The lovely and joyous Joy consented to see me on My Birthday Weekend Marathon of playdates, a very hot Friday afternoon…….I met her with a flowerpot full of little flowers that were just beginning to bloom, and she promptly took me outside to her secret garden (my first time outside)…….it was wonderful….quiet, peaceful, relaxing, with a lovely little breeze running through it to help keep us nice and cool (well, for a little while, anyway!)
Joy is fully in her element there, had the table all set up, cold water and a birthday cupcake there for me, and a wonderful fun and pleasure experience waiting. She is so good at that! Laughter, giggles, beautiful smiles, lots of hugs, and of course, lots of fun was all included!
I highly recommend going out to the garden if she should suggest it, and of course, you can always ask to go out there and get pampered like I did!
How exciting is that? If you are at all like me, you enjoy being in nature and feeling the soft breezes and rays of sun caress your skin.
Here's my first image for the day ...
Go to http://www.wngd.org/
From their site -
"Why garden naked? First of all, it's fun! Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude. Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment. Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us--even if only for those few sunkissed minutes--that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet."
If you'd like, send me photos of you enjoying this special day and I will add them to this post!
I'm so fortunate to have a close friend who is a wild woman, free spirit, loud and boisterous, real and raw, tender and terrific. You could say we are soul sisters. As different as we are physically, we share many dreams and desires in common.
Today we had such fun just bumming around sunning our bodies. Alright, to be honest, I was frying and she was tanning. The sun takes one good look at me and I'm beet red and have another freckle to play 'connect the dots'.
Prior to sunning, we had taken a salon by storm and had a duo pedicure. The soft spoken gentle ladies who attended to our feet sometimes gave us a shy glance, as my friend and I laughed and shared about our recent adventures as sex-positive lusty creatures.
It's always such a pleasure to share openly and affectionately with my friend. Gazing into her amber eyes and kissing her sweet lips. Her heart is so beautiful, and her spirit just makes me soar.
What you cannot see in these pictures are our adorable and loyal doggys who wander in and out of our scene, nuzzling up for some attention too and then finding a bug or squirrel to chase.
You know those weeds that drive you crazy. Strong, persistent. They keep coming back no matter what, as if they just want your acceptance or to be seen and recognized despite their label as unappealing.
Now let me take you to my Secret Garden and revisit those 'weeds' that you despise. Even my dear friend, Joanne, who is such a free-spirited, open-minded woman, like myself, has these strong feelings regarding dandelions and buttercups for instance. I love teasing her by daring to blow the dandelion seeds into the wind, as she looks on horrified.
She used to try to pry dandelions up out of the earth when she visited, ripping them from her view and tossing them into the yard waste bin. She does the same with buttercups. I, on the other hand, enjoy frolicking in the nude in the middle of a bed of buttercups that threatens to take over my entire Secret Garden. I adore the brilliance and boldness of the yellow dandelion head that seems to get bigger and rounder each spring.
Admittedly, there are times when even I've weeded for growth to occur in other neighboring plants, like the above plant (can anyone identify it?) that will choke the Lily of the Valley from receiving any sunlight. But I find plants like the dandelion, buttercup, and above variegated leafy plant glorious in their own right. My lovely friend sees the beauty in them too, when she isn't so focused on keeping the garden tidy. In fact, she recently marveled that dandelion leaves and flowers possess many health benefits.
Let's take those weeds into another perspective. I have found that weeds are often like those persons in our world that are ostracized for being different or disregarded, for not fitting in with the norm. These are people longing for a connection, to feel accepted, to be admired, stroked, cared for, but they go unnoticed, unappreciated, and unfulfilled in some of their deepest desires. Passion is stifled as an experience unattainable, for shame and unworthiness represses their yearnings, much like that weed blocking the sun from the Lily of the Valley. Perhaps you are someone who has had these experiences.
Yes, I may be mixing up many of my thoughts, but I'm really just trying to say.....there are lovely souls who see you, accept you, and care for you just the way you are. I feel so honored with all those who visit with me on my lusty adventures. There may be many who never share intimacy between two except through the unique opportunity I, or others like me, offer. Thank god for open-minded, accepting, whole-hearted, harmonious individuals who help others learn to embrace themselves, just the way they are. How healing is that! It's no wonder that I find my healing touch practice to be so deeply rewarding. It truly is an art leading a heart-filled life.
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Perhaps if you are someone who has hoped to be held, heard, and honored...
Let me embrace you.
Let me help to shine the light on the beauty of your uniqueness.
Let me listen as you voice your desires.
Let me show you how you could toss your fears aside and unleash your passion.
Let me hold your hand on your path...
as you are your glorious self,
just the way you are.
Here is one of my favorite recordings of The Piano Guys
with a cover of a Bruno Mars song "Just The Way You Are"
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