down the illusion of control

Seeing the truth that is – 

There is no control – only flow.

It is here that he plays the light

Through his translucent wings – 

Wings of flight – power to fly forward,

To carry him high in every direction he goes

Mastering the life in flight – 

Freedom!

Strength, courage,

Change, transcendence,

Perseverance, completion.

He turns his head toward me

Tossing a smile with his eyes, nodding

He sees the dreams that play in my head

Observing, never judging

I reach out to graze his wing,

Hoping to capture the essence of his plight

Smiling, communing

He nods to me, and once again takes flight.

It's My Turn! (so, the email said :))

I'm so thrilled and honoured to be featured on the cover of the Aug/Sept 2014 issue of Sibyl Magazine that was released early this morning!  What a surprise and honour when I received an email from Sibyl English about the cover, and "It's Your Turn" in the comments box.  It was the same day they previewed the cover to the featured writers, along with a message of some great changes they've made to the magazine, including merging Sibella Poetry Magazine into Sibyl Magazine (the flagship publication that was released 5 years prior to Sibella).  I am honoured that my poems have been featured in Sibella Poetry Magazine for the last 3 years, and now in the newly merged Sibyl Magazine (an on-line publication with over 24,000 subscribers internationally).  I have watched this publication grow and get better and better, and enjoy reading the articles and poems in each and every issue - cover to cover.  Thanks you Sibyl for your continued love and support.  I cherish the work that you are doing and am eternally grateful for the platform you have given me to share my words.

Check out the new issue of Sibyl Magazine with my poem "SUN-SETS AND SUN-RISES" on page 6...along with photo credits to my sweetie Steve Di Monte of Change Your Life Photography....the "or better" of being featured on the cover of a magazine - having that photo shot by your sweetie <3

This poem reminds us that as life changes and has its ups and downs, a new day always dawns new possibilities - as it certainly has for me.  Enjoy!

River Dance

My second poem of the 2014 season published in the Winter (Feb/Mar2014) issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine...inspired by a creative writing exercise with my Georgetown Wordsmiths, focused on a water theme.  A few days before this exercise, I saw an image of the Earth's water ways, comparing it to the human brain and to a tree's root system.  Always from the heart, I thought of these images as the words poured out.  This one makes my heart dance <3

River Dance
© Linda J. Spencer

Like the arterial system of the human body
Earth’s rivers flow endless like veins across its surface,
Pulsing and breathing life into itself.

Rain falls down from the heavens
And fills the rivers of life,
To continue their journey through eternity.

Like the tears we shed to release our pain
And cleanse our souls,
Rain is Mother Nature’s cleansing of the Earth.

And in the rain we dance,
Letting Mother Nature’s tears fall upon us -
Kissing our face, releasing our fears and sorrows.

As we dance along these rivers,
Our hearts pulse, filled with life;
Our bodies flow and our minds let go of control.

In this dance, we are witness to Earth’s miracles
And fall in love with Nature’s gifts -
The endless flow of life.

As we still our minds and feel with our hearts,
Through this dance we see the truth -
That we are one with all that is.

It is here, as we dance,
That we discover our own journey is endless –
Flowing freely to the end of time.



Our lives are like the rivers of the earth - ever flowing, ever changing - the journey is truly endless and is ours to enjoy fully in the moment.  Love and blessings <3

Let it Flow

How many times do we question ourselves - question our abilities, our strengths, our beauty, our thoughts and feelings, our decisions?  We all do it...some more than others.  But what if we just let it all flow - without judging ourselves or our circumstance?  Instead, what if we danced with what presents, acknowledging ourselves and the situations, but moving forwarded anyway - letting it flow?

This poem what born of such questions to myself.  I would have all these thoughts pop in my head, but at a time when I wasn't sure if they were my own thoughts, or if I had adopted those of others.  Once I realized that I could own them if I wanted, or let them go if I wanted, I could stop any resistance and just let it all flow in complete neutrality...and what a grand feeling that is - to let it all flow; to let it all just be.

Hope you enjoy the read...you can find it in the Dec-Jan2014 issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine, where I'm contributing for the third year in a row :).   Click on the image of the magazine cover to enter a different kind of poetry world - a creative one of spirit, inspiration and insight :)


Let it Flow
(copyright 2013, Linda J. Spencer)

My body is alive and full of energy.
My mind is full, ready to explode
With all of its thoughts,
All of its grand creations.
But what if they're not my own?

What if they belong to another?
How can I possibly know?
My mind is overflowing
And now it cannot be contained.
Energy transcends.
I have set it free.
It is what will be.
Or is it?
Is it really free?
Only I can choose.
Only I can know.
If only I'd listen.
Can I do this?
If only I could still my mind
I could see what's real,
And the knots would come undone,
Anxiety and doubt would cease.
Or would it?
I can only try.

This Body

How many of you have truly taken a look at your body - its curves, its lines, its story - without judgement, but full of appreciation for all of it?  Now, a couple of years ago, I would have had difficulty doing this without judging what I saw in the mirror.  What a difference removing judgement (not only with looking at my body, but with SO many things in my life)!!!  It took forty years, but I have finally come to appreciate all of it...filled with gratitude for my body - my divine vessel in which I am afforded the opportunity to experience THIS life on Earth - I wrote this poem, in tribute.

Photo by Change Your Life Photography

This Body – My Divine Vessel
(© Linda J. Spencer, 2013)

This body carried my children for nine months
And brought them into this world with love.
The scars are witness to the beauty of the birth,
And they are beautiful.
This body has carried me my whole life with ease and grace.
Its lines and creases are testament to this life.
This body moves with grace and feels the flow of life
It lets me know when to take a break,
And when it’s ready to run full out –
And I have learned to hear what it has to say.
This body allows me to dance among the trees,
In the light of the setting sun,
And under the starry full moon night.
This body receives the light and love that feeds my soul.
Its curves reflect that love,
And reflect its light back out to the world.
This body is a divine vessel which embodies my soul
And it is perfect, just as it is.


A couple of months ago, as part of a "homework" assignment (I use the term "homework" loosely, as it was more of an experience than homework) for a program I was taking, I was to look, or rather observe, myself in the mirror for 20 minutes - naked - without judgement.   This experience, along with reading about the experiences of others in the group and seeing myself in some amazing photos by Change Your Life Photography, inspired me to write this particular poem, which I am proud to say that you can find in the Oct/Nov 2013 issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine (click on the magazine cover artwork to enter the most recent issue).  Big thanks to Jennifer Hough of the Wide Awakening Team and the Innate Abilities Group for the inspiration :)

Words from a Photograph

I’ve experienced so much expansiveness in the last while and although not doing so much writing, there’s been a creative flow of a different kind.  A couple of months ago, I started doing a program which has opened not only my eyes, but all of my senses and my very being to a vastness of pure potential which I find absolutely amazingly fascinating.  With those experiences of the last few months, coupled with a recent opportunity to be the subject of a couple of photo shoots, I found myself falling in love with the images I saw, and more deeply in love with my own camera.  Those experiences have inspired me to be more attentive and present to what I see, and capture as much as I can with the lens - capturing the essence of what I see in nature – the greatest inspiration for my poetic verses. 

This week I chaired my Wordsmiths writing group meeting.  Inspired by the photos I had taken the week before at my parents’ farm, I decided we’d do an exercise that entailed writing the story that is happening outside the photo frame.  It’s one thing to see a photograph or a painting and write its story, but it’s something else to write what happening outside of that image.  The result – 8 wonderfully creative stories churned up in a 20 minute writing session.  Some of them will be developed into greater works of prose and poetry, I’m sure, and I look forward to my fellow wordsmiths to share their creations at a later date. 

I mentioned this writing exercise to my photographer later that night while discussing a shoot.  Inspired by a photograph that he took of me (probably my most favourite shot of them all).  It’s such a good piece that I asked his permission to share it here.  Thanks to Steve Di Monte of Change Your Life Photography for sharing.

 So, next time you're out and about, why not grab your camera and capture what you see.  Search the images to inspire you and dream up what’s happening around them…it’s a really fun exercise, and if nothing else will put a smile on your face as you reminisce through the photographs.  Happy writing :) :) :)

Sun-Sets and Sun-Rises

I've been sitting on this one for a while now, but upon reflecting on the glorious sunsets of the summer sun, I thought it's time to share...

Gazing in awe of the summer solstice sunset as it filled me with warmth and light.

Sun-Sets and Sun-Rises

(©Linda Spencer, 2013)

The sun rose and life began

With fluttering hearts

Many, many moons ago.

Life grew with vows of love

And tears of joy

As children’s laughter filled the rooms.

But life changes as it grows

And some resist its pull.

And now, as the sun sets on this day,

I know the sun will rise tomorrow

And in new light, I awaken.

Waking to a spring sunrise with a walk on the ridge.

And a bit of news with the sun rising on a new day:  I've been selected to write for Sibella Poetry Magazine (www.sibellapoetry.com) for a third year.  YEAH!  Thank you to all my followers and supporters for allowing me the chance to share my poetic verse <3 Mwah!

A Dance in the Night

Yeah!  The new issue of Sibella Poetry Magazine is out (click on the link, or go to http://clck.com/jmmg/spoetry/APRMAYSIB13.pdf), and in it is my poem "A Dance in the Night". 

Some colleagues and friends have asked me, "when do you find time to write?"  or, "when do you write?"  You may think that as a writer, I'd be writing all the time, or at least every chance I got, but I don't.  I find that my best writing occurs when the mood strikes me, or when I have a vision of what I should write about.  Sometimes I ask for inspiration, and sometimes it just comes out of the blue...or someone will say something or do something that strikes a cord and out flows a verse or two that I can work with.  It's very sporadic, but it works for me.  The finished product is always something I feel.  "A Dance in the Night" came as a vision as I was sitting at my desk, just days before the submission deadline, staring out my loft window into the trees below...they spoke to me.  Ok, they weren't pines, but they were tall.  And we don't have wolves, but we do have coyotes who wander by occassionally :)  I followed this poem up with a post on my Ridgeview blog about the vision I had for Ridgeview.  Check that out too when you get a chance.  Enjoy ♡

 

A Dance in the Night

(©Linda Spencer, 2013)

By the light of the moon, I dance.

The night is quiet and the air is calm;
There is peace.
I stop at the edge of the forest
Where the tall pines stand guard;
A low branch bows, inviting me to enter.

As I cross the threshold, a lone wolf howls,
Eerily piercing the night silence.
She crosses my path a distance ahead,
Glancing to acknowledge my presence
And I hers; we are friends -
Creatures of the same Maker.

She lets me pass to continue my dance

Watching me and I her, in awe.
And I listen for her words.
But they do not come, not this time.
I hear instead the stillness of the night -
The sound of water; the rustle and creek of the woods.

Their message is clear:
I may own this land, but it is not mine.
It found me, and entrusted me as its keeper –
To protect it, to nourish it, to help it grow.
In return, it cradles me, and gives me life;
And gives me space to dance and play within it.

“We have been given a world of creation to laugh and dance and play with – it only asks that we treat it as we would our soul.”~Linda Spencer

Submitting Poetry

I wanted to share a blog I read today - some good tips on submitting poetry.
http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2012/04/poetry-submissions-number-poems/

In my experience, if you have a certain style of writing that you really enjoy, search for a publication that fits your style, rather than trying to conform your poetry to something that you might not enjoy writing.  After all, as an artist, creating poetry, you have to be happy with your own creation before it can truly be appreciated by someone else. 

Searching for that "right fit" can be a daunting task, but it's so worth it when you find it.  Sometimes, it's just a matter of asking the Universe to point you in the right direction :)

Happy writing!

"Be inspired to create what you imagine." ~Linda Spencer