2022 Creativity Project – Day 6

Open the door on a new-fangled year. Somehow it seems unclear who is going on. Will a pose be stuck to endear, or are all acts sheared away.

Maybe everything is unformed as the void was before the Word gave life. Words are the tools to sculpt the way, whatever means each day.

1
I
Light the
Chalice
With a
Headstrong
Libation
From
Somewhere
Distinct
In memory
And moment,
Motion
To see
You
Again.

2
The work
Never stops,
The war to
Keep together
What battles
Left me;
Meaning confused
By voices,
Whether his or
Mine,
Unknown.

3
I sing
Like,
Maybe,
Someone
Would
Take
Interest,
Still,
As usual
I am plagued
By fear
And doubt –
The both
Block
My
Music
Out.

4
Sleep,
Soft ones,
So dear –
Life is
A balmy
Evening,
Where ravens
Appear.

One through three are tanka; four is a haiku. I gave them unconventional line breaks to add emphasis.

PROMPT
Consider something you have created; take it to another medium or form. Please do not presume to know what you make until you take directions you did not first use.

Appreciation
1. Even when I fall, I find the way.
2. What no one knows.
3. Still learning.

Thank you for your time. Follow or come back if you want to do so. Your likes and recommendations are appreciated.

All here appearing is © Jo Ann J. A. Jordan.

Reclaimed

As most of you may know, I lost my Mom several years ago after being her full-time caregiver for some years.

We both collected cups, although Mom had an altogether more impressive cache having had more money to spend.

We were active in CBC as long as she could go without danger or humiliation. In the singles group, I met Bernice, but she soon became a treasured friend of us both. She gave my Mom the cup above, which is by far one of the most unique I have seen.

This work of art was stored in a curio cabinet in the common area. A few weeks ago, as I was walking my circle through the house, I heard the beginning of a crash.

I was right beside the cabinet on my path, and an assortment of glass, ceramic, and china things Mom collected and painted fell out on the floor. The stud that held the shelf let go and tilted so that with the accumulated weight, the door opened, and much tumbled out to shatter.

The unique cup Bernice gifted Mom was not on that shelf, thankfully. I have been moving it around the house, hoping to keep it safe.

I was crushed that several figures Mom painted after I taught her how to help with her tremors were destroyed. I hope there are no such future occurrences.

I think this cup is so unusual; I thought I would share.

Now and Then

When looking over your year, be sure to give yourself credit for any accomplishment. 2021 may have been much more fraught with difficulty than the average year.

Going into 2022, if you set goals, be gentle with yourself. Have a baseline with a fallback plan. You may want to set ambitious goals, but only with alternates.

If your schedule increases with less free time, do not overfill your leisure with personal projects. Rest and recreation are crucial to well-being.

Do you have research to do? Try to include this requirement within your reading goal. Take notes to leverage in creative work. Wherever you are, take pictures that may lead to innovative developments. Try to make your life a multi-use platform.

Find ways to share your endeavors with a broader audience. The world is a smaller place than in the past, but sometimes there seems to be distance between us. Any way you can find for real-world personal exchange, do it. We still need face-to-face contact. Of course, take necessary health precautions, and if video conferencing seems better, you call the shots.

Be open to new things and new methods and tools to do familiar tasks. There are so many ways to bridge the problem gaps. If need be, ask others online how they solved a similar conundrum.

Share your expertise when you can. Learning from one another is still an excellent way to overcome the fear of failure and unwillingness to jump into taxing possibilities.

If it appeals to you, keep a gratitude journal. This tends to make you more aware of your blessings. You may especially find it suitable to trace the hopes and dreams coming true for you.

Ah, I hope your new year brings you closer to your cherished position, currently only a dream.

I have not fully decided, but a new Creativity Project seems to appeal to me. Stay informed, check back for updates and planned details.

Home

Home is the hearth, heart, of all abundant things, which come with daily living. Where blessings shine on faces, dearer than the self. Time lingers just a while in passing, sufferings to lessen, teachings to impart, reminding no matter what has occurred, God is near.

Choosing a place to make a home is a painstaking task, a time-consuming selection. A feeling comes at the threshold, a sensation that angels are not far off and soon returning. Though work needed may be severe, still, joy fills the soul when into its home coming.

Home, here is only for a space, a time, for other shores are calling. One can find a bit of peace, but greater peace awaits upon seeing Jesus’ face. When Heaven’s gates open to admit a soul, then all the pleasure of home will overwhelm with multiplication. All the dissatisfactions of the world will cease, and perfect joy will be complete.

Today and Again

Do you ever have to slow down and find your center? It can take time to remember who you are and for what you are meant. We so easily get lost in chasing the things we need and want and plowing our souls under the toil. Stillness helps us see our persons; music can raise us; reading can picture us; art can show us reason; writing can free us.

We deserve to live creatively and with such love that we feel we can accomplish our hopes and dreams. Some find inspiration in a relationship with Christ Jesus; some follow other paths. As we meet in lives so often hectic, we need to share love and kindness no matter the circumstances in which we exist. Our differences make the world fascinating and rich. We learn much when we open ourselves to one another.

Stepping out of space and time to give ourselves peace to clarify our goals is worthwhile. Sometimes this is done in silence, some creation, some before the eyes of the world. Whatever our method, we must never give up. We are the outworking of the prayers of generations; our promise and purpose must continue.

Today is the moment we grasp; it is our time to build within. Letting it slip through our fingers is not an option—love, love, love. We should be a blessing in whatever places life carries us. Time and again, we can begin a better beginning, for we are living gifts.