Postmodern Hymn: Simple Life

Life moves so quickly it's frightening sometimes, and that's when you've got to pause and sing a song like this, breathe, and smile.

Admiring: Creators with Thread

When so many women have produced such beautiful works of art, it's hard to focus on a particular craftswoman. But here are two women whose work inspires me. The hours they must have worked astounds me. Here I sit, cutting and pasting images—quite a different task than the quiet, patient work they did!

Erica Wilson, with her PBS show and books, rejuvenated the art of needlepoint in the years after the Second World War.

Erica Wilson 

Queen Mary created this rug over eight years, sometimes working seven hours a day. It has a million stitches in it.

Queen Mary's needlepoint rug

The Humility of Religious Minimalism

Psalm Print: Exaudi. Domine, by Damien Hirst

How do we reconcile science and religion? How do we reconcile a plurality of religions? 

Philip Clayton and Steven Knapp, in "Science, Religion, and Religious Minimalism" offer their advice:

"All of us, no matter what we believe, stand outside traditions to which the vast majority of other human beings belong. The lesson to draw from this inescapable fact of the human condition is the need for a profound humility about one's own beliefs, especially when they are the kinds of beliefs that one cannot fully test in the company of others. . . . We suggest that the humility of religious minimalism is the right stance for everyone, believers and non-believers alike, to adopt."

What I like about this call for minimalism is that it leaves so much space for day-to-day experience. Perhaps a more minimalist view would allow us to enjoy each moment as it comes, without a bulky mythology added.

Apocalypticism

The metaphorical end is truly coming. Are you prepared?

The Pretend Is Near, by Nick Nelson

What if we put our energies into the pretend, the future-now, instead of the usual future end time?

Dream Keeper

Interdependent Cycles, by Martin Hill

"True power and wisdom comes from within: When a man realizes his oneness with all creation. When he realizes that at the center of the universe dwells a power greater than his self. This center is everywhere. It is is within each of us. Go now, and walk the good red road."

    —Dreamkeeper

(A disclaimer: The "good red road" means something unattainable to me: it means bravery, sacrifice, and often, violence, because being connected to the earth isn't all flowers and rainbows. I don't think that the "red road" is just another name for a unified spiritual path; it's tied to a specific life-way. This post is just an attempt to honor the wisdom that I see, without appropriating it.)

How to Be a Good Pine Tree

The Last Gleam, by Charles Warren Eaton

Sometimes we just need a simple reminder:

"Imagine a pine tree standing in the yard. If that pine tree were to ask us what it should do, what the maximum is a pine tree can do to help the world, our answer would be very clear: 'You should be a beautiful, healthy pine tree. You help the world by being your best.' That is true for humans also. The basic thing we can do to help the world is to be healthy, solid, loving, and gentle to ourselves. Then when people look at us, they will gain confidence. They will say, 'If she can do that, I can do that too!'

"So anything you do for yourself, you do for the world. Don’t think that you and the world are two separate things. When you breathe in mindfully and gently, when you feel the wonder of being alive, remember that you’re also doing this for the world. Practicing with that kind of insight, you will succeed in helping the world. You don’t even have to wait until tomorrow. You can do it right now, today."

    —excerpt from "Imagine a Pine Tree," an interview with Thich Nhat Hanh, Shambhala Sun, January 2012

Habits in Space

Photograph from the collection Modern Life of the Soul, by Melanie Bonajo
via The Ornamism Project

Have you heard the NPR story "What Vietnam Taught Us about Breaking Bad Habits"? The gist is that our habits can be tied to specific places, as in the couch as a place to sit and eat ice cream, and that changing the environment can give you a chance to consciously change your behavior. 

The story makes me see my home in a new light. What behaviors am I reinforcing? (Rather than worrying about New Year's resolutions, I think I'd better start by seeing things a little more clearly!)

It also makes me think about building an altar more seriously; they're one place in the home that can help you re-mind yourself and "alter" your habits. The altar wouldn't need to be sculptural—it could also be a flat work of art—it seems like the important part of such a space would be your response to it.