Being a Human BEING – Saturday Soul with Sandy Hibbard

The Art of Fly Fishing

Sandy Hibbard — Sun, 28 May 2017 13:15:38 +0000

The Art of Fly Fishing

Life is not to be grasped violently

Or held onto desperately

But rather to be allowed to flow through your fingers

Like the delicate line of a fly-fishing rod

Artfully cast into the stream

Skillfully plotted

With a watchful eye

And tenderly guided with a firm grip

Dear World

Sandy Hibbard — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 03:33:33 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day Lovies! Sometimes when I am writing, I think that if I could speak my poetry or prose, it might bring a deeper meaning to the reader/listener. So, with this special Valentine’s Day post I decided to include a recording of me reciting the poem. I hope you enjoy!

Today was a thoughtful day as I sat to write, so I think depending on where you are in your life and pursuits of the soul and love, this poem can take on several meanings. As I have often been accused of being in love with the world, I thought I would write about the ‘world’ as a lover juxtaposed against our lover who is our world. I would love to hear from you and what you think about it.

Thanks, and as always, love and peace!

Click play for the recorded version of Dear World.

https://saturdaysoul.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/dear-world.m4a

Dear World

Everyday

I think of you

In the morning when I wake

In the evening when i go to sleep

I ponder what it would be like to have you in my arms

Like a lover

To share laughter with you

To be wrapped up in you

To break bread

Share wine

Tell stories

Just to be

I imagine how you would make me feel

Cozy and at home no doubt

I would lie safe and at rest

Drawing breath from your life

And sweet sleep in your dreams

Yes

I am in love with you

When I open my eyes to a new day

I imagine you there to greet me

And without shyness I resound an encouragement for the day

A love note for living

I would cook up something great to eat

And we would sit by the fire and speak together

Of love and art

Life and pain

There we would giggle and weep

Because we are alive together

Throughout the day I am aware of you

From moment to hour

I am aware of the many things that nudge me toward you

I want to share my excitement

Hey did you see this? Did you know that?

I want to connect to you and share the emotions and joy that fill my thoughts

And just to know that you are ok

Is that too forward? Would that annoy you?

I wish I could bring you to my doorstep and into my room

Pour you a drink and touch your warm skin

There you would hold me

Touch my face and stroke my hair

Would that say I was too needy?

But in truth i am

I need your pulse in my heart

I need to know we are together on this journey

Dear World

Thank you for loving me

Thank you for letting me love you

You’re not alone you know

As far apart as we may be at times

I will always be here

Right by your side and in the stream

Where we have lived together for a million years

You are connected to the universe in me

You are my world

You are my love

Photography by Sandy Hibbard www.Lensqueen.com.

Accepting Ourselves is where Freedom Begins

Sandy Hibbard — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 14:20:58 +0000

Embracing ourselves and our talents as they are, AND our limitations as they are, is the place where freedom begins.
~ Sandy Hibbard

The most difficult thing [to some] is accepting yourself – right where you are. I think as an artist/creative we’re always worried about how other people are going to perceive the scope of our work. Battling and dealing with how things are going to come across to others is a struggle, yes, but not just because we care about what they think about us, I think it’s more about the worry of how they will accept our talent and gifts. To make things worse, we deal with our own struggle for perfection and wrestle with our inadequacies.

As humans, we are always changing and growing, evolving, learning, and unlearning. One set of skills increase then decrease as we develop excellence in another area. This is life – we ebb and flow. We grow into our best by building upon layers of experience. You have to accept who you are TODAY, with what you have been given and learned so far. Embracing your gift as it is in the present is an important part of our journey… that’s awareness!

Accepting Yourself for Who and What You Are
As a writer and artist, if I wrote a poem out of inspiration today and then rewrote it next year, can you imagine how different it would be? If I record a song today and go into the studio and re-record it 2 years from now, they would be completely different songs. At some point, you just have to say ‘enough’ and accept your art, your gift, AND YOURSELF as you are in this moment. You have created the art that speaks to you now and from your current level of experience. That has immense value. You have shared what is from your moment in time along your journey, what could be more pure and beautiful than that? Being ‘OK’ with ourselves and our talents as they are, AND our limitations as they are, is the place where freedom and growth begins.

When you embrace yourself and your gifts as they are, without judgement, it will be a relief. You can relax and settle into who you are, accepting the opportunity and the room it gives you to expand on so many levels – and there will be nothing to hold back the growth. There is a beautiful confidence and ability that comes with acceptance, an honesty and awareness that is attractive and inspiring. Sure, you can always do better, but how wonderful it is when you put yourself out there, let go of the judgment and criticism and can say ‘this is real now, this is who I am’ – with no shame and no apologies. BOOM! You just let go of the chains that were holding you down!

Love and Hugs,
Sandy

Peace is Possible . . .

Sandy Hibbard — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 19:30:52 +0000

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
~ Edith Wharton

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

I wanted to share a message from my dear friend Kadena TateSimon, below. It is beautifully said. I appreciate Kadena’s sensitivity and responsiveness, as always, sharing the heart of love. As for me, there is nothing else to say but to encourage each of us to “love and live in tolerance and acceptance, understanding and kindness, to spread our love and our joy to the best of our ability, and to CHOOSE this way. Then, when we fail (and we will) in our attempts, get up and start over with more wisdom and love than before.”
XOXOXO
Sandy

Photo credit: Share-American.gov

Fellow human beings….
At some point you will need to take a good long look at your belief system.

Common sense will reveal that your beliefs about race, sex, age, religion, beauty, and money are exactly that – yours.
You do not have the right to lie, steal, cheat and kill others because they share a different viewpoint and/or life experience than yours.
You do not have the right to threaten and terrorize people because their appearance, culture, custom, sexuality and religion is different than yours.
You must mature. You must learn how to love, respect and appreciate our differences.
Can you imagine how AWFUL this world would be if we all looked, thought and behaved the same?
Thank God for diversity. There IS unity within diversity.
Peace is possible. It begins within your own heart.

Visit Kadena’s website/blog for more inspirational posts.

Ageless

Sandy Hibbard — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 17:39:33 +0000

Age is just a number (and damn that number!). With a birthday coming up, I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read this article this morning. We really are ageless if we want to be, if we are BOLD enough to change and grow and become increasingly aware of the present moment. There is an ageless beauty to being awake and aware, a cool inner quality that works like the Pied Piper to draw people to you because you bring a powerful joie de vivre. I love it. So here is to agelessness, and the quality of life at any age – to feel good, love good and live fabulously!

Have a great Monday…XOXOX

AGELESS

By Tammy Parkinson

Imagine a time when age wasn’t a number, but a feeling. Let’s pretend there were no clocks or birthdays to indicate our years on earth. Conceptualize that you wouldn’t know that wrinkles were good or bad (which they aren’t by the way) or that grey hair was even a marker of “age”.
Ok, do you have the visual? It’s a little relaxing isn’t it? There’s no pressure to be younger by the way you look. Instead, “age or youth” is about how we FEEL. When you wake up are you vibrant and energized, or tired, weary and in pain? Do you feel that you can breathe easily, think clearly and focus, or do you feel quite the opposite and have a difficult time moving, articulating and carrying through with your day?
What a concept to consider an ageless existence. I love the idea of feeling my age vs. someone putting me in a box because of the years I have spent on earth. Rather, do WE do that to ourselves? Do we pigeon hole ourselves because we are 30,40,50,60,70…etc and then fit that mold of what society tells us we should feel like, look like, act like?
I challenge you to go inward and decide what age you feel and if you like it, go with it! Enjoy your youthful feeling. If you don’t like it, change it and decide what you need to do on the inside (eat better, sleep more, exercise differently, reduce stress, etc) so that you can be that perfect you…whether that you is 19, 50, or 80 in chronological years…it’s up to you to go a little ageless by taking charge of what goes in to your body and mind.

Dear Human – you are fabulously flawed

Sandy Hibbard — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 22:48:42 +0000

Agim Shala passed through barbed wire fence to his family at Kosovo refugee camp

Dear Human
Dear Human: You’ve got it all wrong.
You didn’t come here to master unconditional love.
That is where you came from and where you’ll return.
You came here to learn personal love.
Universal love. Messy love. Sweaty love.
Crazy love. Broken love. Whole love.
Infused with divinity. Lived through the grace of stumbling.
Demonstrated through the beauty of… messing up. Often.
You didn’t come here to be perfect. You already are.
You came here to be gorgeously human. Flawed and fabulous.
And then to rise again into remembering.
But unconditional love? Stop telling that story.
Love, in truth, doesn’t need ANY other adjectives.
It doesn’t require modifiers.
It doesn’t require the condition of perfection.
It only asks that you show up. And do your best.
That you stay present and feel fully.
That you shine and fly and laugh and cry
and hurt and heal and fall and get back up
and play and work and live and die as YOU.
It’s enough. It’s Plenty.
~ Courtney A. Walsh
You can read more from Courtney here.
The amazing photo featured here is from QLTY CTRL – These 60 Powerful Photos Beautifully Tell the Story of Human Experience

Be Fully Human

Sandy Hibbard — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 19:22:32 +0000

…. I think we focus too much on being successful rather than just being. Relax, notice the moment, be fully human.
Happy Friday!

Engage to be alive

Sandy Hibbard — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 13:04:43 +0000

I want all my senses engaged. Let me absorb the world’s variety and uniqueness. – Maya Angelou.

Procrastination is Your Friend

Sandy Hibbard — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 21:49:00 +0000

Procrastination is your friend.

“Every writer lives daily with procrastination. If you allow yourself to feel guilty about that, then you’ll feel bad about yourself as a writer. Instead, embrace your procrastination as a friend, enjoy it … and then ask the friend to leave for awhile so you can get your work done. No friend should monopolize all your time. Get your writing done, then invite the friend back when you have free time.” ~ from What I’ve Learned as a Writer By Leo Babauta

I love this! I love it because it is saying to me “it’s okay to play”. Now of course you have to take that in context, what I mean is that it is okay to stop, daydream, play a minute, breathe, give ourselves a rest from the constant pull and pressure of having to produce and perform! Remember we are human BEINGS not machines. In that moment of stopping we can be refreshed, see more clearly, and gain insight and creativity!
Ok, that’s all I wanted to share, I’m going to go take a quick nap now….. ; ))