Tag Archives: moments of self-reflection

Kindness

We are so easily sarcastic and cutting. I’m not pointing any fingers here, there have been times it’s been an artform in my life. And that irony was meant to amuse. And it always amuses the artist, and often the audience… and it frequently wounds the object of the biting, so-called witty repartee.

And yet, we the witty, are aghast at bullies. And not all sarcasm is bullying… but it can be an easy edge from one to the next.

Words are unbelievably powerful. Choosing words of kindness can build up a world rather than destroy it. If we’re going to work to stop bullying, and we must, then we must learn the art of kindness… not that awful saccharine, glib stuff… but real and heartfelt sweetness that makes space for everyone…

I’m working on it… and on finding a way to make observations funny, but not wounding…

Weekly Photo Challenge: Create

When I was in college I became enamored with the concept of liminality.  Liminality is an anthropological and folkloric concept that helps us understand the importance of ritual and transitional space.  A wedding is a liminal event because it facilitates the transition from two separate individuals to one unified household; a beach is liminal because it is the border place between water and land; midnight is liminal because it is that spot between one day and the next.  Since a liminal space or event is by definition neither one set thing or another, it holds a vast amount of potential–anything can happen during the witching hour, and who wants to step inside a fairy ring and take a chance on what happens?

And so I’m looking more at the metaphor–and, esoterically, the process–of “create”.  I took this picture while vacationing at an adorable cabin on Keuka Lake.  We had kind of terrible weather for most of the trip; it was rainy and grey, not a good time for novice canoers like my boyfriend and I to get into the boat that came with the rental, but it was a great time to completely slow down and look at what was around.  When we could, we wandered down the hill and onto our dock.  When I snapped this picture I thought it was kind of cool, when I saw how it turned out I was struck by how liminally symbolic it is.  There’s George, at the edge of the dock (a border space), looking into the fog (which is inherently liminal; is it air or water?).

For me, this image captures what you do before you create something–you stand at the vast edge of your imagination, wide open and full of potential, and determine which way to go next.  Do you dive in?  If so, then whatever happens?  Happens.

Check out the other participants in the Weekly Photo Challenge here.

And below are some of my particular favorites, thus far:

http://joycannis.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://marantophotography.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://annarashbrook.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://justfletcher.wordpress.com/

http://iaggelidaki.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-make-art/

http://disorderlychickadee.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://beeblu.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://berkshireviews.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/weekly-photo-challenge-create-2/

http://seraphim6.me/2012/06/24/weekly-photo-challenge-create/

http://cocomino.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/weekly-photo-challenge-create-making-bamboo-chopsticks/

You can check out more of my writing at http://beyondpaisley.net/

Living Now

I’m sure it only annoys me when other people do this (not, for instance, when I do it!) but really what’s with whining about the weather? It is what it is. And it’s not as if most of us are one-season whiners. We whine when it’s cold, or it rains or it’s hot or it’s humid. It’s a cycle. Weather changes pretty much all the time, usually within a pattern. Now, with the global changes there are, perhaps, more fluctuations. It would be nice if our outrage about the weather moved us to outrage and changed behavior (or changed laws) about extreme-causing pollution, but mostly the weather leads to complaining, which leads to, well, nothing.

Right here and right now, life and the weather are what they are. Dress accordingly. Make plans to enjoy what the day brings us. For most, not all, of us first worlders, we can go in our houses and turn on the AC. Or we can go to the library or a mall, often in our air-conditioned cars.

It distracts us. It really is hard to focus on our dreams when we’re kvetching about the weather. I’m going to try and do better. However hot/sticky/overcast it is, I’m certainly enjoying the garden’s bounty (ok, my neighbor and my CSA’s bounty) and the fireflies. That’s should be enough to keep me working on my dreams!

 

Bitter Greens

Is it odd that bitter greens are packed with nutrition. So many will tell you, nah, too bitter for me… and yet they’re what do a body good.

I’m thinking there’s something to this. and you know, once you really start to eat those greens you crave the rush of green energy they deliver.

What else does that for us? What feeds our souls in the same way that greens feed our body? What gives us that jumpstart? Hmmmm…

Gonna have to think about that!

Staring into the Abyss

Sometimes it’s helpful to allow yourself to be stopped in your tracks by grandeur. To let it overwhelm you and to have to struggle with your sense of insignificance and your wonder that you are a part of it all.

And mostly… it’s important to dance in response. And laugh. What better way to show your gratitude?

Enjoy your day!

Full, Empty, or Lifegiving?

I don’t like the is the glass half empty or full kinda questions. I confess they make me feel stumped… and somewhat stupified, if not downright lackwit. I’m terrible at games and rarely think creatively in the midst of them — unless I’m trying to connect people. Then I do better.

So it’s always surprising when I decide to write on something like the oh-so-important glass level question to work my way through to the fact that I think the water rather than the level is what matters. Once we realize it’s a precious resource we’re dealing with, all the questions change.

odd, eh?

a

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First “best day” of the summer

Summer offers us the opportunity to linger outside and enjoy the world’s gifts. Lingering is an art that requires practice. And summer is a season that demands enjoyment. The first fruits of the garden are beginning to appear. Pools are open. Flowers are flourishing. The kids are home from school. Even some businesses have decided to get in on the act and close early on Fridays.

So… take advantage.

It may be the the whole of my message in the course of this year is in the following sentence: Be present to what’s in your life. As the seasons keep turning there continues to be wonderful opportunities to linger in the bounty…

And best days? Every single one should be one! Well, ok, almost every single one! Because, this is the gift we’ve been given, afforded… whatever verb works for you. Here we are!

Hope it’s a great day!

Bravery Beyond

I’m not sure which particular news item was the spark for this, but I found myself reflecting on what causes us to move from audience to action. Starting small, in our own lives, leads us to greater involvement in our neighborhood/region/state/country.

Terri Peterson, who writes occasionally for this site, mused the other day on one of her own blogs about what it means that we know the names of people on sit-coms but not on our local school boards. What’s going to make a bigger difference in our lives, in the long run?

And once we know something, what stirs us to action? Have thoughts? Go over, like Sacred Village on FB. Say what works for you. Let’s get the conversation going and encourage one another.

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Living the good life

I understand, believe me I do, that our differing beliefs lead us to different conclusions about what happens at the end of what we know as life.

Having written that sentence, I’m a bit stymied about how to phrase the but… and i don’t know that it is a but. Maybe it’s just a different sentence altogether.

Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. Enjoyed. Cared for. And by living to the fullest, I don’t mean lived at someone else’s expense, or even at the expense of your own sense of self or spiritual well-being. I mean experienced, embraced. I mean using our passions to change the world into a paradise on earth. Not by your rules but by Love’s.

It is enough!

There on that lane — in the aftermath of a day — filled with — ritual — poetry —my beloved — good friends — and good food — I shouted my thanks to the Universe! — It would have been enough.

Sunday was a day of completion for me, but also of high notes. I read poetry with My Beloved Drummer and we rocked the house. I did a farewell service for dear members who are leaving the congregation and everyone did amazing things and the service worked. It had been an enormous push to get ready for these two events, but they were well worth the effort. I napped. I went over to a friend’s house. We ate and watched the birds do the same. And then there was that slow drive home. Catching myself noticing, I reminded myself that every day is filled with such beauty. I just have to pay attention.

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