"Thank you, GOD...thank you..."

 

 

 

                                                                                                                              (from 12 January)

Some of my incantations get pretty long.

 

I use a collection of cadence-like, meditative sayings when I run to get me into an enhanced state; especially when I'm working something out that's particularly challenging. If I find myself going negative or focusing on the undesired outcomes, I'll draw from an accumulated collection and get into it pretty good. Often times, full-throated to say the least. Yes, a few heads turn as I pass nearby...but I've gotten to the point now...what the heck. With age cometh privilege...

And I'm still finding my 'Voice'.

Many might benefit from doing the same thing... most likely.

 

"Thank you, GOD...thank you..."

 

That one is pretty short.

 

And it was the order of the day this morning. This very early, cold-for-Charlotte, morning in January. Frozen SOLID water bottle and no drink from this water dish now. For Keeli, that is.

 

 

 Figured I'd sport the VisMat colors with a touch of purple accent to make it official   ;) Those 'footies' work great for the hands.

 

 





Had the full moon still hanging above the horizon; setting in the northwest with the sunrise directly opposite in the southeast. Clear skies. Shades of indigo to azure blended from north to south...and brisk.

 

It had been a while for me to get that special, 'I'm alive this morning running breathing steaming with eyelids iced up' feeling. Three years to be precise and not since I was last running the Parkway back in Burnsville, MN. (This morning 'up Nort', it was a balmy -14F)

 

And from 40 years of all-weather running, I can tell you it takes single digits for my tears to freeze on my eyelids. (Coincidentally... we had our coldest day of last year; a record breaker, on the same morning; 6F. No... I didn't run that morning. Must have had an early meeting...)

 

This morning; I'M ALIVE. For better or worse.

 I choose in those moments to make it 100% for the better. Usually.

 

"Thank you, GOD...thank you..."

 

Couple miles down the road, came across a realtor's OPEN sign laying in the street. The arrow was pointing straight ahead... a sign for me... keep moving forward...

Will do.
 

keep moving...forward

working, moving, breathing 'warm' , making my own 'heat'; energy into heat.

"Thank you GOD...thank you..."

 

Thank you Louis Zamperini...; "If I can take it I can make it" 
You did.
(more from UNBROKEN in a post soon to follow)

 

I'm just living-moving-breathing-floating-thankful.

"Thank you GOD...thank you..."

Grateful to be alive and embrace the moment to ice-up my eyelids once in a while. Re-connecting with the power of those similar past experiences. A few from sub-zero temps had me looking quite like the 'Ice-man cometh'...

I see better when I squint anyway.

 

"Thank you GOD...thank you..."

 

The world hears me on this frozen morning.

I do, too.

Are we listening?

And GOD, for the sake of most everyone else... who might not choose to celebrate life by icing up their eyelids... and water pipes... that's cool.

Ten degrees warmer tomorrow morning is all-right by me!

Couple days and it will be shorts and t-shirt again.

"Thank you GOD...thank you..."

 

 

 



This was inspired a morning ago, by a life-line that suddenly appeared in front of me. -A trail walk with Keeli and wisp that seemed to come from a higher place...

 

Like a Heart-String...

to Heaven

 

 

 

I came upon

a strand of dew-dripped Gossamer

From Heaven

seemed it hung

 

Revealed in diamond shimmer

like a heart-string song

un-sung

 

A note I'd heard

in distant dream

The chorus

made of one

 

 

 

Resonating in my soul

The words I heard

"My son...

 

You've some to see

Connections made

in Wood and Forest glen

 

do come upon you

in the space

between

what's Now and Then...

 

My Webs of Life

and Wisdom granted

there

for one-and-all

 

In Whispers hung

on Gossamer Strands

that from my hand

do fall..."

 

 

 

Find yours...

Open your eyes.

 

The ones on the inside.

 

When you seek and sense that longing for greater inner vision, it will find you.

(You've walked through it before!)

 

If God uses the little spider to connect us, think of how magnificent the vision awaiting you... to serve you to pierce the illusions... and see your way to greater joy and peace in your Web of Life.

 

'With faith, the scales shall fall away'

 

 

(Photography: taken 15 January 2015)



 

Metaphors...

and 'Me; therefore's

 

 

Renowned Life Coach and best-selling author Anthony Robbins believes the metaphors we regularly employ in our daily lives reveal a great deal about our personality, character and self-awareness. Or possibly lack thereof.

 

By observing another's key metaphors, similes and linguistic patterns, we gain a useful tool to more quickly understand where a person is coming from. And going.

This revelation can be the equivalent of 'reams' of analysis and 'ages' of time in assessing the likelihood of the individual achieving their goals; partly by understanding their metaphors. Along with body language queues, Tony claims he can gauge a person's state through the façade.

I have come to agree. That's a 'slam-dunk'... Metaphorically speaking.

 

So what about me; therefore?

My 'Me; therefores'?

 

True Home...

 

Since the day I moved into my townhome; nearly three years now, I've been blessed with a pastoral view from my back door. Bluebird and I...

 

 



I oriented my writing desk to keep this in front of me and from this vantage I've enjoyed  a continually changing, seasonal stream of beautiful and amazing sights. Inspiring sunrises, a couple Carolina snowstorms, super moons Spring blooms and Fall colors...there to enjoy for the cost of an outward gaze...

 

And I'd be remiss if I did not acknowledge the enjoyment and stimulation my 'significant other' has garnered from this vantage...

 



 

From my first pumpkin patch to frosty mornings, fawns, feathered friends and Tommy Tortoise...

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 My yellow finch...sharing my view...now of a past time. Locked in memory...in spirit.

 

Flown away.
******
 

 

"TrueHomes... and visions obscured.

A change prescribed;
a new path; unknown...

Once again

to be cured.
To be traveled down...
to be flown."

 

 

Really?

 

I see the new homes of others. For others... Not mine here, any longer. And that's ok. It's a metaphor of mine. A revealing metaphor.

 

The changes. The new construction. The broken ground and noises and sounds of forms arising from paper plans.

 

The architect's designs manifesting...

The builder's hands erecting...

 

I'm going to miss the trail by the creek. My metaphor for Gossamer Trail. My 'Walden Pond'.

 

 



 

I have lines out to discover an airport. Maybe in the Carolina's. Maybe in North Dakota or Utah. Doesn't really matter right now. 

 

A small airfield that can use a former flyer/business guy/dreamer like me to manage it. I believe one of those lines will catch and I'll be off to a new home. Soon. And a new view from which to orient my writing desk. My view... My visions and musings. My next, new TrueHome.

 

My 'writing desk'... now there's a major metaphor of mine, like the spider web, Charlotte A. Cavatica (she's sooo RADIANT) and Gossamer Trails...

 

Ok; 'like' technically makes it a simile.

 

And I know "X" marks the spot. Metaphorically speaking, that is...   ;)

 

 

Somewhere up there...

 

-That's a metaphor.

 

My reason to be brave.

 

And me; my

 

Therefore...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes...a single guiding reign...in hand

As simple as a spider's fine strand.

 

That is where the Act of Leadership and Journey begins...

 

A Vision with a voice.

 

There are times where we must find one...

and take it.

 

Lightly and firmly.

and Boldly.

 

For it is stronger than we can imagine. Like ourselves.

 

From this sentiment, the following stream ensued this morning:

 

 

 

"Of Logic and her Wisdom



Silken lenses that do so sift

Illusions into Visions

and worldly weights do Lift

 

Up 'Portals strung to Heaven'

 

Tears pierce the  misty veil

Divinity cups her rapture

in God's own Holy Grail

 

From Job and Psalmist Poets

 

with their sparks like sprits; fly

into the words and letters sailing near

and always so close by...

 

The heavy burdens will abate

the silence broken in the end

Attend your senses this entails

 

the Logic

and the Wisdom

from along her Gossamer Trails..."

 

 

Don't give up...

Get up.

Don't give in...

Get in.

 

You are loved...

 

The ultimate 'Weight-loss' diet:

 

Throw off the weight of the world...

 

and you shall learn to Fly.

 

-words from a reluctant Flight Instructor





 



"You will find out about it just in time... 

 

 

Make your sun come out and let it shine..."

 

 

 

Close Encounters of the 'bird' kind.

 

 

I'm not quite sure just what it is about the sunrises and sunsets here in the Carolinas'. They are, far and away, among the most spectacular I've seen anywhere in the world. And so frequently; especially in the Fall.

 

This morning was an exquisite one, as I rolled out for a 4 mile run.

 

 

 



Ideal running conditions ... again. I do like running in the heat but it is also nice for transitioning out of the heavy, sweaty...soak-the-shoes season... at least for the next five or six months. The I-pod headphones don't swim in my ears after mile 1 and every piece of fabric I'm wearing no longer clings to every part of my body. More clothes to launder with winter running, but hey, it's all trade-offs!

 

Finishing up in the brisk, clear air...nearing the 3.5 mile point where the usual downhill says' 'almost home', I opted for a right hand turn onto the creek trail. Add a half mile and a couple little hills and enjoy the sights and sounds of the rock-studded stream as I wind my way along it on the gravel path;

 

 

 



...now nicely padded with fallen leaves of all sizes and shapes. A few maple leaves strung up in spider silk seemingly dancing in mid-air. To the sides and over-head; russets and crimson, brilliantine oranges and soft, matte yellows... a virtual Crayola color-wheel of tints and hues against the azure blue roof.

 

Cruising along... noting a couple new 4" trees; perfectly felled into the creek by the beaver I've yet to see, but clearly aware of...

 

When there came...a fluttering and ruffled sound... out of the ordinary.

 

A big black feathery winged 'something' lifts up off the creek bank and hovers, spins, twists...FLUFFFS... and comes to rest a short distance down the creek; On a tree limb hanging over the water.

 

I stop. (runners my age can do that)

 

What is THAT?

 

Through a maze of branches and leaves I peer through, and it's looking at me too. Head bobbing...neck extending...cocking left and right... back and forth. Trying to make me out... 

 

And there we were; two creatures attempting to get a better view of each other.

 

I moved forward a few steps to get a better vantage and it shuffles along the 3 " thick branch sort of clumsily. I remark to myself...This bird is probably better in the air.

 

I'm staring at a Turkey Vulture (I'm pretty sure. I do know that they are a protected species here in the Carolinas). Imagine a monster, mutant Raven on steroids. She's a big bird. What's she doing hanging out on the creek? I've never seen one down here...after a couple hundred creek runs. So this is a first. And we are still eyeing each other.

 

Surprisingly, it continued the stare-down with me. I focused on relaxing my body posture. Stilled my mind and let things get 'real'. Hard to do but I felt I succeeded somewhat. Seemed she did, too.

 

For a second or three...time stopped.

 

 

 

Slowly, in my best Steve Irwin stride, I moved down the path about 20 feet. She, in her best Dumbo the Elephant imitation bounced up off the branch and elevated to a higher perch that was not intended for her size. Looked she was actually going to fall of the little twig. A comic are you? Or a klutz?

 

It took her a moment to gain her balance; flapping and using her beak and talons to stabilize herself best she could. Ha ha... exceptional to watch animals have a bit of cartoon behavior once in a while...I sensed she realized I was chuckling at her.

 

Maybe she's a juvenile? Probably, I concluded. She turned her head funny at me.

 

God knew I was enjoying the connection. The blessing. Could I be getting through to her? And just what might that be? Hey...We're all connected?

 

And ok... I sort of tipple like that on occasion when my foot get's caught pulling on my skivvies...

(Especially when someone moves the opening!!!)

 

My running has taught me a number of valuable life-lessons; among which is the ability to stop; literally and smell the mimosas... especially here. It took me a while to get the ego in the right place but I practiced stopping and finally got good at it. It was being affirmed, this morning. Again.

 

Yes; stop and smile at the Turkey Vultures when the opportunity presents itself, too. You never know.

 

Ok... reality check, Gary, I finally thought, mind coming back into play. Conference call to place in 30 minutes. So back into an easy jog, I continued along the trail that winds back to my home. 

 

Thought about looking back but realized I did not have the need to. I felt no sense of issuing  a farewell. There was a timelessness to the encounter that was more a continuation than something new, or old, for that matter. I did not choose to peer backward because I noticed myself choosing to look forward... to some kind of eternal desire... and a sense of an eternal recurrence of something much more principled than my current challenges and short-comings...

 

Yes; timeless. And principled.

 

And winged.

 

 

 

I finish with a little stretch down the street and cul-de-sac that run alongside my townhome. In the ear buds...the last chorus of Chicago's 'Caroline' have me flowing with magic that transcends decibels and megahertz. 

 

I hear it as Caroline-a... a personalization applied by me...making it unique and special. I started doing that well before I came down here...While I was still listening to that up Minnesota way. Modified it in my mind and made it one of my 'Moving forward' anthems. Helped me get ready for a big transition... Possibly, THE big transition.

 

-Perfect timing.. I was in need of that motivation and inspiration... to keep moving forward... through catalytic cycles...acknowledging and embracing it all as Universal good. Working on it, anyway.

 

"And you know... it aint easy...

so Girl you got to let it go..."

Caroline...

Caroline...

Everything will be just fine"

 

... something from behind...?

 

...from behind... whiiiifffftttttt... 50 feet above...

a bird soars over...and  then ahead of me.

 

A BIG BLACK bird...

 

"You can work it out this time

you will find out about it just in time..."

 

THAT big black bird.

 

I know that bird. What the...?

 

She followed me?

 

She floated with ease over the empty field in front of my home. I stood and watched with the morning sun at my back.. She lifted up over the tree line at the end of the field and made a lazy right bank a short distance to the bend in the creek where we had our encounter. Circled three times over it without so much as a flap or flutter and leveled out westward bound... soaring out of sight like she had somewhere to go...somewhere to be... on purpose... and I was envious for a moment.

 

I apologized for laughing at her footwork in the tree. Her flight skills were impressive, all right. Equally so, her 6 foot wingspan and graceful style. A well-developed juvenile. (Mature TVs have the distinctive red upper beaks and the younger birds are mostly black)

 

I turned to the cloud-filled eastern sky to find a hole that was quickly filling with flowing, golden light... and my lesson took on clarity.

 

"Make your sun come out and let it shine

You will find out about it just in time...

 

Caroline...a

 

Let it shine."

 

 

 

"When one tugs at a single thing in Nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."

                                                                                                                                    -John Muir

 

 

 

 

( Postscript//; next day/today 14 Nov)

I took the camera out on trail this afternoon to take some scenery pics and with some hopes I might come across my winged friend again. Well...lo and behold... in the same spot on the creek, look who I peered up to see? For perspective, that dead tree top is about 75 feet high.

 

She sprung up after a few minutes just to show off those magnificent wings and her more agile lines...  ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then ...I also came across an Angel...

 

 

 

 

And who says the stars don't come out in the daytime???

 

 

 

 

 

 

And not to be out-done; "Holy Bat Leaf" Batman!!!

 

 

 

Ahhhh yes... the power of one little tug...

 

All the way to God's Heart-strings... and back.

 

 

I feel the pull of the Forward Sky... Again.

 

 

 

 

With the setting of the full moon in this morning's cool, crisp air, I set free my 'Eight Eyes'...

(Note: The moon appeared to get stuck for a while. Can you believe that? With a couple deep breaths and spirited blows, I set IT free, too!)

I figured 'how appropriate' in my usual, and sometimes half-clever rationale.

After-all, It's the 8th.

And so at precisely 8:08 and yes... 8 seconds... I hit LAUNCH.

Take THAT Universe! Nothing like a well-timed KICK!     (give it a 'click' to tour)

	Congratulations! Your project is officially live on Kickstarter. It’s time to get moving.
	The Eight 'Eyes' of SpiderLogic... A Gift of Webs & Wisdom Visit your project

KickStarter has a new kid on the scene... and for the next 40 days and 40 nights, a big portion of my heart and soul is on display.

Do I still need to give the moon wings?

No, Gary.

The moon knows how to fly perfectly fine, thank you.

-Just like the Eagle... that just happened to fly by... God!


"Hath the rain a Father?"

My SpiderLogic has shown me the answer to that, too.

Yes. And so do you.

Thank you for that.

No... thank YOU.

OK. YOU are welcome!



I can already tell that today's run on the trail is going to feel different...

Postcard to You: Greetings from Catawba Hills; 8 November 2014

 



Lighter...

Though there are a number of heavy issues I confront, I will keep them off my shoulders; reserving their carrying powers to lift that which keeps me moving forward...toward the Light.

That's the best kind of 'lightness'.

Now, my book effort, in earnest, has been released out into that Light. That is very humbling.
And a revealing test of my faith.

 

 

Time for my "40 days and 40 nights"...

Forward.

 

 

Concealed... and Revealed

 

 

 

"From the fog that,

your eyes

concealed...

The webs of your life

were

revealed..."

 

 

The other morning, the fog rolled in just before sunrise. Made for great web-seeing... for those of us so inclined.

 

On the way to the office I had to remind myself to focus on the road and not upon all the wondrously constructed and strategically placed webs that appeared to come from 'no-where'. The heavy dew-laden silks made webs clearly visible; on the phone lines, road signs, bushes, trees, fence posts...everywhere. Some hedge-rows looked as if, straight from a Halloween set, hundreds of webs had been spread about.

 

Everywhere...

 

And... they were there yesterday.

 

And they did not dis-appear after the sunlight lapped up the water droplets.

 

Seemed like it though. 'Looked' like they were gone. And I could 'hear' so many thinking

 

"Where did all those spiders come from?" and "Where did they all go?"

 

(Just because you'd like to know: On average, you are never more than 10' away from... an eight-legged marvel!)

 

Concealed and revealed. A provocative paradox...

 

Sometimes God gives us aids to 'see' better with. In many forms and fashions. Always a common thread, I think; our eyes need help. Especially in the fog.

 

Be wise about how much you 'determine' when they are used in isolation.

 

 

                                         

                                               



 

 

 "A tear of wisdom

there for thee...
 

Her web of Life

for they who see"

 

********