“Half-Full”
26 weeks marks the series’ midpoint – and the idea of “halfway” turned into “half-full/half-empty” … which, of course, leaves room for personal interpretation, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.
Valentine’s Day.
What better time than this to hear once again the words of the great philosophical master, artist and poet, Kahlil Gibran, “On Love”…
When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
~ Kahlil Gibran
This just might get your creative juices flowing. Or at the very least, chop away at some of life’s mental riff-raff when you consider: What really matters? What are you truly about? How much story can be packed into 6 words? How much punch?
You’d think we’d all be experts, afloat as we are in a sea of restless soundbites and twitter-clips. But it’s not as easy as it might seem…
Below is an excerpt from Feb. 3 NPR , Can You Tell Your Life Story In Exactly Six Words?
Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that novelist Ernest Hemingway responded: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
In this spirit, Smith Magazine invited writers “famous and obscure” to distill their own life stories into exactly six words. It All Changed in an Instant is the fourth collection of very, very brief life stories from Smith. The tiny memoirs are sometimes sad, often funny — and always concise.
It All Changed in an Instant is full of well-known names — from activist Gloria Steinem (“Life is one big editorial meeting”), to author Frank McCourt (“The miserable childhood leads to royalties”), to actress Molly Ringwald (“Acting is not all I am”).
Larry Smith, founding editor of Smith, and Rachel Fershleiser, Smith‘s memoir editor, talk to NPR’s Rebecca Roberts about the fun and the challenge of capturing real-life stories in six little words.
Smith’s six-word memoir? “Now I obsessively count the words.” And Fershleiser’s: “Bookstore to book tour in seconds.”
Can you write your autobiography in one sentence?
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Gets you thinking, huh. Can you do it? Are you willing to share yours? (I’m still thinking…)
A light-hearted treat for Cupid’s favorite holiday … just couldn’t resist …
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet ~ and Peace is too.
Just a little something fun – and pretty darn cool – from Pentagram Design. A savvy little piece as well. So, if you want to know your personal font, take Pentagram’s online test to find out … What type are you?
