All Here Now
A blog about a life… my life, that may be a lot like yours.
I sometimes forget
that I was created for Joy.
My mind is too busy.
My Heart is too heavy
for me to remember
that I have been
called to dance
the Sacred dance of life.
I was created to smile
To Love
To be lifted up
And to lift others up.
O’ Sacred One
Untangle my feet
from all that ensnares.
Free my soul.
That we might
Dance
and that our dancing
might be contagious.
Hafez, 14th Century poet
Meet Joan Durbin
“I am in love with life, and life is in love with me.”
My name is Joan Durbin. I am a long-time nurse gone writer. Yet being a nurse will
always be part of my signature, hence the symbol c with a line above it.
It is shorthand for the word ‘with’ in the medical field.
I love to write, so here I am with my own blog, going after my dreams. I want to
challenge myself with my own thinking, and perhaps as you follow me your
thinking will be challenged, too.
I am 67 years young and have had quite a bit of life experience. I am a survivor of
tongue cancer, and understand that life can be both incredibly beautiful
and incredibly challenging. I want to write about the people I meet,
to really see you and hear you, wherever I go.
I want to celebrate life, and see the wonder in not only the big things, but in the simple
things, too. To write about Mother Nature, the birds, and Grandmother Tree.
I want to share my thoughts on Faith, Hope, and Love. To write about some of the hard
times, and the goodness all around me. After all, it really is all here now!
So I will write, and I hope you join me in my posts. Together we will think, and laugh,
and cry. Let’s hold each other’s hands as we walk this journey. Let’s lift
each other up.
c Love, Joan
Stoffel, the Honey Badger
Dear Reader, I hope all of you that participate in the American holiday of Thanksgiving had a marvelous day this past Thursday. And to my Canadian friends who always celebrate on the second Monday of October, I hope your day was filled with blessings, too. I thought...
A Decree from Queen Joan the Beautiful
Today is my birthday! Queen Joan the Beautiful is now sixty-eight years young. The photo above is me. Yes, the backside of me taken by my sweet sister-in law, Wilma. The year was 2008, (I think) and I am at Lambeau Field, home of my beloved Green Bay Packers! Several...
Dancing Ornamental Grasses
I am sure most of you have heard about the UPS plane crashing here in Louisville. The sorrow of it all hurts my heart. It seems the closer to home a tragedy hits the more I realize how deeply connected we all really are. Those people affected by the passing of someone...
Daisy the Dog!
Oh, Daisy! I love you. Let me count the ways: I love the joy you can barely contain when you first greet me. The way you wiggle and jump around and wag your tail. Your beautiful brown eyes are shining stars as they beam their gaze upon me, watching every move I make....
Practicing
My whole body was tingling with anticipation! He leaned me back and smiled at me, and I smiled too, so very happy, my gaze resting on his familiar countenance. Then I noticed his gorgeous blue eyes moving with intent, traveling down my face and landing on my mouth. My...
Vermont!
It is so good to sit down at the keyboard and write again. I tend to get what I call "vacationitis" whenever I return from traveling out of town. I become so present with my new surroundings and taking it all in that it is a challenge to get back in my regular routine...
In Vermont!!
I am in Vermont with my darling Man, Alan. Quite beautiful here. I will post all about it next week! Also, I will soon give updates on my book, Can You Understand Me? coming out soon! So exciting! c Love, Joan
Family Time
It seems like the more time I am allowed on this earth, the more I think about my ancestors. As a child it's all about the present. And a young adult tends to believe he or she is invincible, and for most of us it's all about us for a few years. But I think later in...
Natural Tunnel State Park
My darling man, Alan, and I, went to Natural Tunnel State Park this past weekend. It was time to celebrate his birthday, and a great opportunity to do things we love to do, like hiking, identifying trees and wildflowers, listening for birds, and learning new things....
Skunk!
I backpedaled fast! Really fast! I couldn't believe it! I was seeing Skunk in the daytime, only three feet in front of me while I was out on my prayer walk one morning last week. OK. Maybe it was more like thirty feet in front of me, but my brain lit up like a...