October 1st seems to have passed without the transition of this Substack to paid (thank you to all who have contributed recently!!). I still have some work to do making sure all who have contributed get put on the right paid Substack mailing lists, but it will happen in the next day or two.
In the meantime, here’s a Pause for Beauty for all, paid and unpaid. (You can join us here.)
As was I preparing today’s Pause for Beauty, and looking at potential paintings to include, I came across September Sandhill Sunrise, a painting I’ve been saving for the last several months for September. It is a painting I did years ago after a trip to Bosque Del Apache to see the tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes that congregate there, and where I’ll soon be headed.
And then I realized that September had passed without me remembering the painting. That reminded me of the poem by Tu Fu with the poignant line, “Life whirls past like drunken wildfire.”
My fortieth year. Borne headlong
Towards the long shadows of sunset
By the headstrong, stubborn moments,
Life whirls past like drunken wildfire.
- Tu Fu, translated by Kenneth Rexroth, One Hundred Poems From The Chinese
. . .
Life whirls past like drunken wildfire.
My sixty-ninth year. Carried along
Toward shadows, toward the end
Whatever it may be, whenever
Stubborn, persistent, focused, searching
I pray for guidance
Still, life whirls past like drunken wildfire.
- from a journal note
The following two favorite Einstein quotes are from the two-page spread in the upcoming Heron Dance book, Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery.
From the age of six to 14, I took violin lessons but had no luck with my teachers, for whom music did not transcend mechanical practicing. I really began to learn only after I had fallen in love with Mozart's sonatas. The attempt to reproduce their singular grace compelled me to improve my technique. I believe, on the whole, that love is a better teacher than sense of duty.
. . .
A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe" — a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace the wholeness of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such an achievement is in itself a part of the liberation, and a foundation for inner security.
To read the entire post, go here.
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The Kickstarter
In order to fund the printing of the new, limited-edition hardcover Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery (Smyth-sewn, dust jacket, premium art paper, printed by a high-quality art book printer), Heron Dance has launched a Kickstarter.
(Please note that all who contributed $150 to Heron Dance recently, or signed up for $15 or more a month, will receive two or all four of these signed, numbered first editions, depending on the contribution level. Details here.)
You can read more here, but the featured items and bonuses include:
· Signed, numbered copies of both the upcoming Meditations on Gratitude, Beauty and Mystery, An Art Journal, and the book published earlier this year, Nurturing the Song Within.
· Wire-o bound versions of both the Nurturing Diary Planner and Using an Art Journal to Probe Deep.
· PDFs of the two hardcover books.
· Signed, limited edition prints of ten of the images in the Meditations on Gratitude book, available in three different sizes.
. . .