Nature Inspires: A short compilation of poems

Podcast

“Nature Inspires peace of mind, joy, balance, and profound gratitude.”

– Lee Sunshine

As a child, I felt a deep sense of wonder towards the Earth, finding comfort in the shade of trees and the warmth of the sun. When I was given the opportunity to turn my observations into poetry, I eagerly accepted, realizing that this was the start of my journey as an author. I had always dreamed of writing my own books, and I am thrilled to say that this day has finally arrived.

I started writing poetry regularly in 2020 because I found that words flowed easily to me whenever I was surrounded by nature. Whether I was by the lake, in a river, on a trail, or watching the sunrise, I felt inspired by the beauty of the world around me. But it wasn’t just about the aesthetics. Being in nature also brought me a sense of clarity and connectedness. It helped me to be more in tune with myself and the Earth. One of the things that stood out to me during my outdoor adventures was the deep sense of gratitude that nature exudes. Everything in the natural world seems to thrive on gratitude and reciprocity – from bees pollinating flowers, to the sun nourishing the land, to humans tending the earth and the earth feeding us.

Each of these poems sheds light on a lesson I’ve learned through experiences in nature. I am sharing these with the intention of letting my words be received by others, in the hopes that they may inspire someone else, just as nature has and will always inspire me. Through a combination of traditional and haiku-style writing, I dive into the world of Nature Inspires: positive affirmations inspired by God’s greatest creation.

Get your copy today via Amazon or Barnes&Noble.com !

Seize the moment

Uncategorized

Before sitting down to write I found myself feeling shame for not doing as much as I would like. Looking through this creation of mine and taking myself too seriously. Introducing ridicule to a space within me that needs nothing but encouragement.

I write because it is something that I enjoy. I write because I like to share my thoughts and perspectives with others. I write because I enjoy reading the writings of others.

Reminding myself of this helps the flow resume. Lately I have been spending my time writing to reflect more than anything else. It sometimes makes me forget about this aspect of writing that I enjoy just as much. Crafting together a message inspired by my present moment. In this moment I wanted to share my feelings about an experience I had at a concert. A message brought to my heart from a moment of divine timing.

Flashback to October 15th 2022

I went to my first Princess Nokia concert and it was one of the most special moments I have had in my life. I felt happy, present, free, and seen for who I am. Dancing to the sounds that filled the concert and connecting with an artist I admire; it felt other worldly. I’d like more of my days to have this same kind of magic. A magic that carries over well into the next day and seeps into all that I do. Including writing, freely expressing and sharing my gifts with others.

I showed up to the concert early, excited and nervous to be there on my own. Two days prior I’d started drawing a picture of Princess Nokia and intended to give it to her at this concert. This is the second time I’ve made such an attempt. For both the reason was the same; to gift the artist who has gifted me with so much inspiration and motivation with an image of themselves that is one of a kind. And this time it happened! I was right there front stage, singing along to the song”Blessings” really feeling the music when Princess Nokia called me onto the stage. In a daze of excitement I joined her and we talked for a moment, she asked my name and thanked me for my gift. I wish I could recall her exact words but my excitement blocked my mind from letting her words fully settle in. All I know is that was she said to me was kind. I gave her a big hug and rejoined the concert. She read the note I’d attached to the drawing out loud to the crowd, I felt proud of myself. It all felt so surreal and as the moment passed she began to speak about passion and having a purpose in life. If not for my passion I wouldn’t have had the courage to create the art that I do. Same goes for all of us. I appreciate artist like Princess Nokia, always showing up as herself regardless of outside influence. Her music has always spoken to me, she speaks her truth in a way that’s contagious. Seeing her live and experiencing this moment inspired me to always show up as myself no matter what, because it’s one thing to be looked at but another to be seen.

The Idea of Letting go

Books

“Morita explained the idea of letting go of negative feelings with the following fable: A donkey that is tied to a post by a rope will keep walking around the post in an attempt to free itself, only to become more immobilized and attached to the post. The same thing applies to people with obsessive thinking who become more trapped in their own suffering when they try to escape from their fears and discomfort.”
― Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

I once was trapped in my own suffering, I picked up this book early in the year. But didn’t feel called to finish reading it until after I had a chance encounter with a lovely young woman. She had Ikigai as her screen saver and a tattoo on her arm, I took this as a sign to continue reading. So I did and the wisdom within was ready for me to digest.

Reading this excerpt in particular really helped me realize that although I am committed to living my purpose, to do so fully requires letting go of any need to suffer. The desire to let go significantly outweighed the part of me that’d been in a loop, repeating past energy and mindsets connected to this unwanted need to suffer. Since reading Ikigai, negative feelings I’d ignored resurfaced and this time I was able to face them. Acknowledging ones feelings is the first step to letting them pass through. This is a lesson I am still learning, each day I practice letting my energy move through me. Releasing what is not wanted with one breath at a time. Practicing what I love and focusing on what brings me joy keeps me from the past. As my mind has shifted so has my environment and the people in my life. Like attracts like, those who are also walking the path of less suffering have joined me in my pursuit.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it left me feeling lighter and inspired. To know there are communities thriving off of love and a natural rhythm to life lets me know my dreams are not futile. Some day I’ll be living off of life and what it brings to me, suffering long gone and a part of my past.

The idea of letting go kept me in a loop. The act of letting go has given me release.

InBliss, a state of being

Poetry

I try to see the Beauty in everything 
How could you not
 when God's creations are everywhere 
The sun in the sky
grass beneath my feet 
Feeling grounded
Rooted in the I am, that I am 
Nature is what I am
InBliss is where I tend to be 
InBliss I am free 
flowing through life with a stillness 
joy meeting me at every turn 
peace within mind
a heart filled with gratitude 
InBliss is where I want to be 
here right now 
find bliss 
when my mind strays
or a cloud overhangs
I remember InBliss is where I want to be 
so I say hello to the clouds
embracing the now, what is
 instead of what I wish not to be 
InBliss I find peace in my reality 
no stress, just happiness
through Faith in the most high 
God holds my hand as I walk along my path 
Keeping in stride
InBliss is where I Am 

-Lee Sunshine (2023)

Podcast featuring a live reading of the poem and discussion about the poems contents

Video version of the Podcast

InLove, an open heart

Poetry

To be In Love
 Recognizing the light within and all around you
To be In Love is to exist within a state of constant Loving awareness 
Loving everything that you are aware of 
To be aware is a gift 

To be In Love is to melt into this awareness
Our spirit knows Love
In Love fear has no home 
An open heart welcomes truth 

God is Love 
Feel the wind, see God 
Feel the sun's rays, see God
Look at yourself, see Love 
Look at yourself, see God
God is within and all around 

To be In Love is to be Green
Heart chakra emanating light 
Energy flowing freely 
Extending your Love
Receiving Love
To be in Love is to return to nature 
Our true nature, a state of being

To be In Love is to be unique
we are all unique in our ways of being

I am Love
I am Loving awareness 
I am loving Awareness
I am awareness

-Lee Sunshine (2023)

Anger as the catalyst

Podcast

Anger can be a catalyst for profound change. Change is a natural part of the human experience, no matter how much it may be resisted. Learning to flow with change can transform you into your highest self. The you that isn’t afraid to pivot along your journey. Pivoting is what happens when you are dealing with a situation or experience that feels familiar and you decide to take a different course of action than you usually do. A pivot inspires new ways of being. Personally I’ve been pivoting my anger, trying different actions when I am angry as a means of letting it pass through me instead of blocking my heart.

Admitting that I was angry at all was my first step towards changing this aspect of myself. I didn’t fully innerstand what my anger was trying to tell me, or why I yelled even when it made me feel worse. Listening to myself shout let me know I was dealing with something deeper. There is always something deeper, right under the surface, and waiting to receive light. Our anger usually has a lesson to teach us, my anger came to teach me alchemy. Alchemy can look different for everyone, it can be brought about by any element of your life. Making the conscious choice to transmute negative energy into something positive takes practice. Finding your favorite ways to transmute can simply begin with taking care of your needs. I realized when anger comes up for me, my need to be heard and feel safe aren’t being met. These needs gone unaddressed could lead to years of unintended suffering, but by choosing to pivot I am addressing them head on and creating something beautiful in the process.

I am currently learning how to transmute my rage into artwork, writings, and dance. It feels liberating and I am excited to witness my alchemy strengthen to the point where anger doesn’t consume me, but instead guides me. Serving only as a catalyst for the change I so lovingly seek.

For more on the topic of change, check out my podcast that expands on the ways embracing change has aligned me with who I truly am. Thank you for reading and I hope these words helped you in some way, feel free to share this with someone who may benefit!

All the love-

Lee Sunshine

Live Reading of Anger As the Catalyst by Lee Sunshine

you are worthy of love signage on brown wooden post taken

Self Love is Rad(ical)

Podcast

Podcast to go along with today’s blog, for the auditory learners out there

Earlier this week I watched a Radical self love video by Jubilee, which encouraged me to share my own thoughts about this topic. In the video she talks about having to show up for her self before being able to show up for others. This made me think, what is my definition of radical self love? and why is it radical to love yourself in world that has forgotten all about love?
So I gave myself this week to focus on self love and what that means to me beyond the regular doing my hair, taking salt baths and my day to day self care practices. Writing this now I am realizing that there is a difference between Self love and Self care, why is this difference not talked about more?
Getting to the root of what Self love is, outside of caring for ones needs, can help you cultivate more loving energy within. If loving yourself goes beyond making sure you are cared after, then what is left over? Well…

Self Love is Rad because it requires you to speak positively towards yourself and others. Words are powerful, they carry thought into form and therefore bring thoughts to life. Being mindful of the words you surround yourself with, whether it’s from music, a podcast or tv show, is important. All of what you say and expose yourself to becomes a blueprint for your subconscious to learn from and adapt to. So why not say nice things to yourself, positive affirmations, instead of beating yourself down.
To be loving of yourself is to honor your word as a way of showing yourself that you believe in the words that you speak, enough to put action behind what you say.
Radical self love means that your sovereignty and authentic expression are never jeopardized out of fear or to make others more comfortable.
Self love means to forgive your past selves for what they did not know
Self love is to remain curious and open to new knowledge (no matter the form it presents itself)
Self love is removing pressure that stems from expectations that are external to yourself
Self love is to shoot for a higher self, a higher frequency each and everyday
Self love is to BE Loving because as human beings we are manifestations of love, to be anything other than that is to go against nature

I hope these were helpful as you continue forming your own definitions of radical self love.
To answer the second question I posed at the start of today’s blog, I’d say that self love is radical because it calls for people to turn within instead of relying on external beings or things to give you what you already have. Once you tap into the abundant source of love that you are, meaning can be found in even the smallest of things.

The next time someone asks if you love yourself, I hope you can say “Yes I do, isn’t it rad?”

Thank you for reading

Till next time, Lee Sunshine

The Realization period

Podcast

I Saw Things I Imagined
Solange, Things I Imagined

I have began to think of my life within frames of seasons, periods of time shaped with purpose. In the past I wasn’t super aware of what these seasons were, my life just seemed to move along. Throughout it all journaling has been a part of my life, speaking out loud to myself has always been a part of my life. As early on as 7 years young I knew that there was an importance to capturing my thoughts and feelings. Even now I feel that importance in a new way. Capturing so much of what I have thought of has given me reminders of different parts of my life and the things I value for my lifetime. Things like a safe home, genuine love, and freedom. Reminding myself of the things I’d imagined over and over again helped bring them closer to me as time past. Now I have so many aspects of living that I’ve desired for awhile; all from these reflections of the past and coming into awareness of what it is that I truly want. No guilt or shame associated with desire either, that mentality had to go so that what I imagined became real.

The current season of my life feels like the beginning of a new transition; the part where I choose to show up as myself and be in a state of receiving. It took a great manifestation just for me to be sitting here typing this. The first season of my life that brought me to this awareness of personal seasons is aptly named The Realization Period. During this time I felt very much so born again, with a new found sense of being alive fully. It was like I’d slowly woken up from a long restful slumber. My childhood and adolescents had a new color to them, I began to innerstand why I’d come to be who I was and why I didn’t recognize these shadow parts of myself. As I went along realizing, each day bringing forth some deep belief or memory, I felt lighter and more aware than I had in a long time. Probably since before I could recollect my thoughts.

I have since developed a fondness for all the beings I witnessed during this time, who helped me realize and let go of a lot. Listening to self-love and self-help podcasts has become one of my favorite things to do. So much so that I began my own podcast last year! YouTube has since become one of my go to places to witness people who I relate to and want to learn from. Listening to people talk about their lives brought up memories that I hadn’t processed fully and helped to move past them. Plus it was a nice way to not feel alone on the days where loneliness felt abundant. Receiving personal realizations as a result of reading or listening to someone else reflect on their life is a blessing. Now I wish to share in the same way, so far it has been interesting to step into this realm of sharing virtually. Having outlets like these is such a cool aspect of the 21st century though, to think billions of beings are connecting and relating across bounds!

Writing is a daily practice that has allowed me to be where I am today. Much gratitude for the power of words, thought, and expression. Thank you for reading, I am trying to get back into the practice of blogging consistently so hopefully this helps! Check out my podcast for more @youtoo arealoveleebeing

Peace and Blessings Lovelee Being,

Lee Sunshine

Its all love over here

Podcast

Introducing You Too Are A Lovelee Being Podcast

I wanted to start a podcast… so I did. I’m following my faith and doing what I love, that love has brought me here. I will share many thoughts within these episodes. My hope is that I can inspire at least one person to do what makes them happy and BE the Being that they came here to be. We all deserve to be happy and free to Create, Express & Love.

Below you’ll find the introduction to my podcast. In it I recite a poem and set the tone for what I hope to be a long series of reflections. Speaking aloud and listening to others speak has always been healing to me. Hearing words that resonate can trigger changes within or even just a simple perspective shift. With this in mind I began sharing my words on this blog and through my podcast in September 2021. The next few blog posts will be spot lights on my previous podcast episodes from this year. In 2022 there will be many more!

Do you have a favorite self help/self love/inspiring podcast? Comment below!

Thank you for listening to my podcast, feel free to share.

Love and Sunshine, Peace 🌞

-Lee Sunshine

Reality Check

Podcast

Episode 7: You Too Are A Lovelee Being

Sometimes, you are the only one who can give you the reality check that you need. In this episode I share some more quotes from The Untethered Soul by Micheal Singer, a book that helped me a lot in 2021. Especially during the time of this recording, I was reflecting on what letting go means to me and honestly trying my best to not give into the trauma responses I was so use to relying on.

Unlearn aspects of self so that you can be the YOU that YOU want to be

I know I don’t have to hold on to hurt or negative feelings, and that letting go is a lifelong learning process. As I play this episode back, listen to my tone and the thoughts I shared, my heart is happy. Two months has gone by since this recording and I can say that Reality checks have gotten much easier. I welcome them now, It is refreshing to be ok with the reality of life. Living with as many blurred edges and out of sight, out of minds as I did left me at point where reality felt too terrifying.

Now I embrace my reality more and more each day, the joys of my life without running away from what is. I started saying new positive affirmations in the rising. Listening to this episode reminded me of one of my old favorite positive affirmations:

My Mind Serves me it does not work against me

Here are some of the quotes I mentioned from the book during the podcast. They each brought up so many feelings for me and made me realize how far I’ve come in my journey of self rediscovery. Reading words like these resonates now more than ever. I really love books, I am so grateful for their ability to capture thoughts for lifetimes.

Untethered Soul quotes

“Ask yourself “who am I” more often, you are not your thoughts”

“Talking releases energy”

“Reality is too real for most of us, so we temper it with the mind”

“True personal growth is about transcending the parts of you that need protection”

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcast and everywhere podcast stream!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the episode! For more things You Too Are A LoveLee Being you can follow my blog and Spotify.

As always Love, Sunshine, Peace

-Lee Sunshine