contours provocations - 2006-1227

Holiday Gifts

Holiday gifts to receive and to give again.

Affirmation Not being afraid of who you are. But you are under no obligation to share this with others. Only as you desire

Solitude This is the ability to remove yourself from the physical world. It can happen when you are alone or in a crowded room. A place that Melville calls an "insular Tahiti."

Perceiving Recognizing the beauty that surrounds you. A floating leaf. A tiny lizard. Shadows on the curtain. Street lights through the pines.

Offering Help Such a simple thing. "Do you need help? Can I help you?" For an instance, you can become an angel of ministration

Listening Do nothing but listen. What do you hear? The hum of the laptop. The purr of a cat. The rumble of a passing truck. The distant whistle of a train. The rattle of an appliance.

Reasoning How does one get from A to B? What's the process? Frequently the sin of power is action and not reason. All things are achieved through some cognitive procedure.

Thankfulness A word of thanks. Showing gratitude for what someone else has done. Alas, almost a lost quality on the web. How sad that the greatest communication tool in the history of humanity, so frequently, ignores one of the most basic virtues of our being.

Piece of Mind W. H. Auden in his poem "Petition" be seeks an unknown entity to:

"Send to us power and light, a sovereign touch
Curing the intolerable neural itch,"

Forgetfulness Not the kind in which you ask "Where are my car keys?" Here you leave behind all that has caused you injury.

Schadenfreude Although it may not benefit you to wish evil unto another, there is nothing wrong with having a cosmic giggle when the arrogant CEO places his Prada shoe into the cow patty.

Rasa This is a special term from Sanskrit that indicates the mood or sentiment evoked by a work of art. Some may never experience this in a lifetime; others have the rare gift of experiencing it hundreds of times a day.

Love From the song "I Wish You Love":

"I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all
When snowflakes fall
I wish you love."

PAX!