Spirits

Having been enthralled like many millions by the Harry Potter series, I also became ensnared by children and young adult literature. Today I finished reading Nancy Farmer's The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm set in Zimbabwe in the year of 2194. It is an intriguing future world intermixing such things as: evil genetically engineered blue monkeys; a wasteland being mined for rare plastic; a sequestered preserve in the middle of a bustling city with no modern technology; a mile-high building which is a vertical city in itself and spirits of ancestors, animals and the land. The characters of this delightful book are just as varied and colorful, but, dear reader, you can read more about that yourself by reading the link provided.

What I am most interested in discussing right now is spirits. In the book the living are constantly aware of the spiritual realm. Most important of all the spirits was the mhondoro: the lion spirit or spirit of the land. Everyone living in Zimbabwe belonged to the mhondoro, every creature that had ran, ate, played, hunted, loved and died on the land belonged to the mhondoro.

How many of us now are trying to reconnect with such a spirit in whichever land we call home? No matter how sleek our architecture or how powerful our artificial intelligence we all need to feel connected to the very essence of life in some way. Some of us only need to dig into the moist earth and foster growth, others need to explore the oceans, others pound into dough like their grandmother before them, others may hike trails or search for another bird and still others surround themselves in the sounds, motions and rituals of devotion and worship. What they all search for is a sense of belonging. Belonging necessitates relationships--a sense of community and participation in something greater than the individual.

I am a practical and dubious person when it comes to spirituality and the unexplained, or at least I was. Still, I am moved by more than the tangible. It took generations to create a modern life. Perhaps those before us linger and matter more than we realize. With each person we encounter we imprint a bit of ourselves on them--some more than others. We never know the full impact of a life: how we inspire another and what our words, actions or mere presence means.

It is strange to imagine, dear reader, that your life may impart such significance well into the future...that your spirit joins those before you and will be joined by those following you.


P.S. When I was searching for images using "spirit" as my keyword, I discovered this hauntingly beautiful photograph by Diane Varner (click on link to see the photo). Enjoy clicking through the rest of her photography of nature.

Montage Monday

I am rather scatterbrained today. I want to do a thousand different things so as a result I am not able to do much of anything. I feel like inside me is a gleaming ball of light moving so quickly it only leaves glowing remnants. Perhaps that will explain how disjointed this blog will be.

This past weekend I have been trying to wade through my old studio. I can only go for about an hour before I want to pound my head against a wall. I am not exaggerating when I say I would prefer giving blood or visiting the dentist than go through the things I have amassed. I am half-convinced that I have some disease that makes collecting a compulsion and throwing away a torturous and painful occurrence. Somehow I imprint way too much significance, emotional meaning and memory onto objects. Much like some cultures believe a soul can be captured in a photograph, I think I may place a little of myself in the objects which I live with day in and day out. I do know I displace how I feel about a person into something they have to given me. I am not properly able to express how I feel to them, so I hold on and treasure something that represents them to me. I am getting better at letting go, but the process is no less agonizing to me. I realize others don’t understand how overwhelmed and lost I feel at these times. They perhaps are not swallowed up by the mundane and I envy them. I have no talent for all the details involved in living.

One of the positive aspects of organizing and sorting accumulated junk is the discovery of misplaced beloved trinkets. In one box that probably dates from 2001, I found high quality color copies of old photographs not used in a scrapbook project. I am going to share some of those photos as for once I did not get that sick, leaden feeling upon seeing my own face. I wasn’t the prettiest or cutest kid out there, but I think I show some spunk in my pictures. Here are a couple of pictures for your viewing pleasure. I believe I was around 4 years old on a trip in Colorado. I was much more stylish in those days than I am now.

Lastly, in my new quest for openness I am going to share something I would usually keep to myself. Harli goes in for her yearly teeth cleaning tomorrow which means she will be put under and there is always the possibility she won’t regain consciousness. Every year I go through facing Harli’s mortality and my anxiety is intensifying with each passing year. Harli is old and my time with her is waning. To tell you the truth, dear reader, I am not sure how I will be able to handle her death. Harli may be the only living being to love me wholeheartedly. Tonight, at least, I will be sticking by my little pup and she, I imagine, will love all the treats I give her although not by being smothered with hugs and kisses.

What My Dogs Go Through for MY Blog

My blogging is now becoming torture for my dogs. You will see just how harassed they are by the expression on Dexter's face above. He hated the flash on the digital camera and other dogs ran away. Most notable was Bella's reaction: she barked, terrified, at the cyborg creature following her around (see the picture to the right to get an indication of just what I mean).

As I, crazy person that I am, chased down my dogs, I created a little camera-happy boy. Every time Dexter would allow me to take his picture the more praise I heaped upon him (more importantly to him was the fact I was also bribing him with leftover rice that was going to be thrown away--look at his physique and you will note how motivated Dexter by food) until he was following me around hoping for a picture and therefore a treat. Isn't he handsome?

Dogs make tough subjects for an inept photographer and my dogs in particular. They scatter, become defensive or move during the pause between hitting the button and the capturing of the image. I have a lot of ridiculous butt shots or only a tip of the tail. When I did capture a dog there was usually glare in the dogs eyes (see Dexter's picture) that I have not yet found how to correct (any suggestions?). Still, I am going to post many of the pictures for your amusement and also because even with such woeful photography my dogs are still adorable. Let me introduce you to the rest of the crew.

The picture above is Bella again after she had adjusted a bit to the camera, although she was still very wary. Due to her being a double dapple she has malformed eyes or devil eyes as we call it. To make up for her poor eyesight she is doubly as loud.

At left is Shelby. She's a pretty, gray stray and is a favorite with anyone who visits (unlike the doxies who aren't fond of strangers or even people they have met a dozen times). She has impulse control issues and has run out of our house, jumped fences and the like.

Below right is Princess Leia. Princess is a title and not actually part of her name. This tiny Yorkie has BIG attitude. Her fur looks a little worse for wear right now, but she's really very cute.

Below left is Sophie our head dog. She's the beauty of the doxie bunch with deep, shiny ebony fur. Her parents were both wirehair so although she is considered to have a smooth coat she has all the curiosity of a wirehair. If a cabinet door is open she jumps right in. As a puppy she crawled behind furniture like the tv and washer and dryer. There was nothing funnier than to see her stand on her hind legs and pivot in order to change directions behind said furniture. This girl is smart and creative and found a way up onto the couch the second day we had her (she used the end table).

At right is Harli, the last of the bunch, and our oldest. Can you tell she is a poodle? Maybe you can see that she is sadly in need of fur transplants. For some reason she lost nearly all her hair several years ago. As a puppy she looked just like a chia pet. Oh, Harli, where has your fur gone?

This takes much longer than I would have imagined to take the picture, transfer it from my digital camera, crop the pictures and then upload all these images, while still having it all turn out in some way that is less than a jumbled mess.

My hats are off to bloggers everywhere for having the patience to do this often and well. I really have no idea how you do it, but I aim to find out. With more time and practice I think I could make the images much more pleasing (and dare I say it artistic).

Watch out dear reader for a bumpy ride!