Our Heart Centered Life

when i dig a little deeper...

2009-07-12T16:06:00.007-04:00

it's not always easy to change my perspective, but there are times when a closer look actually widens the view, revealing the reward

Hey, Look, it's Tom and Traci....but more importantly...It's Thomas with a TAN (which could only mean he's living near the SUN!)

2009-06-30T17:14:00.004-04:00

I'd Like to Thank my Mom for the "Green Thumb" Gene

2009-06-19T01:02:00.011-04:00

My gardens are overflowing with buds, blooms, and fragrance.
Before the torrential rain came I spent an afternoon intentionally walking the stone path weaved throughout the beds. I was again impressed by the tenacity of seemingly fragile things that not only survive our harsh coastal winters, but thrive & multiply as they await the Sun's gift.

I've been spending more time just admiring the diversity of the plants and noticing just how quickly they change––small buds, bigger buds, just opening, fully open, bursting blooms, petal by petal drop away...and I turn around just in time to see a whole new plant begin it's similar cycle.

Really, Sun, I need some of your time shining on these beauties...then I'll pass the day away reading, smelling, and smiling on that weathered wooden bench in a sea of color

Colby, Here She Comes...

2009-06-18T11:42:00.014-04:00

CONGRATULATIONS, MARIAH!

Honoring all your accomplishments, successes, struggles, triumphs...and all you haven't even dared to dream yet!

Damn!

2009-06-16T16:39:00.007-04:00

I went searching for new tunes to make lawn mowing less like creating crop circles, and to my delight heard a new (to me) Rob Thomas song. I'm never coming down off the mower!

Don't get me wrong, ladies...This is strictly a MUSIC CRUSH!
You know when an artist gets under your skin and can make you feel like dancing, singing, swaying, sighing, and/or riding your mower over every neighbors lawn just to keep the momentum going and learn every lyric before the gas runs out!

Really, Rob and I are strictly platonic!

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

...yeah, right!

He's Got the Music in Him

2009-06-12T18:39:00.004-04:00

Wes rocks a drum solo at a recent fund raising event for his friend, Nathan

...wait for it

...Yeah!

...Endorphin Smile!

Wes and Jake beautifully perform, The General by Dispatch

I cherish this picture in particular these days...

What I truly love about these guys is their honest to goodness Man-Love...it's authentic and wonderful!

Full Moon Fiest

2009-06-07T14:02:00.010-04:00

If I hear one more skeptical, traditional educator or smart ass ignoramus give unsolicited comment on how my kid and other young home-based-learners are disadvantaged socially due to the isolated lifestyles imposed through a pedagogy they obviously know jack about,

well...I might be drawn to the dark side of mothering and....

A Truly Heart Centered Couple...

2009-06-06T09:28:00.004-04:00

Wes escorted Mariah to her Senior Ball and as is their usual "style" they were stunning together. Mariah's dress style you might recognize if you saw Keira Knightly in Atonement...and Wes, well you be the judge...!!

We Certainly Got a Bang for Our New York Film Academy Buck$$$

2009-06-01T19:44:00.007-04:00

Another FUN, FUNNY, movie by Wes Sterrs (and our surrogate son, Pender)

Wes and Pender have entered "Late Fees" in a local film competition with the Belfast Filmmaking Group. The screenings will be Thursday, June 3rd...This film seems to have a big following and surprisingly most of the cast (with the exception of Stella, she's got another gig,) and many local viewers plan on attending said screening in hopes of voting, cheering, and cinching a WIN!

Best of luck to the cast and crew and creators of "Late Fees"

He Signed It!!! He really Signed It!!!

2009-05-07T20:38:00.002-04:00

AUGUSTA – Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.

May 6, 2009

...“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” Governor Baldacci said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”

...“It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”

...“While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do,” Governor Baldacci said.

He Signed It!!!

Creativity Doesn't Have a Bedtime!

2009-05-04T09:48:00.015-04:00

Just Another Example of Why We Haven't and Can't in Good Conscience Impose Bedtimes...What begins as a spark at 10pm may not fully ignite until 3am!

(...and I just couldn't be responsible for the demise of such potential)

An Exerpt from the Documentary on Service Learning , 2008

2009-05-04T08:19:00.005-04:00

Last year Wes was immersed in a project with Time For Belfast and The Toddy Pond School(a very small, but wonderful independent thinking/learning school in Swanville, ME)

I've posted photographs and written a bit about how wonderful the experience was for Wes and hopefully I included how wonderful it was for me as well.

The movie was filmed in HD and premiered at our local theater, The Colonial.
It is really a "gem" and I wish I could play it here...sigh.

After the movie was completed the producers, Caleb Crosby and Ruth McVane, filmed the follow-up documentary which is incredibly wonderful as well. It gives voice to all the children/teens involved in the movie's process and as well we get to hear from their parents about this open, creative, and much needed model in the sphere of institutionalized learning.

Although Wes is not a traditional student in a traditional learning environment, he grew a great deal from the experience of working with professional filmmakers as well as with all the students (homeschoolers as well.)

This is just a clip from the documentary which is fun as it plays back and forth between Wes and me answering questions related to our experience during the making of the film.

I can't believe how much he's grown in under a year...yes, physically, at nearly 6'3", but even more evident is his depth of character and ever enriched life learning!

2009-04-30T08:01:00.003-04:00

February marked two years since my father's sudden death. From time to time I've written bits about my experience and process before and during his dying. But I've not spent much time thinking about my relationship to my bereavement process. It's mostly been organic as I leave it be to compost and wait to see what might push through the dark layers of the complexity that was our life together.

And just as effortlessly as I've invited the grieving in, something creative and connective came up through the layers just as my dad's death anniversary approached.

Even now I will be challenged to put in writing something that most of this time I was at a loss for words to explain.

MAINE, LET'S GET THIS RIGHT...PLEASE!

2009-04-26T10:42:00.004-04:00

Bill would allow same-sex marriage in Maine

(CNN) -- A Maine lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday that would allow same-sex marriages in the state.
A bill introduced in Maine would having it join two other New England states in allowing same-sex marriages.

A bill introduced in Maine would having it join two other New England states in allowing same-sex marriages.

Democratic state Sen. Dennis Damon's bill is entitled "An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedoms." It would allow any two people in Maine to apply for a marriage license.

Mary Bonauto, a Maine resident and civil rights project director for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), held a news conference Tuesday to show support for the bill.

"Loving, committed same-sex couples in my home state deserve all the rights and responsibilities of marriage," she said.

Wes Rocks It on Stage at the 26th Annual Belfast POPS Concert!

2009-04-06T12:30:00.010-04:00

It may have been but a month ago that Wes announced he'd be joining Mariah and her fellow high school students on stage for the much loved POPS Concert. I confess, I was really surprised!

Wes began hour long, flexible once a week bass lessons with our friend Jason just a few months ago. He bought a bass, then decided he liked Jason's electric guitar better, so secured a loan from his dad for a used electric guitar. Soon he found a Black Keys song that he thought would be great to play at the annual high school concert. Mariah would play her last solo on a saxophone that's just shy of her 5'2" height as she is off to Colby College in the fall. Wes went in search of a singer and a drummer to share the stage for one act. He practiced this tune less than I imagined he needed, but enough to keep it vibrating the house and ringing in my head, daily.

If Wes had a stomach full of butterflies, he didn't let on. I imagine he channeled them into the energy he brought to the stage ~ steady, thoughtful, and open to the fun that building rhythm and a cheering audience would bring.

In the letting go of a child boyhood and learning to trust the wisdom that each new developmental stage brings, we keep growing one amazing human being!

Filmmaker, artist, creative writer, and who knew(?)...ROCK STAR
He's definitely got the hair!

A thought I have a lot these days is how through those early years and for many years he watched us, his parents, and learned through imitation, patience, guidance. And now I know without a shadow of a doubt that those tables have turned and it is I who learn every day from a shining example who takes risks not imagining failure or being held back from fear. Our children most definitely are our greatest teachers.

Two Guys and a Girl

2009-04-02T03:19:00.011-04:00

Late night shenanigans on testosterone

Just like the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jacks box

I'm thinking the New MOD SQUAD!
(I seriously just dated myself, didn't I?)

Dedicated To My Pain Meds, Who've Made It All B'areable'

2009-04-01T07:48:00.018-04:00

Had I known prior to my recent

that I'd be wearing this badge

I might have made other arrangements to

But as is often the case in the days and weeks of post-op I might as well have sold tickets to help pay for the operation...seems there's lots to see and do "down there!"

I'll Have a Cup of Contemplation with the Cafe Mocha, Please

2009-03-04T10:26:00.007-05:00

A morning examining struggle~

Imagining where the invisible boundaries lie~
Angst
Teenage angst
Invisible anger
just not so invisible~

Deciding to let roll off my back
each new rush cutting a gorge down my spine
or
building a boundary
a feminine fortress
shelter from the storm

I wonder if the mortar
can withstand another two to three years
?

It's all about the Cake!

2009-02-28T11:05:00.016-05:00

this has gotta be the cutest cake I've ever seen!

Inertia, it's the only {lame} excuse I have for not posting Happy Birthday sentiments to the wonderful women in my life, whose birthdays fell in February. But before the clock strikes midnight and out like a lion in like a lamb begins, here's some cake for these birthday Goddesses...please have a piece and leave a birthday wish if you like...

Betty, my mom ~ born February 11th

Aunt Connie ~ born February 15th
Because she just became a Grandma, I gift her, Babycakes!

Corinne, gorgeous soul mate friend ~ born February 18th

Although I'm not quite sure of her date (may possibly be the end of January,)
Mary, one Zenmomma who lives in a garden!

A BACON garden!

And last, but certainly not least...gleefully I've not missed her big day, is
Tiffany, loving, compassionate, the younger version of Goddess ~ born February 28th

Oh Tiff, I'd totally put him on your cake!!

No matter the date, I send you wishes always!

Making Friends with What Is...Blue

2009-02-19T18:36:00.007-05:00

Been having that feeling again...except this year those old familiar blue tones were patiently waiting to greet me in mid February.

The weather certainly isn't in any way uplifting...it snowed sideways most of the day here.

It feels more and more difficult to come out from the blue cavern.

Possibly if I just make friends with my blue phenomenon something blue-ti-ful will take root...

Larry Sterrs...This Post's for YOU!

2009-02-04T00:35:00.017-05:00

Look Honey ... I got'z color!

....See you Saturday! Who can wait???

Inquiring Lurkers Minds Want to Know., "What's up with the Island?"

2009-02-03T21:22:00.030-05:00

My newest blog header ~~was lifted~~ is from a real estate company somewhere in the Bahamas. It's a fairly decent aerial view of "our island"-- Lubbers Quarters Cay nearer the southern end of the chain of Abacos islands in the Bahamas.

Pretty sweet, huh?

For many years our best friends Larry & Sharon have vacationed on various islands in the Bahamas. Their knowledge of these areas and waters, coupled with their desire to some day spend more time in warmer climates, got the men [especially] motivated to explore this once thought "snowball's chance in hell."

Of course it would take a couple "man trips" and exploring several islands before our hunter gatherers struck gold. "Oceanview," as it was named by the previous and only owner, is fast becoming the ~~hideout~~ home away from home that the four of us had only dreamed of owning.

After a long and sometimes tedious international land/home purchase we've only just begun to enjoy vacations at Oceanview. And so far it's been a vacation grab bag of sorts with mutual friends joining Larry & Sharon for their 25th wedding anniversary two years ago, or Larry and Sharon alone, or us and them. But I confess my favorite would be "the man trip" that Larry, Larry, and Wes have taken a few times now...well, it will have been my favorite until Saturday when Sharon & I meet up the husbands and spend a week together island ~~heavily medicating ourselves with Kalik, Bahamian beer~~ hopping!

There's so much more to say about this watery slice of heaven, but I need to cram more less than 4oz contraband into that ridiculous postage-stamp size baggy!

...And if you can stand to look, come back for photos of our "full moon at Cracker P's Bar & Grill" and any PG13 rated pics[as if!] of Bahama shenanigans!

Having Not Read the Script, I can Only Imagine What Fresh Hell Awaits...!

2009-02-02T09:03:00.020-05:00

Another short film by Wes Sterrs...Still in production, but coming soon...to a computer screen near you!

Wes, Writer/Director/Cinematographer/Deer in the Headlight

Mariah, Wes, & The Clacker...It's the little details!

It's getting creepy. And they haven't left our house to go shoot yet!

Mariah begins Sam's makeup

Sam, Mariah, & shenanigans from the director

OK, officially creepy!

Now on location, Mariah morphs Pender

Wes really sinks his teeth into this movie...

Cast & Crew...Woody, Mariah, Wes, and poor, poor Pender

Mariah, makeup artist/actress/bestest, best girlfriend to Wes

They make the cutest couple!

Yikes, I hope this isn't a spoiler...Woody commands The Ramen!

Ha! Pender checks the ~~fine print in his contract~~ script.

Awesomeness! Is anybody getting the whole momma pride thing here?

Oscar headline reads, "Headless Director Takes Best Picture"

Ok, so nutritional value isn't a high priority after hours & hours of hair, makeup, and filming. Amazing job Wes, Mariah, Pender & Sam!

‘A New Birth of Freedom’

2009-01-20T11:07:00.001-05:00

If you want to be important — wonderful.
If you want to be great — wonderful.
But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That's a new definition of greatness ...
by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve.
You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.
And you can be that servant.

an excerpt from a sermon Dr. King delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga

The Blog Quote of the Moment...

2009-01-20T10:50:00.002-05:00

And while Mrs. G. is thrilled her party's candidate won, this inauguration, in her mind, transcends politics. On Tuesday, she will be sitting on her couch watching a black man raise his right hand, flanked by his beautiful black family, and she will cry.

And while she cries, she will think: hey racism...

in your fucking face.