Turns Out, It Is True!

This morning at some point, 40,000 households in Douglas County, Georgia, serviced by GreyStone Power lost electrical service. It was after 2 am for me because that is when I went to bed. If you need proof I sleep like the dead; I did not know a thing about it. However, when I woke at 7:30 am, it was very dark. I plotted a path to the restroom with a flashlight and returned to bed.

‘The power will be on when I get back up,’ was my thought as I snuggled in. When I got up at 10:30 am, nothing electrical was working.

Usually, if I have a warning, I charge up everything and make sure I am prepared. This storm, at least for me, came out of nowhere. I do not have a weather radio due to harrowing previous experience with one in my past existence.

At 10:30 am, I was shaken and had nothing that was not sugary to eat. Even my cell phone would not work. You can key the scary music, because this is one of those situations where I am terrified.

I got in the Explorer and drove to the library. God must have known how bad I needed some people, because a young gentleman and lady asked me was it open after I had gone to the door. It was not. We talked a few minutes and agreed our cell phones were out, hers’ being Sprint and mine Boost, which uses Sprint’s towers. They were there to vote, and that was partly my purpose.

I went to town for food and ate at Del Taco’s outdoor table. I had to be where I could see people, even in cars.

I went to Sam’s Club and bought some dog food, drinks, and food. When I returned home – the power was still out. I had perishables in the refrigerator and freezer at risk, plus groceries I had just gotten. I cried and prayed and hoped.

Around 5 pm, the power came on. I have been loving my house and my things since. I have repeatedly said, “Thank you, God!” I am still without computers, but how sweet electricity is.

About that thing where everyone runs to the store to buy sandwich fixings and water, maybe milk, I get it now. Some things will teach you they are true. I got schooled today.

Do not let the weather catch you sleeping, as Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared!”

I Keep Holding On

When shadows lie deep, I sometimes turn to things leftover from brighter days to find strength to keep me.

Lord, help me; I need a star to lead me through this dark. Thank Jesus, He guards my heart and soul.

There is not enough of me to write as I do. I have to find more together than this scatter of particles.

Specs

When we choose to create, whole universes rise to meet our inclination, which can, on occasion, be intimidating. What we know about process, creation, may not lend itself at the moment to production. Time may swirl its vaporous fogs around us. We may need to filter the nectar from the dew.

A useful tool for creative sessions we find in music. Often, we have many favorites and find it fortuitous to add artists to our listening consistently. There are numerous choices in ways to find and enjoy music these days. Every taste meets ample representation.

An exercise one might do, is to take a song well enjoyed, enter it, imbibe its mood, let the lyrics move the spirit; then write, paint, create something original from what one finds in the experience. Music is heart and soul; it is a gift always filling lives.

Equally, photos can be a catalyst for inspiration. Looking through photos offers a bevy of ideas. Personal and family photos, magazines, Instagram, and other online services should serve well enough. Create as whim and wish may direct.

Random words found in various places can be material to seed many works. Dictionaries, quotations, thesauri, signs will work, or pick some out of the air.

There is never a dearth of creativity; it infuses every portion of reality and imagination. The trick is to harness it and make with it some beauty to honor who we are in the world. At times like these, love is sorely needed and can be delivered expertly through our creations.

So T’is

We, a masterpiece,
Painted love upon the present
Never are erased,
Caresses full of ardor
Colored words our wild passion.

I believed in you
Long enough to breathe your life
Into what was mine,
Now we are never alone
Bound each to one another.

Fixed pieces within
A frame carefully cited
Who we are and may
Become on some future day;
Art skillfully executed.

The purse lies empty,
No one dares to refill it,
Because they want no
Part of its obligation;
Owning possibilities.

I cannot ever
Know because it is yours to
Take, to carry on,
But I love you – despite grief,
Which will not have you, the thief.

If you wish, your prompt is to create things that demonstrate how you have reality in hand but are somehow outside it. Dare to be the freedom that expresses what is yours and yet beyond yourself. Life is a crucible, be the alchemy.