by Sharon O | Feb 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
The other day my husband was going through youtube and playing some of the old songs he knew I would recognize.
That is why my writings have gone down memory lane.
Stirring thoughts and feelings along with another writing I was already processing.
Isn’t it strange how a song can bring back so much emotion and feelings?
I think maybe that is why in the Psalms David used music to minister to his spirit.
God knew the music would stir and heal our hearts on many levels.
There is one more final writing about this topic.
About words.
About feelings.
About things hidden in our hearts.
One more to finish off this series of thoughts.
by Sharon O | Feb 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
The other part about being in my room was kind of a protective one.
I learned early on that feelings and reactions or responses were not often welcomed or encouraged.
We were never allowed to sass back or speak up or say our thoughts or opinions.
So we learned to stuff them.
Hide them.
Not show anyone when we were upset, scared, sad, or confused.
It was not welcomed.
Our feelings were not talked about or talked over.
It was like the sound of silence that Simon and Garfunkel sang about.
I learned that in my room I could go and write and no one would bother me.
No one would read my writing especially if it was hidden.
I knew there were feelings inside but as to how to express them or bring them out was not anything learned.
Remember life teaches us lessons. Both good ones and not so good.
As a grown up now with children and grand children.
I really try… to let them have a voice.
The goal is not ever to teach them to hide or manipulate their feelings.
Children need to feel safe and they need someone to listen.
That does not mean they can be disrespectful or hurtful.
It does mean I will listen and try to hear them.
As a child I learned to stuff my feelings down deep inside.
When I first heard this song of Simon and Garfunkel it gave
me identity.
I am a rock. I am an island.
I stood alone. I felt alone.
God has brought me very far and I am not alone any more.
Now I do cry.
I do feel. I do express thoughts and opinions.
But as a child I didn’t.
I surrounded myself by words and songs and built walls that were hard around my heart.
Simon and Garfunkel’s song resonated with me as a teen.
In sharing it I share a part of my journey.
by Sharon O | Feb 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
by Sharon O | Feb 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
Expanding on lessons learned.
In my original home I was the youngest and the most quiet.
Often times I would have a pad and pencil with me and I would draw pictures.
Or write stories.
Or listen to songs.
Music was my place of escape.
My room was a place of solitude even though it wasn’t my own room
it often felt like my own.
I would sit on the floor close to the speakers as the old fashioned record player with the turn table would play the 60’s and 70’s vinyl albums or 45’s.
The large stack of square record jackets showed the singers pictures.
Diana Ross and the Supremes, Janis Joplin or the original beach boys music, there was Jan and Dean, Barbara Streisand, original Michael Jackson with the Jackson five, Sonny and Cher, plus so many more.
In fact a lot of those original albums are still in a storage box.
Music was my hiding place.
My imaginary escape where I could go and pretend.
I remember holding my hair brush up as if it was a microphone and I would lip-sync the song in the mirror.
Imagining myself on stage with the lights and the sounds.
Music was a place I could go to and spend hours escaping.
I still enjoy music and as the words wash over my ‘spirit’ many times I find it healing.
To this day our room is a place of refuge.
Even when it is messy or disorganized with things not exactly put away.
It is my/our room not shared by others.
by Sharon O | Feb 16, 2014 | Uncategorized
On the river it is quiet.
One can hear birds and the sound of the water splashing as the oars move in and out pushing us along towards new landscape and new experiences.
Sometimes we stop to see a bald eagle perched high into a tree or watch a hawk flying over our heads.
Sometimes we stop to watch deer walking along the waters edge or the ducks and geese swimming not far from us.
I love this time and season when we can get away and sit in the middle of nature.
It is peaceful.
It is calming deep into our spirits.
It allows us to slow down and build friendships as we are not alone on this journey.
Kind of like life.
We are never alone unless we choose to be.
We need each other for companionship, friendship and prayer.
On the river it is quiet.
And we learn many lessons inside a canoe as we head in the same direction with the same goal in mind.
Kind of like life.
Joining Still Saturday and the Sunday community.
(picture is of a canoe trip we took near Sun River, Oregon)
