From Death to Life

Have you ever considered what it means to live? Did you know that the Greek have three words for our English word, ‘life’? I just recently found that out.

Bios: Physical or biological life.

Psuche: Psychological life of a human. Soul, mind, emotion, will.

Zoe: Absolute fullness of life, spiritual life, the divine life uniquely possessed by God.

Isn’t that amazing? The Greek words go so much deeper. It makes me think about how the physical, psychological (soul, mind, emotion, will) and spiritual are all interconnected. It also seems to answer certain questions I’ve grappled with in the past. Questions about life, death, meaning, purpose, fear of death and what happens when a human dies.

What do you think about these three Greek words, and their meanings?

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Photo taken in Ouro Preto, Brazil

Painting a Work of Art

I will hold you in my arms
In my mind
In my heart

I will paint with vivid colors
Through my life
A work of art

Do you think of your life as a work of art? I know I’ve touched on this before in the area of poetry, but I would like to touch on this now in the form of art in general. Yes, I believe that our lives are like poems. Some are sad. Some are intense. Some are flowery. Some are light. Some are dark. I like to think of mine as a plethora of experiences – emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual. Holistic in a sense.

Albert Einstein said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.” Wow. What do you think of that? I think it’s a pretty darn powerful statement. It seems so counter-culture for our modern times, where personal peace, affluence and the quest of ‘being happy’ and collecting things for personal gain seem to be high on humanity’s priority list.

These two cuties above are my children. I wrote this little poem (if you’d like to call it that) about them. Western culture seems to demean a woman staying home with her children, and not being realized professionally, as something bad. As a waste of life. As if she’s making herself and her life less than what it could be. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a life fulfilled. A life with far less stress and rushing about. A life of more tranquility, peace and fulfillment in what I invest in.

Yes, I think Albert Einstein just may have been right. After all, he was considered an amazing genius.

What are you investing your life in? Are you painting a picture of vivid colors? How are you doing so? Do you believe that a woman is ‘throwing her life away’ by staying with her children and investing in their good? Do you think she is a woman that is unfulfilled in life?

Music of my Heart (Gogyohka)

My heart beats

to the rhythm of your drum

and sings

to the tune of your spirit

as I submit my all to you

————-

I fell in love with the various poetry forms a number of months ago, thanks to this girl. I started following her blog and was smitten by all the different poetry forms she used to write her own creations. Thanks to her, I have been challenging myself to push myself just that tad bit further with writing poems under the constraints of rules and order.

Is there something that your heart beats too? Would love to know….. 🙂

Poetry form: Gogyohka

You Inspire Me

 

I love to create. I believe we were made to create. It’s like a driving force within. There’s a certain high that comes with creating something. The inspiration high.

I have become a fan of the Ted Talks. I don’t like much of what is on TV, so when I want to relax and watch something, I go to YouTube and put on a Ted talk. Recently I watched the one by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. She spoke about creativity and how it could be divinely inspired. She shared the following:

In ancient Greece and ancient Rome people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then. People believed that creativity was this divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source for distant and unknowable reasons. The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity ‘Daemons’. Socrates famously believed that he had a Daemon who spoke to him from afar. The Romans had the same idea but they called that sort of disembodied spirit a ‘Genius’, which was great because the Romans did not actually think that a genius was a particularly clever individual, they believed that a genius was this sort of magical divine entity who was believed to literally live in the walls of an artist’s studio … and who would come out and invisibly assist the artist with their work and who would shape the outcome of that work (source).

Now I don’t believe that there are genius’ in the walls, but I do believe that creativity and inspiration is divine. Something that has been carved – breathed – into each of us. Like I mentioned in a past post, we all have an impulse to create. It’s in our veins.

Do you love to create? Do you believe that we were made to create? Where do you think creativity and inspiration comes from?

This poem was written in response to this week’s prompt of ‘The Reverie’ poetic publication journal. The challenge was to write a poem of 31 lines.

Color me…

Color can make a difference in a person’s life. What do the colors mean to you? Which color would you say most reflects how you feel right now? What does that color mean to you?

Connected Endearment

Love
beyond
imagination

our souls rhyme
in the fullness of time
ignited by the sparks of Grace

my reason for living
my nourishment
my breath

when famished
when gasping
You are my base

solace of beneficial
rains falling on
suspended gardens

confidence
that nothing
can efface

when eternity is home
and unearthly treasures
are finally known

revealed
as I’m encompassed
in Your embrace

and I turn my face
towards Your light
I cease to wander

I pray

This poem was written in collaboration with the talented Frederic, of ‘poems & poèmes‘. It was an honor to do this with him because he is a wonderful poet. Please take some time to check out his blog.

The Poet and Poem (Etheree)

Life
A prayer
Poetry
In the making
Physical being
Emotion and feeling
Intellectual reason
Tears, laugh, joy, pain, love, hate, loss, gain
Combine, intertwine in space and time
Carefully shaped by hands of the divine

Have you ever thought of life, and all it entails, as being a poem? Have you ever thought about what the true meaning of ‘poem’ is? I have.

Yesterday, I read a post from a fellow blogger and amazing poet. The last stanza in His poem entitled, “Cloud 9” goes like this: “life and poetry are all the same”. It was that line that inspired this poem.

The origin of the word, “poetry” in English is taken by the Greek, “poetica”, which is derived from the verb, “poiein”, that means, “to make” (source).  Another Greek word, from where we get poem and poetry from, is “poiema” and means, “workmanship” or “something made” (source). As a Christian, I believe that I have been divinely made by a great poet and that all that my life entails is what is becoming a passionate and spirited poem.

I came across an amazing song and video on YouTube by the composer “Michael Card”. His song, “Poem of your life” says it all. If you have the time, please check it out – Poem of your life (you may have to turn the subtitles off in the bottom left hand corner of the screen).

How about you? Have you ever thought of your life as a poem? Have you ever thought of yourself as “someone made” by a great poet?

Ping back: The Divine (clogynarch) 

A Human Being (Haiku)