Today I fell down. No.. I totally turfed. A combination of fresh acrylic spray and rain made for a slippery surface on my deck (I was sealing a new batch of earrings out there), and with my treadless shoes, I went flying.. And I managed to knock over a couple pieces of deck furniture and bang up my left wrist real nice (not my cutting arm, luckily) as I fell onto my backside. Tis’ the week for losing my footing, I guess. Lessons to learn, reminders to be mindful, etc. Resilience prevails, I think. If not, tomorrow I’m getting a haircut. Shedding some excess always improves things. (Cutting my hair short was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. I had a lot to shed.)
In other news, I’ve been overwhelmed with online orders this week. Thank you SO MUCH to all you folks who’ve been shopping in my Etsy store, many who were directed there from the current issue of Midwest Living magazine. I’m going non-stop these days.
A father sees his son nearing manhood.
What shall he tell that son?
‘Life is hard; be steel; be a rock.’
And this might stand him for the storms
and serve him for humdrum monotony
and guide him among sudden betrayals
and tighten him for slack moments.
‘Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy.’
And this too might serve him.
Brutes have been gentled where lashes failed.
The growth of a frail flower in a path up
has sometimes shattered and split a rock.
A tough will counts. So does desire.
So does a rich soft wanting.
Without rich wanting nothing arrives.
Tell him too much money has killed men
and left them dead years before burial:
the quest of lucre beyond a few easy needs
has twisted good enough men
sometimes into dry thwarted worms.
Tell him time as a stuff can be wasted.
Tell him to be a fool every so often
and to have no shame over having been a fool
yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
thus arriving at intimate understanding
of a world numbering many fools.
Tell him to be alone often and get at himself
and above all tell himself no lies about himself
whatever the white lies and protective fronts
he may use against other people.
Tell him solitude is creative if he is strong
and the final decisions are made in silent rooms.
Tell him to be different from other people
if it comes natural and easy being different.
Let him have lazy days seeking his deeper motives.
Let him seek deep for where he is born natural.
Then he may understand Shakespeare
and the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov,
Michael Faraday and free imaginations
Bringing changes into a world resenting change.
He will be lonely enough
to have time for the work
he knows as his own.
This fine fellow was spotted along a gravel road in Oskaloosa, Kansas on Friday. Luckily I had my camera with me. It set the weekend off to a great start.. after having finished my 2012 taxes which was not such a high moment. So, pardon me for being blog-absent as I tried to wrap my brain around all things IRS and such this past week. “Wrap my brain” equals “warp my brain” but at least they’re finally done (I’m the queen of filing extensions). I’ve got lots of works in progress and trying to have a few new ones for Final Friday coming up at Love Garden Sounds in Lawrence. I’ll be exhibiting and Maria The Mexican will be performing for their release of their new CD which I did the cover art for. I’m also gearing up for the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City this weekend where I’ll be debuting a few new little items derived from my artwork including earrings and pendants (which can also be used for keychains).. I didn’t make new buttons and magnets this year — I’m trying some new fresh things. I’ve also got two new coffee mugs being printed right now, so I’ll probably have those available at the beginning of November. Lots going on.. and I should be working as I type. Til next time..
A fox stealing golf balls. Classic. I saw a fox the other night running in the moonlight with just the tip of his tail illuminated and the rest of him but a silhouette. Seeing it felt almost as poetic as it sounds.
The following is a really great story too about adventure therapy for victims and families of abuse. I’m actually finding uplifting news.. and wondering if it’s a result of the gov’t shutdown. Pfff.
“And how could we endure to live and let time pass if we were always crying for one day or one year to come back–if we did not know that every day in a life fills the whole life with expectation and memory and that these are that day?”
-C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (the book I’m currently reading)
I spent my morning watching Emmet Otter and classic Sesame Street while making new prints. (Is it strange that the only shows I enjoy watching, for the most part, are children’s shows? I think not.) I’m looking forward to reading his biography that was released today.
I spent the better part of my weekend out in the country where there was no cell service or internet.. Lots of hours paddling around in my kayak, letting cricket frogs perch on my fingertips, laying in the sun and fall breeze, roasting marshmallows over a fire, listening to a pack of coyotes yelp nearby, calling out at owls and waiting for their response, talking to cows in nearby fields, cuddling with country dogs and cats, eating edible flowers straight from a garden, wearing a stocking cap to sleep to stay warm. I even saw a coyote on my way out — it crossed the highway in front of me and stopped and turned and looked back at me as I slowed to a crawl.
I read a quote before I left that went something like this: Depression is living in the past. Anxiety is living in the future. Peace is living in the present. I’m pretty apt at putting the past behind me, but I certainly project myself into the future more often than not. I think it comes with the territory of being a self-employed artist. And I think that makes having these moments of total presence, especially weekend long moments, appreciated to the max. My main goal is to have more of these moments wherever I’m at.
“And how could we endure to live and let time pass if we were always crying for one day or one year to come back–if we did not know that every day in a life fills the whole life with expectation and memory and that these are that day?”
