Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.
– Stephen Hawking
Don’t let holiday madness hold you captive or masquerade as a temple of gold. Put away your plastic and perform an act of wonder. Wonder how we got here – ponder where we’re going. Reflect on marvels and marvel at reflections. Denounce men who gloat with power and uphold the power of love. Cash in unwanted expectations before they cash in on you. Gaze at the night sky and inventory stars, consider all the pin dot particles (like you and me) that swirl around the universe. And search for truth under every random rock.
In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.
– Patti Smith
Whether your magi (wise men and women) hail from biblical, scientific or creative realms, may they guide you through the gates of curiosity. May you attract the unexpected and make connections you’ve yet to dream. Imagine you’re in New York and wander into MoMA just before Christmas to view the current exhibitions. You and several hundred other visitors happen upon an impromptu performance in the garden lobby by punk poet laureate Patti Smith to celebrate the birth (December 19, 1910) of French writer and political activist Jean Genet. Smith reaches for her guitar and sings four songs in honor of the spirit of her idol. She reaches for her glasses and dedicates poems to actor/playwright Sam Shepard and photographer Diane Arbus. And with stealth and balance, she also infuses the unannounced event with her own political activism singing “the power to dream, to rule, to wrestle the world from fools.”
When you’re writing, you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.
– Tom Waits
The glitz and glitter of the holidays can lure us to distraction, never mind the dreaded expectations. I tripped all over myself conjuring up this festive blessing – almost made the someday pact with the devil. But at some point you must slay the dragon of procrastination. Damn him with a deadline and ignite a new creation. Divine irrational inspiration – then get out of your own way.
May your phrases shimmy and slither, your illusions dance and mingle.
May your images ascend through time, indelible through space.
May the words of Martin Luther King and Gandhi fill your stocking, may it be stitched with Lennon’s plea for peace. Imagine!
May our sacred earth endure from the depths of our azure seas to the greening of our trees.
May you champion freedom – freedom to express, freedom of the press, freedom to choose, accept or refuse, freedom to love.
May the unexpected exceed your expectations.
May you look up at the stars – try to make sense of what you see. May you always wonder.
And in the spirit of the mystic poet Merton –
May you both find yourself and lose yourself through an act of art.
May you do it with abandon!
Peace, Joy & Wonder! Happy Holidays!
Really nice–thanks Martha!
Thank you Martha. Thank you for words of such beauty, rhythm and grace. Back to you tenfold and to all who love you and all who you love. You are an inspiration, an encouragement….and always up for a good laugh! My fortune is having you in my life.
Martha- What a nice message. All the best to you. Would love to see you in the new year!
Beautiful thoughts to begin this holiday with…..love to you, Martha
Thank you Martha. As always, sensitive and beautifully written. Poetry for the soul!
You said it all – I wish you happy holidays and all you want for yourself and your family for the New Year.
Susan
Absolutely beautiful, Martha! I wish you a very creative and wonderous holiday season and a prosperous new year.
Each new blog becomes my favorite. Not because I'm fickle. It's more like a sense of rebirth or renewal each time I read the latest installation. The poetry of your words reach down to my core. I ponder and reflect and never fail to find inspiration. Thank you for your generosity and what you bring to me and so many others. Wishing you a year filled with goodness and all that your heart desires.