Life Is a Journey

"For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die... a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." -Ecclesiastes 3-22

Last week, the above Bible verse, became a reality. Birth and death occurred in the same period. I felt I was at a crossroads in life. The circle of life was happening in both a sad and joyful manner. You can read more about this here. 

In reference to death, my family paid tribute to my 94-year-old Uncle in a Central New York town, Rome, New York. A spirit of peace filtered through the church as I walked in. The church was as I recalled it from my childhood days when I attended Mass with my Nonnie. A few new pieces beautified the inside and outside of the building. A magnificent life-size Pieta, 1 of 100 created, was installed as a shrine in the back of the church. It reminded me that the passing of life can be a beautiful spiritual event. 

In the courtyard, my son noticed a bench with my grandmother's and grandfather's names inscribed. It was comforting to think that my Uncle John honored them and now it was his turn to be honored. A spirit of peace filtered through the church during the visiting hour, Mass, and burial.

It was touching to read my daughter's Facebook post about the birth of her third little girl and the passing of her great uncle, "It seems fateful that with her birth, as one angel comes to this earth, another one leaves it." The circle of life came full forward. The journey on earth is starting for our newborn, Lila Joy, while my uncle begins his journey in heaven. One of the caregivers at Francis House, the hospice setting, told my sister about a ritual they practice. When a resident expires, a window is opened so the spirit can move to a new home. She also said that my Uncle Johnny would be Lila's special angel. Each person, newborn and elder, embark on a spiritual journey comprised of many layers. 

life is a journey of faith with family:

daily

wonderings

challenges

joys

daily

pathways

leading

onward

daily

life is a journey of faith with family

©CVarsalona, 2023

Pause now to listen to Turn! Turn! Turn! by the Byrds that reiterates the Bible verse from Ecclesiastes. It is now time to turn my thoughts to the family's journey of birth, death, weeping, laughing, mourning, and dancing for the walk is upon us. It is also the turning of seasons from spring to summer. This time each year, we shall celebrate life with Lila Joy and remember an uncle who believed in the goodness of family life.

.

I now turn my thoughts to Spiritual Journey Thursday. On the first Thursday of each month, the Spiritual Journey Thursday community meets to discuss a topic chosen by the host. This month, Dave at Leap of Dave is our host. Dave posed some questions about our spiritual journey for us to ponder. The nature photography digital graphic that I created shares part of a duck family I came upon in Central New York after the funeral. Family is important on our walk as is nature. It is a vital part of creation and every matter unto heaven. 

Today is also Poetry Friday. Each week, a community of poets from across the globe gather together to share poetic goodness. This week, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is our host.  

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I look forward to reading both Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday writers' blog posts. Before I say goodbye, I would like to add a couple more digital inspirations/image poems that I worked on this week.

©CVarsalona, 2023, This Photo Wants To Be A Poem (Photo by Margaret Simon)

©CVarsalona, 2023, Designed in Graphite and FotoJet

in Response to Anastasia Suen's #smallpoem challenge

Capturing Autumn

It's true that I am inspired by nature. Closer observation of the world has changed my perception for I now see each season for its beauty, not any negative components. In doing so, I embrace the word believe as a powerful way to think positively and find possibilities in life's landscapes. 

Tonight during the #G2Great educational chat, I was excited to read a quote from poet Georgia Heard that resonated with me. 

This led me to start wondering about the gift of writing.

I searched for a poem that would describe the beauty of October as I saw it this week in my travels.

Vintage book dated 1928

Home Thoughts

by Odell Shepard

October in New England,
And I not there to see
The glamour of the goldenrod,
The flame of the maple tree!

October in my own land. . . .
I know what glory fills
The mountains of New Hampshire
And Massachusetts hills.

I know what hues of opal
Rhode Island breezes fan,
And how Connecticut puts on
Colors of Hindustan.

Vermont, in robes of splendor,
Sings with the woods of Maine
Alternate hallelujahs
Of gold and crimson stain.

You can read the rest of the poem that takes on a bit of a different tone here. 

Below is a photo collage from the day trip I took with my family to find fall. We were fortunate to witness the beauty of an Indian Summer day with autumn colors popping. Each time I am captivated by the beauty of nature, I am inspired to write.

Join me this season as I capture the beauty of the fall for the Autumnventure Gallery.

Today is Poetry Friday, please visit Tricia Stohr-Hunt's site, The Miss Rumphius Effect, for the Poetry Round-Up. 

Found Object Poetry

Writing colleague, Laura Shovan, sent out an invitation to create alongside of her in February for her 2016 Found Object Poem Project. In addition, she asked for photos to be sent in. I contributed a couple of photos that I thought were not only interesting but thought-provoking.

While I missed writing poetry for the project on Days 1-3, I am jumping in now to write poems based on the found objects for Day 4 and 5. 

Day 4

You whirl, sputter, roar

to cool summer days

as thick as pea soup.

Oh, gadget of necessity,

your task is never done.

You should ask for

overtime pay.

©CVarsalona, 2016

Day 5

Found Object Poem contributor, Matt Forrest Esenwine,
calls this found object “Tomato Moon.”

Not two peas in a pod.

Not two beans on a pad

but

two simple valentines 

linked

creating

one tomato moon,

filling the spaces of 

my February heart-

peacefully co-joined,

artfully sculptured,

waiting for a receiver.

©CVarsalona, 2016

 Happy Valentine's Day!

©CVarsalona, 2016

If you have not seen the invitation to my upcoming gallery, Winter Wanderings, please access it here. I welcome you to offer your perspective on winter in your locale through a digital composition of a poem and photo. Please encourage students to lend their voice to the creative challenge. The deadline for submission is March 4th.

Tricia Stohr-Hunt is the host of Poetry Friday today. Please visit her site, The Miss Rumphius Effect here to read her poem, Pablo's Cat, and the offerings of the Poetry Friday community of writers.

Last Dance

It is late November, Mother Nature's time to have her last dance. Cynthia Rylant describes the scene in her book, In November. November's air is crisp; its trees are bare. Its stillness gently lays upon the land, seeking companions. An invitation is presented to join her quiet transformation of autumn.

While celebrating the changes witnessed in November, I took the liberty of reformatting one of the quotes from Rylant's book and digitalizing a photo of autumn woods. Does the new combination I present evoke a feeling of November changes that Rylant describes in her book?

"In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. 

Without their leaves, how lovely they are, 

spreading their arms like dancers. 

They know it is time to be still."  

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It's time for Poetry Friday so stroll over to Tricia Stohr-Hunt's site, The Miss Rumphius Effect for a look at Robert Frost's poem, My November Guest. 

If you are interested in my digital poetry challenge please click here. 

I am gathering offerings until the end of this month.

Ringing in the New Year with a Look Back and a Look Forward

The New Year brings a promise of possibilities. I pause in the stillness of the early morning to reflect on the myriad of choices I have to start the day. Since it is Friday, I am eager to open the Poetry Friday site and see what offerings are awaiting me. In my quest to challenge my technical skills, enjoy new readings, and write to grow as a learner, I created a museum type showing of the Finding Fall Gallery that has the feel of a New York City gallery. If I accessed the final copy correctly you will be able to enjoy the variety of perspectives on the season of autumn and recollect your fall memories in the process. (Click here to be emazed.)

As promised, I am now ready to send out the invitation to the 5th gallery of artistic expressions. Read below and see if you can determine what the new title of the collection will be. I hope I can encourage many more Poetry Friday community members to offer a poem and accompanying photo. The submission deadline will be the end of February for a March showing. 

Did you guess the title of the new gallery?

-Winter Whisperings-

I included my One Little Word (OLW) for 2015 in the poem-LISTEN!

I will listen to the words in each and every offering to the Gallery of Winter Whisperings and showcase them in an inspiring design. 

Here are the easy steps to engage in reflective writing for this gallery. In doing so, you will assist me in building the collection.

1. Find that special winter site that allows you to listen.
2. Pause, observe, reflect.
3. Capture the image and couple it with a poetic thought or poem.
4. If you want to experiment with photo editing tools, try PicMonkey, Canva, or Word to superimpose the poem onto the photo.
5. Include your name, Twitter handle or website, and location of the  photo.
6. If you are not familiar with the above tools, send me the original photo and poem and I will combine them.
7. One or two student poems are welcomed per teacher, as long as the  teacher submits one, using it as a mentor text for her class.

May your winter be filled with the blessings of the New Year. 

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Now greet the first Friday of January at 

The Miss Rumphius Effect 

where Tricia has already started 

ringing in the New Year with Poetry Friday.