Nature's Abstract Art 9

Nature's Abstract Art - 9

"At this very moment, the Earth is above you, below you, all around you, and even inside you. The Earth is everywhere. You may be used to thinking of the Earth as only the ground beneath your feet. But the water, the sea, the sky, and everything around us comes from the Earth. Everything outside us and everything inside us comes from the Earth. We often forget that the planet we are living on has given us all the elements that make up our bodies. The water in our flesh, our bones, and all the microscopic cells inside our bodies all come from the Earth and are part of the Earth. The Earth is not just the environment we live in. We are the Earth and we are always carrying her within us.



Realizing this, we can see that the Earth is truly alive. We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this, we can begin to transform our relationship to the Earth. We can begin to walk differently and to care for her differently. We will fall completely in love with the Earth. When we are in love with someone or something, there is no separation between ourselves and the person or thing we love. We do whatever we can for them and this brings us great joy and nourishment. That is the relationship each of us can have with the Earth. That is the relationship each of us must have with the Earth if the Earth is to survive, and if we are to survive as well."

~Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter To The Earth

Have a Good Day

The Winter Spirit and His Visitor

THE WINTER-SPIRIT AND HIS VISITOR

From: The Indian Fairy Book , The Original Legends

Author: Cornelius Mathews

An old man was sitting alone in his lodge by the side of a frozen stream. It was the close of winter, and his fire was almost out. He appeared very old and very desolate. His locks were white with age, and he trembled in every joint. Day after day passed in solitude, and he heard nothing but the sounds of the tempest, sweeping before it the new-fallen snow.

One day as his fire was just dying; a handsome young man approached and entered his dwelling. His cheeks were red with the blood of youth; his eyes sparkled with life, and a smile played upon his lips.

He walked with a light and quick step. His forehead was bound with a wreath of sweet grass, in place of the warrior's frontlet, and he carried a bunch of flowers in his hand.

"Ah! my son," said the old man, "I am happy to see you. Come in. Come; tell me of your adventures, and what strange lands you have been to see. Let us pass the night together. I will tell you of my prowess and exploits, and what I can perform. You shall do the same, and we will amuse ourselves."

He then drew from his sack a curiously-wrought antique pipe, and having filled it with tobacco, rendered mild by an admixture of certain dried leaves, he handed it to his guest. When this ceremony was attended to, they began to speak.

"I blow my breath," said the old man, "and the streams stand still. The water becomes stiff and hard as clear stone."

"I breathe," said the young man, "and flowers spring up all over the plains."

"I shake my locks," retorted the old man, "and snow covers the land. The leaves fall from the trees at my command, and my breath blows them away. The birds rise from the water and fly to a distant land. The animals hide themselves from the glance of my eye, and the very ground where I walk becomes as hard as flint."

"I shake my ringlets," rejoined the young man, "and warm showers of soft rain fall upon the earth.

The plants lift up their heads out of the ground like the eyes of children glistening with delight. My voice recalls the birds. The warmth of my breath unlocks the streams.

Music fills the groves wherever I walk, and all nature welcomes my approach."

At length the sun began to rise. Gentle warmth came over the place. The tongue of the old man became silent. The robin and the blue-bird began to sing on the top of the lodge.

The stream began to murmur by the door and the fragrance of growing herbs and flowers came softly on the vernal breeze.

Daylight fully revealed to the young man the character of his entertainer. When he looked upon him he had the visage of Peboan, the icy cold Winter-Spirit. Streams began to flow from his eyes.

As the sun increased he grew less and less in stature, and presently he had melted completely away.

Nothing remained on the place of his lodge-fire but the mis-kodeed, a small white flower with a pink border,

which the young visitor, Seegwun, the Spirit of Spring, placed in the wreath upon his brow, as his first trophy in the North.

The End.

March Break 2013

March Break 2013

This is the time when those who have endured the long harsh winter sequestered indoors, with only some short visit to the snowy slopes, now line up in the airports to migrate south seeking that eternal sunshine and hot, hot temperatures. They all have but one objective: to regenerate and pack into their week long hasty schedules as much sun, swim and of course, fun as they can.

Who wouldn't wish for a glorious reprieve sprawled on the beach with an occasional dip in the ocean all the while achieving the bragging rights to that golden glow once back at home?

While some would enjoy a good night’s sleep, the frolicking masses try to let off more steam by dancing the night away in some extra loud musical establishments.

Sun, Ocean and fun and more fun!!!!! Happy March Break everyone.

Enjoy!!!!

Snow,Snow,Snow- Part 2

BoSt Galleries Snow Exhibit

Japanese Folklore - Yuki Onna

The_Yuki_Onna_by_YoshiyukiKatana

In Japanese folklore there is a well-known legend of a snow woman, who is manifestation of a Yokai, or spirit, associated with winter and snowstorms. In some variations of the legend she is the spirit, or ghost, of someone who had tragically perished in the snow. She has many forms; snow granny, snow hag and sometimes a young, beautiful woman; but always carries the name Yuki Onna.

On snowy nights she appears to travellers in the storm as a tall, beautiful woman with long cascading black hair and blue lips whose eyes can strike terror into the hearts of mere mortals. Her skin is pale and transparent to the point of being invisible so that she blends in perfectly with the snow covered landscape. She is frequently depicted in a white kimono though some illustrations show her nude, so that only her face and hair stand out in the snowstorm. She floats across the snow without leaving footprints since, like most ghosts, she has no feet and when she is threatened she can instantly transform into mist, a snow flurry or a cloud.

Until the 18^th Century Yuki Onna was portrayed as an evil spirit, but modernization shifted the emphasis to her ghost-like nature, human origins and her transient beauty. She would come as an apparition to travellers and lead them astray so they died of exposure, if she did not use her icy breath to immediately freeze them in place. In some tales she is content to let her victims die but in others she drains her victims of their life force like a vampire. Sometimes Yuki Onna takes on the aspect of a succubus, draining the life out of weak-willed, unfaithful men through a kiss, or by copulation. She may manifest holding a child, especially one who is lost in the storm. Parents searching for their lost children are easy prey as, when they attempt to take the child from her, they are frozen in place by her touch. In some tales she is aggressive, blowing down the door of homes with a violent gust of wind and freezing the residents in their sleep. In most of these tales, however, she is unable to enter the home unless she has been invited by the residents.

She does have a softer side and may sometimes succumb to love and maternal instincts.

In a popular rendition of tale retold by Lafcadio Hearn Yuki-Onna does release a young boy because of his beauty and age, but not before securing a promise from him: that he never speaks of her. Unfortunately, in his middle age he does confess the secret to his wife who then instantly transforms back into the snow woman. She reviles him for breaking his promise, but once more spares him, this time out of concern for their children.  She does caution him however, that if he ever mistreats their children she will return to exact vengeance, and this time will show no mercy.  Fortunately for him he is a doting father and he lives the rest of his life in safety and peace.

katsumi_nakatomi__yuki_onna_by_axel_doi

The End.