Let Me – yaskhan

I am the thought 
and the poem in your head 
Hear me on your page 
Let the words dance into your eyes 
Let the words tell you what you yearn to hear 
Let me be the ink that shapes 
the syllables that whisper in your soul 
Let me take your gentle heart and make you a song from the impulse that synchronises your breath 
Let me breathe dreams in the blood spinning your veins 
Let me show you the butterflies in my tummy so you  can delight in their gossamer light 
And let me be me and you be you so that we can be me and you together in a dialogue of human emotion.

Source: Let Me – yaskhan

A Classic Initiation Tale – The Amazon as Oz: « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – …

“From its opening pages, this engaging children’s book sets the scene of a world almost unimaginable in the 21st century, a lush, restive, tropical …

A Classic Initiation Tale – The Amazon as Oz: « Amazon Rainforest Magic, The adventures of Namowë, a Yanomami boy » – For ages 8 to 12 to 100!  – …

O GENOCÍDIO dos YANOMAMI e a MORTE da NATUREZA por Mercadorias de Ouro e Diamantes e a ARTE DE LAVAGEM VERDE pelos COMERCIANTES DE OURO em suas …

As butiques Cartier vendem joias, relógios e acessórios de luxo exclusivos em ouro e diamantes desde 1847 – foto: Cartier “As coisas estão ruins …

O GENOCÍDIO dos YANOMAMI e a MORTE da NATUREZA por Mercadorias de Ouro e Diamantes e a ARTE DE LAVAGEM VERDE pelos COMERCIANTES DE OURO em suas …

Video: A Family of Friends + Joyful Stephanie Risked All – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

A Family of Friends video screenshotIn the worst situations, strength and compassion gleam brightest…

The first time I discovered the depth of this truth (these days I’m writing novels) was when I co-produced a video for the Leukemia Society of America (nowadays Leukemia and Lymphoma Society). They’d hired my business partner, David Hunt (who’s been a guest before), and me (our tiny non-profit company was called Vista Educational Media) to encourage therapists and people diagnosed with leukemia to participate in the agency’s support groups. We videotaped at Wellness Community South Bay Cities, which is now called Cancer Support Community of South Bay. The Los Angeles Times wrote of member Roger Kahl’s valiant life here.

For each project, David and I alternated who would produce and who would assist. Thank goodness for this one David conducted the interviews, wrote the script, edited the videotape, and narrated the final video. For my part, it took all I had not to sob as I videotaped. Reviewing it all these many years later, I still cry at the incredible bravery of the interviewees.

On David’s site, he details his experience with this project…

“By the 1990s health educators understood that video-assisted storytelling was an effective way to engage patients and get them involved in their own health care. But many of the nation’s top health organizations, including the Leukemia Society, used actors as stand-ins for actual patients in their health education videos. In 1992 I was part of a documentary team that convinced the organization to trust people with leukemia to share their own stories.”

 

 

Today’s guest blog post is by Joyful Stephanie. From her home on East Coast of Canada, she blogs about her search for inner-peace amid life’s adventures, creativity, joys, and challenges.

Photo of Joyful Stephanie with her husband.
Joyful Stephanie and the man she took a risk on.

A Memoir Of Risking It All  by Joyful Stephanie

Why I Started Blogging

I created a blog as a memoir of the biggest risk I’ve ever taken.

I married a man I hardly knew and moved to the Middle East with him.

Our story goes like this:

October, 2014 – I received a message from a man sent via an online dating site.

Michael’s first contact with me was via an online dating site message that was, in jest, asking me to marry him.

Why?

My online dating profile included a condition I made very clear: I am not a booty call. I was looking for marriage.

His message caught my eye.

After an important initial online discussion of clarifying these realities:

  • Michael was looking to meet a woman living in Nova Scotia as that is where his daughter and grandchildren live and where he eventually wants to settle down
  • He was currently working overseas in the Middle East, in the State of Qatar
  • He asked if I would ever want to live in a dome home
  • I was looking to take things slow – I was tired of making impulsive relationship decisions
  • I was very serious about marriage, I had had it with common-law relationships

We seemed okay with each other’s terms.

We decided to start a long-distance romance.

December, 2014 – He flew from Qatar to Nova Scotia for Christmas Break to spend time with his family and meet me in person for the first time.

March, 2015 – Michael flew me to Qatar for a week.

March, 2015 – Doha, Qatar – Michael and I having fun on a Dhow Boat Cruise

April 25th, 2015 (my birthday) – Michael sent me flowers with a letter asking to marry him. I accepted his proposal. So much for my “taking things slow.” 

April 25th, 2015 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Marriage Proposal from Michael

August 18th, 2015 (his birthday) – We married on a dock in Lower Prospect, Nova Scotia. A few days later my new husband returned to his job in Qatar.

August 18th, 2015 – Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada – Wedding Day

August 31st, 2015 – I said goodbye to my mom, family and friends and all that was my life in Nova Scotia to start a new life in a Muslim country with a man I barely knew, and married on impulse. 

August 31st, 2015 – Halifax Stanfield International Airport – Waving goodbye to my mother as I walked towards another chapter of my life

September 1st, 2015 – I landed in Qatar.

I will never forget our first night together as man and wife in the Middle East.

We sat in his cramped, made for a bachelor sized apartment, looking at each other.

Since October, 2014, Michael and I had spent maybe a total of 42 days together in person.

Therefore, I looked at him and said, “I’m scared, are you.”

His reply, “Yes.”

It’s been noted that perhaps most couples would not have survived our situation, as Michael and I had many struggles along the way.

One fundamental reason we made it was we recognized the potential in each another and valued this connection.

August 18th, 2016 – Doha, Qatar – Celebrating our 1st Anniversary and Michael’s 57th Birthday at the Intercontinental Hotel Doha

Collage of travel photos with Joyful Stephanie and her husband.

A Photo Album Of Adventures

During our 4 years together in the Middle East, we traveled to 26 countries.

Blogging became a way to preserve our travel stories, our memories with pictures; lending us a nice way to reflect back on our adventures when we’re older and starting to forget things.

A Journey

What has blogging been like for me?

And perhaps, an inspiration for you…

S, 🌻

Do you have friends who are like or better than family?

Source: Video: A Family of Friends + Joyful Stephanie Risked All – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

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