Together We Rise ∞ The Medicine of Love & Connection

23/07/2025

Being real. Flowing with Life
Embracing the wrinkles. Rebelling against the Beauty Industry, some of which turns my stomach.
Skin deep beauty always fades eventually, most things do.
Feeling so much freedom in authenticity and facing the reality that everything passes away.
Friends, fear not, I’m not ill just musing after my new moon fire❤️

22/07/2025

May the seeds of Ancestral Wisdom bloom through us….

May the Seeds of Ancestral Wisdom Bloom Through Us.
- Eloybida.com

21/07/2025

Today we honor the life & legacy of Nelson Mandela — a global symbol of justice, resilience, & peace. His journey reminds us that one soul, rooted in truth & committed to love, can shift the course of history.💫

Mandela walked a long road, one paved with struggle & sacrifice. Yet through it all, he chose dignity over revenge, unity over division, & healing over hate. His life speaks to the sacred power of forgiveness — not as surrender, but as strength.

As we walk our own paths, may we remember his words ... “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

Whether we tend the Earth, support a neighbor, uplift the youth, or pray for peace — every act matters. Let us be light-bearers in a world that needs healing ... & Let us continue the work with open hearts and grounded hands.🌿

Thank you,
Grandmother Flordemayo ❤️

-
-
-

21/07/2025

WHEN YOU’RE TIRED OF BEING THE STRONG ONE ❤️

You were always the “strong” one.
The calm one.
The wise one.
The kind one.

The one with all the answers.
The one who always said yes.
The one who never seemed
to need anything.

But that wasn’t true strength.
That was survival.

You learned to help others
in order to stay safe yourself.
You became the “healer” of the family
to keep yourself going.

Somewhere along the way,
you were taught
that love had to be earned through usefulness.
That your safety depended on performance.
That to be wanted, to be cared for,
you had to become the caretaker yourself.
The special one.
The good one.
The one who never fell apart.

But, friend…
who holds you now
when you’re the one unraveling?

Because beneath that polished role
there’s often a trembling heart.
A tired soul.
A small, tender child
who never got to just… be.

Who never felt safe unless they were giving.
Who never felt worthy unless they were offering.
Who learned that rest was a luxury for other people.

But here’s the truth:
You don’t have to hold it all anymore.
You don’t have to fix everyone to be worthy.
You don’t have to perform to be loved.

You get to be soft.
You get to be messy.
You get to fall apart.
You get to be real.

Because real love
doesn’t come from being useful.
It comes from being seen
in your vulnerability and truth.

So take off the costume.
Drop the “nice guy” or “good girl” mask.
Tear it off if you have to.
It’s not protecting you anymore.
It’s choking the life out of you.
It may even be making you sick.

Breathe in.
Breathe deep.

And let yourself be known -
not as the fixer.
Not as the strong one.
Not even as the “healer”.

But as… you.

Fully human.
Soft, wild, flawed, and free.

And finally, finally, enough.

- Jeff Foster

18/07/2025

Deeply moving 🩷

I’m making my son’s lunch when I find out you’ve died—cutting up carrot and cucumber while crying.

He tilts his tiny head, furrows his precious brow, and asks me, “Daddy, are you alright?”

And I remember what you said about truth:

“even when the truth
isn't hopeful
the telling of it is”

So, I tell him, no, I’m not alright—
a poetry angel has taken flight,
and daddy is very sad about it.

I know it sounds far-fetched but
I think he understands—
in the way trees understand soil.
He opens his arms wide as a bridge
and lunges for a hug.

And I remember what you said about heartbeats:

“If you were to press your heart close up against somebody else’s heart eventually your hearts will start beating at the same time.”

I feel a desperate instinct to retreat. Take my sorrow to the spare room, close the curtains, turn off the lights, hide from anyone who might dare to care about me. To lick at my collection of wounds, tired and alone.

But I remember what you said about relationships:

“…We gather each other up.
We say, the cup is half
yours and half mine.
We say alone is the last place you will ever be.”

I call my wife and tell her about a growing ache in my stomach; how unfair it is that a poet of such monumental importance now only exists in memories.

But she reminds me what you said about death:

“Dying is the opposite of leaving. I want to echo it through the corridor of your temples. I am more with you than I ever was before.”

My heart swells grateful as I realise you’re not gone—you’re still right here! In books on my shelf, videos in my feed, words etched in my skull, hope echoing through my bones. You’re still here—more than ever!

How lucky I am—how privileged we all are—to have glimpsed your soul through a miraculous lens, a pen dipped in cosmic ink, a voice so authentic it could have been wombed in stars, an immutable spirit set wild and free.

How inspiring. How wonderfully inspiring you are.

I flick through your books, too afraid to land on a single page, in case the words spontaneously combust upon reading; or sprout wings, escape their paper prison to be free—as words should be—with you in the afterwards.

But what I’m most afraid of is the words won’t be the same shape ever again. That the weight of loss presses them into crueler, cruder, angrier creatures; that the meaning will be tainted by mourning.

I feel a tension in the meat of my heart, not a rip or tear, but the start of a long pull—when it releases the flesh will be softer, slacker.

And I remember what you said about hearts:

“In the end, I want my heart to be covered in stretch marks.”

I ideate myself out of existence—
as I often do when down dark. The tricksy little imp, whispering from the back seat, implores me to spin the car off a cliff—to join you.

And I remember what you said about grief:

“That every falling leaf is a tiny kite
with a string too small to see, held
by the part of me in charge
of making beauty
out of grief.”

So I’m writing. I don’t know if it’s beautful yet. Not the way you are. Your consonants dance with your vowels, your sentences have curves and edges, your poetry can sail a ship or bend a spine, dress a wound or slice the moon, while mine seem edgeless by comparison.

And I remember what you said about creating:

“We have to create. It’s the only thing louder than destruction.”

So today, like millions of others whose hearts you squeezed, I’ll create, so that I’m not destroyed. And I’ll let my heart break…

Because I remember what you said about breaking hearts:

“Let your heart break so your spirit doesn’t.”

Andrea Gibson ❤️‍🩹

07/07/2025

I will not give up the flowers in my heart for stones just because the world is a hard place.
The world is only hard because it needs more flower-hearted people. Nikita Gill. -Artist Catrin Welz Stein

29/07/2023

Summer Wellness 19/8/23
🤎🌳🌳🌳🤎🌳🌳

28/07/2023

Today we begin the 13 day cycle of B'atz'

What is a trecena?

The Maya are known to be guardians of time, for them it was essential to keep a count of the years to come as well as the ones that had passed. As a result, they created numerous calendars, each with a different purpose. Their calendars are used to keep track not only of the passage of time, but also the energies present in each day. The Cholq'ij calendar is one of the most important; it is the calendar of humans, and it measures the energies that influence us each day. It is composed of 20 different energies, known as Ch’umilab’, each with 13 manifestations. This means that the Cholq'ij is 260 days, as when you multiply 20 by 13 it gives 260. This calendar is divided by what we call trecenas, which are 13 day cycles, in total there are 20 of them in a Cholq’ij year. A trecena starts when the count of the 13 numerals begins, which means whenever an energy has the number 1 at its side. It comes to an end whenever an energy has the number 13 on its side.

B’atz’ trecena:

Today marks the beginning of a wonderful trecena borne by the energy of B’atz’. It is important to know that this is a trecena of great importance and a very sacred moment for the Mayab’.

B’atz’ is the beginning, it is the story that is woven through time, our story. Number 1 also represents a starting point, as it is the first of the 13 numerals. This means that 1 B'atz' signifies the birth of life, of infinite time, of wisdom and intelligence. In the wisdom of the Mayab’, they knew that the energies once came together to sow the universe as we know today. One of the most sacred and ancient Maya texts that we have nowadays, known as the Chilam Balam de Chumayel, describes how each of the 20 energies that make up the Cholq’ij calendar come to our world.

On the day 1 B’atz’ begins creation. From this day, each of the 20 energies arrives to our world, one by one. B’atz’ arrives on this day, being followed by E, Aj, I’x, and the rest of the energies. This happens for 20 days until we reach 8 B’atz’, which is the Cholq’ij new year. For this reason, this is a very sacred moment for our existence since it marks when our world was being created. This is where the importance of this trecena rests, and why it is essential that we connect to it.

B’atz’ is a wonderful energy which is why it brings many teachings. During this trecena, let us connect to the energy of B’atz and be able to see the world through the eyes of a child, with wonder and excitement in everything. It can be very beneficial to connect to your creative being and to the energy of the artists. We can light a candle to the artists of Jun B’atz’ and Jun Chowen represented in the Popol Wuj in order to unblock this part of ourselves.

In the next thirteen days, let us vibrate in the energy of love, love for life, for ourselves, for the universe, and for the people around us, as this is one of B'atz' teachings.

Even if it is just for one short moment, let us not take life too seriously, but see its beauty by connecting to the energy that surrounds you. This allows us to see the magic in the world and connect to the practice of appreciating the small things, as there is much power and wisdom in this. There are many things that carry much beauty in this world, but a lot of the time we are so busy that we don’t take the time to truly observe them. We can look at the sky filled with clouds that come to form many shapes and how it changes during the night to give a space for the stars to shine. We can see the wonder in the details present in the underside of a leaf, or the bark of a tree. Realize the potentiality of life that is present within a single seed, and the beauty in this. This is the invitation, as taking only a few minutes a day to realize how everything is a miracle can help us live life connected to the teachings of B’atz’, who shows us how to feel lighter. During this trecena do things just for the sake of having fun, which reconnects us to the joy of life. Go out and connect to nature, and if it is within your possibility go to a forest, lake or appreciate the night sky, as these are B'atz' energetic spaces.

From the Mayan Wisdom Community
which you can join
https://www.mayanwisdomproject.com/

27/07/2023

After melting Cacao and leaving in pan which I don’t normally do this happened. Any ideas what it is? 🩷