Let there be nothing within thee that is not very beautiful and very gentle, and there will be nothing without thee that is not beautiful and softened by the spell of thy presence. - James Allen

Dark is good.

Dark is tender.

Dark is beautiful.

Sent in by etcher: Phindile Hlabangane

A friends and sister, Phindile (aka sister P) sent this beautiful message below to our Whatsapp group over the weekend. The same weekend, I stumbled across the actual book - What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey - and my friend Zie was kind enough to loan it to me. 

I am an Oprah fan. Like, a lot. So since it showed its head twice in 48 hours, I thought it was worth sharing. I think you'll like it...

This book is just special and will lift your spirit with every turn of a page.

- Insert from Oprah Winfrey's book, 'What I Know For Sure'.

Image: Penny Siopis, South African painter

I know for sure that healing the wounds of the past is one of the biggest and most worthwhile challenges of life. It's important to know when and how you were programmed, so you can change the program. And doing so is your responsibility, no one else's. There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life.

If you're holding anyone else accountable for your happiness, you're wasting your time. You must be fearless enough to give yourself the love you didn't receive. Begin noticing how everyday brings a new opportunity for your growth. How buried disagreements with your mother show up in arguments with your spouse. How unconscious feelings of unworthiness appear in everything you do (and don't do). All these experiences are your life's way of urging you to leave the past behind and make yourself whole. Pay attention. Every choice gives you a chance to pave your own road. Keep moving. Full speed ahead.

:)

Still be Glowing... Smiling like we didn't give a damn

A poem: Painting Africa

Long ago, Africa was christened the'dark continent'
until the Nile was seen by the very fortunate
Later, it became the shelter of the pearl
and today, it's where winds of change hurl
So, the call is on to paint Africa

Running through deserts and shores
To catch the fading twilight
Sailing the nile as it pours
To watch as the natives fight
That is the call to paint Africa

Let it be the heavenly angels
To sweep the dirt filled streets
Purity and prosperity in all angles
As the nations feast on sweets
For that it takes to paint Africa

Color the lonely paths
Let the noise of life be heard
Bandage the nation’s ailing parts
And again give the land a healing card
And that is the call to paint Africa 

- Timothy Muggaga

Painting by Gerard Sekoto

 

Sent in by Etcher: Randa Adechoubou (I love You)

Don't take your greatness to the grave. 

Harness your will and challenge yourself. 

 

Once you are Real, you can't be ugly

"Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." 

Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

For my Russian friends...

Harmony

Innokenty Annensky

In midst of waves, there are the silver beads
And scraped by time paints of the white enamel …
I so like the morns which autumn breeds,
For their caress, so short and so gentle.

 And I do like the foam on the shore,
When it again is whitening in mire,
And, greedy, I am hiding here a store
Of hazy days, while skies are full of fire. 

 But somewhere there, they’re roaming in flame,
The same ones as I am, without name and number,
And somebody’s young being – just the same –
Instead of me, is ceasing in sad amber.

By Russian artist:

Wassily Kandinsky  

My intention...

My intention has always been, and still is, to remind you (and myself) of how utterly beautiful you are.

The journey is long. I've heard somewhere that it's a race. Well, whatever. Its a journey, a story, and page by page we choose its contents. I have not been in the best space these few weeks, but I choose to fight for myself each day. Cause life it that beautiful, and so worth it. Remember that.

You're worthy. You are enough. Take it day by day, page by page, and remember not to ever excuse who you are for nobody. Not even yourself. You are made just as you were supposed to; we all are.

My intention has always been, and still is, to remind you (and myself) of how utterly beautiful you are.

I have met some really amazing people along my journey, and a beautiful soul that I had the pleasure of meeting shared this with me. I thought you may like it...

Thank you Yuri, Until we meet again... Thank you.

All love.