"Highly" Unlikely

Out of the corner of my eye, one day not long ago, I spotted something.  Up on the top of the curtain rod - had a bird gotten inside?  Oh dear!

I got the step ladder to get a closer look - hoping that if it was a bird it wouldn't fly into my face.  But no, it was a strange small person - looking as if he had every right to be sitting high above the ground.

Introducing ourselves to each other I found out that his name is "Highly".  As such, it is his task in life to end up appearing in places that are highly unlikely for a little waif to be.

I asked him if his ancestors might have been explorers and he nodded his head sagely and said 'its certainly likely'.  He wouldn't tell me if there are others of his kind wandering my house at night - perching here and there - but I have a feeling I will find that out in due time.

 "From there to here and here to there, funny things are everywhere." - Dr. Seuss

The Unlikely's

One night, not long ago, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  Thoughts were rambling through my brain as if it were a freeway.  The phrase "its very unlikely that I'd be able to..." popped up.  I have no idea how that sentence was finished because I got sidetracked thinking about the word "unlikely".

What a strange word it is.  While it doesn't actually say it won't happen it gives sort of a feeling that it isn't going to happen.  Was I thinking perhaps I'd take up ballet when the unlikelies popped up -- or was it something mundane such as cleaning the stove?  Either way, this word presents a challenge.  Do I yield to the unlikelies and forget about the stove for another day (very tempting) or do I challenge the unlikelies and prove that I certainly could be a ballerina if I wanted.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out but one thing I can say, I'll be exploring this word more and there's no doubt about that...

"I'm always excited by the unlikely, never by ordinary things." - David Hockney

"Life"

Life - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

For only having four letters -- this is a HUGE word. When I looked it up in my dictionary there were 14 definitions. The one shown here is always shown first -- and although it does describe' life' I was more interested in definition #11- 'that which makes or keeps alive; the vivifying principle'. #13 also spoke to me - ' 'one who or that which enlivens'. 

I suspect our little 'Life' Whisperer is whispering awareness of life. Reminding me that in terms of a whole universe of time how small my little part is. 

Perhaps a Whisperer's definition could be made up.  One that glorifies each and every minute, reminding us to greet this day, hour, minute, second with peace and joy. 

"Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it." - Ernest Holmes

"Voices?"

The other day my husband came into my studio area from his study - clear across the house - to ask me who I was talking to.  Couldn't he tell?  Yes, I was talking to myself.  I do that often -- just chattering away to no one but whoever is inside my head at the time. 

There's a whole family in there you know -- sometimes it gets so crowded and raucous that I have to take a walk to get away from them all *smile*.  Other times I try to meditate them away -- but they are very persistent.

Most of the time they give me very good advice -- sometimes I'm led astray. However, if I make a mistake or follow the wrong path there is always another voice to say 'what on earth are you doing?'  

Now if some of them would only make a 'real' appearance and help me clean up this place -- its a mess.

"The more faithfully you listen to the voices within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside." - Dag Hammarskjold

"Fly"

"Fly - to move through the air on wings, as a bird; to be borne through the air by the wind or any other force."

 Whispering this word - quietly encouraging - lift yourself up - aim as high as you can - take the chance of spreading your wings - see how high your flight takes you.

That is what this Whisperer says -- and I know it because she has been whispering to me for a week or so -- giving me ideas that simply must be tried.

I love the thought of being lifted off the ground and into the air.  Although I am pretty much scared silly of heights - they are okay as long as I'm not standing atop them looking down.  

There are times when I seem to be afraid to fly metaphorically also -- perhaps when that happens I will hear a soft whisper in my ear reminding me that its never to soon or too late to attach my wings and take off. 

"And so you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further.  With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high." - Arton Senna

Winter Art by Simon Beck

Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?  These three pictures are just a few of the masterful work that Simon Beck creates in the snow - making steps in snowshoes. 

"I just thought it was a bit of fun to do after a day of skiing," Beck says.  "I just felt like I needed a bit of exercise -- and decided to make a pattern in the snow.  I had no idea how good it was going to look when I first made it.  I was quite amazed when I saw it from the ski lift.

An expert in orienteering, Simon Beck uses a compass and a set of sketches to measure how many steps will be needed for each part of the drawing before he sets out.  Oh my, only a compass and a set of sketches?

Realizing that all of his efforts are soon gone with the wind or new snow upon old makes these fleeting beauties all the more wonderful.  Thank you Simon Beck for your energy and talent.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness." - John Keats

"Magic"

"Magic - Any extraordinary or irresistible influence; mysteriously enchanting."

Magic is something that can slip through our fingers - as if it were a 'slight-of-hand' trick.  It often happens as a surprise - something magical will happen and there is that moment of awe, beauty and well, magic!

This word is for the explorer and the adventurer in all of us.  For it often happens when we least expect it and we must always keep our eyes open (and hearts I might add). 

Of course there are those momentous moments when a child is born, or two people commit to each other and there is a lovely celebration.  And there is magic being performed by scientists each and every day.  Discoveries that might change our lives.

 But there are also the everyday magical moments. Those can be as simple as the smile of a friend, the hug of a loved one, the sun coming up and the stars shining at night.  All contain a bit of magic.  I envy those who recognize magic whenever or wherever it appears.  They certainly must have been touched by a 'Whisper'.

"The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Bertrand Russell

Dictionary????

Oh woe is me!!!  The other day, I heard that Merriam Webster will no longer be printing dictionaries -- everything will be on-line.  I can't tell you the distress I felt when I heard this piece of bad news.

How could it come to pass that soon there will be no more dictionaries in the land?  How could anyone, anywhere think that replacing all the printed words with electronic ones would be an improvement?  

Certainly, sometimes I look up words on my computer -- but that is not nearly as satisfying as turning the pages in my old 1947 American College Dictionary to find the word I'm looking for.  Once the proper word is found -- there are words above it and below and next to it -- all to be explored.  Using the dictionary isn't just about finding out how to spell a word - it is a quest, a search, a quiet drift among the letters.

And then we come to the words in these new electronic dictionaries. I'm sure they will include LOL, 'hashtag', BFF and any number of quick-to-type 'symbols'. Its no wonder I'm getting the collywobbles -- its enough to bumfuzzle even the strongest of us.

"Every time I have to look up a word in the dictionary, I'm delighted." - Vivienne Westwood

"Joy"

"Joy - An emotion of keen or lively pleasure arising from present or expected good."

What is the best kind of joy?  Is it the laugh out loud kind?  Is it the quiet kind that sort of sneaks up on you when you least expect it?  Or is it all good -- any kind of joy.

  

Where do you find joy?  Are you most often with someone else when it arrives, totally unannounced?  Or are you by yourself, doing something solitary when you feel a nudge and realize that joy is whispering to you?

Being open to it in the first place is the key.  Letting joy filter in totally unannounced and unexpectedly.  Do you know there are people who are not able to let joy in for one reason or another?  What a shame.  Perhaps a certain little Whisperer can give them a nudge.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." - Franklin D. Roosevelt