Do not be dismayed at the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.” – L.R. Knost
Geez, I don’t even know where to begin except with a Reader’s Digest condensed novel, quick and dirty for those who are new here! I launched this site in September 2019, thinking that writing blog posts would be the best vehicle for shining LIGHT and giving others something to improve their life and feel less anxiety and stress (being all-zen-and-shit) even if only for a few minutes.
If you’re here from YouTube, thanks for following the link! I feel grateful that you’re visiting beyond the video and its description. YouTube allows only 5,000 characters in a description, and as much as I appreciate everyone who reads descriptions, I LOVE ALL THE SPACE THAT I HAVE OVER HERE! My blog allows me to take you beyond the video.
If you’re a returning visitor or even if you’re new to my blog, you’ve arrived at a great time because we’re in the midst of a Tacos and Tiaras transformation. I’m finally DOING what I’ve been trying to figure out HOW to do for the past three or so years.
By 2020 I was getting off track because I seemed to have a more natural flow with making short videos of my progress with learning ukulele and bringing cheer to others, and by 2022 I had completely derailed. I neglected this site by putting more of my time and energy into videos to bring light to others’ day via YouTube and Instagram, which also entails supporting other creators, and I left nothing for myself here.
Here!
This site is where I was able to get out of my head and share whatever thoughts with readers, in hopes that whatever I was thinking about, or what I was going through or what I had been through, would make a positive difference in someone else’s life even if that difference was that they didn’t feel so alone.
When you feel you’re alone Cut off from this cruel world Your instincts telling you to run Listen to your heart Those angel voices They’ll sing to you They’ll be your guide back home
When life leaves us blind Love keeps us kind It keeps us kind
When you’ve suffered enough And your spirit is breaking You’re growing desperate from the fight Remember you’re loved And you always will be This melody will bring you right back home
When life leaves us blind Love keeps us kind When life leaves us blind Love keeps us kind”
The Messenger lyrics (c) Universal Music Publishing Group
We’ve read so many quotes or memes about kindness and the importance of being kind to others because we don’t know what is going on in someone else’s life. I have it on my being all-zen-and-shit page:
“…my basic guidance for being all-zen-and-shit is simple – living intentionally and choosing actions that are fueled by compassion, empathy, kindness, and LOVE – to treat myself well in order to do the same for others. My hope is that more of us can start with kindness to ourselves and let it spread to others.”
Soooooooooo much I want to say, but let’s focus on The Messenger and that “love keeps us kind”. One of my longtime friends reached out to me with a book recommendation after she witnessed how I navigated my mom’s brief illness and death. Val felt that James Van Praagh’s The Power of Love: Connecting to the Oneness would resonate with me. It did. It did so much that I have gifted it many times since then in hopes of its positive effect on those people. Take a look on Amazon.
When we use the power of love, we become aware of our place in our world and the cosmos beyond. We know our worth, and we value life and the lives of other living beings. We feel connected to one another as the light within us shines on everyone. We become divine messengers of the One Source, recognizing that we are not separate, but rather part of the Oneness of all life.” – James Van Praagh
I had not thought of myself as a messenger, but I am a messenger, sharing and reiterating ideas that are already out there, hoping to reach those who need the reminders and those who had not yet heard them. I share about what I’ve learned from my experiences, and maybe someone who’s going through or has been through similar situations will feel less alone.
While getting back on track, I’ve looked at my old Passion Planners and found little bits that I had written down… things I had forgotten about until I read them again, but I also realized they had become part of my nature and I’ve BEEN doing them.
One of the things that I ran across after I recorded The Messenger was in a Passion Planner from March 2021: “I feel called to teach LOVE over fear”. This idea goes back to James Van Praagh. When I started writing this post, I thought, “I still don’t know how I’m going to do this” but I guess I HAVE BEEN TEACHING LOVE over fear without realizing it! Making videos is like making movies, and the point is to SHOW don’t tell. It’s just been by example through actions not words.
I love you. You’re probably thinking, ‘You don’t even know me.’ But if people can hate for no reason, I can love.” -seen on Pinterest.com and TinyBuddha.com
I would rather believe in the existence of POSITIVE things – that people are good, that a situation will work out favorably – because the law of attraction will bring more of what we think and thoughts manifest into reality. I would rather BE KIND to someone and expect the good until they show me otherwise. And for those who’ve shown me otherwise, I remain kind. As I’ve said with being all-zen-and-shit, I let others think what they want, let others misunderstand me, let them talk badly about me because it reflects on them and not me. Their true colors will show as will mine. I’ve even walked away from money owed to me and chalked it up to the price of my own peace. In my mind the grifter was a charity case because I gave out of kindness.
I feel grateful for all of the kindness flowing. One of the quotes floating out there is to the effect of if you want more kindness in the world, put it there.
I feel grateful for getting over fears that would have kept me from SHINING my light and doing what I do, being the light, and doing the things that bring people to my channels on social media and writing the posts that bring you here.
I feel grateful that you shared your time in reading this. I feel grateful that you’re allowing your journey to include mine. I hope that as we travel a shared path in life, that we’ll be able to see why our paths crossed.
And Chester Bennington was right: “This melody will bring you right back home.”
“The Messenger” brought me home, and I feel grateful that I’ve gotten back on track although I see now that I was never completely off track. I paused to cast my net without knowing.
Here’s to allowing Tacos and Tiaras and The Lighter Side with Leenie to become a known source for learning compassion, empathy, kindness, and love so that many more people can live their lives being all-zen-and-shit too.
A great marriage doesn’t happen because of the love you had in the beginning but how well you continue building love until the end.”
– uncredited internet thing I read
My parents in 2018 about a month after their 51st wedding anniversary. A family friend snapped this photo and posted it on his Facebook page. My mom left this comment: “Thanks a lot Dan….got a lot of compliments. To the friends who saw the photo a Big Thanks for the good review. Love you all.” (I’m surprised she didn’t “sign” her name at the end of the comment like how she wrote “Mom” at the end of comments she wrote on my Facebook posts) 😆
Today is my parents’ 55th wedding anniversary. Even though my mom big, fat went and died on Festivus 2018 and our last task of that year was burying her, I continue to celebrate their anniversary because their marriage produced my family. I may not have always felt grateful for my parents or my brothers, but I have so much gratitude now for my parents’ example of marriage and for doing their best as parents.
If you know my family or if you’ve read past blog posts, I’ve mentioned before that my parents’ anniversary is two weeks after they met. They were 30 and 35 years old, but I feel like the longevity of their marriage had less to do with their age and more to do with taking their vows seriously. Very seriously. They kept building on the love they felt in the beginning as well as allowing religion to guide them. Their commitment was not only to each other but also to God because they received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith…”
– traditional wedding vows
When I was growing up, my parents religious or spiritual aspect of their marriage wasn’t as evident, but when they became empty nesters, I witnessed my parents praying the rosary together nightly at home. I’ve heard the saying, “The family that prays together stays together” and as much as I still feel inclined to criticize my upbringing, my parents did something right in raising me and my brothers to love and care and look out for each other. My parents dragged us to the other siblings’ events, such as concerts and recitals. They treated it as understood that everyone in the family attends and supports that child, so it never occurred to me that there should be an option to stay home. Sundays without question was for going to church as a family, and yes, I still do not agree with everything from the catechism, but going to church as family came from the same foundation as their marriage.
A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”
– Ruth Graham
I can only remember one time that my parents had a disagreement that lasted more than a day, but I also feel certain that my parents had things that stayed between them alone, and about which I would know nothing. If their religion had as much of a role in their marriage as I feel it did, then their ability to forgive may also have been influenced accordingly.
I have past posts on Mercy and Grace. I can see how a couple would employ this in their ability to forgive each other because they’ve given a key role to God in their marriage and treat each other as they want to be treated.
…Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve; grace is God giving us something we do not deserve.”
Mercy and grace are two sides of a coin – and the coin is love. In the author’s own words, mercy is a compassionate love to the weak, and grace is a generous love to the unworthy.”
I may not know everything about my parents’ marriage, but from the outside looking in, they had no complex or extraordinary situations that would challenge the quotes above and how difficult it feels sometimes to forgive someone, including self forgiveness. I feel certain that my parents employed God and love to create a lasting marriage… ’til death do us part. Anyone who knows my parents also sees them as a couple who loved each other for more than five decades together on earth… and love never dies.
