Digging in the Dirt ~ Thoughts on Fear, Intolerance, and Human Kind

Today I finally got to plant. It was so therapeutic in the mental and emotional sense. Physically though, I'm a wreck. Stooping, scraping, digging with my hands, bending. . .it's not good for me. However, to see those little fragrant sprigs of green is so refreshing. To transplant a living thing into something else and give it new life is amazing. Lavender, Tarragon, Oregano, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Creeping Thyme, and Sweet Basil. I can't wait until I can take a piece of Lavender, crush it in my hands, rub it on my wrists, and put it in my pocket to smell its sweet offerings. Plants, especially herbs, are little miracles.

baby lavender

So I came in, still on my herb high, and sat down to eat a bite, and load my photos from today. I also scanned through my facebook feed, and saw something so vile and hurtful that my heart started racing and my brain spun. I was literally dizzy. Hateful words that degraded a PERSON (not a thing, a PERSON) so much that I actually wanted to weep not only for the person it was directed to, but all of human kind. To make things even better, this bile was spewed by a person who considers themselves a person of God. How can someone who considers themselves a Godly person totally tear apart another one of God's creations (no matter how they want to live their life).  Something so hurtful, said out of pure fear. Negativity and hate and fear will not accomplish JACK SHIT. I can't imagine walking around with that much fear and negativity on my shoulders. It must weigh a ton.

As the great and mighty Chris Robinson wrote "Your mind can't be free when your soul is in jail."


As the Dalai Lama said "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."


As Mohandas Gandhi said "Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding."


As Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

And, most important, as Jesus said "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

To the bile-spewer, I hope you read this.

Beatles. . .Beacause My Bain Needs a Break

Between the threat of Government shutdown, and weird dreams messing with my head and causing me to go on a small photo taking rampage, my brain needs a break.

Someone posted a link on Facebook of Rolling Stone's list of the top 10 Beatles songs, according to them. Of course, I didn't agree with their list.

I felt compelled to make my own. I just starting typing my favorite songs in no particular order then I put them in order, but I couldn't stop at 10. . .so, here are my 20 favorite Beatles songs.

20) And I Love Her
19) Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band
18) All You Need is Love
17) The Long and Winding Road
16) While My Guitar Gently Weeps
15) I Am the Walrus
14) Penny Lane
13) Strawberry Fields Forever
12) You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
11) Helter Skelter
10) Hey Jude
9) Let It Be
8) Across The Universe
7) Here Comes the Sun
6) Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
5) Something
4) A Day in the Life
3) Norwegian Wood {This Bird Has Flown}
2) Come Together

And my number one. . .









Of course, is "In My Life"

***Also, in the process of typing this, it was announced that the government will NOT shut down.***

Jewish Take on the Environment

Check out the whole article here.

First off, I would like to say that by faith, I am a Christian. However, I am not one of *those* Christians. I am non-denominational, and very open-minded. I believe the mind should be kept healthy as part of the "temple" as the body. Frankly, I suck at the "body" part, but the mind part I work on every day.

Having said that, other than the Bible, I take inspiration and instruction from other sources as well. Native American wisdom (obviously), Buddhist wisdom, and tonight, Jewish wisdom. I believe if you ignore sources like these then you are doing your mind and soul a total disservice.

Tonight, thanks to Huffington Post I was enlightened by the Jewish view on the environment as told by Rabbi Lawrence Troster in his article "10 Teachings on Judaism and the Environment". His 10 lessons were:

1) God created the universe.
2) God's creation is good.
3) Human beings are created in the image of God.
4) Humans should view their role in creation with love and awe.
5) The Sabbath and prayer help us achieve this state of mind.
6) The Torah prohibits wasteful consumption of anything.
7) The Torah gives an obligation to save human life.
8) The Torah prohibits the extinction of species and causing undo pain to non-human creatures.
9) Environmental justice is a Jewish value.
10) The perfection/fixing of the world is in our hands.


A few of the excerpts from the article just rang like a bell in my mind. 

From #3:
"Human beings have a special place and role in the Order of Creation. Of all God's creations, only human beings have the power to disrupt Creation. This power, which gives them a kind of control over Creation, comes from special characteristics that no other creature posseses (Psalm 8). This idea is expressed in the concept that humans were created in the image of God (tzelem Elohim). In its original sense, tzelem Elohim means that humans were put on the earth to act as God's agents and to actualize God's presence in Creation"

From #4:
"Thus, when we study Creation with all the tools of modern science, we are filled with love and a sense of connection to a greater order of things. We feel a sense of wonder but also a sense of awe and humility as we perceive how small we are in the universe as well as within the history of evolution. Love and humility should then invoke in us a sense of reverence for Creation and modesty in our desire to use it. We should, according to Abraham Joshua Heschel, see the world as God-centered, not human-centered. By putting God at the center of life, we see the sacred in everything and the natural world becomes a source of wonder and not only a resource for our use and abuse."

From #5:
Prayer also helps us to recognize that everything we are, everything we have and everything we use ultimately comes from God (Babylonian Talmud, Brakhot 35a). When we say a blessing, we create a moment or holiness, a sacred pause. Prayer also creates an awareness of the sacred by taking us out of ourselves and our artificial environments and allowing us to truly encounter natural phenomenon. Prayer creates a loss of control which allows us to "see the world in the mirror of the holy." (Heschel) We are then able to see the world as an object of divine concern and we can then place ourselves beyond self and more deeply within Creation.

From #6:
"The underlying idea of this law is the recognition that everything we own belongs to God. When we consume in a wasteful manner, we damage Creation and violate our mandate to use Creation only for our legitimate benefit."

From #7:
"While there are many useful and even lifesaving technologies that come from modern chemicals and materials, we have an obligation to be cautious in their use. Pikuach nefesh demands that we consider the impact of our use of chemicals and other materials, not only in the short term but also in the long term. For the Jewish tradition, the Precautionary Principle can be seen as a modern form of the warning not to tamper too much with the boundaries of Creation."

From #8:
"In environmental terms, every species has an inherent value beyond its instrumental or useful value to human beings."

Anyhoo, just loved this article, and I hope it does something for anyone reading this.

Today's Wisdom

Today is mentoring day with "Princess Aurora". I can always use a little wisdom on these days, so I just thought today I would share. Possibly more to come later.

Look at me - I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches, but we want to train our children right. Riches will do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love.
Chief Red Cloud - Sioux

Fear

First off, I would like to tip my hat to someone very special. Today {maybe, no one knows for sure} marks the 17th anniversary of Kurt Cobain. He was one of the most talented musicians of my time, and to this day I am still sad that I'll never get to hear anything to new from him. He was a genius, and suffered crippling chronic physical pain. I will never forget the joy I got out of his music, and the sadness I felt when he died. So, Kurt, wherever you are, thank you.

"If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got."

Kurt Donald Cobain : February 20th, 1967 - April 5th, 1994

Ok, so, the fear part.


I was reshooting some of the "Blue" collection today. I was in my normal natural light window spot, sitting in a kitchen chair. While I was shooting the blue mason jar, a horrible shooting pain shot up my neck. I'm used to that, that's not the scary part. The scary part was that it happened while I was shooting. I didn't think much about it at first, except "DAMNIT!", but it was afterward when I sat down to load the photos, that it hit me. What if it gets to where I can no longer take photos?

Painting by Frida Kaolo

I may have only been at this for a little over a year, but I can not imagine life without being able to do photography. Photography and my animals are what gets me out of bed. It's a scary thought.

The Culprit

I guess if Frida could continue to paint, I can continue to take photos.

Here's a little Nirvana covering some Bowie.

Stuff, and Things...

I don't have a lot to say, but I feel the need to write.


It's storming, and the babies are on alert. The cat is heading toward her safety spot, which is a rarely/never used platter in the back of a cabinet, and the puppy is on my pillow, looking concerned. Sleepiness from being a hellion all day is overriding that though. Even though she is a bitey, hyper mess, I still love her, and think more highly of her than 96% of the human population.

I started working on a new project with blue things, but I am not impressed with the results thus far. A blue container that was my Granny's, a cute blue mug that caught my eye at the Dollar Tree, and blue Ball Jars that were most likely my Great-Grandmother's.I think I'm getting bored with my little photo taking area. . .

Meh.

And the power went out. I hate when that happens. I used to not mind storms, but not so much now. They make the babies nervous, and they knock out the cable. Well, I don't mind the cable being off so much, as the power in general. I have a Kindle full of books that need my attention. Also, we have the most annoying weather radio ever. It sounds forever, and then talks for eons. Just a little "*beep* Thunderstorm warning." would suit me fine.


I had two really good shoots this weekend.


My Step-Niece, Kennedy:

And a very cool family, The Shuberts:

So precious.

I plan to do some minor traveling this spring and summer to places with flowers. I'm excited about that. I love traveling. I love to drive. . .but it hurts. Bad. There are few things I like better than hopping in my car, with a mixed cd just for that occasion, and just going. So, if anyone knows anywhere within a three hour radius with lots of pretty flowers that I can get to without probably getting arrested, then I'm all ears.

Dirt

Once the weather hits 60 degrees, I have some sort of primal urge to plant things. I used to not have it, but now that I'm older I do. Maybe somehow I have learned to enjoy the simpler yet magnificent things like watching a plant grow, or eating a tomato sandwich made from a tomato you and the creator grew yourselves.

{Curry Plant}

This years selection of herbs will be: Sage, Thyme, Parsley, Rosemary, Oregano, Basil, and Marjoram.

Vegetables: Tomatoes {mainly heirloom Cherokee Purple, aka the best tomato ever}, Cucumber, Red Bell Pepper.

In the raised Butterfly Garden, only Purple Coneflower, and Lantana.

There's something sacred and ethereal about the whole process.

Share The Land

 

What you see here is the stomach contents that were plastic of ONE juvenile sea turtle.

{Photo credit and article here}

I was a mixture of crushed and disgusted when I read this and saw the photo. How can we do this to something that is put on this earth for nothing other than make our lives better, whether it be for food or companionship? Better yet, how can we do this to the world, which we are so blessed to live on?

This world is not ours. We have it on loan. The quicker we screw it all up with our trash, literal and figurative, the quicker we won't have it anymore.

When I think about the land, and its creatures. . .my Native American roots really start to show. {Echota Cherokee, if you're interested.}Here is a little Native American wisdom, and I hope it makes you think more about how you treat this one Earth we were lent.

Eagle Chief (Letakos-Lesa) Pawnee

In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell men that he showed himself through the beast, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and moon should man learn.. all things tell of Tirawa.

Qwatsinas (Hereditary Chief Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation

"We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can't speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees."

{From an Elder}

Honor the sacred.
Honor the Earth, our Mother.
Honor the Elders.
Honor all with whom we
share the Earth:-
Four-leggeds, two-leggeds,
winged ones,
Swimmers, crawlers,
plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty

{Ute Prayer}

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

 {Chief Seattle}

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

I could post dozens more, but I think you all get it. Do what you can to help the Earth. Recycle, Reuse to reduce waste. Don't leave trash on the ground as it will affect wildlife. These are the simple things. Plant, cultivate, and respect the ground.

Enjoy some music. . .

Cherokee Prayer Blessing

May the Warm Winds of Heaven
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit
Bless all who enter there.
May your Moccasins
Make happy tracks
in many snows,
and may the Rainbow
Always touch your shoulder.

We Who Ache for Spring

Today was windy. Too chilly to be technically Spring. I walked down the sidewalk, with the rocks that look like states. I had to mentor today. I probably can't/shouldn't use her real name, so from here on out, I'll call her Aurora, because we played with Disney princess stickers, and she chose Aurora to wear on her little blue shirt. She's tiny and blond. I told her she looked like Princess Aurora.

She's doing much better. I've tried everything to get her to open up, when all it took was a sketch pad, and a pack of crayons. I had tried all kinds of structured activity, and even bribery. All I needed to do was give her rough material, and let her make art. Sounds familiar. She now can write her name without a struggle.

As I drove home, I was amazed at all of the flowers are blooming, and that I am coming out of a hellacious, achy, painful winter. I am so glad for that. I will take itchy pollen eyes over hurt any day. I took Joana, and my camera outside when I got home, and got on my hands and knees and started snapping. First, little lavender specks, then bigger violets, then some sunshine yellow Dandelions. Then, as if it just magically appeared, Maw's Dogwood trees. Finally.

The most welcome visitor I've had in a long time.

A person in the industry that I really look up to said the above photo was beautiful. I couldn't believe it.

All in all it's been a good day. . .have some music.

Me, in images, mostly.

So, this is probably my 75029750th blog I've started, but, as a quarter year resolution, I've decided to blog, at one place, and more often.

"They" say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I thought instead of a lot of blather for my first post I would add images.

This is me.

(Photo by Mandy Owens, friend and fellow photog)

Like my "about me" says. . .I'm about to hit the big three-oh, and stuck in North Alabama, though I'm an aspiring gypsy.

I'm a photographer. Hobbyist anyway. My first love is flowers (hence the screen name). This is some of my stuff.

I also do people, sometimes, when asked.

This is my favorite song.

 

(Wiser Time, The Black Crowes) 

I have children. The kind with fur. (The best kind.)

This is Baby. She's about 14 years old, and was given to me by the aforementioned Mandy Owens. She's the best kitty ever.

And this is Joana Love. My little Heathen. I love her so much, and waited 15 years to get her. She will be three months old in three days. She was born on Christmas Day. She was named after the song "Oh Sweet Nuthin'" by The Velvet Underground

"Say a word for Joana Love
She ain't got nothing at all
With every day she falls in love
And every night she falls"

 And honorable mention to gray fat kitty who comes to my house.

I have Fibromyalgia. In a sick way, I'm thankful for it, as it led me to photography
.

(Painting by Frida Kaolo)

I love to cook.

I love to plant herbs.

I'm a liberal. Big time.

That's me pretty much. Just needed a little corner of cyberspace.