passion

Maybe it is the time change, or perhaps the constant longer and longer lists of things to do, but today I feel kind of flat. So, I will let my wonderful memory bring back some passion. This is it, "Creek Mary's Blood" A song of truth and of great power. A heart song and a song with a universal cry for justice. And along with the memory of the music, I see, Tuomas, committed and connected to his powerful gift. I see John Two-Hawks, bringing a message of power and peace to the world. So I call up all the passion my weary heart can house this morning and am thankful for the wonderful gift of music of memory and of friendship. How is it a man from Finland can capture the essence of 'The trail of tears', when here in America it is a fleeting distant minor history lesson? Passion, that is the answer. We have become a country consumed with Economics and Politics and have lost our passion for life. We have become a people more interested in tickling emotions than solid truth. We just want it all to feel good, look good and not interfere with our "plastic ceremonies". Passion is deep and it is grown in struggle and in uncomfortable living. So maybe I need to toss my list to the wind, throw my clock out the window and dance to some "Nightwish" truth music or meditate on some Two-Hawks soul music, either way I shall get out of my comfort zone... my western medicated "me" illusion and step into the unknown and unpredictable hard cold, but alive, truth. Passion, don't leave home without it!

why I love Spiderman?

This little guy is my hero! He is honest, cute, funny, smart and the apple of my eye. This is why I love Spiderman!

loving life

There are certain things I love about life. Morning coffee and crisp fall air. I love to watch the piliated woodpeckers come to my window feeder, hang upside down and eat to there hearts content. And I love the beautiful sound of the Cedar flute. American Indian culture and Pendleton blankets rank highly in what I love about life. I am pretty much crazy about good writing and great music. An inspired piece of art will bring me to tears. There is nothing better than a good laugh that takes your breath away. I often wonder why as a society we concentrate on the negative, the hurtful and the sadness. There certainly is plenty of that to go around. But I will ask you the same question I asked the boys I work with this week. What makes you happy? Think about these things. Did you know that in your brain the grateful center and the fear center are in the same area. So if you are feeling grateful, you cannot be feeling fearful. So, how about a big does of Thanksgiving! Let your feast this year be more than turkey and dressing, let it be a feast of spirit and love. Make a list each day and if you have a loved one in that list let them know you are thankful to them..... oh and by the way, thank you for reading my blog, you are all incredibly beautiful people. Think I will add you to my list!!

simplicity

Many years ago while passing thru Sedona we stopped in Flagstaff for lunch. I walked past a gallery there and my heart and soul dragged my body into a little shop. Thus, a new relationship started. Louis Buchetto entered my life there. Though we have only seen each other a few times his art lives on in my life and in my kitchen and in a number of my friends and family's homes. His message too lives on... Simplicity. My life is very complicated, I have many opinions and a huge network of family and friends. Those who know me, know I am constantly working on a new project. My taste in music ranges from Nightwish to Gordon Lightfoot with a myriad of artists in between. Visual art is the same for me, my taste runs the gamut. I have attention deficit disorder but I like to refer to it as mega vision order. I have a need to see it all. I quickly glean many wonders in nature, in art, music and philosophy, so my mind skips around a lot. My office is not tidy, not because I am lazy or disorganized but because the minute I begin to sort thru papers, one will catch my attention and I will set off in a new direction with a new quest. My thoughts are kind of 'catch me if you can'. But I am ok with me. Simplicity is always a comfort to me. A short explanation, a profound wisdom in 7 words or less, an uncomplicated theme and a straight forward relationship minus the drama. Prayer and Spirit are the same. I speak my need in faith and simply expect. All the bells and whistles just kind of confuse me.
Simplicity, what a wonderful quest for a part time collector of everything interesting. Simplicity, what a gift to a complex part-time chaos sculpture. Thank you to all you KISS advocates, (keep it simple stupid), I appreciate you!

Beauty

With the Arts Eureka Fall Art Show only a few weeks away, I have had art and beauty on my mind. Several years ago, I had a dream. Seamus, Sir Charles and JTH bringing music simply for the pure purpose of creating beauty from the inside out. As most of my dreams go, I am a 'sky's the limit' girl. I found the image by Cynthia De' Robbins at the Art Show and decided this spoke of my vision of beauty. Serene, placid, lightness within darkness and looking upward to the source of beauty. Great! We worked out the art arrangement. Now the music! My three "Mystical Warriors" began to create incredible music. Since Seamus was only here for a short time from Ireland, we knew it would take awhile. We did the incredible photo shoot and planned for an awesome tour of the music. A dream was in the making. All was on track. Then suddenly the current went wild and the tide rose. My sweet Sir Charles Hammer, my friend, confidant, troubadour, trickster, master hugger got very ill and died. How can life be so cruel? I was crushed... not the first time and certainly not the last. Through it all we managed to finish our project. Not as the combined "Warriors" but with compositions from each person. It was not what I dreamed, but it was still "Beauty Music". And if life seems to be raging against you now, it may not be what you dreamed, but remember it is still beautiful. Sir Charles, you have added so much to the beauty in my life....Thank You!

Hands

We were challenged this weekend to look at our hands. I began to think about what miraculous tools God has given us. With hands music is created, babies are brought into the world and gardens are planted. With hands we are able to take love and deliver it to a needy soul. Also with hands we are able to take up a gun in war, abuse a spouse, pick up a bottle of booze. With hands we are able to take destruction into the world.
Disease is passed by hands and cured with hands. What a picture of free will and personal choice. I have used my hands to heal and to harm. As my hands grow older, they do much more healing and much less harming. That is the beauty of aging. Bring on wrinkles and age spots if it means that I will reach out with hands of understanding and forgiveness. I've never had manicured hands soft and silky. Mine have been hands in the kitchen. Burned and scared many times. Those burns are my most precious legacy. Too bad we are not born with wisdom. We have to live a life time to gain some. Hands reveal our story. From the first hand we touch to the last, life is about giving and receiving. Hands to build or to destroy, we decide.

Another door, another layer

After just coming off a retreat weekend I have the feeling that I have stepped thru another door. Of course there are many behind me and many ahead of me, but today I stand in this place. At this moment of great successes and great failures of laughter and tears, I find myself alone. And although I know I am never truly alone I am embracing this feeling of autonomy. I have many choices, however they are mine alone to make. I may choose to forgive or to hold tight to my blessed resentments. I may choose to let you in or wisely keep you out. Love is not for the timid. Love is not for the selfish. Love will tear you up, it is the lions den. But without it you are not fully alive, so choose. I may even choose not to choose as I sip my morning coffee and contemplate a day of television and fructose sugar... it is up to me and I am so grateful for that!