Only A Door

There are many doors in this world

Doors 
 forever shut
  barely squeaking open on rusty hinges
   swinging freely with barely a push

Doors can be blocked and barred
  from lack and need
   passwords and permissions
    unlocked seconds before a slam shut.

No doors at all creates
 vulnerability where none was before
  insecurity and fear 
   a chaotic sleepless world.

Doors
  forever necessary
   hinges oiled instead of rusted with neglect
    create order from chaos

Curiously, only a door separates homes from homelessness.

“Not all doors open in the same direction and with the same effort.”

~ Jasleen Kaur Gumber

Author's note: Edited January 22, 2024

A Feeling of Home

Do these flowers seem a bit of prairie or what?
Victoria is a city of flowers.
Often roses and rhododendrons come to mind.
Under arching trees outside my home ‘brown eyed susan’s’ sway in the breeze.
Curiously, I feel a home far away move just a bit closer.

“Home is where we tie one end of the thread of life.”

~ Martin Buxbaum

Out of My Comfort Zone

Pumpkin field at Michell's Farm

I took a drive this afternoon ~ Not to the movies, or the beach or even down to the ocean.
This wonderful, clear and hot day reminded me of farm and summer on the prairies.
A trip outside of Victoria to Michell’s Farm for their freshly picked vegetables satisfied me.
I was not curious at all about where clouds may be hiding.
It’s been a beautiful, hot day ~ a real summer day!

“I love how summer just wraps it’s arms 

around you like a warm blanky.”

~ Kelli Elmore, Magic in the Backyard

With An Open Mind

Insight seldom arrives

  all at once, whole and complete.

With curiosity,

  insight can deepen and grow.

Insight will always arrive

  when a mind is open to possibility.

“Inspiration exists, but it must find you working.”

~ Pablo Picasso

Professional Excitement

A young nurse so long ago,
I became inspired about nursing.
Inspired, yet curious about what she meant. Mrs. Duthie spoke from the podium to young, very new nurses, faces upturned
‘Excitement’ is all I really remember
The excitement in her voice, her expression and her wide spread hands.
Her excitement about the profession of nursing.
   

Before that, being a nurse was just another step, into adulthood. Now, and for the last many years, I know that nursing is bigger than that. Bigger than any of my own fears or desires, frustrations or achievements.

My feelings are always valid, but only for the moment. When the moment passes, I continue to believe in the excitement of this profession.

“He who has a strong enough ‘why’ can bear almost any ‘how’.”

~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Twilight of the Idols (1888)

Author's note: Edited January 22, 2024

Monday Special

A charred wisp of smoke

dissolved in sunshine and cool water ~ gritty edges warmed and washed away

Curious about rest and rejuvenation ~ Would I have time? Would it return calm and ease?

With friends ~

 Walking by glittering blue ocean

   Chatting and laughing about movies and clothing

Luncheon treat on a patio in the sunshine

     Delicious watermelon salad

         Reading and writing

Rejuvenating pool time

    Water soft, clear and warm

        Diving back into my own body.

My Monday Special

    Turns life around

        Brings me back to my home

“If life throws you a few bad notes or vibrations, 

don’t let them interrupt or alter your song.”

~ Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: 

The Writings of Suzy of Kassem

No Regrets

Burned out
Empty
Flat
All passion and energy temporarily
poured into this nursing world
leaving me off balance
whatever creativity within me four days ago
gone as in a puff of smoke
Empty
Flat
Curiosity waiting to be filled up tomorrow and tomorrow

“Burnout…occurs because we’re trying

 to solve the same problem over and over.”

~ Susan Scott