the X facta: April 2011

nautical navigation

Being on a boat
that's moving
through the water,
it's so clear.

Everything
falls into place
in terms of
what's important
and what's not.

~ James Taylor

Something beautiful

In difficult times you should always

carry something beautiful in your mind.

~ Blaise Pascal

Did you see a horse?

what would it take

for you to remember

how to float

with the tide

to simply go

with ebb and flow

that to be transparent

is a protection

all it's own

from predators

those who have

no eyes to see

ethereal things

cannot devour you

wear this horse

close to your heart

and remember

you are safe

seahorse necklace & prose by Kel © 2011

As Easter drew near there were many travellers going up and down the highways, visiting relatives during those most sacred of days, the five-day annual break, that for some involved lots of chocolate and for others lots of church.

And it came to pass that one pair of travellers stopped for a time with family who lived afar. These travellers were to all appearances of high moral standing. Long-time married, four children, many grandchildren, pillars of their church community. They saw every conversation as an opportunity to tell of their works; serving at a soup kitchen, sponsoring orphans, helping out those they labelled 'less fortunate', being on church committees. Surely nobody could doubt their allegiance with so many good works. The outward appearance of being and doing good was a cloak they wore with great pride.

They also saw every conversation as an opportunity to sermonise. For these travellers had come to visit with an agenda. Not to love, but to lecture. Not to include, but to exclude. Not to hug, but to hate. Not to forgive, but to grip their grudges even tighter to their chest. They had beliefs to protect and rules to reiterate. And under a thin veneer of smiles, they had family feuds to fuel.

For the duration of this pair's visit, the host and hostess lay in their bed each night, secretly wishing they were 'less fortunate'. For those were the people who seemed to receive more 'love' and less judgement from this pair of travellers. If being family meant being treated like this, it might be nicer to be orphans.

Cocoa without sugar is bitter.

"There is no religion without love. People may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to [family] man and beast, it is all a sham."~ Anna Sewell

Prickly people

they leave us in a pickle

because they cause a prickle

it's not a simple tickle

but a constant running trickle

they like to drive us mad

by making us feel bad

for any good we had

before they made us sad

they itch and scratch

and unlock the latch

to pour down the hatch

a daily batch

~ ~ ~

hold in your palm

a soothing balm

to bring some calm

and cause no harm

thistle, textured acrylic

original art by Kel

no florist required

We are about to enter a season of houseguests. Busy cleaning, cooking and preparing. But more slowly than normal because my shoulder injury is still hovering and reappears at the slightest aggravation.

On Friday I did a massive grocery shop. You know the kind where you're fighting to push the trolley where you want it to go because, while it has a wobbly wheel, it is also full and very heavy. The cost of food is rising and getting to the point where its tempting to eat junk food, rather than healthy food, because its cheaper! I honestly don't know how families make their money stretch to feed a group of people every day. I'd read that Australia has some of the most expensive groceries in the world, but didn't have much experience to compare it with.

On our White Xmas trip to Nth America we were amazed at how cheap food was, both buying it in a supermarket and eating out. Suddenly all those TV shows depicting Americans eating out every day made sense. At those prices, it's cheaper to eat out than buy and prepare it yourself!

Was going to buy some fresh flowers for the house, but after the grocery bill, changed my mind! Instead, I just got my secateurs and went for a walk around our property to see what was flowering. The big vase of these coastal banksias looks great. No florist required!

first aid

this week's powersong

.

Yep, another great Aussie artist; Sarah Blasko. Parts of her life journey resonate with mine, and I love the way her lyrics often speak to the deeper elements in life. While the first video conveys, for me, the power and weight of her words better, the second video filmed in Paris is very appealing for its aesthetics.

If you're hearing voices . . .

. . . it must be the Voca People.

While their costumes are weird, their voices are amazing.

Art Attack: metaphoric photograph

an outdoor swimming pool on a cold grey day

Post a photo that metaphorically depicts where you are at. Caption the photo by filling in the blank: Today I feel like "____________________________________"

Remember: Don't think too much, just work intuitively and quickly. And if you would like to share, post it on your blog. Then drop a comment here to say you've just had an art attack. I'll go first and share a bit more about my photo in the comments section below.

Turning the clock back an hour

Today is the end of Daylight Saving Time in Australia. In effect that means we gained an hour overnight. Past experience tells me this week will be a bit bumpy as the entire population adjusts to the new time-zone. Whether consciously aware of it or not, everyone feels slightly off kilter for awhile. Wanting to eat earlier, because our stomach says it's dinner time, but the clock says, 'not yet'. Pushing ourselves to stay up till bed time, because the clock says it's only 9pm, but our body says it's 10pm. Jetlag without the fun of travel. Bah humbug.

It was quite interesting to see this collage emerge today. Flicking through the weekend mags and papers, the red sandshoes jumped out at me first. Then the watch with Sunday at the top of the face. Then the words. Something to think about, that cobbled together phrase . .. "For real people, history begins every morning."

A bit of boaty XY facta for the boys

Things are not as quiet around here as usual. This post is coming to you nearly 'live'. If I could waft some sea-air through the computer screen, you could almost feel as if you're here. And yes, there's also a whiff of testosterone in the air . . .