Honey, money and a moon
In Freya's mailbox this morning . . .
On this date in 1215, England's King John was handed an ultimatum drawn up by a group of his barons, which became the Magna Carta.
Today is the birth date of Edward Lear. The artist, writer and master of the limerick was born on this day in the 1812 London suburb of Holloway.
It's the 116th anniversary of Katharine Hepburn's birth. The iconic actress was born on this date in 1907 Hartford, Connecticut. Recalling her brisk New England accent, you can almost hear her reciting Lear:
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to seaIn a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note. . .
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon. – Edward Lear
What do you love to do that feeds you just in the doing and at the same time
provides a horizon of harvest in the future for yourself? – David Whyte
No time like the present . . .
It's Odin's day in Okieland and only he knows where else.
The cardinal sin of the writer is falsifying life. You have no right to falsify life, ever. – Mari Sandoz, born 127 years ago today. The novelist was born on this date in 1896 Mirage Flats, south of Hay Springs, Nebraska.
The apostles of Christianity wedded to the empire we owe to Constantine, have done their best to erase the sensual information at the heart of the Gospels. But they didn’t [and don't] realize that the Magdalene didn’t need a book or a church to keep her message alive. It lives in the body. – Sophie Strand.
Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all true art. – Joanna Macy
Today is the 129th anniversary of Martha Graham's birth. (1894), The modern dance pioneer was born in 1894 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, founded in 1926, is now the oldest, continually performing dance company in the world and is beginning a new season of original work this Spring and Summer.
Remarkable others born on this date include Irving Berlin in 1888, “King” Joseph Oliver in 1885, Richard Feynman in 1918, and Salvador Dali in 1904
“No artist is ahead of his time. He is his time; it is just that others are behind the time.” – Martha Graham.
Dusting impermanence
Today is Odin’s Day and here in Okieland even May can be dusty . . .
Its the 114th anniversary in1909 of Maybelle Carter's birth. The country and folk musician was born Maybelle Addington in a tiny hamlet near Nickelsville in western Virginia. Considered the founding Mother of country music, she is credited with inventing the “scratch” form of guitar playing that brought it from a background to a lead instrument.
Today in 1940 Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister. and one year later on the same date, 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 incendiary bombs during the worst of the London Blitz, destroying England’s House of Commons.
. . .impermanence never takes a break. There is never a moment when we’re not in transition—and believe it or not this is good news. The elements that make up this unique moment of your life all came into being at some point; soon those elements will disperse and this experience will be over (being replaced ongoingly with yet more and different elements). – after Pema Chödrön
Gandhi said, “The seeker after truth
should be humbler than the dust.”
Wherever we go, it follows.
I take a damp cloth, swipe the windowsills,
the lamp’s taut shade, run a finger
over the dining room table.
And still, it returns, settling in the gaps
between floorboards, gilding the edges
of unread books. What could be more loyal,more lonely, and unsung?
– from Dust, by Danusha Laméris