"... there is a moment of rest, of homecoming." / Addendum for Father's Day

Non-Dominant Hand Tiny Mandala #49 of 50 (艮 gěn -- 1. tough; 2. still; 3. decisive; 4. limit, boundary, difficulty)

“艮 depicts a man twisting his head and opening his eyes. When someone twists his head, his neck reaches its limit and can hardly move, so艮 is used to describe something tough and still. On the other hand, 艮 has several meanings, it also means limit, boundary and difficulty, but those meanings have been replaced by限, 垠 and艱 respectively. Now艮 is seldom used independently, it exists as component of the others words.”

— Chou Meizai’s words regarding 艮, taken from the description section of the YouTube video.

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Mandala #49: Mandala for Oboe and Autoharp / Truth from the Fearless and Asymmetrical Mandala Series. Click HERE for context on July 11, 2020.

“Reclaiming his integrity reminds him of that moment before the concert when the concert master asks the oboist to sound an A. At first there is chaos and noise as all parts of the orchestra try to align themselves with that note. But as each instrument moves closer and closer to it, the noise diminishes and when they all finally sound it together, there is a moment of rest, of homecoming.”

— On p.49 of My Grandfather’s Blessings, by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

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Click HERE for context of this artwork of mine from 1985.

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Highlights from this week:

The words of a grandmother:

“Our world now looks like a strange puzzle. There are parts that are sane, normal like anywhere else in the world, and there are parts that look like they were taken from a movie from another era.”

Click HERE for context.

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This week I added to my library this book of timely and timeless photographs by Jonathan Sa’adah with essays afterwards by Elizabeth Adams, Hoyt Alverson, and Steven Tozer, and an introduction by Teju Cole. Click HERE for context.

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Just because:

“… It didn't come true in the end they went their separate ways

He couldn't change what he was she wasn't ready to wait

They couldn't live in the daylight they let the night close in and the holy ground took care of everything

I remember the loving time and nothing else really counts …”

(Lyrics by Noel Brazil)

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Click HERE for a Father’s Day remembrance. I forgot that it was Father’s Day. Here’s a photo taken at Anchor Bay in Mendocino County long long ago, before my father’s stroke.

Thank you for everything, Dad. You told one of my cousins that I was the daughter who was most like you. I puzzled over that then because we seemed to be so at odds but now see that you could see what I could not see. I see it now and am grateful.

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One more photo with my father, taken on the summer at Mt. Baker Ski Area in the years after my mother died in 1994:

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Thank you everyone for your presence and witness here. It is deeply appreciated.