Up close sometimes, I can’t see anything but Chaos
But given a little distance, I can see some order
And from the new perspective, even beauty…
This complicated magnificance was not visible when covered by Spring and Summer foliage.
I had to wait it out to see the full picture…
disclaimer and credit…I did not take this but it is one of my favorite shots by a sweet young friend, Katie Jones, so talented!
http://spyhoppertravels.zenfolio.com/
Somehow seems appropriate for today!
When Helen posted this theme I immediately thought of the same song Karuna chose. I LOVE that song. Sly And the Family Stone captured what a whole generation was pleading for the world to get through music!
But my very next choice came quickly to mind. I LOVE this song and it is an anthem in my life, and one I play for others often. Juliet has a lovely voice and this song addresses the theme this week perfectly!
Help Me Understand by Juliet Wyers. (Worth googling for more of her.)
(Lyrics unavailable but mostly understandable if you really listen)
PS We might really need this song after tomorrow….
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/20902465/posts/1213080484
Hard song for some to listen to and an even harder video to watch, but I am MOVED by this.
Think of it as a frenetic, chaotic demand to get out and VOTE!!
Pump up your volume, even if you hate metal!!
Open your Eyes-by Disturbed (Lyrics are in the video)
This is my second post for this challenge. Pauses and Clicks reminded me this morning of the whole challenge. Before I had focused mainly on the “strange and grotesque” part.
This series of photos I’ve been taking of Hydrangeas best captures the week’s theme for me but it wasn’t until reading the above post that I got how truly beautiful this amazing plant and it’s blossoms are….until their very end.
How in the world does THIS…
…Become THIS???
The “Transformation” is both invisibly slow, as well as lightning fast. I took these pictures from April to June!
Here is a Transformation slideshow.
But for me, the lesson didn’t stop there. I had planned on showing the photos of Hydrangeas at the end of their life to demonstrate how something so lovely can transform into “ugly”…but I read her post this morning and it completely changed my perspective.
NOW, I can see how the Hydrangea becomes MORE beautiful as it ages, stunning even…
And, since I’m always looking at life through the lens of Generations, look what else I found!
Multi-Generational Living at it’s finest!!!
Thanks Pauses and Clicks!
(Now if I can just apply this lesson the next time I look in a mirror!)
PS Today is November 4th, 2016 and when I walked outside, here’s what greeted me!
Christmas Colors in October
“Tell us about a piece of music that stayed with you.”
I love that Word Press gives us all these challenges! Not because I can’t think of anything to write about, but because it helps me narrow topics down!
The first time I heard the song A Life Uncommon by Jewel, I was moved to tears.
(small disclaimer…the last few seconds of wording on this particular youtube are about Christianity and though I consider myself part Christian, I am also part Hindu, part Buddhist, part Jewish, part Unitarian Universalist and part “still working it all out”.)
I loved the song and could not stop thinking about it!
Such inspirational lyrics!
Don’t worry mother, it’ll be alright
And don’t worry sister, say your prayers and sleep tight
It’ll be fine lover of mine
It’ll be just fine
Lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And you shall lead a life uncommon
I’ve heard your anguish
I’ve heard your hearts cry out
We are tired, we are weary, but we aren’t worn out
Set down your chains, until only faith remains
Set down your chains
And lend your voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lent your strength to that
Which you wish to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead a life uncommon
There are plenty of people who pray for peace
But if praying were enough it would have come to be
Let your words enslave no one and the heavens will hush themselves
To hear our voices ring out clear
With sounds of freedom
Sounds of freedom
Come on you unbelievers, move out of the way
There is a new army coming and we are armed with faith
To live, we must give
To live
And lend our voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend our strength to that which we wish to be free from
Fill your lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead…
Lend our voices only to sounds of freedom
No longer lend our strength to that which we wish to be free from
Fill you lives with love and bravery
And we shall lead a life uncommon
Then I heard the song at the Unity church by this wonderful duo, Garnett and Beverly. Oh man, can these two SING!!! http://www.garnettandbeverly.com/
After hearing them sing it, I decided I wanted to EARN having this very song be performed at the party I want folks to have when I die!!
But there is another chapter.
Many years ago now, I had the miraculous experience of reuniting with my daughter, Pamela, having given her up to be raised by the most wonderful parents. As I was getting to know her, I did what many of us do when we first fall in love, and boy, did I ever fall. I made her a playlist of all my favorite songs…songs that I hoped would tell her about me. (Pam is truly amazing, and a talented singer herself, so I thought music would be a great connection!!)
The song, Life Uncommon, was the first and most important song on that playlist, with the disclaimer that I was still learning to live this way.
Three generations…my mother, my daughter, Pamela, and me, all around the same age. I couldn’t see any resemblance between my daughter and me but could see it between Pam and my mother.
![DSC03569[2]](https://i0.wp.com/chosenperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/dsc035692.jpg?resize=475%2C356&ssl=1)
Me and my birth daughter!
![DSC03582[1]](https://i0.wp.com/chosenperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/dsc035821.jpg?resize=479%2C639&ssl=1)
Cousins, their first visit…Pamela’s daughter and Michael’s son. How cute are they? watching something on TV that has Julius feeling protective…
![DSC03572[1]](https://i0.wp.com/chosenperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/dsc035721.jpg?resize=479%2C360&ssl=1)
Me with my son and his sister together, a dream come true!
And giving me….a life uncommon….
black mondo grass and copper leaf
…is “to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.”
And one of our instructions this week for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is to”create a gallery, with a series of photos showing a metamorphosis in progress.”
Well, I haven’t shared my beautiful (or maybe grotesque…eye of the beholder and all) BUGS for a while. You can read about them here:
https://chosenperspectives.com/2016/07/16/chosenperspectives-on-details-for-wpc/ and here
But for today’s topic, here is a slideshow showing their transformation. (By the way, the featured image at the top of the page is of a pile of eggs. They are not normally on my carpet but this photo is of the remains of the one and only unsupervised encounter between my bugs and my cats. Even though it is Halloween I won’t torture you with details of how those eggs got from the laden belly of the mature female bug onto the rug…oh wait, maybe I just did!)
Here’s another photo to show the range of growth I get to witness.
And here is a reaction of some family members to one of the less pleasant consequences of having Giant Spiny Australian Leaf Bugs around.
Tiny poops but they are very dry and have no smell…
These creatures MOLT three times during their lives. It took me many years to actually witness the process and it is amazing! What they leave behind after the second and third molting is the opposite of transmogrifying. (You don’t want to know about the first molting. Oh wait. I keep forgetting it’s Halloween! They EAT IT!!!)
The molted skins are PERFECT in every detail, right down to the tiny claws, spikes and antennae!
an empty skin
I guess you could say my experience of having these bugs as members of our pet family has Transmogrified ME! I have gone from that stereotypical image of squealing in terror while running for the nearest table to climb on over a tiny house spider or a beetle …to writing this post.
