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Peace to you and yours,

{Echo} 9 - Illuminate

"The sun illuminates only the eye of man,

but shines into the eye and the heart of a child"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

(Illuminate Composition: Boy with sparkler © Brenda Lynn / Fireworks © Alyice Edrich)

 My "baby" is turning 21 this Sunday. That fact nearly leaves me speechless. (Not nearly as speechless, however, as the first gray hair plucked from my head yesterday during my trim. Ah, but that's another post for another time.) In the meantime, the {Echo} prompt this go-round is "Illuminate". These two seemingly unconnected matters actually had me pondering how my "baby" has become a man right before my eyes, though somehow I feel I've missed the show. What I do know is that though I was to be teaching him in the ways of life and the world, he has instead been the purest light in my life and illuminated not only my world, but me.

Thank you, Son, for reminding me daily to look past what my eyes can see.

I'd also like to thank Alyice Edrich, my {Echo} partner, for encouraging me to plant the good seeds and never fearing to tell me when it's time to weed. A hearty thank you also to Susan Tuttle and Chrysti Hydeck, the creators of the {Echo} Project. Chrysti does a great job keeping this boat floating when I know she can't find her own oars some days. Full sails ahead!

Please take a moment to visit my partner Alyice Edrich's version of Illuminate and our other diptych here. You might also enjoy a visit to the {Echo} Project and see the work of the other participants.

Peace to you and yours,

{Echo} 8 - "Juicy"

I've often wondered, "If winter is so white, then why do I feel so blue?"

Granted, living with BiPolar Disorder means living with a susceptibility to long periods of depression, especially during the winter months. However, a large portion of the population as a whole suffers with SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is brought on during long periods of diminished sunlight. Of course one can take medication to ward off the symptoms of depression, but then there is a pill for everything these days. Yes, you sense a bit of sarcasm there. I'm not saying medication is not warranted. I take medication. But I am also a firm believer in taking a mind set that encourages its own well being and recovery. With that in mind, I've compiled a short "David Letterman-esque" list of ways to get through a Blue-Day white day:

Listen to a "Sun-Shiny" tune:

Grow and save summer in a jar:

 

 or a tall frosty glass.

Savor the reminder of melodious crickets and cicadas

(and blades of grass under bare feet).

Left © Alyice Edrich / Right © Brenda Lynn

Pull out your paints, your paper, pencils, markers, etc. Heck, pull it all out. Scatter it about you. Immerse yourself in all their succulent, juicy colors and spread sunshine on your palette.
Build an eternal summer on your canvas.

Take long walks on sunny days, even when you feel buried alive:

 
Always, always search out the beauty in the bleak:

  

And often there's humor in the bleak as well:

Lastly, try to keep in mind:

"In the depths of winter I finally learned that there was in me

an invincible summer." ~Albert Camus

In other words, it's up to you. Yes, some folks undeniably need the additional help of medications to help stabilize their moods. I am one of them. Regardless, how we set our minds and how we spend our time has a dramatic impact on the severity and duration of our Blue-Day moods.

This little list is not meant as a "fix-all", nor is it exhaustive. It is simply what helps me get through our long mid-western winters. Simple healthy habits like regular sleep and diet are also very important. My point here is simply to encourage you to see the glass half-full, no matter your circumstance. Find the beauty in the bleak. Play a sun-shiny tune. Paint that eternal summer across the canvas of your soul.

Please visit my partner Alyice Edrich's Juicy post here. For more on the Echo Project, please click through with the icon on the top right sidebar.

Peace to you and yours,

Snowy Sunday #5

The fifth snowy Sunday in a row made me sort of grumpy

and lazy. Even the birds were braver than I. Well, I suppose

they don't really have a choice in the matter, and even they

were sort of grumpy, too. But then

they get over it pretty quickly. Which, all in all, helped

me forget my grumpies too.

Peace to you and yours,

{Echo} 7 - Whisper

I've been unable to take part in the {Echo} project lately. Another blood clot in my leg forced me down, and the resulting depression forced me out. Lying there for weeks on end my body unable to move, my mind gladly took over. It hopped, skipped and jumped. It whirled and twirled and tore across fields and sprang somersaults across my peace. It gladly had the fun my body could not... but really, that sort of mind energy is not so fun. It's nearly maddening, to be quite honest. How fitting the 7th {Echo} prompt: Whisper. Oh, for the softening solace of a hushed whisper, something like a summer rain or a baptismal, cleansing and calming my racing mind.


Staring at the ceiling counting cornered cobwebs for the umpteenth time, I pondered the Whispers so soothing to my soul: rustling stalks of corn reaching the deep blue of late fall skies, lakeside water lapping rocky shores, hummingbirds searching out sweet nectar, loving professions tickling the hairs of your ear, girlfriends sharing all too well-known secrets. But a certain image, a specific time kept creeping in, coming back and playing across my mind like a somersault. A whisper shared only between a certain two, and only once in a lifetime... the soothing whisper of a new mother's love:

"It was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart." ~Judy Garland

And in that moment, that very moment, I found that softening solace. A quiet stillness that brought me back to me, and hushed my busy mind. A whisper.

Peace to you and yours,

A Wordless Wednesday