Wanderer

From “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran:

We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us. Even while the earth sleeps we travel.

 

Though the likeliness of me becoming a physical wanderer is nil, there are ways and times that the Wandering Spirit comes upon me. My thoughts wander to other realms seeking relief or peace or assurance. My energies wander to the creative, especially when I am overwhelmed by reality or when I thirst for the waters of discovery, surpise or delight. My imagination wanders to loved ones….their particular situations and challenges. My eyes wander the skies looking for a glimpse of the others that wander the airwaves.

Wanderers often take an “only” path, a lonely path… so as not to compromise their adventures, wanting to stumble onto uninterrupted frontiers, unimpeded horizons. Folks can wander together I suppose, but it may require more of a plan, keeping one’s footsteps closer to a familiar earth. Solo wandering seems more of a soulquest.

I don’t begin each day in unfamiliar territory, but my agreement with life takes me out of my comfort zone, causing me to swim where there is no water and fly when I have no wings. So actually, in a spirit-sense, I wander where I will and when I can. At sunset, I think of all the places I visited and who and what has visited me. Although you won’t find me in the forests, on the mountains or in the valleys, the person you see me as in my quiet, peaceful way…. may be far, far away ~ catapulting over the clouds in the sky.

Where have you wandered lately?

Best Wishes, Whisel*

Creating Your Monday

Does Monday fall on you like a thud of bricks or are you energized by the aspect of experiencing a whole new week of adventures?  Are you groggy and wistful over the dregs of a leisurely weekend or are you excited by the prospect of now and future engagements and accomplishments?

 

It’s Monday. I’m excited about getting things done, making phone calls, having sweet potatoes for lunch,  making decisions, having an agenda…. accelerating my energies, feeling expansive and happy about beginning a new week. That’s my Monday. Generally by Thursday afternoon, I’m slowing down, kicking off my shoes, drawing pictures in my planner and basically welcoming comfort, fun stuff and recreational activities onto my plate.

But Monday is fabulous in intention and achievement, a little bit of both. What is your Monday like? Crisp? active? or slodging through the mire of the slowly activating energies of life?

Happy Monday to all! I’m off to whirl around my world like a chipper tornado. I know, I know…. for some people, this is totally unbearable.

Best wishes, Whisel*

Freecycle

In 2003, Deron Beal started the Freecycle Network in Tucson, Arizona.  Instead of throwing away unwanted but still useable items, either new or used, they are offered on daily email lists, free of charge, no strings attached. You might find any type of product: decorative, apparel, furniture, toys, supplies, etc. It’s sort of like an online garage sale, except the offer is completely free.

Usually, a participating county maintains it’s own email group for convenience of local pick-up.

From their website:

“The Freecycle concept has since spread to over 75 countries, where there are thousands of local groups representing millions of of members — people helping people and “changing the world one gift at a time.” As a result, we are currently keeping over 300 tons a day out of landfills! This amounts to four times the height of Mt. Everest in the past year alone, when stacked in garbage trucks!”

I receive daily notifications about what’s available in my area. Posters have three options. They can post an OFFER, or if the offer has been taken, they post a TAKEN. And they can indicate WANTED, if someone is in need of a particular item. The interaction is then completed through email as to where and when the item can be picked up. No detailed address info is posted to the list. It seems to work really well. I’ve been eyeing some free magazines that I could use for my collage work You can check the freecycle.org site to see if your area hosts this type of activity.

Happy recycling!

Best wishes, Whisel*

 

Know Thyself, but I Digress…

 

 

Though I may question purpose and reality

for reason and rationality…

beyond the final mystery I have no doubt

there is a lens through which a mystic figure sees.

 

A conglomerate of me and thee, and she and he

and that which is just the one voice speaking:

“There are no mistakes or second-guesses.

There is only that which the heart confesses.”

If that is what it is…. I must agree.

 

Ironic that I see the glass half-full

even after downing the vague liquid

to the last dregs of understanding,

yet still I do not know why the thirst remains.

The moment waxes. The moment wanes.

 

Some secret sense judges me for casting a shadow

no one else can see, white and plain,

not complicated or draped in gold, not velvet, satin

or crimson bold… just a shadow of who I imagine

myself to be…. tall, white, translucent, on the cusp of cloudy.

Maybe I am transparent to no one but me.

 

I crawl over each word in my note, hoping to extract

a clearer meaning than just a puzzling poem, but no…

I seemed to have crossed a border line of ambiguity,

knowing all I have to offer

are the symptoms of the character … I Am,

when I was on my way to becoming someone

I thought I might be.

 

 

 

1. whisel* 2008

Sound Stage Cinema

 

Just finished watching the film, “I’m Not There”, the biopic of Bob Dylan played by six different actors portraying various chapters and personas in his life. The most stunning performance was given by Cate Blanchett. She received all kinds of awards and an Oscar nomination for her work. She was amazing. When she was in the scene, I actually could see the real Bob Dylan speaking, gesturing and singing. Christian Bale was pretty good too. The others were so-so. But Cate Blanchett carried the work. Now I’m a hardcore Bob Dylan fan so films that speak of his life and carry his tunes are a must-see for me. I have 13 of his albums and 2 CDs. His six personas were: the juvenile singer, the young man with a social conscience, the family man, the music star, the born-again Christian, and the older man as a Western outlaw.

 

If a biopic were done of my life, I might choose: the awkward Child, the young adventurer, the lover, the parent, the Artist, the Spirit walker. I wonder what personas you would choose to represent your life?

 

Coming Up: Momma Mia! A film that showcases ABBA music, which I love. Catchy eartunes of the 1970s. Meryl Streep, 58 years and Christine Baranski, at 55, dance and acrobat across a Greek Island. Let’s hear it for the derring-do of older women! I’ll rent this flick too just to enjoy the likes of Meryl and Christine AND the infectious sounds of ABBA carrying me away.

 

Best wishes, Whisel*

 

Wisconsin June 2008

I wrote this last month when the big rains came. My sister came to visit me by train. It took her 14 hours to arrive in Minnesota from Chicago, a trip that usually takes 8 hours. At some point the train to be diverted to freight tracks, and even then, she rode through segments where on either side of the train, the water came up to the rails. Luckily, by the time she left in July, the great flood had receded.

 

WISCONSIN June 2008

 

Rain, like gangsters blowing up the street,

flooding quiet valleys with rivers of unstoppable power.

Hail, or is it tommy guns? deafening, shooting at cars,

windows, garbage cans…

a few stray umbrellas with broken ribs, beaten senselessly….

caught in the crossfire of the pop! Ping! Pang!

Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!

 

This weather reminds me of Chicago, 1930s,

when big, swarthy men held neighborhoods hostage.

When forces of superior muscle were unleashed,

plans of exploitation exploded into dangerous dark dragons

melting into the alleys like marauding mudslides,

rogue racketeers dominating the roads.

 

But it’s only water, gallons and gallons… furious fathoms

of clay, silt, lawn furniture, cars surfing over the flood plains,

creating new waterways into Illinois

on its way to Missouri.

 

They say it’s Mother Nature, but I think it’s the Storm Kings,

that new gang that moved into the neighborhood

after we crossed the failsafe threshold into Global Warming.

 

 

c. whisel* 2008

 

I am the voice

I AM the Voice of people.

I Am the Voice of gentle awakening.

I Am the VOICE of remembrance.

I Am the Voice reminding you.

I Am the Voice you have been waiting for.

Where is it I AM not, for I AM everywhereWho is it I AM not, for I AM everyone

Within the silence there is music, it is not to hear but feel
touching the potential. . . there arises form
reach out your heart for it is there I AM

Clay in the sculptor’s hand is but a pulse of music
flowing through the soul

If you wait it is there, if you create it is here
send forth the knowing and know

In your tears there are oceans yet unborn
In your words there are wings unfurled
In you there is that which I AM

Look not with your eyes but see with the being of Love

There cannot be more than this for I AM All That IS.

Suspended Animation?

Such a difficult state of affairs, to float suspended between dimensions.

The body stays put, while the spirit gets on with detatching from physical moorings, insisting on going it’s own way, heading down pathways that simply do not exist on earth..

…..leaving the rest of me, my merely-human parts, (mind and emotions), caught somewhere in between, crying out “What about US? Where do we go, what do we do now?”, like frightened orphans turned out in the cold..all alone..seeing only the retreating backs of both parents…an unbearable thing, …

…mind/emotion races desperately after spirit, wanting to go with it..stay with it, be with it always….only to get snapped back hard, like a huge rubber band..by the other end still attached to body..

…stunned breathless and scared…for it is clear that the body is not long for this world, (and ..”THEN what will happen, what will happen, WHAT WILL HAPPEN??!! Will “we” just DIE? “)

..so..the cycle begins again..mind/emotion, choosing spirit, pulls so hard to go after it, to catch up with it..stay with it…stretching..stretching..trying to either bring body along, or else break free of it…..be free…until, over and over…SNAP-BOOM!.. flat on back stunned again…

This is very tiring.

Optional Pieces

 

 

To turn, to twist, to move, to push…

The purpose of the Furniture Keeper

is to find another place for it, not wanting to cast out the oddities.

But sometimes, on the spur of the moment, a memory is shaken free

and a gifting situation considered. Offer it to someone

who might have that special niche for it in which to function

and be admired. I try. Still I grieve in the open

and dream of it at night. It is natural to feel dislodged

when one’s embeddedness is hauled away

for positioning into other rooms, other lifetimes.

Just me and my stack of magazines say goodbye.

As I observe this fully occupied hothouse drained of its volume,

I shudder with shock and astonishment.

 

But yes, you may have this piece to love and treasure for your very own. Just this one though, this knock-about, chipped time traveler that crossed so many thresh-holds and miles with me. I can give it and you can take it…

but just this one piece and not a splinter more.

 

whisel* 2008

 

 

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty attached to my things.

Any piece that’s been with me for more than seven years is declared family.

 

How about you? Are you able to purge your collections? Can you let go of your current furniture/pieces to upgrade or redecorate?