...fate does it to us." ~ Carl Jung, from The Red Book
This may seem a strange choice of a quote for this time in which the world has been and is still suffering from something that has come out of nowhere and caused so much pain through no fault of our own, no matter who we may be, but to me, it applies in many ways, the most important being that people may agree with something like the concept of healthcare as a basic human right more than they ever had before (not to mention this right being also a way to stave off something like this much more efficiently), and they may value life itself more than they ever have, or their loved ones more than ever, (especially after some having lost some of them to COVID), or possibly they now value life more than they ever have before, just life itself, let alone all the fringe benefits of life.
I myself have almost died a few times in this life, and for some reason have lost a larger than average amount of people I love to death (including a few during this period of the pandemic, but not due COVID itself, and many years ago, both of my parents) so this is now firmly in my DNA; The value of just being alive. It is easy to take for granted. During the midst of this crisis, I was thinking about that, and on an index card, in Sharpie, I wrote 'Stay Alive. All Else is Frosting.' I even made some for friends. I always try to keep this sentiment in mind, and every morning in the shower, though I am not religious in the traditional sense but for lack of a better word, I say a prayer for all that I am grateful for, starting with Life, and having it, while I do.
The cards I wrote to keep certain basic things in mind. The anatomy figure sits upon my kitchen table (my roomie brought it home from work one day) where I spent a lot of time during the isolation period of the pandemic reading, writing, doing art, and of course, eating (which, incidentally, helped in keeping me alive!).
Despite
the apt title of this blog based on my love of talking and telling
stories, I am not going to go in depth toward all I have learned and all
I have thought about during all of this, I will save it for later
entries (including my theory that the world needed to be broken open in
order to properly begin to heal) and I will now go to the standby on
here that is the staple of every entry; Photos. I am including far more than I usually do, since it has been so long.
Be well, and revel in Life, while we have it,
Yours, Wayne Ray Flower II
All photos by Wayne R. Flower except where noted
Robot Boy awaits the bus
Journaling helped keep me sane during all this madness
A fabulous exit...
"I don't trust those trees...Hey guys, check this out, more imposters!"
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Aye, germ is the word these days
I came across this (above) somewhere in SE Portland, it reminded me of the scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's film, The Sacrifice where the main character comes across a perfect replica of his own house in the woods near it. Below is a promo photo for the film of Tarkovsky working on setting up the house for the scene. The Sacrifice was his last film before he died of cancer, and one of my favorite films. Many of his films use houses as a metaphor.
The Green will win the Slow War
I found a malformed rock heart. Perfect.
This is hilarious. I have no idea what inspired this, but my joke was, "Nothing says love like writing your lover's name on a dirty old mattress and propping it up a on a busy street for all to see."
My friend's two nutty little dogs, Ringo and Watts. They looked like furry stones.
Below: Playing tennis with the moon
On the balcony where I rehearse music are these badass lions, keeping watch
STOP! In the name of Love. And because there are dogs and kids around, Man!
I dropped my burrito and it landed perfectly. As well, I had just cleaned the floor. Best. Burrito drop. Ever.
This little creature can at times be a little prick, but mostly he is so sweet and he always comforts me when I am down or sick, and through the madness he has been golden.
Something doesn't feel right....
