life is a pretty word
  • Lena Kay Rufus Monica Sword
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life is a pretty word

  • About/
    • Lena Kay Rufus
    • Monica Sword
  • Art + Bookbinding/
  • Words/
    • Daily
    • Stories
    • Hoofen Floofen Island
  • Blog/
Monica Images-6853.jpg

life is a pretty word

exploring grace and gratitude following loss

Blog

The mission of life is a pretty word is to inspire you to mindfully honor your heart and soul.

life is a pretty word

  • About/
    • Lena Kay Rufus
    • Monica Sword
  • Art + Bookbinding/
  • Words/
    • Daily
    • Stories
    • Hoofen Floofen Island
  • Blog/
March 26, 2018

To the remembering

March 26, 2018/ Monica Sword
To the remembering

This month is it. March. The angel-versary, death-versary or fill-in-the-blank-versary. There is no celebrating.  Only and ever, the remembering and forgetting again. 

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March 26, 2018/ Monica Sword/ 7 Comments
Grace
angel, memories, balance, dreams, popular
February 11, 2017

Dayspring

February 11, 2017/ Monica Sword
Dayspring

Quiet mornings are a gift, especially when one lives near a metropolis. What time of day speaks to you?

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February 11, 2017/ Monica Sword/ 1 Comment
Grace
poetic, mindfulness
December 31, 2016

December Sundown

December 31, 2016/ Monica Sword
December Sundown

This time of year so many of us reflect to gain clarity. Something about endings and beginnings that sparks this human behavior. May your new year be clear and bright.

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December 31, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 1 Comment
Grace
poetic, melancholy, gifts, inspiration, nature
October 10, 2016

Rituals Make Us Human

October 10, 2016/ Monica Sword
Rituals Make Us Human

There is power in the group.
There is power in the solo.
There is power in the yes. 

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October 10, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 6 Comments
Grace
grace, fear, self-care, balance, gratitude, love, connection, popular
July 19, 2016

Letters from Stanford

July 19, 2016/ Monica Sword
Letters from Stanford

They say it is never too late to apologize. Will forgiveness, understanding, and acceptance make a difference? We can hope. 

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July 19, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 7 Comments
Gratitude, Grace, Lena Speaks
gratitude, grace, memories, love, mindfulness, Lena speaks, bittersweet, dreams, joy, popular
July 05, 2016

The Blueberry Catastrophe

July 05, 2016/ Monica Sword
The Blueberry Catastrophe

Whether the forgetting is circumstantial, a lack of mindfulness, or time induced, I don’t like it one bit. Forgetting sucks. 

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July 05, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 6 Comments
Grace, Gratitude
memories, grace, fear, balance, life, popular
June 16, 2016

For Daddy

June 16, 2016/ Monica Sword
For Daddy

Evil-eyed. Soft-hearted. Absent. Spare-the-rod. Disciplinarian. Mediator. Coach. Present. Dads have as many parenting styles and roles as there are men on Earth. For the most part, they do the best they can.

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June 16, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 4 Comments
Grace
love, memories, grace
June 06, 2016

Unfinishedness

June 06, 2016/ Monica Sword
Unfinishedness

Did you know unfinishedness is an actual word? Listening to a recent NPR radio broadcast, I thought the speaker made up the word to make their point. 

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June 06, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 4 Comments
Grace
life, grace
May 23, 2016

A Virtual Manifest-Storm

May 23, 2016/ Monica Sword
A Virtual Manifest-Storm

What happens when we connect with others near or far, living or dead? Can the connection with others be the hack we've longed for to manifest our dreams?

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May 23, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 2 Comments
Grace
grace, mindfulness, balance, connection, dreams
May 09, 2016

Missing in Action

May 09, 2016/ Monica Sword
Missing in Action

“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion."
— Albert Camus in “The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays"

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May 09, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 7 Comments
Grace
grace, health, mindfulness
March 27, 2016

The Day the Music Stopped

March 27, 2016/ Monica Sword
The Day the Music Stopped

Standing at her graveside, the elder told the story, in native Anishinaabe tongue, of how the world began. We didn’t know a single word yet understood we were in that place where death and birth meet. 

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March 27, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 28 Comments
Grace, Grief
grief, grace, poetic, memories, nature, popular
February 19, 2016

there is a tree beyond my window

February 19, 2016/ Monica Sword
there is a tree beyond my window

The woman's eye in the tree, watching me write, gives new meaning to "live oak". Seemed like an opportunity to write a poem. Enjoy!

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February 19, 2016/ Monica Sword/ Comment
Grace
grace, poetic, mystery, nature
January 25, 2016

Writing--physical therapy for my soul

January 25, 2016/ Monica Sword
Writing--physical therapy for my soul

My message is not to convince you everything will eventually be pretty again. Writing is physical therapy for my soul. 

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January 25, 2016/ Monica Sword/ Comment
Grace
grace, fear, self-care, health
January 20, 2016

Being a dork won't kill you

January 20, 2016/ Monica Sword
Being a dork won't kill you

Being a dork won't kill your humanness but being an asshole will.

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January 20, 2016/ Monica Sword/ Comment
Grace, Gratitude
grace, gratitude, health, love, balance, self-care, mindfulness, inspiration, life, popular
January 20, 2016

Wedding Band

January 20, 2016/ Monica Sword
Wedding Band

The loss of innocence and trust hurt worse than the black eye. You can walk away. 

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January 20, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 3 Comments
Grace, Grief
grace, grief, fear, health, life, memories, poetic
January 11, 2016

Magical is the Word

January 11, 2016/ Monica Sword
Magical is the Word

Words have power. How can a single word become a guiding force for living with intention? My word for 2016 is "magical". What's yours? 

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January 11, 2016/ Monica Sword/ 2 Comments
Grace
grace, balance, honor, fear, time, joy, mindfulness, inspiration
December 21, 2015

That moment when the cake falls over

December 21, 2015/ Monica Sword
That moment when the cake falls over

You know how it feels. One minute you're enjoying a beautiful wedge of chocolate layer cake with that special someone and the next, it's gone. 

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December 21, 2015/ Monica Sword/ 6 Comments
Grace
gifts, memories, love, grace, gratitude, melancholy, honor
December 07, 2015

The Blue Dish Christmas

December 07, 2015/ Monica Sword
The Blue Dish Christmas

That particular Christmas is the last time our table felt full. The memories are still bittersweet.

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December 07, 2015/ Monica Sword/ 11 Comments
Grace
bittersweet, memories, grace, gifts, mindfulness, melancholy, popular
November 16, 2015

Paris Love

November 16, 2015/ Monica Sword
Paris Love

Paris, city of light, darkened, for love.

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November 16, 2015/ Monica Sword/ Comment
Grace
love, grief, grace, fear
November 09, 2015

Black and Blue

November 09, 2015/ Monica Sword
Black and Blue

Connecting color to our thoughts can bring a memory, an emotion or imagery to life. This poem is written from the power of color and how we might imagine where our loved ones go when they’ve left us here.

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November 09, 2015/ Monica Sword/ Comment
Grace
connection, grace, imaginary, poetic, love
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life is a pretty word

Our mission is to encourage and inspire you to mindfully honor your heart, soul, and emotions following a loss. This site is a tribute to a beautiful, loving, and talented young woman who once scribbled on a scrap of paper life is a pretty word. 


 

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