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This week on ¤ under1000skies.org ¤

UNDER1000SKIES NEWSLETTER 1.9

Gems 5.118

Special thanks to Brad2 for sharing the poem on KindSpring.org.

IF I HAD KNOWN

Mary Carolyn Davies

If I had known what trouble you were bearing;
What griefs were in the silence of your face;
I would have been more gentle and more caring,
And tried to give you gladness for a space.
I would have brought more warmth into the place,
If I had known.

If I had known what thoughts despairing drew you;
(Why do we never try to understand?)
I would have lent a little friendship to you,
And slipped my hand within your hand,
And made your stay more pleasant in the land,
If I had known.

Gems 5.119

“Show not what has been done, but what can be. How beautiful the world would be if there were a procedure for moving through labyrinths.”  -Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

Gems 5.120

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Gems 5.121

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.”  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

Gems 5.122

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

-Mother Teresa

New Quote Card:  Elle Luna

Photo by Soorelis, Pixabay

“I was talking to a girlfriend about a year ago, and she said to me, “Elle, I learned the most interesting thing.” And I said, “What was it?” And she said, “Well, I learned that when a caterpillar goes into the cocoon to become a butterfly, do you know what happens inside the cocoon?” And here I am, we’re walking on the sidewalk in San Francisco and I’m leaning forward thinking, She’s about to tell us that that’s the answer. She’s about to give THE ANSWER, (all capital letters). I’m leaning forward, waiting for this message to be delivered and she says, “The caterpillar becomes goo.” She just kept saying it: “Goo!” And I thought, “What a marvelous, nonsensical experience. You’re trying to communicate, “What is it like when you’re in a goo-like state?” Well, it’s impossible…And there’s this wonderful absurdity about it. How do we talk about inner transformation? It’s just goo. But there are all of these artists and writers children’s book authors and poets who have given it a go, and it’s like, “How do you talk about that thing that you can’t talk about?” I guess those folks have been the most intriguing to me.”

Elle Luna: Designing a Life Beyond
the Crossroads of Should and Must
http://www.awakin.org/calls/292/elle-luna/

This Awakin call interview changed my life. It was the only call that I ever called in for. I was ridiculously nervous, but Elle was very kind. She invited me to try something she and her artist friend invented called #the100dayproject on Instagram.  She said it’s about being creative every day, even if it’s only for five minutes a day, for 100 days in a row. It’s about being brave and sharing your art with the world.  So I did, and it was very hard. I wasn’t a trained artist at all, but I love drawing and painting.  And I met some really beautiful people, artists from all over the world, making art every day and putting it out there. I decided I would combine my art with my goals to get outside and walk every day and take photos.  I would use her Ideo brainstorming idea, a post-it pad and a sharpie (this distills ideas) and I’d create my heart people.  So I did this for 100 days, between the end of October 2016 and into 2017.  Here are some of those 100 drawings and photos:

Video – Newsletter 1.9 under1000skies.org

I hope we have a beautiful weekend.

♡.