Entity

Absolute space, in its own nature, without reference to anything external, remains always similar and unmovable.

-Newton, I., Principia

Checking in

I awoke from a dream of compassion and companionship, where a friend stayed and helped me draw strength from myself when none could be found elsewhere, when all others gave up and left me.

Layers of morning clouds are highlighted by the sunlight from above, and some from below.  Yet a stream of black wisps travel in an unusual direction - south to north, whereas most of the other masses remain still or very slowly move west to east.  Although it is dawn, the sunlight is orange yellow of sunset, not cold yellow of a new day.

Watching and checking the pulse.

Strive

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again … who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

– Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

P & Q

While sharing experiences, memories are made.  With limited time, how much of it do we devote to doing things and how much do we devote to reminiscing?

When you leave without saying anything, you don't want people to know where you've gone.  So why would you expect them to be where you left them if you left them without letting them know?

The time of reaping and gathering is complete.  The groundwork has been prepared.  It is time to process and distribute.

Genesis

Creation is dominated by three absolutely different factors:
First, nature, which works upon us by its laws;
second, the artist, who creates a spiritual contact with nature and his materials;
third, the medium of expression through which the artist translates his inner world.

Of these three components only one, the medium, is material.

-Hans Hofmann, 1948

from the depths

A figure floats in a caped opalescent gown that drips of water and crystals.   As the hand is lifted with a finger that points to me, white drops slowly fall and chimes emit with each movement.

Passersby do just that when there is no common ground.

They swim in the same pool together: When I asked why the relationship was maintained when she loathed the other person so much, she replied "Because I still need stuff from him."

The pressure of many drafts, many versions of drafts for a submittal:  each one pings its arrival in an email and I wonder why googledocs isn't used instead.

The friend is one who stays close, unbidden, during bright and dark times.

WEC

Love is the life of the Soul. It is the harmony of the universe.

- William Ellery Channing

key words

Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech. 

- Plutarch

NB: "Proper season" does not mean "all the time."

recon

mind and spirit in the same
direction within one person

wondering if it is with
another kindred spirit

or if that other still needs
to wander not seeing
who waits for the invitation

here.

Notes

The details of life get recorded here and there.

Wondering what compels some people to publicly record some things that make them look like creeps.  No filters I guess.  They're not concerned about others' impressions.  I'm not either, but I know what looks creepy and sketchy when I see it.

Holiday season has kicked in - making gifts to be given as gratitude.  Purchasing or bartering for items that friends make, to be given as gifts to others.  This takes time, and it is wonderful to reconnect with my hand-making community.

Writing pieces here and there.  It can be exhausting when the material has to be produced on demand and squeezed out, and exhilarating when it flows unleashed on its own.  Dialogs, scenes, and vignettes are narrated in 30 second sound bites when they arise.  I think that I'll remember them long enough to write them down, but the writing is slow and the images and conversations flow through memory too quickly, and much is lost.  How does one capture dance movement, cinematic images, and sound in words quickly enough to really, really record them?

There is movement again with changes that will occur.  "I'm going with the flow," I say. "I'm keeping an eye on it," another says.  "I'm still staying away," the passive one says.  "Don't freak out," I whisper to myself.