I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

© Ben Archer 2016, 2022. All rights reserved.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

New updates on Missing Benjamin page. Today is four years since he disappeared. Until I can get a handle on this despair, I won’t be publishing new Gems. Any good vibes you feel like sending my way would be appreciated.
OCTOBER 15: New Cards NOVEMBER 1: Watercolor Painting DECEMBER 7: Live NowButtons for Benjamin will continue until Ben comes home, but I won’t be keeping records. This is a promise to do at least one daily act of kindness and, where appropriate, leave a Button (I had dozens made) to get the word out about my missing son. If you would like some buttons, let me know.
2020
JANUARY 13: Vital MARCH 2: Four Years
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by WildOne, Pixabay
“All’s well that ends better.” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
This is the last in the Tolkien-quotes series. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these as much as I’ve enjoyed creating them. Once again, special thanks to the Pixabay and Picmonkey photographers.
The journey of Samwise, Frodo, and company continues to Rivendell here:
I’m taking a break for a bit and will be back with Gems featuring some new photos from Cord X. and a poem from Johnny O. the week of November 18th. We’ll restart the videos and newsletters every week after that too.
Until then, may all your journeys be green and golden.
♥.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Corn Freak, Pixabay
“Find your pack. Love them hard.” –Nicole Huguenin
Nicole is one of our top-contributing photographers to under1000skies.org since Year 1. She’s also Continue reading
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Art Mother and Child by Niki Flow. For Benjamin, born just after 11 o’clock in the morning during a blizzard in Evanston, Illinois. It was a beautiful day. ♡
Buttons for Benjamin (Update): 365 Small Acts of Kindness in Honor of My Missing Son, Benjamin Morse ArcherI’m still keeping my promise to do small acts of kindness Continue reading
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Lisa Runnels, Pixabay
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

Photo by Stefan Keller, Pixabay
Today is my missing adult son Ben‘s 35th birthday. As mentioned in 5.20, you’re invited to join me in kicking off a year of SAoKs (Small Acts of Kindness) called Buttons for Benjamin. The challenge starts today and runs for three weeks. The link is here. It’s hosted on KindSpring.org. If you join, you receive one email a day and zero spam.
Every Tuesday beginning February 28th, I’ll post a special Gem called “Full of Grace” with a photo and a blurb about each of the SAoks the week before. If the small act is a face-to-face meeting with someone new, I’ll hand out a button to get the word out about Ben.
Even if you don’t join, please send good thoughts and picture him home again, safe at last.
♡ Thank you. ♡

♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

On January 8, 2016, we featured the photo above, “Gems 2.4.” It was taken by my son Ben in Taos, NM the summer before. We featured several of Ben’s photos that week. That day, January 8th, Ben wrote a a comment:
I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

820: nos corazon
you’re missing from me,
tu me manques, and I from you
equiponderant
ay, nos Corazon,
our beautiful Benjamin
rentrer à la maison
-nf
our heart / you're missing from me / (you're missing from me) and I from you /equiponderant / oh, our heart / our beautiful Benjamin / return home
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.
Dies Mercurrii
I beg your indulgence. Today’s poem is a rare self-insert, but I cannot silence my heart’s keening. Some nights are like this. Then, I surface. Hope returns.
Instead of monthly themes, we’ll be doing recurring weekly ones for the days when we don’t have any new creations to share from our homeless artists. Recurring daily themes are: Monday – (fun)day – humor; Tuesday – muse day (our biggest inspirations); Wednesday – dies Mercurii – Day of Mercury, mercurial day, water day (Japanese/Korean) “Water Star;” anything goes; Thursday – Thor, the gods, those we worship (God, god or otherwise); Friday – Frigg / Venus day, so LOVE; -or- TGIF what it really means. Or bag all that and insert your theme idea here:
→ _______________________________________ ←
♥.
from An Invitation
I hope you’re having a beautiful Friday. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤
Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we’ve hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
Away with us he’s going,
The solemn-eyed:
He’ll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than he can understand.
_____________
Did you know that three days in the Celtic Otherworld is three years here on Earth? I learned that recently while watching Myths and Monsters narrated by Nicholas Day. I find the thought very comforting.
There is a new page here on under1000skies called Missing Benjamin. All updates about Ben will be kept here from now on. All links from past updates to will be here, as time allows, in chrono order.
Have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend. See you Tuesday.
♡. under1000skies
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.