Thought for Today

Most of my thinking happens on a yellow legal pad.  I am thankful for those yellow legal pads that help bring my thoughts to life!

Lego and Poe

Today's photo brought to you by little energy, little creativity, and little light. (The prompt is spooky background.)

Simple Things

Ideas flying

Crazy thoughts, faraway dreams.

What will become real?

KEB 10/14/15

Thursday

My Thursday's are incredibly long days, beginning with my first class at 7:30 am and ending at 4 pm after a final composition lesson.  In between, I teach five different classes and two lessons.  The good news?  Unlike Wednesday's, I actually have 30 minutes for lunch!  The thing that makes this tiring day tolerable is knowing that it is the end of my work week.  And, I have some awesome students.

No one really wants to take (or teach) a 7:30 am class, but to get it all done, this is the way the schedule has to be, so we make the best of it and do whatever we have to do...arrive at school with a great big cup of coffee!  

This morning, one of my students came skipping into class at about 7:28 with a big smile on her face and pronounced, "I am so happy this morning; I am winning at life."  Whenever someone says something like this I always go through a quick analysis of their expression to determine whether they are speaking truth or sarcasm.  In this case,  I was fairly sure it was truth, but I asked her just to make sure.  She said that she was glad that she was on time and really enjoyed being in the class.  How can you not have a good day when it begins like this?  I woke up with a sore throat and the feeling that a cold was trying to take over my body.  This student's enthusiasm and good cheer made me forget about the fact that I wasn't feeling 100% and pushed me to give her my 100% so that she  left class still feeling as though she was winning at life.

My day had an equally good ending.  Thursday has become "diner dinner night."  We have gotten into a routine of meeting a small group of friends almost every Thursday night at our local diner.  It is a true diner experience-juke box and love meter in the entry way; burgers, fries, and all-day breakfast; and servers that know all the regulars (that would be us) and bring our drinks as soon as we walk in the door, no ordering necessary  Most of us order the exact same meal every Thursday night.  That s part of the routine.  We catch up on each other's week, roll our eyes over the current state of politics in this country, solve as many of the world's problems as we can in a couple of hours, and mostly enjoy the friendship that we share.  Oh, and we have dessert.  Diner dinner is the only dinner during the week that includes dessert.  For me that is banana pudding.  This too is part of the routine.  The partners that we are, we close the place down at 9pm.

Neither having a student who feels that she is winning at life or a Thursday night diner dinner may make the list of what makes most people happy, but both are exactly what bring joy to my world.  Knowing that what I do as a teacher causes even one student to feel good about herself and having wonderful friends who enjoy simply being together are both, for me,  awesome things!   If only more people realized that it is really the little things that are the big things in life...

Today's photo prompt was "With A Ball."  This is what you get when you take your photo at 10pm...after diner dinner.  It's all about priorities!

Fall

Wednesdays are long days.  The best I have to offer is my daily haiku...

The season changes

 Year's perfect end approaching.

Where is the weather?

...and today's photo taken very late tonight.  The prompt was "rushing."  I rushed to get a photo taken while trying to get several others things done.

Jumping Back In!

The calendar says that fall will be here in two days, but for my creative self, it is spring that is dawning after a five month dormant season here.   Unlike the plants and animals who know that they need fall and winter to rest and rejuvenate, I was unaware that my spirit was longing for that time.  I have been doing other creative things, including other types of writing, but in the past few weeks, I have been hit hard with the realization that I truly miss this forum, my blog.  Yes, I have missed deeply the writing, but perhaps more importantly, I have felt strongly the absence of the daily thoughts, reflection, and wondering that were the spark for my my daily posts.

Several things have happened that, taken together, have spurred me on to begin again here.  First, people who were faithful readers have asked why I stopped posting and where I had gone.  They were even kind enough to say that the missed my offerings.  I am flattered, though honestly  I never thought anyone would really read what I write here; I started blogging as a personal discipline, as a means of accountability to no one but myself.  If others find a reason to smile, or cry, or experience a little piece of joy, or find a bit of insight in my musings, I consider those are an added bonus.

For many years, I have been a faithful follower of Julia Cameron and her daily discipline of writing morning pages.  It is through this practice, that I rediscovered my need to reinstitute writing regular blog posts.  Since going back to school a few weeks ago, I have also added to this morning routine a poem in haiku form.  I say in haiku form because in the traditional Japanese haiku, this seventeen syllable form contains a kigo,  a seasonal word drawn from a defined list of words.  The poems that I have written usually contain no such word, but do follow the 5-7-5 syllabic structure of the lines as well as the use of a “ exiting word.”

Here are a couple of these poems:

Uninvited thoughts
Coming and going freely.
Through my mind, they dance.   - KEB 9/14/15

Thoughts of things undone
Fester, surface, call to me.
Your attention, please!        - KEB 9/16/15

Imagination.
Tool of possibility
Or disappointment?   - KEB 9/21/15

As I reflected on my own words, I sensed a theme, one that was calling me to pay attention and to take action, a strong yearning to write….here   And so I begin again.  Even after all this time away, this is a comfortable place for me.  Writing this post is kind of like a much anticipated homecoming.

Oh, and today's Capture Your 365 photo prompt is "jumping."  Yes, the prompt was intended in the literal sense, but most often, I am not a literal person, so this post is my idea of jumping today.  Now to figure out how to photograph this.

One of the reasons that I have neglected my blog is because I have been writing in other places, new places.  That is not an excuse; it is simply to say that I have not done a very good job at time management and prioritizing.  I will continue to write in those other places as well as here.  And sometimes, it may be necessary for me to “kill two birds with one stone” and share the same material in two places.  

One of those new writing adventures is another blog that I am writing with a dear photography friend.  As is evidenced by its title, our focus is on friendship, photography and food.  If you are interested, it is here:

www.pixelsplatesandlols.blogspot.com

Also, Weber and I help our blue and orange furry monster, Blueper B, write about his adventures on his blog as well:

www.blueperbblueprints.blogspot.com

Neither of these other forums takes the place of the kind of posts that I have written here in the past and intend to share again, but those other endeavors do take time and energy, commodities which seem severely lacking in my world some days!

If you are still here and reading what I have written, thank you.  I am grateful for your presence on this journey.  As I did previously, I will continue to share my photographs and my daily thoughts.  I don’t promise that they will be worthy of your time and attention, but I do promise that I will do my best to share with honesty, integrity, and a little humor.

Thank you for stopping by!

12/365-3 Frost

"Fire and Ice"

Though it was chilly today, it was not chilly enough for frost so I had to go a different route with today's prompt.

With sincere apologies to Robert Frost, here is my silly illustration of his poem Fire and Ice.

Some say the world will end in fire; 
Some say in ice. 
From what I've tasted of desire 
I hold with those who favor fire. 
But if it had to perish twice, 
I think I know enough of hate 
To say that for destruction ice 
Is also great 
And would suffice.

In the Hand of the Weaver

In the Hand of the Weaver

(a pantoum)

I am the shuttle.

Strings of ideas entangle me

Someday to be woven together

Trust in God the warp.

Strings of ideas entangle me.

Big and small, concrete and abstract.

Trust in God the warp.

An enlightened mind the weft.

Big and small, concrete and abstract

Someday to be woven together.

An enlightened mind the weft

I am the shuttle.

KEB 6/21/2012

Standing Naked

Today is my birthday. I thought about all of the things that I could write about to commemorate this occasion and then I thought again. I'm not really in the mood for one of those sappy romps through the past nor am I in the mood for a prophetic foray into the future. My solution, which may or may not be a good one, is to share a poem that I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

I don't often share my own poems here but, for whatever reason, this is how I am acknowledging my birthday.



STANDING NAKED

I sat clothed in a wardrobe of the past.
Layers of tightly woven fabric keeping the cold in
and the warmth out.
Hiding a body and spirit that had dared to live
nearly half a century.

You pleaded with me to shed my hat,
unbutton my coat, kick off my shoes.
To let you remove gently these makeshift bandages
allowing the wounds beneath
the healing breath of fresh air.
You bid me to stand naked,
to hide nothing from you and nothing from myself.

As my last garment fell to the floor,
I saw, as if magnified tenfold, the scars of life given
and life lost.
I felt fresh pain, inside and out, from punches
taken by hand and by word.

As I reached desperately for the security of my old clothes,
My flesh and soul instead were enveloped by the cloak of your words –
“You’re beautiful.”


KEB
12/16/10

An Amazing Poem

This poem is also from Jeff Rockwell's book
Making Friends With The Dust.

One thing at a time

Our progress will never make it possible
for us to fly with our arms open
flapping in the air.
What it can do, however,
is inspire us to do
one
holy
mindful
thing
at a time.

Nothing more needs to be said here.

Walking With Questions

Today the Labyrinth Ministry of our church, of which I am a part, had its regular monthly meeting. Up until recently, we have neglected walking the labyrinth as a part of these meetings in favor of having more time for "business". The majority of the group agreed that not walking together was a mistake in that our work together was not firmly grounded in the labyrinth itself.

For nearly ten years, the labyrinth has been an integral part of my spiritual journey. I first walked on a paper labyrinth at our church. Since then I have had the opportunity to walk at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, outdoor labyrinths in Chicago, our own canvas labyrinth in places from Dallas to California, and I was blessed to spend a week on the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France.

Just as every stroll we take down our own neighborhood street or walk we take through the aisles of the grocery store is different, so is every labyrinth walk. The experience can range from "so what" to "Wow!" It can spark fear or laughter. It may call forth tears of sorrow or tears of joy. A walk may leave you with answers or questions. The latter was the case with my walk today. I had so many questions that I had a hard time focusing or even articulating them. When I find myself in such a place, I turn to the words of others to help me make sense of my thoughts and feelings.

It is the poetry of Jeff Rockwell in his book Making Friends With The Dust where I find comfort tonight.

A body of questions

Are all rivers flowing in time?
Are all songs a cry for more?
Are all canyons made of slow-moving gold?

Do all bananas dream of sex?
Do all embraces stretch from head to toe?
Do all highways follow the signs?

Are all stoplights a reminder to breathe, and
should we say, "thank you?"
Are all pretensions as obvious as they mean to be?
Are all dyed-hairs where they belong?

Do all homes approve of their owners?
Do all fears have a purpose in life?
Do all beds drive lovers crazy?

Are all hearts underrated?
Are all missionaries and preachers living their own lives?
Are all mystics out of a job?

Do all footsteps know where they are going?
Do all restaurants in America serve passion?
Do all moments count if no one is counting?

I still have lots of questions and no answers, but I take solace in the fact that I am not the only one who walks around with a head full of unanswered, possibly ridiculous, questions. Perhaps my next walk will be a journey of answers.