Navigating Reality: Touch of Hope

Photographer: March-Olivier Jodoin at Unsplash

"Today...I open my heart's hand to allow the touch of hope.”

Julia Cameron

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I feel the sorrow of loss and grief

Wondering if flowers feel the same

While wilting in the heat?

Summer heat reminds me that

Your hand no longer gently holds mine

But there is hope waiting

Beyond my spinning dreams. 

Today under an azure sky, nature

Splendidly welcomed morning's peace.

I opened my bleeding heart to life and

Felt the warmth of nature's healing

Peeking through the slats on the shades.

I accept the invitation to indulge in life

Because where there is an open heart

Possibilities open as well!

CVarsalona, draft, 2025

I shall carry this thought throughout the day with hope for peace to settle in.

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This month, the Poetry Sisters, Tanita at{fiction, instead of lies}, Laura at Laura Purdie Salas, Tricia at The Miss Ruphius Effect, Sara at Read Write Believe, Mary Lee Hahn at Another Year of Reading, and Liz at Liz Garton Scanlon, invited  writers to write a couple of couplets and make a raccontino. I am glad they explained the format that I have never tried before. A raccontino is a form that follows these rules: composed of couplets (any number) even-numbered lines that share the same end rhyme, the title and last words of the odd-numbered lines tell a story. I must admit that I struggled with this poetic format.

Silent Disease

Would I have known

What the future planned

When my heart was full of sorrow

And there were multiple demands?

Caregiver was the title given

But I could not withstand

The extent of sorrow

Nor could I understand.

There was a trip to take,

A birthday treat that was grand

To a place of ease

A beach filled with sand,

Summering during winter's end,

Yet you could not fully stand.

Life withered over our last days

Until what was left was in God's hands.

draft ©CVarsalona, 2025

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A Special Thank You To:

Jama Rattigan for lifting my heart and helping me navigate my reality with a special gift, Healing After Loss by Martha W. Hickman. This book inspires me to write about my journey with a touch of hope that summer will open my heart to joy.

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A new poetry friend, Shirley Thacker, shared a lovely poetry swap filled with poetic goodness. She sent me her book, Wind Beneath the Pines, that provides various types of poems which she wrote. This book is special because it comes from the heart. Shirley's husband urged her to "write the stories-the tales about life" and so she did. I am thrilled that Shirley shared her love of poetry with me in such a special way. You can read more about Shirley at Jone Rush MacCulloch's blog. Click here to read Jone's Interview with Shirley. I enjoyed Shirley's poems especially Grandchildren. Her six-word  poems shared her wisdom.

Courage each

Day, walking

Life's road

©Shirley Thacker

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I have lingered a long time trying to make sense of life while piecing the raccontino poem together. I gardened outside with the sun's warmth. Hope touched me, yet I still am unsure how to navigate reality. Healing after loss is a process. I am determined to continue this journey with stride. I thank family, friends, and the poetry community for their support. 

Now I turn my attention to the Poetry Friday Roundup that is hosted this week by one of the Poetry Sisters, Tanita Davis. This week she penned two poems and provided her process. I look forward to reading the contributions of all those who are adding their poems to the Roundup but I go at a slow pace these days.

In ending, I decided to take Shirley Thacker's 6 word poem 

Courage each

Day, walking

Life's road

and write Golden Shovel as inspiration to be present in life daily.

Finding courage

is not easy on each

summer day

perhaps walking

will provide life's

journey a new road

©CVarsalona, 2025

Navigating Reality: Another Issue To Worry About

It was a day of sunshine, not rainy weather as many days have been. I drove my new car down the parkway. Cars and trucks were surrounding me as I made my way to my son's appointment. Then, the unexpected happened!

another life issue rushed by

while driving the highway on a sunshiny day

a huge piece of rubber shot up and onto my new car

there was nothing I could do during this upheaval

no truck to claim how this happened

just a warning to be ever vigilant because life is uncertain

©CVarsalona, June 2025

The rubber shot right into my car. Luckily, it did not hit my windshield and bounced off my car. I was shocked by the happening but had to remain calm. It was just one more oddity of life happening. Black marks were on the front passenger side of my car but my car salesman had the shop buff off the marks. I felt blessed that this unwarranted event did not do more physical damage and mental distress.

Life is so fragile and uncertain that every daybreak is a miracle, almost a triumph. That first blush in the sky is all the hope of the world distilled into light. I watch dark fade, and say to myself, "Okay, I'm here," and the more sunrises I see, the more I feel as if I'll live to see another twenty thousand."  - Dan Koontz, The Other Emily

I shall enjoy the sunshine today that lightens the earth. Have a Happy Summertime!

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for offering the space that reflective writers can communicate with each other.

Poetry Sisters' February Challenge

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” —Vivian Greene

-From a snow day to a freezing rain one-

This month, the Poetry Sisters' invited writers and poets to their February Challenge that asked for a "____ is a Word " poem, originated by Nikki Grimes. See  Nikki's thoughts on the form she created here.  

I am late joining Poetry Friday this week but am happy to sit alone in the quiet and write a post with the hashtag #PoetryPals.

Today is Poetry Friday hosted by the wonderful Denise Krebs who is also participating in the Poetry Sisters' February Challenge. She has two different poems that have not only wordplay but voice. See her blog, Dare To Care, where the Poetry Friday Roundup is a happening.

-It is difficult lately to try to write while having to care for my husband at the same time. I will try to make the rounds as much as I can.

Let's Celebrate!

I feel like celebrating today after reading Ramona Behnke's SJT post on a children's book, My Mama Had a Dancing Heart.  

Is it that Spring is in the air? The sun is returning after soaking the earth with its gentle but hearty rains or is it that I have a window of opportunity to lounge around instead of being immersed in checking out my endless to-do list? I sneak time to read posts from Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday writing friends. I plan on reading the read aloud version of the book which can be found on YouTube here. The book talks about celebrating and this made me pause to ponder what can I joyfully celebrate today.

Let's Celebrate!

What shall I celebrate

on the morning of a

rain-soaking,

spring-popping,

gray-clouding day?

I pause and see

nature nurturing me

in its sun-cracking,

pollen-packing,

heart-gladdening way.

©CVarsalona, 2023

Little grandgirls giggle,

Bunnies wiggle.

Crayons jiggle.

We love to play!

It's a Springsational day!

©CVarsalona, 2023

Look around you and find reasons to celebrate life!

Have you checked out my Springsations Gallery Padlet here. 

I and other poets, slicers, and writers celebrate Spring there.

Another reason to celebrate is that it's Tuesday and time to join Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life here.

Be Still-Spiritual Journey Thursday

Lately, life is full of storms, both physical and emotional ones that cause anxiety, fear, and damage. These "storms" can come out of nowhere or they can be predicted. This month, Chris Margocs, the host of Spiritual Journey Thursday, offers the topic, Be Still, for us to ponder. Her thoughts are succinctly provided at Horizon 51. Margaret Simon, the coordinator of Spiritual Journey Thursday, kindly created a link-up for the community at her blog post, Presence.

Credit: Photo by Max Larochelle on Unsplash

Last night, the sky opened with quick bolts of lightning and thunderous sounds. The rains pelted down but I did not hear or see the commotion. Only my husband did. I was surprised when I awoke to the news and yet, I felt relieved that I could sleep through the commotion. After all, there have been many downpours that stormed through my life these past months and I was spared a night of interrupted sleep. Perhaps, I am learning to quiet the storms that rage through faith. The following scripture verse is one that found me on my route to finding peace.

Then, they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper. (Psalm 107:28-30)

Credit: Don Moen - Be Still & Know

Be still, my soul.

Find rest.

Just be and know

Storms are a test.

Breathe in.

Find rest.

Forget what's been.

Know what's best.

Be still, my soul.

God brings rest.

©CVarsalona, 2022

This evening, I spent over an hour listening to different meditations on stillness and presence that I found on YouTube. Some involved yoga breathing practices that provided a gentle entrance into centering my thoughts. Being still when I am used to activity is a welcome change. If interested, you can visit the Daily Calm: 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation, Be Present. Click on the image below.

It is essential to find stillness and be present to block out the horrific happenings in the world and pray for peace. Finding stillness to just be is my Spiritual Journey Thursday goal for this month. I send positive vibes out to all the Spiritual Journey Thursday writers and those inclined to seek ways to be in the moment.

 

#SOL22 March Musings Day 29: Rambling Autobiography

I was born in a small town populated by many Italian immigrants and their descendants along the New York State Erie Canal. Not until I was in graduate school did I know that my mother immigrated from Italy in 1921 with my Nonnie when she was a baby. I grew up adoring my Nonnie and spent peaceful summers learning about baking and gardening and taking weekly walks to the library. While I did not buy anything during those summer months, my Nonnie saved her money to purchase me a Katy Keene comic book. From then on, I fell in love with fashion and thought I might pursue fashion design like my mother did but my photographer uncle and mother insisted that I should go to a four-year college. My dream to become a creative person who wrote poetry and studied photography grew from then on. When in graduate school studying curriculum development, my professor asked me to start a reading program for young delinquent boys in a reform school in the country. From there I followed a calling to help others become lifelong readers. My favorite places were different reading corners inside or nature-inspired areas for writing outside. I can still sense the peace emanating from my alone time with a book or pen and paper. While in high school, I started dating a young man on and off this high school/college romance was not sustainable so I continued to search for love until I met my husband when I least expected romance. While walking with one crutch into a birthday party love struck. We conversed about my painful skiing accident and how I fainted in the hospital after being driven from Massachusetts to my hometown of Syracuse, New York. I became familiar with pain and while I was geographically unsuitable for my love interest, love did grow. I gave my heart to him a couple of years later. During the years that followed in a small village on Long Island, New York, we grew in faith as a family of four experiencing heartaches and joy. Becoming resilient through challenges became important when I once had non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2003. Remission became a blessed word that brought us eventually to the second chapter of life in our beautiful new build in Virginia. Here, we live with my family which is filled with two amazing little grandgirls. Life is fragile and uncertain but "in family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony" (Friedrich Nietzsche)  

✍

Thank you, Fran Haley, for your awesome rambling autobiography that was inspired by Denise Krebs who took Linda Rief's rambling autobiography and made the following starters for a quick write lesson. 

I was born…
I adore…
I bought…
I have…
I never…
One of my…
When I was (age)…
My favorite place…
I can still (sense)…
I dated…
I fainted…
I gave…
I once had…
I am…
I want to…

✍

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for this daily meeting place to connect with a community of reflective writers.

A Case of the Pandemic Blues

Enough is enough!  I have noticed a dip in my positivity level each time life stressors interfere (way too many times to count). Can I categorize this new felt loss as the pandemic blues? 

"A mid-summer poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation reported over half of US adults indicated the pandemic has affected their mental health." (Article, Beating the Pandemic Blues)

I count myself as one of those affected by the stresses of pandemic life. Back at the end of February, my husband and I signed a contract to build a new home in Virginia near my little granddaughters. Who knew that COVID-19 would rear its ugly head a few weeks later changing my perspective in so many ways. Yesterday morning I paused to reflect on the happenings of the past nine months, building a home virtually and almost selling my Long Island home five times if you count interested prospective buyers. All of this has left me with weakened resolve but yesterday I found a bit of clarity. 

An incessant all day downpour turned the sky dark while drenching my newly-decorated porch. Fresh poinsettias sat beautifully in pots standing like poised guards waiting for yet another prospective buyer. The rainstorm negated that visit and caused my new plants to become rainsoaked. I ran outside to rescue them. Poor me, I thought. There would be no walks today, no finding small details in nature to bring peace. But then, I decided this outlook would only cause more distress so when I caught an interesting sight from my bedroom window I took a closer look. Nature was sounding off with gusts of wind and a downpour unlike those seen in many weeks. There was a strong windshift and pendulating swings of tree branches. I decided to pause and indulge in a few moments of relaxed self-care, just taking time to watch nature at work. Later, the following digital poem evolved.

I decided that If my poinsettias and decorations could withstand the relentless outbursts of nature during trying times, then I could, too. While my future path many not be a smooth one, I am ready to start thinking about the urgency of self-care: getting hold of my emotions and not letting the howl of pandemic blues deprive me of joy. It is with resolve to move forward that I will keep the following quote front and center.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain." 

-Author Vivian Greene

☔

It's Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers so I am moving over to join the writing community because writing is one of my happy places.  

 

Thought to Live By_SOLSC 12

News blasts shout out alarming reports of the spread of the coronavirus. Two phone calls come in with cancellations of appointments and yoga classes. Life replays like the young adult dystopian novel, Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Where is the world heading? It is time to ponder the present and find some semblance of peace in an unfamiliar world.

Each year since March 2015, I have engaged in Two Writing Teacher's Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge. Slicing allows me to ponder life, literacy, and learning, capturing small moments poetically through writing, photography, and digital art. Welcome to Day 12 of 31 days of writing with Two Writing Teachers.

Coddiwompling Through Life

Ever since I read fellow slicer, Molly Hogan's blog I have been intrigued with a new word, coddiwomple. What does it mean?, I wondered.  The word has a lilt to it, making me think of our family's winter walk in Reston, Virginia.

Coddiwomple

Under a winter sky,

she meanders down the trail,

stopping to notice the sun's brilliance 

casting shadows along the path.

Pausing, she wonders, peeking into fallen logs.

"Where are the animals?" Then, moves on

following the sounds of the woods.

A wayfarer of life marks her steps

finding solace in the winter woods

as she coddiwomples along.

©CV, 2020

(coddiwomple- a slang word to move or travel for a purpose but without any fixed destination) 

Oh, to be a child again, finding delight in simple walks, intrigued by nature and the beauty of the woods on a winter day! Watching my 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter walk along the path made for a joyful family outing. While most of us did not know the trail, we traveled to soak in the warmth of the sun, delighting in the weather and the sights. It was time to inhale the fresh air, purposefully walking and talking as a family and being surprised by a small stream that we needed to cross. "Balancing on the rocks-could we do this, my husband and I wondered?" If my granddaughter could cross the stream without fear, we could. I was the first to cross over successfully but managed to get my sneaker wet by stepping in the water on top of the rock. With a positive outlook, I realized that I conquered a small fear, and kept my balance without falling into the stream. When my husband and son finally made it to the other side of the stream, we kept moving on, feeling proud of our accomplishment.

How often do we walk through life fearful of tasks or situations? Can we accept life with its challenges and victories? We can choose to move on with a positive attitude, purposefully coddiwompling on our journey. Understanding that our destination is not a fixed one, helps us realize that life is fragile and uncertain with many turns, detours, and crossings to encounter.  In our personal and professional lives, we journey onward realizing that it takes courage, stamina, and faith to walk the walk. On a winter day, I found contentment in a simple family walk.

It's Slice of Life Tuesday at Two Writing Teachers.

Join me there to read a variety of posts and check out the 2020 March Slice of Life Challenge.