Monthly Archives: January 2015
Abundance
Abundance of ice.
Abundance: “The great or plentiful amount” as defined in any number of dictionaries. Katybeth over at Odd Loves Company chose tarot cards for some of us at the beginning of the year, then asked us to think about our word, how we could incorporate it into our lives, figure out what it meant to each of us.
My word was abundance.
I sometimes think about abundance when I’m at the grocery store, walking past the wall of cereal choices, or picking through mounds of produce. But most of the time I don’t give it much thought. And surely I am not alone in taking for granted the abundance in my life. Especially the abundance of stuff.
And that’s what it’s all about, right? The abundance of stuff? That’s why we all go to work – to pay for all the stuff; the house, the nice car, the trendy shoes, the best cuts of meat, that great bottle of wine. Because we’re used to having abundance. And we think we’ll be happy once we get that next great thing to add to the abundance we already have. Won’t we?
Abundance of deer food.
But I’ve been thinking small lately. There’s a growing trend of living in tiny houses, and even HGTV has jumped on the band wagon and now has a version of the show House Hunters that follows people looking for a tiny house. I’ve read a few blogs and articles that talk about the lifestyle. I think the most difficult thing is the downsizing, the divesting of a lifetime of accumulated abundance. And if you were to succeed at that…would you no longer have abundance?
Or would you, perhaps, recognize an abundance of a different kind?
Looking through my rose colored glasses I think you’d have an abundance of freedom and an abundance of choices for how to spend your day. And a person living tiny would still have all the abundances that really matter. Family love, good friends, a sense of serenity and peace, quiet times and times to share.
So on this winter weekend as I consider the abundances in my life what do you think? How tiny could you go? Have you looked? Not all tiny houses are log cabins on wheels, I’ve seen some stunning glass and wood houses perched on hills overlooking the woods or grasslands, other tiny places that melt into the landscape and let a person enjoy the abundance that nature has to offer.
It’s a thought.
Tiny is a process.
WordPress Photo Challenge: New
It’s a new year…what makes it new for you? WordPress has challenged us to look around and find something new. For those of us in Detroit this Sunday it’s an obvious choice. The Detroit Lions are playing football in post season, their first foray into playoff football in many years. Since 1992 to be exact. 1992 might not seem so long ago until you remember that the senior Bush was president, and Black or White by Michael Jackson was the number one song.
Outside city offices in downtown Detroit sits a sculpture titled The Spirit of Detroit. In the Spirit’s left hand is a gilt bronze sphere symbolizing God, and in his right hand are people representing family. And when one of our sports teams is in the playoffs the Spirit dons a team jersey.
Excitement in the city.
It’s something very new for the Detroit Lions, but this weekend The Spirit of Detroit is sporting a jersey of Hawaii blue and silver.
And while we’re on the topic of Detroit, the blue jersey may be new, but being tough sure isn’t. Across the street from The Spirit of Detroit is another sculpture, a memorial to the boxer Joe Lewis.
Detroit is strong…like Joe Lewis.
Detroit has just come out of bankruptcy and is blossoming into a new leaner and more vibrant city. It’s turning into the kind of city where parents take a newborn downtown to be photographed in front of an iconic sculpture. The kind of city where people smile and wait patiently in a gentle cold sleet for their turn at photographs. Where they know the meaning of family and toughness and patience.
It’s a new Detroit and I can’t wait to see it in this new year.
You can see other interpretations of the concept of new at the original link at the top of this post. Or you can see a few of my favorites here, here, here and here. Enjoy.
And… Go Lions!
Change Is Hard 