Pure –
1. free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind;
free from extraneous matter.
Free from difference, inferiority, contamination…
Perhaps, just perhaps,
purity is in the eye
of the beholder.
Pure white flowers, tinged in purple.
Pure innocence surrounded by pure white light.
Pure white flame reflected in purely smooth melted wax.
Pure delight and wonder wrapped in pure white fur.
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Pure
I am reposting my thoughts from last year’s World Oceans Day. Now more than ever, our oceans are in need of protection.
“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean.”
~ Arthur C. Clarke
Expansive and deep,
beautiful but volatile,
ample force to turn
vessels to splinters.
Teeming with life,
ceaselessly churning,
an indefatigable
dynamo.
Kissed by the sun,
caressed by the winds,
extolled by poets
and sailors alike.
Sustainer of life
as we know it on Earth,
yet with all its
grandeur and might…
still fragile.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am worried about my dog. He hasn’t been well the past few days; lethargic, eating grass (to ease his tummy, I think), and vomiting his food on a few occasions.
Okay, maybe that’s not suitable conversation over coffee. But it’s what’s on my mind.
I grew up in an environment where cats and dogs were primarily consigned to the outdoors. Cats were mousers and dogs were watchdogs. I didn’t understand people’s close relationships with their pets. Something happens to your dog or cat? Okay, feel bad, but then get over it. It’s not like it’s your child or something.
Now I realize that any relationship we hold is a valuable part of who we are. Of course I care more about my children than I do my pets – and I certainly hope all parents would feel that way – but that doesn’t alter the relationship I have with my pets.
You know that phrase “it’s all relative”… not true, in my opinion. If something happens to your pet, if a baby bird falls out of its nest, if the centuries-old tree down the block is cut down… it can all matter to you, if you are in relationship with it.
So baby birds fall out of nests all the time. It’s part of nature. And it’s not like an endangered silverback gorilla being shot and killed in a zoo (which happened in Cincinnati this week). No, it’s not the same. But it’s also not relative. I can care about both.
I can care a heck of a lot more about the gorilla than the bird. And I can care a heck of a lot more about the safety of the boy who was believed to be in danger in the gorilla enclosure. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care about a bird.
Caring about a bird or a pet does not take away from caring about any other living being. I can hug a tree and still care very, very much about world hunger and poverty and child abuse and war.
We obviously have priorities, and appropriately so. It’s all interrelated, but it’s not all relative.
Dang, here I go off on another rant during our coffee date. You’re going to dread coming over. I’ll stop now.
It’s supposed to get up to 100 degrees (F) today, something we’re not accustomed to here in the Pacific Northwest. I’m going to keep an eye on my listless little guy, and try to keep us both cool. I’ve got lots of yard work to do, but I’ll work on indoor projects and stay out of the heat as best I can.
I hope your weekend goes well. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you Diana at PartTimeMonster.com for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.
for something so blunt candor can cut to the quick truth cuts to the chase
sometimes I wish…
sometimes I don’t know…
sometimes I don’t know what I wish
would happen,
would change,
would stay the same,
would appear,
would disappear…
mostly I don’t know what I wish,
and so
I don’t make wishes.
But…
sometimes I wish I did.
Thank you for your recent reply.
Okay, so technically you didn’t respond.
But may I humbly submit that
your nonresponse was, indeed, your reply.
Actions speak louder than words.
Non-action can speak just as loudly.
And your non-message has come through
with absolute clarity.
Silence isn’t always golden.
Sometimes it’s a cheap substitute
for honesty.
So here I sit in silence,
forging ahead with my own inaction,
and wondering to myself
as to whether or not
you’ll get this message
which – of course –
I won’t be sending.
The Daily Post discover challenge: Apology
following my bliss I seem to have lost its scent once it reached my bed
If we were having coffee… well, I’d be offering herbal tea today. Rather late in the day for caffeine. For me, anyway. After weather hovering in the mid-80 degree (Fahrenheit) range, today turned cloudy, wet, and has cooled down to the 50s, so warm tea seems apropos.
If we were having tea, I’d tell you that this past week has been one of introspection for me. With years and years spent on the self-help/self-improvement track, I never managed to become very self-helpful, no matter how many books I read, seminars I attended, meditation techniques I tried…
But life threw me enough curve balls – make that hand grenades – that I had to finally just hunker down and work on survival. Not getting rich, gaining power, living the life of my dreams, finding true love, finding nirvana… Just surviving.
Once the dust settled and I could lift my head above the trench I had cowered in, I came to a kind of peace with myself and my life. It’s okay. Everything is okay. More than okay. A lot of facets of my life are pretty freaking amazing.
No, I didn’t win the lottery. I didn’t suddenly figure out how to “make friends and influence people.” But I realized that what I truly wanted in my life had very little to do with what the self-help gurus were peddling.
I’m not perfect (okay, stating the obvious now), my life’s not a bed of roses. Dandelions, yes; roses, no. But I get to just be me.
The real work I see for myself at this stage is learning to be comfortable with being me. Comfortable with my lifestyle choices, with my appearance, with my priorities. And not feeling the need to compare myself to others. Not overthinking everything and stressing over what everyone else might think about me and my choices.
Wow. How did I get off on this tangent? From chatting about the weather, I managed to segue into life values. Hmmm.
I’ve been introspecting so much here that my tea has gone cold. Yours too, probably. And I have no spiffy wrap up planned for this unplanned post. More tea, perhaps?
Next time I’ll let you do the talking. Hope you have a great week ahead.
Thank you to Diana at PartTimeMonster.com for hosting the #WeekendCoffeeShare.
you are judging me I recognize that look from when I’m judging you
The Daily Post weekly photo challenge: Face
We met one morning, you and I.
You stood stock-still and watched me
with fear, I think.
Curious, I stood-stock still
so as not to scare you away.
Had you been older
(and less enchanting),
our encounter might have gone
quite differently.
If you felt cornered
you’d bare your teeth,
and hiss a warning
for me to stay away.
You may have tried the ploy
of playing possum,
flat on your side, stiff and unmoving,
eyes closed in mock death.
I might have poked you with a stick,
testing your resolve to continue
this risky gambit.
It would be a long stick and a soft poke,
lest you chose to resurrect.
But as it was, we simply met,
assessed our respective threats,
and finding none, we parted ways.
Should we meet again,
I’ll hold no kind sentiment.
You will sense no familiarity.
Despite our chance encounter,
your innocence and my curiosity,
we are not – and never shall be –
kindred souls.
Discover Challenge: Chance Encounter
What Rhymes with Stanza? 