WELCOME

Water can be clear or murky, powerful as the ocean, or powerfully subtle as the formation of caverns. Water creates life, yet can be destructive. It covers our earth. It fills our bodies. Water evokes mystery, and moodiness. Unpredictable as water is, it is useful, and it cleans things up.



That pretty much describes what I want to say and how I want my posts to be.



Friday, July 30, 2010

THE FEMININE SIDE OF GOD

I've been thinking...yeah, ok... see the smoke lol..
 but Actually. I want to examine a feminine aspect of the Divine not usually discussed in this western Christian side of the globe. I'm still having health problems, still feeling uncomfortable, wanting the Dr.s to find the cause, but a little scared if they do. My dear mother has been gone from my life and this world for 31 years and 11 days. not to say she isn't still here to me in many ways, but I feel ...still ...her absense.
   I remember as a child of three or four, sitting in her lap in the rocking chair, held in her arms as she talked to me and rocked me to sleep. Total protection, security, and a respite from my woes were there for me. I WAS SAFE, if only for a time, it was long enough to rest and recharge.
 What if I use this as a meditation? What if I use this as an imprinted memory, while thinking of God as the same consoling nurturing Mother? What if I turn to God with the same confidence of protection? Is this prayer, or transference?
 I think it has to be prayer. For nothing so pure and beautiful could be anything but.
   and here is my prayer:
      God, rock me to sleep, for I am weary and frightened, and know not where to turn. I need you to hold me until it's all OK again......and God do the same for my loved ones when they need you.

   blessings to you all,     ... M. Pierre

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

THE IMAGE OF...

I've been having a discussion with some folks, about Images, and Symbols for the Divine in an online spiritual discussion forum. Most everyone there is respectful of others different faiths. We are there to share not debate. A woman was talking about a copy of painting she had of Jesus in her office, and how his eyes looked sad. Well that started something.
     And well,.. this is my blog so here I do not have to be so respectful. this is my place to really let off steam when I want to.
   Some pompous condescending bag of wind posted a picture of George harrison next to her painting and pointed out to all of us ignorant dummies that it looked like Jesus too, and we really do not know what Jesus looked like, as there are no references ever made to refer to him. all we have is some silly artists imagination... and the ten commandments says not to worship graven images. And that he only honors his Inner God, without any images needed, infact no one should ever have any image of God or any person said to be Divine as we will just become polythiests worshiping golden calves as such. BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA.
 Well as this man is obviously so spiritually superior to all of us, im surprised he's not floating around somewhere. The debate bantered back and forth.
  I cannot keep my mouth shut, especially when someone else is being attacked unjustly.  I pointed out that early artists did have a description of Jesus in apocraphal writings and they also used the image of the shroud of turin as a basis for their portraits, as both were very similar. and that is where we get the common image used for Jesus throughout art history. But the point is not that it's an accurate likeness but that many use the image for a symbol. And many while not worshiping  these symbols still use them as a vehicle. Others made the point of how they thought images and symbols are useful to them.

 Get this answer of his..."I guess it's difficult for you people to let go of fairy tales, fake shrouds, pointless writings the Church wont even recognize. Still so many can't recognize the God within and need the Man made images of OZ and wont realize, it's a man behind the curtain, just a man playing God." no lie this is the shit he spewed. What a colossal arrogant fucker.
  If I stay in this group I will no doubt run across this kind of donkey again. Though it asks people to be respectful, there are always THOSE, who have to show their ass where faith is concerned. You know the type who know everything about God, and hense their cup is full and finished and they have no need, no room to learn anything more..I learned this working for the Church years ago. So should I quit the group, as people like this disturb my serenity? Or should I not let them have power over me? I either will have to come vent here or learn to let it go, I'm not to good at letting it go, especially when he was jumping all over some dear lady who was just trying to make a point about a painting she found beautiful and inspirational.
  Now that I have vented. I do feel sorry for those who cannot see the wonder in sacred art and symbol, and how symbol, image, mythology and allegory tell so much more than words alone can say. Heck all the major religions of the world have used this. So throughout this article and now here at the end i have included some beautiful Sacred (un-graven) Images from all the stupid unenlightened people of this earth.
Blessings, M. Pierre

Sunday, July 25, 2010

WHOLLY WATER

Psalm 23



I have come through the darkness to find God has a banquet for me,
I find myself blessed and my cup runs over.
For goodness is with me here at home for all of my life.




My cup is not filled from the outside but overflows from within

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

MY DAY WITH AUNT CHIN part 10

Something very Grand indeed presented itself to my imagination. And it would be easy to draw. The Port Arthur “Rainbow” Bridge, was just about the grandest thing I had ever seen. This bridge is something we would travel almost every summer to go to another of my uncle’s houses. Lawrence was one of Gus’s and my father’s brothers and he and his wife lived in a small town in southeast Texas just near the Louisiana border, and you had to go over the bridge to get to their town from the interstate. You could see the bridge from the side as it was approached from that highway, then you would turn south on a smaller highway and go over it to get there.


This is no ordinary bridge by any idea. As a child it was scary, and very exciting, beautiful and of course Grand! And to be honest if you are ever in this area, …go over the bridge, as it is still all those things. It is the highest bridge I think I’ve ever seen still to this day. It rises nearly 200 feet above the water level, they say,… to let the tallest ship made, go under it in order to reach the Beaumont/Orange ship yards (which, by the way, my father once worked in those ship yards as a ships mechanic long before I was born).

As you drive this bridge you go up a steep incline and get higher and higher, higher and higher, and yet higher into the sky. At the top is an amazing view of Sabine lake (practically a bay), ships, and boats of all sorts are on one side, and on the other, in the distance you can see Beaumont up the Neches river.

And so… I began to try and capture this wonderful structure on the butcher paper with the same excitement and gusto I felt every time we passed over it. I used pencils and pens (both black and blue ink) and red colored pencils, and with fervor I created. Time flashed past me, the creative effort took me to a cosmic place of wonder… and before I knew it Chin and Gus were coming inside from all their hot work outside.

“MON DIEU” they both exclaimed as they entered. I thought it was from the heat outside until they both descended upon me. “Did you draw this?” Gus said almost accusingly. And he and Chin seemed to be looking around for some mystery artist who had run in and done my drawing then vaporized. They looked at each other and said some stuff in French. I heard my father’s name in there.

I was still a little unsure if I had done something wrong or if they liked my drawing when Aunt Chin bent over and kissed my cheek. “I didn’t know that my Pitou original would look so spectacular t-man.”

“You like it?” I started to ask and explain “it’s the…”

“Port Arthur Bridge!!” they both interjected

I was astonished they both knew what it was… but then my mind hit on the fact that they had probably both traveled the bridge many a time as they lived closer to Uncle Lawrence than we did, and yet I was happily surprised that their recognizing it meant I drew it well enough.

“Well you said GRAND.” I added

“Grand indeed,” Uncle Gus praised, “ Dass (that’s) one fine piece of art-werk. You know you git dat from you daddy yeah.” Something I did truly know, my father’s paintings always adorned out living and dining rooms. Something I didn’t know was that years later when I was almost a teen, and the last time I ever visited Chin and Gus’s house, my 6 year old’s drawing would be adorning their living room in one of Gus’s carved frames, with a tiny lettered card labeled “Pitou Original”. Possibly the most gratified I’ve ever felt was then knowing that I had given something to these two very dear people, that they had appreciated and drew joy from.



That moment was one of those perfect ones that stick in your memory. They sat and watched me finish the picture. I didn’t usually like to be watched when I drew but I made an exception for them. Gus encouraged me to come up with an artsy way to sign my drawing at the bottom, and Chin wrote on the back in pencil who, when, why, and a title of what, and had me sign the back with my full name, which I hadn’t even really learned cursive yet, but I did something to try and look sophisticated. Then she had Gus take down the clock by the table and they taped my drawing there. I was prouder than punch has ever been. What does that saying even mean anyway?

I had a mini flashback of the prize pies on the table… but now they were in front of my drawing. Chin and I were at the Fair again with blue ribbons on her pies and my drawing, her in her red dress, and me all dressed up in a shorts suit (do little boys even have such things as shorts suits now?) and we were smiling and people were clapping at out accomplishments. Being a middle child in a family of five children it was nice to be the apple of someone’s eye for a change.



My very fantastic “day” was winding down from here though I didn’t really know it. Chin pulled out a left over ham and we made ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch.

“Do you have any potato chips?” I asked

“I surely do.” Chin answered and went to the little pantry fetching a bag. She put a handful of chips on each of our plates by our sandwiches. “Good suggestion Mon pette.”

I proceeded to do something I’ve always done with ham and cheese sandwiches. I don’t know why or where I got this idea, but I still do it today. I opened up my sandwich and layered the chips into the sandwich. This is a wonderful crunchy addition to any ham and cheese, that I highly recommend. My mom used to always pack me chips in a little plastic bag, along with ham and cheese in my lunch so I could do this and have them fresh and crunchy.

Both Chin and Gus watched me in wonder as I “chipped” my sandwich and took the first crunchy wonderful cold bite. It was then I really realized they were so interested in what I was doing. I don’t know what Gus said to Chin in French with a little giggle, but they both followed suit and added chips to their sandwich. Something no one else in my family ever even tried.

I watched as they took their first bite, excited and confident that they would see the wonder of this taste combination. And they did!

“My, My, My, mon tit-man,” Gus said half in French and English “ces’t une bonne chose (sest une bone shows)” I phrase I knew meant “this is a GOOD thing”

Ok now I was on cloud 11.5. having them appreciate and share in my ham sandwich yumm secret was all this kid could ask for to make me feel special, important, noticed, validated, all the above… Little do adults know how such simple things can give a kid a shot of confidence and self esteem that may last a lifetime.



We sat back talking and cooling off and enjoying our ham cheese and chip sandwiches, accompanied by iced tea. Then Gus turned to me and asked two questions.

“First, t-man, you want to help me rearrange da fans and turn on da air conditioning to start cooling dis house down for our company.” I got the impression they didn’t always use the AC unless it was really hot or company was there. “And second….. hows bout a nap for dis afta’noon. I knows Chin done wore your skinny little butt off already dis day.”

I had to honestly admit that both sounded great, but I looked to Aunt Chin for validation. “My man gess up b’fore the sun each day and does the garden ann more, while I sleep, then he naps in the afta’noon and gits out’a my way so’s I can cook annn sush. I thin pitou, you done a man’s day a’ work ann should nap too if you want.”

All I needed to make this an “oh so fine a day” was to rest for a bit now in cool air. Gus and I moved box fans to doorways, shut windows, turned on the AC, rearranged some furniture to make a flow through, and ended up in their bedroom with one oscillating big fan, an ottoman fan at the base of the bed, and a box fan pushing AC air through the hall to this room from the living room. This in southern Louisiana this is a dream of cool air to sooth the savage breast, or beast… whatever…

Gus laid on one side of their big bed on his back with his arms folded on his chest. I followed the same on the other side…. Ahhhhh comfort and coolness, such simple but wonderful blessings.

I was drifting when Uncle Gus said a few last minute things to me. “ Tell God, t-man, someting you are tankful for before you fall asleep. Always do dis.”

“I’m thankful I got to stay with yall today” I said

“You done have to tell me ow’loud cher, juss remember to tell God every time you be falling asleep. Is good for da soul.” Gus continued, “But to tell God ann you…I’m tankful too.. you stay wid us toiday.” Sometime after that I vaguely remember turning on my side and falling asleep in a such a peaceful way it should be bottled and sold.




**

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

JUST STUFF

Forgive me if anyone has been looking for the Aunt Chin story ...continued. It will be here soon, the conclusion in 2 or 3 parts, or anything else I blog about on a regular basis. Iv'e  been under the weather with health issues yet again. And iv'e been neglecting the blog from shear lack of stamina...
  I did see today a great article that got me a little excited. In response to the "Tea Party" (which you can easily see how I feel about them by my blog articles) an new progressive organization has been formed called "ONE NATION"... yea! If anyone has the time to find their website, please send me a link, I haven't been able to find them. What I read sounds like I'm all in favor, but I want to know more. The tea party in my opinion is a very vocal, very harmful, very ignorant, minority... so V.Vocal, H.Harmful, I.Ignorant, M. Minority. here to refered to as VHIM needs to be counter-pointed by a new voice, of what I hope to be Reason. I hope the One Nation group will be a place for media to hear from the rest of us (O.One , N.Nation..= ON!  as in the good old days right ON!) ..namely The Majority who elected Obama because we were tired of the crap we were being forcebily spoon fed before by the bush administration, and the ultra conservatives.
 So that's where I am at today. Prayers for my health will not be un-appreciated. I'm honestly having a bit of a hard time here.
 Blessings, M.Pierre

Sunday, July 4, 2010

INDEPENDENCE DAY

HAPPY JULY 4TH!




















MAY WE ALWAYS REMEMBER
 THAT THIS IS A NATION OF
  LIBERTY, JUSTICE,
 AND BLESSINGS,
   FOR ALL.

WHOLLY WATER

   Divine Blessings on our nation,
     This truth should be self evident:
        That all men and women are created
               EQUAL.

Friday, July 2, 2010

NEW FRIEND'S BLOG

Hey,
  I have a friend who has started a new blog. Her and her mom were our closest and very dearest neighbors while my children were growing up. Now she's grown with her family and enjoying Motherhood. If you like natural things, creativity, gardening, cooking, and can relate to the woes and joys of raising children, I think you will like what she has to offer. BTW, I don't know if she realizes, that to me, her Mom is one of the most admirable people I've ever met, and I'm sure she's following the footsteps. Check out "Mamahood" ..link to the left.