Day 23 – #The100DayProject: #ActivistCardsByChava

(Note: To learn more information on #The100DayProject which is also known as #ActivistCardsByChava, you can see https://wp.me/pthnB-3cH.)

There is a good chance that you navigate life with a little more ease than I do. And there is equally a chance that you can totally relate to what I am about ready to share.

DRUM-ROLL PLEASE

Have you ever put off for tomorrow (or next week, next month, next year) what you can do today? I know I have! In fact, today I realized how out of control I have gotten. This isn’t a good thing. . . not at all.

Instead of taking time to lament about how guilty and dysfunctional I was feeling, I decided to simple start doing the next right thing. And the results have totally been impacting my afternoon in empowering ways.  I am now feeling so much more positive about myself and hopefully making a difference too.  Here are just a few things that I have done over the last few hours including:

1. organized my magazines meant for vision board workshops. (Translation: Magazines are now out of the middle of my ‘Creativity Cave’ and put into new plastic bins.)
2. called and scheduled giving Judaic ritual objects to three different families. I am still waiting to hear from about four other families. (I have a small nonprofit called Door l’Door which gives Judaic ritual objects to people who’s homes were devastated by natural disasters.)
3. worked for about five hours for my job.
4. started learning Yom Kippur’s Torah reading.
5. put a new picture on my wall.
6. connected with a close friend. . .it had been way too long.
7. left a message for someone who wants me to share Door l’Door with a group of 30 people in the early winter.
8. scheduled two phone meetings for tomorrow about Project Lifeline, an action that will hopefully help children being held in detention centers near McAllen, Texas.
9. took a long walk even though I was expecting the skies to open up. AND they did!
10. prepared three packages to be mailed in the morning.

Sometimes you have to one step and then another; once you start, you will find your rhythm.  I am feeling so grateful because that is exactly what happened today.

Hineini, Here I am!!!

Onward with love, light, & action,
Chava

PS – I’d love your feedback on my blog, my writing, my thinking, and/or my Activist Cards!!! Feel free to like or comment. I will try to respond to all comments to this blog. Input is always welcome.

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Time to Heal: Living Authentically

(Note: Reflecting about life and how to best move forward is what I do. One of my favorite teachers/writers, SARK, often talks about living in the “marvelous messy middle”. I think we all do that, but only some of us open the windows or doors for others to peek in. Hineini, here I am in all my rawness and passion. Hang on for the ride. If your interested, here is where this series begins. https://lightwavejourney.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/time-to-heal-building-a-stronger-foundation/)

A succulent wild woman is one of any age who feels free to fully
express herself in every dimension of her life.”
~ SARK, Succulent Wild Woman

About ten years ago, I wrote a chant with two words. Shema Koli, translated to mean, ‘Hear my voice’. This was a sweet reminder that I had to honor my own voice, share my voice with those closest to me, and do my my part to engage fully and authentically with the universe.

Living out loud or sharing myself fully to the world around me isn’t easy. As a Jewish communal professional, people often want to put me in a box. And in truth, it is important for me to meet people where they are and to connect with them.  AND at the same time, I don’t have a choice, I have to remain true to myself – always.

Over the past several months, I struggled with what it means to exist with my perpetual state of darkness. I didn’t think that anyone would really want to navigate how sad I was, so instead I went inside myself and compartmentalized as much as possible. This meant that I was able to keep working, but I also felt painfully alone at all other times.

Fortunately, years of being so rooted in authenticity and sharing my voice made it nearly impossible for me to remain in my self imposed alone-ness for long. Years of being ‘real’ allowed me to return relatively quickly.

I am so jazzed that after years of developing such a beautiful practice of being present, I show up in all of my vulnerability, with all of my passion, and with my amazing spirit. I march to my own drummer and I also try to find a rhythm that allows for connecting with myself, my many communities, and the larger world.

Feel free to join me over the coming weeks as I continue to unveil some of the moving parts that I am navigating and myriad of ways I hope to stretch, to grow, and ultimately to heal. My hope is that as I share some of my story, I may inspire you in some small way.

Onward with love, light, and blessings,
Chava

(Note: If you read to the end and if you like what I have to share, I’d love it if you would let me know by liking or commenting on my post.)

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Writing: A Window into My Soul – Moving through my Fears

“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at,
what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

~Joan Didion

Writing is how I dance with the world around me. Through writing I navigate my deepest pain and my most radiant joy; I process my unrelenting tears and my heartfelt laughter too. And with each strike of the keyboard or stroke of a pen, I find my true rhythm and my soul.

As my younger son expresses so well, “Ima (Mommy), if you aren’t writing, you aren’t in a good place.” Dovi has been reflecting this truth to me since he was about 6 years old and 15 years later, he is still the one to who reminds me that as long as I am writing I am probably exactly where I need to be.

Poem by me; AWESOME & one-of-a-kind pen created by Steven Clark!!

Lately, I have been struggling to write freely which has left me at a loss. Since writing is how I process the world I live in, it means that I am wrestling with my life and allowing myself to experience some very deep feelings – not all painful either. I am someone who is always on the path – navigating, seeking, and simply being.

In this moment, there are two significant challenges that I am facing around my writing.

1. After 8.5 years, I am facing the ending of a relationship that I thought could last forever. How stupid considering the father of my children is no longer my husband and barely my friend. Although, I am happy to say that that may be changing. While I know that this man is not meant to be my partner, I truly believed our connection would last as lovers and friends. As this man and I are building a friendship, I am aware that if I spoke from the deepest part of my heart all the time, I would crumble and/or I would never be able to find peace with the man that I am still hoping will be my life-long friend.
   Since I can’t have the fullness of what I want, I am faced with learning to silence my voice. AND to be honest, that comes at a cost. My writing around him is pathetic. I am afraid that my honesty would close the door to our friendship, so instead I have become an awkward. Whether or not he registers this is irrelevant, it is what I am feeling. And words have power so until now, I have been holding back even when I simply journal.

   My work is to trust my ex-lover knowing that we love each other deeply and we are emerging in a new and very different place. In the meantime, I have to keep putting salve on the wounds of my heart and that means I better go back to my journaling practice.

2. As a community leader, I am often forced to face the insight of everyone that reads my blogs, my Facebook posts, my emails, etc. While that is the case for everyone, I am struggling. Even though I know that everyone reads my words through their own eyes, I am also so very tired of how people struggle with my transparency. I love being able to openly explore the world as I do.

   I am a writer who thrives by living out loud. I don’t want to be silenced in order to accommodate how other’s walk in the world. I have been silenced throughout so much of my life. I have found myself wearing masks to hide my beautiful face or to protect my loved ones. The good news is that my loved ones can handle me being exactly who I am and so can I; writing is how I embrace authenticity-always!

   I am so very tired of how people put ‘their stuff’ on me. And yet I know that while so many only find the darkness, others reflect the light. The challenge is navigating those that only focus on the darkness. I am so not about darkness.

   Throughout much of my life I have been silenced in various ways and for various reasons.  Ironically, it isn’t always about something difficult happening, more often than not it was simply that I didn’t know that I could speak up or that my voice mattered. For me, learning to share my voice, trusting myself to be articulate, and growing up though my writing was a process. Aren’t we all a work in progress. The more writing became a practice for me, the more I learned to value an intensity that I never knew existed. It was through that writing that I also began to adore the rawness of my spirit. I love my who I am and how I walk in the world. And it was through my writing that I was able to reach this place.

Writing is a sacred act that needs to nurtured daily if not more. I am committing to journaling daily, blogging weekly, and writing letters whenever I can.  If I want to be grounded in life and soar with each breath, I have to put pen to paper and fingers to keys.

Writing,
the song of my heart;
the meaning of my mind;
the feeling of my soul:
Is what makes me whole.

Looks like I may have some work to do so that I can honor my spirit a little more each day.

Love, light, & blessings,
Chava

 

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synchronicity abounds

waking up this morning, the universe has felt totally aligned for me.

my body moved as I needed it to move. my heart felt and still feels whole. by 5 AM, I was on my ayurvedic journey. i had done my loving-kindness meditation, drank a cup of fenugreek tea, and now I am drinking holy basil tea.

it’s only 6:22 AM and I feel ALIVE, beautiful, and centered. everything feels balanced. WOW!

i have already journaled, and now I am writing a short blog.

sure there are bills that I am struggling to pay, weight that I need to lose for my health/back, and family challenges. there are also amazing and inspiring friends, a snoring pup at my feet, and a job that I can’t wait to get to today.

there are also paint brushes that need to be used, books that are being read, and a world to explore.

courtesey of terri st. cloud of bone sigh arts at: http://bit.ly/2tzcBxD

perhaps best of all was opening up my morning email from terri st. cloud of bone sigh arts to see this amazing prose and picture. I love terri’s work, it always shows up at the perfect time!

each and every word here speaks of my soul; my entire being is reverberating with a rhythm that reminds me that:

I am alive.

I am thriving.

I have arrived to this exquisite time.

synchronicity abounds.

 

ps: confirmation that I really am a writer came when someone ‘liked’ a blog and then became a follower. when I went to the specific blog (http://bit.ly/2uSVhry) that was ‘liked’, I found that it resonated with me too. and then WordPress asked me for feedback about their blog platform. I am not sure if they will respond to my feedback, but I hope so. I so want to grow THIS blog!

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Shedding the Extra Weight

L I V I N G is holy work.

 

Reflection Time Selfie

 

Life is so profoundly full

My body craves less

My mind would love some emptiness

My heart desires just a little more.

 

Dance is the hidden language of the soul. (Martha Graham)

Stretching my entire being

Reaching for the stars

Allowing my body to sway to my own rhythm

 

Losing what I don’t need

Addictions, loved ones, and inner turmoil

Body weight, too much stuff, and lots of old stories

Wanting to celebrate what was

while letting go of what is no longer needed

 

Craving what I need:

Writing time

Creative experiences

and spiritual moments

 

Chanting

Drumming

Journaling

Moving

 

My body

My mind

My soul

Needs so much less and so much more

 

Each time I reach inward, I find more that I want

He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how. (Nietzsche)

My soul yearns to make a difference

My body and mind yearn to see the world through a different lens.

 

Let go of the old, make room for the possibilities

 

In front of me is a bridge

Only once I shed what I don’t need

Release what no longer serves me

Take one step and then another

Only then, will I be able to cross the bridge

 

L I V I N G is holy work

So I will do ALL that I have to do.

Hineini

Here I Am

Pantano Wash, Tucson Arizona

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The Name I Call Myself

My name is the gift I gave myself.  It nurtures my essence and reminds me of all I am and all I want to be.

I am alive. I dance to my own drummer and navigate the world in my own unique ways.

Photo by Aryeh Grossman;                          Composition by Marty Johnson

i am Chava
lover of life
survivor of blackened skies
believer of the future

i am Chava
beaten but not destroyed
strangled but always breathing
blessed to be exactly who I am

a women who finds light in darkness
a dreamer who never stopped dreaming
a drummer who beats to her own rhythm
a writer who knows that her voice matters

i am a wave of light
who seeks light in the shadows of nightmares
who finds sparks in tunnels
who navigates the murky waters of life
and calls wherever I am – home.

Gal-Or
the moon calls to me
the sun warms my heart
both soothe my soul

i am alive
i am thriving
i am soaring
my world is simply precious beyond words.

I am not sure when I learned how to dance or to sing. I can’t remember when I found my voice or my rhythm. And yet, I have.  My world was not diminished by the demons that had moments of breaking my spirit.

My heart broke, so many times my entire being felt shattered.  The tears fell and welts swelled – sometimes physical and sometimes metaphorically. And yet, the clouds allowed splinters of light to stream around me and into me.

The bruises have healed and my heart is now intact.  The door has opened wide and has beckoned me through.  Feel my heartbeat, imagine how deeply I can now breathe, and watch my spirit soar.

I am Chava Gal-Or.

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Opening the Door: My Journey Towards 50 – Shining As I Am

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
~Anais Nin

Love how these flowers radiate light. May I do the same as I walk in the world.

Courtesy of Alden Solovy
From South Jerusalem

I am blessed to be exactly who I am. My spirit soars and dives according to the rhythm of the world. A part of me has always been this way.  And yet, I have watched myself evolve even more solidly towards trusting my rhythm while allowing the intensity of my spirit to come out in each and every setting. I have stopped hiding the deepest parts of me.

I am me. And I love the person I am.

Only recently have I learned to shine a little brighter and to trust my thoughts and my voice to be shared a little more. Something switched in recent months, I started becoming more ok with me!

I love knowing that I can be exactly as I am. My heart breaks open a little more each time I push myself out of my comfort zone. There is a part of me that has always needed to protect myself in the cocoon of life. I love to go inward like a precious flower that opens into the sunlight, but closes at night.

Remembering to close up when I need to is important to me, but so is allowing myself to be completely present in my interactions with others.

As I approach my 50th birthday next year, may the many moving parts of my soul radiate light into the world.

With love, light, and blessings,
Chava

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If I had wings. . . .

 

My soul is open.
With each breath, I feel all that surrounds me, all that is within me.

Grateful that my life is what it is. And. . . .
Struggling with the transgressions I see in the world
and the angst enclosed in my heart.

Life is full.
The world as I know it is like a mountain range full with peaks and valleys.
Even with knowing the blessings, sadness trickles into the person I am.

If I jump, would my wings work?
Would my wings soar to new peaks?
Could I make a difference?
For myself? For others?

So many are struggling.
Listening to the messages that surround me.
With each beat of my heart, I am trusting the rhythm to guide me.

What to say?
How to respond?

With my heart wide open, my spirit is ready to soar.
Wherever I fly, wherever I land. . .
May my spirit reverberate for good.

 

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I know it’s going to be a great year!

“The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints, scattered throughout our days.”
~Sue Monk Kidd

All of life has a rhythm.

For me, the rhythm comes from an inner light that radiates out and allows me to honor the beat of my heart and the song of my soul. With each step, I feel myself become more and more grounded to the earth.

Yesterday, I celebrated my life; I found joy in the love that surrounded me and in the peace within the storm of life.

For the days prior to my birthday, I was considering ignoring my birthday, removing any mention of it on Facebook and closing the door to my bedroom so that I could ‘lick my wounds’ from a challenging last year.  And then I realized that the last year does not define who I am as  a person.  But if it did define me, I would be a woman who defies darkness by always doing what it takes to succeed.

With each breath, I navigate the very real realities of life’s journeys, where I am, and where I want to go.  I dream big and then work towards making my dreams happen.

One of the most treasured gifts came from my friend and poet Susan Windle who said, “Love to you in your birthing time, dear Chava”.  Those sweet words reminded me that not only am I loved, but I am actively becoming the person I want to be.  This sacred birthing process is empowering me to grow in ways that would not have been possible in the not very distant past.

Authenticity is flowing from the core of my being.  I am seeking simplicity in all that I do; I am working towards living a life of transparency and integrity.  I am weaving words together and finding center by speaking with the fullness of my voice. Vulnerability no longer is filtered by the bravado that I don’t really feel.  I have learned and am continuing to learn how to use my voice in all of it’s forms.

Over the last year, I have been expressing my most purest of feelings without holding back from those closest to me. Sometimes tears fall down my cheeks as I try to cope with deep sadness; sometimes passion flows from my lips and from my fingertips. And then there is my laughter the reverberates the core of my being.  While I have always been real, I am trying to remove the shield that has sometimes protected me from my deepest of feelings.

I really do believe what my friend Marc Hershkowitz said, “I know it’s going to be a great year!” I am determined to shine and to be the best person I can be.

While life has been a little harsh of late, it doesn’t have to put an edge into my spirit. I am alive and I intend to celebrate the gifts that surround me with each and every rhythm that is part of my journey.

May this year be the year for my writing to inspire people, my creativity to flow, and my heart to emerge in new and beautiful ways.

This is my year to thrive; I hope you join me!

 

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Rhythm of My Body

I love the rhythm of my body.

Each morning, I naturally wake up an hour or two before the sun.  My body eases into the day without distraction and  without struggle.  No one has expectations of me and the dog isn’t ready for her morning walk or attention.  Life is good.

In the morning, I can write, chant, drum; I can be lazy, look out the window, or go back into a light slumber.  I can listen to the animals, the birds, or the wind.  The energy of honoring my body is probably one of the reasons I can walk around with a smile on my face even when I face challenges.  Morning allows me the time to collect my thoughts, find balance, and gently move into the day.

The rhythm of the earth has always been nurturing for me.  I love my quiet time; I love my space.  As much as I love my family and connecting with people, I also love the silence and walking gently.  The cocoon of darkness yields a beautiful light propels me into the day and into the world with others.  Taking that trek slowly is the gift I give myself.

Boker Tov my friends; Boker Or Kulam

Good Morning; (AH) Morning Light Everyone!

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