Learning and Celebratory Joy

Carol A. Hand

In the bleakest of times

with the most mundane tasks

transformation is possible

It’s what life sometimes asks

us to do

***

Fern Unfurling – May 7, 2017

***

Holding focus on celebratory joy

opens up sacred heart spaces

where deeper lessons are discovered

and shared perhaps tearfully from inner places

revealing what is true

***

An Early Blooming Gift, Scilla siberica ( Siberian Squill) – May 7, 2017

***

The threads of our kinship to all

strengthened anew

Our unique connecting patterns

in the tapestry of life

shining through

***

Blooming Pulmonaria ( Lungwort) – May 7, 2017

***

Acknowledgements:

In honor of the colleagues and students who continue to make teaching and learning sacred endeavors. And in gratitude to the computer and cable technicians who made it possible for me to continue writing despite a malfunctioning anti-virus program.

***

28 thoughts on “Learning and Celebratory Joy”

    1. It’s so good to hear from you, Diane. I think of you often and wish you were closer so we could chat. I always learn so much from you about writing.

      Editing/revising is a tedious process, but not as challenging as the one I’ve begun for the first half of the manuscript – formatting and tranforming citations into endnotes (from APA to Chicago Style). A month of computer issues created so much anxiety but also inspired me to take this task seriously and produce something that reflects thoughtful scholarship and narrative art. I don’t know if I’ll succeed but the process is teaching me a lot. 🙂

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      1. That formatting is a huge job. You are taking the work very seriously. So many publishers don’t bother with endnotes these days, much to the dismay of serious researchers and readers. You are creating something of value.

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        1. Thank you so much for your insights and encouraging comments, Diane. Citing sources seems really important to me in chapters that provide cultural and historical context, yet APA style really interrupts the narrative flow. It also dehumanizes authors by not including first names. But using Chicago style endnotes is also a lot of work. I need to go back to my original sources to find authors’ first names (hundreds of them), some in dusty old notes books that lost labels in my many moves. Tedious as the process is, it grounds me in past memories and gives me a chance to see things in new ways 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful comments, Maria. I needed to replace my computer because of a corrupted update from my anti-virus provider. I’m still trying to figure out my new computer. The problems taught me that I need to work off-line when I edit, so I rarely have time for blogging these days. Work on my book manuscript and teaching backlogged so I have a lot of catching up to do…

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      1. Computers bring so much stress sometimes! I can imagine your fuss. Once I split a glass of mineral water on my ex & very expensive notebook. That period I was writing my book & I had not made and back ups. The end was tragic: I had to restart the book & stayed without PC. Though the book got much better afterwards. 🙂 Any way, keep joy! And blogging will come on the way. In any case your faithful Readers are always with you! Greetings to Quennie & his friends. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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      2. If your anti-virus provider destroyed your computer it seems a good time to get a new anti-virus program, and name the company for those who may be also using the same program at similar risk.

        Avast offers a free anti-virus program which is recommended by experts if one wishes free. Malwarebytes offers a free anti-malware program and is highly rated. Good luck.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thank you for your comments, Jerry, and for your suggestions about alternate anti-virus providers. In the process of trying to save my old computer, I did replace the program with a new enhanced version of Norton. Because you asked, I’ll share information about previous provider: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.comodo.com. I don’t like to speak ill of anyone, but I would recommend that people find alternatives. Dealing with months of computer issues was a valuable learning experience, although costly.

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  5. Pingback: Learning and Celebratory Joy – Jake Steinbrecher's Clonidine Overdose And Death

  7. Pleasure connecting with your thoughts here, Carol. The greens sprouting through layers of browny drabness, and transformative changes building up cumulatively through routine tasks are perhaps the most shining symbols of hope in the bleakest of times. Your words and pics are a brilliant statement of this truth. I

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    1. Raj, it is always such a pleasure to hear from you and read your thoughtful comments and posts. I love your deep and poetic observations about the photos. Thank you. 🙂

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  9. Beautifully written, Carol – life is indeed an amazing tapestry, everything and everyone interwoven into this existence. The Spring flowers are lovely, delicate and almost hesitant in their flowering. Arrgghhh…I feel for you with your computer problems, a nightmare which often has me on hours at end on a support line – it’s frightening the ease with which the helpline advisers can see your computer (once given permission, of course!) Glad it’s all worked out for you in the end and you were able to post this celebratory poem. BTW, the fern question mark shape is amazing and you’ll have to take photos as it unfurls to see whether it holds the shape.

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    1. Dear Annika, thank you for your thoughtful, lovely comments. The ferns are still in the process of unfurling. Sadly, life has been too busy for me to grab my camera at just the right time. But at least this spring, I did have the opportunity and luck to take a few photos of ferns emerging from their winter rest – something that has always fascinated me. Sending my best wishes to you 🙂

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    1. Thank you for letting me know, CS. I’ll check out the news. The weather here is unseasonably warm and dry, but the moon last night was incredible…

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