Mary Oliver Poem - The Faces of Deer

Early this spring I had a close encounter with a herd of deer and told my friend Tracie about it. ( http://www.mybloominglife.com/) The story of the encounter is for another post, for right now I'd like to share a beautiful poem that Tracie recently sent to me and a photo I took about two weeks ago.
Thank you, Tracie! :)

"The Faces of Deer" by Mary Oliver

When for too long I don't go deep enough into the woods to see them, they begin to enter my dreams. Yes, there they are, in the pinewoods of my inner life. I want to live a life full of modesty and praise. Each hoof of each animal makes the sign of a heart as it touches then lifts away from the ground. Unless you believe that heaven is very near, how will you find it? Their eyes are pools in which one would be content, on any summer afternoon, to swim away through the door of the world. Then, love and its blessing. Then: heaven.

(c) 2005 Mary Oliver

Manifesting Cactus Flowers

Yesterday I went on an amazing hike. Since I had my camera with me, I decided to place the order with the Universe
~ I'd really like to see some cacti with the bright pink flowers, like the ones I've seen when I haven't had my camera.
~Several flowers on one cactus would be really nice.
~I would like them to be in a place where I could take some good photos.
~And I didn't say this, but I think the Universe knows it, is that I like them to be in the sunshine!
So, off I continued on my hike, enjoying the sunshine, the warm, but not too hot, weather, the scenery, the fragrance in the air. Yum!

About an hour later, I stopped in the shade to rest, drink and eat my "lunch". I turned around to take in the view and to my surprise, the most beautiful bright pink flowers were saying hello to me!

Nearly instant manifestation! I love setting an intention with my heart, not being attached to the outcome, enjoying myself along the way, following my inner guidance, and like magic, it appears! :)

Keep in mind that I saw no other cacti and flowers like this on the rest of the hike. If I hadn't stopped at this particular place, I wouldn't have this photo, though I may have been led to another place with a cactus in bloom.

Thank you, Universe!

Quotes on Risk

The universe will reward you for taking risks on its behalf. ~Shakti Gawain

I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk. ~Oprah Winfrey

...then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -Anaïs Nin

Taking Risks

Recently I was reading the book "What We Ache For" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer and found some questions that really struck me:

"Am I hedging at all? What am I holding back? What don't I want to write or paint or explore? What am I refusing to risk?"

~How can you practice taking risks and not holding back, either in your creativity or in your life?
~What one small way can you "go for the gusto" today?

Leave a comment if you are inspired!