Women's Hands over heart

Join me in Supporting Flesh and Soul, a Multimedia Show by Cheryl Girard

Carol WoodliffLeave a Comment on Join me in Supporting Flesh and Soul, a Multimedia Show by Cheryl Girard

When your friends step out bold, you cheer them on and support them, at least I do.  Let me tell you about my friend Cheryl Girard.  I met her 4 years ago at a women’s writing workshop.  I’ve watched her dig deeply creating beautiful art out of her personal vulnerability and pain.  In 2019, we shared the stage at our showcase of short one woman show pieces called She Takes the Stage.  We helped each other  memorize our pieces and bonded as we stepped forward to tell our personal stories.  She has a huge heart that just radiates love.  If you are lucky enough to know her, you are truly blessed, Now she is stepping out even bigger.  She has developed an amazing multimedia show about overcoming shame and loving herself and her body called Flesh and Soul   And she has a beautiful video about the journey on her Kickstarter page.  […]

Painiting of an eye/face with hearts

To my cornea donor

Carol WoodliffLeave a Comment on To my cornea donor

To my Cornea donor, Dear Beautiful Soul. I know nothing about you. Whether you are man or woman, old or young. But this I know, the gift you left behind has changed me. Where I might have gone blind from the genetic disease I was diagnosed with; now, I have the gift of sight and opportunity and I intend to use that gift wisely. I promise to see the beauty in the world using the cells you donated. Together we will write and make art. I will not take your gift for granted. I will fully use it in my photography, art, writing, in appreciation of life and service to our world. Every night I will say a prayer of gratitude when I can drive rather than being reliant on others to drive because my night vision was so distorted by light refractions, I didn’t dare drive. Your gift gave […]

Woman in turquoise dress dancing in front of heart paiting

I danced with love (poem and painting by Carol Woodliff)

Carol WoodliffLeave a Comment on I danced with love (poem and painting by Carol Woodliff)

I danced with love, and it whispered to me,  “Love isn’t an outcome it is a process.” I danced with love. It said I will both hurt you and make you strong.  Love doesn’t make everything okay, but I will give you the courage to keep trying.  Give you the wisdom to know when you tried hard enough.  It is okay to need a timeout but not okay to check out completely. I danced with love, and it said sometimes hiding gives your heart time to recover.  Other times it is just a cop out. I danced with love, and she said, “Will you please look at the ways cut yourself with your words and expectations over and over again?” I danced with love and she said, “perfection isn’t required, compassion is.” I danced with love, and she took me to gentleness.  She walked me among the trees, showed me […]

Pachamama Mother Earth by Carol Woodliff

Communing with Pachamama (Mother Earth) A Prayer

Carol WoodliffLeave a Comment on Communing with Pachamama (Mother Earth) A Prayer

Sometimes in life we have to go to the Divine Mother.   Connecting to Pachamama (Mother Earth), the divine nurturing feminine always grounds me and helps me.   Sharing a prayer or incantation I wrote the other day after one of my grounding to her meditations. A Prayer to Pachamama I sit cross legged on the grass, feeling the sun on my face.  Closing my eyes.   Breathing deeply.   In my suburban backyard on a freshly mowed lawn, I extend a root from my vagina connecting to Pachamama,  the Earth Mother.  An energetic umbilical cord.  Anchor me, nourish me, ground me, feed the soul of me that needs to know that in my human form I am loved, I am her perfect child.  That I belong like the trees and the flowers.  That there is a home for me. It is a longing for connection that drives me outside to be…to slow down.  […]