New Year with Walt Whitman

Song of the Open Road excerpt

By Walt Whitman 1819-1892

---

1
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.

The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer,
I know they are very well where they are,
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

(Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
I swear it is impossible for me to get rid of them,
I am fill'd with them, and I will fill them in return.)
.......

5
From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines,
Going where I list, my own master total and absolute,
Listening to others, considering well what they say,
Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,
Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me.

I inhale great draughts of space;
The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine.

I am larger, better than I thought,
I did not know I held so much goodness.

All seems beautiful to me, I can repeat over to men and women
You have done such good to me, I would do the same to you.

I will recruit for myself and you as I go,
I will scatter myself among men and women as I go,
I will toss a new gladness and roughness among them,
Whoever denies me it shall not trouble me,
Whoever accepts me he or she shall be blessed and shall bless me.
......

(The entire text of this lovely poem can be found in multiple places on the web. It creates a pause or space for contemplation of a New Year, a New Decade, a New World.
What do you want to create in the years ahead?)

Love to All, and Peace Be With You.

p.s. I had no idea Whitman was so controversial. Thanks to all who posted comments. I've had my first New Year's education. xoxo (I am sincere in my thanks.)

Christmas Card Zentangle wishes for you

Here are my Holiday Wishes for YOU. May you know your importance in my life, and may you feel appreciated. You have enriched me in ways you'll never know. I continue to be inspired by each of you, and have learned so much. I'm entering the season with a grateful heart. What better gift is there?
May you be blessed in the New Year.

LOVE TO ALL.

Dyeing for Christmas

You probably need to know the little five-year-old who prompted this project. Jonas is in kindergarten. You might understand more if I say he is the middle child, between two perpetual motion, high-kinetic-energy children. He has hated shoes and socks his whole life, immediately taking them off as soon as he's buckled in his car seat, carrying them into my house and depositing them in the shoe basket at the front door. So, when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he answered, "I want some tie-dyed socks, Grams," I couldn't resist. I ordered wonderfully soft bamboo from Dharma Trading, and tie-dyed a family's worth. (If you're in Tennessee, you're invited to place an order, including all white, if you like what you see.)

Now, to show you the youngest constant motion child in the family, you'll see that I couldn't get her to hold still for a photo. These were all taken within one minute of each other. She is 2 1/2 years old, but the clothes are 18 month sizes, so you get an idea of how tiny this little hurricane is. She walks on her tippy-toes, but usually the toes turn under, like a toe-dancer.

Christmas Peace wishes

Doodling some wishes for Peace during the holidays. What if we kept that word in mind the whole season, and just inhaled PEACE, and exhaled CALM and LOVE. Think of the JOY we would be spreading! May these gifts of the holiday season be yours.
Love to all.

No pictures, but plenty of good wishes.

I had to speak today to the Chaplaincy program at St. Mark's Hospital. While pondering about it, I looked up my collection of poetry, and found some Christmas wishes I gave to my friends one year. I tried to write an individualized letter to each of them. So as my gift to you, I'm going to share my wishes of love and good cheer, and hope that you'll receive inspiration from them.
Love to all.

MY WISH FOR YOU

I wish for you Authenticity,
That you may express your true self,
The Divine Being that is connected to the Source
Of Pure Love, Light and Creativity.

I wish for you Joy,
In solitude and silence,
That you may hear the inner music of the spheres,
The rhythm and harmony of life
Expressing itself through you and
Because of you.

I wish for you Rest
From your fears and worries,
Your striving and your concerns,
That you may fully feel your own
Unique aliveness and essence,

I wish for you Play,
That you may dance from your center,
Sing from your heart,
Write from your hopes and dreams,
And know the Artist who lives within.

I wish for you Love,
That you may know your worth and value
And place in the world;
That you may share that knowledge
From your essence, and bring
Peace and healing into the world
Just by being.

Sneak Preview-Quilt Gift for Christmas

We have a bit of a Christmas dilemma every year. If I can possibly think of a gift for my DH, I can pretty much guarantee he'll go out and get one 6 weeks before. In all of our married life, I've not been able to surprise him. This year I thought I'd finally come up with an idea. He has confiscated one of the old kid's bedrooms for his multi-purpose room, and I decided to finish a UFO for his newly carpeted, lighted den. Yesterday in the mail, a package from LL Bean--and, you guessed it!! A quilt for his new room. Well, here is a peek of the quilt that was in progress. We'll see who gets it.