Tag: hope

Daily Prompt: The Artist’s Eye

Is there a painting or sculpture you’re drawn to? What does it say to you? Describe the experience. (Or, if art doesn’t speak to you, tell us why.)

Claude Monetw1850t400

Immediately I thought of Monet’s paintings. Especially the ones of the gardens and the water lilies. I have always loved the colors and temperament imbued within the painting. Calm, restful, insightful. I could imagine myself sitting by this pond and loving every minute of the quiet outdoors. The reflections in the water. The colors of the lily. Pink, white, purple. One of my favorite things to do as a child when we would go to the lake was go to one area where the water was still and shallow and the water lilies would bloom. I only picked one once and decided not to do it again as it never was as beautiful as when it was sitting on top of the water surrounded by other Lilies and the small frogs that would swim around them and sit on their broad leaves. It’s flower reflected on the surface. When I look at the painting above it brings me back to that time and it brings happy feelings and memories. His work has always resonated with me that way.

Once I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is an experience I will never forget and I have always wished to go back. The works of art were amazing and the impression they made have never left me. There was one work of art that was so huge, especially to a young child of 8. I wondered how the artist could have painted it in his life time. But, the best paintings were the ones by Monet. I could have sat on the bench and stared at them all day. That such works of art exist and the ability of people to create such beautiful things has always been a redeeming factor for the human race in my eyes. For as long as humans can create such beauty on canvas or in stone, clay or brick walls there is hope for us.

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Laney’s Legacy

Traces of the soul completed a story using this prompt from: Mindlovemiserysmenagerie Wordle 21

Write a poem or story using 10 of these words

  1. Delicate 2. Dirty 3. Legacy 4. Shrapnel 5. Gehenna (any place of extreme torment or suffering) 6. Douse 7. Hate 8. Syringe 9. Precipice 10. Hedonistic 11. Rot 12. Disintegrate

So, I thought I would give it a try.

Laney sat against the wall of her cell. Her blue eyes stared forward as her mind worked furiously to find a way out of this. Her delicate fingers wrapped around the dirty bars of her cell and her grip tightened as she realized how long she may have been there. She had been captured at least three days ago as she tried to get the box containing the medical supplies to her people. There was an outbreak of smallpox and she had been able to scrape enough money together for the vaccination kits they needed. How many had died? How many more were sick? She had to get out of there. They had left the box sitting on a table across the room from her. A slap in her face, a taunt of her failure.

Their people had been at war off and on since the great Cataclysm and the group of survivors had split into two camps. One on each side of the mountain. Her people had built a city, a new civilization. A legacy worth leaving to their young. They loved art and music and the gentleness of life and instilling the hope for the betterment of mankind. While the Others had chosen a hedonistic, savage way of life. Always teetering on the precipice of their own destruction. The rot from within their own society would soon cause it to disintegrate, but not before they attacked her ailing people and destroyed them. She listened to the celebration below. The celebration for the impending attack and destruction of her people. Her hate grew until it tasted like bile in her mouth. She felt as if she was in hell in Gehenna. Her tears flowed, leaving tracks of white bright against the dirt that remained.

She was not bad looking, there were those that thought she was beautiful. In the end that is what most likely kept her from being killed. She was to be saved for later. She combed her fingers through her tangled hair and loosened her shirt and unbuttoned several buttons. She took a little of the water she had left and wiped her face with the edge of her shirt. She called to the guard. It didn’t take long for him to come in. She knew he was angry because he had to stay and guard her instead of going to the celebration below. He approached the cell warily, but she could see the lust in his eyes. She adjusted the shirt a little more to show more of her breast. “The sounds of the celebration have…excited me. Come here and I will give you something special, something no one has ever had.” He licked his lips and approached the bars.

“Your going to have to open that door if you want me.” Laney said as she slipped the shirt down her shoulders and onto the floor. The guard fumbled for his keys and told her to kneel on the ground with her hands in front of her. She obeyed and the guard entered the cell. As he moved toward her, his breath ragged and his voice husky as he asked her to stand and face the wall. She stood, but just as he came behind her she grabbed his groin and twisted, bringing him to his knees. She kneed him in the face and then kicked him again in the head for good measure. She was glad they hadn’t taken her steel toed boots from her. She disarmed him, grabbed her shirt and threw it on. She locked the cell door behind her and placed the strap for carrying the medical package on her shoulder.

The celebration was going on full force. Sounds of moaning, yelling, laughing echoed in the halls. She slid out of the door and headed toward the exit and the stables. There were few guards. No one expected a mere woman to escape and there would be no attack from her city tonight. She saw barrels of oil or gas by the entrance. She opened the taps and let the liquid douse the ground. She crept to the corral and opened the gate and jumped onto the back of a horse as it ran though. She had ridden bareback her whole life and she was glad of it this night. She threw down a torch from the corral onto the oil and the fire sprang to life, blocking the entrance.

She heard shouts and gunfire, but she praised the powers that be she did nor her horse were hit. She didn’t think she let her breath out until she reached her city gates. She yelled out in despair at the quiet walls. Then the doors opened and Thomas motioned for her to quickly come inside. She kicked the horse forward and was pleased to see that there were less funerary fires than before. She wasn’t too late. “Is it controlled Thomas?”

“Yes Laney, but there are still sick. Did you get the Vaccine from Charleston?” He asked as he helped from the horse. “Yes Thomas. Have everyone meet me in medical that can be inoculated. They gave me another round of medicine for those that are sick already. They said it should work for them too.”  Laney walked into the medical bay and set up to prepare the first syringe. Perhaps their legacy would survive. 

 

 

 

The Daily Post: Reviving Bricks

“You just inherited a dilapidated, crumbling-down grand mansion in the countryside. Assuming money is no issue, what do you do with it?”

I have often thought of this in my life. If I could what would I do to help people. I would fix up the home and create a shelter where people could transition from homelessness to having a home. One of the biggest issues with people who are the working homeless is that they don’t have enough money to get into an apartment, but make too much money for assistance to get into a home. The waiting lists are very long and it can take quite some time to get enough money to pay to get into an apartment. I would allow people to bring their pets and children would be allowed. There would be a large resource room for people to use computers for school and job searches.

There would have to be rules of course and admission would require that people attend workshops to learn how to handle finances, how to write resume’s and job search. There would be tutoring for GED and SAT testing. If you have alcohol, drug or anger issues you must attend counseling to deal with those issues. AA, NA, CS (Compulsive Shoppers), OE (Over-eaters Anonymous)You have to “work” to stay there. Whether it is working to find a job or working to improve yourself and your family through education and training.

I can hear people now saying that people won’t do that. Perhaps. But, for every family or person that stays and goes through the program I would probably lose two or more for various reasons. It is difficult to change and I have no problem helping people make the changes they need. But, I will not coddle them and I will not allow people to stay who won’t work on their problems. If they don’t they could just end up right back where they started. It isn’t enough to give someone a place to stay or rent for a month. They have to be taught and sometimes pushed into getting out of the cycle they are in.

But imagine if I could get even three families or people to change within a year. Imagine those people spread what they have learned to others. Imagine that in 10 years I could have helped 30 families to find their way out of their cycle of poverty and despair. Wouldn’t that be worth it?

I was going to delete my blog Because I can….

I have not been writing enough for myself lately. No posts, just answering comments, giving my thoughts to what other people are saying. It allows me a voice, but it isn’t the same as writing for myself and telling my own stories. I have been very down on myself as of late. I have not been positive and I have not been doing what I need to do in order to become more positive. My blog is “Because I can” for a reason. A reason that I was allowing myself to forget. I was forgetting that I can. 

I read this story tonight and it has inspired me to continue with trying to write, to blog and learn. 

http://aishakhan0208.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/i-am-a-woman-who-survived

I am going to write a mission statement of sorts to myself. it is a reaffirmation and statement of what I believe. It is what I will continue to live by. No matter what anyone says.

What happened in my life was terrible. There are scars, there is still pain. But, I am not going to list everything that happened to me. I will not continually revisit it without purpose. When I do talk about it, I will be using my experiences to help others to find their strength. To find options and to find a way to get out of the darkness. I want to be able to show others going through similar experiences that they can come out the other side and not just survive, but be happy and survive. What has having those awful things happen to me done for me? It has taught me compassion for another. It has taught me to be non-judgmental. I will not give in to fear. I can be strong and become stronger. 

I will not give in to anger and fear. I have been allowing fear and anger of what is happening in the world, and what some people have said to me to cloud my judgement and my faith. When you  become angry and you give in to fear, it can lead to irrational thought. When you become irrational you cannot see the path. You cannot hear the truth. It blinds you to your faith. Faith leads you from fear and helps you to find the path and allows you to see more than what you think possible. 

I will be compassionate. I would prefer to err on the side of compassion and not have to worry about answering to God as to why I would turn my back on my brothers and sisters. 

I believe in the right of all people to love whom they choose. As long as they are an adult of legal age and consensual.

I believe in allowing the existence of all faiths as long as they do not interfere with the practice of another’s faith or harm another person. I have to admit that I am conflicted with this one as I do not believe that Sharia law is a humane practice and that the violence perpetrated against women in the name of honor (which is not honorable at all) gives me some issues. 

I happen to believe in the premise of the Constitution of the United States and it’s original intention. We have a great country. Even with all our problems. We the people of this country hold so much power in our hands. We can control our own destinies if we would just think, not be so reactionary and really value the freedoms that we have. We can speak, we can write, we can protest-peacefully. There are so many countries where that is not possible. 

I really believe we need a ” Celebrate Humanity Month”. This month will celebrate the diverse nature of humanity. We should have block parties and discussions and make opportunities to mend fences with our neighbors. There needs to be open discussions on race and how to improve relations between all the races that live in this country. Improved education in the schools that really stress the accomplishments of all races in the development of inventions and in the creation of this country. Our country was founded on the blood of the Native Americans, white slavery, black slavery, Asian slavery. There is no getting around that. What we can do is move past it and realize that while it matters how we got here, it matters even more where we are going. And where we end up is up to all of us. 

I believe in the right to bear arms. While it has been said that letting everyone have a gun is tantamount to creating an old west scenario, that is just not the truth. Of course there needs to be education, regulation and punishment for the breaking of the rules. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. “If they didn’t have a gun, they wouldn’t have killed someone” is an argument I have heard before. People killed each other before there were guns, they will continue to do so with or without them. I prefer to be able to defend myself if someone threatens me or my family. 

I realize as I am typing this, there is so much I believe, so much I want to talk about in my life. Too much to write about now.

I will speak my mind, write my stories and poems, post my photographs. Yes, I am going to do that. 

 

 

 

A prayer

Image

These flowers had the most wonderful scent.

I saw this on a friends post in one of my email groups and I really liked it. It spoke to me of what I would like to do and to be.

Forever Oneness,
who sings to us in silence,
who teaches us through each other.
Guide my steps with strength and wisdom.
May I see the lessons as I walk,
honor the Purpose of all things.
Help me touch with respect,
always speak from behind my eyes.
Let me observe, not judge.
May I cause no harm,
and leave music and beauty after my visit.
When I return to forever
may the circle be closed
and the spiral be broader.
 
 ~ Bee Lake ~

 

Worst Case Scenario

One of the daily prompts is writing about a Worst Case Scenario. The immediate situation that came to mind is the loss of my family. If I was to lose my husband, my children, my grandchildren I know it would take all the strength within me to want to continue to live. I know I could survive. I have had to survive many bad and terrible situations. And I have done so reasonably well. But, the loss of my family would definitely be a near deal breaker to me. And what could keep me from giving up, from just letting myself go and die to be with them? The thought of how disappointed they would be. I would survive for them. And the thought that if I was still living and something so terrible had happened that wiped out my whole family I would know that God had something else for me to do. I am here for a purpose. I know that to the depth of my soul. If I was left behind then I know my purpose has not been fulfilled and I have more to do.

What would I do? I would find others to help. I would reach out to my brothers and sister. I would find my purpose which I have begun to realize is that I am here to help others. I am here to look outside of myself. And that is how you survive such a terrible thing. Is to find purpose and realize that God is still with you. There are people that would tell me that if there is a God and if he is a loving God he would never let such bad things happen. Especially to a person of faith. And I would tell them that I know that God is with me and he loves me. He is a good parent. He is there to spiritually support me, but he does not pull my strings, he does not do it all for me.

A child never learns to walk if they are carried all the time. There will be tears, scrapes and hurts that you feel you can never get over. But, you can and each event, each pain and your survival from it will help you to grow as a person, as a spirit. It is so difficult to see this at times and I throw temper tantrums like a three year old child. Stomping my feet and yelling til I am hoarse. It doesn’t change anything. I have to move through the pain and I have to move through the grief that has been in my life.

HaHa..I just thought of something. I thought okay..is what you said true if you lost your family and are still alive and you are hurt and can’t walk or move and you are lying out on a dirt road or in a field with no one around. Would I feel the same way. I would be angry, I would shout out to the sky..”ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!!” Then I would pull myself along, yelling and screaming until I couldn’t move anymore. And I would think okay. If I am meant to survive someone will come. If not then it is my time and I will see all those I have loved and lost again. And I hope that I will have lived my life well and thank God for the time he has given me.

Staying positive

It has been a difficult week to stay positive this week. I keep trying to remind myself of positive aspects of my life. When you create a blog called “Because you can..” I feel that you need to try to keep a positive tone. That is one of the primary reasons I created the blog was to help myself to create a positive feel and increase positive thinking in my life. It has helped a great deal. It has just been harder this week because the fibromyalgia and the pain I feel has been so intense. But, I have continued to be active, I have continued to try and watch what I eat. (Except for tonight I have to admit, but back on the wagon tomorrow)I got my husband to actually clean the closet. That was a task that needed done for awhile. I wanted to give away my size 14/16 clothes, but my husband and I talked and he said that I would do it. I can do it. It will take work and it will take effort. Effort I sometimes feel I don’t have to give. A 15 minute walk is better than no walk. That trying to do the whole 2 mile course is just as important as completing it some days. 

I just want people out there who read my blog to know that I understand there are down days and there are days that you don’t want to try or days that you don’t want to try. But, even if it is something as simple as opening the door and taking some deep breaths. That is something. It is because you can. It is because you can reach for that final thread and hold tight with all your might and then keep finding the threads and holding on and weaving them back into a thin rope, then a thicker rope. It can happen. A good thought, a calming thought, a thought of because I can do this will enter your mind and hopefully make you feel better.