Domestic Violet

" It is better to . . .

flourish

separately

than to wither

together "  - Voltaire said it best

and this is why I collect the words and wisdom of

others -

having learned long ago that I don't know

everything and

occasionally I find a gem like -

" A ship in harbor

       is safe

but it's not what ships were

built for " - William Shedd said in 1894

and what's more these two

ideas

are speaking volumes to me

with the recent comings and goings on

personally

locally

nationally

globally

and both ideas are merely common sense

yet

have the power take us to greater places in our minds and

touch the heart of many matters

and this is what turns Domestic Violet ON -

not men or booze or everdayness in its

triviality -

nor money nor win or lose of any gaming

though blackjack can ocasionally be

stimulating

but

I prefer a more heartfelt

cerebral climactic ending -

always patiently waiting for the Universe

to reveal collective enlightenment

in expression

whether from my pen or

yours -

fascinated by history and who had what to say

about real life long ago -

so perhaps in future excavating

those who are committed to respond from the pulse

of humanity

will be unearthed

and quoted as saying

what life is/has been in our environment

today -

like Abe Lincoln's observation that -

" folks are about as happy as

  they make up their minds

  to be " -

no greater truth is known to

me -

no simplicity more pronounced

and no doubt he included ALL indomitable human spirits

regardless of race creed or situation

perhaps admiring the fortitude of the people

he freed . . .

while I don't hang out today personally

in places where much withering takes place

flourishing alone with pen and paper

until perhaps my partner may come later

and some days I set out on the water

doing what I was created to do and

be -

but no matter what calamity or

tumultuous weather

I return to shore simply

happy . . .

Thanks Abe !

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

 

The necessity of teaching . . .

mankind

not to take drugs and medicines

is a duty incumbent upon

all those who know

their uncertainty and injurious effects

and the time is not far distant

when the drug system will be

abandoned ~

    Charles Armbruster M.D.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The true measure of a man (person)

is how he treats someone who can

do him absolutely no good ~

   Ann Landers

~~~~~~~~~~~

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going ~

   Anonymous

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is no failure -

only failure to learn . . . and

lost time ~

  Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Example is not the main thing

in influencing others - it is

the only thing ~

   Albert Schweitzer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The person who takes medicine must recover

twice -

once from the disease and

once from the medicine ~

   William Osler M.D.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the signs of a truly

suppressed society

is that people repeat the mantras

of their oppressors

and ridicule the

informed ~

   Anonymous

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Always trust the one searching for the truth -

never trust the one who tells you

they have found it ~

   Anonymous

~~~~~~~~~~~

Anger ventilated often hurries to

forgiveness and concealed

often hardens to

revenge ~

   Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honesty is

the first chapter in the book of

wisdom ~

   Thomas Jefferson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harboring resentment

is like

taking poison

to kill your enemy ~

   Long time Alcoholics Anonymous Member

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flouride

once touted as

osteoporosis treament

is in fact

toxic to bone cells ~

   John R. Lee M.D.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are only two ways to live your life -

one is as though

nothing

is a miracle -

the other is as though

everything is a miracle ~

    Albert Einstein

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

 

" People go mad . . .

in crowds -

they only come to their senses

one at a time  " -

a Charles Mackay quotation

( from " Extraordinary Popular Delusion

and the Madness of Crowds " )

and in a slightly different

verbiage by Bernard Baruch -

" Man -

it has been well said -

think in herds -

it will be seen

that people go mad in herds

while they only recover their senses

slowly

and one by one " ~

And Jack London's

" The Iron Heel "

poetically expands

the idea with -

" the people of the abyss -

mad with drink and

wrongs -

up at last and roaring for

the blood

of their masters . . . "

And this is why I stay at home

alone

most days-

poetic -

proselytizing perhaps -

processing

the roar of the

the crowd -

the bloodshed -

the madness -

coming to my senses

slowly . . .

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

 

 

Vi's Favorite Quotation Collection ( ~ more to come)

If we all lived forever

where would we

park ? ~ Anonymous

*

The trouble with being

in the rat race

is that even if you win

you're still a rat ~ Lily Tomlin

*

It's easy to be independent

when you have money

but to be independent when

you haven't got a thing

that's the Lord's test ~ Mahalia Jackson

*

All books are either

dreams or swords

You can cut or

you can drug with words ~ Amy Lowell

*

As I would not be a slave

so I would not be a master

This expresses my idea of democracy ~ Abe Lincoln

who also said:

People are about as happy as

they make up their mind to be ~

*

When you need to cross

the river

the boat will be there ~ Zen saying

*

Age is something that doesn't matter

unless you are a cheese ~ Billie Burke

*

If the things you wanted to happen

did not happen

think instead of

the things

you did not want to happen

that did not happen ~ Confucius

*

I have concluded that

the misfortunes of men

come to a single thing

the inability to be

at rest

in a room ~ Pascal

*

It's a cruel world ~ it keeps us

from getting fat and lazy ~ Anonymous

*

Every creative act involves

a new innocence of perception

liberated from the cataract of

accepted belief ~ Arthur Koestler

( The Sleepwalkers )

There is no security in your mansions

or your fortresses - your family vaults

or your banks or your double beds

Understand this fact and you will

be free

Accept it and you will be happy ~

Christopher Isherwood

( author ~ The Berlin Stories adapted as

the stage play I Am A Camera which became

the musical Cabaret ) . . .

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

But not quite . . .

"What does not

burst

from your

soul

will never

refresh you"

someone said

not me

but I agree

so I painted

the old beer case black

in 1983

and decorated the

folding flip-top

with pink and blue

letters of someone's

words - not mine

meaning as much

as if they had

sprung with zeal

from me

but not  quite

I seldom steal

the notions of

another soul

anyhow

Not yours or

his, hers or

theirs

can be a clean breath

for me

though a good idea

I can clearly see

to agree

credence and credit their

due

and so painted on the

black box front

a lock

without a key

and flower petals around the

flip-top finger holes

marks the beginning and the end

of the truth

that someone knew

too

using the round for

the flower center

Whether

anyone liked it or not

was never a thought

and I gave some paint to

the corners and

a new edge on one side

as if it could open from the

front

right below the skeleton lock

zig-zag definition

with dots and dashes

so it looks from the west like

a Swedish treasure chest

The space on each end to hand carry

cold-capped amber bottles

now blend into black

Two dozen inside compartments

long discarded ~

now it houses things

that can shatter

some items that matter

safe from Mad Hatters

protected by many pressed

paper layers

and paint

unless it rains

in here

Spring spirals up

my smiling nose

every time I look

at what someone said

with three dashes under "never"

and special emphasis around

"refresh"

I'm just saying

I agree

but not quite . . .

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

. . . like Carrie Bradshaw

While chatting with the Kansas Burr-faced

Sunflower ~

my senior

and fellow

artist and

former battered woman

and not one to

take it well when confronted

with rudeness and stupidity

( She's a Burr-face for a reason ! )

We communicate our

alarm

at the state of things in

the World

and I am prompted to share

with the World

ideas that make it

better

easier to navigate

while on this journey - LIFE !

It's what I do

every day

look for a way to improve

make better

give a care

and help run smooth

all I am able to

and it's why I share with YOU

all that I do ~

From the Wisdom of the Jewish Sages:

    " Do not be daunted

      by the enormity

      of the World's misery.

*  Do justly, now

*  Walk humbly, now

*  Love mercy, now

       You are not obligated to

       complete the work

       but neither are you free

       to abandon it. "

And like Carrie Bradshaw I am compelled to go

to the keyboard and write

pondering revelations

epiphanies

( a fancy word for awareness )

and as always

filled with questions

and the seeking of answers leads to

more questions

No matter what goes on

     ~ I don't get to do it wrong ~

Even if the World seems to be on its way

to hell

without the hand basket

I still must remain

teachable

open

honest with myself

and YOU

The difference between me and

Carrie Bradshaw ( Sex and the City )

is the amount of sex she seems to be

having

and that her column goes on in fantasy

and mine goes on in

real life

In real life I cannot not write

like she can't not

in fiction

In fiction real life is the

catalyst

for imagination

In real life

there is no need for

exaggeration

The Truth is Ugly

or Lovely

enough

And it's a lovely life

however difficult

and filled with drudgery

at times

I think I'll do justly

now

and sign off with

a gentle reminder that

IF WE ALL LIVED FOREVER
WHERE WOULD WE PARK ?

Do you know what a rut is ?

It's a grave with the ends kicked out !

If you are not laughing

you are in one ~

GET OUT, NOW !

Do justly

Walk humbly

Love mercy . . .

Domestic Violet

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX

 

 

 

 

 

The voices of many have said ...

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. - Mary Anne Radmacher

Persons who want to advance in superior religion are advised to give up all envy of other living entities, whether in relationship to the body, words or mind. There is no religion superior to this.
- Srimad Bhagavatam 7.15.8

When the power of love overcomes the love of power we will have peace. - Bob Marley/Jimi Hnedrix

In my life there is an infinite supply of love, it is inexhaustible, I can never use it all in this lifetime so I don't have to be sparing with it! - Louise L. Hay

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.― Maya Angelou

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. – Kahlil Gibran

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. – Kahlil Gibran

If you genuinely have something to say, then there's someone out there who genuinely needs to hear it.  - Arnold Patent

Every truth passes through 3 stages –

in the first it is ridiculed –

in the second it is opposed –

in the third it is regarded as self-evident  - Arthur Schopenhauer (German philosopher 1788-1860)  

          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be who you are and say how you feel

because those who mind don't matter and

those who matter don't mind - Dr. Seuss

• Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you. - Dr. Wayne Dyer

 

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. – Albert Einstein      

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. ~ Mahatma Gandhi       

He who sacrifices his conscience for ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes. ~ Chinese proverb

 

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing

it back to you when you have forgotten the words. – Unknown

 

Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful. – Rita Dove

A good friend will always stab you in the front. – Oscar Wilde

While the State may respectfully require obedience on many matters, it cannot violate the moral nature of a man, convert him into a serviceable criminal, and expect his loyalty and devotion –  Liane Norman

Generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.  - Khalil Gibran

"So long as medical colleges promulgate the superstition that drugs have curative power, they will continue to be curses to the race. Could the colleges of medicine confine themselves to the teachings of the sciences that are connected with medicine, they could become worthwhile institutions; but so long as they continue to mystify disease and to teach that it can be cured by poisons, they not only reject science, but they aid and abet the patent medicine industry." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.3

If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang. - Charley Reese

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Far You Go . . .

 

My Violet mind has a couple things on it - not the usual boot heel trampling my leaves, but another idea altogether.

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because, one day you will have been all of these."

                             -  George Washington Carver -

A really amazing group of ideas which could be a framework for living, if living is of interest rather than just existing.

I strive with tenderness and sympathetic compassion to tolerate the intolerant 

and the intolerable

strongly protesting where I might

the misuse of the power that renders weakness

where strength could be

aging as gracefully as possible and tending to the " Wrinkled Kids" along the way

as I become one.

Is it where you are?

Or is all too "foo foo" for you?

Notice no mention of money and it's destination

It takes us no place that resembles milk and honey, honey!

It's pursuit is no gain - only things not purchased with it

will sustain!

If I gave the idea of any of this to my children, then, I have succeeded in life . . .

DOMESTIC VIOLET

Semper Vi ~

Survivor . . . from the VORTEX