My Blog

Antoine de Saint-Exupery - Quotes

neswstar - pc — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:40:04 GMT

“Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction” “Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself” “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Another poem

neswstar - pc — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:54:35 GMT

I never feel more given to than when you take from me - when you understand the joy I feel giving to you. And you know my giving isn't done to put you in my debt, but because I want to live the love I feel for you. To receive with grace may be the greatest giving. There's no way I can separate the two. When you give to me, I give you my receiving. When you take from me, I feel so given to. -- Song "Given To" (1978) by Ruth Bebermeyer

spinning

neswstar - pc — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:59:53 GMT

Spinning round and round burning taking time, wasting time wanting to go faster make the hands go faster make the change come faster make it all better now dissipate the pain round and round in my brain dizzy sick move move on move beyond drop cover and roll breath

"The Invitation" by Opriah Mountain Dancer

neswstar - pc — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 20:28:22 GMT

IT DOESN'T INTEREST ME WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened to life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the moon, "Yes!" It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I wan to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Another poem

neswstar - pc — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:28:18 GMT

We Have Come to Be Danced We have come to be danced Not the pretty dance Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance But the claw our way back into the belly Of the sacred, sensual animal dance The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance The holding the precious moment in the palms Of our hands and feet dance. We have come to be danced Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance But the wring the sadness from our skin dance The blow the chip off our shoulder dance. The slap the apology from our posture dance. We have come to be danced Not the monkey see, monkey do dance One two dance like you One two three, dance like me dance But the grave robber, tomb stalker Tearing scabs and scars open dance The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance. We have come to be danced Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama Shaman shakinb ancient bones dance The strip us from our casings, return our wings Sharpen our claws and tongues dance The shed dead cells and slip into The luminous skin of love dance. We have come to be danced Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance But the meeting of the trinity: the body, breath and beat dance The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance The mother may I? Yes you may take ten giant leaps dance The olly olly oxen free free free dance The everyone can come to our heaven dance. We have come to be danced Where the kingdoms collide In the cathedral of flesh To burn back into the light To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray To root in skin sanctuary We have come to be danced! We have come. by Jewel Mathieson

From one of Char's favorite Poets

neswstar - pc — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:03:24 GMT

When I Met My Muse I glanced at her and took my glasses off—they were still singing. They buzzed like a locust on the coffee table and then ceased. Her voice belled forth, and the sunlight bent. I felt the ceiling arch, and knew that nails up there took a new grip on whatever they touched. "I am your own way of looking at things," she said. "When you allow me to live with you, every glance at the world around you will be a sort of salvation." And I took her hand. —William Stafford

Another weekend carving

neswstar - pc — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:44:07 GMT

There are now 12 goddess guarding the bar.

Shaniko - Oregon's oldest living ghost town

neswstar - pc — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 20:48:52 GMT

In the middle of no-where Oregon is a very small town that use to be a large town. Early 1900's population 3,000. The end of the railroad line. The largest wool producing capital in the world - in it's day. Now the population is ~24. There is an old historic hotel and a dozen retail operations. Run by locals, folks from near by towns and some weekends from Vancover. It's open mainly on the weekends. The hotel and cafe close down most of the week. In it's day - there were 5-6 bars and quite a few brothels. What's more interesting is what was missing: no chruchs and no cemetaries. The place is haunted. This is where I have spent the last 2 weekends and most likely the next. It is very other worldly. Mostly in an old west small town kind of way. Returning from there is much like returning from a festival. It's hard. It's weird to have a glimsp into a place so different. It makes me appreciate that there are a lot of differnt ways in this world, and that the choice is mine.

Biking

neswstar - pc — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:23:56 GMT

Okay - I just have to unload. This morning I get on my bike ( nicknamed "the tank" - because it weighs a good 30 plus pounds)- right outside of Bob's house, the BF. I mount on the sidewalk and roll to the end of the block. There is a stop sign there. It sits on the same corner as Bob's house. I know it well. A car stopped and went thru as I was drawing close to the sign - but was well on it's way when I got to the sign. There were no other cars or pedestrians around. I watched the car come to a stop at the next intersection - where the stop sign is only the other cross walk. I wondered if they were lost. But no, this driver had actually stopped to yell at me that there was a stop sign at the last intersection. What the hell- did she think I was blind or unaware of the traffic and traffic patterns - after watching me come out of the back gate. I don't get it. We all have to trust. We all risk, whether we are drivers of cars or motor bikes or bicycles. But the reality is when a car rolls a stop they are more likly to get crunched than killed or paralyzed. As a biker in the city during cummute hours, I know what level of awarness I need to be at. Bikes do not have to be able to put 2 feet on the ground to stop. They do have to slow down and be able to react quickly. Are there some that are abusive of the rules - yes. But I've seen a great deal more accidents with cars rolling the sign and being unaware - than bikers being agressive and/or stupid. My ride continued and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Things like - if you ever got your fat lazy ass onto a bike and rode it to the store or to work - than maybe you would understand better how biking works. Then my thoughts wandered to - what would be the impact on the morning commute if every bike I saw ( at least 20 on my commute this morning) was driving a car. Then something happened. I came up to a very busy one-way at 12 th- just out of Ladds Addition one block S of Hawthorn. The light is at Hawthorn - there is no light where the bike route goes. There were 4 of us - a girl on a daily commuter like mine and 2 racer looking dudes behind. The intersection was jammed and backing up quickly at the light. Then a guy in an SUV stopped for us - and the neighboring lane driver following suit and stopped as well. The funny part was listening to the 2 racer dudes behind me reflect on how they have never been anything but give the finger at that intersection. So with that I was given hope. yes there are a few stupid or aggressive bike riders - there are some drivers that fit that discription too. Maybe there are a few drivers out there willing to share and to understand.