www.gratefulness.org

WORD FOR THE DAY

Thursday, Oct. 15

An optimist isn't necessarily a blithe, sappy whistler in the dark.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.

If we remember those times and places where people

have behaved magnificently, this gives us energy to act

and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top

of a world in a different direction.
Howard Zinn

more glimpses

this was in the watercolor notebook from a time

when I lived in "Eden West".
I was out of wc paper and painting on envelopes. Brave with color.

glimpse into a watercolor notebook

This is a watercolor from way back that I always just enjoyed looking at. I was never quite sure if it is a wave of coffee or a wave of love. I often think of it as a wave of rose quartz cresting over the rich brown soil of this amazing planet that we live on.

Today is my 48th birthday. It has been a good and bad year at a time when I have been struggling to get rid of the dichotomy of that, get "off of the rollercoaster " so to say of judging anything. I have lost friends that I thought would always be there for me, betrayal stinging at times through my being still. I have been reunited with others met briefly in the past and found that I will always gravitate (no matter what) to others of like mind and heart. I was forced (in a really nasty way) out of a job and place to live that I loved, will always LOVE. But I am here, back at home, to try and mend it all , still. I had some of my art in a public gallery for the first time in my life. I had the courage to put even more out into this universal gallery in cyberspace and because of that I have received some much needed positive reinforcement. I will always "create" no matter what feedback, but it was nice to see that there are folks out there that like it too. It has been really liberating to put it all on this blog, free for all to see and appreciate.

I am so very grateful to be alive at this time. Everything is happening exactly as it should. And now, just a few minutes ago, I hear on npr that Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace prize. Yeeeeeeeesssssssssssss! That's an amazing present in itself. The wave of change, the wave of peace.

Yesterday someone left a comment on my blog that fed me with the thought "wow, there are actually other people out there like me, that I could/would spend hours weaving conversation with, if given the chance. " It has been hard (and also good) to be surrounded by a family who treats me at times as if I was from another planet, the "Crazy" one, though I know that I am not. I am learning to let go of the idea that they have to understand me. I will always eventually find understanding.

Check out the amazing poetry of "Geo" at http://www.lepslog.blogspot.com/ and http://www.atrialinvader.blogspot.com/. 4/10 my favorite so far.

manifesting my dream for a " home"

It's been raining alot in here lately so I have been forced to spend alot more time

inside than I am accustomed to. I have been continuing to go through boxes of "my old shit" to clear, cleanse,reorganize and really truly "see'' how my art has evolved over the years. Some of the stuff I look at that I did years ago have turned out to reveal various elements of my present life. The collage above is a combo of a painting and 'other peoples art' as most of my collages are.

I wanted to put it on today because tomorrow (October 9th) is my Birthday and I share that birthday with John Lennon the creator of the song "Imagine". I have always felt an affinity for/with him anyway but this collage (or small elements of it) bring groundedness and peace to me. I also "Imagine" a world where dreams are fulfilled and peace prevails.

This is another piece I found today that has several options for the manifestation of my shelter/sanctuary/land/community dream. I have sketched these and others for so many years....in this my 48th year, I want to manifest this dream.

A feeling of fullness comes ,

but usually it takes some bread to bring it.

Beauty surrounds us,

but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.

The body itself is a screen to shield and partially reveal

the light that's blazing inside your presence.

Water, stories, the body, all the things we do,

are mediums that hide and show what's hidden.

Study them, and enjoy this being washed with a secret

we sometimes know, and then not." Rumi