The Be(a)st in Us

Yesterday, I happened upon the dedication service of a meditation garden. Really. My mind was full and a drive seemed like good medicine. The random drive became a desire to go to church. The random church entry culminated in a beautiful garden feast. In light of the recent passing in my family and the overseas interrment I can not attend, it did my heart glad to witness the Earth in her new life and growth incarnation during this time. Shaking foundations and claiming bodies has its own moments in the continuum.

As the presiding minister explained the plants and intentions gracing each of the garden's seven stations, he made special mention of St. Francis, a small statue of whom stood just behind us near station 6.

Mental note aside to learn what this Francis was the patron of, I enjoyed Autumn's almost-too-crisp-for-my-dressness with the congregation and even met a friend I hadn't expected to see while there.  

It seems St. Francis (of Assisi, whose feast day in the Catholic tradition is reportedly held tomorrow) is said to be the patron saint of animals, environmentalists and, naturally, the ecology of the Earth we all share. This and that another, slightly lesser-known St. Francis (de Sales) is the patron of writers and a Doctor of the Church was so befitting! There I had been -- indulging in my mind but for a few days this funky swirl of mortality, medicine and musical content that was at times indecent, fearfully defeatist to considerations of cancer and simply not conducive to the inner Life of blessed freedom that the Lord provides as an option -- when a mere stone and the stories we've attached to its likeness through the years appeared as a gentle reminder that we honor our Master by mastering beasts; beats too, for all you producers and sound engineers out there ;)

A featured dictionary word and a few other online mentions today seemed to converge with Sunday's inspiration to highlight the importance of not letting any inhuman(e) being wear away at the fortitude of our joy and peace. With this, I am reminded that each day may carry with it a host of coincidences as well as choices that shape our lives into things of beauty or otherwise. I'll use this moment to make a terrible rhyme regarding the law of Murphy in hopes that it scurry and remind us that the Living Word is what prevails: all things work together for the good of God through His own. So, since they're both there to some extent, will you feed the best or the beast in you? I've asked myself the same question more than enough times. As often and truly as I can, I will always rise above base nature and choose Life for the best possible results. No toucan you, you can too. (Yeah, I know... drum beat, crash!)

A Song for YOU

A loved one's God-given breath was called back over the weekend, in turn beckoning me to my hometown. Last night ended so late and today began so soon that I couldn't discern the difference between the winds whistling through the car's semi-open 'stay awake' window, the last of the season's cicadas and more that always reinforces my being part -- not all -- of the beauty and pain that is Life. Within the hour-and-a-half that darkness and light would trade places, I got to rest, happily none the wiser.

The sound of someone whose need couldn't see mine woke me. Golden rules and a great sense of duty aside, who had the energy to care? Well, I could and did muster it up, but how selfish was that! Can I live? Geez... That same breeze, now complementing a daytime canvas, returned to me the presence of mind that I actually was living AND I am yet alive, thanks be to God. With that comes the opportunity to help another or oneself do what is necessary and, hopefully, pleasant while we're here. If the havoc that cancer and its treatment had wreaked on my cousin's body prior to her beautiful soul's travel from it wasn't an issue, wouldn't she want to spend more days loving her husband and he, her? Might a minor squabble bring them closer in a heartbeat with greater appreciation of their differences or just more sunsets with laughter have been great medicine? How selfish was I? 

What should have been a 10 a.m. return to honor my own (appointment-based) time of need became an almost 2 p.m. deal, providing a whole new reference point of selfishness. *sigh* Temporarily distracted, it felt nearly impossible to enjoy the voice of God's grace in my Life over the cacophany that was the person's stream of empty excuses. Without movement or a machine, I turned the volume on the noise in and outside me all the way down. There was damage control to be done. Once online, I noticed that a sister had e-mailed a group of us her lovely rendition of a surrender song; a personal favorite in recent times. Almost six years had passed since I'd heard her voice, so the surprise was that much nicer; interestingly on-time, even.

I'd given my upset the valid moments it deserved and transformed the growing heat in my hands with what once might have been cussin'... into a higher, creative place. Woosah, I say! New paints and ideas were at Home Depot. Cacao nibs and a new book to read had been signed and in my purse by simply accepting a mini-adventure a day or so before the news. By twilight, four artists had crossed my online path for the first time with very raw emotions set to song that reinforced the common threads of our dynamic existence.

Beyonce asserted the thesis for all who have ever lived: "I was here." Stacy Barthe bathed what can be the dark corners of our self-discovery and more with tastefully bold, loving lights over and over throughout her recent EP. Sonyae Elise's "♻" resonated with my affinity for what's possibly the greenest job ever by asserting a desire to "have a love...willing to relight the fire when the wind blows a little too close to the candle". My loved one was fortunate enough to know exactly 'who to cling to when the rain set in', on Earth and for Heaven's sake. Late as the universal hour and compromised as balance might be for those of us who remain, we too can harmonize with the rhythm of the Creator should we listen and act accordingly. May the Living Word of God always make its way to our hearts and continue to be music to our ears.

Wei Ling

Beyond time and

out of the box

I plugged in a new antique

"The voices" of Kansas insisted

"there'll be peace..."

then sang a new song

Said Grown Folks: (ready, yo?)

'Arguable justice was served a T.A.D. bit cold'

Only ours

Before I painted my lines in bold

strokes

With an oz. of dis belief

eye sponged the vision of a mustard seed

more like a metallic ochre

praying to transform the ogre in the living room

faithfully
If not for abiding Love
where would i be

A Salute was conducted in Copper and Black Walnut

and Akan accents spoke

until the rising sun

Once another day was done

the flame carried on