The Friday Five - Truth, Beauty and Goodness for your weekend
Duality in the Seasons; a profound essay by Parker Palmer about the seasons; some of my poetry; 12 Things To See This Summer by Dallas Lore Sharp; and my list of 12 things to do this summer
A quick personal note
Happy Friday! I’m out of town again, this time visiting my parents in Georgia. I watched my husband’s eyes tear up the other night as he watched my parents shag dance to Carolina beach music when I asked them to show and teach us a few moves. My dad was a little rusty, and kept reaching up to touch his pacemaker, (I think he was a little nervous with all of the movement) but to see them doing something they used to love and that was a big FUN part of their lives was pretty neat, and emotional.
Seasons, from the calendar-driven seasons to the metaphoric seasons of life, come and go. Spending time with my parents, reminiscing over old family photos and stories, reminded me of how important it is to honor the season our loved ones are in, whether that be the ‘winter’ of life, a season of older age, marked by nostalgia or the season of long-suffering, marked by pain, like our family. We can offer comfort for the sufferers, a listening ear for the reminiscing storytellers, engaging questions to the recent high school grad who is excited about her college experience in the fall or prayer and empathy for the hurting daughter needing to do hard work in therapy. We are all in a season. I don’t want to get so caught up in my season that I can’t see you or hear you in yours.
“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” - Romans 12:10 NLT
I wrote about seasons this week, specifically the duality of life in the seasons, and read an incredible essay about them, recommended below. I hope it will bless you in your current season and I pray you have others around you who are honoring the season you’re in presently.
Life is precious. And hard.
1. Joy and Pain; Light and Darkness; Bitter and Sweet: Duality in the Seasons
Something the Lord has been showing me everywhere lately is that life is a mix of these paradoxical experiences. My post this week took a closer look at this:
Duality in the Seasons
The Work of the Seasons Last week, the boys and I accompanied my husband on a work trip to the beach in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Approaching our destination, with the first sighting of sandy roadsides, Wings stores, and the ocean teasing me with its peek-a-boo game in between the buildings along the shore, I excite…
2. An incredibly profound essay by Parker Palmer on nature's seasons, ‘both as a physical reality and as a metaphor for our lives’
“Seasons” is a wise metaphor for the movement of life, I think. It suggests that life is neither a battlefield nor a game of chance but something infinitely richer, more promising, more real. The notion that our lives are like the eternal cycle of the seasons does not deny the struggle or the joy, the loss or the gain, the darkness or the light, but encourages us to embrace it all—and to find in all of it opportunities for growth.”
I reference this essay in my article above, and highly recommend taking a few minutes to read it. Read the entire essay here.
3. Poems I posted this week
The River Speaks is a poem about feeling consumed by anxiety and fear that I began in 2020 and finished recently; There Wouldn’t Be Rainbows Without Any Rain I wrote for our daughter before her first residential facility; Game Ball inspired by my son winning his this baseball season; I am the seesaw on the playground is a picture of my emotional state, how I’m up and down, with our daughter’s story
The River Speaks
The river speaks And I listen intently Cutting through mountains Passing secrets like a song It shares without caution, wild and free I stand collecting, humbled and small An ethereal fog moves up the river It comes toward me Or am I coming toward it?
There Wouldn't Be Rainbows Without Any Rain
My darling Naomi, There wouldn’t be rainbows without any rain There wouldn’t be healing without any pain. Remember the hummingbird through this unknown plight, and how scientists are baffled by its remarkable flight. In all things, God is working in you
Game Ball
When your child brings home a game ball from a winning baseball game, put it in a display case. Spend $10 to get one from a hobby store, grab a pen and write the game date and score, and their name on it; ‘Andrew’s game ball.’ Then, place it in that plastic display case.
I am the seesaw on the playground
My eyes keep landing on the little girl. She looks like you when you were 3 or 4. She surveys the perimeter of parents and her eyes light up when she finds her mom. I remember that look from you. I remember the smile I would return. Her hair, dripping blonde tangles down her back, looks ju…
4. 12 Things to See This Summer - by Dallas Lore Sharp’s book, Summer
Summer, by Dallas Lore Sharp, written in the early 1900’s for children, is a lovely book, equally enjoyed by adults. I recently read through the chapter, A Chapter of Things to See This Summer and was delightfully inspired to both take his recommendations and create my own list, below. A description of the book from Amazon states:
“While recounting highlights of one of his summer vacations, the author gives hints on how you can make the most of yours. Go with some purpose, he urges, to visit some particular spot, see some bird, find some flower, or catch some fish! If you are short on ideas, chapters on Things to See, Things to Do, and Things to Hear are chock-full of enticing suggestions of what to focus on during your tramps in fields and woods. A clarion call to venture outside in summer with all your senses alert, wherever you go.”
You can find a copy of this lovely book, free to read, on Project Gutenberg
“Yesterday's Classics republishes classic books for children in high-quality paperback editions. The vast majority of these books were first published in the golden age of children's literature from 1880 to 1920 and have been long out of print.” (reference)
5. My list of 12 things to do this summer
Get curious about something new-to-you and research it; it could be a book, an insect, bird, or seashell, a dance move, a scripture, politics, or a computer program. You’re never too old to learn something new!
Download the iNaturalist app on your phone and begin recording your flora and fauna observations. Your observations can help scientists and help you become smarter by learning the names of the things you encounter.
Press flowers from your garden or yard. Record/label them. Consider making a pressed flower book of flowers from your yard through the seasons. Here is a link for how to press flowers. Or frame them for your very own herbarium art, inspired by this Cavallini and Co. poster.
Take a moment to record a favorite summer memory and share it with someone.
Write an I am poem
If you don’t already have one, get a library card and make library dates - just you and the library (your kids can come, too). They are perfect for rainy summer days. Check out large reference books on art, history, or science. Check out books on anything that interests you. Check out children’s picture books – perhaps they’ll inspire you to write a children’s book one day! I’m putting together a post right now on summer picture books that inspire me or remind me of nostalgic summers.
Go on a nature walk for the sole purpose of observing and exploring the natural world. Gather a rock, shell, leaf or flower and preserve it, or simply take in the bird sounds. You can also download the app Merlin Bird ID from the Cornell Lab that will help you identify the birds you hear.
This is a screen shot from the app from a morning walk where I captured so many bird sounds! I haven’t had a day with this many birds recorded at once recently. Try something new like pinning an insect, taking a cooking or pottery class, or go learn a new dance. My husband and I are learning how to shag dance from my parents. I learned how to pin insects during my master naturalist course last year. I’ll make a separate post on how to do this later this summer.
Spend some quiet reflection time considering the duality of the season you’re in and praying for the Lord to show you opportunities for growth.
Seek an open area with low to no light pollution and stargaze and dream. Or stargaze and learn the constellations and planets that you see. Download a stargazing app to help identify them, like the SkyView Lite app; it’s free and we love it.
Begin a nature journal. You don’t have to be an artist, journaler or writer to start a nature journal. All you have to do is simply record what you see and what interests you. There are so many ways to nature journal and I have a forthcoming post on nature journaling, ways to do it, what you need, and all of the benefits this hobby has given me. Stay tuned!
Go on a digital detox for a period of time. It could be a detox from your phone, social media, or anything electronic that may be stealing time away from living your life/enjoying your summer in person. There is a lot of buzz about this lately here on Substack. I’m reading a lot about people quitting social media platforms and finding freedom. I plan to share more on this, including links to some of the articles that are inspiring me, later.
Question for Reflection or Journal Prompt:
What summer memories do you have from your childhood? If you are able, spend some time reflecting with family and friends to come up with more. There are stories there that may be waiting to be told.
A Piece of Art that Epitomizes Summer Dreaming
Faith Ringgold, born 1930 in Harlem, New York, is a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, writer, teacher and lecturer. She received her B.S. and M.A. degrees in visual art from the City College of New York in 1955 and 1959. Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of California in San Diego, Ringgold has received 23 Honorary Doctorates.1
Her Tar Beach story quilt, pictured below, depicts what summer dreaming looked like for a little 8 year old girl living in Harlem in 1939.
Listen to Ms. Ringgold read the book version of Tar Beach aloud:
Learn more about Faith Ringgold and her story quilts here.
Quotable:
“If God always met our expectations, He’d never be able to exceed them.” - Steven Furtick
Creative Corner: Capture Summer Memories in your Creative Journal
I was scrolling through photos on my phone the other day and came across this one that I had shared on my Instagram account when I was teaching art. I made this page in my art journal to capture the memories and the house we stayed at during our beach trip. I have an awful memory when it comes to remembering the places we’ve stayed and what happened there; the memories all get jumbled up. This is a great way to capture them!
The X that marks the spot of the crab is from a plastic toy crab that became an epic vacation game for our family. We would hide the crab in someone’s pillowcase, shoe, or beach bag and whoever discovered it would then have to hide it next. It brought so many laughs and opportunities for getting sneaky.
I imagine this art or creative journal activity can even be captured when staying in hotel rooms, condos, air BNBs, or any place where you vacation.
Aside from photos, how do you capture your summer memories?
Resource: www.faithringgold.com/art/
"We are all in a season. I don’t want to get so caught up in my season that I can’t see you or hear you in yours." Also this 💛
Such good ideas in this post Kelly! Saving it for future reference 👌🏻