Glennon Doyle, Untamed

I have been reading, memorizing, quoting and applying Glennon Doyle’s book, Untamed. It is an amazing book.

Glennon Doyle's book, Untamed, begins with a memoir in which she takes her daughter to a zoo for a cheetah run. The cheetah, Tabitha, was born in the zoo, raised with a Labrador retriever.... hence the cheetah run was really a retriever run then a cheetah run. It was quite sad. Once Tabitha is away from her handlers and the crowd, Doyle observes the changes in the cheetah. In the field, Tabitha's head becomes high; she stalks the periphery and paces. Her eyes stare at something beyond the fence. It's as if the big cat remembers her wildness. Doyle imagines a conversation with Tabitha in which she admits her dissatisfaction with her zoo life. At the end of this imagined conversation, Tabitha says “I should be grateful. I have a good enough life here. It’s crazy to long for what doesn’t even exist.” Doyle would say, “Tabitha, You Are Not Crazy, You Are A Goddamn Cheetah.”

As children, we learn to hide ourselves and become what the world expects us to be. We become caged like Tabitha.... We need to learn how to get out of these cages and be wild - free. That is where the book begins and I haven’t been able to put it down.


We all, men and women, can add to this list but what is important is not adding but removing, stepping out of these cages.

Port Lavaca Texas

On my last trip out I stayed on Magnolia Beach for a few days of free camping. It was warm and delightful. It is called a natural shell beach and I found several little souvenirs.

Port Lavaca Texas

Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Alamogordo New Mexico

Robin, There is no “right” or “wrong” way to walk the labyrinth.

Most times this how I do it, but then there are other ways and reasons I walk a labyrinth as well. It is a personal experience. Sometimes after walking a labyrinth - I walk it again.

Before entering a labyrinth I take time to transition from everyday life to the labyrinth experience. I leave my cell phone and all electronics in my car. Sometimes I remove my shoes and walk barefoot, a traditional sign of respect for a sacred space. I pause, take a deep cleansing breath, focus on letting go of things I want to leave behind and release things that stand in the way of my spiritual journey. I state my intentions quietly, bow my head say, do namaste, then I walk slowly and quietly. This helps slows down my breathing and opens my mind. I use this time to think, meditate, pray... I sometimes I carry prayer beads, I always try to bring a small token of gratitude. It is another way I feel closer to creator. Another way I speak to creator. I don’t focus on the center as the goal, I stay present in each step. It is meditative.

When I reach the center, I usually stand but you can sit, kneel, lie down... This part of the journey is about just being present to your inmost self and the power of creator. I usually say prayers, thank my creator for this life. I will admit I did bring my flute a couple of times. It is here I leave a gift, a small token of thanks. Walking back I am more reflective. When I leave a labyrinth, I stop, say do a namaste. If I have paper on hand (most times I do) I write down what knowledge I have gained. I write down my thoughts, my prayers. Just whatever is in my head.

People of all faiths, spiritual beliefs walk labyrinths. It is a way to give thanks, solve a problem, to seek guidance, to grieve a loss, to get rid of your fears, to pray...

Website that helps find a labyrinths - Labyrinth Locator

Location of this labyrinth Trinity Turtle

Just For Fun

An Oxford comma walks into a bar, where it spends the evening watching the television, getting drunk, and smoking cigars.

• A dangling participle walks into a bar. Enjoying a cocktail and chatting with the bartender, the evening passes pleasantly.

• A bar was walked into by the passive voice.

• An oxymoron walked into a bar, and the silence was deafening.

• Two quotation marks walk into a “bar.”

• A malapropism walks into a bar, looking for all intensive purposes like a wolf in cheap clothing, muttering epitaphs and casting dispersions on his magnificent other, who takes him for granite.

• Hyperbole totally rips into this insane bar and absolutely destroys everything.

• A question mark walks into a bar?

• A non sequitur walks into a bar. In a strong wind, even turkeys can fly.

• Papyrus and Comic Sans walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Get out -- we don't serve your type."

• A mixed metaphor walks into a bar, seeing the handwriting on the wall but hoping to nip it in the bud.

• A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

• Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They converse. They depart.

• A synonym strolls into a tavern.

• At the end of the day, a cliché walks into a bar -- fresh as a daisy, cute as a button, and sharp as a tack.

• A run-on sentence walks into a bar it starts flirting. With a cute little sentence fragment.

• Falling slowly, softly falling, the chiasmus collapses to the bar floor.

• A figure of speech literally walks into a bar and ends up getting figuratively hammered.

• An allusion walks into a bar, despite the fact that alcohol is its Achilles heel.

• The subjunctive would have walked into a bar, had it only known.

• A misplaced modifier walks into a bar owned by a man with a glass eye named Ralph.

• The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense.

• A dyslexic walks into a bra.

• A verb walks into a bar, sees a beautiful noun, and suggests they conjugate. The noun declines.

• A simile walks into a bar, as parched as a desert.

• A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to forget.

• A hyphenated word and a non-hyphenated word walk into a bar and the bartender nearly chokes on the irony

Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 “In one of the stars I shall be living.”

 

Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 White Bronze Monument 

Although not white, and not made of bronze, these memorials are usually very detailed, always different, and found in very good to excellent condition.   

White bronze monuments were most popular during the 1880s to 1900, a time when many people considered granite and marble stones to be too expensive.  Zinc, which is the element that makes up 99% of a white bronze monument, offered a less expensive alternative.

Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 “Mourn not my death, but celebrate my life.”

A cloth draped over a column (or an urn) represents the pall – the covering for a coffin in a funeral procession. This is where the expressions "pallbearers" and "cast a pall over…" come from.  Represents loss of a family member; the draped column symbolizes mourning of that family member.  The draped or broken column also represents the "break" made by the deceased between the living and the dead, i.e., the transition between this world and your heavenly home.

When you see dove depicted on headstones in historic cemeteries, they represent innocence, peace, and/ or the Holy Spirit. 

A book found on a cemetery tombstone can represent many different things, including the book of life, often represented as the Bible.  A book on a gravestone may also depict learning, a scholar, a prayer, memory, or someone who worked as a writer, bookseller, or publisher. Books and scrolls can also represent the Evangelists. 

Angels are believed to be the guardians of mankind and can intercede for assistance from Heaven. 

Hands holding an open book (usually a representation of the Bible) symbolize the embodiment of faith. The rose can symbolise the one we have loved and lost and a deep longing. It is the quintessential emblem of earthly love. The Virgin Mary has been nicknamed “Rose”, bringing together both earthly and heavenly grace as well as piercing sorrow.

Angel with Anchor.  An anchor is an early Christian symbol of hope and at rest.

A lamb on a headstone often indicates the grave of an infant due to their innocence. as a symbol, lambs represent innocence and sacrifice. The lamb may also be a reference to a passage in the Bible (John 1:29) where John the Baptist calls Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

Diamond Bessie Moore - Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

“A love, true and constant.”

Diamond Bessie Moore her real name was Annie Stone,  who was reputed to have been a famous prostitute, arrived in Jefferson Texas by steamboat in January 1877 with her partner, Abraham Rothschild. Soon after their landing, the attractive, petite woman, who wore lavish dresses and diamond jewelry came to be nicknamed “Diamond Bessie”.  Bessie and Abe were last seen walking together across the foot bridge over Big Cypress Bayou, bound for an afternoon picnic, but shortly thereafter, Abe was seen returning alone. A few days later, Bessie’s body was discovered tragically murdered in the woods along the nearby bayou, with all of her jewelry missing. Abe Rothschild was  charged with the crime and his trial became one of the most notorious and widely followed court battles of that time period. Rothschild was eventually, although suspiciously, found not guilty. 

 

Grigsby Monument Jefferson Texas

Be still. 

Close your eyes. 

Breathe. 

Listen for my footfall in your heart. 

I am not gone but merely walk within you”

George Marshall Dallas Grigsby 1852–1906
BIRTH 26 MAY 1852 • Boone County, Kentucky, USA
DEATH 30 JUN 1906 • Jefferson, Marion, Texas, USA

Mattie Lee Rowland 1864–1904
BIRTH DECEMBER 1864 • Macon County, Alabama, USA
DEATH 14 NOVEMBER 1904 • Multnomah County, Oregon, USA