OCTOBER Costume Party -- DANDELION WINE
By Ray Bradbury (with wee assistance from A. Marieve Monnen)
Douglas picked up the Mason jar with the cold dark lumps in it and the cool lights flicked on again, as if given life by his hand. He lifted the Mason jar to where it shone fitfully on his summing-up. The final words waited to be written. But he went instead to the window and pushed the screen frame out. He unscrewed the top of the jar and tilted the fireflies in a pale shower of sparks down the windless night. They found their wings and flew away.
OCTOBER Costume Party -- HEALING WITH ART
By Ruth King (with wee assistance from Ann Rapp)
Ann Dressed as Ethelflaed
Note: My costume is that of a medieval queen, Ethelflaed, eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, who upon her father's death, led his army against the Vikings. I'm girding my loins ready for Nanowrimo on Wednesday (NaNoWriMo's symbol is a Viking helmet).
Here's my paragraph from my favorite book about healing with art by Ruth King:
Art speaks to a truth larger than our suffering, and our job is to make a genuine offer. Whether you are a writer, dancer, healer, sculptor, painter, singer, architect, teacher, gardener, philosopher, or caregiver, your offering is sure to be medicine for collective well-being. Consider your life a gift. What’s inside? What creative expressions are you warehousing that bring you alive and belong to all of us?
Philosopher, theologian, and civil rights leader Howard Thurman encouraged us in this way: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Identify a creative project and consider your artistic expression a gesture of affection that cultivates a culture of care.
Offer it generously, as ceremony, and without apology.
Pay attention to how you and others are impacted.
The offerings of our creativity are noble and emancipating. When practiced, we come out of hiding into light. When shared they support love and respect and inspire harmony and hope.
They are gestures of gratitude, a way of giving back. To say yes to our artistic calling is to say to our culture, ‘Here is my offering of care.’
Ruth King, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out.