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Words

After spending much of my summer immersed in both images and words I have been contemplating the relationship between them. In my lettering class, the teacher began by saying that words are “bearers of meaning.” I like the image the poem offers, that we come to know things more deeply in naming them. And while words can feel ethereal or disembodied, it is true that there is something much more intimate about jasper, rather than red stone. The words help to root us in the beauty of the particular which is what an incarnational spirituality is about. My life is filled with

August 29, 2007

Invitation to Poetry: Freedom

I had such fun with my first Invitation to Poetry posted a couple of weeks ago and loved reading all of your contributions so here is another invitation for you, my wonderful readers, to add your own words to the image below. This is a simple collage I made in about five minutes during a design elements class I took while at the art retreat, but something about it really speaks to me — the tension between the open cage and the open feathers speak to me of the promise of freedom. What does the image evoke for you? Feel free to leave

August 27, 2007

Delight Under a Cloudy Sky

“O shy moon don’t give in to the pushy clouds you are above them” -one of the Haiku read aloud at the end of the evening written by a fellow moon-gazer (I apologize for not catching the name) We attended the Moon Viewing event at the Japanese Garden last night and I was entranced the whole evening despite the fact that the moon never fully appeared from behind the cloud cover. This is an annual event to celebrate the autumn moon (which will be full on Tuesday). There was beautiful music (I am now entranced by the koto), dancing, singing, launching

August 26, 2007

Paying Attention

“The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” -Henry Miller (photo taken at Glendalough, Ireland) -Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts

August 25, 2007

Creating Space

I had a dream the other night: In the building where we live one of the condos is going to be rented out for a couple of months, so I decide to go take a look at it. When I first walk in, there is a small cramped kitchen with a stairway going up from the middle of the room. I climb the stairs and discover a lovely room up above with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of some lovely old stone church ruins (similar to the ones I saw in Ireland–photo above is on the Dingle Peninsula) and beyond

August 24, 2007

Moon Viewing

A cool event on Saturday my sweetie and I are planning on attending. If you’re in Seattle come join us! August 25: Moon Viewing at the Japanese Garden (Arboretum) 7 to 10 p.m. (Garden will open at 6:15 p.m.) Admission for all ages: $15 / Tea tickets: $10 Enjoy a magical night in celebration of the autumn moon with the garden lit with luminaria, lanterns, and boats afloat on the ponds. View the moon through the powerful telescopes provided by the Seattle Astronomical Society. Participate in a tea ceremony with a bowl of match tea and sweets in the Shoseian

August 24, 2007

Endings and Beginnings

Yesterday my sweet husband started back to work. It was faculty meeting day and today he gets to meet all of his students. I am always a bit sad at the end of summer–we get to spend so much time together and he truly is my best friend so we have a lot of fun, a lot of time to play and be. This summer felt especially rich with treasures to explore together. He really enjoys his work, the school where he teaches, his students, his co-workers, but it is hard to transition back to waking at six a.m. while I roll over

August 23, 2007

Going Naked

“My own belief is that one regards oneself, if one is a serious writer, as an instrument for experiencing. Life—all of it—flows through this instrument and is distilled through it into works of art. How one lives as a private person is intimately bound into the work. And at some point, I believe one has to stop holding back for fear of alienating some imaginary reader or real relative or friend, and come out with personal truth. If we are to understand the human condition, and if we are to accept ourselves in all the complexity, self-doubt, extravagance of feeling,

August 20, 2007

Holding the Tension

A year ago today, I spent the day holding our beloved dog Duke as we waited for the vet to come over and put him to sleep. Just a day and a half prior he began to show signs of illness and we discovered he had an aggressive liver cancer that only shows signs when the tumors start to bleed and the animal is near death. It was a terrible day and also a profoundly holy one as I had the privilege of holding his beautiful body as he passed over from this life into the beyond. Duke’s death left

August 19, 2007

Earth Teach Me

I found this beautiful prayer at The Longer Look: Earth teach me stillness as the grasses are stilled with light. Earth teach me suffering as old stones suffer with memory. Earth teach me humility as blossoms are humble with beginning. Earth teach me caring as the mother who secures her young. Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands alone. Earth teach me limitation as the ant which crawls on the ground. Earth teach me freedom as the eagle which soars in the sky. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me

August 16, 2007

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Invitation to Poetry: Freedom

Delight Under a Cloudy Sky

Paying Attention

Creating Space

Moon Viewing

Endings and Beginnings

Going Naked

Holding the Tension

Earth Teach Me

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