Fetish?

Fetish: any object, activity, etc, to which one is excessively or irrationally devoted

Is it a fetish, fixation or obsession? Or maybe it's just a weird fascination or infatuation. I think all of us have something like that in our lives. Actually I'm fascinated and drawn to more than one thing, but one of my longest lived infatuations has been with wind chimes.

I adore wind chimes and have ever since I was a little girl. And I certainly have enough of them to lend testimony to this statement. It's not as bad as "Body Heat" (the 1981 movie starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner) wind chime obsessed (well maybe it is). But, I'm picky about them. They have to be melodious. Most of the ones I own are "tuned." My most recent acquisition (a gift from my mother) is tuned to a typical Japanese-type scale characteristic of the music from that culture.

I have a very wide and comfortable front porch which I designed for our home and my favorite wind chimes live there... summer and winter. They sound symphonic in a storm or on a blustery day. And on a sleepy, hot summer afternoon, they play the perfect lullaby. 

We also have a large back deck with a pergola and a collection of chimes reside there as well.

 

Of course I have a few decorative chimes, too. I really don't know what kind of music they play. I haven't given them much of a chance. They are too pretty to survive the elements so they grace various points within my home. I even have a set of them in my bathroom which I hit with my hairdryer from time to time.

Despite the fact I'm running out of room, I know that won't keep me from collecting more. I'd like to own a set of really large wind chimes that play very low tones. Right now I have a lot of soprano and alto voices and could use some tenor and bass.

The Siren Song of the Flip Flops

I didn't sleep well last night. Just as I was drifting off, I heard the faint sound of voices in distress. I could hear them crying out "Help me!" "Release me!" "Let me out to play!" 

With that last cry I realized that the voices were coming from the storage bin in my attic. My flip flops had awakened too early from their hibernation.

Wearily I released the pull down stairs and in my flannel pajamas made my way to the attic. It was so cold up there. The cries of distress grew louder and as I opened the Rubbermaid bin, my flip flops were nearly hysterical. They begged and pleaded to be released. They were tired, they said, of the dark and cold. And patiently I tried to explain to them that it wasn't much better outside the bin either.

Then take us somewhere warm, they pleaded. They entreated me with a variety of options but the one that nearly brought me to my knees (well, in truth I was already on my knees, our attic ceiling isn't that high) was Puerto Rico. Let's go to Cerromar Beach, they exclaimed. You can float down the river pool and enjoy Pina Coladas at the "in pool" bar made with the freshest pineapple on earth. We'll bask in the sun and save your lounge chair for you. For a moment they almost made sense. Only with the greatest self-discipline, and an even greater lack of funding, was I able to resist the temptation.

I spent more time talking quietly with them and encouraging them by letting them know that spring was right around the corner. In 30 days they'll notice that it's definitely lighter and in 60 days it will be noticeably warmer. 

They finally calmed down and drifted back into their hibernation. But as I crept quietly back down the stairs I found myself thinking, it's a long, long time until May.

I, with a deeper instinct...

I, with a deeper instinct, choose a man who compels my strength, who makes enormous demands on me, who does not doubt my courage or my toughness, who does not believe me naive or innocent, who has the courage to treat me like a woman.
~ Anais Nin

Wow! Powerful stuff!

This quote crossed my radar screen today and stopped me in my tracks. (It takes a lot to stop me in my tracks!) I  thought about it for a long time. And I realized that, as young as I was (and perhaps it was through instinct) I managed to choose a man just like this to marry 32 years ago. It hasn't always been the smoothest ride (in fact it's been down right bumpy) but it's made me the woman I am today... in need of no man. I am with a man because I "choose" to be, not because I "need" to be.

And while I find this quote powerful, I am a little puzzled about what it means to be "treated like a woman." I'd love to get some dialog going on this because I am willing to bet there would be a variety of responses.

When is Enough, Enough?

I really don't like to waste energy by dwelling on things that I hate; however, I HATE the COLD! And I find that I hate it worse every winter. I'm not especially crazy about extremely hot days, either, but I'd much rather complain about being hot than about being cold. Of course, not everyone feels as I do. Some people LOVE the cold! And that's just fine. 

So my big question is, why do I continue to live where it's cold in the winter if I hate it so much? For that matter why don't we all live exactly where we'd like to? And what does it take for us to finally pick up and leave the places we've called home to find paradise elsewhere?

One couple I know, who'd lived in Florida forever, finally couldn't take the barrage of hurricanes they were experiencing some years back, so they moved back to Ohio, where he was from. She didn't make it through that first Ohio winter. The miserable, gray days, so typical of the Buckeye State, caused her to succumb to deep depression; forcing them to move to the Carolinas the following summer. Last I heard, they were doing just fine.

In late 1989, my grandfather, who'd lived many years in Oakland, California, returned to live in his native state of Ohio. Most family members thought the sudden migration east was due to his shake-up during the Loma Prieta earthquake; but he confided in me it was because his girlfriend refused to sleep with him anymore. Two years later, at the age of 84, he left Ohio and moved to Alabama to marry his latest sweetheart. In this instance, love trumped climate not once, but twice.

And of course there are the people who feel stuck where they are because of jobs; or they move to god-forsaken places because of jobs where they're stuck.once again. Sometimes I fantasize about being a gypsy; where my job, my home and all my possessions go with me wherever I go, whenever I feel like going. 

So when will the cold finally prove to be too much for me? I'm not sure, but I feel that day is growing closer and I already have my "saved searches" on Realtor.com. What will it take to finally push me over the edge? That's just another question for the universe.

Perspective

Wow, when you put it that way...

Click here:

Dot

Personal Resolutions

I typically don't make New Year's resolutions; but rather, I make New Year's philosophies. I find that a new philosophy is easier to follow than "new rules" for life. And I wasn't really focusing on a new philosophy for 2011, but this morning, it just came to me in the shower. I find it interesting how some of my best thoughts come to me while I'm in the shower. 

My new shower driven philosophy for the New Year is this: 

Breathe more deeply; Live more deeply; Love more deeply.

As a society, we Americans really don't know how to breathe. When I turned 38, I took lessons in yoga. The greatest thing I learned from yoga is how to breathe. I discovered that I hadn't been breathing correctly all my life. Amazing things happen when more oxygen enters your body.  Not only were my sinuses and nasal passages clearer, but my head was clearer, too. I gained vision and energy. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I've practiced yoga, and I have discovered that I need to make time to breathe again; to center myself and become more energized.

I also find that I get so caught up in the day to day that I forget to truly live; to take pleasure in every little thing life has to offer. And to make plans. Don't forget to make plans; otherwise life will have a way of slipping right on by. Plan to visit friends, take a class or a vacation. Maybe the plans will have to change, but working, dreaming and living towards a plan of some sort adds an extra spice to life and makes life seem richer and more rewarding.

And don't forget to love. And not just those you care about, but everyone you meet each day. It really doesn't cost anything to smile at a stranger and make their day a little better. And it's important to not just love others but yourself as well. Having spent over 30 years as a wife and mother, I find it's easy to spend all your love on others and forget yourself; and then there's nothing left to give to others. Loving yourself and taking time to do the things you know are truly good for you will give you more love to give to others.

And while you're about the business of making a new philosophy, a personal mission statement isn't a bad idea either. Mine is to: 

Create beauty and produce positive energy -

As an artist, I strive to make art that will bring beauty to other people's lives. I'm not about making a social statement or something that will shock the viewer. And when I receive phone calls and /or letters from collectors who tell me how much joy my artwork has brought them, the feeling of joy I receive in return is more than I can even describe.

And the creation of beauty plays hand in hand with the production of positive energy. Everything in the universe is made up of energy and that includes our thoughts. They are electrical impulses and they are not stagnant. I find it poisonous to dwell upon negative thoughts and derogatory comments. It poisons me and it poisons those around me. I have found that by looking for and commenting in the good of others or in situations around me, life is so much better and people are so much kinder. Many might scoff at prayer, but I'm a firm believer that that is another way to produce positive energy. I have seen and felt the effects. It doesn't matter what you believe in or who you pray to, the positive energy gets out there.

Producing positive energy 100% of the time is probably not possible, but it is a worthy goal. I know that I'll still cuss out deranged drivers and whine about incompetent politicians, but more of my thoughts will be directed toward what's good in life.

So Happy New Year, and if you want to share, I'd love to hear about your aspirations and goals for the year ahead.

Cold Moon and Lunar Eclipse

                                 December 21, 2010 - Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Did you know that the full moon in December is known as the Cold Moon? It's also known as the Long Night Moon, Oak Moon, Frost Moon and Moon Before Yule. 

 

I've been obsessed with the moon since I was a tiny little girl. It began as a fearful obsession. My father unwittingly caused me to be afraid of the moon by pointing out the "man in the moon," and my imagination took over from there. I had a recurring nightmare starring the man in the moon  from which I awoke with a start when his disembodied voice began to talk to me from the sky in a disapproving tone and I could hear my heart  pounding in my ears.

By the time I was school aged, I had worked through my fears and and instead of feeling terror at the moon, I reveled in its beauty in all its phases. (Although I still occasionally have those dreams where a disembodied voice from the sky talks to me in a disapproving tone.)

I can still clearly remember the first time I witnessed a lunar eclipse. It was Saturday, the night before Easter, April 13, 1968. I was on vacation in Florida and the evening was warm. To my 11 year old mind, the totally eclipsed moon resembled  a perfectly toasted marshmallow. And another special lunar eclipse that I remember was the night of my senior prom, May 25, 1975. 

I can well understand that a lunar eclipse struck fear in the hearts of people ages ago who didn't understand the workings of the solar system. I find it interesting that we are still awestruck by this phenomenon although we know it's only a matter of shadows. 

And I, for one, will continue to be forever fascinated by the night sky and the mystery that is our universe.