Best of 2013 (Or at least my favourites) Part I

 

“It is strange how we hold on to the pieces of the past while we wait for our futures.”
― Ally Condie

 

There’s something about the movement of numbers. We stare at clocks, at elevator floors, at odometers and at the calendar marking the passage of time and distance. As I’ve spoken of before, these things tend to be relative. A mile on a beautiful scenic mountain road seems to go past much faster than the three hundredth mile along a flat farm road with the eightieth identical barn. The joyful moments pass quickly while ones spent waiting seem to move exceptionally slower. Thus subjectivity can be a double edged sword at best. Still every so often when a milestone is passed I like to reflect a bit on what has passed, perhaps savouring the last flavour from the cup or perhaps to see if what seemed sublime at the time still feels as sweet.
2013 was a year that seemed to spin its wheels for me a bit. I got to meet many great people both online and off. I found several new areas in which to study. Everything remained pleasant yet I found that I didn’t move as far forward on projects as I would have liked to. Well we’ll see what 2014 has to bring. It looks as if it will be fascinating and as always fun.
Tonight and perhaps tomorrow as well, I will be posting some of my favourite pictures (and perhaps a poem or two) that I created in this past year.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

The DancerThe Dancer by G A Rosenberg

 

Machine in the GhostMachine in the Ghost by G A Rosenberg
 

Cave of Lost LoveCave of Lost Love by G A Rosenberg

 

The LoversThe Lovers (Trump VI) by G A Rosenberg

Consciousness Stream Towards Deeper Waters

 

“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
― Alan Wilson Watts

 

Investing myself and my time…Conquering the moment or perhaps just living it… filling my days with art and rhyme.. dogs and cleaning and family too… grand adventure in the mundane…tho is anything mundane when its done magically with full will and intent? This next year I will live my time… and time my living… all traveling towards a further deeper consciousness.. because in the end isn’t that what it’s all about?
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

King of the Night ForestKing of the Night Forest by G A Rosenberg

 

KaleidoscopeKaleidoscope by G A Rosenberg

Ashes and Rising

 

“How could you rise anew if you have not first become ashes?”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

 

I can taste the ashes of 2013 as the last moon of the year gets swallowed up and will be born anew on the New Year. It is a time of endings and contemplation of New Beginnings. A New Year is like an ultimate blank page (or screen as I keep saying). I have some ideas of what 2014 will bring yet there is still a few pages left in the volume we currently hold. Do we leave them blank or do we finish up with a nice summary? I am about ready to light the torch paper on this one. I will use the next few days to reflect a bit on what has passed and what may rise anew.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Last Man StandingLast Man Standing by G A Rosenberg

 

Multidimensional CrossroadsMultidimensional Crossroads by G A Rosenberg

Creating A Space For Appreciation and Beauty

 

“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity – then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”
— David Suzuki

 

If David Suzuki’s premise is true and our view of the world shapes our treatment of it, then how true is it about the way we see ourselves? If we see ourself as people whom the world treats badly and who never gets what they want then what motivation do we have to work on ourselves. However, if we see ourselves as a work in progress and believe that success is possible through growth and perseverance and that abundance is present and unrealized then maybe, just maybe we can find something either beautiful or joyful in each day to appreciate.
After listening to a friend of mine tell me each day for several weeks about how rough her life was and being largely negative in her view, I asked her to do me a favour. I asked her if each day she would consciously find one beautiful moment or image that passed her way and tell me about it. She reluctantly did this and after about a week it seemed to have a profound difference on her outlook in general.
It may not effect everyone’s outlook in a dramatic way yet I have found for myself as well that once I make the space for beauty or joy or perhaps its just for appreciation, something wonderful comes along to fill it.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Cycles of lifeCycles of Life by G A Rosenberg

 

ProletariatProletariat by G A Rosenberg

Changing Patterns

 

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
— William Blake

 

Each moment we live contains our lives in miniature. The same or similar patterns play out in the different aspects of our lives, be it love, career, family or self-development. It is possible to break the patterns, roll the dice and reset ourselves but this tends to be quite difficult for most of us. Of course once we take that degree of responsibility than it is up to us to decide what our new patterns will look like. The more we shape them to follow our truest most authentic self the more successful they will tend to be. First and most importantly tho, we need awareness of what our present patterns are. I have found that a combination of divination or analysis (i.e. tarot, I Ching, or Enneagrams) and meditation work well for this.
Once we have determined our underlying patterns and gain awareness on how they play out in our lives, then we can go about changing them. It helps of course if we have a clear idea of what we want our new patterns to be and a clear intent to make the change. This is both easier and more difficult than it sounds.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Fusion ConfusionFusion Confusion by G A Rosenberg

 

CrystalCrystal in Space by G A Rosenberg

 

Tools For the Journey

 

“We do not escape into philosophy, psychology, and art—we go there to restore our shattered selves into whole ones.”
— Anaïs Nin

 

What are your tools for self-discovery? My five go-to tools in no particular order are philosophy (which for me include spirituality and theology), art, music, meditation and psychology. The more I expose myself to the thoughts and expressions of others the more understanding I have of who I am. When I see something that clicks for me, after a period of enjoyment, I reflect on why that song, that picture or sculpture or words touch me and I learn a bit more about myself. I learn even more from things that strike discord for there lies my shadow. Any reaction to art or idea is a mirror that I reflect in. Every thing I expose myself to goes into the well. Meditation shows me what lies beneath the surface of the well. Within each of us lies both multitudes and unity and everything we encounter becomes part of the discovery of ourselves.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Not From Around HereNot From Around Here by G A Rosenberg

 

The Past Gives WayThe Past Gives Way by G A Rosenberg

Gifts

 

“The magi, as you know, were wise men–wonderfully wise men–who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.”
― O. Henry

 

A friend I considered wise once told me that the if something is truly a gift than it is something that inherently belongs to the person receiving it. In that way a true gift is more in the nature of returning something to its rightful owner, restoring a balance in a way.
If that’s so then the gift I would like to give to everyone reading this is the gift of your best self, the self that acts from your deepest purpose even when having fun. I give you the gifts of joy and bliss because those are ours inherently and of course I give you love in the deepest sense meant by the sanskrit word prem, which in effect is the love that connects all of our beings and which to my understanding is kind of the crazy glue that binds us all together.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

solstice-with-the-triple-goddess-1 Greetings

Solstice With the Triple Goddess by G A Rosenberg

 

Making the RoundsMaking the Rounds by G A Rosenberg

 

Learning How to Help

 

“The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”
— Robert M. Pirsig

 

So many people
want to live the way they do.
Train wrecks in motion
not caring what comes through
They feel entitled
to live their life their way
but when it falls apart
you can hear them say

 

Rescue me but don’t save me
Prove to me you care
Don’t help me walk, carry me
Please come ease my fears.

 

I’ve made some choices
that landed me in the rough
put myself in places
that taught me to get tough
I’ve had some people
who have brought me to my feet
gave me some pointers
to make myself complete.

 

Taking advantage
would have felt kind of sleazy
Blaming the world
felt a bit too easy.
I had to find
a way that worked for me
to face the mirror
responsibility

 

Save me but don’t rescue me
point out ways to go
trust that I’ll get there
Learn how much I know

 

I try hard not to be judge people. I know how rough many people have it and we are all products of our past and unique. Living in this world costs and living in this world consciously can take its toll no matter how joyous aspects of it can be.
There have been times when I’ve needed help and people were there for me, family, friends and wondrous strangers who’s memory I bless. More often than not tho, they didn’t help me with money but with opportunities to put my life back together. I had to hold up my end and actually do the work. Some of those opportunities I screwed up and found myself in as rough shape as before. In some of those cases, I tried blaming the people who helped me, accusing them in my mind of setting me up to fail. Luckily in most of those cases I started laughing at myself, realizing that they actually had more confidence in me than I had in myself. Eventually I learned.
It’s a special gift to know how to be there for others. It’s easy to give money to friends rather than help them self-actualize. I would rather help them find that spark of self-esteem that will help them much more.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Dryads Tree DancingTree Dancing (Dryads) by G A Rosenberg

 

Fox's Starry NightFox’s Starry Night by G A Rosenberg