In a world of crazies,

It helps to dance through daisies.

I Am A Watering Can

To be pure is bliss.

Soul cleansed, spirit awash...inundated.

Bright smile and clear eyes. Proof of inner waters running deeply.

Bubbling, flowing springs spiraling upward with obstructions removed.

I am a watering can bringing refreshing to those whom I meet.

On Writing - Annie Dillard

These wonderful vignettes are from the wonderfully talented Annie Dillard and her book The Writing Life:

>The "cardinal virtue" in deciding to discard or keep what one wrote is "pertinence to, and unity with, the book's thrust."

>"There is neither a proportional relationship, nor an inverse one, between a writer's estimation of a work in progress and its actual quality. The feeling that the work is magnificent, and the feeling that it is abominable, are both mosquitoes to be repelled, ignored, or killed, but not indulged."

>"Appealing workplaces are to be avoided.  One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark." 

>"Writers read literary biography, and surround themselves with other writers, deliberately to enforce in themselves the ludicrous notion that a reasonable option for occupying yourself on the planet until your lifespan plays itself out is sitting in a small room for the duration, in the company of pieces of paper." (Love this one!)

>"Write as if you are dying....What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon?"

>"The sensation of writing a book is the sensation of spinning, blinded by love and daring.  It is the sensation of rearing and peering from the bent tip of a grassblade, looking for a route."

>"One of the few things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time.  Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now."

and lastly, these sage words:

"There is no shortage of good days.  It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more.  The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet."

Continuity

Joseph, Jesse, Bobby Joe, Joseph, Brennan Jack...five generations.

I am part of a greater story that spans across time.

I am not alone for I walk the path my fathers before me trod.

My own son has joined the mighty throng that is our clan.

He will build upon what we have left behind. 

Men leave to their sons a legacy.

I link my son to our fathers before us.

May he be a better man with the best of all us that have gone before.

Holy Blows

From My Spiritual Journal: May 13 2007

Spirit of God dealing blows to my unholy practices of life.  The Bible causing my self-delusion to run for cover under the awesome weight of truth.  No vows this time, only quiet submission to the Father's discipline.  The fire, consuming fire, of God refining me and pushing my well hidden stuff to the surface like the putrid dross that floats above the purest of gold.  Cut to the quick, I am undone.  Inklings of freedom dot the landscape that is me.  Jesus taking greater hold and firmer grip on all that I am.  Him increasing, me decreasing.   Holiness.  Ummm.  Ouch!  But, real. Holiness...welcome.