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January | 2011 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/01
Archive for January, 2011 Monthly archive page. Finding My Way HOME. On January 10, 2011. The decision was made months ago, the excitement rising as the calendar edged closer and closer to a new year, a new beginning, a fresh start for what feels like the entire world. My choice of word for 2011 is home. The choice of my word is me deciding it was time to stop moving for a bit and to come back home. It is time to come back to myself. The door on the left is my front door. A place dear to one. The last tw...
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March | 2011 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/03
Archive for March, 2011 Monthly archive page. On March 11, 2011. Today I sit in the middle of a serious emotional flashback. Living in Oakland and working in San Francisco, put me in the warning zone and instantly I was taken back to August 24, 1992. And the hurricane that I lived through, the day that changed EVERYTHING in my life. Infrared image of Andrew making landfall in Florida. 9654; View 5 Comments. Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life? Join 10 other followers.
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December | 2010 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2010/12
Archive for December, 2010 Monthly archive page. All is merry and bright. On December 25, 2010. A line from a song is running through my head about how all is merry and bright, hang your stockings and say your prayers ’cause Santa Claus comes tonight. All is merry and bright…. All is merry and bright…. All is merry and bright…. Our obligation is to give meaning to life and in doing so to overcome the passive, indifferent life Elie Wiesel. 9654; View 3 Comments. On December 12, 2010. 1 : firm adherence to...
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2011 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011
Archive for 2011 Yearly archive page. On July 14, 2011. Print by K. Barteski. This week I have been thinking about how I love. The monologue rolling and rolling around in my head always seems to start with what I know for sure about love. Love is vital for human development. Love is a choice. Everyone wants to be loved. This week I find myself questioning how I love. I stumble over my words, maybe I say too much too soon, share too much, in my earnest attempt to start with my heart and arms wide open....
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February | 2011 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/02
Archive for February, 2011 Monthly archive page. Scenes from a Weekend: The Plunge Edition. On February 17, 2011. Last Saturday I was lucky enough to experience The Plunge One Day Retreat. Lead by Karen Maezen Miller. The retreat took place on a picture perfect California day at the Asilomar Retreat Center. On the edge of Pacific Ocean. In the loveliness of the day there was this. The breath spiritualized what is happening right now. Letting go is faith. Trust your life, indeed. 9654; View 2 Comments.
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April | 2011 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/04
Archive for April, 2011 Monthly archive page. On April 7, 2011. Words wash over me. 8220;Let yourself feel the ouches that arise in your heart. Let yourself feel them and give them your love and attention.”. I rise up for air, gulping, gasping, reaching for where the shore used to be. 8220;It is love and attention that softens them.”. Before the next wave, the next words, pushes me back under. 8220;It’s a way of blessing yourself, of blessing the life that flows through you.”. 9654; View 3 Comments.
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How I Love | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/how-i-love
On July 14, 2011. Print by K. Barteski. This week I have been thinking about how I love. The monologue rolling and rolling around in my head always seems to start with what I know for sure about love. Love is vital for human development. Love is a choice. Everyone wants to be loved. This week I find myself questioning how I love. I stumble over my words, maybe I say too much too soon, share too much, in my earnest attempt to start with my heart and arms wide open. Like everyone else, I want to thrive...
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August | 2010 | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2010/08
Archive for August, 2010 Monthly archive page. On August 16, 2010. 8220;It matters whether you see yourself as someone who is capable of effecting change or whether you see yourself as someone whose voice does not count. It matters whether you treat yourself with reverence or with carelessness. Every bit of work you do on yourself matters. Every time you choose love, it matters.” Geneen Roth. Self love… loving, adoring all the while seeing oneself… it all matters. 9654; View 3 Comments.
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Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life? | Pieces of HER
https://valerietookes.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/listen-are-you-breathing-just-a-little-and-calling-it-a-life
Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life? On June 19, 2011. I have been carrying around a line from the Mary Oliver poem, “Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches.”. One of my favorite yoga instructors read a bit of this poem. At the end of class and a line has resonated within me for months. It became the title of a blog post that sat unwritten for just as long and today I answered Ms. Oliver’s question with a resounding. Then one day I made a simple phone call. Of all...
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