Not your average graffiti - this touched me deeply

Bumble Bee

Alone I savor wild flowers tucked in along the creeks,

and there's a yellow oriole singing in tree top depths,

spring floods come rain swollen and wild at twilight

no one here, at the ferry, a boat drifts across of it self.

-- wei ying-wu

Do you ever wonder why or how you come across things? Lately I've been feeling adrift. I've been spending time at the park, listening to the birds, looking for the spring wildflowers, sitting by the water. Contemplating things going on in my life right now.

I took the dogs for a walk yesterday and came home a different way - a way I haven't been in a long long time. I found this "graffiti" (for want of a better word) spraypainted on a wall. It touched me deeply.

It makes you wonder about things - why did I take this way home? I didn't set out to go that way, I just decided at the last minute. It's amazing to think that something written so long ago can touch me so deeply. (Wei Yingwu c.737-791)

Have you ever had something like this happen?

BB

Brother Apostate

It's not when it was written it's what it says.

One of my faves:

Ithaca

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,

Then pray that that road is long,

Full of adventure, full of knowledge,

Do not fear the Lestrygonians

And the Cyclops and the angry Poseidon.

You will never meet such as these on your path,

If your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine

Emotion touches your body and your spirit,

If your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long,

That the summer mornings are many,

That you will enter ports seen for the first time

With such pleasure, with such joy!

Stop at Phoenician markets,

And purchase fine merchandise,

Mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,

And pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,

Visit hosts of Egyptian cities,

To learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.

To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for long years;

And even to anchor at the isle when you are old,

Rich with all that you have gained along the way,

Not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would never have taken the road.

But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.

With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,

You must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean

-C.P. Cavafy

juni

Well BumbleBee I guess I would have to say that people are people whenever they lived.

We all have a need to be loved and for serenity - which we find in nature and observing its beauty. Though to qualify this statement I must add that there are those that need drama in their life to be happy.

It is the basics in life that are important. Strip away all of the frills and it comes down to having loving relationships, enjoying the beauty of nature and being at peace with one's self. All of these things don't cost anything. Just to realize your need and taking time to fulfill it.

Juni

daystar

I have things like that happen to me frequently enough that it no longer surprises me so much. Though it's no less enjoyable.

Has Brigid been in contact with you today?

Bumble Bee

I changed the wording slightly in my original post. I guess it's not a matter of how something that was written so long ago touches you - it just amazing that something written so long ago still has ability to affect you in the here and now.

Daystar, yes, I did hear from Brigid - and sent a reply back. Thanks for asking.

BB

journey-on

Do you ever wonder why or how you come across things?

I think I know what you're saying. Every now and then, something too coincidental happens...something you need at that very moment in time. You feel like it was a gift, right?

This has happened to me many times and I always feel like it's more than a simple coincidence. It's a message...kind of like being spoken to by God just for a moment. I'm sure some will think this is mushy or too mystical sounding, but it's hard to explain. Let him who have "eyes" see and he who has "ears" hear. Holy or poetical writings of any kind, biblical or other, survive down through the ages for a reason.

Bumble Bee

Juni - nature is my sanctuary - it's what keeps me grounded, where I go to regroup.

Journey-on - you hit it exactly! When I walked up the hill and saw this on the wall it was "whoa" - it just hit me, spoke to me. I had to copy it down.

BB

Open mind

The other day I was having a panic-attack post here thinking my pre-teen son was inevitably going to get baptized. All the JWDers calmed me down some.

That evening I went for a 2-hour bike ride. The birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming. On my I-pod, Morrisey's "Sing Your Life" came up on random shuffle and at the end of the ride I saw a bumper sticker that said: "I BELIEVE IN LIFE BEFORE DEATH".

I'm sure it was all just coincidence, but my subconscious was screaming for relief and my environment provided it.

Getting outside is always a good thing.

Open Mind

Open mind

Here's a link to a blog I enjoy. The guy lives in Minnesota and makes a point of regularly going on low-key, just tooling around bicycle rides in ordinary clothes. He looks under rocks, bridges, warehouses, etc. and takes lots of gorgeous pictures. He's a pretty good writer too and he advocates "slow-living". It just struck me as right in tune with your original post.

http://planetarygears.blogspot.com/index.html

I have no connection whatsoever to him and his site is strictly a non-commercial, "pleasure-blog".

Let me know if you like it.

Open Mind

sass_my_frass

If there was a job that tapped that kind of serenity, I'd be all over it.

Not your average graffiti - this touched me deeply

Share this