Gandolfo &

“When all else fails, laugh at the quandary.

When all else fails, laugh at yourself.

When all else fails, love as is.”
― Shellen Lubin

“When all else fails, go away completely, however long feels necessary.”
― Shellen Lubin

“Athletes know. Artists know.
Parents, lovers,
passionate people of all kinds
know that there's always more--
more to draw on, more to be, become,
if you believe there's more,
or even
if you act as if
the more is there.

Your mind can protect you from taking that too far
when it's not working, when it needs
a course correction,
when you need a rest, some
nourishment, some care.

But sometimes the mind can just be
a glaring stop sign, a trigger warning sign,
a demon red light in your head.

And then ...
when the red light
turns to green,
stops flashing,
just goes away ...
the brake is released,
the impelling force is set free,
and speed happens,
magic happens,
floods of possibility rush forth
to fruition,
breaking through
the light barrier
the sound barrier
the barriers of body, mind, and heart,
the barriers of spirit and soul,
the beliefs so deeply embedded
they seem to be fundamental truths.
They were taught that way.
They were learned that way.
They are not that way.

It's the right time,
in the right place.
The light is about to change.
Break through.”
― Shellen Lubin

“Readiness is a perfect blend
of preparedness
and openness--
thought through enough yet not stuck in ideas of what it should be,
practiced enough yet not measured by rote repetition,
alert and energized enough yet calm and relaxed enough
to build enough confidence
to trust in oneself
to meet the moment,
take it in fully and respond to it in kind.”
― Shellen Lubin