Category Archives: Essays

Flights of Fancy

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


A Miracle in the Star City

  
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 


#realroanoke

This is happening now in Roanoke, VA. I am here with hundreds of beautiful people! We are a diverse inclusive loving community…despite what our Mayor wrote…peace to everyone on this night of miracles! 

  


Lady of the Woods ~ A Haiku Trio

I received a request from my friend Lynn, a fellow blogger of the site, “LynzRealCooking“, to write a Haiku inspired by an incredible photo she took while on a walk at a nearby arboretum. 

You should visit her blog. As its title suggests, you will find a variety of wonderful recipes that she has perfected over the years while raising her 9 children. But an added bonus and the heart of her blog are the compelling stories she shares from her life as a young mother raising children in the middle sat. Click HERE to visit Lynn’s blog.

I wrote a trio of Haiku inspired by Lynn’s tree photo. If you look closely at the tree on the right, I hope you’ll see “her”. 

Photo Credit: Lynn Swisher 2015

 

Lady of the Woods
Fragile limbs exposed await
Rebirth in the Spring.

Rebirth in the Spring
Reveals a resilience 
Surging from her core…

Surging from her core
Audacious perseverance
Weath’ring every storm.

~kat ~ 8 November 2015


Sunday’s Week In Review – 8 November 2015

A tad early…I have a busy day tomorrow so I decided to do my Sunday Week in Review a wee bit early. Have a great Sunday! Actually…it IS tomorrow (Sunday) for some of you so…it’s all good, eh?! 😊

It’s time to look back once again on a very full, and it seems from the aggregated verse below, quite a reflective week. 

I love this week’s review. It speaks of this season of change and letting go and reinforces the truth that even in endings there can be great beauty and peace when one is able to surrender to the process. 

Of course, you may not get all of this when you read the string of verse below. I suppose it is because I am in the Autumn of my own life that the lessons I’ve gleaned from this week are so poignant. 

May the coming week be a treasure trove of blessings to you. Thanks for stopping by and entertaining my rambling. Peace out fellow Word Pressers! 

IMG_5237-0
Sunday’s Week in Review – 8 November 2015

They found something more.
I hope you don’t mind
I have an amazing story to tell!
A moment spent breathing…
She stood tall and lovely against the crystal blue sky.
I keep forgetting…
Coming to the end of one’s
season is not pretty and yet…
On beds draped in mist
like fireflies and faeries
dance to cricket song.
Maybe we need a second opinion?”
in time for some wintry zzzz’s.

~kat ~ 8 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 clean the slate…reflect, and ready myself for the new week.