Category Archives: Essays

November 28, 2015

Sunday’s Week in Review – 29 November 2015

Busy busy week, but I had some time off from work, so some extra opportunities to reflect and write. (My favorite thing to do!)

We lost one of our own this week. The lovely Barbara Beacham who brought us Monday’s Finish the Story Challenge and many inspirational photographs that fueled other flash fiction and poetry challenges. She will be missed. Rest in peace dear lady and love and healing to her family.

And then there was the rest of this week. The world has continued to spin out of control, but there is one constant for all of us. Life. In all its crazy manifestations, life is the muse that fuels our art and the words that we spill out onto the page or blast on our blank computer screens. Life is a precious gift always.

And so we gave thanks here in the U.S. this week for the blessing of life. We’re a rough and raucous lot, we humans, but we can’t do this alone. The good news is, more and more folks are figuring out that we’re in this together. I suspect there may be hope for our kind yet. Call me a dreamer!

With gratitude then, for this forum…for all you lovely souls here, and the families and communities you / we all represent…let’s devote ourselves to being kind to one another. Just once each day. More if you like. The world won’t mind. Peace and Blessings to you! We can do this. 🙂

~ kat ~

Sunday’s Week in Review – 29 November 2015

It’s not that I’m incapable of a logical thought.
her sinister smile was the last thing he saw…
It had been a long journey…
Cats purr and doves coo coo
How easily we lose ourselves
She wanted the sun.
(a) Complicated life
We grumble for more.
…safe from the monsters she didn’t know.
The rousing “Surprise!” gave him his answer.
As a grateful community cheered!
…I think we’ll be safe!
we’ll have plenty of time to simmer …
“Are you gonna miss all this?”
Millions of people do this every day.
Nocturnal creatures
Dementia slowly, insidiously, devoured her mind.
but for now the wind is calling me to dance and it’s going to be fabulous!
Scrabble was her game!

kat ~ 29 November 2015

If you’re new to this blog, a bit of background to explain the verse above. It is a line from each poem or prose from the previous week. Lifted and placed in the order written. A snapshot review of the week. It helps me to prepare for the upcoming week with a clean the slate. 🙂

6 Comments | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Poetry, Random Thoughts and Musings, Week in Review

November 22, 2015

Variations on a Dream

By Kat Myrman

Photo by kat 2015

Poetry challenge #6: two styles of poems from Jane Dougherty. Read more HERE.

The first poem style: Cinquain – syllable rule: five line poem on any theme with syllables following a 2-4-6-8-2 pattern.

Second poem is in the ‘words’ style: 1-2-3-4-1 pattern of words where the first is a noun, the second two adjectives describing the noun, three and four description, emotion, and the last word a synonym for the first noun.

Cinquain:

At dawn
Shadows frolic
Cats purr and doves coo coo
Rousing me from restless slumber
To dream.

Word Style:

Daydreaming
Diversionary, Nonsensical
Detours from reality
How easily we lose ourselves
Mind tripping.

kat ~ 22 November 2015

12 Comments | posted in Challenges and Writing Prompts, Essays, Poetry

November 22, 2015

Flights of Fancy

By Kat Myrman

Most of the time I operate from the right side of my brain. I’ve confirmed this through exhaustive testing via social media personality quizzes, so I know it’s true. By the way, don’t you just love those? I now know my aura colors, who I was in a previous life, what my power animal is, and of course, that I am right-brained!

This can be problematic when reason and logic are called for, but in general I manage just fine. Those who know and love me have learned to accept my flights of fancy without so much as a blink. It’s not that I’m incapable of a logical thought. It just takes a bit more concentration for me to get there.

Being an artistic type, I see things. Some might quip that I see things that aren’t there. But they are…there, of course. I like to think of them as muses that nurture the art I create. The best art tells a story or holds a universal truth or simply touches the heart, forever changing us.

Take my walk with the dog this morning. To some, the plastic drop cloth twisted in the pine tree in my neighbor’s yard amounts to nothing more than litter. A nuisance, suspended just high enough that a ladder is required to reach it. And so it flaps there in the wind day in and day out. But this morning? This morning it caught my eye.

photo by kat 2015

At first glance it looked like an eye looking back at me. But then, as I stepped back to catch a different angle I saw my morning’s lesson. It’s a common theme. The battle of good and evil that jousts in my head.

If you can’t see it, allow me to enlighten you. On the right we have good…angelic, winged, opaque. The opaque part surprised me. I always assumed that truth is transparent. In actuality, truth is absolute.

photo by kat 2015

On the left we have the darker side of one’s nature. A sharp-edged shadowy figure with a hollow belly. (I’ll let you simmer on that one for a minute.)

In the blink of my eye, a pine tree with trash stuck in its limbs has become a reminder to me that there are two sides to my nature. A light and dark side. And that they face off regularly. Especially when I neglect necessary house cleaning because it might be a little bit hard, or require assistance…like a ladder…or a bridge (I just added this last part…an expanded reflection that I am taking away from this encounter.)

Oh…I see your raised eyebrow. A bit of a stretch? Too bizarre an imagination, you say?

It’s okay if you don’t see what I see. If all you see is garbage hanging from a tree. I need your perspective too. I guess that’s why they say “two heads are better than one.”

Have a great Sunday!

~kat / 22 November 2015

8 Comments | posted in Digital Art & Photos, Essays, Random Thoughts and Musings

November 21, 2015

A Miracle in the Star City

By Kat Myrman

The #realRoanoke gathered last night, close to 300 strong, on a Friday night when the Valley was bustling with Concerts, Black-Tie events and various HS Football Games. Beautiful souls, young and old, representing the incredible diversity of our community, chose to tell the world that we are a welcoming, inclusive town…even to refugees…even in the face of terrorism, the real Roanoke welcomes all who might seek haven here in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It felt like a miracle to me. Smiling faces…welcoming faces…the love in the room was a tangible sign of hope!

Photo Credit: Freeda Cathcart

We met inside the UU church, standing room only filling the main hall, adjoining spill over room and lobby. But I had no sense that a religious affiliation was requisite. What drew us to this place was our common humanity.

Panoramic View by Jason Garrett

We started off with a rousing tournament of Rock-Paper-Scussors! Rising to the top was a fellow named Gary, followed, in second place, by a delightful 10 year old girl. When asked what she thought about her victory she smiled and said, “It’s kinda’ weird.” It was weird and beautiful and crazy and magnificent…the night Roanoke got real.

We heard refugee testimonials. And took away a few tools as we go forward in this scary, brave new world. Yes people are scared. Fear causes one to act out in all sorts of irrational ways. Before we left, our organizer, Delegate Sam Rasoul gave us a lesson in the art of dialog that I will close with. As he said, it’s as easy as A-B-C. With family gatherings coming up, I hope you find this useful!

A…ACKNOWLEDGE…When brooching a controversial topic with someone, listen to their side. Then acknowledge…”I get what you’re saying…”

B…BRIDGE…I know what you’re thinking…B is for a big fat “BUT”…but you should NEVER follow an acknowledgment with a but. No ifs ands or buts about it. You’ve listened to their side and acknowledged it. It’s time to share yours. The bridge phrase our wise Delagate suggested to avoid shutting down the conversation with a “but” was to simply say, “here’s the thing…” There’s a “thing”? Most people, he said, will be curious enough to let you tell them what the “thing” is.

And C…CONVINCE. This is where facts come in handy with references and a dose of personal sentiment so that you can show that you care. Use the phrase…”that is why…”

The following is an example of the A-B-C’s of discussing hot topics.

On the topic of refugees…

“I get what you’re saying and understand why you are scared to let strangers come here…here’s the thing…the conservative think tank, the Cato institute recently revealed the findings of a study that says “of the 859,629 refugees admitted from 2001 onwards, only three have been convicted of planning terrorist attacks on targets outside of the United States, and none was successfully carried out.” That is why I believe welcoming refugees is the right thing to do and doesn’t pose the threat that some would have us believe.”

Then let it simmer. Congratulations! You’ve just had a two way conversation that seemed impossible just a few short steps ago.

I wish you and yours a happy season of thanksgiving, family gatherings and productive dialog as we join together to realize our collective hopes and dreams for peace.

Peace & Love,

kat ~ 21 November 2015

6 Comments | posted in Essays, Random Thoughts and Musings, Social Issues, Spirituality