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A Joyful Noise

Quotes

HOPES

August 11, 2019 by Melodye Shore

She said, I don’t care what you do for a living.
She said, I don’t care what kind of car you drive.
All I want to know right now is what do you believe in
And what it means to you to be alive
.

–Don Henley, “Everything is Different Now“

It’s a siren song, social media. We post glittery images on Instagram, obsess over our likes and mentions. We chime in on trending Twitter threads, not realizing in those moments of self-righteous fury, that we are, in effect, choosing chaos over positive action.

I’m worried, dear readers…worried that we’re drifting away from the ideals that we’ve always believed in, as individuals and as citizens of the world. I’m concerned that, in focusing our energies on the here and now, we’re losing sight of the dreams that we’ve been working toward, for ourselves and the greater good. So when today’s prompt, HOPES, came into focus, I saw it as an opportunity for introspection. Maybe also, a non-confrontational, open dialogue about the things that matter most.

Beyond your hot-takes on Twitter, deeper than your filtered selfie snap…all I want to know right now is what do you believe in, and what it means to you to be alive.

(Sunday, Day 11 of  #AugustBreak2019)

Posted in: #AugustBreak2019, Chinese Lantern Festival, Don Henley, Hope, Lyrics, Photo Challenge, Photography, photography challenge, Quotes, song, writing Tagged: #AugustBreak2019, Chinese, chinese lantern festival, Don Henley, everything is different now, fairfax, hope, Hopes, Photo, photography, photography challenge, Song lyrics, susannah conway, Zebra

Manifesto

July 25, 2019 by Melodye Shore

And if we can’t save the world,
and who says we can’t, then
let us try anyway. Perhaps
we have no superhuman powers—
can’t see through buildings,
can’t fly, can’t bend the bars of cages—
but we have human powers—
can listen, can stand up to,
can stand up for, can cradle.
And if we can’t imagine
a world of peace, and who
says we can’t, then let us
try anyway. Perhaps we start
tonight—on a Wednesday.
Thursday works, too. Or Friday.
Doesn’t much matter the day.
All that matters is the choice
to meet this moment exactly
as it is, with no dream of being
anyone else but our flawed
and fabulous very self—
and then, wholly present,
bringing this self to the world,
touching again and again what is true. 
— Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer (excerpted from MANIFESTO)

Posted in: Poetry, Quotes, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, San Diego, water lantern festival, writing Tagged: manifesto, poem, poetry, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, san diego, sunset, water lantern festival, water lanterns

Rest in Poetry, Mary Oliver

January 18, 2019 by Melodye Shore

There’s nothing spectacular about this photo, save for the memories it represents. I was meandering down the boardwalk, shrouded in ocean mist. My thoughts wandered, too, as is their wont on my morning walks. Suddenly this Torch Aloe appeared, cutting through the fog and setting ablaze a patch of lavender. The wonder of it all…high drama, whispered poetry.

I hope these unexpected encounters will always spark joy, and forever pique my curiosity. As Mary Oliver famously wrote,“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.”

Posted in: Mary Oliver, Nature, Poetry, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: beach, curiosity, joy, Lavender, mary oliver, ocean mist, poetry, quotes, Torch Aloe

A weary world rejoices

December 25, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Nativity Scene in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  –Norman Vincent Peale

Posted in: cathedral, Christmas, christmas 2018, creche, joy, joyful noise, nativity, Norman Vincent Peale, quote, Quotes, st. patrick's cathedral, writing Tagged: Christmas 2018, creche, golden retriever, joy, nativity, norman vincent peale, quote, quotes, st. patrick's cathedral

Happy Hanukkah 2018

December 3, 2018 by Melodye Shore

https://pixabay.com/en/candles-menorah-light-hanukkah-897776/

For though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we each are free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world. –Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Happy Hanukkah to everyone who celebrates the Festival of Lights!  May we find hope in this season of miracles, and be comforted by the presence of Light.

Posted in: Christmas, Christmas lights, Hanukkah, Hanukkah candles, quote, Quotes, rabbi lord jonathan sacks, writing Tagged: candles, hanukkah, hanukkah 2018, happy hanukkah, Holiday Lights, light, menorah, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, rituals

Your Moment to Shine

November 21, 2018 by Melodye Shore
The moment is here,
the moment you step
forward from fear
into light, the moment
that your soul takes flight.
Burrow no more in darkness
and despair. Dare to show
your radiant self,
the miracle of awakened
energy giving you wings
and the courage to be
human and divine
at the same time.
Passages excerpted from Your Moment to Shine, by Danna Faulds.
Posted in: hummingbird, hummingbirds, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: candelabra aloe, Danna Faulds, hummingbirds, poem, poetry, Your Moment to shine

Lift every voice and vote

November 6, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Image credit: Oglala Lakota artist Lana Grove, on Twitter (https://twitter.com/girlgeenius). Posted with permission.

 

Now all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things. —Lucy Stone, suffragist, born 1818.

Posted in: art, artist, Election 2018, quote, Quotes, VOTE, women's rights, writing Tagged: abolitionist, artist, Election 2018, Lana Grove, Lucy Stone, Oglala Lakota, quote, suffragist, vote

Autumn by the Ocean

October 17, 2018 by Melodye Shore

It’s autumn here, absolutely. But if you’re expecting cool, crisp mornings and chilly nights, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Here in Southern California, autumn is an extension of summer, with longer shadows and shorter days. There are fewer tourists, but it’s still warm enough for picnic lunches by the beach. Here, for example, ants are sipping nectar from a honeysuckle vine, which has twisted itself around the thorny bougainvillea bush that clings to the limestone cliff with an oceanside view.

And this is the bougainvillea around which the honeysuckle wraps its arms.

Our Mediterranean climate is far different from leafy New England, where farm stands are piled high with crunchy apples and colorful foliage forms a thick, kaleidoscope carpet over suburban lawns and forests.  It’s warm here, and sunny, but equally beautiful in its own way.

I love our cozy autumn mornings, when the marine layer blankets the hills and the sunrise sets the tile roofs aglow.

The sun slants lower in the afternoon sky, casting a warm glow over the wildflowers and spotlighting the iridescent hummingbirds that flit through our backyard gardens. And just before nightfall, the sun transforms itself into a shimmering ball that scatters diamonds over the ocean. As Victoria Erickson once said, “If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.”

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Posted in: autumn, garden, Ocean waves, Orange County California, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: autumn, bougainvillea, fall, foliage, honeysuckle, Mediterranean climate, ocean, Victoria Ericcson

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

June 21, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

–Excerpted from “Summer Sun,” by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Happy Summer Solstice! ‘Tis the season for flip-flops and sandy beaches, iced tea and sun-soaked memories. And light, too–we could use more of that. Hope you’ll savor every sweet, juicy moment, and that you’ll share a slice of summer with me, here!

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Posted in: Poetry, quote, Quotes, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Summer, Summer Solstice, writing Tagged: poem, poetry, quote, Robert Lewis Stevenson, summer, summer solstice, Summer Sun, Summer Sun by Robert Lewis Stevenson, Sun

Celebrating Earth Day, 2018

April 23, 2018 by Melodye Shore

It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” —David Attenborough

Posted in: Earth Day, fountain, hummingbird fountain, hummingbirds, Nature, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: David Attenborough, earth day, hummingbird, hummingbird fountain, nature, quotes, red fountain
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