"She Let Go" by Safire Rose

She let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear.  She let go of the judgments.  She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head. 

She let go of the committee of indecision within her. 

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

She didn’t read a book on how to let go. 

She didn’t search the scriptures. She just let go. 

She let go of all of the memories that held her back. 

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward. 

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it.

She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.

She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope. She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.

She didn’t call the prayer line. She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.

No one was around when it happened. There was no congratulations. No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing.

Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad. It was what it was, and it is just that.

In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

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"The Journey" by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice–
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do–
determined to save
the only life you could save.

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"On Joy and Sorrow" by The Prophet, 
Kahlil Gibran  ​

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

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"Ride The Wave" Unknown

Ride the wave. When it all gets to be too much, When it's a decision of panic, to run or to die. Just ride it out. Wait for everything to settle. When you come down from whatever overwhelmed you, From whatever gripped you with fear, You begin to the see the beauty. The pale sun rising through the fog on an early morning in May. Life gets too intense sometimes, Focus is lost, reality weaved with lies to set your mind ablaze with terror, burning pretty hopes and dreams into oblivion. It's easy to lose balance and fall into the endless dark ocean. Exhausted from trying to swim above the surface, Surrender. Let go. Sit on top of the closest floating object, breathe, ride the wave. Eventually you will be pushed to shore by the very thing that caused your struggle. You will learn to love the ocean again. You will see that the moon is in the dark, and the sun in the dark, but together they glow for eternity. They are best friends in the black sky. Ride the wave of whatever the universe has sent in echoing vibrations to you. You made this choice. Ride the wave of the galaxy. Remember, you are your soul, and your soul is free.

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By taking one of our painting sessions, you are helping to brush a little kindness to woman support groups.

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