“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark….Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”
–Ayn Rand
spark
Enthusiasm and Life On Life’s Terms
“Think on This…
. . . to meet the disturbing factors with as much joyousness as if they were bringing pleasure in the material sight, will alter . . . much in the heart and mind of the seeker. For that which is is a result of the thinking of individuals as related one to another.
Reading 610-1”
Hmm. I remember when I could do this and I could say this and I could really mean it!! I truly lived it. It wasn’t fluffy self-help garbage nor delusion. Today, as I read this in my inbox, part of me said, “YES!, Remember that!?! Yes! Do that!” Another part said, “Oh Bullshit!” It also muttered some choice curses. A part that I think is probably closer to the truth recalled how such things termed heavy now were pretty much the same, though different and I had that Joy, I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t as afraid. I wasn’t clinging with my teeth gripped onto a last shred of stability. I am smiling to have shared a few of these views today, out loud. I think that being positive also means sharing how things really are. I think that many of the nudges over the last few days from friends, strangers, and even enemies are my Higher Power nudging me a bit. I notice in my now kvetching to God about fruffy messages and all the hard work I’ve done meaning shit, IS AN ATTEMPT AT COMMUNION with my God. I am at my worst when I am out of that communion. I avoid it as I do not seem able to do it ‘properly’. THIS AVOIDANCE AND PERFECTION are danger signs for me. The invisible police attack and fine me. They tell me not to bother, and that I have other, perhaps better, or worse things to attend. I think God knows what I am screaming inside in frustration and in despair. I also think that I forget to ask. Forget to share–ok avoid sharing that which will seem like a rant, but is truly my real life. I can’t survive pretending it’s ok. I can’t survive by moving back toward the If Only This or That, THEN I will have joy, be ok, be grounded, have balance, find things that please me, fill in the blank.
The joy of seeing the nudges in the things that others write, allow me to borrow them, when I cannot do it myself. They remind me of what I did do, what I CAN do. They provide me with an open window that I cannot notice because I feel trapped inside a ‘house’ where I insist that the doors are all closed. I thank one and all for this sounding spark.
Morning Trip (111) or Creating, Feeling, and Translated Expression
“They may deny it vociferously, but artists burn with a need to convey by implication their personal conception of life and potential beauty, transcending all the laws, dogmas, practical aspirations, and the instincts of self-preservation. They, along with the scientists, poets, and philosophers, illuminate the world rather than exploit it….”
–Ansel Adams
One Shoot Sunday and The Sun Sighed at the Earth Today–Purple Profundity: Poetry by Elisabeth Connelley
Good Morning! It’s One Shoot Sunday again! The following is quoted to attribute the photographer and the site that supports and encourages The Poetry Challenge of One Shoot Sunday.
“This week, One Stop showcases the work and insights of Scott Wyden, a portrait and travel photographer from New Jersey specializing in landscape and commercial/fashion work. A talented photographer, his name is attached to numerous projects – including creation of the now-sold photowalklist.com, as an editor on HDR Spotting, and as a guest writer for several photo-related websites.”
Image by Scott Wyden
The Sun Sighed at the Earth Today
The sun sighed at the Earth today, the sound,
Lost among voices,
Rushing from the streets
She reached down to caress the Earth,
I felt her fingers trailing through my hair
The sun sighed at the Earth today
Her tears splashed,
Another soul lost in the well
The sun sighed at the Earth today
Her reflection in the moon
A small cool spark, clasped tightly in my hands
The sun sighed at the Earth today
Her breath of desperation
My breath of joy
While shattering the glass surface of the well
The droplets arching down
Each one a thousand stars upon itself
Children’s laughter patters down
I reach
The droplets, watering the iris of my mind’s eye
I reach into the sun
And she sighs at the Earth today
–by elisabeth connelley
Elisa's Spot 