Rauch

 The Bible study classes on YouTube have been more comforting today than the last episode of Harry Potter. I came in from reciting a rosary, (how could I not?) And found them at the part where Harry is being embraced by his friends and is about to go and face death. Although in a way Jesus's story is like Harry's, I felt like this was not where I wanted to be this morning. 

Over the course of the past few days there have been some minor and more striking incidents. The minor incident yesterday was at the creek, having walked down there. I was glad to stand by the water and admired how clean it was, thinking how it would be nice if people were more responsible about keeping water clean. Who knows when we might need water? Maybe never? Maybe. 

Then as I turned, something struck the water loudly, and it startled my spirit,  as if it were someone there. And I turned and the leaves were doing this thing, which I will speak about, kind of bouncing on the breeze, and the stick that fell with such a thud into the water had a large thorn on the end. So I thought a bit about it. I had just been stopping along the way to pluck some of the thorns from my sandals. Thinking about it now, I must have been a little in a dream world, because I was paused at the stop sign there cleaning out the soles of my shoes. Might have looked strange.

Anyway, it was by the creek that I decided I didnt want to "talk to strangers". I pray a prayer of Saint Patricks daily which is a shield against pagan things. I like things like that but I have a modernist "scared approach" to all things dark. So I thought about my children and how they wouldn't be smart to "talk to strangers" and neither should I.

But this morning, and this will bring up an even earlier experience from a month or so ago, THIS MORNING praying the rosary, I saw the grape vines moving in this way, sort of lightly bouncing, and since a month ago I'd felt the tree reach out and touch me, almost friendly like, I realized, in my sober, scientific mind, that this stretching of the vine could be the plant growing. And then I thought about life, and what is living, and what it means to be alive.

So now Im sitting here watching this program on Rauch, accepting my religious explanations of things and avoiding those things I don't know, like XTC's Greenman,( love the song, not sure about the lyrics), and contemplating things as straight and as narrowly as possible. Although lately I have felt like the trees themselves are friendly with me, which is both beautiful and a little out of my comfort zone, so to speak. 

I also had an imaginative moment which was inspired and kind of thought it would be neat to share, of how I paint with light. It seemed like a neat thing to me, in a way.

Praying the rosary this morning I slowed down the pace and prayed with the sound of the birds singing in the morning, and that was nice. Not quickly rushing but taking a nice lovely pace with the morning.

Mass today had John laying on Jesus chest and I realized again how hyper sexualized our culture is. It hurt my feelings because I was an affectionate person in my youth and have become rigid, almost jarring. Like don't get too close. I remembered how sometimes black children were openly affectionate as well and I thought that was worth noting. 

Alright, these notes today coincide with some pictures I'll share.