Present

I’m not sure about this statement:

“The butterfly is proof that after a period of darkness, one can become something beautiful.”

     Metamorphosis is thought provoking. I’m not the first to think so and won’t be the last. I’m sure the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths too, has inspired people, from the youngest to oldest for countless years. To write. To paint. To think and ponder.
There’s such lovely symbolism there. 

For me, while the butterfly is beautiful, so is the caterpillar. Imagine all those legs! And hanging upside down. There’s even a caterpillar that has “a snake head” -a great mimicker.

 It’s what’s going on in the cocoon,  the metamorphosis chamber that intrigues me the most. 

The becoming. 

Inside the dark. 

We’re all of us “in the cocoon” really, and time changes more than the landscape of our faces and shells-

Someone told me once that she thought I identified with the caterpillar more than the butterfly (I’ve blogged on this) and it’s a statement which continues to make me think -which is what great sister friends do… 

And I’ve come to believe I am moved most by the mystery of the hidden changes; the in between.

I’ve a sistafriend close to passing away, whose life as a spiritual teacher is BOUNDLESS because she will be INSIDE so many. Eternally. 

     After a hectic (that’s an understatement) week, I needed this past Saturday to be therapeutic. Ended up I saw the loveliest rainbow I’ve truly ever seen. 

     My intention that morning was for peace, flow, and light. The rainbow was all of it; the size and closeness to the highway impossible to capture with my iPhone. 

The purples especially, a bright thick bar of color. Yes I know you may be thinking this:

The purple color is a trick of perception perceived by quite human eyes. The purple I clearly saw, isn’t a physically monochromatic light (a light composed of a single wavelength).

The red band of the second order diffraction overlaps with the blue-violet band of the first order diffraction, producing the purple color perception. 

Nonetheless it was stunning. I tried enhancing my picture like this (see enhancement photo) but it was impossible for me to capture the moment. Being present for it was the point I suppose. 

Before I saw it, I was studying license plates as always, that I’d see.

 I compulsively add all digits in my head (have done this for decades) that I see in strings, and then add double digits together to get to the lowest possible number,  and then assign meaning to the number. For example let’s say this is the license plate in front of me:

W56DS8

I would add

5+6+8= 19

Then:

1+9= 10

Then:

1+0=1 !

1 equals unlimited potential! A transformative sign! If I get a lot of 1’s, I’m going to read into that, that productivity and creation are boundless. You get the idea. 

I like when license plates spell words too. Before seeing the rainbow, I saw two that stood out. 

One said AMEN. 

The other: 2DREAM.

Like butterflies, rainbows are special, sort of mysterious, always a pretty and welcome sight; usually unexpected. Although Saturday, I must say, after the “sun shower” we experienced (Al and I) heading home from our road trip on the highway,  I did say aloud “we’re going to see a rainbow today.”

Synchronicity is a beautiful thing.
I try not to miss it. If that sounds hippy trippy, I don’t apologize. 

I’ve “lost” 70 pounds in a healthy living plan. This past summer, enjoying the physical and mental (even spiritual) unburdening of weight, that’s when I was visited by these in my morning glories:

Which turned into these:

Which led me to paint about it. 

For the last 5 or 6 months since my caterpillar summer, I’ve been losing the same 5 pounds over and over again. 

I’ve got 40 to go to reach my goal and I’m taking my time but I’ll get there, and in the meantime I’m maintaining and reminding my self to be present because that’s what’s most important at least to me, the becoming, like I said.

Here are some car wash pics I took recently:

Indeed the process of a van becoming clean delights me. 

I want to backtrack here before I close, to share this restaurant I went to, before heading home Saturday. The exterior of the place was quite Unextraordinary and I took it (wrongly) to be a sandwich shop but upon entering, the comforting dim atmosphere and smell of woodsmoke assails you and you realize, you’re in a pizza place. 

Organic produce, donuts from a local farm, gluten free dough, and nitrate free. It had a peace flag too. 

Actually it was filled with lots of interesting flags. And signs like: EAT MORE KALE! I ate kale nearly every day for a year….

Incidentally I finally mailed my peace flags off to the White House:

(The blue one is my grandson’s.)

So back to this restaurant:

Note the oven. The paddle for the pizzas kept catching on fire. And the rocks, tall pillars throughout were scattered around at some of the tables.

As we readied to leave, we were given this box for our leftovers:

I saved the box. 

I think spring is in the air. It’s a brilliant time to plan gardens (and the seeds my friend Clay gave me to attract bees💛). I’m of the INTENT to build that fairy garden this year. It’s such a thing now. I anticipate spring. 

I used to be seasonably affected by winter but now I see the mosaic beauty of trees overlapping like my painting here: Moonshine Mosaic, which is at Good Purpose Gallery in Lee Mass. 40 Main St. 

If you are in the vicinity, do stop. It’s great weather for browsing galleries, in pretty little New England villages, whether you are inclined to buy or not. And Starving Artist Cafe, which serves more than just coffee, is right beside the gallery. Say hi to Patricia, at the gallery- a lovely free spirit. 

I’m sharing a show through March 27 2017 with inspirational artist Margaret Buchte. 

I’m told my latest series of surreal artwork “evokes emotion.” I know that many sad ladies inhabit them. One to notice patterns that repeat, I can’t help but align the state of our planet’s policies with that of (dejavu) East Germany. 

Perhaps this where the sadness in my latest series originates. Where it comes from. 

In the words of Suzie Saxman (Fiona), who just…..KNOWS:

“The earth has been raped. Is being raped. 

The trees are weeping. 

No one’s listening.”