K is for Kabballist, Kachina, and Ken.

12 Apr 2014 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Haiku times 2, Poetry, Religion Tags: , , ,

Day 12 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is K
K is for Kabballist, Kachina, and Ken.

Kabbalist Ken to the Kachina

such unlikely ken
Kabbalist and Kachina
no bonds on seekers

no bounds to knowledge
different paths yet the same
universe sees all

There are many paths upon this planet in this our universe. It’s a shame that too many seekers deny another’s right to their own path.  Through time out of mind, wars are declared in this or 20120511-203423.jpgthat god’s name.

Cultures fall and disappear, stamped out by fearful of another belief.  ‘My way or no way,’ they declare as they torture, murder and maim others into submission.

How many atrocities have been committed in the name of ‘god’?  Pascal was right –

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

© Perle Champion

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Glossary:

Kabbalist –A traditional Kabbalist carries the personally handed down teachings of the Kabalah, which he/she will in turn personally pass on.  The Kaballah is a compilation of the basic truths of the Universe.

Kachinas – Spirit in human form, become masked dancers during Native American religious ceremony who hold knowledge which is imparted to the people through oral tradition.

Ken – knowledge, understanding or cognizance, mental perception, vision, consciousness; also to teach, direct or guide someone.

J is for Jogum, Joss, and Jolt

11 Apr 2014 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Haiku times 2, Perle Champion, Poetry Tags: , , ,

Day 11 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is J
J is for Jogum, Joss, Jolt

Shed the Jogum, with Joss or Jolt.

jogum hindered soul
blindly plodding rutted paths
needing joss or jolt

escapes’ only hope
events unknown luck unseen
nature’s buds abide

Jogum in Latin means yoke. There are many kinds of yokes not readily discernable: jobs, marriages, and friendships, to name a few.white flower 3

Sometimes the Jogum can be dislodged by a jolt such as betrayal by a trusted friend, the infidelity of a spouse.

A hated job sometimes needs more than a jolt; it takes a little Joss.

© Perle Champion

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Glossary:
Jugum – mid 19th century from Latin, literally meaning ‘yoke.’; also a connecting ridge or projection

Jolt – To move or dislodge with a sudden, hard blow; strike heavily or jarringly

Joss – Chinese idol also meaning luck.

I is for Id, the Isle of I.

10 Apr 2014 3 Comments

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Haiku times 2, Perle Champion, Poetry Tags: , , ,

Day 9 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is I
I is for Id, the Isle of I.

Id, unaware struts
thinking it stands all alone
a singular isle

such wrong conceit self
centered thought denies that earth
revolves round the sun

We are islands.  But just as the sea laps the shore, and the isle continues into the sea,Mnemosyne head only - drawing we are all an integral part of each other.  The very air between us is as alive as we are as we move through it – from earth to the farthest reach of space.

Touch a leaf and the stars vibrate.*

© Perle Champion

———

 
* “Touch a leaf on the tree and you have made all the stars vibrate with it. You may not be able to see it right now, but things are so deeply related that it impossible .not to touch the stars by touching a leaf. – Lieh Tzu – The Pathless Path

H is for Hale and Hearty Health.

09 Apr 2014 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, haiku, Health, Perle Champion, Poetry Tags: , , ,

Day 8 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is H
H is for Hale and Hearty Health.

hale walks hand in hand
hearty steps up the walk’s pace
spring hopes winter waits

There is nothing so limiting to personal freedom as ill health, and in this land of the green runfree, the personal freedom of a truly healthy body is eroding at every turn.

Some may consider the phrase Hale and Hearty somewhat redundant.  I do not.  Although they both allude to the health of a person, their meanings are subtly different.

I think the sum says more than the parts about a person’s Health.

  • Hale – free from disease
  • Hearty – strong, exuberant, vigorous.
  • Health – the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor.

I’ve known more than a few people free from disease, who were not hearty.  Without the Hearty (strength, vigor…) there cannot be total health.

© Perle Champion

G is for Grace from Genuine Gratitude

08 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Gratitude, Haiku times 2, Perle Champion Tags: , , ,

Day 7 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is G
G is for Grace from Genuine Gratitude

abundance graces
the genuine gratitude
of all living things

amid energy’s
sea of beings blooming things
still mountains whisper

Of all the prayers and incantations ever uttered, the most powerful is aheartfelt thank-you.  Genuine gratitude for the abundance in your life, to whatever higher power you acknowledge, assures that more abundance will grace your life.

This is common belief that runs through many cultures and religions. 

  • Do not be anxious about anything, but in everyflower Chrysanthemum situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Paul in Philippians 4:6

Even the self-help gurus, past and present, figured it out, i.e.

  • Joseph Murphy’s The Power of Your Subconscious Mind – read the ‘thank-you’ technique.  “The thankful heart is always is always close t the creative forces of the universe, causing countless blessings to flow toward it by the law of reciprocal relationship, based on a cosmic law of action and reaction.”
  •  Rhonda Byrne’s ‘The Secret’ – read the chapter on the Gratitude Rock.  “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”–Melody Beattie

© Perle Champion

F is for Facile Feigned Façade

07 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, haiku, Perle Champion, Poetry, Writing Tags: , , ,

Day 6 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is F
F is for Facile Feigned Façade

facile tears feign need
façade to suit a motive
once seen we pity

Facile tears and feigned need come easily to some – the façade of needinessWyse in the Garden 1 art darker the only way they garner friends.

In the beginning, the audience is large as they follow along from drama to drama.  They watch and participate vicariously as each living play unfolds.  But the theme and plot begin to repeat again and again.

The steady stream of repetition eventually wears thin; the motives of the face behind the façade become more and more clear.

Slowly the followers’ caring turns to pity; the parade of followers thins then falls away.

© perle champion 4/7/14

E is for Errant Environmental Ecocide

05 Apr 2014 1 Comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Environment Earth Day, haiku Tags: , , ,

Day 5 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is E
E is for Errant Environmental Ecocide

if not this day then
when will we accept that we
court a silent spring.

I won’t belabor the point. The haiku says it all.  We know the bees are dying; we know that they atree brancehes 2re essential to our food production. Even those folks who profess to care, spray their lawns, trees, and even themselves with poisons and wonder that they and their gardens do not thrive as they once did.

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Glossary:

errant –  adjective \ˈer-ənt, ˈe-rənt\
behaving wrongly, going outside the proper area

eco·cide  noun \ˈē-kə-ˌsīd, ˈe-, -(ˌ)kō-\
the destruction of large areas of the natural environment especially as a result of deliberate human action

D is for the Dash twixt Dawn and Dusk

04 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Haiku times 2, Poetry Tags: , ,

Day 4 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is D
D is for the Dash between Dawn and Dusk

The DashChurch near Wadenhoe 2

we dash twixt dawn and
dusk blind to miracles strewn
like gems before us

a life reduced to
birth and death dates and one small
dash engraved in stone.

The poem is new – written this afternoon as I revisited my 4/4/12 Blog on the letter D.  I find I need reminding from time to time, to get out of my rut and live my Dash. So although the text below is mostly a reprint, the double haiku above is new – written this morning

4/4/2012
Too often, we dash between dawn and dusk barely noticing the miracles, large and small, strewn like gems throughout our days.

I read an article in which the writer said ‘live your dash’.  What I wondered did that mean.  She went on to explain that as she wandered through a cemetery one day, she noticed that beneath each name there were two dates with a small dash between them.

I never thought about that – a lifetime reduced to a birth date and a death date separated by a small dash.

I know people who plod through their days for whom that dash is far too large.  I know people who dash through their days and never notice the day’s bounty.

And I know people for whom that dash is far too small to encompass the life they live.

I’m determined to live my dash from dawn to dusk and then some.

Are you living your dash?

C is for Cawing Crows and Crumbs

03 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, haiku, poetry

Day 3 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is C100_4280
C is for Cawing Crows and Crumbs

Cawing crows announce
Hard crumbs strewn across the yard
Birdbath’s now bread soup

Mother’s back yard is a sanctuary where all the leavings of the table are tossed out to the enjoyment of every bird, squirrel, and heaven knows what other creatures venture on the periphery of the perpetual feast she provides.

The crows fascinate and annoy.  There is always a lookout, and when the bounty appears, the call goes out.  The flock arrives swiftly and and perches on the high wires and in the trees then descend together.

They don’t like old 100_1860bread much less that that is gone hard as croutons.  We watch in fascination as one by one they take the large pieces of old bread and dunk them in the birdbath until it a veritable bread soup.

B is Balm, of Banal, Banter

02 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Perle Champion in Blogging from A to Z, Civility, Writing

Day 2 of Blogging from A to Z.  Today’s letter is B
B is for Balm, Banal, Banter

The balm of banal banter has it place in our lives. Such conversations serve a purpose because they are safe in settings where opinions on more weighty matters such as politics and religion could verge on anger or violence.

In social settings, such conversations serve to break the ice between strangers at cocktail Mom/Ba at MMDDparties and events; build relationships with the service person at a store you frequent; the bartender at your local bar; the waitress at your favorite restaurant; the maintenance man; landlord, or the yardman.

It cost little to make small talk and smile, and the dividends are huge.

In personal settings, such conversations can ease misunderstanding in tough personal interactions and begin to heal some wounds after a disagreement or falling out with a family member or friend.

It’s a bridge called civility that allows both people involved, when they meet in public, to be civil and converse without the ‘you’re wrong/no, you’re wrong’ finger pointing.

The Balm of Banal Banter has its place in our lives, costs nothing, and can build bridges and mend fences that no other type of conversation can.

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