My Soul Tokens

When the doors you open, trying to escape

Open to Darkness

Open to Emptiness

Open to Sadness

Open to a Storm

Open to Nothingness


Look Up!

Sometime the way out is not right in front of you.

Give me strength to carry myself to be the person I hope to be.

Give me grace to present myself to be the person they all see.

Give me the patience to heal myself to be the person that is me.

Depression has such a hard time getting the attention, most likely because it is depressing to talk about it and the people who need to talk about it want to get better. We are starting to unravel the mysteries of anxiety and depression but we have such a far journey ahead.
Depression Statistics Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Everyone, will at some time in their life be affected by depression -- their own or someone else's, according to Australian Government statistics. (Depression statistics in Australia are comparable to those of the US and UK.)
Pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers -- over a million -- are clinically depressed.
The rate of increase of depression among children is an astounding 23%
15% of the population of …

Do what makes you happy
No judgements
Do things that matter to you
No excuses
Do what is in your heart
No stopping
Do yourself a favor
No hurting
Do what you need
No hiding

I have not been to war
But the machine guns in my head ruin my thoughts
Woven in silk; I have a destiny
A web of directions I chose to take

I do accept the fact it is mine
No one can strip this from me
tears do not change my destiny
It has all been written with fate

The battle wades through my days
Win or lose, the power is within me
But if the fight is mine then my destiny stays
This plays out in time and space

Calling for a break in moments shall not be
Time will not give mercy to catch up
It is time to stand and ride through destiny
Own the moments and hold on tight

Here and there you will see the shadows of the monkey man, strange but true.
So why do I laugh so hard at the thoughts of a stoned monkey man. Not a nightmare, nor a dream, but the thoughts of crazy, unleashed foolishness, and the laughter of a young time. It does not cure, but stands out alone, as a medicine of the years, erasing the aged wears of responsibility.
So in the shadows there is a stoned monkey man, because it makes us laugh of the absurd and trifle moments of true self. The world will not make sense; we can try, and we will try very hard. You just cannot continue without the sound of hysterical laughter aimed at the strange and very meaningless thoughts of a stoned monkey man. Twisted? Maybe! But when you find your funny thoughts and they make you smile over and over again, do not let them go!

Four penny coffin (or coffin house) is the term they used for the first shelters in London. It was run by the Salvation Army in the late 1800, early 1900. These shelters charged their clients.

For a penny you got a meal and was allowed to sit on a bench all night, but not permitted to sleep. For another penny, you would get a rope put across the bench, you were allowed to sleep hanging over the rope. You were not permitted to lay down and the rope was cut at daybreak.

For four pennies, you received food and shelter, you had a wooden box that you could lie down in. You were covered with a tarp.

Compared to modern shelters this is considered inadequate, but in its time it was viewed at a charitableattempt to help the homeless. Homelessness was a new problem and the shelters helped get people out of the cold London winters.

This is a bit of a history lesson....makes you wonder how far we have come.

Standing above all, I start to yell as loud as possible. Although there is no sound, you can hear me from here.

It is not just love that is expressed, not just commitment and understanding.
It is the 'other half' making it whole.
Crazy words of 'wow' relieve us from falling over words that just will not do it.

Shouting from the roof tops, the tallest buildings, the steepest mountains. This just happens to be it, with all the trials, the evaluations and pushing to dive in deeper.
We have it now, not perfect but flawless.

Many steps to go in this journey and while we chase our dreams, make it up as we go. Never for an instant, forget or doubt "I love you"

I saw the eyes of hell and still stand to tell about it
I walked the path to nowhere and still know where I am
I spoke my peace and still have more to say
I lived another life and still find one here
I cried for peace and still weep for more
I sleep exposed to the elements and still wake in the streets
I beg so I will eat and still will not be full
I dress to be warm and still feel the cold
I hide from stares and still am judged
I am homeless and still I have a name