So does he. I take this to be a bull, anyway, grazing at some distance from the cows in the background. This charming scene was one of many I encountered on my walk this morning. And that walk may have been the longest I’ve ever made from my home here in Lowell.
Winter has finally been put to flight here in Arkansas. And it’s about time; that frigid season’s departure is long overdue. Where are the crocuses this year, still waiting? Heavens, it’s mid-March… St. Patrick’s Day usually does more wearing of the green!
Five months since my last message? I was going to claim I’d been on sabbatical, but I’ve used that excuse before. Well… past is past and now is now. It’s time for a winter thaw and new beginnings. “The beginning is the most important part of the work,” Plato said. But I disagree. Repeated re-beginnings like this are even more important.
Follow your heart by following your inspiration… This mode continues for me as I create designs according to inner guidance. Actually, inspiration can come from anywhere, but promptings to act must be validated by intuition or strong resonance. Literal affirmations are leading contenders for fulfillment, but anything inspiring, beautiful, fun, or whimsical can be considered.
My life is shifting. Early this summer I decided to resume doing artwork and calligraphy. Since then, ideas have flowed faster than my ability to keep up. That’s exciting and a lot of fun. My intent is to combine words and graphics into affirmations as often as possible. I have an affinity for artistic doodling, as featured in the gold-and-silver greeting cards pictured below: Continue reading
What bear hibernates till mid-July?! This one. ( …meaning me.) That long winter withdrawal of mine was actually a time of gaining spiritual “bear-ings” and incubating new dreams. It was a time of reviving and revising old dreams. A core one is to again have a formal studio, a creation place,
Winter, evening—same thing, that late phase of life. It’s a good time and I’m in it. I walk outdoors often, listening outward and inward. Sometimes a poem comes.
LIFE, LIBERTY, HAPPINESS
I’d stopped by the evening tree
(or else was stopped below it)
when there arose in me
this deep-felt certainty:
It’s one thing to be free,
but a better thing to know it.
Hickory Creek is a quiet place. Our doings don’t get much notice, except for an occasional drowning or meth lab bust. So I doubt this week’s rail car rescue made the news, except among neighbors and the contractors involved.
It’s three weeks into official winter and we’ve experienced highly fluctuating weather here in Arkansas. An early snow-and-ice storm blew through in early December. Another arrived in early January, dropping the overnight temperature to -12 degrees. Directly after that, a warm rain washed away the icy remnants and sunned the landscape with afternoon temperatures approaching the 60’s. Today’s wind—thankfully from the south—continues the recent refreshing blow-dry.
During the Christmas trivia program at last week’s Lions Club meeting, I kept missing questions because I knew so little about the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” However, I certainly relate to the title and theme.
Today is my birthday. As I reflect on my wonderful sixty-five years of life so far, I feel well satisfied.
