tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.comments2023-03-27T09:13:38.124-05:00stephanie ericssonStephanie Ericssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14987425156369311076noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-35589461221755267012014-01-02T15:02:58.592-06:002014-01-02T15:02:58.592-06:00you might not see these comments here anymore, but...you might not see these comments here anymore, but still - this is awesome! That forced intimacy crap. Drives me NUTS. So many people were near me when I had intense grief moments. They didn't have those moments WITH me. But they felt we were close now, that we'd shared something intimate and were now close friends. Happens as a therapist, too - sure. But it was during those early grief days when I was so flummoxed by the sheer number of people who thought we were old, deep friends. meganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10064483599165161879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-87763636970719364742012-08-30T23:10:33.462-05:002012-08-30T23:10:33.462-05:00There was no box to check that said just plain, &q...There was no box to check that said just plain, "WOW!" Good on ya. And good for all of us who read this and understood some of our own emotions better. Wonderful distinctions made here. Really fine piece of thinking. Thank you for writing. Pamela Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476316799150084354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-71657756479342662182012-01-27T21:45:04.691-06:002012-01-27T21:45:04.691-06:00Hi Stephani,
I do not like face book or blogging, ...Hi Stephani,<br />I do not like face book or blogging, and I miss letter writing. I have learned to appreciate the immediacy of email,and that it allows me to be able to write a letter to one person. If you would like to be in touch, and know Clive; he has my email address.<br />I hope you will be able to get it. You probably have already seen me , my Mom and Papa Steve on the Ibiza blogg. I sent a few photos to it. The above poem and another about my Mom along with threee of my paintings are in the next issue Popt Art. It is a new art and poetry magazine, this is the 2nd issue.The following is a the poem about Mom:<br /><br /><br />Imprint<br /><br /> Each moment seems without measurement.<br /> There is no break or pause from this pain.<br /> It comes as the tides do,<br /> high tide is the welling up of sorrow,<br /> then sobbing out until low.<br /><br /> Left is the imprint;<br /> a bittersweet beauty,<br /> like shells emptied of their creatures,<br /> and rocks that tell no story of their journey. <br /><br /> Mom would collect these treasures.<br /><br /> I would only pick them up to hold for a while,<br /> then put them back,<br /> thinking they should be left to crumble or travel back into the sea.<br /> It was the idea of holding a mystery of time. <br /><br /> Mom’s gatherings are here with me; <br />I see and feel her imprint.<br /> I see her like a little shadow,<br /> a vision of memory all around me.Bridget Galwaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-78915745382813909322012-01-27T21:30:26.367-06:002012-01-27T21:30:26.367-06:00In the Wake of Ibiza
For only two months
I walke...In the Wake of Ibiza<br /><br />For only two months<br /> I walked with my father<br /> on the narrow white stone streets of Ibiza.<br /><br />Crisp white stucco buildings <br /> stood tightly together,<br /> their rod iron balconies,<br /> bursting red<br /> geraniums in terracotta pots. <br /><br />The walking rainbow of people,<br />faces from a Fellini movie.<br /><br />Drinking Hierbas at Estrella<br />or La Finca,<br />talking to Kerstin,<br />laughing with Clive.<br /><br />The abundance of those days<br />formed in music.<br />The acting out of characters<br />in plays of passion.<br /><br />Those inspired passages<br />we left behind <br /> on our way<br />to his home.<br /><br />There <br /> a stacked landscape;<br />of soft<br />and <br />hard covers<br />formed on ash ridden surfaces.<br /><br /> A few clothes hung in the dark.<br /><br /> Scraps of his writing<br /> scattered about.<br />The smell of red wine,<br />and limburger cheese<br /> wrapped in cloth in his closet<br /><br /><br />The sun set<br /> as he grumbled<br />accounts of life into sleep.<br /><br />My thoughts went to places,<br />some real, <br />more imagined. <br /> <br /><br />I gathered myself to the window,<br />to the sound of night life, <br /> its music,<br />people’s voices in anticipation.<br /> <br />I wanted the possibilities of that life. <br /><br />I looked to the stars,<br />no longer wishing like a child,<br />but knowing<br />he would always be <br />to me a dream<br />undone.<br /><br />I returned to the worn out sofa;<br />where past characters posted,<br />in sober or drunken merriment.<br /><br />I fell asleep<br /> like a half written poem.<br /><br /> Then in a weepy morning,<br /> through the light stream,<br /> moving quietly,<br /><br /> step <br /> to <br /> step,<br /><br />with hardly <br /><br /> a breath<br /> to<br /><br /> breath,.<br />So<br /> I may not be<br /> discovered in my retreat.<br /><br />I stood in the bright of day,<br /> in this human thing,<br />I <br />was stormed in<br />as I walked away.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Bridget Galway, <br />My profound short life with father.Bridget Galwaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-42588080201138037612011-10-29T20:01:13.730-05:002011-10-29T20:01:13.730-05:00Dear Stephanie,
I have much to share with you. I ...Dear Stephanie,<br /><br />I have much to share with you. I do not like doing bloggs or face book. I sent that black and white photo to the Ibiza blogg with many others.<br />I am Stephen Seley's daughter- Bridget<br />please email me bway82@rcn.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-19060498977231312802011-09-20T12:53:13.362-05:002011-09-20T12:53:13.362-05:00Wow, Steph ~ All I can say is "Good for YOU!&...Wow, Steph ~ All I can say is "Good for YOU!" I love your description of the "open for business" sign on your forehead! Mine used to be a sweatshirt message that said, "Tell me your problems." Ahhhh, boundaries. A most important and valuable concept. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece ♥Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05517952534831180171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-87291378804242165172011-09-16T10:15:54.967-05:002011-09-16T10:15:54.967-05:00Ah! An ancient theme but a good one http://en.wiki...Ah! An ancient theme but a good one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysistrata<br />In an ideal world (that would be one lacking in psychopaths)this stratagey would be the one to bring sense to a tortured world. The existance of those who are manifestations of the ultimate evil do not invalidate nor diminsh your article nor the strategy. They simply make the strategy a bit more difficult. A very wise woman once told me that women civilize men. They also provide a window to reality that men are not capable of apprehending on their own. If as a part of the "Lysistrata Strategy", men could be made to see that following psycopaths will not get them laid, the rest of the strategy would have a real chance.<br />If our culture can begin to form real men instead of overgrown spoiled boys, we might just have a chance.<br />Real men are in my opinion those who live withing the contradictions. We care and protect with violence and anger when required. Then we step back and respect the integrity of our charges in most things. The anger and fury have an evolutionary place. Remember the women of Sparta's reply to the question from the women of Athens? They asked "..how can you live in such a male dominated militaristc cilture."(slight paraphrase here) the women of Sparta replied "No Spartan woman has seen the campfires of an enemy in a thousand years"<br />I think when we have enough men who realize that power and fury are to protect rather than dominate the the withholding of loving & the prospect of cold beans for supper will disuade men from following the madness of our inevitable psychopaths.<br /><br />As to my identity<br />You can call me Woffie mighty warrior, teller of tales to small children, and maker of pancakes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-61552401337655461372011-09-14T11:20:02.725-05:002011-09-14T11:20:02.725-05:00I have seen this video many times and cry every ti...I have seen this video many times and cry every time. Now, since losing my soulmate last year...I wept. Stephanie, thank you for your book, your website....and more.<br /><br />Mary Friedel-Hunt, MA LCSWMary Friedel-Hunthttp://www.voiceoftherivervalley.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-28019048085736800882011-09-14T10:11:25.195-05:002011-09-14T10:11:25.195-05:00Ahhhh...Anonymous! you have named my nemesis in my...Ahhhh...Anonymous! you have named my nemesis in my on-going exploration of lies! When I wrote 'The Ways We Lie' I originally included Evil as a lie. There are two reasons it did not make it into the piece as a category- 1. the topic was MAMMOTH and the essay could only be so long, 2. I found that writing about evil was like wrestling with a tar baby, where I constantly found myself bound and gagged by confusion. At that time and point in my life, I had to abandon it or be swallowed by it. <br /><br />The other point you made that has been part of my study of lies is 'those who would make "things" of others'. Susan Griffin's book, Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature expands the definition of pornography beyond its usual sexual association to anything that objectified human beings. <br /><br />Defiance is a blessed thing. Thank you for your comment. Wish I knew who you are! ~ stephsteph ericssonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-163450516949586912011-09-10T10:50:54.229-05:002011-09-10T10:50:54.229-05:00As usual your lucidity makes me look again at thin...As usual your lucidity makes me look again at things that I though I knew<br />Evil is in fact a lie. Can you see the connection between your lies piece & this concept? The theologians will tell us that G-d is ultimate truth and lies deny Truth thus denying G-d.<br />Love, Life, Beauty, Faith, Hope, & Charity all these things are true in that they reflect the Ultimate Truth. Hatred, Death, Uglyness, Indifference, Despair, & Selfishness these opposites are the tools that the enemy uses to destroy. They reflect his evil in procaliming himself to be like unto G-d.<br />I think we need to be warriors and raise the Standard of the Archangel Michael who's name means "Who is Like G-d" My life has been a process of learning to raise this standard as a beacon of defiance to those who would make "things" of others. Sometimes I even approach that ideal. I've watched you struggle to the same calling & am proud to call you friendAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-38348007425477996612011-09-08T07:46:01.370-05:002011-09-08T07:46:01.370-05:00Stephanie, your book is one that I've recommen...Stephanie, your book is one that I've recommended to countless clients, colleagues, friends and neighbors over the years. I'm thrilled to have found your blog, and I look forward to more of your fabulous writing. The piece you've shared with us today is breathtaking in its simplicity and truth. With deep gratitude, I say "Amen!"Marty Tousley, RN, MS, FThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05517952534831180171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-48178424253238398502011-09-08T01:48:34.784-05:002011-09-08T01:48:34.784-05:00Beautifully written. When given the opportunity to...Beautifully written. When given the opportunity to say "I Love You" just one last time before your loved one parts this world, is more valuable to the process of grieving than any thing else you can imagine. Two people dear to me passed and just hours before, I was given such an opportunity. It didn't lessen the pain, but it did ease my heart and soul. I knew that they knew how I felt and that was a precious gift.Rob Blackhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1424682984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8170683600104449178.post-83679737597282431722011-09-04T09:23:03.919-05:002011-09-04T09:23:03.919-05:00~I like the story very heartwarming and charming. ...~I like the story very heartwarming and charming. Although it does strike me as a storyline that has been told a few times. The more I read the more I wondered why she would stay in such a dreadful place also. The soap quote was beautifully articulated couldnt help but smile on that bit of truth :). Overall its an easy reading piece.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com