colours

*

"our deepest fear is not

that we are inadequate .
Our deepest fear is
that we are
 POWERFUL
BEYOND MEASURE .
It is our light , 
not our darkness 
that most frightens us .

We ask ourselves 
Who am I to be
 brilliant  
gorgeous
talented
fabulous ?

Actually 
who are you
not to be ?

You are a child of God
Your playing small
does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about 
shrinking 
so that other people 
won't feel insecure around you .

We are all meant 
to shine
as children do.
We were born 
to make manifest 
the glory of God
that is within us.

It's not just in some of us
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine
we unconsciously
give other people 
the permission to do the same.

As we are liberated
from our own fear,
our presence automatically 
liberates others "

Spoken by Nelson Mandela
in 1994
at his inauguration
it actually comes 
from the book 
A RETURN TO LOVE
1992
by Marianne Williamson

*
Last sunday
I had my postponed
GIRLFRIENDS-BIRTHDAY-CELEBRATION
My birthday is in november
AUTUMN
and now it was 
SPRING
a whole other season

I lost my younger sister
in autumn

The theme was
C O L O U R
my girlfriends all
told something
on their own unique way

  Barbara
lives in France
she made me a book 
filled with Haiku's
she wrote one 
every day

La lune blanchit
Et le blue sápprofondit
Et la nuit est lá

de maan licht op
en het blauw verdiept zich
en dan is het nacht 

*
another friend
used the 
mandela/williamson words
when she told us about
confessing colour
( kleur bekennen = a dutch expression )
confessing is making something
known to the world
what has been hidden
until than .....

colour
is an expression of the soul 
colour is quality of the soul 
The kind of colour 
you would like to express yourself in
YOUR COLOUR

How beautiful the world would be
if everyone was wearing
his/her true colour ?

*
The mouse with the
colourful suit 
was a present from another
friend 
Happy colours
*
I had 
an afternoon 
filled with 
beautiful
inspiring friends
who give
 my life 

COLOUR

Astrid -Barbara -leontien-Saskia-Saskia-Sylvia


a wonderful
start
of a new week 
wish you all
colours
lots of them 
to make you happy
*

treasures

*

Waking up

already

 LIGHT

 outside

I love the morning-light .

*

these pieces of jewellery

are traditional

for a part of Holland

called 

ZEELAND

they belong to the

traditional costumes

now belonging to the past.

*

I inherited some

from my mother

and keep them in a box 

*

and than I saw this

in a magazine 

old into new

*

and I realised this morning

waking up 

the sun already shining

how 

my life is 

some old and some new too

For long

there was much more old

and little bits of new

Now 

there is a part old

but so much space

for new

*

hope 

new

surprises

come

to you 

this 

first APRIL week

*

WELCOME HOME

*

Little Eva

at SCHIPHOL

 airport

 Amsterdam

welcoming 

her daddy

*

it was her first time

at the airport

Her mother Vanessa

is a stewardess

from KLM

and Eva saw her mother

often

AT HOME

in her stewardess blue outfit

This is Vanessa ...

and than

at the airport

she saw lots of stewardesses

She is almost 

two years old now

and  the world

gets bigger and bigger 

for her 

It is such a blessing

to know this grandchild

has such a warm and loving

HOME

and she is like 

a SUNBEAM

to all of us 

Who is your 

sunbeam ?

*

The Art of Frienship

*

This week

has been

 an

 amazing

 week .

Meeting

Koralee

a blog-friend

who lives in Canada

overhere

in Holland

was so exciting

and

WONDERFUL

*

BLOGGING

has been quite a journey

for me

a very happy journey

around the world

*

I got to know

wonderful

inspiring

women

who 

helped me

find my way

through life

in a time

I could really use some 

guidance

*

and

I am so grateful 

for your examples

each and every-one

on your own 

unique

 way

*

SURPRISES

*

 I started blogging
because
my friend 
SASKIA
She was blogging 
and said I had to try too.....
THE BEST ADVICE EVER 

One of the first blogs

I started following

was 

BLUEBIRD NOTES

from Koralee.

A whole new world
opened for me
Finding inspiring women
blogging far away 
all over the world
and yet
feel connected

Sharing Happiness
and Joy 
and also 
all the other things
life brings along 

There are many many blogs
and there are a few
who are and will always be 
VERY SPECIAL
to me .

and now
Koralee
is coming to 
HOLLAND
and I and other dutch bloggers
are going to meet her
How special is that !

This will be a happy
bluebird notes week !
because I will also meet
dutch bloggers for the first time !

all is possible
all can happen
by taking a first step 

Wish you all
a wonderful week
with happy surprises 
and please
share them !

*

It's a beautiful day

*
branches
from my pear-tree
are inside 
in a vase
and 
it was so 
wonder-ful
to follow the process
they are filled
with
BLOSSOM 
and 
bringing 
SPRING
into my house

I hope
you also have
something
inside your house
that reminds you 
SPRING
is on her way !

*

happinesssss

*

Happiness 

is 

Eva

my granddaughter

*

wish you all

a happy new week 

*

far away and also close-by

*

Far away .... across the sea

*

One morning , 

the wind blew a letter

under the squirrel's front door.

The envelop was blue 

and smelt of salt,

as if 

it had travelled

from far away ,

across the sea.

The squirrel opened the letter 

and read :

Squirrel,

I wish you all the best 

with what you read here.

I hope that it touches you and

who knows

that it might even

make you weep

 with tears of happiness.

Don't write back to me,

but enjoy my words 

and hope fervently

you'll get more such letters.

Your humble

bird of paradise

The next day,

the squirrel received

a letter in a red envelope.

It smelt of palm and reeds.

Squirrel,

What did you think of my last letter ?

Beautiful, eh ? 

And this one is even more beautiful.

This letter 

will make you quiver with happiness.

Do you ever quiver with happiness ?

Or do you do something else

with happiness ?

Beam ? 

Glow ?

If you glow ,

 then you should be glowing now.

Your insignificant

 bird of paradise

The following day,

another letter arrived.

It was a yellow letter

that smelt of pine and wild tea.

Squirrel,

The letter you'll

 receive tomorrow.........

Oh, that letter ....

Your most unfindable

 bird of paradise

The next morning,

the squirrel woke up early.

He sat by his front door 

and listened to the wind,

hoping that it might

just deliver 

another letter .

*

a little story

from my favorite writer

TOON TELLEGEN

The book is called

FAR AWAY ACROSS THE SEA

and is translated by

Martin Cleaver

Happy weekend
to all of you

lights will guide us

*

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Could it be worse ?

Lights will guide you home

and ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below 

When you're too in love to let it go 

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face

and I..............

Tears stream down your face 

I promise you will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down your face

and I.....................

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

and I will try to fix you

SONG BY COLDPLAY

*

This morning

when I woke up

the sun was already

SHINING

and the birds were

SINGING

 and 

I was listening

and than the song

of COLDPLAY

was in my head

It's how my life is now

still trying to find my way

through the days

sometimes happy

sometimes sad

Spring is on her way

and that's a blessing

I LOVE when I can wake up 

when it's light outside

I LOVE to hear

the birds singing

I love to spend time

with my wonderful 

granddaughter

E V A

and I KNOW

I am so blessed

with my children

and my grandchild

and to be at HOME

in my house

and

just enjoy

all the wonderful things

like the blossom 

and the birds

and 

FRIENDSHIP

*

So

I am planning

to have 

my 

VRIENDINNEN-VERJAARDAG

my birthday-party

with my girlfriends

My birthday was

november 2

but I did not feel 

like celebrating back than

the days were short 

I did not know how

all was working out for me

being not able to work

anymore

and 

in the lifes of my friends

a lot was happening too

so

I decided

to postpone

And now 

I am glad I did

because

SPRING is in the air

all went well for me

I can be at home now

and 

all is well in my friends's

lifes too....

So 

a november-birthday

in April 

When I became 49

I decided to have

my birthday

with my girlfriends

on a  sunday-afternoon

Women

in my life

who mean a lot 

to me 

at first 

some of them 

did not know each-other

very well

they all knew ME

I choosed a theme

send them an invitation

and asked them

to tell something

about my choosen theme

tell to me 

but also to the others

SHARING

That was the most special gift

they could give to me

To share 

all from their own lifes and views

and

ever since

each year

I celebrate

with my lady-friends

in all those years

they have shared 

some very special afternoons

with me 

and with each-other

and I am not the only one

who lookes forward

for the celebration

I take care of the 

coffee...... tea

and of course some

very delicious 

PIE and chocolates

and other delights 

*

a november-birthday-party

in APRIL

SURPRISE 

*

and the song

is just

beautiful

and has often

helped me

in good and bad times

definately

GOOD

now

*

cannot wait.......

*

the sun is shining

and SPRING

is on her way

I sing with my granddaughter

about Spring and  Flowers 

In MAY she will be 2 years old

So she does not remember

SPRING

from last year 

but

she notices

how happy

the words make ME

*

and she knows 

how HAPPY 

SHE makes me

*

hope you have 

things to enjoy too

Happy new week 

*

* * SURPRISE * * SURPRISE * *

*

SURPRISES

*

my children

asked me to leave 

my house

for a day

*

no questions

to be asked

*

and you know

WHAT ?

They painted my livingroom
all the walls and the ceiling 
all beautiful warm white

*
new start 
MADE WITH LOVE 
heartwarming LOVE

*
and now
 I am SO ENJOYING
every minute 
sitting in my new
 clean and BRIGHT
room 

*
feeling all their 
LOVE
for me !

*
I hope 
you all
are loved too

*

The JOY of letting go .....

*

Is 

NOTHING

 really

 NOTHING ?

N O - T H I N G 

Is

 EMPTY

 really

 EMPTY ?

I guess it comes with my age

I am aware of the importance

of

LETTING GO .

So far nothing new

were it not

I have been saving things

for a far too long time.

and now

a lot is changing

FOR THE BEST 

I never could let go 

easily

( hey I am also a Scorpion )

and so I kept 

the PAST in all kind of stuff

For a long long time

I believed 

LETTING GO

was all about 

THE PAST 

And now 

a true miracle happened

now I SEE AND I KNOW

letting go

is all about 

THE FUTURE 

It's just the same

with all the stuff

It's taking a lot of space

and by letting go

NEW SPACE APPEARS

and not only that

the new space 

is there 

for what the future

will bring

NOW I realise

how

enjoying the nothing

the emptiness

is

of the greatest importance

because

I am beginning 

to hear

my own voice

Maybe you now think

what is she talking about

( writing about )

but to me 

the most amazing things

are happening

and 

I will tell you 

ALL about it 

soon

but for now

I am busy

clearing-up my life

and

I never thought

that could be

such a JOYFULL

thing to do

I am dancing

and

making a lot of space

for the future 

*

*

my-wish-for-you

Quilt strolls on moonlit nights

a playgrounds endless laughter

blooming roses in the spring

the glow the morning after

walking barefoot in the grass

a poem that makes you cry

the feel of silk upon your skin

an eagle when it flies

love songs on the radio

old couples holding hands

new born kittens nursing

enthusiastic fans

sitting on a porch swing

sipping lemonade

admiring the beauty

in all that God has made

watching for a shooting star

a breeze that cools things down

the first snow of winter

a night out of town

little acts of kindness

a loving word or two

simple things to treasure

these things I wish for you

author unknkown

*

Just to wish you all

some musing time

sitting with your coffee

or tea

and doing nothing

just let it be 

I will do that too 

and who knows

somewhere in time and space

our thoughts can meet 

*