More than half-way through revisiting my mother's mandalas: #13 of 21 / "A bird does not sing because it has an answer ..."
What my mother wrote on this mandala:
4/10/90
Pesah ...
Exodus
Hametz
Karpas
Haroset
Maror
Haggadah
Passover
Wine
Beitzah
Elijah's cup
Afikomen Seder
Salt
... Shemah, Yisrael, Adonai Eloheynu Adonai, Echad ...
... Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One .
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Mandala #63: Song from my Fearless and Asymmetrical Mandala Series. It’s easy for me to see that this was done with my dominant right hand.
Young couple singing a Bob Dylan song from 1970:
Click here for context of Mandala #63.
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”
(Chinese proverb)
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Continuing in chronological order from my Retrospective 1966-2008 is “Life Drawing of a Young Woman #2 (1982)." Click here for context.
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10 drawings on envelopes sent to me in early 1970 during another time of horrific war:
Click here and here for context.
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Accompanying the following YouTube video are these words:
One People Gathering is a movement toward healing and unity, inviting everyone to engage with Indigenous voices. “Netse Mot,” or “One heart, one mind,” reflects our commitment to shared humanity and values of gratitude, generosity, and respect in a divided world.
In the face of threats like war, political unrest, climate change, and cultural differences, it's time to confront these challenges and rise above them as one united force—One People.
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Thank you everyone for your presence and witness here. It is deeply appreciated.
Thank you so much, Wendy, for your kind words and insight. That's true for me about fall, and I hope for others, in these hard times.
Of all the seasons, fall is the one that consistently gives my soul something much needed. Before 2003, I drove alone to California right about now. On my last trip to California in 2008, I visited the grave of the man who had loved me and who died that year, then visited a friend from college days who lived in Santa Margarita, then took a memorable drive up Highway 1 to Half Moon Bay where I had met the man who had loved me since we had been teenagers. I had loved him all those years in between and love him to this day. Half of his ashes were scattered on the beach at the north end of Half Moon Bay by his youngest brother.
Since 2008, I've realized that fall is the most beautiful time of year here in Bellingham, bringing me all the heartening feelings I used to think I could only find in California.
Such a lovely and loving compilation - tender words, thoughts, music, reflections, on this last weekend before fall equinox settles us into a softer season, a softness much needed in these hard times.