Divine Conversations

"If we have a wonderful sense of the divine it is because we live amid such awesome magnificence...While the distinction between spirit and matter is valid, no one can separate the two;  no one can draw a line between them.  Spirit and matter are not two different realms of reality, two different layers of the universe.  One and the same reality will be material or spiritual depending on how we approach it.  (Regardless) of where we immerse ourselves in the stream of reality, we can touch the spiritual source of all that is natural." ~ (from Earth Prayers)

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

speaks to me.

The summit of the mountains,

the thunder of the sky,

the rhythm of the sea,

speaks to me.

The faintness of the stars,

the freshness of the morning,

the dewdrop on the flower,

speaks to me.

The strength of fire,

the taste of salmon,

the trail of the sun,

and the lite that never goes away,

they speak to me.

And my heart soars.

(Chief Dan George)

 

Even Tony Gets It

Warning:  I'm about to go off on another rant about the media/fashion industry's distorted message that being  poverty thin makes a woman desirable, successful, and beautiful.  They would coil at my positioning of the words "poverty" and "thin," but that's the level of mockery in which they regard real, every day women.  This attitude is so pervasive that even our elementary school daughters are being teased and mocked for their normal, pre-puberty bodies.

So I was intrigued when a columnist in our local newspaper took up my flag.  Actually, he doesn't even know me, but he is the father of four daughters, and he does write a seriously funny and often irreverent column on modern culture as he sees it.  And even he sees this obsession with extreme thinness as perverted and downright unattractive, so much so that he was surprised over his alignment with Miley Cyrus on this subject since he's not a big fan of hers.  And I quote his reaction to Miley's comment that she's tired of people calling her fat just because she has curves rather than a broomstick for a figure.

"It's the definition of 'attractive' that's changing.  Only the fashion industry ~ with its hold on the hearts and minds of so many females ~ hasn't gotten that through its collective, well-coiffed head.  Despite years of criticism from medical professionals and otherwise incredibly sensible people like Miley Cyrus and me, the fashion industry still exhibits its wares mostly on the frames of women who weigh as much as my left leg, telling us 'this is what women should aspire to look like.'

I'm not sure why, because expressionless women who get carried away by a moderate breeze aren't that physically attractive.  And it's not just me...Healthy women who are physically and mentally strong are the new black...The fashion industry is woefully behind on what constitutes 'attractive' in the 21st century.  No longer do men want someone who looks like she's spending too much time giving blood.  At least Miley says so.  And,odd as it feels, I couldn't agree more."

(Blogmeister's note:  Tony Hick's article published in the 11/18/11 issue of Tri-Valley Times)

 

Nature's Palette

I don't think that I shall ever see a beauty as lovely as an autumn tree ~ my view this morning as I walked.

A Different Take on Beauty

To have beautiful lips, say beautiful things; to have beautiful eyes, look at people and see the good in them; to stay thin, share meals with someone who is hungry. ~ Audrey Hepburn

Not !

I would love to say this photo graced an article denying that shopping is the way to happiness, but it didn't.  It did offer minor acknowledgment that since becoming a mother, the author can no longer indulge entirely in her mantra that clothes-make-the-woman  (her baby barely trumped  her clothes closet).  She spent a lot of time whining about the loss of freedom to attend three-day parties celebrating some big-name designer's new collection.  Her tone was partially tongue-in-cheek and partially her truth.  

I get it.  Really I do.  I'm not a clothes horse but I get how women can get wrapped up in the whole fashion scene.  What I don't get is when these women allow their clothes, or worse yet, the blind pursuit of shopping to define who they are.  I dumbfounded over that concept ~ really, I am.  It's a nice capitalistic sentiment that keeps our economy going (and I'm all for that), but it's not the foundation of my self-worth.  

Even in my BC days (before Christ), my parents' instilled a sense of value and self-worth in me that stood separate from what I did, wore or looked like.  In my AD days (after accepting Christ), I realized my true value in God.  I am His child, pre-thought of before I was even conceived, cherished and loved by Him.  Don't get me wrong.  I still like steppin' out with a freshly washed face and clean, even somewhat matching clothes, but it doesn't make me who I am.  Nothing I own or could buy makes me who I am.  Nothing.

Just Askin'

"Only 2 percent of women around the world consider themselves beautiful."  (pg 80, Oct 2011 issue Elle Magazine.)

What are we suppose to make of this statistic?  I think it speaks volumes about cultural definitions and expectations of beauty.  I guess my bigger question is ~ does it really matter whether or not we perceive ourselves as outwardly (physically) beautiful?  I mean is it something we need to have in order to be content with ourselves and have joy-filled lives?

Too Bad She's Right

Picked up the October issue of Elle.  I don't know why I bother.  They usually print disingenuous articles about inner beauty, and then plaster their pages with photos and ads all designed to make us feel "less than" if we don't pony up to the beauty bar and buy, buy, buy.  To my surprise,  I must admit that the editor's letter was spot on this month. And I quote ~

"Let's just say it:  We judge people by the way they look, and that judgment is swift and brutal.  The cues come fast:  the expensiveness (or lack thereof) of the fabric, the label of the jacket, the provenance of the jeans, the jewelry, the haircut, the bag.  And, rightly or wrongly, I'd bet we're hardwired to be fairly accurate in our assessments...our subconscious picks up hundreds of micro-expressions that transmit spot-on data about people's real feelings...But what really happens...is that we draw an equally tough picture of others' intelligence, values, and inner life.  And man, are we usually way off.

(Case in point) I struck up a conversation with an older man in a feed cap, high-waisted stonewashed jeans, running shoes, and an Epcot teeshirt...It turned out the gentleman was a PhD physicist and engineer...He was brilliant, funny ...in other words, he was a person of substance and curiosity, who at first glance appeared to my tiny, judgmental mind to be nothing but another bored grandpa occupied by thoughts of bingo and what's for dinner.  My point, of course, is that our quick summations of people's looks are often reductive and unkind."

You Are What You Wear

A comment from a reader on my post about you-are-what-you-eat prompted me to do this follow-up post on you-are-what-you-wear.  Fashionistas' thoughts will immediately go to clothing and accessories, but I'm talking about your birthday suit.  Skin is our body's biggest organ but we often treat it either with spotty love, benign neglect or downright contempt.  Most of us slather on chemicals without regard to their potential negative effects on either the skin itself or where it ends up inside us.  Our choices are based on smell, touch or advertising promises.


I've been trying to choose products based on what's actually in the bottle, tube or jar that does the job but is fairly harmless.  I try to steer clear of high-powered chemicals but it's a daunting task when I think about hair care, body care and even what I wash my clothes with, let alone candles I breathe in and perfume I wear.  A lot of noise has been made lately in the media about steering clear of parabens but that's just the beginning.  Here's the ten most un-wanted list thanks to www.kiahouse.com (forgive the spelling):

1. petrochemicals (coco betaine, PVP/VA, copolymer, propylene glycol, propyl glycol, sodium laurel sulfate)
2. polyethylene glycol (PEG, PPG, cocoate.peroleate)
3. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (benzene, DMBA, 1-nitropyrene)
4. diethanolamine and triethanolamine (DEA or TEA)
5. phthalates
6. parabens
7. methylchloro and methylisothiazoline
8. formaldelhyde (2 bromo, 2 nitropropane, 3 diol, hydantoin)
9. butylated hydrosxyanisole (BHA)
10. artificial colors and fragrances

And this is just the short list!  Happy hunting!

You Are What You Eat

I want to set the record straight before I get into this posting ~ I'm not really the girlie type, I don't send much time doing the beauty thing (except for, heaven help me, dying my hair), and I use my make-up until the container is empty, which takes forever at the rate I use it.  So for me to write about beauty is like me writing about football.  I know enough to enjoy the game but not enough to understand all the calls (or really care).

 I do care a lot about my health and aging gracefully.  A by-product of this twin pursuit is that lately I've noticed a more youthful appearance to my skin ~ less wrinkles and more glowing.  I've always exercised so I don't attribute my "improvements" just to that.  I think it has to do with going almost gluten-and-dairy-free, eating fresh-and-organic as possible, (and my Clairsonic electronic face brush).

I really am a firm believer in you-are-what-you-eat.  My mom has always been a health "nut" (although she does love her share of sweets) and instilled good eating habits in us from an early age.  The problem is back then who knew about the garbage that eventually would go into the processed "convenience" foods that "liberated" women from the kitchen?  How ironic that today's slow-food movement has rediscovered the joy of cooking with "real" ingredients that take time to prepare and enjoy.

My goal is a healthy 100.  It seems like a good, round number to shoot for.  And if I arrive at that goal as wrinkle-free and beautiful as my mother, then that's just a bonus.



 

This Is What I Do

 

This is the first release of my Spring 2011 collection.  I feature handmade beads from Kenya, Chile and the U.S.  I am humbly pleased that a gallery in my town carries and sells my earrings and necklaces.  This allows me to buy more of these handmade beads, many of which are Fair Trade. 

Not Trading

What's with wrinkled and saggy skin?  When did the firm stuff decide to simply abandon ship (or body in this case)?  What about receding hairlines and expanding waistlines?  Who said they could march to and fro without our permission?  And when did it become not okay to age gracefully rather than striving for perpetual youth?  I must confess, I'd take my 21-year-old body back but hooked up to my current and much wiser brain.  No amount of youth serum would entice me to give back what I have learned, the people I have loved, the places I've seen and the God I've come to know.

Effective Birth Control

I like to read magazine while riding the exercise bike at the gym.  I especially like to read other people's magazines; the ones they leave behind when they're done.  I never know if the issues are current and it always amazes me how I'll be reading along and realize it's a March issue  from last year. Do people really hold onto magazines that long?

I just had to share an article I read in a (recent?) issue of Bazaar.  I laughed so hard that I almost fell off the bike.  It was written by Leandra Medine, the author of a wildly popular blog, Man Repeller.  Since the article appeared in a fashion magazine, you know that fashion is what she is referring to. Her blog chronicles the fashions women love and men hate.  Or to quote her very words, when she's wearing one of her fashionable get-ups, "essentially, I'm wearing the sartorial equivalent of birth control."

She goes on to describe some really funny exchanges with men regarding her outfits.  And I quote again, "Put simply, our clothing choices - cue the harem pants and jumpsuits - are influenced by a school of high-fashion genius that our Y-chromosome counterparts don't understand."  Some of the outfits she describes wearing I don't even understand, but I get where she's coming from.  Am I dressing for myself or others ~ and if for others do I want women to purr in agreement or men to find me attractive (one man in particular ~ my husband!)  

Unless we're on a man hunt, most women agree that we dress for other women.  For Ms. Medine, dressing for herself and other fashion divas takes front row and center over appealing to a prospective man.  She says, "I started to date a man who told me that if Gumby, MC Hammer and the Balenciaga collection had a baby, it would be me.  I was so impressed by his fashion reference, it only just dawned on me that I haven't heard from him in three weeks....You're still single.  But who should win, boy or outfit?..There's no need to compromise style when you explore a man repeller's antonym:  the man getter....(Just wear your) share of brilliantly provocative halter tops and saucily slit skirts... But the prospect of snatching yourself a man aside, it's important to remember that in the look book of our lives, the bolder the better.  So, man repellers, go forth with pride....The men will just have to wait."

Ms Medine was obviously referring to fashionistas who take their look seriously.  She neglected to mention that the other perfect man repeller is the fashion slob.  Nothing like a pair of grungy sweats with a baggy butt to cause a man to look the other way.  Ha! Ha!

(Blogmeister's note:  article quoted from page 130 Bazaar but the page doesn't mention which issue.  It does suggest that you go to bazaar.com/bazaar-blog for more fashion blogging.  Enjoy!)

Supersize My Order Please

I was talking with two women friends from Brazil and somehow the topic got around to plastic surgery.  For the uninitiated, Brazil is the plastic surgery capital of the world.  It's just something they do, at least in the southern end of the country.  It came as a surprise to this media-indoctrinated American that Brazilians find large breasts distasteful, unnecessary and a burden.  That's because they like their bikinis small.  The beginning of the alphabet is just more tasteful and manageable in those tiny tops.  So breast reduction surgery is quite common.

However, what they do love big is the derriere.  Oh yes.  Men on the beaches of Brazil are checking out the package from behind and giving thumbs up to ample bottoms.  And so, plastic surgery to enlarge derrieres is also common.

Different hemispheres, different ideas of beauty.  Bottom line (no pun intended) ~ no matter the latitude or longitude, women are still held to ridiculous standards of beauty, and worse yet, we buy into the hype.  At least, now, however, I know where to move to if I need some added worldly self-esteem.

Words Not Necessary

Words aren't necessary when you end your day in the city by the bay.

Rich in Beauty

Last night my friend and I hosted a holiday bazaar.  She used to own an art gallery and I make jewelry, so together we set up two rooms full of one-of-a-kind and unique gifts.  I used to love helping her merchandise her gallery, arranging and re-arranging objects d'art until they were displayed just so ~ beautiful things need to be shown beautifully.  We had a lot of fun collaborating and I was fortunate to sell quite a bit of my jewelry through her gallery.

Fast forward to today and life has certainly changed.  My friend closed her gallery as the economy  hit people's wallets and beauty became a want not a necessity.  I think it's sad to think of beauty that way.  It's so important to surround ourselves with soul food ~ things and people that make our lives fuller, richer, more rewarding and even gentler, softer and more peaceful.  That doesn't mean we have to fill our houses with stuff, but it does mean we should stop, view, smell and even touch the proverbial roses.  It fills us up and gives us a soft spot to land when life gets tough, as it surely will.

I am grateful for the beauty in my life.  I seek it out on a regular basis because my life would be poorer without it.

Perfect Plan

When the autumn weather gets gloomy and the rain begins to fall, I just rest my eyes on something bright and beautiful to remind me that it's all part of God's perfect plan.

Curse and Blessing ~ or ~ Who is That Person in the Mirror?

Dyed my hair dark auburn yesterday.  Well, I didn't dye it, my hairdresser did.  I've been sporting some version of blond for years, which is kind of funny since I don't think of myself as a blond.  I was actually born with blue-black hair which turned a really pretty shade of auburn.  Somehow, it slowly morphed to blondish.

The march down that path was innocent at first.  I got a few blond highlights.  It made me feel perky, outdoorsy, as in kissed by the sun.  As my eye became accustomed to the look, I had a few more highlights added, and so on and so forth.  Next thing you know, people were referring to me as a blond.  I didn't buy it.  Inside me I was still auburn.

I must admit that when I do look in the mirror and actually see myself as a blond, I know it's time to reverse the process.  The thing is, I never go backwards as gradually as I go forward.  So it's always shocking to be suddenly auburn again.  I haven't decided how I feel about myself now when I look into the mirror.  Where did the-blond-go-that-I-didn't-believe-I was-but-now-that-I'm-auburn-I'm-missing-her?

Ah, the curse and blessing of store-bought hair color.  What I want to know is why does it throw me into a tizzy, brief though it may be, when I make the switch?  I'm going to chalk it up to familiarity.  I'm familiar with the blond I've been staring at, I just have to get used to the auburn chick who has taken her place (at least until the blond slowly starts returning again).

Beauty in the Night

Fading memories of summer ~ the last of Japanese anemone in my backyard.

Photos taken at night when the essence of their white beauty comes forth.

I'll Take a Skirt with those Jeans

Stop me if I've blogged on this topic before but it still makes me laugh.  I'm talking about how hard my generation fought to get out of skirts, ruffles and high heels, and the young women today are completely embracing the whole notion of skirts, ruffles and high heels.   From what I've seen, the fashion world is taking it a step further this Fall with a 1950's and '60's, pre-blue jean revolution, look.  Don't get me wrong, I like to look like a girly girl now and again, but it still throws me off when I go someplace not so special and women are wearing strapless dresses and matching shoes.

I can remember going to elementary school in Alaska wearing long pants under our skirts to protect our legs from the bitter cold.  I wonder if I can get away with that again.  That way I get to keep the comfort of my jeans and wear a cute skirt, too.

Optimism