01 August 2013

Freedom and Hope

"Plastic"
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved
Joyous Lughnasad to you!  As we head from July into August, I know the theme of freedom was last month's but felt compelled to talk about it again, as well as its companion, hope.  I am in the midst of extricating myself from a toxic work situation and am struggling with the idea of freedom.  "Do I have to put up with this?" "Is this harassment?"  These questions make us doubt our sanity and wonder if we're being drama queens, or if the situation we're in is really that crazy.

What worked for me today was to take a long walk.  I brought my camera with me and took some shots of my walk, until my battery died and I just walked and existed with the trail.  There is a Latin phrase, "Solvitur ambulando," which means "It is solved by walking."  Many writers before me belonged to the peripatetic school, as Julia Cameron so poetically calls it.  Today, I put that to the test and, to my surprise, it worked.

Take a look (you can click on the picture to see it in a larger view):

This is deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, which is a commonly-growing weed in the Chicagoland area. It can cause contact dermatitis and is poisonous. It is a relative of the tomato family.
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved
I love the appearance of nightshade, but I'm allergic to it.  I get contact dermatitis, which is a fancy way of saying my skin turns red and is itchy and burns.  Yuck.  But they're sure pretty, huh?  All sorts of colors that look yummy.  DON'T.  They aren't yummy at all.

Hmm.  Metaphor, anyone?

I don't know what this is, but I love that there are two kinds of fruits/berries.
©2013 A. Catherine Noon, All Rights Reserved
This one caught my eye and I have no idea what it is.  I love the textures and want to create them in yarn.

It didn't rain on me, either.  My walk today has a quality of magic to it, a soft and Zen kind of magic that is subtle yet profound.

In closing, I'll leave you with a Zen Koan (a teaching story):

Chou-Chu fell down in the snow and yelled, "Help me up!  Help me up!"  A Zen monk came and laid down beside him.  Chou-Chu got up and went away.



--
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- E.E. Cummings

The Chicagoland Shifters series:
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6 comments:

Jean Marie Ward said...

Good luck on the work situation {{{Noonie}}}. Meanwhile, keep walking. There's nothing like putting one foot in front of the other or keeping one's head on straight.

A. Catherine Noon said...

Thanks, Jean! I sure appreciate it!

Kimberley Troutte said...

Sorry about the work situation. UGH. Hate that stuff. I hope things work out well for you.

Walking does help. I make sure to get up and away from my desk every day just to breathe fresh air and feel the sun's light on my skin. There's a lot of beauty out there. Thanks for sharing your pics.

A. Catherine Noon said...

You're very welcome, Kimberley! I went again today and got into my body. It was a good experience; I overdid it a bit with the sun but I'll know to wear better sunscreen next time and carry a water bottle.

Feeling better about work today; no one harassed me the whole day! (Four voicemails, three text messages and two emails yesterday, plus he wanted to stop by my house to talk. Jesu!)

Urdu Novels said...

Amazing post and very interesting stuff you got here! I definitely learned a lot from reading through some of your earlier posts as well and decided to drop a comment on this one!

A. Catherine Noon said...

Thank you, Urdu! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and for checking out the blog. We appreciate it!