Journey of the Heart

  I have spent far too many years in my life hiding my love… I am an introvert, but I was also abused, and these two things made me distrust and also hide my feelings. My early experiences of love taught me that love was difficult and wrong and painful. It has been through my experience as a mother of two very sensitive souls, both intuitive boys, that I have been able to open up more and understand that love takes many forms and that it is necessary to embrace oneself. This discovery was reinforced to me through my experience living in an indigenous community in Guatemala, where love is shown so freely and concretely. I am slowly learning that all love is a gift that needs to be shared. "this is my truth" by Shannon K. Lockhart this is my truth and my secret- i fall in love passionately, with both men and  women in fact, i am in love  with many people and i know how that sounds, because i used to be terrified and ...

I wrote this poem on November 14, 2015 in the wee hours of the morning... It emerged as I laid in my bed thinking about how grateful I am for my growth.  On March 17, 2014 I turned 35 years old. Right before my birthday it seemed as if there was a click and something changed in me. For the first time since I was a child I looked out for my needs first. I had to make decisions that would shake some of my family and friend relationships. Instead of being concerned about what I should do I did what was best for me. Some of my decisions weakened some of my relationships yet strengthened others. My spirit would no longer allow me to sacrifice my sanity to please others. Although I have honestly always been strong minded, somewhere along the way I molded myself into what was expected of me and not what I expected of myself. It was close to my 35th life cycle here on Earth that I choose to free myself no expectations, judgments and fears. In turn I believed that genuine relations...

  Love is not necessarily ineffable, but nor is it simple … To allow our selves to be loved by others can be so much harder than to love, to receive, so much more difficult than to give. We also know that we can’t really come into the full blossoming of love if we cannot hold love for ourselves … this poem emerged on a day of struggling to feel in my heart what my head understands through other means. Photography by Matt Aden  The Song of Love by Tammy T.  Stone Sometimes I lose sight Of how mountains need no Help standing, Grass never wavers and The ocean has never Stopped moving. There is another truth, Harder to remember than The rest, That those with whom Love has grown Will not stop They will not stop Waiting for me To awaken To the song they Hold in their hearts for me, Loud and resonant, A song that came into Life Long before I could hear it, And rests in gentle remain Every time I forget how It go...

This poem came about on Valentine's Day two years ago… Reading the outpourings of love online, in newspapers, hearing it over the radio, it struck me that we often narrow it down to a caricature of its real depth and meaning. Love goes so much deeper and connects us all. Love can transcend every barrier to bring out the best in human beings, if we understand its universality; if we realize that love—in its truest sense—is all-embracing...definitely a highly challenging call! Photography by Gregory Colbert Love Deletes   by Shernaz Wadia love deletes the lines where one begins and others end it thaws the ice between boundaries and hostilities end love blends humanity into one single hue and prejudices end we meet as strangers and love transforms us into friends. Photograph by Gregory Colbert Shernaz Wadia   is a retired primary school teacher, and lives in Pune, India. Her articles, sh...

I’m often surprised where my writing takes me... Lavender photograph by the author It is a sensory experience. This poem was written on an early summer morning. I wasn’t expecting to write a poem about love, but after my brief garden walk and my affinity with nature, I experienced what it would feel like to be loved; it bordered on the tips of wholeness. My translation of the experience was something I am still tender to share; I have wants as well as needs . In this poetic process I gently embraced my inner feelings. Ultimately, the desire to be loved and feel loved for who I am without the instinctual mindset to conform to the needs of another. Furthermore, I realized it is easier for me to give than to receive. It’s almost as if, I’ve believed for many years, I don’t deserve more. As I wrote, I didn’t over process, instead I let what was bubbling inside-- flow. It was a unique internal exchange of awareness recognizing it’s more than okay to have wants and need...