By Jean-Léon Gérôme 1868 {{PD}}

What’s beautiful is also wise, or is the practical choice–how’s that for a guideline?–and we (in some cases literally) see and must deal with in concrete terms what we think, say, and communicate. That last may seem like something of a riddle, until we consider how many possible forms it can have; the one thing about it we can pin down is that our idea of our own empowerment (both reach and options) will be challenged (and so need to be modified) in the process.

By Labs1950 at English Wikipedia -[[PD}}, Photo of the work of José Bernal by his daughter Lucrecia Bernal Schneider, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5908735

Jean-François Millet 1868 {{PD}}

All we have to do is adjust our actions and choices to accommodate our ideals and our creative urge, to recognize any tendency toward destructive or power-gathering impulses (the latter isn’t necessarily bad, though we must be aware of it to make it play positively), to utilize our unique skills and instincts, and to grasp and make the most of some very fortunate circumstances, social situations, relationships, or financial opportunities that come to us. There, that’s not hard at all, is it? Are you still reading, or have you thrown up your hands and walked away in disgust at this seemingly impossible laundry list I’ve presented? There are two saving graces, so to speak, that if followed can bring the rest of the needed behaviors into line, with little effort, in a kind of cascade effect: one, use those instincts–trust yourself; and two, a kind and loving outlook will make the opportunities and ways to benefit obvious, whereas they will be difficult to discern through a clouded, more negative lens. You can get more of what you love; just be careful how you go about it.

Today’s word image is an evocative passage from an 1896 work by Josiah Kelley Alwood, telling of what inspired his musical composition, the gospel song ‘Uncloudy Day’, with its sense of hope and trust in the Universe: “It was a balmy night in August 1879, when returning from a debate in Spring Hill, Ohio, to my home in Morenci, Michigan, about 1:00 a.m. I saw a beautiful rainbow north by northwest against a dense black nimbus cloud. The sky was all perfectly clear except this dark cloud which covered about forty degrees of the horizon and extended about halfway to the zenith. The phenomenon was entirely new to me and my nerves refreshed by the balmy air and the lovely sight. Old Morpheus was playing his sweetest lullaby. Another mile of travel, a few moments of time, a fellow of my size was ensconced in sweet home and wrapped in sweet sleep. A first class know-nothing till rosy-sweet morning was wide over the fields.”

Have a wonderful day!

Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop, Namibia, in the evening, By Hans Stieglitz – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23314631

Why does exercising our values bring hurt, discomfort, or cultivate the erratic, surprising, or unreliable? You’d think the Universe would reward us for our efforts–and it does. We see after the fact how fortuitously things have evolved, and we come to see how the unexpected was really a gift, broadening our thinking (sometimes by making the facts incontrovertible), and shaking up our usual ways of seeing and doing. The best thing is how this disruption brings us closer to awareness of our instincts and instinctual responses; from there we can access what we know-but-don’t-know, and gain a tremendous amount of insight related to our circumstances.

Today’s word image is a globe so small you can hold it in the palm of your hand. It’s a literal ‘small world’. In what way have you noticed the world is a small place? Handle it with care in this area, and be as aware as possible of the repercussions of your choices–we’re all in this together, after all.

NASA {{PD}}

Louis Léopold Boilly – ‘Conversation Dans un Parc’ 1812 {{PD}}

At least, that should and probably will be our aim, but clear communication won’t be easy; we suffer from our own delusions and fantasies and assumptions, as well as illusions and deceptions perpetrated by others. It may all feel very hurtful and dishonest–but the attention should really be on what things we have ignored or denied, or what matters of temper suppressed, that are now pushing up into the light and driving us to see betrayal or deceit when we would be better served by admitting our own deficits. Condemning ourselves serves no purpose, here, either–rather, being honest about our own feelings and reactions shows us how much of a part we’ve played in creating present circumstances, and emphasizes the cooperative nature of our reality. Be ready to see your part in things, and thereby begin the healing.

Today’s word image is something red, as a prompt for attention to synchronicities, moments of clarity, and reminders to be ‘in the moment.’

‘Red Swan Two’ Photo of a Rainer Lagemann statue taken by Rainer Lagemann RainerLagemann.com Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Yoshitsuya Ichieisai, The Battle of Magic, c. 1860 {{PD}}

It’s an almost-magical day–can you feel it? Something exciting, surprising, or amazing is tickling us in just the right way, offering satisfaction through relationships, finances, or by seeing our values in action; the only thing is that this will require we modify our idea of what constitutes our own empowerment. Being empowered may in reality not be what you think it is at all; you may need to see power and effectiveness as the same thing, or you may need to accept that power isn’t always an aggressive energy. There’s as much power in Being as there is in Doing–and until you understand that, the power struggles will continue. Whether you work out the power conundrum or not, there’s still excitement and a certain freedom to be had–make the most of it!

Today’s word image is a croque monsieur. Do you know this delightful French treat? In other environs this might be described as a fried ham and cheese sandwich–and that brings us to defining our symbol: What do you know by or define by a ‘fancy’ label that might be something quite ordinary if described differently? And why would you insist on an elaborate name rather than a more direct one–what do you get from that? It may just be a feeling you need to be more clear on, or a pretension you need to drop. For my French friends: What everyday treat do you need to appreciate just a little more?

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By Paolo Villa – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51243514

Why are we trying so hard to separate ourselves from the past? Taking action to negate or in denial of where we come from and who it made us is to deny a little but very vital part of ourselves. We are wanting to think only harmonious, beautiful thoughts, to exert a graceful and natural power of our own, but this is impossible if we deny reality, and particularly if we deny our current circumstances and the rules, restrictions, and counterbalances those circumstances exert on us. Yes, seek harmony, beauty, and reward, but do so from an understanding that embraces who we are now without unneeded judgment or censure, not by pretending the past never existed, and that no limits exist now.

This is not the kind of dog that was dashing around in the street. {{PD}}

Today’s word image is a lost dog, described so poorly that no one will ever identify and/ or find it. This image comes from a real-life incident wherein a woman came to my door, asking if I had lost a “weiner dog”, which she claimed kept trying to run out into traffic. I have lived here 9 years; no one in the neighborhood has such a dog. She left and I looked out the window–to discover she was trying to corral a small shaggy white dog, like a scottie, which appeared to me to be one of the dogs that lives across the street. The dog’s owner came out, then, and retrieved it, but I was struck by how poorly this woman had described the dog; she would’ve done better to give a physical description, something to hint at the actual appearance of the animal, and I wondered if her observational skills were that poor in the rest of her life. So, as a symbol, this may call on all of us to make sure we’re actually seeing, that we’re not making assumptions or overlaying our own imaginings and so blocking out what’s really in front of us. It also brings to mind those situations where understanding may fall so short of what we’re observing that we have no reference points, no way to describe it–and that, too, calls for us to take a step back and observe, without the distortions of inappropriate assumptions or labels.