That calls me from a world of care..."
This morning at 5:00 am... I took my coffee to a chair on the deck overlooking a still darkened river scape... soundless... except for the pleasant drone of cricket choir and an intermittent robin voice here... a cardinal there... and the plaintive cries of several gulls... somewhere on the placid river in front of me. This hour of "prayer" is for me a daily ritual... as necessary and as meditative to my spirit as the practice of going to church is to most practising Christian homes... or to any other religion of the world... no matter how "God" is worshipped. I was taught... from the beginning... how to listen... smell and to see and to interact with the Natural World with reverence and awe by my Mom.
These first lines of an old hymn were sung many times by my family... and the hymn was a favourite of my Mom. Her Faith and Trust practised while I watched unobserved as a child...forms the cornerstone of my ongoing basis for Faith ... Hope and Trust. Combined with my Dad's reverence for Free Thought and Speech... his "stick-to-it-ive-ness" and his generous spirit, I aspire to conduct my own journey (adding my own upgrades)... in a fashion that "might" serve others... and that "I" might receive the love and respect of my friends and children... even after I have too... passed.
Today is my Mom's birthday. That fact triggered my remembrance of those opening lines to this post. I will add her flowers... "Mums"... to those I placed for Dad on August 16th at their quiet resting place under the arms of an old white pine at Oakland Cemetery. That act will be followed by yet another few minutes of solitude and sweet moments of prayer. I visit with Deb often. She too shares my love and respect for them... knowing too, that their gifts and blessings to "Me" helped shape and forge the very shared values under which "She" and "I" choose to live our lives together.
Today... they both will be in my thoughts... and my own prayers... offered in the most opulent of cathedrals... Creation itself. Let's call it... "plein air prayer." Perhaps you now might understand... that my own doxology... my connection to my Father...Creator and God lies within each of my paintings. Each and every one is a hymn... a psalm of praise and gratefulness for the life and the parents I have been blessed with. My heart is my purse... and I carry them... and their precious gift with Me everywhere I go. And like them... I aspire to share them with those I meet... who can understand.
I am deeply blessed!...
Enjoy the richness of Eternal Life and Life together Mom and Dad. I' ll love you BOTH... Forever!
"We'll meet again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds, far away."
1939 War War II Favourite
Written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles
Performed by Vera Lynn
Keep Smilin!... and
Good Painting ... to ALL!
"August... on my mind" - oil on canvas 18x14 inches
Prohibition Days get up. Everyone who knows our family well... says that I look like my Dad. That greatly warms my heart... and makes m smile. Would "Him" too... I think!
Prohibitionist... Exhibitionists... "Ave yer ever bin to sea Matey?" HA HA!!
While the weather was too foul the entire weekend to paint en plein air... I did manage this little cartoonish ditty for the kids play section of the festivities. Deb and I were the first "kids" to have our picture taken... but not the last!
