THE CORNER 4 WOMEN

Friday 27 October 2023

Realm of Shadows

"Realm of Shadows" (author unknown"

Once, in a quiet village, there was a curious girl named Lily. She loved exploring and hearing stories about faraway lands. One evening, as the sun painted the sky with warm colours, Lily's grandmother, Granny May, told her about a magical place called the "Realm of Shadows."

"The Realm of Shadows is a mysterious land hidden away from ordinary eyes," Granny May began, her eyes twinkling with the memory. "It's said to be a place where shadows come to life, dancing in harmony with the light."

Lily's eyes widened in wonder. "Can we go there, Granny May? Can we see the shadows dance?"

Granny May smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow, at sunset, we'll embark on this adventure together."

The next day, just as the sun began its descent, Lily and Granny May set off towards the ancient forest, guided by the stories and a gentle breeze that seemed to whisper secrets of the hidden realm.

As they entered the heart of the forest, the trees grew tall and wise, their leaves casting intricate patterns of light and shadow on the forest floor. Lily felt like she was stepping into a world of dreams.

At the forest's core, they discovered an ancient stone archway, entwined with ivy and bathed in the soft hues of twilight. This, Granny May explained, was the gateway to the Realm of Shadows.

With a touch of Granny May's hand, the archway shimmered and a passage appeared, leading to a place unlike any Lily had ever seen. It was a realm painted in shades of twilight, where shadows danced in graceful waltzes, swirling and twirling like delicate silk ribbons.

Lily giggled with delight, her own shadow joining the mesmerizing dance. She twirled and swayed, feeling the magic of the realm coursing through her veins. "It's like a dream, Granny May!"

Granny May watched with a tender smile, her eyes sparkling with pride. "Indeed, dear Lily. Dreams and reality often meet in the most enchanting ways."

As evening descended, painting the sky with stars, Lily and Granny May bid farewell to the Realm of Shadows. They left with hearts full of wonder and memories that would forever be cherished.

From that day on, Lily held the Realm of Shadows in her heart, a place where dreams danced with reality. It taught her that sometimes, the most magical adventures are found in the quiet corners of our imagination, and that the stories passed down through generations can lead us to places beyond our wildest dreams.

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Be Gentle With Your Mother

"Be Gentle With Your Mother" (author unknown)

There are times that a quick, short answer jumps out of your mouth. Full of sharp edges that draw blood. And you look away so you don’t need to see the pain you know you caused.

Half of what she does, you don’t understand. The things she allows leave you cold and irritate you.

One moment you want to fold her in your arms, the next you wish you could just shake her a bit.

One day it will all make sense to you.

The things she never told you about, are the very things that hollowed out her insides and then built her up again, so she can carry more and more where no-one can see the weight. Those things that sometimes break her where you can actually see it, even though you prefer not to.

Her eyes notice everything, yet she keeps so much to herself. She steps back and offers her hope for the sake of her child’s happiness. The gratitude she deserves for doing that is far and few between, yet her flame of gratitude reaches close to the Heavens.

Should you be blessed enough to still have her breathing the air of this earth, it’s time you start digging in your gratitude-archives and find the warmth in your heart, the forgiveness in your voice and the same amazement you had as a toddler for her. I beg of you to please, today and every day, be gentle with your Mother.

Because the day will come that her morning greeting will no longer be.

Her words “I love you my child” will no longer be.

Her voice will no longer be heard.

All that will be left are memories..

Be gentle with your Mother.

With love and a hug.

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WISDOM IS

"WISDOM IS"
(author unknown)

Wisdom is pulling up to every one of your kids events in a $10,000 vehicle, instead of making 3 events a year in your $80,000 vehicle.

Wisdom is being home every night with your family in your single wide mobile home, instead of being home with your family 2 nights a week in your mansion.

What I’ve come to realize is this: “It’s not about what I can afford, it’s about what I can’t afford to miss because you never know when your life will end”

Life is so short, so live it to the full, love the people and family around you, because you simply cannot buy happiness, no matter how wealthy you think you are.

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Thursday 26 October 2023

YOUR PAST SELF by Tahlia Hunter

"YOUR PAST SELF"
by Tahlia Hunter

Your past self stumbled

so you could soar.

Your past self whispered

so you could shout.

Your past self hesitated

so you could seize the moment.

Your past self crawled

so you could sprint.

Your past self fumbled

so you could excel.

Your past self wilted

so you could bloom.

Your past self meandered

so you could find your way.

Your past self questioned

so you could discover.

Your past self faded

so you could shine.

Your past self retreated

so you could conquer.

And your past self broke

so you could rebuild.

Words by Tahlia Hunter

https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Jeanie Tomanek

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MAYBE by Bal

"MAYBE"
by Bal

Perhaps you should recognize right now that your journey is not about loving another person.

Maybe right now you need to love yourself first and feel the inner peace of being alone.

Maybe right now you need to figure yourself out and ask yourself why you're rushing things that can wait.

Perhaps now is the time to learn how to sleep without expecting someone to say goodnight and to wake up the next day with a smile and forgiveness.

You will value your personal space as a result, and you will be able to give yourself permission to pursue your passions and realize your dreams without regard for time.

Maybe you're being taught right now that you can take care of your soul on your own and don't need anyone else to do it for you.

Perhaps today marks the beginning of a new version of you, someone who will not take up residence in the hearts of others. Because, darling, I believe you are capable of being your own home. A home that will meet all of your needs and desires. A residence that will never be abandoned. And I hope that one day you will come to believe it as well.

— Bal

Art: hessah.art

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The Journey by Mary Oliver

"The Journey" by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice --

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voice behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do --

determined to save

the only life that you could save. Mary Oliver

(Book: Dream Work [ad] https://amzn.to/4080RCk)

(Art: 'Olive Trees (Study)', 1884 by Claude Monet)

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THANK YOU FOR by Tahlia Hunter

"THANK YOU FOR"
by Tahlia Hunter

"Thank you for the mistakes you made,

so that I could discover what it means to be wise.

Thank you for the moments of doubt you faced,

so that I could discover what it means to have faith.

Thank you for the wrong roads you took,

so that I could discover what it means to find my way.

Thank you for the grudges you held,

so that I could discover what it means to forgive.

Thank you for the masks you wore,

so that I could discover what it means to be authentic.

Thank you for the moments you took for granted,

so that I could discover what it means to be grateful.

Thank you for the pride you displayed,

so that I could discover what it means to be humble.

Thank you for the times you were judgemental,

so that I could discover what it means to be accepting.

Thank you for the fears you faced,

so that I could discover what it means to be brave.

Thank you for the conflicts you navigated,

so that I could discover what it means to find harmony.

Thank you for the storms you weathered,

so that I could discover what it means to be strong.

And thank you for the rejections you faced,

so that I could discover what it means to truly love,

not only others, but myself,

and life itself.

I look back on you

not with shame,

but with pride and admiration

for without you

I would not be who I am today."

Words by Tahlia Hunter https://www.facebook.com/TahliaHunterBlog

Artwork by Natacha Chohra Fine Art - Illustration

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Wednesday 25 October 2023

You Own Nothing, So You Lose Nothing

"You Own Nothing, So You Lose Nothing" (author unknown)

If you buy land or buy a house, you have only paid rent for the remaining years you have on Earth. None of them belongs to you.

If you buy a car, you have only paid for your transport for the period the car will last or for the period you will last. It doesn't belong to you.

If you marry a spouse, you have only got company until circumstances or death do you part. No one owns the other.

If you have children, you have only fulfilled the demand of continuity of life until death comes. You don't own them. That's why the State still dictates how you bring them up.

If you have money, you have only amassed value to purchase what you want, for your remaining number of years on Earth. The notes belong to the Central Bank.

If you work and retire, your pension is only for life. After your life, it stops.

Even if you eat and get filled, the food in your belly isn't yours. You must defecate it back to Earth.

The body itself which you cherish so highly, doesn't belong to you. The Earth will certainly reclaim its bits, when the loan is due.

Even the life we live is borrowed, and surely will be returned.

So let us not be afraid of losing anything in this life, because we do not own anything here. Two things will surely happen; we will either be taken away from everything we think we own or everything we think we own will be taken away from us someday. It is that day that none of us know.

We boast about our body, our houses, our lands, our money, our wives, our husbands, our children, our parents, our everything. But that's where it ends. Boasting! Ruminate intensely and it won't be difficult to find out that, we do not own any of those things. We are only availed of them to mitigate the necessary constraints of our journey here.

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BE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BE by Daniell Koepke

"BE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BE"
by Daniell Koepke

Just because one person rejects you doesn’t mean you need to reject yourself.

Just because some people choose to disregard your worth and treat you without kindness doesn’t mean everyone will, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to imitate their behaviour

The truth is that the way other people treat us isn’t about us—it’s about them and their own struggles, insecurities, and limitations. You don’t have to allow their judgement to become your truth.

You may not be able to control what other people say or how they act, but you can always choose how you treat yourself.

You can choose who you surround yourself with, and who you let go of. And no matter what your circumstances, you can choose to believe in yourself and your worth.

Because at the end of the day, trying to please everyone is exhausting and impossible. No matter how you change or who you become, there will always be someone who doesn’t approve.

So instead of wasting your energy in a futile attempt to become someone that other people want you to be, give yourself permission to be exactly who you are. And know that who you are is exactly enough.

The right people will find their way into your life.

These are the people who will love and accept you wholeheartedly and without conditions.

These are the people who matter.

Let go of the rest.

~ Daniell Koepke ~

Artist Credit : Anne Virlange

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THOSE LITTLE NOTES THAT COUNT

"THOSE LITTLE NOTES THAT COUNT"

(author unknown)

Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honoured. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her.

And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, Chase’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.

Who is not getting requested by anyone else?

Who doesn’t even know who to request?

Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated?

Who had a million friends last week and none this week?

You see, Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.

As a teacher, parent, and lover of all children – I think that this is the most brilliant Love Ninja strategy I have ever encountered. It’s like taking an X-ray of a classroom to see beneath the surface of things and into the hearts of students. It is like mining for gold – the gold being those little ones who need a little help, who need adults to step in and TEACH them how to make friends, how to ask others to play, how to join a group, or how to share their gifts with others. And it’s a bully deterrent because every teacher knows that bullying usually happens outside of her eyeshot – and that often kids being bullied are too intimidated to share. But as she said – the truth comes out on those safe, private, little sheets of paper.

As Chase’s teacher explained this simple, ingenious idea – I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. “How long have you been using this system?” I said.

Ever since Columbine, she said. Every single Friday afternoon since Columbine.

Good Lord.

This brilliant woman watched Columbine knowing that ALL VIOLENCE BEGINS WITH DISCONNECTION. All outward violence begins as inner loneliness. She watched that tragedy KNOWING that children who aren’t being noticed will eventually resort to being noticed by any means necessary.

And so she decided to start fighting violence early and often, and with the world within her reach. What Chase’s teacher is doing when she sits in her empty classroom studying those lists written with shaky 11 year old hands - is SAVING LIVES. I am convinced of it. She is saving lives.

And what this mathematician has learned while using this system is something she really already knew: that everything – even love, even belonging – has a pattern to it. And she finds those patterns through those lists – she breaks the codes of disconnection. And then she gets lonely kids the help they need. It’s math to her. It’s MATH.

All is love- even math. Amazing.

Chase’s teacher retires this year – after decades of saving lives. What a way to spend a life: looking for patterns of love and loneliness. Stepping in, every single day- and altering the trajectory of our world.

TEACH ON, WARRIORS. You are the first responders, the front line, the disconnection detectives, and the best and ONLY hope we’ve got for a better world. What you do in those classrooms when no one is watching, it’s our best hope. copied for hope to save more Children

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WE END IT WITH A BROKEN HEART

"WE END IT WITH A BROKEN HEART"
(author unknown)

I miss you. God knows how much I want to be with you right now. He knows how many times I cried at night and how many times I begged Him to let me hold you in my arms again. It's sad, because we bid our goodbyes even though we still love each other. You don't know how much I needed you to stay on the very same day that you said goodbye. It broke my heart into pieces. I know that I would miss you forever.

Have you ever forgotten about your promise? You promised me that I am the only one that you would love in your entire life. This may sound so selfish, but could you still keep your promise? The truth is, I never want to let go of our love. A part of me is still hoping that you would make things right and make me feel safe in your arms again. But how would you do that when I know that you've already given up on us?

The truth is, I have trusted you with all my heart. But you broke it and made me feel so unwanted. Despite of that, I never stopped loving you. I never stopped caring for you. I never stopped hoping that one day I would wear a wedding ring from you. But everything turned into nightmare for me. I was left with all the broken pieces of me, grieving for the love that I have been praying to last. We ended, our love has ended, and we end it with a broken heart.

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