Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
Please also visit my photography site: Naturescapes, Flowerscapes & Cityscapes
Tag: Spirituality
Being Playful is Essential to Our Humanity
Children running around at a city fountain. Laughter everywhere. Cameras flashing. Water spraying. Horns honking. Music playing in the air.
I am always awe-struck at how much I learn about myself, and what it means to be human when I’m watching my son run around and play. I think part of the reason we were made, is to simply have fun. There’s something very invigorating and inviting about being spontaneously playful—like running through a fountain just because it’s there. This playfulness seems to awaken our bodies and fill them with life. Maybe it’s the surge of energy running through our veins, or the positive endorphins that ignite playful cheer in our cells that makes us feel alive. But I’d like to think it’s more simple than all that: You feel alive because being playful is a part of what makes you fully human!
This is a good reminder that life needs to be fun..and to get there, you should return to the roots of your early days. Return to the freedom of being a child; return to the spontaneity and worry-free mind-state of your younger self—the one who sees splashing water as an invitation for being playful, for laughing, and for freeing your spirit.
Let go of the worry, the responsibility, and the pressure you put on yourself to be a certain way, and instead just be.
Be free.
Be human.
Be YOU.
And run through a sprinkler…
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Invitation for Your Life™
Please visit my new site: Photography by Bella Bleue
Sunsets Heal Us
Open Your Eyes
Soak up creation
Fill the depths of your soul
with the evening light
Become one with the earth
and be fully at home with the amazing person you are.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
A Prayer for Healing Your Sorrow During A Tragedy
When tragedy finds its way into our lives, we need to mourn, and to reconnect to LOVE.
In the midst of sorrow
I breathe,
I take a breath,
I open myself
and receive gratitude that moves within me
for Life,
Life that I live,
for all Life
I breathe
trusting in the ability for redemption
for a newness
a gentle awakening,
that surfaces within me,
and within the deeper parts of individual souls,
believing,
having faith,
that LOVE is
still the greater force,
that prayer is heard and answered
that no one is truly alone in this world,
and that healing is always possible
even when brokenness seems to be king.
For it is in breathing in
this faith,
this trust in LOVE:
that what is good will conquer,
and that when there is pain,
that the LOVE and prayers of many
will be the powerful force, and energy
throughout Life
that transforms hurt into healing
always,
every time,
somehow.
Grief and healing are an every day journey…there is no set date and time that they have to be completed. Take all the time you need.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
You Have Purpose Just as You Are
You have purpose. Your life is meaningful. You were created to be here at this time in history for a reason. You are a miracle. You are a living inspiration. You are a created wonder of the world. You are beautifully and wonderfully made.
I purchased a new Campanula Plant, a.k.a. the Blue Bell, the other day. As I wandered around the nursery the Blue Bell in particular caught my eye. As I looked at it I remembered it did something special, something I was interested in, but I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly. So I picked one out, one that needed some extra nurturing, and brought it home.
And after a web search, I remembered: the Blue Bell attracts Hummingbirds. It creates the nectar inside its flower that the Hummingbird enjoys. The Blue Bell has purpose. It was created for its beauty, but also as a source of food for the survival of the Hummingbird. I’d Love to see a hummingbird visit my yard. How amazing would that be?!
It is profoundly interesting how the created natural world teaches us about ourselves. The earth and all that dwells in it and from it, has purpose. Each living creature and organism, has a purpose. They create balance in the world that allows for our earth to survive; as well as, provide resources for our survival.
If you take this image of the Blue Bell, as being created to provide balance in the ecosystem, and apply this to your own life, you too can begin to understand how you provide balance in the created world.
Sometimes we look too hard to discover what our purpose is. Sometimes we try to fill ourselves with words, and activities that we hope will give us some some idea of why we are here. By doing these things we often get in the way of ourselves: We are trying so hard, that we forget how to just be-How to just be YOU. Exactly as you are.
- I invite you to take a step back and try not to worry about what you are supposed to do with your life, or to know exactly what your purpose is.
- Instead try to just go about your day and live, being nothing more and nothing less than just who you are. And as you go about your day, take notice of how you co-exist with the earth, its creatures and other people you meet along your way.
- Affirm yourself and tell yourself that your life makes a difference and that YOU are alive because the world needs you…somehow every day your life, YOU make the world around you no matter how big or small a better place to live because YOU are ALIVE.
For even in the depths of darkness or uncertainty your light shines, and your beauty is seen by all who cross paths with you. Trust this, and live this as your truth.
Remember by just being YOU, you already have transformed life, and have purpose just as YOU are.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
Inspiring Thoughts: Learning from our children
Sometimes we need to be like a little child
and soak up the world with a silent wonder
in our hearts
the kind of wonder
that makes us pause long enough
to receive life with a feeling of awe
of how deeply connected
we are to this immense and powerfully soothing natural world
with every ounce of our very being.
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved
When Love Hurts: Keep on Loving and Living Anyway
It’s inevitable that love and pain will dance together in our lives, no matter how hard we try to keep them apart.
A really beautiful woman, who I have been blessed to have in my life, now has Stage 4 Cancer. She is a woman “full of grace” and absolutely amazing. She is a warrior queen who rages against her battle with a softness and love for life, that breaks all boundaries of the kingdom of the “Big C,” and day by day she gently and powerfully conquers with another day of living life. She often dresses up with a colorful scarf atop her head, that draws out the beautiful colors of her eyes, that sparkle every time she smiles. She reminds me that every day life is worth smiling about, even when it really sucks. And even more importantly, she has taught me: that even when life seems like it is trying to close its door on you, keep reaching out in open arms and gently say to it, “I’m still here. And I’m ready to receive you and accept you, even if what you are placing in front of me is not what I want because I WANT TO LIVE.”
And this is why Love and pain will always dance together. They dance together in this deeply real image of my beautiful friend (our beautiful friends) moving in perfect rhythm to the music of life, while death keeps stepping on her toes and throwing her off balance every once in a while until it wins [in the literal sense]. It’s the deeper reality for those of us watching this happen: that at times Love Really Hurts.
Loving my friend brings with it a deep hurt: I know deep down inside that she is going to die: there will be an emptiness inside me when she is gone, and it hurts right now because her inevitable death seems so unfair because she is so good and she wants to keep LIVING.
And because I love her, deep down inside my heart is that painful question of,”WHY?”
“Why if she is soooo good, and sooo loved, does she need to suffer? Why did she have to get sick? Why does she have to die at such a young age? Why….and the questions keep coming.
I know that I can answer these questions in a very spiritual manner…and connect to an understanding of spiritual, emotional and bodily suffering as a part of life, and a Creator and the Beloved who suffers with me, with her… and at times brings me great comfort…
But…that’s an answer that may only fulfill me, or still may not be enough…
And so I look deep inside myself and I feel it…and I listen to it. The sadness deep in my heart. The part of me that feels the grief. The inevitable knowing that one day, she won’t be here. The anticipatory awareness that others too are going to hurt. In other words, the parts of me that Love her. The parts of me that are LOVE.
And then the tears come slowly, but deeply. And then the quiet sobs, that make you hold your breath, because your body just hurts too much.
Then you get yourself back together. And you put your feet back down on the solid ground below you, and you move forward again.
And you remind yourself. She’s not dead yet. She’s still here. And that she’s living life. And you’ve got to do the exact same thing: LIVE.
And the question is no longer Why, but HOW.
As I return to Love as a powerful force for living rather than for pain, I am able to learn from my friend. She is teaching me how to live my life by the way she shares her love and welcomes and receives my love; and she teaches me to love life more fully by the way that she lives…
LIVING:
- Embracing your own fragility,
- Being comfortable with questions that don’t have the perfect answer, or maybe even an answer at all.
- Breathing & Smiling even when life gives you a hurricane when all you asked for was a little rain
- Loving yourself even when your body is failing you
- Loving others even when death is knocking on their door
- Letting your body, mind and spirit weep from the pain with a good cry every once in a while
- Connecting to your spiritual roots, and allowing them to nourish your spirit
- Seeking out others to accompany on their journey, and inviting others to accompany you on your journey too
What would you add?
And Living and Loving is what makes you more fully YOU: When you LOVE: and allow all that is LOVE to touch your life, then you LIVE, and by LIVING a deeper more meaningful life—one that doesn’t stop loving because of fear of the pain—you become more fully who you truly are: you become more fully and deeply human.
—This is what I realize now that I have been able to step back from the pain, and going forward can embrace the beautiful reality of how my friend celebrates life through her ability to Love Life and all that it is.
Below is the message I wrote to my beautiful friend, that I want to share with you.
*
May you always be blessed to know LOVE and to become more fully yourself each and every day by giving yourself the gift of Living life.
Blessings Always, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
* If any of you would ever like me to write something for someone you love, or even for yourself with one of my images, I would always be honored.
Blessing Your Mind, Body & Spirit
As you take the time to let this blessing dance within you, may you also soak up the hues of green and blue.
Green naturally seeks healing and creates a restful feeling.
Blue creates a balance between mind and body.
Continued Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
What You Need is Right There Inside You
As we celebrate Father’s Day, a day to celebrate good men in our lives who guide us, may each and every one of us be reminded of the amazing individuals we are. We all have been given gifts that we are to share with each other, so that transformation and growth can happen in the lives of those we meet, and within ourselves.
*This photo originally appeared in You are Enough with Some to Spare
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All Rights Reserved.
Show Your Body Love: Creating a Ritual of Tenderness and Self Love
Your face holds the stories of who you are, and where you’ve been. They are the stories that lie deep within your bones, your cells, your very being. These stories might not be visible to the eye with a look or a glance; those who see you may be completely unaware of how much you hold inside. Of course your whole body holds your story, but there is something extremely tender about how your face holds your pain,your joy, your excitement, your fear, and so on. When you cry, the tears fall down your cheeks. When you laugh the sound comes from your voice, but your smile lights up your face. When you give and receive love, so often your face is a deep part of that connection.
Do you truly take time to notice yourself and tenderly care for your body?
I see myself in the mirror every day. I comb my hair, brush my teeth, wash my face, put on my make-up and go about my day. And I think very little about my body, nor how much better I feel after I care for myself, because doing these things are a normal part of the day and often done in a rush. But today, I paused for a moment as I dabbed the face-soap onto my hand and looked at my face, and said to myself,”Hey, there.” As if it was the first time I’d seen myself in a long time. And I thought,wait a minute why does this feel so strange?
I looked down again at my hand with the soap, and came back to reality: the task at hand: Washing my face. I had to think for a second though, 
how do I do this, wash my face? Usually I turn the water on first, rinse my face off, and then put the soap on my fingers. But not this time. Maybe I was being more intentional about connecting with myself because of my glance in the mirror; or maybe it was the sensation of splashing water on my face with one hand. Whatever it was, I paused, gently began to rub the soap along my cheeks, and suddenly became profoundly aware of the connection between my fingers touching my cheeks and my face receiving the tenderness of my touch.
As I stood there with my eyes closed and moved my hands around my face I began to have a knowing of my face through my finger tips: my cheek bones, my brow, the softness of my skin. The touch of my fingers awakened me to understanding why my glance in the mirror stuck me. I so often forget to take care of myself, and offer myself gentleness and love. Touching my face with this love, intentionality and awareness connected me to my life, my story, who I am right now. This is the face people look at, and see through their eyes. My face quite often is how people remember me and make sense of who I am at first glance. But as I washed my face, I realized this wasn’t what was speaking to me. Touching my face with this gentle love, became less about how I was going to look to the outside world, and more about the deeper parts of me.
Love and connection.
- Touch your face and be mindful about each and every bone, curve, bump
- Hold your face in your hands for as long as you need to, to really feel and be aware of your story within.
- Send yourself love, reverence, compassion through your hands, and thoughts
I’m learning and working on loving myself better every day. Sometimes I’m not so good at it, other times I get a gold star for effort. Today, I learned something important for me. To release the pain, the stress, tension I need to touch my face with intentionality and compassion. I need to hold my face in my hands and focus my heart and my thoughts towards self-love and reverence.
Usually, washing my face is a daily task, but I am going to be better at being mindful to practice it as a ritual. (I’ve included washing my face as part of the ritual to help me sleep at night, but never with the intentionality and mindfulness I am starting with today). Not only will washing my face be a ritual of letting go of the things that I want to wash away, so that I can find peace, but it will also be a symbolic action and mindfulness towards self-love.
Ahhh…I am already beginning to feel better.
How about you?
What do you do to offer yourself self-love: loving your mind, body and spirit?
Blessings, Erin, Bella Bleue
©Bella Bleue Healing, Health & Inspiration for Your Life™ All rights reserved.
bellableue.com 