Three Words (rewrite)
I didn’t live near Cindy Love for most of my adult life. I left after college and came back only to visit. For Cindy Love I was always away. When we talked on the phone she would always say ‘Mel, … Continue reading →
Melody Schaper
Stillness (rewrite)
This is my daughter sitting beside a lake in Canada when she was a teenager. The photograph is beautiful. She, is beautiful. She is poised, still and present to the beauty around her and her being emanates peace and … Continue reading →
Exquisite Vulnerability Rewrite
I saw something on my way into Philadelphia one fall morning that was terrifying and intensely beautiful at the same time. There wasn’t much traffic so I was going pretty fast. Along the very side of the highway was a … Continue reading →
Honest the Truth (rewrite)
‘If it ain’t the truth, it’s a lie.’ I don’t remember who originally said this. A poet and dear friend, Thomas Rain Crowe quoted this many years ago during one of our powerful and robust conversations while drinking a bottle … Continue reading →
You and Me the Same (rewrite)
These revisions are an attempt to distill and clarify what I have learned about how to love with grace. They are an attempt to get closer to what I believe is true and share some of the profound wisdom Cindy … Continue reading →
The Door is Open (rewrite)
THE DOOR IS OPEN Cindy would say loudly every time I knocked on a door she was behind. In her 57 years there was not one time that she said anything different. Her door was always open and I was always … Continue reading →
Rewrite; Letting Go
I’ve had practice letting go in the last decade and have learned about what that means through saying goodbye to my parents, two sisters, three animals and most recently my mentor. Letting go does not mean losing the love or the … Continue reading →
#1 rewrite; Love Lessons
What’s important? That’s the most important question. What’s important? At this point in my life, when I am well into the second half of my life, what is most important for me is love. Not so plain and not so … Continue reading →
Y is For You
You. In the Enneagram of Personality I score highest on Type 2. That means that my personality is distorted in a particular way to attempt to fill a need I have in myself. That need is to love myself fully … Continue reading →
X Is For Excruciatingly Exquisite Truth
The essence of truth is excruciatingly exquisite and almost overwhelming. The handful of times when I have been close to this source it was exhilarating, extraordinary and a tiny breath away from the depths of piercing pain. Powerful and painful … Continue reading →