Gems 3.80

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

Unfree World Camus Gems 380

Photo by Niki Flow

About Albert Camus

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French philosopher who, in 1957 at age 44, received the Nobel Prize for Literature — the second youngest ever to do so.  (The youngest was Rudyard Kipling at age 42.)  Camus’s “…views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He wrote in his essay The Rebel that his whole life was devoted to opposing the philosophy of nihilism while still delving deeply into individual freedom.”

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

 Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

 

Gems 3.78

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

Gems 378 Niki Flow Freedom Bobby McGee

Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson | Photo “SciFi Sky” by Niki Flow

 

ME AND BOBBY MCGEE
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train
And I’s feelin’ near as faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
It rode us all the way to New Orleans
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna
I was playin’ soft while Bobby sang the blues, yeah
Windshield wipers slappin’ time, I was holdin’ Bobby’s hand in mine
We sang every song that driver knew
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ hon’ if it ain’t free, no no
And, feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know, feelin’ good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGhee
From the Kentucky coal mine to the California sun
There Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done
Yeah, Bobby baby kept me from the cold
One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away
He’s lookin’ for that home, and I hope he finds it
But, I’d trade all of my tomorrows, for a single yesterday
To be holdin’ Bobby’s body next to mine
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, that’s all that Bobby left me, yeah
But, feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
Hey, feelin’ good was good enough for me, mm-hmm
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGhee
La da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da
Bobby McGhee, yeah
La da da da da da da
La da da da da da da
La da da da da da da
Bobby McGhee, yeah
La da La la da da la da da la da da
La da da da da da da da da
Hey, my Bobby
Oh, my Bobby McGhee, yeah
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Hey, my Bobby
Oh, my Bobby McGhee, yeah
Well, I call him my lover, call him my man
I said, I call him my lover did the best I can, c’mon
Hey now, Bobby now
Hey now, Bobby McGhee, yeah
Woo
La da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la la
Hey, hey, hey Bobby McGhee, yeah
La da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la
Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGhee, yeah
Songwriters: Fred Foster / Fred L Foster / Kris Kristofferson
Me and Bobby McGee lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

 

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.77

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

To Althea from Prison Richard Lovelace Gems 377

Photo “Stonewashed Sunset” by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

 

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.74

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

Long Pin I Have Enough

Photos by Niki Flow.  Edited using PicMonkey “Long Pin” template.  Still learning! =)

I HAVE ENOUGH

I have enough sunshine, but I love the rain.
I have enough comfort, made sweeter by pain.
I have enough love, but I have room for more.
I have enough safety, and freedom from war.

I have enough room in my heart for more friends.
I have enough faith that our love never ends.
I have enough starlight and lovely blue skies.
I have enough wisdom to know I’m not wise.

I live in abundance,
but there is one thing, I find,
That is precious, and fleeting,
and running out: Time.

Niki Flow

Journey Notes

The suggested theme for July is “freedom,”  but if you have a favorite quote about any other uplifting subject, please let us know.  We’re always accepting favorite quotes.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions too! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
A “Giftivism” Initiative
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.72

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

Life Freedom Choice Kevyn Aucoin Gems 372

Journey Notes

The theme for July is “freedom.”   If you have a favorite quote about freedom, please let us know.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.71

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

freedom

Photo “One Day a Year” by Niki Flow

Journey Notes

The theme for July is “freedom.”   If you have a favorite quote about freedom, please let us know.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 3.69

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

Freedom Randolph

Photos “Dragon Creek” and “Partly Blue Skies” by Niki Flow

 

About A. Philip Randolph

Asa Philip Randolph (April 15, 1889 – May 16, 1979) was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, the American labor movement, and socialist political parties.

He organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly African-American labor union. In the early Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement, Randolph was a voice that would not be silenced. His continuous agitation with the support of fellow labor rights activists against unfair labor practices in relation to people of color eventually led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941, banning discrimination in the defense industries during World War II. The group then successfully pressured President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9981 in 1948, ending segregation in the armed services.

In 1963, Randolph was the head of the March on Washington, which was organized by Bayard Rustin, at which Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. Randolph inspired the “Freedom Budget”, sometimes called the “Randolph Freedom budget”, which aimed to deal with the economic problems facing the black community, it was published by the Randolph Institute in January 1967 as “A Freedom Budget for All Americans”.

from Wikipedia, “A Philip Randolph”

 

Journey Notes

The theme for July is “freedom.”   Special thanks to Rajni for today’s quote.  If you have a favorite quote about freedom, please let us know.

Your Creativity

As always, we would love to feature your creative visions! If you would like to contribute photos, art work, short poems/stories, quotes, time, etc., please see our “About Us” page for details.  When we show each other what we find beautiful, we get a glimpse into each others’ hearts.

May you find joy every day of your journey through life,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

 

JULY 2017 GALLERY SHOW

I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Welcome to our third ¤ Gallery Show ¤

 

Edited with PicMonkey

Created using a PicMonkey template.  Artist unknown.

Thank you so much to all the contributing artists and creatives who have helped under1000skies every day since we began in 2015.

  1. BEN ARCHER
  2. DR. RALPH BELL
  3. CONTESSA BROWN
  4. CREATIVE THEMES
  5. DAVID COLEMAN
  6. MIKE DOWNS
  7. NIKI FLOW
  8. FREE IMAGES.COM
  9. J.J. GARCIA
  10. JOHN HACK
  11. CHIP HALDANE
  12. AL HANDA & IVY
  13. NICOLE HUGUENIN
  14. JONATHAN KENDRICK
  15. STEPHANI PUI-MUN LAW
  16. M.J.
  17. STEVE MANN
  18. MARVEL COMICS
  19. CARLOS MENDEZ
  20. MELISSA M. MORRIS
  21. NOTHINGTOSEE MOVEALONGNOW
  22. CHRISTIAN NITU
  23. JOHN “JOHNNY O” OLANDER
  24. PHOTOS-PUBLIC-DOMAIN.COM
  25. PIXABAY PHOTOGRAPHY VOLUNTEERS
  26. JOE RALEY
  27. ALISA REAGAN
  28. THE REAGAN FAMILY
  29. PAUL ANTHONY SCHMITZ
  30. SHELTERING GRACE
  31. SHOWER-UP NASHVILLE
  32. SOLIVAN C. SZUPKA
  33. STOCKPHOTOS.COM
  34. WILD DREAM WALKS

 

2013

In 2013, under1000skies was just a site Niki Flow created for random poems, photos and sketches.

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2014

She didn’t do much with it in 2014.  Then on November 14, 2014, Niki’s whole life changed.  She wrote a story about it here:  It Begins with Me.

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2015

Year 1:  Gems 1.1 to 1.81.  It took almost a year to solidify a plan to keep the promise made in the November 14, 2014 blog.  On September 2, 2015, the first “light-filled gem” was published:  Gems 1.1

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2016

Year 2:  Gems 2.1 to 2.82  On March 2, 2016, Niki’s oldest son Ben Archer, disappeared.  Ben was one of the main contributing photographers and one of Niki’s staunchest supporters.   As of this writing (1 year, 3 months later) none of his family nor any of his friends have seen or heard from him since.  Many of the posts on under1000skies were about Ben that year, but the family decided to take most of those posts down.  They thought Ben might be embarrassed at all the fuss and would come home when it died down.  So we took down all the blogs, waited and never gave up hope.  We never will. Ben’s case is also now on the Federal Database here:   Ben Archer:  NamUs MP # 33696   All updates about Ben are being kept here:  Niki Flow.   In October of 2016 we started an Instgram Account for under1000skies and in November of 2016 we started a Twitter Account. We’re also on Tumbler, G+, Pinterest and Facebook.

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2017

Year 3:  Gems 3.1 to 3.65 (so far).  In 2017 we began a brand new year with new photographers, artists and, for the first time, our first contribution from one of our homeless creatives, “Johnny O.”  We also began our first Spotlight Saturday and hope to continue these at least every other week in the years go come.  We also finally designed a signature logo and a website logo.

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clu

 

JULY – DECEMBER, 2017

There’s a lot more coming in the next six months of 2017.

Website and Stationary Story

We’ll be getting under1000.org up and running as well as our stationary store under1000skies.com.

On the Road under1000skies

On or about August 1, 2017 Niki Flow will be begin a USA tour which has three objectives:  (1) to meet volunteers and supporters of under1000skies around the United States; (2) to get the word out about under1000skies with road shows, poetry slams, music shows, and on-the-road gallery shows.  We’ll have a table set up with information about us as well as boxes of stationary, volunteer packets, and artist packs; and (3) to follow in the footsteps of Niki’s son, Ben Archer who was a traveling artist.  He visited 25 states in 2015 from one coast to the other and went to dozens of artist shows.  This is where Niki will set up her under1000skies table with the Gallery Show and Ben’s photo prominently displayed.  If anyone has seen Ben, it would be these creative folks he loved to spend so much time with.  If you would like Niki to stop in your city; if you’d like to support this road trip with materials, a bed for a night, supplies, a meal or even a few hours of company, please write to us at Gems@gmail.com.

 

thank you

To all our artists, photographers, writers and advocates, quote suppliers, cheerleaders and especially to our homeless creatives and those who love and support them too, with all our hearts, thank you.

With deep thanks and lots of love,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.