The Lazy Mask

 

“We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

 

Identity is a slippery thing. We spend so much of our time trying to find an identity, building it out of what we admire in others and what we read along with bits and scraps of what shines through from our real beings. Sometimes we find a label that attracts us. It may be a spiritual, political, sexual or genre affiliation yet it draws us in so much that we attempt to remake ourselves into everything that that label portends. This may be fun for awhile but ultimately we may find that in assuming the mask, that we have lost ourselves. We may find ourselves taking on attitudes that are far from any that we would choose on our own, ones we may have once found abhorrent all in the name of what we would have ourselves become. That’s the problem with taking what I consider a lazy way out. In the long run it may be more arduous and time-consuming to pick and choose what qualities most draw us from all the potential labels and so become our true self but by doing so we drastically lower the risk of getting stuck in a mask that is not ourselves.
Blessings, G

 

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AnimaAnima by G A Rosenberg

 

Wounded HeartThe Wounded Heart by G A Rosenberg

 

Words Daggered and Healing

 

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”

~ Patrick Rothfuss

 

Words like daggers
aimed towards my heart
We war with our tongues and minds
each dying the death of a thousand cuts
tares in the flesh
and tears in the eyes
and it all seems to lose meaning
as the love bleeds out

 

Words of healing
a balm for the soul
We comfort and seek to mend the pain
each grieving what has been lost through war
wiping the tears
bandaging the tares
we seek to find the meaning
and relight the flame.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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The Peacock's BrideThe Peacock’s Bride by G A Rosenberg

 

AdvisorAdvisor by G A Rosenberg

 

Masks

 

“We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

 

We become what we pretend to be. This is at once both wonderful and terrifying. It means we have power to recreate ourselves in the image that we want. It also means tho that all too easily we can become trapped in roles that we once needed but have outgrown. If in our past we have been hurt by others, we adopt a mask of being invulnerable. We act callous and indifferent and allow no one to touch us. What happens years later when we meet someone whom we could love? However in order to love we have to make ourselves vulnerable. It seems that damn mask won’t come off. Luckily with work, we can show the vulnerabilities are there, revealing them to those whom we wish to be close to. Oh we still have our mask but by pointing out where the weak parts are, the mask can crumble. It does take work tho and a willingness to overcome fear.
What happens when we aspire spiritually but have lost our way? We have adapted a mask of worldliness that we have become stuck in. Could we adopt the same principle? We meditate and genuinely challenge ourselves to act without masks until we truly have lost them all. This may be the most important work we have ever done in our lives.
Blessings, G

 

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Silent VoiceSilent Voice by G A Rosenberg

 

Fire and Water RipplesFire and Water Spiral by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 14 2012

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

 

I gave words a bad rap the other night. Yes, they convey meaning only approximately at best and are as good at blocking communication as they are at aiding it but can we blame the tools for how they are used? The right words can inspire. The right words can heal and build bridges and wake people up who slept before. Words can win battles and tear down old moribund structures. Words are a kind of magic. That’s why we call it spelling 🙂
Words can also damage. Words can bring a person to despair but they can also lift them up to heights never seen before. Words with intent are amazing things.
That word intent becomes important along with another one mindfulness. So much depends on us being mindful not only of what we do but what we say. With mindfulness and intent every word becomes a spell and thus we use our power.
Blessings, G

 

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Green Play Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Launch Pad by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 1 2012

“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

 

I left off yesterday talking about the Canadian custom’s questions. Who are you? Where are you going? and What do you have to Declare? as being story prompts. Of these questions we build our life.
Tonight my story got hijacked in the nicest way possible. I was responsible pet owner and I was taking care of the dogs needs and I had little to declare. The moon was almost full and showing through and against the backdrop of white clouds that broke up the line of the sky. The temperature was about 23 C with a slight breeze and the dogs on good behaviour. The soundtrack provided by the universe and what I had on my iDevice playlist seemed designed to and succeeded in combination with the other things listed above to give me a blissed-out good time…
Soundtrack for an early summer’s evening bliss upliftment

 

Animals as Leaders – Soraya
 

Shpongle – Before the Big Bang

 

Luminaries-Kambucha

 

Joshn-E-Bahaara from the Indian film Jodha Akbar

 

Seal-Kiss From a Rose on a Hill

 

All in all I’d declare it a pretty amazing half hour. Each one of these songs struck my spirit in a different way. One of the small magic’s that I’ll take any day of the week. More reasons to feel grateful. =)

 

Blessings, G

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Flowing Plant Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Advising Flames by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – December 26 2011

“It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers.”
–Patrick Rothfuss

so many people seem reluctant to do just that. They go searching the world seeking for someone who can show them the way. They don’t seek inside themselves. They don’t even seek for answers, not really, they just want someone to tell them not how but what to think, to feel, to intuit. I have also been that ignorant, in many ways I still may be. Namaste , G

A couple of experiments tonight. Do they work for you? I really enjoy your feedback

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Dream Guardians by G A Rosenberg

Neon Flowers by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – December 9 2011

“‘Would you like an apple?’ ‘This one has a wish inside it,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘Make sure you know what you want before you take a bite.'”
–Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind)

Magical thinking, there’s nothing quite like it.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it.”

    –Jesse Jackson

It may take some work however . 🙂 Namaste — GAR

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Expressing by G A Rosenberg

Eyes of Compassion by G A Rosenberg

Dreams of a Pastel Paradise by G A Rosenberg