The Value of Envy

Envy

The green eyed monster

Something to be 

shunned

turned away from

Envy can certainly be a

green eyed monster when

it seeks evil or is covetous

but it doesn't have to be………..

It just might show a 

new set of stairs,

aspirations for a journey

toward new horizons.

"The most absurd and reckless aspirations

have sometimes led to extraordinary success."

~ Luc de Clapiers

Traditions......

....grow with us 

through the ages

morphing and evolving within

culture

society

community

family shifts and changes.

Traditions express

personalities

beliefs and

spirituality through

beautiful and significant attire

political stance

religious practice

philosophical ideal

financial barter and trade

language, art forms and music.

Traditions create 

defined comfort zones for

rites of passage through life

governance of cultures within

families

communities and

nations.

Too rigid and we are in danger of

insulating ourselves and our communities from others

becoming arrogant and self righteous.

Too lax and we

become vulnerable.

Gentle, beautiful, but firm boundaries created by 

tradition can become welcoming

opening hearts and minds

weaving a broad tapestry

throughout humanity.

"Tradition is a guide and not a jailer."

~ William Somerset Maugham

Who's on the Guest List?

Positive thoughts

seldom on the guest list 

for any pity parties I've attended -

not that I've attended many.....

Atmosphere more important -

black balloons, 

shrouded windows
gray skies.

Positive thoughts ~

party crashers with wings and wands. 

Pity party poopers flitting about 

with stardust and fairy sprinkles

popping all the black balloons,

opening windows and doors, and

blowing clouds away.

Positive thoughts ~
definitely unwelcome at the door of any good pity party!

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,

but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

~ Herm Albright

Changing the Past

The original thought or time past

can never be remembered with the same clarity of the moment.

You know…

the brilliant or frightening thought

that popped in your head

when you were in the shower

driving to work

washing the dishes

out walking………..

And in that ultimate clarity,

there is seldom 

access to pen and paper or

enough words to

write down that thought.

The memory of the 

words or 

moment in time

comes with 

blurred edges

holes punched in the page

shadows of other events falling across it.

And so when it is time

to develop

words or statements,

phrases or poems,

grammar and lyrics

bring reality to our thoughts

but seem to negate the emotion.

Words gathered with life experience can

clear the shadows or 

make them darker, larger

fill the holes or 

tear them wider, more ragged.

Does revision of words today

change the reality of the past?

Cleaning up remembered past

making it prettier than it was?

Mixing past memories with anger or shame

making them uglier than they were?

Writing wanton thoughts may show that  

a burden has been carried just long enough.

There is contentment and joy

to be found in the present moment.

"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought….."

~ Norbet Platt

Mixed Media.....

Hazeldell Orchard - Fruitstand time 2009

....for random planting of 

ideas, opinions, stories -

mulling thoughts onto a page,

any page will do.

etchings in rock or wood

charcoal on birch bark

crayon on construction paper

paper and pencil

paper and pen - quill, ink, ballpoint……..

key board for laptop or desktop

Anywhere with anything to

tell a story

offer direction

share an idea

paint word pictures

Humanity has come a very long way

Creativity and convenience 

respecting media of choice or desire.

"The art of progress is to preserve order amid 

change and to preserve change amid order."

~ Alfred North Whitehead

Back to Square One?

I've lost my place

in an order 

carefully constructed

on a sandy foundation.

Crumbled routine from

inattention to detail

the cause and now

the reason for renewal.

Returning to square one

I stand still slowly

while my eyes adjust to

this new darkness.

Recalling details,

rebuilding from chaos

square one looked different

blank and bleak.

Adjusting my vision,

review of so much

learned in this journey

while risking new challenges.

The number of the square?

After square one and all of the challenges,

there is no number.

Numbers and squares limit the sky.

"You start making progress in life when you realize that 

you don't always have to resume where you left off."

~ Robert Brault

Fall Promise

Government House Garden
(just one of the gardens)
Victoria, B.C.

The leaves have begun to fall

Secretly, quietly

Trees still green ~

fading fullness barely noticeable.

The more sensitive

to seasonal shifts

state brilliantly that 

it is almost time

for a change

from green to gold.

Afternoon's warm deception

shivers in the night time,

promising a crispy blanket of leaves on 

sparkling frozen grass when

the time arrives.

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.

For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad."

~ Edwin Way Teale