Martin Luther King

12.22 Three More Sleeps

Today is the 1st day in over a week that I've felt well enough to venture out for a walk, searching for my daily Christmas tree.

I've been keeping mental a list of trees I wanted to see, but since I missed that whole week, I won't get to all of the spots I had hoped to.

But I did make it to the 50+ foot tree in Neiman Marcus at Union Square.
It's so tall, I couldn't fit it all in a single snapshot. We've lived here for 4 1/2 years and this was the 1st time I've been in this department store. I've walked by it a hundred times, but just never had the need to step inside till today.

I think today was the 1st time in over a week that I saw sunshine. It was a beautiful day!

So beautiful, I couldn't help but admire the blue skies behind the scary crane.

I wrapped the last of my Christmas presents tonight. Check!

And I'll end with a little silly camera fun...
Jimmy got this hockey nutcracker a few years ago from his sister.

And I couldn't resist making these heart bokeh lights around my guitar. Still obsessed with learning how to play. Honestly, I don't have the talent for this. It's still a huge struggle, but I'm super focused and have a lot of determination.

I stumbled on these quotes somewhere and they are the epitome of how I've been feeling about my guitar playing:

Quote Journal

A couple of old pieces from my quote journal.
I need to start creating in that again. I haven't in a few years.

A Wise Man Said...

‎"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

update: turns out that the 1st part of this quote wasn't by MLK, Jr. So I've bolded the part that was his actual quote. Instead of deleting the part that he didn't say, I left it in because I still think it's poignant.

Happy Halloween!!

The witches fly
Across the sky,
The owls go, "Who? Who? Who?"
The black cats yowl
And green ghosts howl,
"Scary Halloween to you!"
~Nina Willis Walter

Desiderata

My local paper arts store is doing a monthly challenge. On the 1st Wednesday of the month, they give you a specific 'canvas', and if you show them the finished project the following 1st Wednesday, then you get that month's 'canvas' free. April's canvas was a plain chipboard scallop-edged minibook. Since it's April, I decided to do a poetry theme, I used excerpts from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann.








Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
_

Earth Day

I was reading an article on npr.org about eating vegan till dinnertime.

Here's a little excerpt:
If you eat like a vegan until dinnertime, you can protect your health and help save the planet; how we eat — and certainly what we eat — has a real impact on both our bodies and the Earth. That's something to think about on Earth Day.

The idea has been dubbed VB6, Vegan Before 6. It's a very interesting idea. Although I don't think I'd be able to do vegan. Perhaps vegetarian before 6. I wonder if I have the fortitude to try it.

After reading "Chew on This", I made a commitment to stop eating at national fast food chains. Unfortunately, I cave into KFC (one of the worst offenders) once, maybe twice a year. But aside from being w/ children and their parents, I haven't eaten at McDonalds or BK in over a year. Every now and then I'll go to local or regional fast food places, like In-n-Out or El Pollo Loco, once a month or two. But they don't require the the "mass food manufacturing" that the national chains do.

But I love veggies. and fruit. So going vegetarian before 6 shouldn't be hard. It would be a commitment, even a bit of a challenge, and maybe if i throw it out there, I'll be more likely to stick with it for longer than...a day. We'll see. Anyone wanna share their favorite recipes?

Lastly, a little poem, again in honor of National Poetry Month and also Earth Day:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
~George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
_

Outward Expression

Gracefulness has been defined
to be the outward expression
of the inward
harmony of the soul.
-William Hazlitt
_

Magnificent Fall

The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
In its distress,
Displays a certain
Loveliness.

-John Updike
_

Unarmed Truth

Martin Luther King Jr.

I should have posted this yesterday. My SIL and I went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta during our roadtrip last month. It's good to see how much information they have there and all the resources that are available for all of us learn from. We were only there for about an hour, which wasn't enough time to be able to see and read the displays.

The church where Martin Luther King Jr and his father Martin Luther King Sr. pastored, Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

"Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with fact; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals."

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let's Party!

Spring is nature's way of sayin, "Let's Party!"
-Robin Williams 

Flaunting Their Stately Heads

Dutch tulips from their beds
Flaunted their stately heads.
-James Montgomery
submitted to Pxite: Spring

Justice ATCs

Posting to Photo Tuesday's Justice theme inspired me. Posting those ATCs from 2004 also inspired me. So I created 4 new ATCs today with the Justice theme. All of the images used were taken in or around our Nation's Capitol building. Each card was painted and stamped on canvas paper, colored with lumiere paint (the platnium one) or oil pastels (orange/yellow). The rubber stamp is from Limited Edition and is a quote from Susan B. Anthony:
"We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all civil and political rights that belong to the citizens of the United States be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever." 

Love that Entangles Our Hearts

Created by Tor Archer for the "Hearts in San Francisco" display.
"My heart, entitled ‘Entangled Heart’, is a representation of the web of love that entangles all of our hearts. It is meant to be a contemplative piece as one’s eye traces the lines surrounding the heart." - Tor Archer
Submitted to Pixite - Theme: Love

Grace

One of the cards I created last year.
'Grace' speaks to me in many different ways. I strive to be gracious in everything I do. It's my middle name. It's part of the name for this website. I live on Grace Avenue and I used to live on Gracemont Street in Whittier 12 years ago.
There's this brand of skin care product called 'Philosophy' and one of their lines is called 'Grace'. They have this quote on it that I love:
Amazing grace is the person who lives in a state of love, forgiveness, and total compassion.
It is the person who is not afraid to be wrong and doesn't need to be right.
It is the humble spirit who lets others shine and helps those who cannot find their light.
It is the person who prays for others and not for oneself.
It is the person who has let their self out and the spirit in.