internal oppression and liberating us from suffering. I have created Redwing
Collective to nurture spaces that are healing for all traditions and honor many diverse teachers as well as preserve cultural traditions. I especially encourage all people to give their unflinching support to “protected” traditions of the indigenous population. We need to fully understand their authentic origins and contributions to humanity. A mindset that rejects any tradition as all bad or evil is a mindset for harm. Today, many individuals are returning to their indigenous roots to find value while also finding value in other world religions.
Your email address peaked my curiosity— and your tiara!
As an expression and reverence for my Latino African traditions, I wear “collares” around my neck and the crown is my expression of being a “Daughter of Obba.” My logo and email is for the
Red-Winged Blackbird: a special and common bird many people do not notice. FYI: Te color red belongs to the nature force we call “Chango” or “Shango.” Tis nature spirit rules the Root chakra, as you are featuring in this Sept edition.
To learn more, Cruzie Kelly welcomes your questions. She is based in Central Florida and offers FREE Mindfulness Workshops online and/or at your community center or business. As a retired park ranger who spends her time cultivating kindness and love in community, she also specializes in brain health to unexposed communities. See Meetup for events and more information. She can be contacted via email:
redwingsoars@gmail.com
N
ature concludes each day with a fiery mural, never again to be exactly duplicated and missed if we look away for a moment too long. “What color is in a picture, enthusiasm is in life,” said Vincent van Gogh, and to live with
passion is to live life in full color. As children, it was in our nature to live out loud. We sang off-key, belly-laughed
and showed off our blueberry-stained tongues. Somewhere between grade school and adolescence, we learned to swim with the social current, content to blend in for comfort. As adults, too oſten we are barely aware of our lives stuck in grayscale, but if we look
deep inside, we long to be the brave red rose in a black-and-white world. Sometimes it takes something drastic, like being faced with a terminal illness, to throw off the shackles of, “What would they think?” and follow our own brand of bliss. Hopefully, most of us can make that decision without such a drastic wake-up call. In many parts of the world, nature saves her best for last and pulls out all the stops.
She dresses the trees in unapologetic glory, inviting us to live more boldly before it’s too late, and to express the passions we’ve held in for dear life. If we are wise, we will follow our bliss, whether it’s painting that wall in a color that might compromise resale value or dusting off the violin we set aside aſter high school. Autumn gives us much-needed permission to let our hair down, let our locks go silver or feisty red, let our souls blow in the wind and come in for dinner a little late and disheveled. What parts of ourselves do we hold inside for fear of standing out a little too much?
What would we wear if we defied fickle trends? How would we love if we realized that there is nothing more important than embodying love? Here’s to living in full color, come what may.
Marlaina Donato is an author, composer and painter. Connect at
WildflowerLady.com. September 2022 21
inspiration Living Life in Full Color by Marlaina Donato
Madhuri Mohite/
Pexels.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32