burlap{and bridges}

a blog of life & experiences... cliches[welcome]. leave your [judgements] at the door.

[motivateyourselfeachandeveryday]

[burlapandbridges-blog]

Shift

As I lie awake, like so many nights, I'm surprised at how I'm feeling. A typical night for me is one in which I toss and turn, getting increasingly more angry that sleep evades me again. Drowning in my thoughts I watch the hours tick by. Tonight though...tonight is different. I'm awake but calm. I'm not angry in this moment, I'm surprisingly grateful for it. There's been a shift in me. From my soul. I feel it bubbling over... I supposed this awareness is coming from my newly-found connection with yoga? Or perhaps Deepak's guided meditations on this topic? My changes to my diet and drink? Or perhaps I've simply surrendered to the notion that Sleep is sometimes out of my control. No matter the reason, I'm really starting to enjoy this path back to myself. Back to my inner guide. Back to nature. Back to spirituality. I'm grateful for the shift in the universe. I'm grateful to the shift in me. I'm grateful for a new perception. Cheers to the shift! Namaste

[burlapandbridges-blog]

Confined

I've wanted to write. For so long. Something inside me resists time and time again. Sometimes I feel nothing. Sometimes I feel the anger behind it; the confines of my wallpaper, the haunting old posts, the diminished soul. I think "just start", as so many people have told me. "Just begin" I urge myself. And then more anger. Something lately has broken inside of me. I feel defeated, yet strangely motivated. I've gotten tired of resistance. It's resistance I fight now. This may all seem so cryptic and vague...and I'm ok with that for now. Just know that I'm not defeated. I'm not confined. I am strong, not weak. And I may be different...but I'm still the same. I am not confined, I am here to write. And to love. And to journey. ~V~

[burlapandbridges-blog]

Tumblr

This is me!

[purplebuddhaproject]

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

Mahatma Gandhi (via purplebuddhaproject)

[burlapandbridges-blog]

The Bliss Project

For anyone who knows me, you already know that I'm going through kind of a rough patch. But this patch has now lasted months and months. Sickness, death, kid stress, work stress, finding a new "normal" with a new baby. I have so many things to be thankful for so why the looming despair? Well, I'm not sure why. What I do know is that my meditations have hit a plateau, my self esteem is at an all-time low, I'm incessantly haunted by nightmares, and there is something that just seems to be "missing". I have had enough. It's time to change my course. Tomorrow I start "the bliss project" and I feel excited to make a commitment for the next 28 days to this book, to positive thoughts and to more mindful meditation. I will be using my Blue Crazy Lace Agate mala through my journey as a reminder to keep my heart open to the universe and her love. Because truthfully, what do I have to lose?? I owe it to myself and family to try and pull myself out of this rut. By any means necessary. Namaste! Val

[purplebuddhaproject]

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.

Thích Nhất Hạnh (via purplebuddhaproject)

❤💚❤

[purplebuddhaproject]

Buddhism teaches that joy and happiness arise from letting go. Please sit down and take an inventory of your life. There are things you’ve been hanging on to that really are not useful and deprive you of your freedom. Find the courage to let them go.

Thích Nhất Hạnh (via purplebuddhaproject)

Truth hurts. Literally.

[psychequeen]

[burlapandbridges-blog]

I feel as if I've strayed from the path. I have felt this way for quite some time now. And I keep fighting through this swampland of my own mistakes and memories to try and find the path. I keep looking and searching for the path and have tried 100 different ways to locate it. To get "back on track" spiritually. But the truth of it all is this; this swampland - as mucky, dirty, grimy and disgusting as it may be - and as much as I don't want to be in it - IS actually my path. I'm at the right place at the right time. I choose to let go of fear and regret and trust that at the end of this swampland is a crystal clear stream and a field of beautiful flowers. Xo

[everyday-inspiration]

[burlapandbridges-blog]

always do i struggle with worrying.  it really is such a waste...

[d0e-baby]

Even though we work very hard to find happiness, it remains elusive for us, while suffering and problems seem to come naturally, without any effort. Buddha advises us not to seek happiness outside ourself but to establish it within our mind.

Introduction to Buddhism Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (via flyawayup)

[burlapandbridges-blog]

What's In A Name?

My name has always been an interesting discussion point. It usually starts out with "what was that again??" and quickly followed by a "so how do you spell that?".  After approximately 212 times of me repeating my name, the light bulb goes off and they finally get it. 

These days, it's not my first name getting all the attention: it's my last.  And while I think about the significance of my first name and how it has meaning to me...it's nothing like my last name. 

I was born with the last name Kendrick to a hopeless mother and a "father" who was non-existent (in every sense of the word).  And when I was about 6 years old, I sat on the lap of a judge and he asked me if I wanted a man named Scott to be my dad.  I said yes of course, as he was always my dad in my heart.  On this day I was adopted and I left behind a name (and a "father") that meant nothing to me.  For the next 18 years I gained my identity as a Borger. Everything significant in my life happened as a Borger.  I laughed as a Borger, cried as a Borger, learned to drive, sang in school plays, went camping, wrote stories, read books, made friends, and even went to church as a Borger.  And when I got married 18 years after my adoption, my name changed yet again.  I can't lie - I really struggled with losing the last name Borger.  Borger was the only place I felt comfortable.  It was the only name that made any sense to me.  I knew what it meant to be a Borger...  It was the only name that felt like "home".  

Now it's four years later: guess what? I ditched the married name (with no bad feelings, for the record!) to go back "home"!  Today was the first day I actually told someone my name as a divorcee and boy did it sound nice. It's so symbolic for me...and so much self has been restored to my heart because of it. 

It feels really, really nice. :) 

Better get to bed.......Thanks for listening...goodnight!

[burlapandbridges-blog]

my princess.

[burlapandbridges-blog]

amsterdam. oh how i miss you.

[bodhisattvaextraordinaire]

At this moment, is there anything lacking? Nirvana is right here now before our eyes. This place is the lotus land. This body now is the Buddha.

Hakuin (via bodhisattvaextraordinaire)

[outra-filha-de-jah-blog]

[burlapandbridges-blog]