Monday Candid

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Today’s daily prompt word for writing is candid. And what a lovely word it is.

candid: adjective

1. frank; outspoken; open and sincere
2. free from reservation, disguise, or subterfuge; straightforward

Since candid is as candid does, I could not help but be anything except candid with my readers…and of course…myself, as I write this morning’s post. If you noticed the picture of the messed-tressed pouch above, then you’ll take that as a sign of how I’m looking out at the world at o’dark thirty this Monday morning. I feel a bit out of sync, and I am completely sincere when I say that as I write these words, I am attempting to divert my body from its appointment with the treadmill.

I am openly spinning the wheels of my mind instead of the wheels of my feet on the mill; I am enjoying the work of carelessly composing words on the screen instead of burning calories running to nowhere. Perhaps my unusual state of being is the result of not enough or too much of something from the weekend just past…perhaps!

Or rather, to be completely frank, I simply could not pass up the chance to freely and without disguise, let all who read this blog once and for all time realize: that a Monday like today only makes sense…when it is over. But since it’s early, I’ll give Monday a chance. I’ll not tarry with thoughts dreary nor take them to task. I’ll just let them fly by with a candid, knowing smile, because all things in life, oh Monday, like you shall pass.

Candid

My Horizon

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This morning’s sunrise was another beauty; the cloud structures made for such interesting texture and offered themselves a canvas for the morning light to refract; the whole rising sky seemed to open wide to the reflecting warm rainbow colors cast upon its airy canvas: yellow, gold, pink, violet, misty gray mixed with hints of orange and tangerine. And then, in a few minutes, this image was transformed…one brilliant morning moment sharing its glory and its brilliance with the next. Why this fascination with the morning horizon?

20180120_072250

Horizons delight…do they not?
Horizons tempt, horizons tease,
Horizons tantalize, imaginations to please.
Horizons far away, always will be,
Horizons far away, too far for eyes to see.
Horizons unfold towards the vanishing of sight;
Horizons propel, induce HOPE to take flight.

Horizon

A New Year’s Conversation

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Today is the first day of 2018; it is New Year’s day, and it seems everyone is eager to ask or know, “What is your New Year’s resolution?”  I have resigned myself (happily) to the fact that I will begin another New Year without a traditional ‘resolution’ in place. Perhaps I make too much ado about nothing, but my resolution resistance results from having carelessly made too many New Year’s resolutions in years past. I just feel over-aged (sensible, experienced) to be conned into making an order for change simply because the calendar page has flipped.

I acknowledge this practice is traditional and often considered a fashionable thing to do…making resolutions. And as such it does provide fodder for water cooler exchanges during the first weeks of the new year with those of whom we are acquainted. But in reality, the ‘new’ wears off most resolutions before month’s end. Surely there is a more effective mechanism for making long-standing change in one’s life which surpasses this conventional, seasonal system.

So what is our fascination with all things NEW? Why do new things beckon such hope in our psyche, as though all things are possible for us, personally and collectively…simply because we enter a New Year? Why do we give so much prestige to the beginning of things? A new relationship; a new material acquisition; a new skill learned; a new experience acquired. A new life born. A new season begun. Why is ‘new’ so appealing?

New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings. Lao Tzu

Lest we forget that ‘new’ has a very limited shelf-life, perhaps we may better understand our attraction to ‘new things’ if we realize that our human nature is strongly wired to crave the rush of change and novel experiences. It is no wonder then, that we enjoy celebrating a New Year, and all new things, because in doing so we acknowledge and embrace NEW as a symbol of HOPE. And hope always expects that change will work in our behalf.

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning. Louis L’Amour

We see this cycle in the seasons of nature. One season gives way (dies) to usher in the new of the next season. And again, the dark of night transforms the new of day with the rising of the morning sun. Instinctively we know that ‘new’ equates to vitality and life force. The newborn infant screams this message loudly for all to hear: I am alive! I am viable! I am vital! I am ready to grow and to transform! And yet just minutes before the newborn’s birth, she was forcefully expelled from the womb of her first existence.

Now that I have finished this New Year’s conversation with you all, I feel a certain excitement creeping into my mind, my emotions and my thinking. I feel the desire to embrace this New Year, with all it’s propensity for change and uncertainty, with the lusty cry of a newborn babe! I have arrived! I am fully awakened to this new day in this new year! I am fully alive and equal to the coming challenges…fully prepared to experience this new season with eyes wide open…fully resolved to embrace hope through the months of this coming year…Happy New Year 2018! And Happy New Year to all who read this little blog post!

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. Henry Miller

Conversation
Viable

Percussive

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Underneath it all, the everything of my days,
Time, timbre, tempo, tone skillfully scored,
Upon the tablet, the clef of my heart,
Playing the treble, then again on bass,
Tickling, fleeting notes like praise;
Brings dancing to feet; brings singing to voice.

Music to my ears; color for my eyes; sweet on my tongue;
All is possible, with harmony and dissonance.
Perfect juxtaposition; give and take; calm and boisterous.
Lived to the hilt; embracing everything and nothing.
Sweet symphony! Life!
Breathe in…breathe out.

Playful rhythms thrum my mind, like river’s current;
Trilling minutes trip away as water over fall;
Dribbling in agony, the seconds sometimes will,
Dribbling in agony, an hour wanting to fill;
Other days swooping minutes fly fast;
Fly fast minutes, no shadows to cast!
Whether perceived or not, time does pass;
Whether perceived or not, time does cadence
Its perfection the percussion of marching,
Its perfection the marching, no end its knowing!

Can you hear it? Do you perceive it? Feel it do you not?
The music of the sphere?
Am I alone, in this wonder to partake?
A witness solitaire, to the rhythms on the air;
See it expand; notice its contraction; behold its height, width, depth.
Its percussive beat syncs with my every breath.

via Daily Prompt: Percussive
Percussive

 

growingbolder.com

Life in Particular

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To live life sleeping is to live as feather, blown in the breeze.
To live life trusting is to live as eagle, peaceful above the fray.
To live life fearing is to live as coward, afraid of that which is not.
To live life embracing is to live as mother, alive to possibility.
To live life doubting is to live as beast, restless to roam.
To live life accepting is to live as child, carefree in bliss.
To live life striving is to live as competitor, stranger of idleness.
To live life dying is to live as divine, extravagant without end.
To live life loving is to live as fire, burning unconsumed.

Doesn’t everything die at last and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? ~Mary Oliver

Particular

Recreate

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Blast past the inky black holes,
As fast as plodding feet may trod;
Tarry not, neither long, or too close;
Stay far away; steer clear,
From the edge of the deep,
Lest you fall into the mire,
Of inky black sleep.

Recreate, re-create; matters not what its called;
Recreate, re-create; magical reset for the living;
Doors and windows open to sky’s of blue;
Whenever the button Recreate is pressed;
Old living renews; vitality abounds;
Recreate, re-create, step up, your’re next!

New eyes, new ears, new mind, new thoughts;
Bright brush strokes, re-color dreary landscapes,
Recreate! Re-create!
Wait for its nudge, its urge, its push towards re-start;
Lightning bolts, blasts from depths of deep sea;
Recreate! Re-create!
Re-member to breathe,
And in breathing perceive;
Be settled, renewed, re-framed, re-cast.
Recreate

via Daily Prompt: Recreate

Purple Pleasure

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Purple intrigue, Purple delight;
I cannot fully comprehend, How you transport me,
Purple!

Whenever I gaze, whenever I see,
Purple before me, behind me, beside me,
All the earth is crowned it seems,
In majestic Purple violaceousness!

Blue-Violet glamour, my eyes shine in misty glee,
My heart palpitates in happy purple-beats,
Deep, delicious breaths, drawn in and out,
In the presence of Purpleliousness;
Such intoxicating fragrance, Purple-like perfume!
Eggplant, Grape, Pomegranite, Blueberry, Plum.
Viva! Violescent Purple!

Purple beauty arrays the flowers of the earth in rainbow hues,
Purple brilliance, crown jewel of every gardenscape.
Lilac, Hyacinth, Forget Me Not, Lavendar, Verbena, Iris;

Blue-Violet glamour, my eyes shine in misty glee,
My heart palpitates happily, my voice will raise
In song, in praise and thankfulness for all things…Purple!

Purple

All That Glitters

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All that glitters, all that glows…
Like gems that sparkle from a light,
So does a life, when mined
From depth of soul.

Jewels all, our days unfold,
Some cast in luster gold,
Some cast in shadows dark and bold.
All that glitters, all that glows.

Jewels abound, dug out of rock,
Transformed by task and toil,
Beauty enlarged, engraved, unleashed,
All that glitters, all that glows.

Jewels amassed, reflecting mirrors,
Refracting love, scattering treasure,
Inspect, reflect, behold in wonder,
All that glitters, all that glows.

Glitter

No Thinking Required

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The way I look at Automatic,
I think it somewhat problematic.
It’s so easy, this is true,
Requires no thinking,
From me or you.

However sublime it may seem,
Automatic is not always keen;
It Liquidates the mind, I say,
Turns muscles to mush, just to
Save us sweat or toil.

Turn a dial, push a button, plug-n-go;
Automatic magic, the world is a-gaping!
Who would have guessed?
Who would have thought?
A heap of helplessness is wrought,
Upon the unthinking lot. Because,

When Automatic is broken down, the
Instructions for Manual cannot be found.
Of course a mess does quickly ensue,
Its proportions epic, no: scary; gigantic;
I think this somewhat problematic.

Automatic

Caution-Filters in Use

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What you get in life depends on your filter. Let me explain. By definition, a filter is designed to screen out unwanted particles or elements. A one-size-fits-all filter is not an effective tool for removing impurities from any given substance. Filters work best when they are used for their singular purpose. The size of the filter sieve or mesh is dependent on the size of the substance needing to be trapped or removed.

Usually, when we consider requirements for a proper filter, we are reflecting on objects which exist in the natural or physical realm. Consider how the window tint of your car’s windows, blocks or restricts certain ultra violet rays from penetrating the glass material. This is an example of a physical filter.

But filtration systems can also be employed in the vapors of the spiritual or emotional realms. We may employ an emotional filter system to protect or enhance our heart or psyche.  Depending on the size of our emotional need, we can create filters to entirely block us off from any strong feeling or emotion. The sieve size is of our own making. Whether to accommodate a trickle or a torrent, whether to filter for love or contempt. It’s up to us.

If you’re not sure about this filter analogy, perhaps it would help to think about it from another angle. Consider this, we all see the world and experience it from a unique perspective. The type of filter(s) we use will often determine the quality of emotion and well-being we attribute to our living.

If we use a filter designed to capture love wherever we experience a day’s worth of living, it’s likely we will be able to acknowledge an accumulation of lovely experiences during our waking hours.

If however, we employ a filter designed to trap and remove every offensive act, word, or deed which comes into awareness, then we will likely be overwhelmed by the innumerable  displeasures encountered during our waking day.

As your days unfold, think about your minutes and hours as water pouring through a giant, invisible sieve. What do you want to capture in your life? What do you want to block? The quality of your filtration system will determine the quality of the minutes and hours you collect during your life’s journey. So be careful then, how you filter!

Definition (Dictionary.com): filter
noun
1. any substance, as cloth, paper, porous porcelain, or a layer of charcoal or sand, through which liquid or gas is passed to remove suspended impurities or to recover solids.
2. any of various analogous devices, as for removing dust from air or impurities from tobacco smoke, or for eliminating certain kinds of light rays.
3. Photography. a lens screen of dyed gelatin or glass for controlling the rendering of color or for diminishing the intensity of light.
verb (used with object)
1. to remove by the action of a filter.
2. to act as a filter for; to slow or partially obstruct the passage of.
3. to pass through or as through a filter.
verb (used without object)
1. to pass or slip through slowly, as through an obstruction or a filter.

Filter