Wednesday, May 30, 2018

It reminds me of...

Chris Cornell might beg to differ in all his liking of things that don't remind him of anything. That said, many years ago I used to frequent a karaoke bar called The Otter. A tiny, kitchy little place with odd memorabilia, sayings and a tremendous painted mural on the outside street wall.

Inside was nearly always packed with hipster type locals being stars. The acoustics were foul, the beer was chilled but not cold, and fun times were never far. Hanging from the ceiling is an antique style car with two dolls in the front seat that match the era. The old woman with gray hair is wearing glasses and a flowery dress, the gentleman a gray suit (at least that's how I remember it...) It took me a few years to even notice it was there.

I said to the gentleman I was talking with that it reminded me of this poem I read in English lit. It was about a very old couple, who loved each other very much but they were done with life. One Sunday afternoon, they dressed up, went to Church and took a drive that ended in their successful, albeit peaceful, suicide. They died holding hands in their Sunday best in what I imagine was their most prized possession, their antique car.

I searched for the poem/story, but was too impatient to wait to write this. But, what I wanted to say is a story can be found in every space, every person, every inch of this world and it subjects us to more meaningful thought.

How was the story meaningful? I suppose for me it painted a romanticized vision around something I definitely resonated with during that class. It represented a love bond that did not want to be broken. A reverse Romeo and Juliet, if you will. Fiction is as fiction does. Draws us into corridors we can't experience in the drudgery of mundane existence. And that is where creation begins. We are born creators, without imagination we are simply mortal beings existing to exist.

In summary, surround yourself with others who paint a vision around what they see, sense and experience. Logic is for work and necessity, but vision makes the Earth spin and is also how we find out anything and everything.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

The tiny monster

It was a gorgeous day in Minnesota today. I sat outside catching up on some phone calls and I kept hearing this noise underneath my front deck. My imagination envisioned a giant snake or alien out of a movie creeping towards me and the extreme reaction following its exposure.

As I stood up to go inside, I discovered the tiniest of birds about 24 inches from where my foot was. It was down a step, so I didn't see it. This tiny bird scarcely moved. I'm terrified of birds, so I spoke to it ever so gently as I backed away slowly. "Hello. Are you all right? Are you injured?" I said, as though it could hear me.

I walked indoors, nonetheless, and thought I'd check on it in a bit. Alas, the symbolism wasn't lost on me, nor is it an uncommon message. But, I'm always glad to hear from the Universe. To me, it's a clearer message in symbol form. Aside from being a firm believer in the 'still small voice,' I often find it difficult to hear... Or so I think.

I poured a new cup of coffee and turned to the door, walked out and the bird was gone. And I'm left to wonder.

I'm going to spell this out because people tend to say I'm too vague.

A. The imagination blows up the unknown into things that are scary.
B. Most often things aren't as big and scary as you think.
C. If it involves somebody else, maybe the big scary thing is a result of their injury or insecurity.
D. Maybe it's just a bird and means nothing. (If you don't believe in messages from the environment...)

Well friends. I do believe in messages from the environment, I do believe in symbolism and I do believe my brain is frightened enough to envision my worst nightmares out of the tiniest of things. And if it does involve somebody else, they probably don't mean me any harm. Just like the tiny bird.

Ironically, I was still a bit frightened of the tiny bird, but I persevered in engaging with him/her. I was so afraid it was injured and I didn't want to leave it alone to die. And that's another message from the Universe about me. I care, even when scared.

And then you take these messages and you run ahead into life. Sometimes you tip toe, sometimes you hide, others you strut like a mo-fo. But, you do it with the awareness to hear what's meant for you to know so you can know you like never before and impact change in yourself and change in the world around you. And nothing and everything more.

Peace and light. Forever shameless.