Creativity and Love

Creativity is often spurred on by loving thoughts of others. This valentine greeting is a good example.  I started thinking about all the people I love and then did a Google search about Valentine's Day.  I saw a random picture of a Scrabble tray with the word love on it somewhere on the world wide web, and then I thought of the idea for this picture and this post.  Our family loves Scrabble, so it seemed like the perfect fit. I took the picture (above) after carefully placing the letters on our Scrabble board, and then my oldest son used a bit of Photoshop magic to turn the Scrabble board into a heart.  It was a wonderful endeavor that he and I worked on together, and now I get to share it with all of you.  So, here's to love and creativity!

Good Grief, It's Cold Out Here!

Good grief,

I said GOOD GRIEF!!

Why am I standing out here?

I don't have a hat

or suitable gloves

not to mention 

the lack of warm pants...

So how does a guy

who is friendly but SHY

end up on display
for all who drive by?

I guess someone thought 

I was cute, OH MY!

Receive with Simplicity

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you."  Rashi (1040-1105)  This is the opening line in the movie A Serious Man.  I loved the movie and could comment on how I think this quote relates to the movie, but I would rather think of it in broader terms as it relates to all of us in our everyday lives.

It is incredibly difficult to receive everything with simplicity.  Our brains tend to analyze, dissect, digress and basically over think everything that happens to us.  How do we slow down our minds to be present in the simplicity of a moment?  I guess the best answer is to practice with great diligence.  It is worth the effort.

Ho Hum Limerick

A limerick to brighten your day.

 

Ho Hum Limerick

There once was a boy named John
who always said duh or ho-hum,
his teachers were vexed,
his parents perplexed,
why John
always acted so glum.

Then one day a new John appeared,
he smiled and spoke with great cheer,
his teachers were pleased,
his parents appeased;
what happened
was never quite clear.

Saved by a Sinner

I was listening to A Prairie Home Companion the other night.  In Garrison Keillor's News from Lake Wobegon, he talked about a young boy being lost, one bitterly cold night, after being separated from his camping group.  The Minnesota temperature had dipped well below freezing and the snowy ground was frozen into an icy tundra. He was found by his drunken uncle and taken back to the uncle's hunting cabin to warm up.  The uncle, the black sheep of the family, had been banished to the cabin by his wife for a variety of unforgivable offenses.  Garrison Keillor said the boy realized he was being saved by a sinner. 

If you believe that all humans are imperfect, then every time someone is saved they are being saved by a sinner.  You may not like the word sinner, but in my mind it just means someone who is a work in progress.  Aren't we all?

But if you look at a person who is really down on his luck, after living a life of 'sin' (however you wish to define it), then it seems likely he might feel a stronger need to redeem himself through an act of kindness.  But, in truth, his desire may not be any stronger than another man who has seemingly lived a very pious, christian life. What truths lie in the hearts of men are only known to them. 

In the story, the uncle wonders if his act will prove fruitful.  He hopes the boy will grows up and make something of himself, thus ensuring the act will have redemptive value.  But I believe good deeds have inherent value both to the giver and receiver;  the redemptive part is beyond our control. We must simply act and continue living, each of us an imperfect work in progress.

The Cold Wind Doth Blow

In honor of the piles of snow that have fallen today:

The Cold Wind Doth Blow

My snowman was tall,
as tall as an oak;
he looked mighty fine
for a snow-covered bloke.

He had a cool look,
 he cast on the world,
but rarely found warmth,
the wind often swirled.

His smile was frozen
in quiet delight,
as he stood at alert
from morning 'til night.

 But then the bright sun

brought sizzling heat;
he quickly did fade
and melt in defeat.

With the help of a friend he might reappear,
the next time it snows -
maybe
next year,

Everything is a Miracle

I like to do the cryptoquote in the newspaper each day.  Once I've decoded the letters, I am often rewarded with a thought provoking quote.  Today's quote was especially interesting.

"There are two ways to live:  You can live as if nothing is a miracle: 

You can live as if everything is a miracle."  

Those words were written by Albert Einstein (1879-1955).  After doing a little research, I found the following words which he said to a rabbi in 1929:

"I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, 

not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of Mankind."  

After thinking about these two quotes and considering the author, I guess I would conclude that Einstein, who saw and understood the tiniest particles to the largest galaxies, was awed by the majesty and intricacies of our universe just like the rest of us.  Even his vast knowledge could not fully explain the mysteries, but he clearly believed the mysteries did not include a judging, vengeful God.  The majesty and complexity of our world could be summed up in the simplest of words: miracle.

Letters of Recommendations

I was asked to write a letter of recommendation for one of my son's friends and started thinking about the fact that it is rare for the subject to ever see the letter of recommendation that is written on her behalf.  How many times in life do any of us get to read a letter that is primarily singing our praises?  But the protocol is to send the letter off and not let the subject of the letter know what has been written about her.  I have decided that it is a great travesty.  As we grow into adulthood and venture into the work world, the praise is handed out less frequently and we sometimes forget the positive attributes that others see in us.  Therefore, I've decided that in the future, a copy of recommendation letters should always be sent to the subject.
P.S.  My son's friend will be receiving a copy of the letters I have written on her behalf.

Something Light - Sort Of

I love writing children's poetry.  I had a simple rhyme that popped in my head today and thought I would share it.  The idea of a child longing for a simple pleasure while the grown-ups are fixated on their Blackberrys seemed amusing and tragically sad all at the same time.

My mother loves tweeting,

my dad loves to text,

but I prefer reading,

it's really the best.

But What Did It Mean?

My husband and I were traveling on I-64 today, entering Louisville, KY from the west.  We drove under a pedestrian walkway and I noticed a handmade sign draped on the outside of the protective fencing.   The following words were printed on the sign: GRAYHAWK CORP SHAME ON YOU.  I was processing that information when I noticed a man standing behind the sign with one hand clenching the chain link fencing.  He was leaning forward, staring down at the streaming cars in a determined, desperate and slightly sad posture.  I know you are thinking I surmised a lot about this man in the few seconds it took us to pass under the walkway, but I know what I saw.  Several things passed through my mind as I tried to figure out the story behind the man and the sign. Did another company go out of business, was Grayhawk in someway involved with the wars we are fighting, did Grayhawk move their corporation to China or India, or did they perhaps treat their employees unfairly?

I figured I would get home and check out the story with the help of the internet, but sadly I was let down.  I found a couple of old references to possible low salary, low benefit issues but they were from three years ago and I wasn't sure it was the same corporation.

So, I may never find out why a lone individual was spending a Monday afternoon staring down at the interstate traffic behind a sign with a very accusatory message: GRAYHAWK CORP SHAME ON YOU.  But I've given it some thought and I've decided it's not a bad message for a whole host of corporations, banks, politicians and citizens of our country.  The sign might have worked better if it simply said: SHAME ON YOU, leaving every viewer with that simple unsettling thought to ponder.