Ilze’s Studio - Vancouver Island

06/28/2026

And in the end, I believe that we don't need to do anything to be loved.

We spend our lives trying to seem prettier, smarter.
But I realized two things. Those who love us see us with their hearts and attribute qualities to us beyond those we really have. And those who don't want to love us will never be satisfied with all our efforts.

Yes, I really believe that it is important to leave our imperfections alone. They are precious to understand those who see us with the heart.

~ Frida Kahlo

[Photo of Frida sitting in front of Pablo Picasso's art, by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, 1944]

02/19/2025

Safety Net

This morning I woke
thinking of all the people I love
and all the people they love
and how big the net
of lovers. It felt so clear,
all those invisible ties
interwoven like silken threads
strong enough to make a mesh
that for thousands of years
has been woven and rewoven
to catch us all.
Sometimes we go on
as if we forget
about it. Believing only
in the fall. But the net
is just as real. Every day,
with every small kindness,
with every generous act,
we strengthen it. Notice,
even now, how
as the whole world
seems to be falling, it
is there for us as we
walk the day’s tightrope,
how every tie matters.

~ Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

[Art: Monica Sjöö: Ancient mothers weaving the world]

02/19/2025

I started calling that girl back. The girl who loved living, the girl who danced instead of walking.
The girl who had sunflowers for eyes and fireworks in her soul.
I started playing music again, hoping she would come out.
I started looking for beautiful moments to experience, so she would feel safe enough to show herself, because I knew she was in there.
And she needed my kindness and my effort to come to the surface again.

~ S.C Lourie

[Art: Debbie Clark]

11/11/2023

I can’t make the
world peaceful

I can’t stall tanks
from roaring down roads

I can’t prevent children
from having to hide in bunkers

I can’t convince the news to
stop turning war into a video game

I can’t silence the sound of bombs
tearing neighborhoods apart

I can’t turn a guided missile
into a bouquet of flowers

I can’t make a warmonger
have an ounce of empathy

I can’t convince ambassadors
to quit playing truth or dare

I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet
from turning a wife into a widow

I can’t stave off a country being
reduced to ash and rubble

I can’t do any of that

the only thing I can do
is love the next person I encounter
without any conditions or strings

to love my neighbor
so fearlessly that
it starts a ripple
that stretches from
one horizon to the next

I can’t force peace
on the world

but I can become a force
of peace in the world

because

sometimes all it takes
is a single lit candle
in the darkness

to start a movement

“Lord, make me a candle
of comfort in this world

let me burn with peace”

~ John Roedel - A short writer. :johnroedel.com

[Art: Skip_closer]

11/10/2023

And some days everything hurts

Every rejection you have experienced comes back to haunt you

Every love lost makes you feel that you will never love again

Every lie you have been told slices you open again

Every confusion you have felt magnifies itself in your mind

You question and requestion

And you don’t want to be here

It’s a place you have been before

Under the shadows

Deeper

Darker

And you slide there as easily as if it is your true home

It’s nothingness somehow feels safe and predictable

Because it’s a place you have been many times

You have molded your story to it

You know what to expect there

The hurt, the loss, the rejection

You wear it well

And it wears you

Down

Deeper and darker until there’s no more or you fight to find more

And you rise back up beyond the illusion that you created

Knowing that rejection is often redirection for your greater good

Love is never truly lost and you will always be able to experience it again

Lies are transparent and the cuts are your own

Confusion is clarity searching for itself

You learn that the slide though it may be required is one that you control

See what it shows you and then keep rising

It is not a place to stay

It never was

Release all those endings to allow the beginnings

❤️ Trudi Jane

07/30/2023

In the wake of Sinéad O’Connor’s death, coverage details her personal failures: most of all, how she was never capable of playing the game the music industry demanded of her.

But O’Connor was clear that she wanted to be a protest singer not a pop star. By that metric, she was a screaming success. In fact, she mounted one of the most memorable and impactful artistic protests of all time, at great personal sacrifice. Her commitment sets her apart as a rarified figure, devoted to her cause and uninterested in marketable stardom, writes Finn McRedmond.

This puts her in stark contrast to the vainglorious and hollow pop protestations of the 21st century, like Taylor Swift’s risk averse “Only the Young”. Modern musicians lack any of the conviction of O’Connor, afraid to alienate parts of their lucrative fanbase.

07/30/2023

True, true and not explanation needed

07/29/2023

Zīme ir instruments, ar kuras palīdzību mēs iedarbojamies uz savu enerģētisko lauku, ietekmējot notikumus sev apkārt. Zīmes nedara darbu jūsu vietā, tās palīdz Jūsu darbam ar sevi. Saslēdzoties ar tām, ar to informāciju, ko tās nes, mēs sākam radīt to , kā vēlamies justies un ko vēlamies piedzīvot🙏
Katram cilvēkam var izveidot savu individuālo zīmju mandalu💙

www.baltuspekazimes.lv

06/09/2023

https://youtu.be/fLCb0EkJsZc

Check out Ruth Koleva’s new single 'Energy' available everywhere! https://wmg.lnk.to/RuthKolevaEnergy⿻ Connect with Ruth Koleva: Facebook: http://facebook.co...