I invite you to listen to this song below, Love’s Divine, by Seal as if it’s speaking to you on this very topic – the journey to honoring one’s self.

Then the rainstorm came, over me
And I felt my spirit break
I had lost all of my, belief you see
And realized my mistake
But time threw a prayer, to me
And all around me became still

I need love, love’s divine
Please forgive me now I see that I’ve been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Through the rainstorm came sanctuary
And I felt my spirit fly
I had found all of my reality
I realize what it takes

‘Cause I need love, love’s divine
Please forgive me now I see that I’ve been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Oh I, don’t bend, don’t break
Show me how to live and promise me you won’t forsake
‘Cause love can help me know my name

Well I try to say there’s nothing wrong
But inside I felt me lying all along
But the message here was plain to see
Believe me

‘Cause I need love, love’s divine
Please forgive me now I see that I’ve been blind
Give me love, love is what I need to help me know my name

Oh I, don’t bend, don’t break
Show me how to live and promise me you won’t forsake
‘Cause love can help me know my name

Love can help me know my name

*this post is dedicated in appreciation to Holly Sorensen, amazing friend and mentor of sorts, who has taught me over the years, more about radical self love than anyone

My favorite line is: there is a moment when fear and dreams must collide. We have all had those moments though perhaps only in hindsight can we get a sense of the pivotal moment when fear and dreams intersected. When courage and the unknown awaited us and so did the familiarity and safety of what is known and comfortable. Which would prevail? Sometimes the choice looms big and as yet unreachable. Sometimes it takes a huge leap of faith. Yet, it’s only ever a choice that we make for something.

So the next time you take that leap of faith and fall into the unknown, may you know that the one you will become, will be there to catch you.

Let me fall
Let me climb
There’s a moment when fear
And dreams must collide

Someone I am
Is waiting for courage
The one I want
The one I will become
Will catch me

So let me fall
If I must fall
I won’t heed your warnings
I won’t hear them

Let me fall
If I fall
Though the phoenix may
Or may not rise

I will dance so freely
Holding on to no one
You can hold me only
If you too will fall
Away from all these
Useless fears and chains

Someone I am
Is waiting for my courage
The one I want
The one I will become
Will catch me

So let me fall
If I must fall
I won’t heed your warnings
I won’t hear

Let me fall
If I fall
There’s no reason
To miss this one chance
This perfect moment
Just let me fall

Cirque du Soleil lyrics
Album: Quidam

People ask me how I make music.
I tell them I just step into it.
It’s like stepping into a river and joining the flow.
Every moment in the river has it’s song.
So I stay in the moment and listen.
What I hear is never the same.
A walk through the woods brings a light, crackling song:
Leaves rustle in the wind, birds chatter and
Squirrels scold, twigs crunch underfoot,
and the beat of my heart holds it all together.
When you join the flow, the music is inside and outside,
and both are the same.
As long as I can listen to the moment,
I’ll always have music.

~Michael Jackson~

Album Cover by Christie Brinkley

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
From the Mountains of Faith
To the river so deep
I must be lookin’ for something
Something sacred I lost
But the river is wide
And it’s too hard to cross
even though I know the river is wide
I walk down every evening and stand on the shore
I try to cross to the opposite side
So I can finally find what I’ve been looking for
In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the Valley of Fear
To a river so deep
I’ve been searching for something
Taken out of my soul
Something I’d never lose
Something somebody stole
I don’t know why I go walking at night
But now I’m tired and I don’t want to walk anymore
I hope it doesn’t take the rest of my life
Until I find what it is I’ve been looking for

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the Jungle of Doubt
To the river so deep
I know I’m searching for something
Something so undefined
That it can only be seen
By the eyes of the blind
In the middle of the night

I’m not sure about a life after this
God knows I’ve never been a spiritual man
Baptized by the fire, I wade into the river
That is runnin’ to the promised land

In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the Desert of Truth
To the river so deep
We all end in the ocean
We all start in the streams
We’re all carried along
By the River of Dreams
In the middle of the night

~ Billy Joel ~

Excerpts from cnn.com:

CEBU, Philippines (CNN) — Amid the tropical heat of a Philippine prison, convicted murderers, rapists and drug dealers on Saturday paid tribute to Michael Jackson with a reprise of their YouTube dance hit, “Thriller.”

A rendition of Jackson’s 1980s smash hit by prisoners at the Cebu Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the central Philippines garnered more than 24 million views since 2007, when prison supervisor Byron Garcia first uploaded it to the video-sharing Web site.

Dancing was introduced at the prison in 2007, as a means of rehabilitating prisoners at a facility once notorious for its gang problem.

He said it gives them a renewed sense of worth and confidence, breaking them of their violent ways. He is convinced his prison is a model for prison authorities everywhere, an example of how to crack the plague of violent prison gangs.

“It brought back their self esteem. We have happy inmates now — we don’t want to go back to the old jail where we had mad, sad inmates,” he said.

In searing temperatures, 1,400 men in bright orange tracksuits performed the 15-minute “Thriller” routine perfectly. They rehearsed for 10 hours the previous day, finally stopping at 3 a.m. to rest ahead of the show.

The superbly-choreographed moves, energy and obvious enthusiasm of the prisoners had the audience — swelled by journalists from around the world — captivated the audience. Several inmates even invited people from the crowd to dance with them.

“I never thought I would ever find myself dancing with a prisoner,” one excited local said.

A local journalist even described the performance as Asia’s best way of paying tribute to Jackson.

Garcia, who says the prison has witnessed no violence in three years, paid tribute to the performers. “I’m so proud of them,” he said. “They got the dance exactly right.”

Shout, shout, let it all out….

What a great song that was from Tears for Fears.  The next line is:

these are the things I can do without, come on, I’m talking to you,
come on.

I’m changing it to:

shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I *can’t* do without,
come on, I’m talking to you, come on.

There’s enough talk in the world about what we are saying no to,
what we want to push away, what’s not right with our world.

Let’s start a new movement.  Yes, let’s do it now.

Yes, I’m talking to you! :)  What can’t you do without?  What are you
saying yes, yes, yes to!  What do you absolutely know is just so
rockin’ right with your world?  These are the things you can’t do
without.  This is what really turns you on.  These are the things
you want to start a love affair with right now!

Shout it from the rooftops…shout, shout, shout, let it all out, these
are the things I can’t do without.  Come on, come on, I’m talking to
you!

]]> http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/04/11/shout/feed/ 2 Beth/Bethie jumpingforjoy1 http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/03/30/one-god/ http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/2009/03/30/one-god/#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:59:53 +0000 heartsdeesire http://simplyblessed.heartsdeesire.com/?p=1594 ]]> Growing up, my parent’s had this album by Johnny Mathis, Good Night Dear Lord.  I used to lay on the floor on my stomach, propped up on my elbows in front of the stereo and listen to it.  This was one of my favorite songs on it – so loving and so inclusive.  Barbara Streisand would revive it more than 40 years later.  Below is Johnny Mathis’ version and the lyrics following are faithful to this version.

Millions of stars placed in the skys
By One God
Millions of men lift up their eyes
To One God
So many children calling to him
By many a different name
One father
Loving each the same
Many the ways all of us pray
To One God
Many the paths
Winding their way
To One God
Walk with me brother
There were no strangers
After his work was done
For your God and my God
Are One
So many children calling to him
By many a different name
One father
Loving each the same
Many the ways all of us pray
To One God
Many the paths winding their way
To One God
Walk with my brother
there were no strangers
After his work was done
for your God, and my God
Are One!

~written by Ervin Drake and Jimmy Shirl~

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

~traditional gaelic blessing~

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you it’s only seed.

It’s the heart, afraid of breaking,
That never learns to dance.
It’s the dream, afraid of waking,
That never takes a chance.
It’s the one who won’t be taken,
Who cannot seem to give.
And the soul, afraid of dyin’,
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely,
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows,
Lies the seed, that with the sun’s love,
In the spring becomes the rose.

As sung by Bette Midler
Music and Lyrics by Amanda McBroom