Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Looking Forward



As we get ready to close the door on 2009 and the first decade of the new millennium, I must say that I am not sorry to see them go. These have been difficult times for so many: Environmental disasters, financial crisis and war have scarred us all on some level. But, perhaps these events were necessary… shaping us in ways to make us stronger and better prepared to face an uncertain future.

Science has proven in so many ways that it no longer serves us to disrespect the Earth. I am hopeful that in this next decade, more of us will get serious about this and take the initiative to do what’s necessary to turn things around.


Being more aware of our priorities and watching how we spend/save our money are also important lessons many of us will take into 2010. Living beyond our means can have uncomfortable consequences. But sometimes it takes a crisis to realize what’s truly important… and that’s priceless!

As for the wars that have marked this past decade, I think most of us realize there can be no winners in this sort of thing, especially when so many beautiful souls have been lost for such negligible causes. We have this one planet only and so are all connected regardless of continent, country, ethnicity or any other artificial boundary that doesn’t matter. We need to find a way to coexist.

With global communications increasing, we are growing closer and closer to one another with every year. The blogasphere is just one aspect of this. I can hardly believe that I am connecting on a regular basis with people from South Africa, India, Malaysia, Israel, Poland, Italy, England, America and Iran, to name a few. It’s unbelievably wonderful!

We have the opportunity to do things in our world – and with our world - that the generations before us couldn’t even imagine. But before new ways of doing things can be embraced, the old ways need to be dismantled. That’s what I believe the past 10 years have been about (more or less). And I can’t wait to see what we do with the next 10!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Remnants



Christmas stockings,
Once hung with care,
Strewn on the floor,
Abandoned, bare.

Friends and family
In homes, far and near,
Yet memories of love
Will forever be here!

160 Sundays is a creation of Monkey Man. 
If you’d like to participate or check-out other 160s, visit him here!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Merry




Wishing you all peace and love 
this holiday season 
and the whole year through!




image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moamaria/with/2129848687/

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Joy to All


"Blessed is the season which engages 
the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie (1845-1916), 
American author, essayist and critic.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A Seasonal Display



Pure splendor and luxury,


A Bergdorf Goodman fantasy …


Characters larger than life!


Bears draped in crystal,


Divas belting out disco,


While Alice surveils the night.


These are just a few of the spectacular display windows surrounding
the exterior of Bergdorf Goodman on 5th Avenue in New York.


This was a Sunday 160 Challenge – a story told in 160 characters.
If you’d like to participate, just tell the Monkey Man.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

One World

One-by-one and all together…
The only way we’ll win this battle.
119 world leaders in Copenhagen
Can agree or not;
Ultimately,
It’s up to each of us.
Choices we make every day
Determine the future for our children.
We have the power
To make a difference on this planet…
But belief and action are required.

To read more great 55 word essays, see the G-Man 

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Winter Bliss

With winter upon our doorstep, and scheduled to make its very chilly entrance next week, I thought I would feature a few lovely quotes from some well-known writers. But strangely enough, I couldn’t find very many. Perhaps, winter is not most people’s favourite season? Well, for all those who are not yet convinced of winter’s charms, let’s see if you don’t waver in your opinion even slightly after reading what these clever people had to say.
"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you...  In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself." ~Ruth Stout 








"The cold was our pride, the snow was our beauty.   It fell and fell, lacing day and night together in a milky haze, making everything quieter as it fell, so that winter seemed to partake of religion in a way no other season did, hushed, solemn." ~Patricia Hampl 
"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, 
and enjoy every idle hour."
 
~John Boswell
Someone painted pictures on my

Windowpane last night --
Willow trees with trailing boughs
    
And flowers, frosty white,



And lovely crystal butterflies;
 
But when the morning sun

Touched them with its golden beams,

They vanished one by one. 
~Helen Bayley Davis, Jack Frost
"Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream." ~Barbara Winkler

Monday, December 14, 2009

Christmas Crush




Uptown on a Saturday night
…2 weeks before Christmas,
An anxious mob
Swarming The City
Marking a celebrated annual tradition.

Buzzing down The Avenue
Faces upturned, cameras flashing.
Displays of beauty and opulence
Everywhere
Offering distraction from harsher realities.

Huddled in darkened corners
Unwashed and unseen
Those others, too easily forgotten,
Their needs set aside
As we favour our Holiday Season.






Thursday, December 10, 2009

One for the G-Man!




As Galen is our G-Man,
We write for him today
Keeper of Flash 55
Master of the play.

He has a way with words,
And a wicked grin,
But until recently,
Was feelin’ kinda grim.

As it’s his Birthday,
Some cheer would be nice
For the man who knows it all
Whose value’s without price.




To deliver birthday wishes or report the creation of a 55, 



A special call-out of thanks to my friend and fellow 55er 
Clean and Crazy for coordinating all the birthday wishes 
and creating the beautiful card featured here.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

This Magical Life



The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. 
~ Eden Phillpotts


This image was taken from photographer/artist Angela Jayne Barnett’s beautiful site. 
I encourage anyone interested in mystical imagery to check her out!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Isis et Osiris


On godly throne
Osiris ruled
Until Set got his way,
With evil magick
Was he lured,
And down the Nile
Was laid.

Isis’ love
And magick touch
Did resurrect
Her King,
From Holy Spirit
Was conceived Horus 
The Falcon King.

Osiris, Lord
Of the Dead
O’er all souls
Presides,
Heaven or…
Underworld?
He alone decides.









Join in the fun: Compose a short story 
in 55 words and report back to the G-Man at