like a mantra –

Posted on July 10, 2014 by AlianaAlani

As the dust of the world’s chaos swirls around, tempting us to enter its fray, this is what comes – like a mantra –

Every moment is an opportunity, even a blessing

Every breath is the breath of love

Every view is of the Eternal – no matter who,

no matter what,

no matter where

Within & beyond all – only Love

Posted on June 15, 2014 by AlianaAlani

Every garden, whether it’s the garden of your heart, your life, or your world requires nourishment to grow. For it to flourish and to truly blossom, it requires love.

Love the best of you and your garden into being now.

You deserve the very best and so does your world.

We are connected

Posted on June 6, 2014 by AlianaAlani

In the distance a friend cries, mourning the passing of another

A senseless passing

In the distance, as though on cue a bird listens, then shutters

Wings flap, a caw is heard, and an honouring begins

In the distance

Here, a wind blows and swirls. There, a wave builds within the deep

Reaching the shores of another’s heart on the opposite side of distance

Who turns in wonder, for nothing happens without knowing

We are all connected

We move like butterflies fluttering to the tune of another’s song

Angels gracefully flying the skies of each other’s spirit

Dancing along moments of joy and sorrow, yours and mine

We are connected

In that distance, a man’s heart opens, daring to love again, further

Feeling it we turn his way, and remember – the magic and wonder

That is possible, here in our beautiful sometimes fragile Garden

Where we are all connected

…for Naren & his family

Sometimes…

Posted on May 3, 2014 by AlianaAlani

Sometimes there are moments

When I wander through the galaxies at night

Or feel fear on the tips of a child’s hand

Sometimes…

Sometimes the cry is too great

The anguish, the longing too large

Sometimes the cacophony overwhelms

And I long to rest

Sometimes…

Then somewhere the sun rises in a woman’s smile

A world turns and finally knows its own name

Joy surfaces in atoms and particles for no apparent reason

Sometimes…

Sometimes thoughts circle like tumbleweed

Along the vast landscape of the Eternal

Bumping into each other

Cascading or colliding

But sometimes they dance

In harmony, in union

Sometimes they love

And when they do, when they do

I breathe a sigh and relax

Sometimes…

Starlight

Posted on March 20, 2014 by AlianaAlani

We are starlight, for a brief second,

and then are no more.

Back to the centre

to home

to the formless again.

We are starlight, for a brief second.

Why then this strife?

Why such discord?

What for?

We are starlight.

Why not Love?

Blessings to you, Paco de Lucia

Posted on February 26, 2014 by AlianaAlani

I first came to hear the amazing sounds that poured from the heart and guitar of Paco de Lucia a few years ago while sitting in a modest house on a hilltop in the foothills of the Sierras in the ever moody and majestic Alpujarra of Andalucia.

I was house sitting, it was winter, it was my first time in Spain, and I was alone – alone with an exuberant mountain wind flicking through olive branches, the sound of distant tinkling bells as goats were herded through the fields below, and the whispering whispers of the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca mingling with the air (this was the region where many felt he had been murdered long ago).

It was a place ripe for the music of Paco de Lucia. And so was I.

One day as I sat sipping red wine, eating Spanish cheese, and pondering the mysteries of my life, I came across two DVDs sitting on the shelf; one of Paco’s life and music, another of the music and dance of Blood Wedding, a play written by Lorca. I became entranced by the power and passion, the sense of perfection and haunting beauty of both. From that moment on I was fascinated – with the music of Paco de Lucia, and the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca.

I speak no Spanish, yes sadly still, so everything I know of it is from translation, and perhaps most important, from the heart –of the poet, of the artist/musician, of the music of flamenco and of an incredible Spanish classical guitar – to my heart. For me it is a music whose touchstone is pure heart. What an amazing place to emit from. What an amazing place to be brought to.

It is of course possible that in order to travel to such a place, it will demand from us an inner quest for nothing less than excellence. Such a journey can be arduous. It certainly asks the best of us. From everything I have read, that is what it did for Paco de Lucia.

When I listen to his music I know that we, you and I. are blessed because of it.

Paco de Lucia left us today. He slipped away from our arms somewhere on a beach in Mexico.

He leaves behind a wealth of music. Like Andalucia, it is a musical landscape rich and vibrant, one that can colour the very fabric of our lives, if we open to it.

So gracias Paco, thank you. May your music kiss the angels as you grace their skies with your heart.

It occurs to me that lately I am writing about profound talents who are leaving our world, some far too early. Talents, and yes, souls who will be truly missed, both for their journey into excellence, for the jewels they have bequeathed us, and for the beauty of their spirits and hearts.

I cannot help but wonder – what does that ask of us who are still here?

Friends…

Posted on January 12, 2014 by AlianaAlani

Some waft through your life like bits of sky cloud – here one moment, gone the next. Their impact is pleasant, perhaps important, maybe even dazzling.

Others linger over tea and a few biscuits of time, even a life experience or two. You toast a year together, perhaps another, and they are gone; their names etched delicately in the treasure chest of your heart.

But there are some whose presence mingles like starlight and something magical is brewed within the tempest teapot we call life. The halls of memory ring with laughter and poignant moments, kindness and bursts of wisdom, and of course, because how could good friends be without this, love. These are the ones who never quite leave, though time or distance might test the threads. Their well of caring is deep and whether you speak a thousand times a day or only an email now and then, they are with you (as you are with them) through the celebrations and the challenges. They are the jewels that linger.

I have been blessed with meeting many people in my life. I have also been blessed with friends. Like most, I suppose, there are but a few who become the lingering legends. They are what I lovingly call the elite circle in my life, and they are small in number.

One of them recently left to ride the skies and dance with the angels.

His name is Bill Murphy. And this is my oh-so-tiny way of honouring his presence and now his memory.

Bill is/was from the land of sun and sand, heat and light, an Australian. Like many Aussies I’ve known, he went tracing his roots back to Ireland, and like some, never quite left. We met in The Green. Bonded by a love of sun, wrapped in a mist of Ireland, sometimes wondering what the hell we were doing there, often marveling at its depth of magic, longing to feel the heat again, we became friends.

Bill had a twinkle in his eyes that made you wonder, as though he knew something delicious you might want to know. He was funny. He was wise. He had been gifted with the ability of insight, which he used gently. He was my introduction to Australia, a land I came to love, and I will always be grateful for that.

Bill was a generous man with a huge heart, and like many whose hearts are big, it was often fragile. Life challenged it like it challenges us all. As a friend, to me one of the greatest blessings in his life is that he finally found the love he had been searching for and the family he had always longed to have. Jacqueline is a jewel and they are beautiful together.

Bill travelled the slippery slopes of lymphoma for a couple of years or more. It wasn’t his first illness but it proved the toughest. There were moments when it looked like he’d come out of it (I confess I never quite ‘saw’ him leaving). He made it home for Christmas – my last email from him was of a triumphant man having been able to eat a Christmas dinner with his family!

Bill left us on January 3, 2014.