I dwell, exist and feel ~ of paradise.

Can paradise be a feeling, or a state of mind?

Is paradise a place, born outside of time.

When and where, and how you touch

releases me -

a sensual intoxication,

seductive addictive -

your creation or

the spilling of my passion

is this the paradise I feel?

.~

You play me, you know,

an instrument in your hands

made for your touch

it would seem.

But as you stroke and explore

the melody of my pleasure,

it seems my sweet passion

ignites your own.

I shudder with desire

And feel the paradise

I release within you,

as we share together,

these moments lost in dwelling

in the feel of paradise.

~

Penny L Howe, 2013

***

And this concludes the trilogy of sensual verse: Perhaps, It Seems and Of Paradise!

I hope you enjoyed!

Penny

I got an A+ on my book report and the teacher went to the Library to check out the book by the author (which of course neither existed). So I was called upon to explain this discrepancy. And I told the truth. My A+ stayed, I was asked not to do that again and she said she was disappointed because she was looking forward to reading the book.

So today I’d like you to have some fun with me! I’ve created a book cover (below) and I’d like you to write a book report (from just looking at the illustration) or a book review or what the intro (you know the flap inside the cover of the book, might say about the author and the book). Post (publish) on your blog and then link to this post. No deadlines. I’ll place your link below for others to read.

Please be as creative as you’d like. Talk about the fictional author and his or her background, what the story is about, what the reviewers are saying about the book. Anything that might appear in a book report or book review. I want this to be fun! No contest, no prizes, just having fun with imagination and creative writing.

I do hope you decide to join in the fun, If you don’t want to post your creative writing on your main post, create a page for your “book report” and link to it from there!

~ Thanks for taking part in the fun!

Penny

There are some words that when understood and utilized actually activate your life’s energy flow. A proven fact. They can fortify your immune system (so you’re healthier), strengthen your resolve of things and assist you in overcoming doubt and other obstacles in your life.

Love – Unconditional acceptance and understanding empathy for the human condition.

Faith or Belief – The pure feeling and revelation of our relationship to creation and the infinite.

Trust – Confidence, believing in and relying on the qualities of integrity and goodness.

Gratitude – A feeling, a humble emotion of sincere and heartfelt thankfulness.

Courage – Bravery, the quality of the mind enabling one to prepare for danger even through fear.

Sounds good doesn’t it! Well if you’re in a store that stocks those items to purchase, you can say I’ll take one of each,  just put it on my bill!

If they came in the form of a pill, we’d pop the pills into our mouth in a heartbeat. 

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. There’s a little more effort on your part required. The good news is that all are readily accessible, you just need to change your mind on how you view yourself and your capabilities.

So how can you accomplish this?

The “you” who is convinced of what you can’t do, and your head full of all the reasons why.

You believe you can!

You change your ATTITUDE!

You wake up tomorrow and say “I CAN DO THIS” !

You go through each day regardless of what happens believing you can do it!

AND YOU WILL!

The only one stopping you is … you,

your fears, your anger and your guilt.

So there you go.

The antidote you need, yours for the doing!

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Have a great week,

~ Penny

Check out the latest entries: 

His photograph this week is the following:

Stepping Into The Future

“A picture of a time portal?” She shook her head handing the photo back to him. “I was expecting something – I don’t know – more exciting, a dark luminous tunnel, a pathway ending in a mist.”

He smiled, “I know, completely average looking. But this is it. The portal, between the first and second set of steps. By the time you reach the second set you’re in the future, when you turn and walk back down you’re in the past again.”

“Fascinating, but how do I know you’re not just making this up.”

His smile became broader. “I anticipated your question. So I took this picture before I came. Notice the date in the lower right hand corner.”

She looked at the date in the photograph and then at him.

“You’re from my future?”

“Yes,” he said, “But I couldn’t wait any longer to be with you,

so I came early!”

(150 words)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To enter your own flash fiction from Alastair’s photo prompt, click here to get started!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week ahead!

~ Penny

The richest thing a Father will never lose

is the love he gives to his children.

those riches will be returned to him in full

a thousand times over!

~

Happy Father’s Day to

All Loving Fathers Everywhere!

Past, Present, and Future!

~ Penny

]]> http://thewhyaboutthis.com/2013/06/16/to-all-the-loving-fathers-on-the-planet/feed/ 32 pennycoho plh http://thewhyaboutthis.com/2013/06/15/are-you-thinking-asleep/ http://thewhyaboutthis.com/2013/06/15/are-you-thinking-asleep/#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 01:35:02 +0000 Penny L Howe http://thewhyaboutthis.com/?p=16174 ]]>

When you think, are your thoughts busily reviewing the list of “to do’s” that aren’t done yet? Are you dwelling on things that have already happened or are happening around you now? Are you thinking “awake” or thinking “asleep”?

Our thoughts, become words, (whether stated or written) becoming actions. And more and and more of us today are thinking asleep with our actions. We go through life’s daily chores in an almost robotic type of modality where even our emotions are repetitious in nature.

We are thinking asleep. We are mostly in a response mode. We are stuck in a groove. Yes, most especially the “I have too many things to do, so I’m not sure what to do next” groove. The other popular groove that many are caught up in today is the “poor me, I have too many problems to deal with and other people don’t care” or “I’m in a strictly reactionary mode as it refers to me personally, everything else I relate to is at a distance, from a position of security.” Voicing concerns but staying uninvolved at a personal level, because that’s what’s Safe.

Well guess what? Wake up! Life is happening all around you.

When you think awake, you think a thing and then YOU ACT ON IT! Put it into affect. You stop spending time on what’s wrong with yourself and focus on what’s right. The world’s problems begin with you!

No more thinking on what your missing in life (with a myriad of excuses you give to yourself and others each day) because (here’s the biggy)

… YOU DETERMINE WHAT DIRECTION YOU’RE GOING TO HEAD IN. HOW YOU’RE GOING TO FEEL ABOUT THE DAY AND WHAT YOU CAN MAKE OF YOURSELF IN THE PROCESS. THAT’S YOU. IT IS PERSONAL BECAUSE YOU’RE THE ONE STANDING GUARD OVER YOUR LIFE, AND IF YOU AREN’T, WHY NOT?

You belong to you before anything else. You came into the world and breathed in life as a single entity and you’ll depart the same way. This is a simple truth. No one’s going to crawl in the coffin with you, but I guarantee you there are many out there more than happy to help you dig your own grave, but only if …  YOU LET THEM.

The Sleeper must awaken! (always wanted to use that line)

Start by thinking awake. Look directly at what you’ve decided you haven’t been doing AND START DOING IT!

No, life isn’t safe, it’s filled with risks (going after most worthy things have risk involved.) No,  life won’t suddenly become wonderful, but it will begin to head in the direction you want it to.

Life happens whether you involve yourself in it or not. You decide how much control events will have over you. YOU DO!

When you start thinking awake a whole new world of possibilities awaken. You become energized with renewed feelings of hope and anticipation.

And you’ll be living your life to it’s fullest, not regretting in bitterness or sorrow what you didn’t do, when you could have, because you were thinking asleep !

~ Penny

 Penny L Howe, 2013

~*~

I hope everyone has lots of the “feel good things” happen this weekend!

~ Penny

Time for a new Līgo Haībun Challenge

Last week’s standard of haībun was excellent making it difficult to choose. The Honorable mentions are:

kz

Steph

Bjorn

Kingsley

Sarah Ann Hall

Each is well worth a visit to read. Thank you for all those who entered. 

For the specifics on how to write your own haībun, and enter the challenge, click here.

I know there are so many more great writers out there, I can’t encourage you enough to give this challenge a try. Go on, your muse is waiting for you!

This week, the prompts to choose from are either:

“The Sun” or “Childhood memory of summer camps“

~

The prompt I choose this week for my haibun offering is

THE SUN

~

We observers, arch our necks to look up at the bright sun passing over head each day. Earth rotates around the sun. As viewed from the surface of our planet, the sun appears to revolve around us.  At varying times we follow the sun’s path from the morning side of our vision to the evening side of our vision. In orbital fashion the sun informs and reminds us that we exist … just because … while nourishing, with sunshine, along the way of circular travels.

When we speak of the circle of life, we think of ecology and the delicate balance of nature (all life) on our planet. And yet in truth, when we look up to gaze on ‘our sun’ each day; life as we know it and it’s continued existence, is completely dependent upon this shining star in the sky. The circle of life is the sun, and we merely spectators waiting upon the event horizon.

~

Next week is a Ligo Haibun Special, celebrating the Ligo festival! Prizes will be given for Honourable Mentions! Now is definitely the time to become a part of this international group of writers,  just click on the Ligo Circle of Appreciation!

 

 

 

Thanks everyone, have a great weekend,

~ Penny

A very curvy Snow cat ~ shaped by Emma

Hello.

As you know I don’t normally do photo challenges but this weeks WordPress Photo Challenge of curves sounded like fun. Also I wanted to submit a drawing for ‘Time out for Art’, also I wanted to write a brief post about the summer of things versus the winter of things, also Emma had asked me to showcase some of her creative work. (As if that’s ever a problem, lol).

A cartoon drawing by Emma. Having fun building a snowman in winter.

~

One of the things we females do extremely well, is multi-task so without further ado. My photo entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge of curves (Emma’s). The drawing, for Lisa’s of Zebra Designs and Destinations: Time out for art (Emma’s). Expressing herself through her art form, drawing multiple drawings per day is the norm. for her.

And I … well I sit here viewing both Emma’s creative molding of a snow cat (she loves cats), a cartoon drawing of a snowman (she makes her own cartoon videos) depicting the fun we can have in winter on even really cold days while out on the patio this morning where it’s a warm and breezy blue skied day outside!

There you go! a Challenge, a time out, some feel good feelings of sharing a young girl’s creativity and a reminder that, yes indeed, summer is just about here and celebrating the difference between the two seasons.

Here’s the Artisan herself: Emma (And yes she designed and colored the hat and shirt)!

I’m going to sip a little more coffee as I publish this, everyone have an excellent weekend!

~ Penny

The crowd began to gather at dusk. On the far end of the city park. The local community had been doing this, once a week, for over a year now. Ever Friday evening, various individuals and families would show up, quietly holding lit candles to remind them of someone they had lost to inner city violence so widespread on the city streets today.

This evening was no different and as it became darker the crowd grew larger, each person carrying a lit candle. There was a small stage with a platform set up in the back. One by one they’d walk up to the stage, turn and face the crowd, reverently mention the name of his or her “lost” relative or friend, turn and place their candle on the platform with the other candles and then leave the stage to make room for the next person.

As the sky darkened overhead, the amber glow from the stage increased. Those in the large crowd still holding candles waited patiently for their turn, while the ones who had placed their candles on the platform stood nearby towards the back, heads bowed.

At the very edge of the crowd there appeared a single candle glow, much brighter than the others, and all those standing and waiting, turned to view this candle being held by a young girl, weaving very slowly between the people in the crowd. They began to part, clearing a pathway for her as she made her way, candle held in both hands, to the the front of the stage.

She was given a helping hand up onto the stage steps and then she walked to the center and turned to face the gathered crowd. She spoke not a word just lifted the candle high in front of her. An adult walked over to her and said, “Would you like to say who this candle is for my child?”

She nodded, still holding the candle strongly out in front of her. The candle glowed more brightly than ever. Softly but clearly she spoke.

“I live around the corner, in a small house. It is just my mother and myself. My mother works long hours so I spend a lot of time alone. When you started your candle light tribute a year ago I began to watch and I’d come and listen to each person speak of those they had lost. And then the other day I realized someone had been forgotten so I am here tonight for that one.”

She paused at this point, still looking out at the silent and spell bound audience. They, enchanted by this young girl standing there so solemn, her candle flickering slightly in the evening breeze.

The adult leaned over again and asked her, “And who might this candle be for my child?”

The little girl’s answer was quietly spoken yet heard all the way to the back of the gathering.

“I hold this candle for the one no one remembered. The one who had no one who cared. Who came and went alone in life. For this person then do I hold the candle.

So none be forgotten, this candle is for that one.”

~

Millions of children, in the United States alone runaway each year. Many are never found. Many many more millions of children around the planet are homeless and all too often also end up being alone. It is a sadness beyond belief that on our (civilized?) planet today so many children suffer and die needlessly and alone.

~

Penny L Howe, 2013